Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact

Curriculum Intent

At the Rosary Catholic Primary School, we have developed an ambitious, relevant and contemporary curriculum that is built upon the principles of aspiration for all, a firm belief in the teachings of Christ and a desire for all pupils to fulfil their God-given potential.

Our intent is for our pupils to grow as people of compassion, empathy, respect and kindness; to aspire, to believe and to achieve.

Our curriculum celebrates our multi-cultural community and is customised to meet the local needs of our children so that they gain a good understanding of who they are and where they come from. We use our locality wherever appropriate for context.

We have developed a skills and knowledge-rich curriculum that includes broad cultural capital and that brings depth to our children’s learning journey, giving them the best possible life opportunities.

Our curriculum is also founded on rich language and vocabulary acquisition, particularly 84% of our children speak English as an Additional Language.

We believe that reading is a crucial skill that widens the range of work and life opportunities a person can access. It is therefore our intent that our children become life-long readers. We have a focus on early reading as well as ensuring that our children access a range of quality texts during their time with us, both as part of their curriculum and independently.

We believe that the development of vocabulary is also key in widening life opportunity for our pupils. This is why we ensure that a focus on the richness of language is prioritised from the Early Years through to Year 6 and is at the heart of all learning.

By the time our children leave The Rosary, we intend that they will:

develop into people of compassion, empathy, respect and kindness, possessing a Christ-like response to all life’s situations
develop a life-long love of learning
make a successful transition to secondary education level

have a wide range of well developed vocabulary
be confident readers with a life-long love of learning
be resilient, independent and self-motivated
have a sense of curiosity and enjoyment
understand what it is to be a global citizen of the twenty first century
have experience of cultural capital in a variety of different forms

Implementation

We use the National Curriculum to deliver our curriculum. Our pedagogy (practical approach to teaching and learning) is built on consistent principles.

In implementing our curriculum, we ensure the following:

That links are made to previous learning, encouraging our children to wonder, to ponder, to question, to reason, and to clearly articulate their opinions
independent learning: we use Working Walls in every classroom that allow our children to independently follow processes (e.g. reminding themselves of the correct way in which to work out a calculation in maths); to refer to key vocabulary, to make links with previous learning, and to have clarity about the skills they are learning in a particular topic. These working Walls are consistent in their design throughout the school.
quality questioning techniques in lessons: a variety of open and closed questioning is used by our staff but we believe that the ‘second question’ encourages depth of thought and the development of reasoning and opinion
the opportunity for a wide range of learning experiences that bring depth to new skills and knowledge. This includes termly off-site trips, visiting speakers and in-school experience days that make our children’s learning a ‘lived’ experience. Due to our close proximity to London, we travel by public transport in the majority of cases. This teaches our children how to travel around London and the etiquette required on public transport as community citizens
that our pupils have the opportunity to work both independently and collaboratively across the curriculum
lessons for each subject that carefully plan for progression and review
the use of bespoke Learn, Recall, Remember sheets (Sticky Knowledge) to help pupils to embed factual learning that assists with long term memory.

We believe in ‘Quality First’ teaching for all children as we believe that quality teaching in the classroom allows pupils of all abilities to learn from each other as well as from the adults. We make robust use of assessment (which ensures that we swiftly address any identified gaps in learning at the earliest opportunity) and we have a rigorous interventions policy to address these gaps in learning

Subject leaders have a clear understanding of the implementation, knowledge progression and sequencing of concepts across their subject area. They are an integral part of the curriculum design for their subject area and monitor the impact of this throughout the year.

They have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in curriculum design and delivery. They have the knowledge, expertise and practical skills to carry out this role to the best of their ability, closely supported by the Senior Leadership Team. Subject Leaders lead staff meetings to share their expertise in order to develop the confidence of all teachers.

Impact

Our children leave us well prepared for the next stage of their learning journey in Year 7. Assessment is used daily in the form of Assessment for Learning. This informs the planning for future lessons and identifies where further individual or group support is needed.

We ensure this by having a robust system of formative and summative assessment that includes:

In Class Feedback

We understand that feedback in linked to progress and has to be timely. In-class feedback and ‘in the moment’ marking is used as it is immediate, timely and specific.

Corrective Teaching/Formative Assessment

When a pupil has not met the learning question, there is timely support. Teachers adapt their planning for the next lesson to ensure there is time to address any misconceptions. Misconceptions are addressed with an individual, small groups or the whole class (by a teaching assistant or teacher), during or after a lesson, or before the next lesson. Misconceptions can also be addressed through in-class self and peer marking, conferencing, verbal feedback or in-class mini plenaries. We also use low risk quizzes’ based on the Learn, Recall, Remember (Sticky Knowledge) facts that are in our children’s books.

Summative Assessment

Target Tracker is a programme used termly to track attainment and progress against core subject specific learning objectives. We currently record assessments in Reading, Writing and Maths. Science and RE are assessed using Double Page spread: children answer a ‘Big Question’ at the end of the topic which is a summation of the skills and knowledge learned.

Assessment in history and geography (foundation subjects) also uses the Big Question model.

Teaching Assistants and Interventions

When we identify a misconception, gap in learning, our Teaching Assistants deliver short, focused, interventions. The interventions are specific to the children’s needs and are provided until the misconceptions are addressed or the gap in learning is reduced.

Same day interventions are also used to pick up on misconceptions from the current day’s teaching and learning.

Moderation

Maths, reading and writing are moderated internally to ensure we make robust judgements, particularly on transfer between key stages. Teachers also participate in external moderation at Local Authority and HCPP (Hounslow Catholic Primary Partnership) level. This facilitates accuracy in judgments, curriculum coverage and where common misconceptions may be occurring.

EYFS is assessed and recorded using the Evidence Me programme. This is used to add written observations and photographs to the learning journeys of each child based on the learning objectives of the EYFS framework.

Partnership

Teachers engage parents through September welcome meetings. termly Parent Consultations and curriculum workshops to ensure an effective partnership.

Formal Assessment Cycle

o KS1/KS2 SATs in May (annual). KS1 SATs will no longer be administered after May 2023.

o Year 1 Phonics in June (annual)

o Year 4 Multiplication Check in June (annual)

o Reading is assessed using the low risk quizzes of Accelerated Reader, Read Write Inc. and Headstart.

School reports

School reports are issued at the end of the school year. All subjects, including RE, are marked as Working towards National Expectations, Meeting National Expectations or Exceeding National Expectations. Targets are provided for the next academic year in mathematics, reading and writing.

How do We Know That Our Curriculum Prepares Our Children for Year 7 and Beyond?

By the end of Year 6, our children:

recognise how the values of the Gospel are central in their everyday lives; they are people of justice, respect and empathy
are enthusiastic, engaged learners who exhibit positive learning behaviours and who are aspirational in outlook
have a strong foundation in reading, writing, arithmetic and reasoning which they apply across the curriculum
see the merit in independent learning but are able to work collaboratively to question, to share ideas and to discuss concepts.
are enthusiastic learners who form and articulate their opinions and who are passionate about truly experiencing their learning, whether on or off-site, whether through experience days or through in-class