INTENT
Our curriculum is rooted in our vision. Click here to see our vision.
At St. Mark’s we are very proud of our staff’s commitment and dedication to ensure that all of the children within our care receive a high quality education. We believe in the concept of lifelong learning and the idea that both adults and children learn new things every day. Learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone; it should be fun.
We conduct all our teaching in an atmosphere of trust and respect for all, in line with our distinctive Christian tradition.
We pride ourselves on being a family school.
We recognise that every child is unique and our skilled staff ensure that every child receives a rich learning experience that ensures they reach their full potential, within our Christian ethos of support and high expectations.
Our children are at the heart of everything that we do. We strive to nurture their natural curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm for learning-and vow to hold on to those qualities all the way up to Year 6, through our engaging curriculum.
Through our HERO Learning Powers-Hope Energy Resilience and Optimism, we prepare our children for life-long learning that goes beyond the classroom. We want all of our children to believe in themselves and rise to any challenge they may face.
We live our vision every day "Let Your Light Shine!" Matthew 5:16
IMPLEMENT
Click here to see our Curriculum Map for 2020 and beyond!
We use our KNOWLEDGE ORGANISERS to share the key facts and information required to support the children's learning and understanding of their Learning Journey. These can be found in the Class Pages. Click here to see an example.
We plan Science and most of our foundation subjects (Geography, History, Design & Technology, Art) in ‘Learning Journeys,’ utilising the Edison Learning Connected Curriculum and seek to involve the children and their interests in our plans.
The curriculum is so called, as it "connects" children's learning through linking topics and providing skills progression connecting prior learning.
If at any time a subject cannot be meaningfully linked to the learning Experience it is taught discretely- such as Physical Education, and Religious Education which follows the Understanding Christianity guidance which is supplemented by The Emmanuel Project.
In Early Years, all teaching and learning is based around the government non-statutory document ‘Development Matters’ and children work towards achieving the Early Learning Goals in the Prime and Specific areas. Teachers work closely with the children to ascertain and follow their interests, and so adapt the curriculum and learning to their specific needs.
Each Learning Journey takes appropriate objectives from the National Curriculum, broken into key skills acquisition for year groups. Each Journey has a ‘Stunning Start’ to 'hook' the children in to their new learning and ends with a purposeful outcome- a ‘Fabulous Finish’. Throughout the Journey, children are encouraged to think about what they are learning, why they are learning it and how they will be able to apply these new skills in a meaningful context. This is underpinned by a rigorous set of foundational skills such as times tables, phonics and handwriting. From recent reading we would consider our curriculum to have a ‘knowledge-engaged’ approach, where knowledge underpins and enables the application of skill and where both are taught explicitly.
- Raise achievement
- Provide an enriching curriculum fit for the 21st Century
- Build up children’s confidence and motivation to learn through the use of a range of learning and teaching styles
- Develop thinking and learning skills
- Enable safe ‘risk taking’
- Promote curiosity and higher order questioning
- Embed key skills in order to prepare children for real-life and everyday situations
- Provide opportunities to apply knowledge and learning in practical ways
- Provide a creative approach to planning and delivery that will incorporate and embed key aspects of the National Curriculum
- Provide enrichment opportunities where learning and teaching can take place beyond the classroom
- Develop social skills and encourage children to become more active citizens within the school community and beyond
What will the Connected Curriculum do for our learners?
- Increase learners’ motivation, enthusiasm and engagement in their learning, making learning more meaningful, through putting it into context
- Raise standards in both teaching and learning
- Help learners become more independent and take greater ownership of their learning, developing children’s confidence and motivation to learn through the use of a range of learning and teaching styles
- Give opportunity for a flexible timetabling approach to make space for true depth of study
- Establish cross-curricular links to foster a broader understanding
- Create and maintain an exciting and stimulating learning environment
- Provide opportunities to apply knowledge and learning in practical ways and to solve problems in a variety of situations
Subjects included in Connected Curriculum