Curriculum Intent
At St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School, we believe that every child matters and that every child deserves a rich, ambitious and inspiring curriculum that enables them to Flourish, Achieve and Believe.
Our vision is underpinned by the following scripture reminding us to Shine Like The Stars:
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3
Our Christian values and PROUD statements underpin our learning and behavioural attitudes. We aim for our learners to be able to demonstrate these values in everything they do, both in and out of school providing a moral foundation for 21st century citizens.
Our curriculum is rooted in our Christian foundation and shaped by our Christian Values and our PROUD values: Purpose, Respect, Openness, Unity and Determination. These values underpin everything we do. Through our curriculum, we seek to develop children who have Purpose in their learning, show Respect for themselves, others and the world around them, demonstrate Openness to new ideas and different perspectives, understand the strength that comes through Unity, and show Determination when faced with challenge.
Our Core Curriculum Principles
Inclusion
With God’s help, we recognise that every child is unique and valued, ensuring that all are welcomed, supported, challenged and empowered to flourish, achieve and believe.
Knowledge
We inspire a love of learning and develop wisdom, knowledge and skills so that children can understand God’s world, their place within it and how they can contribute to their community and the wider-world.
Diversity
We celebrate the uniqueness of every individual, welcoming different cultures, beliefs, backgrounds and perspectives and nurturing openness, respect, compassion and understanding.
Ambition
We nurture hope and aspiration in every child, encouraging them to develop their God-given gifts, embrace challenge with determination and have the confidence to pursue their ambitions
Enrichment
We provide rich and varied experiences that enable children to discover their gifts, serve others, build community and develop a sense of purpose and belonging.
Flourishing
We seek to help every child flourish in the fullness of life, growing spiritually, morally, socially, emotionally and academically as confident, compassionate and resilient individuals who make a positive difference to the world.
Inclusion
Inclusion is at the heart of our curriculum. We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive school community where children of all abilities, backgrounds and experiences learn alongside one another. We recognise that every child is unique, with their own personality, interests, talents, strengths and starting points.
Our curriculum is designed around the whole child, not simply their academic attainment. Through our commitment to FAB – Flourish, Achieve, Believe, we want every pupil to discover what they are good at, develop their individual talents and recognise the strengths they bring to our school community.
Flourish in all we do. We want every child to develop their interests, talents, confidence and character, experiencing a rich range of opportunities that enable them to grow as individuals. Whether their talents lie in academic learning, sport, music, drama, art, creativity, leadership, problem-solving, working with others or caring for those around them, we believe that every talent has value and every child has something special to offer.
Achieve whatever we set our minds to. Our teachers know their pupils as individuals and use this understanding to provide learning that is accessible, challenging, engaging and purposeful. We adapt our teaching and provide appropriate support and challenge so that all children can make progress, experience success and develop the determination and resilience to achieve their ambitions. We want every pupil to recognise that, with the right support, effort and belief, they can overcome challenges and achieve whatever they set their minds to.
Believe we are all unique and valued. We celebrate individuality and recognise the contribution that every child makes to our school community. We want pupils to develop a strong sense of self-worth, to believe in their own abilities and to respect and value the uniqueness of others. Every child should feel that they belong, that they are listened to and that they have an important part to play.
Inclusion does not mean every child doing exactly the same thing; it means ensuring that every child has the opportunity to participate, succeed and flourish. Through FAB, we aim to create a curriculum and school community where every child is valued, supported, challenged and empowered to flourish in all they do, achieve whatever they set their minds to, and believe that we are all unique and valued.
Knowledge
We believe that a rich curriculum should provide children with a deep, broad and meaningful body of knowledge. Through carefully selected content, texts, examples, people and experiences, we want children to develop a secure understanding of the world and make meaningful connections between their learning.
Our curriculum introduces pupils to significant individuals, communities, cultures, traditions and ideas from different times and places. We want children to develop curiosity, ask questions, think critically and understand how knowledge helps them to make sense of themselves, their community and the wider world.
Our strong links with St Margaret’s Church, Horsforth Churches Together and our wider Horsforth community help children to understand their place within both their local community and the wider world. Through the curriculum, pupils learn about service, responsibility and stewardship taking part in many City of Leeds initiatives including sport, climate justice and politics. We are proud to of our Yorkshire heritage and build in opportunities to explore ‘God’s own county’. Through a strong focus on British Values, children are encouraged to work in Unity with others, develop mutual respect and tolerance, understand democracy and the rule of law, care for creation, and recognise their ability to make a positive difference in their community and the wider world.
Diversity
We believe that our curriculum should reflect the diversity of people, places, cultures, ideas and experiences that make up our world. As a Church of England school welcoming families of all faiths and none, we celebrate the heritage, languages, cultures, beliefs and experiences represented within our ever-changing school community.
We want every child to see themselves reflected in our curriculum while also having their horizons broadened by encountering experiences beyond their own. Children are encouraged to explore different beliefs, cultures, traditions and perspectives with Openness and Respect, developing an understanding of both what makes us different and what connects us.
We want children to recognise that knowledge and our understanding of the world have been shaped by many different people and perspectives. Through teaching our twelve Christian values over a two-year period, we are able to focus on what it means to show these values in everyday life. By encountering a diverse range of voices and experiences, children develop empathy, challenge assumptions and learn to value contributions that may be different from their own.
Through this approach, we aim to develop children who are curious about the world, respectful of difference and confident in their place within a diverse and ever-changing society.
Ambition
Our curriculum is designed to open doors and broaden horizons. We want children to develop a deep and secure body of knowledge across all subjects, making meaningful connections between their learning and understanding how this knowledge relates to themselves, their community and the wider world.
We value curiosity, creativity and a love of learning. Children are encouraged to ask questions, think critically, solve problems and develop their own ideas. Through our curriculum we raise aspiration by providing opportunities for career education and many of our children are aspirational in their educational pathway.
We are ambitious for every child, whatever their starting point, and carefully structure knowledge and skills so that learning builds progressively from the moment children join us. Through Determination, we encourage children to persevere, embrace challenge, learn from mistakes and take pride in their achievements. We want them to understand that success is not always about getting things right first time, but about having the confidence to keep trying and recognising their own progress in order to meet longer term goals and aspirations.
Enrichment
Our curriculum extends beyond the classroom. We believe that children learn through experiences as well as through lessons, and therefore provide rich opportunities for enrichment. Drama, sport, Forest School, the arts, outdoor learning including overnight residentials, visits, visitors and community partnerships enable children to experience new opportunities, develop confidence and discover talents that may otherwise remain hidden.
These experiences give children opportunities to take on different roles, work collaboratively, lead, perform, create, explore and serve others. Our School Parliament is formed by Advocate groups representing pupil voice in a number of key areas across school including; wellbeing, collective worship, sustainability, justice, sport and curriculum. The School parliament ensures children’s voices are represented whilst they find their Purpose, develop Unity with those around them and recognise that their individual contributions matter.
We want enrichment to provide opportunities for every child to experience success in different ways. By stepping beyond the familiar, children can discover new interests, develop confidence and build skills that enrich both their learning and their lives.
Flourishing
We aim for our curriculum to nurture children who are not only knowledgeable and successful learners ready for the next stage of their educational journey. We aspire for our pupils to be thoughtful, compassionate, confident and resilient individuals. Education is about more than what children know; it is about who they become and how they use what they have learned.
We want every child to leave St Margaret’s knowing that they are valued for who they are, confident in their strengths and talents, and ready to recognise and celebrate the strengths of others. We want them to have developed a lifelong love of learning, a strong sense of belonging and the character and resilience they need to navigate an ever-changing world.
Our curriculum intent is simple: to help every child Flourish, Achieve and Believe. We want children to flourish as unique individuals, achieve through a rich and ambitious education, and believe in their own potential to make a positive difference in our ever-changing world.
Through our curriculum, we want every child to live out our PROUD values: to learn with Purpose, treat others with Respect, approach the world with Openness, grow together in Unity, and meet every challenge with Determination.
At St Margaret’s, every child is unique, every child has strengths, every child has talents, and every child deserves the opportunity to flourish.