Curriculum
Whole School Curriculum Map
whole school curriulum map 2024 2025 autumn.pdf
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Curriculum
Introduction Our exciting and challenging formal curriculum, rich in knowledge and skills, inspires a love of learning and equips children for each next stage in their education. Children are able to identify with characters in the high quality books they read. We consciously seek to include people from different races, ethnicities and religion within our whole school curriculum. The process of developing an anti-racist curriculum is ongoing and we acknowledge that we are at the start of an important journey.
Secure Foundations At St George’s we work hard to address barriers to learning and therefore ensure we establish secure foundations. The structure of the school day reflects the priority that we give to reading, writing and maths which are taught during the morning session. We embed formal assessment in our practice in order to identify children who need intervention and support.
Over the years, we have worked carefully and considerately to make sure that our curriculum is fit for purpose. In a school that represents a diverse population, speaking many languages with the ever present challenges that growing up in poverty brings, it is important that the curriculum enables children to have the best life chances. We believe that the curriculum must ensure that children are well equipped for the next stage in their education and for life in the 21st century. We place a high importance on reading, writing, mathematics and effective communication as we know this is a crucial pre-cursor for success.
Developing Children’s Voices We believe that a child develops their voice when they feel known, loved and valued for who they are and what they bring to the world. Developing voices raises awareness and empowerment, particularly in marginalised communities. Working in a community with over 60% Pupil Premium, it is important that our children (and their families) know that their voices are important and they have things to say that deserve to be heard. We place an emphasis on preparing children to be able to speak well and articulate themselves clearly. Through enrichment programs such as our Confident Voice society, debating club and termly poetry recitals, we ensure they are given opportunities to practice and make sure they know their voice is valued.
Subject-rich Vocabulary In a school where over 50% of the children speak English as a second language, we understand how important it is to learn vocabulary. We deliberately and systematically teach subject-rich vocabulary from the Early Years. We include definitions, imagery and context to secure understanding. All children are able to access the curriculum and, where needed, support is given through intervention, adapted work and offering different ways to demonstrate understanding, for example, through presentations, poetry, written work, quizzes and art.
Curriculum Fit-For-Purpose We are proud of the well-sequenced curriculum that we offer our children. It has been designed to secure depth of knowledge with opportunities to revisit, recap and apply previous learning to new. Skills are taught alongside knowledge. Subject leaders ensure their curriculum is broad and progressive, preparing knowledge organisers with clear knowledge blocks and key vocabulary. These knowledge blocks break down subject content, reducing cognitive load and ensuring children are not overwhelmed with new content. Through retrieval practice, blocks of learning transfer to long term memory. Progression statements ensure children’s knowledge and understanding build on prior knowledge and prepares them for the next stage in their learning. Our expectations are high and we provide appropriate levels of challenge and support for all children.
We aspire to provide a curriculum which actively teaches about, represents and deliberately includes different races, ethnicities, religions and cultures. In both our formal and informal curriculum, we seek to teach children about racial justice and human rights and to develop children’s voices to articulate and justify their thoughts. In collective worship, for example, we reflect that God created all humans in his image and therefore everyone has equal value. We read Gospel stories and consider how Jesus treated both the marginalised and the esteemed in society. Our scientist of the month display presents a diverse range of scientists and includes questions to promote critical thinking and themes of justice. We celebrate the gift of having a richly diverse community around the school through events such as Windrush Day and Around-the-World Day.
Cultural Capital
At St George’s we embrace many different cultures. Cultural Capital refers to the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for an individual to get on in life. We celebrate and value the cultures, languages, stories and traditions that children and their families bring. This means that alongside trips to museums, galleries and theatres, we also consolidate learning through dance and drama from different cultures, songs in different languages and food from around the world. Our annual ‘Around the World Day’ encourages our school community to celebrate and share families’ cultural traditions.
Find out more
For more information on all of the subjects we teach and the programmes we use, follow the pages in this section.