Curriculum

Curriculum Policy

 

St John’s Curriculum complies with the duties required of schools outlined in the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

St John’s Curriculum is skill-based and research-led. In line with evidence-based guidance and research St John’s Curriculum actively recognises that Learning is a change to long-term memory. Our aims, thus, are to ensure that our pupils experience a wide breadth of study and have, by the end of each Key Stage, a long-term memory of an ambitious body of knowledge.

As such at St. John’s we encourage pupils to develop an enquiring mind and a love of learning.

Our Curriculum is founded upon the understanding that the world has meaning, purpose and design and is a means to seek how to live in the world, not just know about the world.

It aims to nurture a school community that questions, challenges and explores with the self-confidence and security in our understanding of ourselves as being loved by God, unique and individual; guided by the example of the life and work of Jesus, who shows us what it is to be human; supported by the constancy of the Spirit, which lets us know that we are not alone in this journey.

Our Curriculum aspires to shape and develop values for life and embed a love of learning that inspires ambition without insecurity, in a meaningful and flourishing future.

St John’s uses Chris Quigley’s concept of Milestones to structure and describe progression within our Curriculum. Based on the National Curriculum, Milestones run in two-year increments from Key Stage 1 as follows:

 

 

Whole School Long Term Curriculum Overviews

View St John’s long term curriculum overview 2023 – 2024 (working document)

View St John’s long term curriculum overview 2022 – 2023

View St John’s long term curriculum overview 2020 – 2021

View St-Johns- Long- term curriculum overview 2021 – 2022

The Foundation Stage

The EYFS Curriculum is no different in the core Intent of the St John’s Curriculum and holds firm to the principles of the School Vision.

Directed by the Statutory Framework for EYFS (2021) and informed by Chris Quigley’s Curriculum Companion for Early Years (2021) the EYFS Curriculum is well-sequenced to enable children to meet the Early Learning Goals and prepare them for the rigours of the Key Stage 1 curriculum. It is based on the best available evidence into how children learn and the most effective practice in Early Years education.

 

Phonics & Early Reading

Phonics & Early Reading Lead: Mrs E Burton

Please see the English Policy for more detailed information of our provision at St John’s.

Phonics at St John’s has primarily worked alongside the Government’s “Letters and Sounds” document with Early Reading supported by the Oxford Reading Tree scheme.

From September 2022, in line with the DFE revised core criteria for effective systematic synthetic phonics teaching programmes published in April 2021, St John’s will utilise the validated Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised SSP programme. As a validated programme it will provide:

  • all that is essential to teach SSP to children in Reception and Key Stage 1 years of mainstream primary schools
  • sufficient support for children in Reception and Key Stage 1 to become fluent readers
  • a structured route for most children to meet or exceed the expected standard in the Year One Phonics Screening Check
  • all National Curriculum expectations for word reading through decoding by the end of Key Stage 1

 

English

English Lead: Mrs S Eastwood

Please see the English Policy for more detailed information of our provision at St John’s.

St John’s English Curriculum is led by and structured around the Power of Reading. The approach is multi-layered and draws upon the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education’s (CLPE) highly regarded classroom-based research and experience of working with teachers. It combines an introduction to outstanding books for teachers and children with an approach to teaching the English curriculum that is creative, engaging and develops a love of literacy.

The CLPE is an independent UK charity with a global reputation for the quality of research into literacy and teaching. Their work promotes ambitious standards in the teaching of literacy. We particularly emphasise the importance of books and literature in enabling children to become confident, happy and enthusiastic readers and writers, with all the benefits this brings.

The English curriculum is further enhanced through the use of various well-developed and effective strategies and resources from The Literacy Shed; Talk for Writing and Pobble.

 

Maths

Maths Lead: Mr W Hopkins

Please see the Maths & Calculation Policies for more detailed information on our provision at St John’s.

At St. John’s, White Rose Maths is used for planning and progression. This research-based scheme, with its focus on the maths mastery approach, provides all children with the opportunity to work at greater depth. Further enrichment is provided through the use of various well-developed and effective strategies and resources from The Maths Shed; Target Maths; The NCTEM and NRich.

Children use the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach and develop an understanding of a mathematical concept through the three steps (or representation) of the concrete-pictorial abstract approach.

Mathematics is used in other curriculum areas wherever possible or appropriate. This helps to deepen the understanding of mathematical concepts. In addition, using mathematics in a purposeful way, in real contexts, helps the children to realise that mathematics is important in the real world. We endeavour to set work that is challenging, motivating and encourages the pupils to talk about what they have been doing.

 

Religious Education

RE & Collective Worship Lead: Mrs E Burton

Please see the RE Policy for more detailed information on our provision at St John’s.

Our school is a Church of England Voluntary Aided School and the provision of RE must be in accordance with the Trust Deed of the School i.e., the practices and principles of the Church of England. The C of E ‘Statement of Entitlement’ for Religious Education 2019’ underpins and informs our provision.

We provide a religious education curriculum which is rich and varied and which enables learners to acquire both a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith, and to find out about a broad range of other faiths and world-views.

As St John’s is a CEVA Primary school, we consider RE to be a subject of fundamental importance and as such it takes a high priority in the curriculum. The governing body of our school has adopted the Suffolk Agreed Syllabus as the basis of our RE syllabus. This has been supplemented by some extra material on Christianity. Additional ideas, information and guidance on Religious Education suited to the particular needs of a church school are sought from the diocese. There is a close link with St. John’s Church which enables pupils to see Christian life, worship and commitments at first hand and provides opportunity to mark the celebrations of the Christian year.

We recognise that while many of our pupils come from church going families others come from a variety of religious and secular backgrounds and we welcome this diversity. Our Religious Education programme seeks to be sensitive to the home background of each child; it is not the function of Religious Education to promote or disparage particular religious views.

 

Foundation Subjects

Curriculum & Assessment Lead: Mrs S Eastwood

The Foundation Subjects include:

Science
PE
Art, Design & Technology
History
Geography
Computing
PSHE
Music

Each term the Class Teacher will select a Foundation Subject: History / Geography / Science, to drive the focus for the term; the Core Literacy Text (see above) determines this focus and equally guides the outcomes and emphasis given to Computing, PSHE, Art, Design and Technology.

Science and PE run continuously throughout the year regardless of the chosen focus. Please see the Science and PE Policies for more detailed information on our provision at St John’s.

Science Lead. Mrs H Sheehan

PE Lead: Mr W Hopkins

This ambitious approach aims to give the Foundation subjects a real-world sense of purpose and meaning. “Storifying” and enriching our curriculum in this manner builds real cultural capital and offers an opportunity to explore the ‘Big Ideas’ in more depth.

A “Digging Deeper” document created by the Class Teacher each term, is shared with the Parents, and offers further avenues to explore beyond the classroom – adding to that sense of common purpose between St John’s School and our school Community.