Whole School Curriculum Intent

Our curriculum is formed from the statutory Framework for the EYFS and the National Curriculum. The schemes of work are knowledge-based but we have placed skills at the heart of each subject. The curriculum is enhanced by community projects and links and by trips and visits. These help our pupils to gain a better understanding of where they live and to widen their experience of the North-West region. The curriculum is also enhanced by assemblies, the themes for which reflect the values we hold as a C.E. primary school. We also hold awards for being an Eco School and a healthy school.  

We value the importance of each subject equally. We have gone further than the requirements of the National Curriculum to build schemes of work that are ambitious and give our pupils a world perspective. The needs of our pupils mean that we have ensured reading, language and vocabulary development are key features of each subject. The subjects have been designed and planned to give pupils the knowledge and skills that they need for later life, such as: questioning, problem solving, freethinking, resilience, confidence, curiosity and presentation skills. These skills will enable our pupils to become lifelong independent learners. In each subject, we have planned end points for pupils to attain by the end of the year. The knowledge and skills have been carefully sequenced to enable our pupils to know more and to remember more therefore there is a degree of repetition to help pupils to retain knowledge and skills. 

The subjects have been planned to develop pupils’ personal development such as their social skills, empathy, compassion, respect and understanding and application of the British Values. The schemes of work embed the personal development expectations within the subjects. Through the subject schemes, we develop pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural understanding.

Equality and diversity is important to us at St Margaret’s. The curriculum has been designed to give pupils an understanding of different groups in modern society, such as: different genders including gender identity, disability, culture, faith, ethnicity, sexuality and different ages. 

The subject schemes of work have been designed and planned to develop pupils’ practical, hands on skills and to provide learning experiences they would not normally be able to access. These enhance and extend the curriculum. 

We have a number of international new arrivals at St Margaret’s. These pupils will, as much as possible, follow the same curriculum as others, however for the first few months transitioning into school their curriculum will be focused more heavily on reading, writing and language acquisition. The pupils who are disadvantaged and who have special needs and/or disabilities cover the same subjects as all pupils. Some pupils, who have specific needs or physical needs, will be withdrawn occasionally from lessons for specific exercises or interventions. Where a pupil has severe needs, they will have a bespoke curriculum matched to their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Click HERE for our school's accessibility plan. Click HERE to access our SEND page.

Our Curriculum: Our Pupils' Perspective

"The curriculum is more visual, more creative and practical."

"I loved learning about the physical geography of Russia - my favourite lesson was where we used playdough to create a map of Russia, adding height to our models to show the Ural mountains."

"Combining the technical things about art with the ability to be creative has made me appreciate art and design more as a subject."

"History teaches us about the past and prepares us for the future – we can learn from what has happened before."

"School is just fun because you get to learn new stuff everyday."

"Having more practical lessons is important to get information stuck in our minds."

"Separate subjects like history, D/T makes learning clearer."

"P4C is a great subject. You are able to share your opinion on the stimulus. It is also a great way to express your imagination. It is also a good way to use your 4C's: critical, creative, collaborative and caring."

Our Curriculum: From The Perspective Of Our Parents/Carers

"The children are learning a wide range of skills across all subjects. It is lovely to see them learning other skills apart from English and maths."

"I like the curriculum as it involves a lot of hands on and children are learning much better."

"The curriculum has a lot of in-depth learning, more ways of parents getting involved, more trips relating to culture and history related trips."

"My children are thoroughly enjoying learning in-depth new topics."

"We totally love P4C and the Shang Dynasty was a great topic too."

"I am very impressed with the curriculum – there is so much variety. It’s great listening to the children talk about their learning too."

"It is really good to see the variety of subjects being offered. The children seem to enjoy the variety of these subjects."

"The school has nourished, built confidence, changed and re-modeled my child to be confident in her achievements and build relationships with her teachers and friends. Hands up to the amazing staff at St Margaret’s who I regard with all appreciation."

"The curriculum is very good. My son is much better than before in computing."