Subject Intent

We strive to ensure each child develops a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith, promotes respect for religious and moral values and tolerance of other races and religions, while also meeting their own personal potential. 

Although R.E is taught as a core subject, through the ‘Come and See’ scheme of work set out by the Diocese, our Catholic beliefs and values inspire and unify every aspect of our school life. 

A minimum of 10% of curriculum time is allocated for R.E teaching across all key stages. Fixed timetables are set at the beginning of the academic year and monitored by the Head Teacher and Senior Leadership Team of the school. 

This is achieved through liturgy, collective worship, assemblies, lessons

and roles and responsibilities throughout the school, which deepen our Catholic life and highlight our belief that Christ is at the centre of all that we do. Through R.E our children will learn about their unique place within their home, our school and their parish community. 

Where appropriate, the R.E Curriculum will include visitors who are specialists in their area. These visits will include guest speakers from CAFOD, the local foodbank, specialists in other faiths and other Catholic Charities. The use of a high-quality input from experts and appropriate educational visits will complement the delivery of lessons. 

RE Intent

Reading and Phonics 

Our intent is that the children engage in a rich curriculum which encourages extensive reading. Every child is unique in their learning and to recognise this we work on a continuum for reading which is guided by, but not limited to, the three phases across school. The teaching of phonics is fundamental to the school and there is a clear structure and sequence for the teaching of phonics. 

Our first priority is to help the children to decode and to enable this, in Key Stage 1, the children’s reading books are sound matched until they become fluent decoders. If children have not achieved an expected level of progress in Phonics by the end of Key Stage 1, they will continue intervention phonics sessions in Key Stage 2. Once the children are efficient decoders, we work on fluency and comprehension. 

Phonics is developed using the Sounds-Write Phonics scheme through daily 20-minute sessions, in ability groups. Children are taught blending and segmenting, as well as the sounds and letter names, through literacy-based activities. There is regular monitoring and assessment, using Phonics Tracker so that teaching can be adapted accordingly. To support and develop the children’s progress with phonics, children regularly read aloud at home or school. 

Teachers and teaching assistants keep parents regularly informed about their child’s reading, noting in the organiser whenever they have a new book or hear the child read individually. Parents also note in the organiser when they have heard the child read at home. Children will choose two books a week from the library to apply the phonics skills that they have learnt. Teachers and teaching assistants will monitor the books chosen by children, ensuring that they are choosing a range of appropriate books. Book bands pink to orange are fully decodable, following schemes such as: Rising Stars Rocket Phonics, Oxford Reading Tree Floppy Phonics and Big Cat Phonics. All these books contain a mixture of specially chosen fiction and non- fiction that challenge advanced readers whilst still retaining appropriate and stimulating age-related content. 

When teachers plan reading lessons, the high-quality literature that is shared with the children is chosen carefully to engage children in topics and ensure they are suitability challenged. We believe that active encouragement of reading for pleasure is a core part of every child’s educational entitlement, whatever their background or attainment because we know that extensive reading and exposure to a wide range of texts make a huge contribution to pupils’ educational achievement. 

We actively encourage reading for pleasure, through activities such as regular ERIC (Everyone Reading in Class) sessions, inviting reading areas in the classroom and recommended reads. Also, we have a vibrant library that not only invites in reluctant readers, but provides children with a wide range of texts to choose from. We regularly resource the library based on children’s interests so that there are texts suitable for all readers. 

We believe that reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure-house of wonder and joy for curious young minds. We hold reading for pleasure at the heart of everything we do so pupils develop a real love and thirst for reading a range of genres. Therefore, all of the children have access to a library, which contains a wide and varied mix of different text types, authors, writing styles and interests and is updated regularly as need occurs. 

Reading is taught in Key Stage 2 through regular whole class reading sessions and in Foundation and Key Stage 1 through a mixture of whole class reading sessions and small group guided reading sessions. We explicitly teach children the skills necessary to become a fluent reader as well as actively encouraging children to understand the deeper meaning of texts. We do this via VIPERS lessons where pupils are taught how to infer, predict, explain, summarise and retrieve information from a range of texts as well as focus on the use of vocabulary. This allows children to develop their comprehension skills to a high level. 

Writing 

Our intent is to promote high standards of literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the written and spoken word. 

To develop the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding, as set out in the National Curriculum, we have undertaken a multifaceted approach to writing, whereby all subject areas include the opportunities for pupils to express their thoughts in a range of written styles. It is vital that our children are exposed to a range of texts, from across different genres and subject areas, to embed ambitious vocabulary choices and secure expectations of writing across the curriculum. This exposure to a variety of curricular areas encourages a range of writers and writing styles, allowing children to be absorbed within their learning and retelling. 

Writing is a crucial skill that is embedded across all year groups; consolidation of fine motor skills and phonic strategies are implemented in lower school and working towards securing confidence with independent pieces is of priority in Key Stage 2. 

We are intent on our students leaving our academy with a certainty that they are able to communicate effectively in writing – and to enjoy being able to express themselves in this way. 

Our curriculum is designed so that knowledge and skills are interleaved, for example in Year 2 children are taught the underpinning structure and form of poetry (knowledge) then proceed to apply these skills in their own poetry. Writing is taught using inspirational and thought- provoking novels, non-fiction, poetry and film. Over the course of a year pupils should have studied a wide and varied range of text types. 

Pupils in Key Stages 1 and Key Stage 2 follow ‘The Writing Cycle.’ This includes direct teaching, modelling, shared and guided writing to form a solid foundation for the pupil’s independent writing. Pupils should have time to edit and improve their writing and to discuss feedback and targets with their teachers. 

English Intent

The key intent of our mathematics curriculum is that all children will become fluent in the key components of mathematics, and, from this, they are able to reason mathematically and apply their mathematics to a range of problems. We aim to include these skills and key knowledge in our mathematics lessons and ensure that children have mastered key concepts. 

We are committed to ensure that children have a secure knowledge and understanding of key mathematical facts which can be used in their lives through a range of different contexts. Most importantly, we want all children to enjoy mathematics lessons and appreciate its value in the wider world. 

Through a consistent approach of planning, teaching, learning and challenge, each child at our school will be successful in mathematics. 

We use the White Rose Mathematics sequence of learning in order to successfully fulfill the intent of our mathematics Curriculum. The fundamental idea behind our curriculum design is to support pupils to be able to perform simpler tasks so they can then move on to perform more complex tasks.

For example, in order to add, subtract, multiply or divide numbers, children must first understand the value of the numbers they are performing these operations on. As a result, each year group will complete a sequence of ‘blocks’ that progressively build on one another. Within each of these blocks we then have ‘small steps’ which are again sequenced in order of difficulty and dependency. Each step builds carefully from the previous step, building on pupils’ prior knowledge to develop new skills, with nothing left out. 

Our curriculum is designed so that knowledge and skills are interleaved. For example, children in Year 3 will study addition and subtraction in the Autumn Term, but the knowledge and skills gained from this block will be revisited and applied in future blocks such as multiplication and division, money, length and perimeter, mass and capacity. Children in Year 3 will then build on these skills even further in Year 4. This helps pupils to remember and to make connections between different parts of the curriculum. 

Within each small step, the key components of learning mathematics (fluency, problem solving and reasoning) 

are included. These key components are, as much as possible, integrated into classroom practice. Teachers can use a range of resources to meet the aims of the White Rose sequence of learning such as WR small steps document; Classroom Secrets resources; NRICH problems; Deepening Understanding resources; and textbooks, such as Target Maths and CPG. 

To ensure a consistent and progressive approach towards teaching and learning, we also follow a bespoke calculations policy. This policy is designed with the principles of White Rose and teaching for mastery in mind. The policy is structured so that teaching staff can clearly see how the concrete, pictorial and abstract (CPA) approach builds and progresses from method to method and from year group to year group. This ensures that teachers can plan effectively to ensure that pupils are building on prior knowledge and skills. Through following the White Rose blocks/small steps and a strong emphasis on consistency of methods, representation and structures in our calculation policy, each and every pupil is able to work towards mastery of all concepts taught. 

Maths Intent

Our science curriculum enables our children to have the ability to think independently and raise questions through the study of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The ability to build on their natural curiosity for the world around them; enabling them to respect other living organisms and the world in which they live. 

Our children develop their confidence and competence in the full range of practical skills, taking the initiative in, for example, planning and carrying out scientific investigations. At the end of their programme of study we aim that they develop excellent scientific knowledge and understanding which is demonstrated in written and verbal explanations, solving challenging problems and reporting scientific findings. 

Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and taught through the scheme Science Bug, which has been adapted for their needs. Conceptual knowledge is taught through small steps across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and the ability to develop potential scientific links with other areas of the curriculum. 

Science Intent

Our intent is to provide children with a high-quality history education, gaining a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our aim is to inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past; to ask questions, thinking critically to develop their own perspective and judgement. Through an understanding of the complexity of people’s lives, pupils should note the effect on relationships, their identity and challenges of their time. 

Skills are taught progressively across the school to ensure knowledge, concepts and enquiry develop throughout the pupil’s history education. British History is taught chronologically across Key Stage Two, ensuring pupils gain a sequential understanding. There is a key focus on chronology across all topics, to enable pupils to know when events occurred within the past and in relation to each other to gain perspective. Exposing the pupils to historical vocabulary ensures pupils have a grounded understanding of abstract terms used. Pupils are introduced to a range of historical enquiry skills, allowing them to compare across different time periods. 

History Intent

Geography is essentially about understanding the world we live in. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. 

Our intent, when teaching geography, is to inspire in children a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it. We intend to develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding and knowledge of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. 

Our geography curriculum will enable children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferrable to other curriculum areas. Our intention is that learning through geography will help our children to be more socially and environmentally sensitive, better informed, and more responsible as citizens and employees. 

Geography plays a crucial role in understanding our world. It makes a vital contribution to our knowledge of the rapidly changing environmental and social challenges facing us and how we should tackle them. 

Geography Intent

At the Good Shepherd, PE is taught twice a week. Within these lessons, Key Stage One children will develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. They will learn to engage in physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging
situations. 

Pupils in Key Stage Two are provided with opportunity to continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. During PE lessons they will learn to enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. They will learn to develop an understanding of how to improve in different physical activities and sports and will begin to understand how to evaluate and recognise their own success. A broad range of other after school clubs are regularly available, allowing the children to further explore their passion/interest in sport. In addition to this, lunch time clubs and ‘House competitions’ also take place at lunch times to encourage as many children as we can to get involved in a physical activity. 

PE Intent

The intent of our art and design curriculum is to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to interpret our changing world in a creative and personal way. Pupils will learn about the lives and works of artists, architects and designers throughout history. They will understand how art has been inspired by social history and use fine art techniques to replicate significant works of art. 

Our pupils will be confident working individually and collaboratively, using a wide range of techniques with precision and confidence. They will use a range of media skilfully and safely. Art promotes a strong sense of self-identity in our pupils, personal expression will be central to art teaching. 

Art and Design Intent

Our intent is to provide children with a high-quality design and technology education and to give our pupils the skills and abilities to engage positively with the designed and made world and to harness the benefits of technology. 

Children learn how products (including high quality prototypes) and systems are designed and manufactured, how to be innovative and to make creative use of a variety of resources including digital technologies, to improve the world around them. 

Design and Technology in our school aims to develop children’s skills and knowledge in design, structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. Our curriculum encourages children’s creativity and challenges them to think about important issues whilst allowing children to solve real and relevant problems, in different contexts. Throughout, children will take risks and develop their innovation skills. 

Design And Technology Intent

Our musical intent is to create pupils who are accomplished musicians and have a genuine love of music expressed both in participation and appreciation. The focus on the music of a wide variety of cultures, reflecting the Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic (B.A.M.E) composition of our school. 

We aim to ensure that they are confident, competent and creative in all areas of music, whilst understanding that music can be used to worship and express their love for God. We teach our children how to compose and expose them to a wide range of music from many genres. Our children’s cultural capital is significantly increased by our music curriculum. 

There are three aspects of the computing curriculum: Computer Science (CS), Information Technology (IT) and Digital Literacy (DL). The core of computing is computer science, in which our children are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. 

Building on this knowledge and understanding, children are equipped to use Information Technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Our intent is that children develop their digital literacy in preparation for their place in the digital world and workplace. Furthermore, children develop their skills in using technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. Also, we provide opportunities to enhance learning in all subjects via the use of digital hardware and software. 

Computing Intent

Our Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum equips children with essential skills for life. It ensures that children build on the skills that they started to acquire during the Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS) to develop effective relationships, assume greater personal responsibility and manage personal safety, including online. 

Our PSHE curriculum brings together citizenship with personal wellbeing, whilst promoting fundamental British values and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development of our children. We offer a cohesive, whole-school approach which enables our children to become confident, independent and responsible members of society who see the value of each and every one, develops an appreciation of others and promotes a strong, positive view of themselves. 

We provide children with protective teaching on essential, relevant safeguarding issues, developing the knowledge and confidence of when and how to ask for help, how to assess and manage risk and how to build resilience. We teach children to recognise and discuss their feelings and mental health We help children to embody our School and Gospel Values to instil a sense of belonging and community and to relate to Jesus Christ as an example of inclusivity, love and tolerance. 

PSHE Intent

Working With Parents To Ensure That Your Child Makes Progress

Curriculum Timetable

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6