Our Learning
Curriculum Statement
At St Mary and St Michael we offer an inclusive, broad and balanced curriculum which is designed to give children the knowledge and skills to prepare them for the next stage in their education. We aim to create aspirational targets for our children, increasing their potential for achievement in life, whilst holding on to their Christian values and duty to care for all in God’s world.
Teaching and Learning
Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception)
Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2)
Key Stage 2 (Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6)
Foundation Stage
Children are currently admitted into Nursery in the September following their third birthday and they start in Reception Class in the September before they are five.
In the Foundation Stage we provide children with the facilities to make progress towards the early learning goals. These goals cover seven areas of young children’s development and learning. We use the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum in Nursery and Reception. The framework outlines seven areas of learning and development that must shape educational programmes in early year’s settings. It focuses on three prime areas of learning as the foundation for all learning.
The three prime areas of learning are:
- communication and language
- physical development
- personal, social and emotional development
The four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied are:
- literacy
- mathematics
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
All children follow the National Curriculum. A full list of subject areas and what is covered is outlined on each year group’s curriculum map on their class page. The school teaches phonics and reading through Read, Write, Inc.
Children in Key Stage 2 are taught a modern foreign language which is Spanish.
Our aim is to ensure that all children acquire high levels of attainment in all subject areas so that they leave primary school skilled in literacy and numeracy and knowledgeable about the world around them and their relationship to it. We seek to identify individual gifts and talents; our teachers are adept at finding ways of developing these so that each child is happy in themselves and with their achievements, as well as being respectful of those of their peers.
Religious Education
We believe that R.E. embraces both your child’s life and the life of the school. Through our R.E. programme we provide daily opportunities for your child to explore through different mediums, for example: scripture, worship, singing, art, poetry and music. These are all ways of enhancing our Christian community.
Our school policy aims to foster the religious growth and development of children during their time with us. This is achieved through a partnership with home and parish. This aim is reflected in our Mission Statement.
We follow ‘The Way, the Truth and the Life’ RE programme a scheme based on the teachings of the Catholic church and supplement this with Westminster Diocese’s guidance. Within our RE programme the children are also taught about aspects of other faiths.
The Parish, supported by the school, undertakes preparation for Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.
The right of parents to withdraw their child from Religious Education and collective worship must be discussed with the Head Teacher/Governing Body prior to admission to the school.
Relationship and Sex Education
We recognise that it is the privilege of parents to inform and educate their children in all matters concerning sexual development. We also recognise that parents need the support of the Christian community in this sensitive task. At school we teach the facts of human development in accordance with the age of the children, the demands of the National Curriculum and in the light of Christ’s teaching on love, marriage and the sanctity of life.
Since September 2021 St Mary and St Michael Primary School adopted the programme, Life to the Full, by Ten Ten Resources. Ten Ten is an award-winning Catholic educational organisation that is well-respected and very experienced in this field of work. Furthermore, Ten Ten have entered into a partnership with the Catholic Education Service and the Department for Education to provide training for teachers in Catholic schools on the subject of the new statutory curriculum. Therefore, we are confident that this programme is a very good fit for our school.
Through their programme, Ten Ten understand the foundational role that parents and carers have in educating and nurturing their children on these matters. Within the programme, they have built in resources which will not only keep you informed about what is being taught in school, but will also give you the opportunity to engage your children in discussion, activity and prayer.
We provide a context in which respectful, warm relationships are fostered between staff and pupils so that children’s attitudes are strengthened by their experiences of life in school. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of the sex education provided – but not from teaching of the biological aspects of human growth and reproduction that is necessary under National Curriculum science.