Skills and knowledge progression
English
English at St. Bernard's permeates through the whole curriculum and school life. We have created a curriculum that encourages and promotes enthusiasm and engagement in English and transferable skills across the curriculum.
We are working hard to provide our pupils with rich and varied opportunities linked to high quality, challenging text which will help them to develop their English skills in speaking and listening, reading and writing.
Maths
‘Learn it, love it, live it.’
At St. Bernard’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that we provide the foundation for the development of the mathematical skills needed in later life by promoting initiative, imagination and logical thinking. To ensure all children reach their full potential in mathematics, their individual needs and abilities are recognised and developed in a caring, fun and supportive environment, in partnership with parents. The intention of this process is to provide all the children with full access to the curriculum, enabling them to achieve confidence and competence i.e. ‘mastery’ rather than failing to develop the skills they need for the future, whilst developing a love of maths.
Teachers instil an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards in mathematics. Mathematics is approached with a positive ‘can do’ attitude. The large majority of pupils’ progress through the curriculum content at the same pace, using a mastery approach. Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention. Our teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design, using the White Rose scheme as a spine but supplemented by other resources. Creating carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge of concepts, always using concrete practical materials to start.
Science
Our Science Curriculum secures the fundamentals of science in a logical manner to allow pupils to access a much higher level of subject knowledge towards the final stages of school. Pupils are exposed to a high level of science content, which will allow them with the ability to ask better questions of the world, make more informed decisions and apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations.
The pupils focus on retaining the basic knowledge through the continued use of the knowledge organisers. We want our children to have a scientific understanding of the world and appreciate the impact they have on the environment.
History
At St. Bernard’s, we want to provide our children with an ambitious education which will inspire children’s understanding and curiosity about the past. We want our children to have secure knowledge; not just about world History, but also about the history of Great Britain and their local area. It is our aim that they will learn about the key people and events of the past, which have shaped their very own lives today.
In addition to this, we also want to equip our children with vital skills such as historical enquiry and understanding of chronology. We want to encourage children to seek out answers to their own questions and make their own educated conclusions based on reliable sources they have chosen.
Geography
We believe in delivering an ambitious Geography curriculum to all pupils to deepen their understanding of the world around them while developing their use of geographical tools and skills.
Our children need to have an excellent knowledge of the world oceans, continents, major countries and cities, human and physical geography, the environment and sustainability. The ability to think critically and reach clear conclusions and develop reasoned arguments to explain their findings. To have an excellent understanding of the ways places are interdependent and interconnected and how much human and physical environments are interrelated.
Children’s learning progresses from local to international locations, Geography knowledge and skills are taught through engaging places and case studies.
Music
The aims of our Music curriculum in St. Bernard’s are:
- That children leave St. Bernard’s School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in Music formed through interesting and exciting experiences.
- Our high-quality music education will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
- Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in music, through using the Charanga Music scheme.
- Children will develop self-confidence and teamwork skills through performance. They will have opportunities to sing as a class, in smaller groups and as a school community.
- Children will have opportunities to learn to play a musical instrument throughout their time at St. Bernard’s in conjunction with the Music Service.
- Children will understand how Catholic virtues and British Values relate to music through a study of music and songs from across the world.
- Children will listen to, review and evaluate a range of music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including contemporary music and the works of the great composers and musicians using subject specific vocabulary relating to the musical elements; rhythm, pitch, dynamics, tempo, texture, structure and melody.
- Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, attending performances by professional musicians and participating in school productions. Other opportunities include visits to concerts, meeting musicians and professional musicians visiting schools to work with pupils.
Physical Education
At St. Bernard’s, we believe that physical education, experienced in a safe and supportive environment, is vital and unique in its contribution to a pupil’s physical and emotional development and health. The physical education curriculum aims to provide for pupils’ increasing self- confidence through an ability to manage themselves successfully in a variety of situations. A balance of individual, team, co-operative and competitive activities aims to cater for individual pupil’s needs and abilities. The scheme of work is based on progressive learning objectives which, combined with varied and flexible teaching styles, endeavour to provide appropriate, stimulating, challenging and enjoyable learning situations for all pupils.
Design and Technology
At St. Bernard’s we aim to provide all children with a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares them for life beyond primary education. We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and other’s needs, wants and values.
Design Technology is an inspiring and practical subject. It can be found in many of the objects children use each day and is part of children’s immediate experiences. It encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team.
Spanish
At St. Bernard’s we are proud to offer our pupils the opportunity to learn Spanish from Year 3 to Year 6. Our children learn Spanish, the second most spoken language across the globe, in a fun and creative way, expressing their ideas and thoughts in spoken and written communication.
We believe that a high-quality language education should foster children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of the different cultures in the world. Culture and language are inseparable. Understanding this cultural-specific contexts along with linguistic principles is central to effective language acquisition.
Competence in another language enables children to interpret, create and exchange meaning within and across cultures. It also helps children develop skills that will open further opportunities later in life.
At St. Bernard’s Primary School, we provide a well-balanced curriculum of spoken and written Spanish. Children leave our school with solid foundations and knowledge ready to develop their language skills further in KS3.
Art
We deliver an Art curriculum to all pupils that enables them to deepen their understanding of a variety of techniques and collaborate in their use of drawing, painting and sculpture. The key expectations for the children are to develop ideas, master techniques and to take inspiration from the greats.
Our children build on their experiences each year. This enables them to use experience and ideas for their artwork including cross curricular Art; linked to the wider curriculum delivered to them at St. Bernard's.
Computing
Within our Computing curriculum at St. Bernard’s we aim to:
- Provide an exciting, rich, relevant and challenging Computing curriculum for all pupils.
- Enthuse and equip children with the capability to use technology throughout their lives.
- Give children access to a variety of high quality hardware, software and unplugged resources.
- Instil critical thinking, reflective learning and a ‘can do’ attitude for all our pupils, particularly when engaging with technology and its associated resources.
- Teach pupils to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology.
- Equip pupils with skills, strategies and knowledge that will enable them to reap the benefits of the online world, whilst being able to minimise the risk to themselves or others.
SMVSC
Our children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMVSC) development plays a significant role in their ability to achieve and learn, as well as their ability to contribute to the local and wider community. The ambitious St. Bernard’s curriculum and creative curriculum timetabling is planned to engage our pupils, have a positive impact on their mental health, behaviour and safety, and help them to attain highly in all areas of their learning. All areas of the curriculum will make a contribution to the child’s spiritual, moral, vocational, social and cultural development. We want our pupils to develop as reflective, independent, thoughtful and responsible individuals who are curious about the world around them.