Curriculum Intent Statement
At St Joseph’s the curriculum is closely designed around our school’s Mission Statement and our values of Respect, Friendship, Excellence and Care. It has been developed around the uniqueness of the child and the local community and its mining heritage. We provide a Catholic, Christian education based on the life of Jesus Christ, in which the values of the Gospel underpin all aspects of school life.
Our vision is to provide the highest quality of education, inspiring everyone towards achieving excellence. Through an exciting and broad curriculum, we want our children to be confident, inquisitive, compassionate, honest and successful. This includes taking part in outdoor learning experiences which develops on resilience, cooperation and independence. Our curriculum has been designed to promote and sustain a love of learning. We provide a sequenced curriculum that is literacy and language rich in order to open doors for our children’s futures. Reading is at the heart of our school and central to our children’s learning; it is also integral to the wide range of opportunities that we provide for academic, creative and sporting excellence. Emphasis is placed on acquiring, developing and applying core skills in reading, writing, phonics, communication and mathematics. We aim to prepare our children, so that they are ready for the next stage in their learning journey. Children are able to revisit previous learning which allows them to gradually develop a deeper understanding of the skills and knowledge within a broad and balanced curriculum. We define progress across the curriculum as ‘knowing more and remembering more’.
There are opportunities to enjoy music, drama, dance and the arts. Visits, visitors and partnership work with local schools enhance the children’s experiences further.
At St Joseph’s we place high priority on developing children’s physical and mental wellbeing. We understand that children will not be successful learners unless they are emotionally secure, therefore, we carefully design our curriculum to incorporate a personal approach to ensure that we can meet and respond to the needs of all learners, regardless of ability or background.
We strive to provide our children with experiences to develop cultural capital and have high aspirations, to be the best version of themselves. British values and references to the wider world play a significant part in the provision that we offer. Children acquire the knowledge, skills, confidence and self-belief they need to achieve success.