St Margaret's C of E Primary School

Our Aims

We encourage the children to be Brave: to relish challenge; to share their ideas and views; develop confidence and resilience. ’

We encourage our children to be Energetic: to work hard; to listen well and ask questions; to give 100%.

We encourage our children to be Creative: to problem solve; to present ideas in different ways; to think creatively.

We encourage our children to be Open: to collaborate; to share; to emphathise; to love.

We encourage our children to be Motivated: to know what to improve; what to learn more about; what will help them learn; what they want to achieve.

We want our children to be Empowered: to have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed; to be confident global citizens who can 'be the change'.

Our Curriculum

The fundamental aim of our curriculum is to provide pupils with ‘A Place to BECOME’. A place where all children develop morally, socially and spiritually and where they develop a good knowledge and set of skills across the subjects taught, equipping them well for the next stage of their education and in their personal development. We define the curriculum as the entirety of the children's experience at St Margaret's. The word curriculum comes from the latin currere- to run and at St Margaret's we see the curriculum as a journey to be 'run' by the children who attend here. A journey during which children are given the opportunity to develop as individuals and gain an understanding of 'Life in all its fullness' (John, 10:10). We aim for our school to be a place where children are nurtured to find their passion whether it is in art, writing, science, sport, music or design. A place where children develop a love of learning and a place where our pupils acquire the vital knowledge, skills and experiences required to be informed and thoughtful members of the community. The school’s Christian values are a golden thread which runs through every aspect of the school’s work. As well as carefully considering the content which children are taught, we also work hard to ensure that the children's everyday experience is positive and fruitful and that the Christian Values taught are central to school life- that the children see their school as 'A place to BECOME'.

The learning line (below) is used in school to help children understand the learning process, encourage resilience and promote different personal attributes which can impact positively on both learning and character. We aim to make the experience of children at St Margaret’s Primary School memorable, fun and challenging.

St Margaret’s C of E Primary School provides a broad, balanced curriculum which meets National Curriculum requirements and is differentiated to meet the needs and abilities of the children. Staff have worked collaboratively to ensure that there are progression in skills and knowledge taught in each subject so that children build on what they have learned previously (see ‘How to BECOME a . . .’ documents on individual subject pages). Furthermore, a commitment to developing teacher's subject knowledge as well as investment into high-quality schemes of learning, enables staff to carefully plan teaching and learning that enables each child to know and remember more about each discipline they study. We also provide our children with a varied range of experiences, both curricular and extra-curricular, which are aimed at developing children’s wider knowledge, engagement and talents. Specialist teaching is provided by an artist, poet and actor 'in residence'. Children also benefit from specialist music tuition.

We strive to provide a progressive and coherent curriculum that builds on prior knowledge, creating links within it whilst teaching each subject as a separate discipline. We expect the highest outcomes for all including those with special educational needs and disabilities. We immerse the children in a wealth of high-quality texts linked to topics studied. This is to develop incidental knowledge and ensure that they are reading widely and are exposed to good language models.

Reading is given the highest profile in school. All staff are committed to ensuring all children are able to read fluently and have developed a love of reading by the end of their time at St Margaret’s. Where children need support to catch up with their peers in reading, time is maximised each and every day to ensure this support is provided.

Our foundation stage curriculum is based on the 2021 Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. We aim to focus primarily on developing children's speech, language, vocabulary and social skills, building the foundations for reading and literacy and equipping the children with the skills and good learning habits they need to meet the demands of Year One.

The Early Years framework includes 7 areas of learning and development that are equally important and inter-connected. However, 3 areas known as the prime areas are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

The impact of the curriculum can be seen in the curriculum 'products'- the things pupils write, say, draw or make. These things provide teachers with an insight into what pupils know and remember. Regular retrieval practise and quizzes also help to adapt future lessons to ensure that pupils are knowing and remembering more of what is taught.

Below is a 'snapshot' of the main things children remembered from their learning last year. Each half term they complete an online survey about what they can remember from their learning.