Curriculum
MISSION STATEMENT
Our Mission Statement starts with Christ. By discovering Christ we are given the responsibility by God to give light to everyone in the world. Education is hope, it is power and it is light. We at St Maria Goretti stand together in hope, light and power ‘Achieving together in Love and Faith’.
INTENT
Our curriculum at St Maria Goretti Catholic Academy is centered around the needs of our pupils, families and local community. Christ is at the core of all we do. We expect learning to be meaningful and purposeful in order to prepare our children for the wider world of work. Our curriculum encompasses not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum but goes beyond the experiences inside of the classroom to ensure children are exposed to a rich variety of opportunities. We have drawn on our staff’s expertise and researched pedagogy that will engage our children and ensure the experiences they have are purposeful. We worked together with all staff: subject leaders, teachers, educational associates, supervisors, cleaners, governors, the MAC community and the parents and carers of our children. We understand that it takes all stake holders to ensure value and commitment to education. We expect that this will create life -long learners and children who can apply, discover, explore, focus, plan and decide for the exciting adventure of the world of work.
We as a Catholic learning community, strive to ‘Achieve Together in Love and Faith’ where Christ is at the centre of our mission. We pride ourselves on the ‘family’ atmosphere and culture of our school. This culture is firmly embedded, enabling children of
all faiths, abilities and personalities to thrive and succeed.
Each year our academy stake holders work together in partnership to agree the key priorities for our school. This year our children have re designed our curriculum drivers and supported us in a review of our curriculum. Our parents have also been working hard on their interpretation of the key priorities. Together in partnership with our academy committee, directors and the Executive Principal Director, we will continue to review progress towards our key priorities.
IMPLEMENTATION
The school council worked together to come up with the Key Drivers that truly ‘drive’ the curriculum at our school. They devised the drivers and the key priorities for our school to support us in a review of our curriculum.
The curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 and other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the children in our school. Opportunities for pupil voice are planned for at the beginning of each new topic and this information is used to instruct the learning for each topic to ensure relevance.
The curriculum provides children with memorable experiences and opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of applicable and transferable skills.
The children’s own community, its heritage and relevance to the community we serve are frequently used as a starting point for engaging interest. St Maria Goretti recently became a Forest School, to enrich children’s learning experiences and give children chances to engage in all aspects of the curriculum in a different setting. The outdoor environment and the local community are considered an opportunity for active learning for all our children. The school grounds have been developed so they can enrich different curriculum areas.
At St Maria Goretti we made full use of the expertise of our staff. For example, we have an author, artist and outdoor learning mentors on our body of staff. We have SEND specialists, language experts, a trained social worker as a family support worker and we have an MFL specialist to name just a few! Throughout their time at our school, children work with specialist PE coaches to develop their physical skills in gymnastics, yoga, dance, hockey, football swimming etc. We ensure that a varied timetable for extra-curricular activities is offered to children, with clubs that extend and support the core curriculum.
Subject leaders play a vital role in the success of the curriculum by leading a regular programme of monitoring and review, to decide on and apply strategies to improve further. Our subject leaders are given regular training both internally and externally to keep developing their own subject knowledge, skills and understanding and so that they can encourage curriculum development and their colleagues at the school.
IMPACT
The desire to discover and explore across the school provides a strong foundation for opportunities for children to develop as a whole both indoors and out. We have worked to ensure that all members of staff are experts in their field therefore providing targeted, proven interventions and support to our children. These ensure positive outcomes for children to warrant secure career opportunities and pathways for their future.
We have planned our curriculum so that it promotes engagement and enjoyment. Children feel safe to try new things and to share their learning with others. Through our strong Catholic faith, Jigsaw PSCHE scheme and Forest school we ensure that above all the curriculum promotes: high aspirations, confidence, social skills and good behaviour.
School Development plan
