At St. Mary's Church of England Primary School the Headteacher is resolute on three things:

• Every child deserves a curriculum that will inspire, motivate and enable them to achieve their full potential;
• All learning is underpinned by experiential learning opportunities that should bring alive the curriculum;
• Every lesson we teach or concept we deliver must be founded in skill or knowledge acquisition, delivered sequentially and connected to prior knowledge to help build pupils' understanding. 

Our curriculum does not:

• Teach random or disconnected facts that lead to cumulative dysfluency. 
• Favour or focus teaching on skill development over knowledge acquisition.
• Attempt to compartmentalise concepts into standalone components of learning - we connect the curriculum through subjects. 

We ensure that:

• Through using the curriculum as a driver - we are able to connect pupils' learning to the City of Southampton and their immediate surroundings.
• The curriculum builds schema over time and through different subject areas to help pupils commit knowledge to long-term memory. For example: Y6 learning about the Inca Civilisation in History, also study South America in Geography and the Art of Latin America. 

The curriculum begins in EYFS - not year 1!

You'll notice, as you navigate the curriculum sub-pages, that each of our curriculum subjects have an established EYFS learning path. This is because our children's experiences in those EYFS years are crucial to building the foundation blocks to future key stage study. 

For example in History - before entering Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2) - pupils in EYFS learn about different cultures and religions, must know that some things were the same and some different in the past and be able to understand the past through storytelling and books they have read. The knowledge and skill choices we have decided must be learned to ensure that children build on their understanding sequentially and over a period of time.

What is your child learning this term?

Curriculum Leadership

Our curriculum was researched, curated and developed by Lion Pathways - a collective of London schools that our current Headteacher previously led and helped to develop. Because of this, curriculum leadership is strong - with a focus on developing the subject knowledge of staff to help them impart the exciting knowledge and skills we have chosen for our children to learn.

Our PE and Music curriculum is bespoke to the school but led by subject specialists who deepen our pupils' knowledge and skills through practical application within these subjects. Specialists work alongside the Senior Team to ensure that the same pathway journey is carved from EYFS through to Year 6.

Our Head and Deputy Headteacher lead the curriculum. Any modification, deviation or innovation to the planned curriculum must be agreed in consultation with them. 

COVID-19 and the curriculum

Undoubtedly COVID-19 has impacted the learning of all pupils at St. Mary's. Many children (particularly our youngest and most disadvantaged) have regressed from their previous starting points. Gaps in learning now exist. The Headteacher and Governing Body have carefully considered the approach to mitigating these deficits, and the following plan of action has been in place since Spring 2022:

A curriculum for EVERY child - Supporting SEND & EAL

Experiential Learning - Trips and Visits & Cultural Capital

From September 2022, every child at St. Mary's will experience trips and visits that will bring alive the curriculum being studied. It is only through this experiential learning that pupils will embed their understanding of concepts, ideas and events. 

This is an ambitious trips and visits schedule, but one we know will support our children on their journey to know more, remember more and achieve more!