At St Marys we offer our children a curriculum which enables them to be creative thinkers and engage with a range of learning experiences that increase their knowledge and understanding of the world.
All aspects of our curriculum are accessible to all children, irrespective of their ethnic background, gender, disability, religious or linguistic background. We strive hard to meet the needs of those pupils with special educational needs, those with disabilities, those who are more able, those with special gifts and talents and the children that are learning English as an additional language. We provide a rich, challenging curriculum which stretches all of our children. Staff are aware of children who have exceptional talents and gifts and monitor or track their progress carefully to ensure their academic potential or talent is continually developed. For further details see separate policies.
At St Marys we work on a two year cycle of whole school topics which have now been reviewed in light of the National Curriculum as detailed below. These topics are chosen with an emphasis on Literacy, Geography, History or Science coverage.
This year (2021/2022) we will be following cycle 2.
If you have any additional questions about our curriculum please ask your child's class teacher or a member of the school office.
TERM | TITLE OF THEME |
Autumn 1 |
The Farm in Autumn
|
Autumn 2
|
Owls, Owls, Owls
|
Spring 1 |
Space, The Final Frontier
|
Spring 2 |
Castles
|
Summer 1 |
Stories from Other Lands
|
Summer 2 |
Land, Sea and Air
|
TERM | TITLE OF THEME |
Autumn 1 | Food for Thought
|
Autumn 2 | Fairy Tales
|
Spring 1 | Our School, Church and Village
|
Spring 2 | We’re All Going To The Zoo Tomorrow
|
Summer 1 | Planes, Trains and Automobiles
|
Summer 2 | Around the UK in 80 days
|
Within each topic we give our children a range of experiences to inspire and stimulate them which might involve a school visit, working with a theatre company, a musician or a visit from the Owl Lady from Birds of Bray.
In each theme we have a Spectacular Day where our children dress up linked to the theme and participate in a range of activities in smaller, mixed groups based on the theme and a curriculum focus. For example, our recent “Food for Thought” spectacular was based on science. The children participated in activities such as dissolving, building structures with spaghetti and marshmallows and creating a chemical reaction from vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. These days are great learning experiences enabling children to work together in smaller teams learning together and helping each other.
Throughout St Marys Teaching and Learning programme there is an emphasis on the Creative Arts. All our children are taught art by Mrs Roberts, Headteacher on a weekly basis. The work is based on the five skill model; drawing, painting, textiles, printing and 3D modelling. Our children are taught to hold and use fine paint brushes, needles and drawing tools from their first day in reception.
We have a specialist Ceramics teacher who teaches one afternoon a week. The children produce amazing clay work which is fired and glaze finished in our kiln on site.
Reading
At St Marys we have Oxford Reading Tree as our core scheme but have also introduced a range of new books called ‘Project X’ which are written specifically to encourage boys reading but our girls think they are fantastic too!
Every morning from 9-9.30 all our children participate in Guided Reading where the children are divided into 5 ability groupings. One Focus Group per day reads with the teacher on the same group reader book, the teacher working on comprehension and understanding of the text. The remaining 4 groups work on related reading activities including phonics.
Our children are learning to write using a hand-writing scheme called Kinetic Letters which encourages them to increase the fluency and automaticity of their writing.
Our Phonics scheme is Sounds Write which the children practice on a daily basis. Talk for Writing is used across the school to increase children's fluency and creativity.
In mathematics we use the White Rose Maths scheme to work through all the elements covered in the National Curriculum.
In computing, with the changes in the National Curriculum we are teaching simple programming techniques. We have recently acquired a new set of ipads.
At St Marys we believe that science should be practical and encourage problem-solving. Our science curriculum has been reviewed in the light of the National Curriculum.
RE
As a church school, we follow the Surrey Agreed Syllabus for RE and have strong links with St Mary's Church.
Art
At St Marys we believe that Art is very important. The work is based on the five skill model; drawing, painting, textiles, printing and 3D modelling. Our children are taught to hold and use fine paint brushes, needles and drawing tools from their first day in reception. We buy in a ceramics teacher who works with the children throughout the school year on a number of projects.
PE is taught throughout the school on a weekly basis alongside swimming in Year 1 and Year 2. We also use our Sports Premium grant to buy in specialist sports provision including tennis and multi-skills.
GEOGRAPHY and HISTORY have been reviewed in light of the National Curriculum and our half-termly topics reflect key elements of these foundation subjects.
DT: At St Marys we find designing and making very exciting. Cookery is very popular too and at present a specialist cooking teacher works one day per week to cook a range of healthy sweet and savory dishes with small groups.
MUSIC: At St Marys music is very important to us and we love to sing. For our Christmas production, all children have half a term of African Drumming lessons where they practiced a piece which they performed in the show. A number of our Year 2 children are learning to play the ukulele using a teacher from Music Works at Milford.
At St Marys, Sounds Write Phonics is an integral part of the school day. In Year R, phonics runs through many of the activities. In Year 1 and 2, phonics is taught discreetly on a daily basis.
At St Marys our school is run like a family. It is a close-knit community where our children are cared for and nurtured on a daily basis.
As Headteacher I feel that it is important to be visible and interacting with my children whenever possible. My staff are trained to speak and respond calmly, kindly and with a listening ear, building relationships with our children on a daily basis.
SMSC is evident in our school through the values that we teach our children: Love, Respect, Forgiveness, Honesty, Generosity and Loyalty through the Christian ethos.
Our children have daily opportunities to increase their own spirituality through their engagement in assemblies and with the reflection corners in classrooms and the hall.
As a school we teach British Values (as above) and have a weekly citizenship award encouraging them to be good citizens in school and in their community.
Due to the size of St Marys our children have many opportunities to engage with each other and other adults that visit our school. Our children are confident to speak out and ask questions engaging with a range of parent helpers, community volunteers and visitors to our school.
On a cultural level our children have the opportunity to learn African Drumming and experience live theatre e.g. The Open Box Theatre Company.
SMSC is evident throughout our curriculum in the opportunities that we give our children for learning and interacting with their friends, teachers and the wider world.
Please view our evidence for SMSC below.
WHAT ARE WE DOING AT ST MARY’S
SPIRITUAL
MORAL
SOCIAL
CULTURAL
Unfortunately not the ones with chocolate chips.
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