Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
Our aim at St Martin’s is to provide an outstanding education that equips children to become life-long learners, reach their full potential and live life in all its fullness. We promote a love of learning through an engaging and inclusive curriculum which is designed to be broad, balanced and relevant with enriching experiences.
At St Martin’s, we believe a rich web of knowledge is what provides the capacity for pupils to learn even more and develop their understanding. Knowledge is split into two types: substantive and disciplinary. These are intertwined; therefore, our curriculum provides learners with a harmonious balance of both.
Substantive Knowledge: This refers to specific facts to be learned, such as, for example, the names of the countries in the United Kingdom (Geography), or in History key facts about an historic event such as World War 1. In our curriculum pages, examples are provided of the substantive knowledge that pupils need to know and remember at each stage in their learning and in each subject. Substantive knowledge refers to knowing ‘what’ specific facts need to be remembered.
Disciplinary Knowledge: Where substantive knowledge is about ‘what’ facts, disciplinary knowledge is about knowing ‘how’. For example, in music it can be known that a minim is the equivalent of 2 beats, a quaver a half beat and a semi-breve four beats (substantive facts), but disciplinary knowledge helps this information to be used to clap a rhythm accurately having read it on a musical stave. Sometimes people refer to disciplinary knowledge as skills.
We expect learning to have context, with rich learning opportunities that link and build upon previous learning to enable children to develop transferable knowledge and skills which will be remembered. Our curriculum is designed to ensure progression and coverage of the National Curriculum in all areas. Detailed curriculum mapping and progression of skills for each subject ensure that the curriculum is coherently planned throughout the key stages so that skills and knowledge are built upon across the year groups. Our intention is for our curriculum to prepare our children well for the next stage of their learning and inspire them to find out more about the world and local area around them.
Our curriculum provides children with memorable experiences, in addition to diverse and rich opportunities from which they can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. High quality visits and visitors to the school, and a wide range of real-world experiences, enhance the curriculum and provide opportunities for raising aspirations and broadening horizons.
WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR CHILDREN
- To develop awe and wonder and a life-long love of learning
- To be curious, motivated and excited about coming to school
- To adopt fundamental British Values and be responsible citizens with strong moral standards and able to contribute to society
- To be brave: to try new things and to challenge themselves
- To collaborate: to learn with and from others
- To explore and show curiosity by talking about their learning and to know and remember more
- To be active in their learning by being resilient, resourceful and reflecting upon their learning
- To be creative and think critically, testing ideas and making their own decisions
- To see that making mistakes and taking risks are good things and fundamental to the learning process
- For learning to stick, so that their knowledge can build upon and connect with previous knowledge
We pride ourselves at St Martin’s in providing a safe and inclusive environment where each individual child is nurtured by all our staff. Our curriculum aims to foster, develop and enhance the lives of our learners through positive relationships and is underpinned by our learning behaviours.
We recognise the importance of making learning an active process where children are engaged and focused in their enquiry. Our learning flowers in every classroom promote the desired learning behaviours and our focus on developing a growth mindset encourages all learners to take risks as they embark on learning challenges.
We encourage parents/carers to be involved as much as possible with their children’s learning; there are regular opportunities for engagement with the school through parent- teacher meetings, parental workshops and numerous school events.
When our children leave St Martin’s, they will be well rounded individuals, ready for the next chapter of their education. They will have aspirations for the future and know that these can be realised with hard work and determination. They will leave with fond memories and proud achievements together with the knowledge and skills needed to be life-long learners.