Our Vision

At St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, our curriculum is dynamic, ambitious, rich and varied. It is coherently planned and sequenced to build progressively on pupils' knowledge and skills from Early Years  Foundation Stage through to Year 6. Our curriculum covers the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage framework whilst providing meaningful, contextualised opportunities for pupils to learn to be responsible, respectful, active citizens of the world who use their God-given talents to contribute positively to society.

Our curriculum is balanced and broadly based, promoting the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at school and of society, and preparing pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. 

Our Curriculum Structure

The whole school focusses on 3 overarching themes across the year, with specific topics relating to the overarching themes studied by each year group. This thematic approach ensures coherence and allows pupils to make meaningful connections across subjects whilst building their knowledge systematically.

The termly overarching themes are:

1. Our World – our responsibility
2. Our World – the people and events that shaped it
3. Our World – learning from the past and shaping our future

These themes provide a framework for learning that is both vertically structured (knowledge builds progressively year-on-year) and horizontally integrated (connections are made across subjects within each year group).

What We Teach

Early Years Foundation Stage

Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision follows the EYFS statutory framework, teaching children across the 7 areas of learning and development: the 3 prime areas (Communication and language, Physical development, and Personal, social and emotional development) and the 4 specific areas (Literacy, Maths, Understanding the world, and Expressive arts and design). Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to help children work towards the early learning goals, ensuring they have the knowledge, skills and understanding they need by the end of Reception to thrive in Year 1.

Key Stages 1 and 2

Our curriculum encompasses all National Curriculum subjects, ensuring breadth and depth of learning. We teach:

• English and Mathematics daily to ensure our children become competent and proficient learners. Reading is prioritised to ensure children access our full curriculum and leave with the skills to support them in their future lives. Mathematical fluency and confidence are key; concepts are embedded to ensure competency and are extended to provide challenge.
• Science through practical investigation and enquiry, developing both substantive knowledge (scientific facts and concepts) and disciplinary knowledge (how to think and work scientifically).
• Foundation subjects (history, geography, art and design, design and technology, music, PE and computing) with the same rigour and ambition as core subjects. Each subject has a carefully sequenced progression of knowledge and skills.
• Religious Education as a core subject, reflecting our Catholic identity and helping pupils understand and respect different faiths and beliefs.
• Relationships and health education (RHE), providing both relationships education and health education as required. Our RHE curriculum is taught sensitively and age-appropriately, reflecting our Catholic values whilst ensuring all pupils understand the importance of equality and respect.
• Computing to ensure our children become successful users of a range of digital skills, embracing the social, cultural and economic opportunities that instant global communication offers whilst understanding how to stay safe online.

How Knowledge Builds Over Time

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that:

• Prior knowledge is activated and built upon – Each unit of work begins by recalling relevant prior learning, ensuring new knowledge connects to what pupils already know.
• Knowledge is cumulative -Core concepts and skills are revisited and extended year-on-year with increasing complexity. For example, our understanding of chronology in history develops from simple sequencing in EYFS to sophisticated understanding of cause and consequence by Year 6.
• Spaced interleaving supports retention -We revisit key knowledge at carefully planned intervals to strengthen memory and deepen understanding, rather than teaching subjects in isolated blocks.
• Vocabulary is explicitly taught -Subject-specific vocabulary is introduced, practised and revisited to ensure pupils can articulate their understanding with precision.

How We Deliver Our Curriculum

High-Quality Teaching

Our teachers use a range of evidence-based pedagogical approaches including:

• Clear modelling and worked examples
• Structured questioning to check understanding and deepen thinking
• Collaborative learning opportunities that develop oracy and communication skills
• Practical, hands-on experiences that make learning memorable and meaningful

Enrichment and Experience

We enrich our curriculum through carefully chosen visits and inspiring experiences that bring learning to life. For example:

• Year 1 pupils take a trip on a train when learning about transport
• Year 6 explore Victorian fairground rides at our local theme park when studying the Victorians
• Our older pupils experience residential visits that build independence and resilience.
• Throughout the academic year, there are themed learning days/weeks such as Smashing Science days, Maths Investigation Days, Healthy Community Week and WOW enrichment days linked to curriculum themes.

Specialist Teaching

We enhance our curriculum through specialist provision:

• A Sport Coach enhances our PE provision.
• Music specialists such as Rock Steady and Milton Keynes Music Hub deliver world percussion lessons and Rock Band rehearsals.
• Choral singing specialist 
• Our on-site Forest School area provides outdoor learning opportunities.

  

Supporting Learning Beyond School

Homework tasks support and consolidate learning as well as providing challenging opportunities to explore, research and investigate further, extending classroom learning into the home.

Meeting the Needs of All Learners

Our curriculum is designed to give all pupils, including those with SEND or those with different experiences or starting points, the knowledge and skills they need to be independent, confident learners and to be prepared for the next steps in their learning journeys.

For pupils with SEND:

• We provide high-quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised.
• We adapt content and teaching to meet specific needs at different developmental stages.
• We ensure our teaching is sensitive, age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate.
• We work closely with families to understand individual needs and aspirations.

For all pupils:

• We set high expectations and aspirational goals.
• We provide multiple entry points to learning, so all pupils can access the curriculum.
• We use assessment to identify gaps and adapt teaching accordingly.
• We celebrate achievements both within and outside the school day.

How We Assess Learning

We use assessment to ensure pupils are learning and retaining the knowledge and skills our curriculum intends:

• Formative assessment is embedded in daily teaching through questioning, observation and review of work, allowing teachers to identify and address misconceptions immediately.
• Summative assessment at key points measures pupils' retention of knowledge and their ability to apply skills, informing curriculum planning and intervention.
• Pupil voice helps us understand what pupils know and remember, and what they find challenging.
• Low-stakes quizzing and retrieval practice helps pupils consolidate learning and supports long-term retention.
• Assessment informs planning -we use what we learn about pupils' understanding to adapt our teaching and ensure all pupils make good progress.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

We promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development throughout our curriculum, including promoting British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. 

Our Catholic ethos permeates all aspects of school life. We develop pupils:

• Spiritual development through reflection, prayer, and exploration of beliefs and values
• Moral development through understanding right and wrong, and taking responsibility for their actions
• Social development through collaboration, leadership opportunities and service to others
• Cultural development through appreciation of diverse cultures, faiths and traditions

We are proud to have been the first school in Northampton Diocese to be awarded the Live Simply Award in 2019-20 – a reflection of our unrelenting focus on personal development at St Bernadette's.

Leadership Development

We recognise the importance of the Arts in promoting creativity, confidence, self-discipline, collaboration, patience, perseverance, and problem-solving – all crucial life skills. 

We provide character-building opportunities for children to develop their leadership skills and promote positive attitudes to learning. We are proud of the way in which we develop our children as leaders:

• We encourage 'pupil voice' and our pupils are instrumental in shaping the vision and direction of our school.
• Our Mini Vinnies and Park Rangers work actively with teachers, pupils, governors and the community to address and develop key aspects of the school and local area
• We have developed an allotment and our own on-site Forest School area, recognising the value of outdoor learning opportunities.

Physical Health and Wellbeing

Sport and physical exercise are integral to our children's well-being and so are prominent within our curriculum:

• We have introduced the daily mile at St Bernadette's
• We provide numerous opportunities for children to represent our school in a variety of sporting disciplines
• Our Sport Coach enhances our PE provision, ensuring high-quality teaching and opportunities for all

The Impact of Our Curriculum

Our curriculum ensures that pupils at St Bernadette's:

• Know more and remember more -they build a rich body of knowledge across all subjects that they can recall and apply.
• Are confident communicators -they can articulate their learning, ask thoughtful questions and engage in respectful discussion.
• Are resilient learners-they approach new challenges with confidence and perseverance, learning from mistakes.
• Are prepared for the future -they leave us with the academic knowledge, personal qualities and practical skills needed for success in secondary school and beyond.
• Are responsible citizens -they understand their role in the world and are committed to making a positive contribution to society.
• Embody our Catholic values -they treat others with respect, show compassion, and use their God-given talents in the service of others.

Our children are continually developing and learning and, through encouragement and good modelling, they learn how to work together respectfully and tackle new challenges with resilience.