“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the Universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up."

Stephen Hawking 

WHAT MAKES OUR CURRICULUM UNIQUE TO ST RICHARD'S?

Every pupil that attends St Richard’s school brings with them their own knowledge and experiences. This may include: belief, languages, culture, family, socio-economic background, additional needs, interests and early experiences. We recognise that the cultural capital of our pupils at St Richard’s varies significantly, therefore it is imperative that we offer a rich cultural experience to all of our pupils. Through our curriculum, we strive to ensure that pupils are given the opportunity to become educated members of society who appreciate, and are inspired by, the world in which they live and have an aspiration to explore, to grow, to be curious and to be passionate,  thus enabling them to be successful in their education, careers and social development.

At St Richard’s we acknowledge that some of our pupils have not had the same early experiences. This could include not having had the opportunity to explore their immediate local area. Therefore, when planning trips, we ensure that children have both the opportunity to explore their local area plus experience trips and events which are new to them and take them further afield. We are also aware that some pupils have a strong cultural capital so we strive to ensure that those pupils still experience new opportunities and adventures that will enhance their love of learning and their future outcomes.  This is also represented in our curriculum choices. We try to have a balance between building on prior skills and knowledge and new learning that they previously encountered, the children themselves, comment upon the variety of topics covered, how they continue to expand their learning and how they continue to learn things that are new.

We are continuously working hard to ensure that the children are taught about people and events that are significant to them and represent the community that we serve. We want to create an environment where there is cultural openness and acceptance. By exposing the children to a vast variety of significant figures and events, our hope is that the pupils feel both inspired and represented, and also have raised aspirations for themselves.

On entry in EYFS, some pupils are below age expected level for speech and language and knowledge and understanding of the world and we recognise that this can have implications for their future outcomes.  Where possible, we have tried to create a cross-curricular approach, particularly in EYFS and Key Stage 1. At St Richards’s we recognise that Cross-curricular work offers a creative way to develop children's knowledge, skills and understanding while motivating them to learn through interesting, interconnected topics. By immersing themselves in the topic the pupils can develop their language through repetition.

OUR CURRICULUM INTENT 

At St Richard's CE Primary School we aim to foster a life-long love of learning through memorable, inspiring and engaging lessons. We have designed a bespoke curriculum that not only ensures that the children receive a broad and balanced curriculum but is also relevant to the children's interests and gives them not just the knowledge but the skills and understanding to become well-rounded and successful citizens. 

At St Richard's we celebrate all subjects and provide the children opportunities to excel in all areas and passionately believe that a rich diet of learning experiences not only improves a child's cultural capital but also makes the learning purposeful and motivating. We are passionate that all children feel successful and have the opportunity to be successful. 

We aim to deliver out curriculum through:

• Creative, fun and memorable learning experiences which provide the children with opportunities that they may have not have experienced before. 
• A strong nurturing environment that enables all children to feel successful and safe to take risks. 
• Putting the emotional and mental well-being at the heart of all that we do. 
• Making excellent use of our extensive grounds as well as an abundance of trips and curricular activities. 
• Establishing cross-curricular links, where possible, and giving the pupils opportunities to build on prior knowledge.
• Ensuring that the curriculum is accessible to all children and that successes are celebrated in all curriculum areas.
• Special enrichment days and weeks for the whole school and individual classes. 
• Being flexible to enable learning to be guided by a child's interests. 

SEND AND ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

St Richard’s CE Primary School aims to be an inclusive school which responds successfully to the needs of the diverse community we serve. St Richard's school works closely with pupils, families and relevant outside agencies to ensure that potential barriers to learning are reduced or minimised and allows them to learn, achieve and participate fully in school life. ​We make reasonable adjustments to enable all children to access the curriculum. By offering a broad and  balanced curriculum, setting high expectations and taking into account pupils’ varied life experiences and needs we aspire that all pupils will achieve their full potential, and excel in areas of strength. 

CURRICULUM DESIGN 

At St Richard's we use both published schemes of work for some subjects areas and bespoke schemes of work designed specifically for others.  The diagram below explains this further.  

We are regularly reviewing our curriculum offer to ensure full coverage of the curriculum and fun experiences for the children. 

CURRICULUM MAPPING

Having considered the aim and intention of our curriculum, we have carefully developed a map for each year group to ensure the entire curriculum is appropriately delivered over the course of the year in an exciting and pacy way. These maps cover Art & Design, Design Technology, History, Geography & Computing. Where possible we link the learning across the curriculum and enhance it with trips, visits and memorable moments. See below for curriculum maps for each year group.

LITERACY TREE

Our scheme of work for English, from the Literacy Tree, also has strong cross curricular links. Further details can be found in the document below. 

Copies of the Yearly Overviews for other subject areas can be found on the subject pages:

National Curriculum

Like all maintained schools we follow the National Curriculum 2014.  Please see the links below for a summary of each year group's Programmes of Study. We have used these to develop our curriculum.