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Our Curriculum

Our Curriculum

Learning as a family in Jesus, though Love, Hope and Forgiveness 

Matthew 19:26 “with God all things are possible.”

 

Before they leave St. James’, we want every child: 

  • To have felt loved 
  • To have belief in their unlimited potential 
  • To be ‘equipped’ for life’s journey whilst knowing that they can always come home to the family at St. James’ 

 

Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.’ 

William Butler Yeats 

Everything a child experiences at St. James’ is part of our curriculum. From the moment they arrive at school in the morning through every lesson throughout the day, our aim is to enable each individual to grow and flourish. 

Our engaging curriculum follows both the National and EYFS Curriculum to ensure that children receive a high quality, broad and balanced learning experience that equips them for their lives in school and beyond. It is designed to be ambitious and inclusive for all pupils and to develop the children’s knowledge and skills and provide experiences to increase their cultural capital. Our intent is to prepare them to be global citizens whilst providing a secure, loving foundation in our school family.  

The curriculum knowledge and experiences are tailored to our children and our local area as well as aligning with our identity as a church school. Our termly projects are led by key subjects which inspire the learning and encourage our children to communicate their learning in a range of ways. We know how important spoken language is and enable our students to have opportunities to use their voice for discussion and impact. 

The foundations of our curriculum are that it: 

  1. develops the whole person – knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes 
  2. involves first-hand purposeful experiences 
  3. is adaptive and responsive to individual needs and interests 
  4. encourages the use of environments and expertise beyond the classroom, particularly using our local area and resources 
  5. makes meaningful links between areas of knowledge across the curriculum and the major issues of our time. We are not afraid to approach issues that affect our world to maximise personal development and enable children to flourish 

 

In RE, we teach the locally agreed syllabus Living Difference 4, combined with Understanding Christianity which gives a deep exploration of Christianity, in line with our church school identity, alongside learning about other world faiths. 

Safeguarding and wellbeing is woven throughout the curriculum along with our Christian Values of Love, Hope and Forgiveness. Our Christian values are embedded in our PSHCE curriculum which develops our relationships with each other and the wider community. 

We are Ready, Respectful and Safe which supports our behaviour and our learning in school so that all pupils and adults can flourish in school and beyond.