St Austin's Curriculum

At St. Austin’s we want all pupils to develop a love for learning that will grow and deepen during their time with us and beyond. We aim to equip them with the knowledge and skills for the benefit of themselves and others. In order to become successful learners, leaders are clear that increasing pupils’ knowledge is key. This acquisition of knowledge, at whatever stage of their school journey, will help to develop skills and then apply them to the work that they do.

We have looked beyond the academic and the curriculum requirements and thought carefully about six key areas we feel our children at St Austin’s need to know and understand more about. By knowing more about these fundamental aspects of life, pupils will be better placed to commit the academic knowledge which our curriculum will deliver to their long term memory. These foundations will help them throughout their educational journey.

In designing our curriculum, specifically the knowledge which we want children to know, we ask leaders to consider the following themes:

The Environment - our children are the future and we want them to be aware of how our actions affect the world in which we live in and what we can do to protect, value and future proof our planet.

Leadership - our children have the potential to be future leaders. We aim to inspire them through stories of great leaders, past and present, and develop their potential to become outstanding leaders of their own families and communities.

Aspirations - we want our children to recognise that they can be anything they want to be, realise their true potential and see the direct link between effort and success.

Resilience - our children will be taught that it is ok to make mistakes as these are a vital part of the learning process. We will encourage our children to keep trying until a solution is reached. Through our work on developing metacognition we will equip them with tools and strategies to become resilient and determined learners.

Service - our children will know the impact that an individual can have through public service to their local community and to be aware that a successful community needs all members to charitably contribute to its success.

Diversity - the community of St. Austin’s is very diverse. All pupils will be shown the importance of respecting and valuing diversity and recognising that our community can become even stronger as a result of this.

Our staff think creatively to ensure a broad and balanced coverage of all curriculum areas throughout the year. Themes and topics have been sequenced, ensuring that they are delivered at appropriate times during the school year. Well planned educational visits, assemblies, visiting speakers and themed days are just some examples of the ways in which pupils will be provided with the opportunity for rich learning experiences.

A whole school curriculum map has been created to ensure a broad and balanced coverage of all curriculum areas throughout the year. Themes and topics have been sequenced, ensuring that they are delivered at appropriate times during the school year. Curriculum plans have been developed for each subject which clearly set out the composite knowledge which pupils should be taught over time, and how this builds from year to year.

Well planned educational visits, visiting speakers and themed days are some of the ways in which pupils will be provided with the opportunity for rich learning experiences. These experiences will have a lasting impact on their understanding and appreciation of the environment.

Our vision is for pupils to leave St Austin's with a constant thirst for knowledge and to become life-long learners.

The impact of the curriculum will be evaluated by school leaders by monitoring the progress of all children over time. In so doing, subject leaders will ensure that:

• Teaching matches or exceeds the breadth and ambition of the national curriculum;

• There is necessary time allocated for the meaningful coverage of their subject area;

• Opportunities are taken, when presented, to promote a love of reading during lessons;

• Pupils can articulate, at an appropriate level, learning that has taken place and the impact it has had on them;

• Pupils' progress is monitored in an appropriate way with timely feedback provided;

• There are opportunities for learning to be enriched beyond formal classroom teaching.