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Curriculum
In School Life
At St. Wilfrid’s, all of our children will study the 2014 National Curriculum for both core and foundation subjects.
EYFS
In Nursery and Reception, children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Development Matters. It includes the following key areas:
- Communication and Language
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Mathematics
- Literacy
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
- Wider Experiences
These areas underpin the organisation of the learning environment, the activities provided for children and the monitoring of children's progress and development.
KS1 and KS2
In Key Stage One and Key Stage Two, children are taught the standards and skills required in the 2014 National Curriculum for both core (English, Mathematics and Science) and foundation subjects (History, Geography, Computing, Music, Art, Design and Technology, Physical Education, RSE, Religious Education and Modern Foreign Language).
At St. Wilfrid’s we have endeavoured to ensure that all learning is matched to the individual needs of our children. As far as possible a cross-curricular, thematic approach is used to teach the core and foundation subjects. A theme is selected and applied across a year group each term. By adding this dimension to learning we are able to provide opportunities for key skills to develop across the curriculum and to cultivate creative thinking.
We aim for our curriculum to be exciting and to inspire children to nurture a passion for learning, encouraging inquisitiveness and confidence in our pupils.
During the year we have theme weeks, such as Arts Week and Design and Technology Week, which allow children to develop their skills in a more focused approach.
Take a look at our whole school curriculum overview.
Mathematics
At St Wilfrid’s, we strive to provide our children with a high quality and engaging mathematics curriculum. Through our teaching of maths, we aim to engage pupils to reason mathematically and stimulate their curiosity, whilst equipping them with the necessary skills they need for everyday life and life beyond school.
Our teaching and learning has been designed around the White Rose Maths Hub to give our children a consistent and smooth progression of learning in calculations across the school. The White Rose Maths Hub is set out in line with the National Curriculum and is taught across all year groups, from Reception to Year 6, which helps to provide a consistent approach to learning.
White Rose Maths
Curriculum Yearly Overviews (Reception to Year 6)
NCETM Progression Maps-Smaller Steps (Year 1 to Year 6)
3. Multiplication and Division
8. Geometry - Properties of Shape
9. Geometry - Position and Direction
Mastering Number Progression Maps
Calculation Policy
English
Reading is at the heart of our English curriculum at St. Wilfrid’s. From EYFS to Year 6, high-quality core texts are read to our pupils, to widen their range of vocabulary and to inspire their writing.
In KS1 and KS2, a progression of writing genres is followed; the writing genres are linked to the core texts, or a link/model text.
Lesson sequences include:
- Reading the core text and exploring vocabulary
- Grammar, punctuation and spelling objectives that can be applied within the writing genre
- Unpicking the features of high-quality model texts
- Extended writing
- Opportunities to edit, improve and redraft written pieces, working on whole-class, group or individual targets
Across the school, a daily Reading Morning takes place, in which children are exposed to a wide range of texts. Reading Morning incorporates opportunities for one-to-one reading, group guided reading and, in KS2, whole-class reading.
Daily story time in every class further promotes the importance of reading for pleasure. Through our English curriculum, we aim to develop children’s love of literature and to promote high standards of language and literacy, by allowing children to develop a confident command of the spoken and written word.
Early Reading and Phonics
At St. Wilfrid’s Catholic Primary School we believe that being able to read and write are the vital skills that enable us to understand and express ourselves more effectively.
These skills open the door to learning. We passionately believe in helping children to develop not only the technical skills of reading and writing, but also in engendering a love for literature and the different genres of writing.
Sounds-Write
All of our teaching and support staff have been trained in the phonics programme ‘Sounds-Write’. Our teaching of reading and writing within the school is, therefore, based on the Sounds-Write programme. This begins very early on when children join in Reception and continues until a child is a confident and competent reader and speller. Sounds-Write is used around the world and is one of the DfE approved schemes.
The knowledge of sounds and symbols is an important starting point for understanding and using written language and we believe that a strong and consistent approach to the teaching of phonics is vital for our children to begin to access the rest of the curriculum. This is, however, used in conjunction with many other strategies to help children to begin to read and write.
In KS1, children read independently at least three times per week. They read and re-read their Dandelion or Sounds-write decodable reader. Decodable readers are used when learning to read and only contain the phonetic code that the children have been exposed to. This means that the children are able to read most of the words by applying their phonics. This success in reading builds confidence and helps instil a love of reading. It also helps to consolidate the skills and sounds learnt from the Sounds-Write phonics sessions and supports the development of good reading strategies. This in turn helps to build reading fluency. Decodable readers will be given to the children throughout their time in EYFS, year 1 and for most of year 2 until the child has been exposed to most of the phonetic code.
Science
At St Wilfrid’s, the teaching of science aims to stimulate a child’s curiosity in finding out why
things happen in the way they do. We teach various methods of enquiry and investigation to stimulate creative thought processes using a variety of techniques. This could include individual fair testing, whole class observations or partner comparisons. Children will always have the opportunity to analyse and evaluate their results.
The progressive science curriculum that we have in place, ensures that children can:
- Ask and answer scientific questions;
- Plan and carry out scientific investigations, using equipment correctly;
- Know and understand the life processes of living things;
- Know and understand the physical process of materials, electricity, light, sound and forces;
- Know about the nature of the solar system, including Earth;
- Evaluate evidence and present their conclusions clearly.
Computing
At St Wilfrid’s Primary School, we recognise that pupils are living in a rapidly changing world, in which computing is playing an ever-increasing role. We aim, therefore, to equip children with the skills to adapt to new technology and to give them confidence to use ICT and computing skills to further their learning and assist them in everyday life.
Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world. Our curriculum has been designed to incorporate uses of technology such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Google Suite.
DT
Each term in St Wilfrid’s we have a DT Project carousel, where all children in the school will take part in fun, exciting projects covering the objectives in the DT curriculum. From EYFS to Year 6, children will cover structures, textiles, mechanisms, cooking, nutrition and electrical systems.
Children will learn the vital skills to become a designer. They will have a chance to plan, test out and evaluate their designs, as well as try to overcome any problems they may encounter. We aim to inspire children for their future careers through trips, visitors and through our stimulating projects.
PE
St Wilfrid's School is committed PE by fulfilling the following aims:
- To provide a good learning environment for physical activity; to ensure that changing facilities have sufficient space, and are appropriate for the children
- To challenge gender stereotypical beliefs and attitudes and promote positive images of boy/men and girls/women enjoying activity at all levels of achievement; (not just elite performer)
- To ensure that all physical activity is enjoyable and makes a positive contribution to the pupils’ self-confidence and self-esteem;
- To provide all pupils with a varied and positive experience of physicaleducation/activity;
- To cater for the physical needs of all pupils (whatever their age and stage);
- To ensure lunch times are productive periods where activity is encouraged and purposeful;
- To promote an understanding of the benefits of an active lifestyle through the school’s culture which embraces all members of the school community;
- To work in partnership with other agencies to promote activity patterns which are supported by extra-curricular and community activity provision.
Humanities
At St. Wilfrid's Primary School, History and Geography are taught through Humanities
lessons. History and Geography are essential parts of the National Curriculum and provide a way of exploring, appreciating and understanding the world in which we live.
In History, we aim to inspire curiosity and foster pupils’ enthusiasm to know more about the past. Children will develop a chronological framework for their knowledge about significant events and people. Our younger children will learn about important events both within their living memory and beyond. Children also learn about the lives of significant individuals from the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.
In Geography, pupils develop their knowledge and understanding about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments. We study human and physical geography and the children learn about the United Kingdom and their locality. As pupils progress, they will extend their knowledge beyond the UK. This includes the location and characteristics of a range of the world's most significant human and physical features.
Art
Learning through and about the art enriches the experience of being at school as well as preparing our children for life after St Wilfrid’s. Art encourages self-expression and creativity and can build confidence as well as a sense of individual identity. We educate our children in all aspects of art, including art history, as well as the practical skills of creative expression such as painting, drawing, sculpturing, photography, pottery and textiles. 
Music
To teach music at St Wilfrids we use the charanga teaching and learning platform. This platform allows students to build on prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for music whilst embedding this knowledge into their long-term memory. We also have a weekly hymn practise where we join together and sing hymns linked to the liturgical year and children’s choices. We aim to allow students to appreciate music through experience, specifically through listening, performance, and often composition. Our aim is to give all students a deep appreciation and understanding of how music is created and performed.
MFL
St Wilfrid's Catholic ethos underpins our curriculum in Modern Foreign Languages. We believe that every person is made in the image of God, and we want all our pupils to foster the richness of different cultures, and to appreciate and embrace the diversity in our world. We want to ignite their sense of curiosity in the languages we teach, the culture they come from and the people who speak these languages. Language learning is a gift, but is also a complex skill. We know our children will rise to the challenge and understand the power that words can have.
RE
Come and See
At St Wilfrid’s RC Primary school we follow the Catholic Primary Religious Education programme "Come and See" for all children.
This programme is based on the theological foundations of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Catechism and the revised RE Curriculum Directory and includes the Catholic attainment levels.
The structure of the programme for each topic is; Explore, Reveal and Respond. We have a Catholic Life of the School governors committee, which meets termly. St Wilfrid’s offers Rainbows bereavement support.
Our parish church is Our Lady and St Wilfrid’s RC church, 5 minutes walk from our school. Our Parish Priest is Fr P Quinn. We visit the church throughout the year for our class liturgies and various other celebrations. When this is not possible we join the parish virtually on the final Friday of each month.
