Subjects

At St. Mary’s CofE Primary School, we aim to foster a love of reading and are aware of the importance it plays in children’s cultural, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual development. Children are encouraged to discover the value of strong communication and the importance of Reading and Writing in all aspects of their futures.

Writing Intent: Our school strongly believes in the importance of teaching children not only to have the skills to write, but to enjoy and feel motivated to write too. We try to make writing ‘real’ and purposeful for the children through interesting activities, which often link to a high quality text or cross-curricular topic.

As a Church of England school, different faiths, along with Christianity are an important part of the RE curriculum.

At St. Mary’s, we help children to develop a deep understanding of Maths and apply their knowledge and skills in meaningful and practical situations.

Science at St. Mary’s starts from the premise of practical exploration and the understanding that Science is an everyday presence in everyone’s world. Both key stages experience practical and theoretical lessons where questioning is encouraged. This enables children to develop an age appropriate understanding of the world around them and the part they play in it.

As a school, our aim is to foster in the children a curiosity and understanding of events, places and people in a variety of times and environments. We encourage the children to relate this learning to their own experiences and surroundings. This helps them to identify similarities, differences and patterns in the human and physical activity in our world. In this way, the children develop skills of enquiry, investigation, analysis, evaluation and presentation.

Physical Education at St Mary’s is in part delivered by specialist coaches from All for Sport. Class teachers then teach follow up lessons to further embed and develop skills. Through this thorough learning, children are able to gain knowledge of the rules and skills needed across a variety of sports. Central to all lessons are the values required for good sportsmanship – those of team work, respect, self-control, resilience and encouragement. The positive impact of sport on our bodies is also covered in this curriculum area.

Art lessons within the classroom give children the opportunity to develop their skills in drawing, painting, collage, printing, textiles and 3D construction. Many links are made to other subjects, particularly English, History and Geography.

At St. Mary’s School, we make music an inclusive, enjoyable learning experience. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences helping to build confidence and self-esteem.

Our new scheme of work is called ‘Jigsaw’ and offers a mindful approach to PSHE. Jigsaw is structured into 6 half-termly Puzzles (units), with the whole school studying different pieces of the same puzzle at the same time. The puzzles are sequential and developmental from September to July.

Children are taught French throughout our school, using an interactive and stimulating approach. Songs, interactive activities and a range of resources are used to promote enjoyment, ensure authenticity and support confidence and participation.

At St Mary’s our Computing Curriculum maps have been created using the BPSI framework. This framework is made up of three key strands: Programming and Computer Science, Creative Use of IT and Digital Literacy.