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Our Curriculum

We at Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School provide our pupils with a rich, broad and balanced curriculum which fully meets the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for England and the requirement to teach Religious Education in a Catholic school. 
Education is not about knowing things or taking lessons but about being able to use three lingos: those of the head, the heart, and the hands... learning so that you can think about what you feel and do, can feel what you think and do, and can do what you feel and think. Unity within a person." Pope Francis
Education is not about knowing things or taking lessons but about being able to use three lingos: those of the head, the heart, and the hands… learning so that you can think about what you feel and do, can feel what you think and do, and can do what you feel and think. Unity within a person.” Pope Francis


Intent: For our children to fulfil their unique human potential, follow the Gospel values by loving, learning and reaching out to all. 

Implementation: At Our Lady’s, our curriculum is designed to fulfil the aims of our mission statement. As a Catholic Primary School, the gospel values are interwoven all aspects of school life. We believe that our individual pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is at the heart of their overall education and their ability to learn and achieve. We aim to provide all pupils with positive, rewarding experiences through a planned and coherent curriculum that is founded upon our Christian values. We follow the ‘Come and See’ scheme for RE and ‘Journey in Love’ for RSE alongside our PSHE lessons. 

Intent: At Our Lady’s our curriculum is designed to be rich, ambitious and challenging ; one that is broad, balanced and relevant, fostering curiosity, creativity and a life-long love of learning.  

Implementation: We follow the aims of the national curriculum; 

The national curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge they need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said, and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement. The national curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop exciting and stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum. 

Our curriculum has been specifically tailored to meet the needs and interests of our children, our community and context, using a both discrete and cross curricular approaches, were appropriate. Our curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced to allow the development and progression of skills and the acquisition of ‘sticky’ knowledge in meaningful and relevant contexts. Subject leader’s long term progression documents detail the development of knowledge and skills in each subject area. 

Intent: For our children to be aspirational and prepare our children well for each stage of education, employment or training and enable them, as educated citizens, to contribute to creating a better world.  

Implementation: We strive to ensure our children have access to rich and varied life experiences in which they will have the motivation and confidence to go out into the wider world and fulfil their potential. We challenge and overcome low aspirations and poverty of ambition through Careers Fairs, Enterprise days and links with our wider community, for example visiting local workplaces such as the Fire Station. Our pupils are given responsibility for promoting our curriculum as members of the School Council, Reading Ambassadors, Lunchtime Buddies, Play Leaders and Digital Leaders. There is a strong emphasis on using the curriculum to develop behaviours that would serve pupils well as they progress to the next stage of their learning and the world of work. Furthermore, we also endeavour to develop our children’s attitudes and mind sets towards the challenges they face within their learning, for example using Class Dojo ‘Power of Yet’ resources. We encourage them to contribute to creating a better world through our Science and Geography curriculum and by taking part in environmental projects such as Fairtrade Fortnight, Earth Day and CAFOD’s Go Green campaign.  

Intent: For our children to have a good understanding of their heritage, have open hearts and minds to the diversity in their immediate community and the wider world beyond. 

Implementation: Our curriculum reflects the rich historical and geographical nature that Prescot and the wider Merseyside area holds. Children are encouraged to consider the role they play and how they can make positive contributions to the local and wider community, for example through supporting local Food Banks and charities that work further afield such as Mary’s Meals. Our Curriculum is enriched by educational visits both locally and further afield, including day visits and residential trips, welcoming visitors from all walks of life and maintaining close links with our two Parish Churches and parishioners. Rich cultural experiences, such as the School’s Shakespeare Festival make learning ‘come alive’ for our children. Our Key Stage Two pupils study French as a discrete subject and we celebrate European Languages Day and French Day as a whole school. 

Intent: For our children to be healthy in body and in mind. To give children, who would otherwise not, the opportunity to participate in a range of sports and healthy activities. 

 Implementation: We have a full, rich and varied sports curriculum led by our Sports Practitioner which is enhanced by extra-curricular clubs and inter-school competitions.  We encourage all children to learn, through sport, how to win graciously, lose with courage and never give up. Through links with Knowsley Sport, our SEN children attend regular sports activities for example Boccia, Curling and Kimball competitions. We include wellbeing and PSHE opportunities in our curriculum for all children, for example the whole school take part in weekly Well Being Singing and Dancing Sessions. We weave opportunities to teach our children how to keep themselves safe through our whole curriculum. Pupils are taught to seek out support and given opportunities to share in circle time and PSHE sessions. Our pupils take part in mindfulness, yoga and meditation sessions to increase pupil wellbeing. Opportunities throughout the whole curriculum are used to ensure the children develop a healthy image of themselves as individuals and to recognise the unique beauty in each and every individual as they were created by God.  

Intent: For our children to appreciate experience and engage with all forms the arts and technology. For children to develop the skills within music, computing, design technology and art to enable them to access a world of possibilities that music and art can offer them both now and later in their lives. 

 Implementation: The Art, Design, Computing and Music National curriculum is enriched through a range of visits and visitors to school. The children have the opportunity to visit local Art Galleries such as the Walker Art Gallery, The Tate and Kirkby Gallery and enjoy specialist Art and DT teaching from staff from our local secondary schools. We hold an annual STEM Day in a Box, funded by the Edina Trust, where pupils are given exciting projects to complete for example making moving fairground attractions and Cool Catapults. Each class studies different Artists and their work and influence. Musical experiences include, whole class musical instrument tuition, for example keyboards. We have close links with Knowsley Music services who provide induvial tuition in a range of instruments, such as guitar, violin and flute. Our children have many opportunities to perform for parents and the wider community throughout the year during music concerts, class collective worship and seasonal performances. Through our close links with the Knowsley CLC, our pupils experience a wide range of computing experiences building upon our own weekly computing sessions led by a Computing Specialist HLTA. 

Impact: Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School leavers are lovers of learning having reached their full potential. They are happy, confident and respectful having made positive contributions in the community. They understand the importance of being active and environmentally aware in a culturally diverse society.
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