Curriculum
Curriculum
The curriculum at St Mark’s is broad in focus, aiming to ensure that all children are accessing stage-appropriate learning in all subjects.
Our curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all learners, particularly the most disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or high needs, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.
curriculum handbook 2024 25.pdf
Our Curriculum Drivers
In order to deliver the most appropriate curriculum to our children at St Mark’s, we have identified our curriculum drivers. We reflected, as a school, on what our curriculum needed to offer the children in our local community. The St Mark's PACE principles underpin the curriculum we provide for our children and they are woven through every subject across the wider curriculum.
PROGRESS
ASPIRATION
CHALLENGE
ENRICHED VOCABULARY
We reflected, as a school, on what our curriculum needed to offer the children in our local community. The following principles underpin the curriculum we provide for our children and they are woven through every subject across the wider curriculum.
At the heart of our curriculum is the belief that every child can achieve their full potential. We value each and every subject within our curriculum and provide opportunities for children to flourish and develop their individual talents. The team at St Mark's are committed to delivering an engaging, knowledge-rich curriculum which meets the needs of the community whilst creating endless opportunities for our children. Underpinning our curriculum are our four Christian values: Hope Energy Resilience and Optimism.
Through our HERO Learning Powers-Hope Energy Resilience and Optimism, we prepare our children for life-long learning that goes beyond the classroom. We want all of our children to believe in themselves and rise to any challenge they may face.
We live our vision every day "Let Your Light Shine!" Matthew 5:16
Curriculum Overview
yearly topic overview history geograhpy science.pdf
autumn topic cycle 2024 25.pdf
summer topic cycle 2024 25.pdf
Curriculum Intent
Our Curriculum aims to:
- Raise achievement
- Provide an enriching curriculum fit for the 21st Century
- Build up children’s confidence and motivation to learn through the use of a range of learning and teaching styles
- Develop thinking and learning skills
- Enable safe ‘risk taking’
- Promote curiosity and higher order questioning
- Embed key skills in order to prepare children for real-life and everyday situations
- Provide opportunities to apply knowledge and learning in practical ways
- Provide a creative approach to planning and delivery that will incorporate and embed key aspects of the National Curriculum
- Provide enrichment opportunities where learning and teaching can take place beyond the classroom
- Develop social skills and encourage children to become more active citizens within the school community and beyond
Curriculum Implementation
To ensure the consistency of our curriculum, teachers plan and deliver English, Guided Reading, Phonics and Math sessions using agreed lesson spines.
All lessons start with a ‘revisit’ of learning, which allows children to consolidate prior learning in readiness for their daily lesson. English lesson revisits focus on word function or punctuation, whist Math revisits focus on arithmetic fluency. All lessons end with an ‘exit pass’ question which aims to consolidate or extend learning as appropriate.
Each lesson includes a vocabulary focus which introduces children to the definitions of words that they will be using or hearing during their lessons. Maths vocabulary, where appropriate, is supported by Makaton signing. Stem sentences are used widely across the curriculum to help develop our children’s oracy and to help them structure answers to questions in full, grammatically correct sentences. Stem sentences are contextual to the question at hand, with many adapted from Tower Hamlets Progression in Language structures.
Maths lessons also include ‘misconception’ teaching, which aims to address a common misconception that the class may have encountered. These reasoning- based questions ensure that no misconception is left unaddressed. Maths lessons aim to teach a core skill, then deepen this skill though problem solving and reasoning questions. Each lesson worksheet is designed to ensure that all children engage with a range of fluency, problem solving and reasoning, drawing on both pictorial and abstract representation, with manipulatives available for self-selection in all lessons to support understanding.
English lessons are mapped out at the beginning of each term in comprehension weeks and writing weeks and is followed by key stages 1-2. Writing weeks follow a grammar, plan, write, edit cycle to ensure that children are applying taught GPS skills in their writing, with clear time being given to plan and edit appropriately for their stage of writing. Writing outcomes are planned each half term, with teachers selecting a range of genres and mapping out key GPS objectives to ensure a range of taught skill and coverage.
At the end of each half term, children complete a ‘topic write’. The topic write aims links directly into the main topic focus of the term and allows the children to apply the knowledge that they have learnt in their topic with the GPS skills that they have learnt during English lessons. Cross-curricular writing allows for a range of non- fiction genres to be covered and is an opportunity for our children to look closely at a notable figure from their half-termly topic.
The structure of our lessons aim to maintain the high expectations of teaching and learning that we have at our school and has helped to embed our curriculum drivers of Progress, Aspiration, Challenge and Enriched vocabulary.
The teaching of English and Math is supported by detailed medium term planning, lesson planning and teachers notes from Power of Reading and NCTEM resources.
As well as this, most of our teachers have undertaken CPD opportunity in Math, Power of Reading and RWI, our phonics program. Where teachers have not had direct training, they are supported in planning and delivery by English and Maths leads, alongside senior leadership.
Foundation topics are mapped out in whole school progression documents to ensure clear coverage of National Curriculum aims and are then broken down in detailed lesson plans to ensure small steps of knowledge across a topic block. Activities for each lesson are carefully considered, with a range of outcomes used to engage learners and create conversation around the learning which allows children to use taught vocabulary contextually.
Planning support and SEND support are delivered through 1:1 coaching with Senior leadership and aim to provide practical advise so that all teachers are supported in delivering accessible lessons for all learners in all subjects. Adoption of the peer coaching cycle has further allowed our teachers to reflect honestly on their practise and implement small changes to enhance their lessons.
Developing understanding, not memorising disconnected facts
The way in which our English and Math lessons are structured, based on the principles of Rosenshine, ensure that our children are developing fluency in key skills whilst revisiting and recapping key knowledge.
At the beginning of each school year, all year groups take part in Learning Launchpad lessons. These lessons span the first two weeks of the year and teach the school values and ethos, positive learning behaviours and Just Right regulation. In Maths, teachers check that children are year- group ready by teaching lessons from the previous year’s Planning to Progress documents. Where classes or individual children show gaps in knowledge, teachers can consolidate these before moving onto year group Maths planning. In English, the whole school follows a ‘transition text’, selected from the Power of Reading. During the first two weeks, teachers check children’s basic comprehension and sentence structure, which will then inform teaching points for the Autumn term.
In all lessons, teachers mark effectively to move children on. In English lessons, children edit their own writing before teachers mark for spelling, grammar and punctuation. In KS1, children learn proof-reading skills and are encouraged to check the cohesion of their work. In KS2, children are challenged to extend what has been written through meaningful edits to enhance the overall effectiveness of the piece.
In Maths lessons, once children have completed the fluency, problem solving and reasoning sections of their work, (designed to develop competency in one skills in a variety of contexts), teachers may move children on through self-selection of an ‘awesome 8’ reasoning challenge or a reasonable next step. Next steps are marked in books for children to respond to. Where children have acquired misconceptions during a maths lesson, teachers revisit teaching during same day intervention time. This time is used to ensure that no child moves into the next lesson with misunderstanding. Same da intervention time is also used by support staff to pre-teach vocabulary or consolidate prior knowledge where necessary.
Units for History, Science and Geography begin with a stunning start in which children consider the questions ‘what do you know?’ and ‘what would you like to know?’ At the end of each unit, children are asked to reflect on their learning by considering the questions ‘what do you know now?’ and ‘what would you like to know next?’. This line of enquiry is designed to help children think about their learning and evaluate where they may want to consolidate their learning. Children are then encouraged to seek out the answers to the question that they have posed.
At the beginning of each topic unit, children are introduced to key vocabulary that will be used over the course of their learning. During their sessions, children have the opportunity to match the definition and the word on their topic front sheets. The front sheets also have a ‘Big Question’ intended to summarise a key point of teaching for every unit. At the end of each unit, children answer their ‘big question’ by applying their understanding of what has been learnt. In books, topic work is also given next steps appropriate to the learning in order to move children on.
Over the course of the term, learning is explained and celebrated through curriculum celebration assemblies which allow classes to share their learning with the school, using their books and work to illustrate their learning.
Learning from Enlightenment days is revisited during whole class reflection time once a week to extend learning and understanding. Reflection time in class also links into whole school worship conversations, to allow children to continue to explore social and religious perspectives.
Use of Assessment
At St Mark’s, we summative assess children once a term through standardised testing in Maths and Reading. Reading assessment helps to group children into guided reading classes, however, formative teacher assessment is also used to ensure that children who may not test well are not capped by their result.
Each half term, children accessing RWI are assessed and regrouped to ensure they are accessing learning at a stage- appropriate level. This dynamic assessment ensures that all learners are being regularly challenged and given good opportunity to develop fluency in reading. It also helps to support teachers as they can ensure that coverage is tailored to children’s gaps.
Writing is assessed on an on-going basis using Writing milestone documents for each child. Teachers set writing outcomes for each writing cycle and assess writing based on evidence presented in independent work in children’s books at the end of each cycle. Writing objectives are designed to be revisited over a half term to allow children the chance to practise and embed taught skills across a range of genres and for a range of topics. Whole school moderations and partnership moderations with local schools helps us to quality assure judgements and seek professional advice in moving our children on.
English and Math results, as well as formative teacher assessment, feed into half-termly pupil progress meetings, where teachers and senior leaders discuss individual progress of each child, set targets and plan appropriate intervention to consolidate or extend groups of children where appropriate. Pupil progress meetings are also used to identify children who may benefit from SEND support or wellbeing support and services.
We understand that standardised testing is not appropriate for all of our learners and therefore use teacher assessment, underpinned by milestone documents and work in books, to ensure accurate assessment of our pupils.
Foundation subjects are assessed each half term using formative assessment. In Humanities and Science books, teachers use assessment grids and work in books to assess whether children have met each taught objective.
In Reception, children are baselined in the first 6 weeks of school. Baseline information is then used to inform teaching for the first half term, with necessary changes being made where appropriate. The first 6 weeks of school is also used to gauge children’s emerging needs and map out possible support to ensure a good progression of learning. Teachers in Reception assess children continually over the course of the year against the EYFS framework through teacher observation, work in books, small adult- led work and independent work. Teachers use assessment to tailor continuous provision and adult intervention to meet the needs of the learners.
Curriculum Impact
We have agreed "Essentials" to secure consistency across the school. You can see these here. We will monitor the implementation of the curriculum and the quality of teaching and learning through our CPD and monitoring scheduled.
We have summarised our Teaching and Learning Policy as an overview and you can see this here.
Wonder and Wisdom At the start of a new unit, children complete a knowledge mind map-Wonder Wall-these are added to the Learning Journey display. This is the time when children share their prior knowledge. decisions around curriculum content. Teachers will also be made aware of current misconceptions and will work on addressing these swiftly. At the end of a unit, children complete a second knowledge mind map-Wisdom Wall. These are also added to the Learning Journey display. This is their opportunity to showcase their new knowledge. Again, this is used as an assessment tool so that decisions can be made about future units and which knowledge children may need to revisit at a later date.
Unit Quizzes Pupils complete a quiz at the start and end of a unit. This demonstrates which key knowledge has stuck and which learning has been forgotten. This information then informs our next steps in teaching and learning.
Pupil Conferencing We conduct pupil conferencing regularly and expect children to be able to talk confidently about what they are learning. Leaders use knowledge organisers to support these discussions so that
key knowledge and vocabulary can be explored.
Books Children demonstrate their learning and progress through their individual subject books. Children have pride in their learning and books will demonstrate a clear learning journey from the start to the end of each unit.
If you want to find out more about our Curriculum, please contact Miss McKenzie (Deputy Head) via the school.