Curriculum

Curriculum Policy

At St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, our curriculum is carefully designed to meet and exceed the requirements of the National Curriculum while being fully tailored to the needs of our diverse and expanding community. We adopt a blended approach, utilising both self-designed curriculum elements and established schemes. This ensures full compliance with statutory requirements and allows us to provide a curriculum that is both adaptive and responsive to our pupils’ unique context.

Our curriculum rationale is grounded in the principles of retrieval, progression, practicality, demonstration and sticky learning to ensure that children build knowledge and skills logically and coherently from Reception through to Year 6. We have structured learning sequences that enable children to revisit and consolidate prior learning, embedding knowledge deeply to improve long-term retention. This approach is particularly vital given our high mobility rates and the varied starting points of our children, including those from the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities and those with SEND.

The curriculum is broad and balanced, providing a rich variety of tasks and activities that stimulate curiosity and creativity, fostering enjoyment and engagement. We emphasise cross-curricular links to make learning meaningful and relevant, connecting subjects through thematic and real-world contexts. This is enhanced by strong links to our local community, including visits, partnerships with local businesses, and input from community leaders, which enriches learning and helps children understand their place in the wider world.

The schemes of work we have chosen include inspirational artists, historical characters and designers who have links to our local community and who are culturally diverse and promote equality.

Our curriculum is aspirational, aiming to raise attainment and close gaps in achievement by challenging all children to reach their full potential. It is designed to nurture resilience, critical thinking, and a love of learning, aligned with our school improvement priorities of achievement, behaviour and attitudes, inclusion, and personal development. The curriculum supports all children, including those with SEND and those eligible for pupil premium, ensuring equitable access to high-quality learning experiences.

Whole School Aims

Our curriculum is intrinsically linked to St Andrew’s vision:

“Shine like stars in the dark world.”

Philippians 2:15.

We aim to nurture every child as a unique individual, encouraging them to develop their own “twinkle” through high aspirations, respect, achievement, and fun. The curriculum embodies our core values of trust, compassion, friendship, and forgiveness, which are woven throughout all learning experiences and school life.

By providing a curriculum that is broad, balanced, and inclusive, we help children to develop their character and conduct, enabling them to shine as lights in a challenging world. Our curriculum supports children to become confident, responsible, and caring members of society, living out the school’s motto in both their academic and personal development.

Subject Vision

We teach all subjects with the intent to provide children with a comprehensive knowledge base and a wide range of skills that prepare them for future learning and life beyond primary school. Our curriculum intent is to:

• Develop deep subject knowledge and understanding through clear progression and sequencing.
• Encourage curiosity and creativity through engaging, stimulating lessons that incorporate various learning styles and activities.
• Foster resilience and independence by providing appropriately challenging tasks that build confidence.
• Ensure inclusivity by adapting teaching to meet the needs of all children, including those with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Promote cross-curricular learning to help children make connections across subjects and apply their knowledge in real-world contexts.

This vision aligns closely with our improvement priorities of curriculum development, achievement, inclusion, and personal development. We are committed to continuous review and refinement of our curriculum to ensure it remains relevant, challenging, and effective for all learners.

Communication with Stakeholders

To ensure successful implementation and shared understanding of our curriculum rationale, we will communicate clearly and regularly with all stakeholders:

• Parents and Carers - Through parent workshops, our school website and class dojo we will explain the curriculum intent, progression, and how they can support learning at home. We will highlight cross-curricular links and community engagement opportunities.
• Staff - Regular professional development sessions and collaborative planning meetings will ensure all staff understand the curriculum rationale, progression, and assessment strategies, particularly focusing on areas identified for improvement such as phonics and subject sequencing.
• Governors - Detailed curriculum reports and presentations will keep governors informed and enable them to effectively support and challenge school leaders.
• Pupils - Curriculum intent and values will be communicated in age-appropriate ways through assemblies and classroom discussions to foster ownership and pride in their learning journey.

This communication strategy takes into account the school’s context, including the need to support families from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with English as an additional language, ensuring accessibility and engagement.

Our curriculum rationale ensures that St Andrew’s provides an outstanding education that is well planned, inclusive, aspirational, and rooted in the school’s vision and values.

All maintained schools are required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all children which:

• Promotes their spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development.
• Prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.
• Teaches the National Curriculum and Religious Education through approaches that promote excellence and enjoyment.

Recently schools have been increasingly encouraged to be creative in how they build their own unique and distinctive curriculum within these guidelines. At St Andrew’s CE Primary School, our timetable is not etched in stone but shows flexibility and dynamism, responding to the needs of individuals within a variety of teaching approaches. It also reflects the best use of our resources, both physical and human.

Our curriculum also takes into account our unique community, its evolution, traditions and heritage, whilst balancing this with the diverse multi-cultural world in which we live, with its ever-changing technological wizardry.

We also recognise that learning opportunities are not limited to the confines of the timetabled day. Our wide range of extra-curricular activities ensures that such opportunities are not lost. We are convinced that this philosophy best meets the needs, talents and aspirations of the children in our school. Our curriculum may be open to change but always stays deeply rooted within the ‘Core Values’ of the school.

The precise details of our curriculum subject plans can be seen in school and are regularly reviewed by staff and governors to ensure that National Curriculum and LEA Guidance and Strategies are embedded within our practice. This is an essential piece of business to maintain progression, continuity and the highest quality of teaching and learning we can offer, where the child is at the centre of our thoughts.

The children are taught each of the Core Subjects (English, Maths & Science) RE and the Foundation Subjects (History, Geography, Computing, Art, Design Technology, Music and PE) in addition to Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) and Spanish in KS2.

Our long term plans reflect the DCSF recommended percentages of time for each of these areas, ensuring that cross curricular links are made where possible to integrate learning and make it meaningful to the children. As an example, within the History topic of World War 2 might come elements of Literacy, Numeracy, Science, Design Technology, ICT, Music and PSHCE. When relevant, day and residential visits are included in the programme to provide first hand learning experiences. On other occasions visiting specialists or speakers are brought in to stimulate learning and make school an exciting, dynamic place to be.

The development of Literacy and Numeracy underpins much of what we do in school. The ‘National Frameworks’ for the development of these key areas are prominent features of all schools. We hope parents will take advantage of meetings and workshops to gain a greater insight into these key areas and how they can help their child in their development.

Religious Education

There is a long-established bond between the School and Immanuel Church in Oswaldtwistle. Visiting speakers take our worship on a regular basis. Our assemblies, on planned themes, offer a rich and varied diet of collective worship and reflective thought. Children are also taught about other world religions to help them understand different communities, draw comparisons and come to terms with the diverse world in which they live.

Parents have the right to withdraw their children from RE and worship but we would urge them to allow their children to take part. If you are uncertain about your child’s involvement in RE or worship please speak to the Headteacher.

Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE)

The school places great importance on the development of each pupil through pastoral care and through a structured programme of study into personal relationships which includes many aspects of personal growth.  PSHCE enables our children to become healthy, independent and responsible members of society. It aims to help them understand how they are developing personally and socially, and tackles many of the moral, social and cultural issues that are part of growing up. We provide our children with opportunities for them to learn about rights and responsibilities and appreciate what it means to be a member of a diverse society. Our children are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. This is our learning star to remind children how they can remember what they are learning.

Updated October 2025