Information about the RE curriculum can be found in the Catholic Life section of our website. Please click here

Intent

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, our music curriculum intends to inspire creativity, self-expression and encourages our children on their musical journeys as well as giving them opportunities to connect with others and explore our rich cultural community .   We hope to foster a life long love of music by exposing them to diverse musical experiences.

By listening and responding to different musical styles, finding their voices as singers and performers and as composers, we will enable them to become confident, reflective musicians. 

The aims of our Music curriculum are to develop pupils who:

• Can sing and use their voices individually and in a group

• Create and compose music on their own and with others

• Use technology appropriately when composing

• Have opportunities to learn a musical instrument

• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated

• Listen to, review and evaluate the work of great composers and musicians from a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions

• Enjoy and have an appreciation of a range of different musical styles e.g. Classical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock etc.

• Use and understand musical language and include musical features in their own work

• Make judgements about the quality of music

• Have opportunities to play a wide variety of tuned and untuned instruments

• Have different opportunities to take part in performance

Implementation

The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in classroom activities as well as weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performances, and the learning of instruments. We follow the Kapow scheme of work to ensure continuity and progression and to support teachers in the delivery of a rich music curriculum.  The elements of music are taught in classroom lessons so that children are able to use the language of music to discuss it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom students learn how to play various un-tuned and tuned percussion instruments and as a class in Year 3 the ukulele. In doing so they understand the different principles of creating notes, as well as how to devise and read their own musical scores and basic music notation. They also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion, vocal sounds and technology is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

Impact

Whilst in school, children have opportunities to forge their own musical journey, which allows them to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a child may access fundamental skills such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Music will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in many ways - as listener, creator or performer. They can discuss music and understand its parts. They can sing, feel a pulse, add rhythms and create melodies in a group and they can further develop these skills in the future and continue to enjoy and embrace music in their lives.

Intent 

At St Francis, we believe it is important for children to be inspired by what they learn from the past
and recognise the impact on their own lives now. to delve into the past to inspire pupil’s curiosity. (
make new discoveries about the future)inspire the future. Through their historical learning, children
will acquire the skills needed to critique and form personal opinions based on fact. Children are given
the opportunity to revisit past learning and build on this understanding, whilst immersed in engaging
experiences that encourage the development of key vocabulary. By the time they leave school,
children will understand periods of both British history and the broader world. By linking their historical
learning with the religious ethos of the school, children find their place within the world’s history,
learning lessons from those before us.

 Implementation

History is incorporated into our connected curriculum topics with the aim of encouraging children to
identify and enhance their development of historical skills. Our humanities curriculum is tailored to
offer all year groups three terms of historical study and three terms of geographic study. Children are
celebrated for their unique skill set and are provided with appropriate learning challenges for the
individual. Where possible, our History curriculum is designed to ripple outwards from the children's
own lives. This encourages children to make continuous comparisons between themselves and
History. During lessons, children are given first hand opportunities to explore a variety of sources,
including artefacts, replicas and reading material. As the children progress into Key Stage 2, they are
taught to question and critique sources and accounts, building transferable skills and an
understanding of the complexity of the world and its roots.

 Impact

By the end of their time at St Francis, children will have a strong foundation of historical skills and an
informed appreciation of the world around them. Children have a fascination for learning more about
the world they live in, the world’s heritage and use their own historical knowledge to inform their
opinion of the world’s current events. Children understand bias, propaganda and are equipped with
the tools to question sources. This not only provides a secure foundation for their future history
studies, but also transferable skills to use in the study of politics, literacy and music to name but a
few.

Intent

St Francis intends children to leave with an awareness and appreciation of the World God
has made.
Children are taught to respect the world and be a positive environmental influence.
Children will understand how our human actions impact and affect the varied life and
environments of our planet. Children are able to learn from other regions and understand
how humanity is connected to its surroundings.
At St Francis, we believe it is important to have a deep understanding not only of the world
but the local area. Therefore, children will leave with a secure geographical knowledge and
the tools to equip them to explore the wonders the world has to offer. Children will learn
about life in different countries and make comparisons with their own experiences and
observations. Children will learn about the diversity of cultures

Implementation

Geography skills are taught where naturally linking topics and themes occur, but other skills
are taught discreetly where required. Our curriculum encourages focused development of
geographical skills. Lessons are delivered within school (classrooms, hall, outside or through
Forest school). Staff will model explicitly the subject-specific vocabulary, knowledge and
skills relevant to the learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger
concepts. The geography curriculum will be enriched through class trips, workshops, topic
days and through links with the wider community. They will have opportunities to
experience geography in a variety of ways through visiting a range of places, giving them
opportunities for fieldwork and by using role play. They will be encouraged to use a range of
sources both first hand, using books and photos and digitally

There will be a clear progression of geography skills from EYFS to Year 6. This will also
include a progression of knowledge in topic areas such as using maps and comparing places.
The vocabulary the children will be taught will be relevant to the topic and year group.
As children progress through the school, our curriculum is designed to provide continuous
opportunities to compare and contrast different regions, always using the local area as a
comparison. Within this, are opportunities for children to learn about the physical
processes of our world, such as biomes and vegetation belts.
Teaching will provide a true reality of the diversity of a country and its culture and will
challenge misconceptions arising from any previous background knowledge. Teachers will
also draw on the range of experience and knowledge from the wide diversity of our school
community.

Impact

By the end of Year 6, children will have developed a strong foundation of geographical
knowledge and skills. They will have an understanding of the physical geography of the
world they live in and the impact humans have upon it. Children will have a range of skills
and knowledge that meets the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum.
Children will become increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking. Making
informed and balanced judgements based on their knowledge of places studied.
Children will develop enquiry skills to pursue their own interests within a topic and further
questioning.
Children will retain prior-learning and explicitly make connections between what they have
previously learned and what they may want to investigate further.
In preparation for secondary transition, children will have met a diverse range of locations,
natural events, places and cultures that provide a stable knowledge base ready to further
build upon. Children will have a sense of pride in their locality and understand the
pressures and advantages of living in the area. They will have a secure awareness and
appreciation of the world God made.

Intent

At St Francis, in Design and Technology, we intend for our pupils :

To confidently design, make and evaluate products for a person, for a purpose.

Design and Technology is a subject which encourages children to  design and think creatively,
 inspiring them and giving children the confidence to create a range of structures, mechanisms,
textiles, electrical systems, digital systems and food products with a purpose. We aim to provide the
opportunity for children to solve real life and relevant problems within a range of contexts to enable
the development of skills within the design, make and evaluate cycle. Through the subject children
will learn that they must consider the needs and wants of others.

Implementation

Design and technology (DT) at St Francis School is taught to be in line with the National Curriculum
programme of study for design technology and the Development Matters within the Expressive Arts
and Design area of learning.
Children are taught Design Technology as part of their Creative Curriculum topics where possible, or,
in a small number of cases, discreetly, where more appropriate. They experience a variety of

creative and practical lessons enabling them to engage in designing and creating products. We
follow the design, make and evaluate cycle to ensure children are equipped with the knowledge,
skills and understanding to create products for specific audiences and purposes.
When designing, children are taught to use research and (specific) design criteria to inform their
design, discussing their ideas and producing sketches, diagrams and prototypes, using computer-
aided designs where necessary.
During the making process, children are able to use a wide range of tools, equipment and materials
to be successful creators, by performing and practising a range of practical tasks like cutting, shaping
and joining accurately.
Children will have regular opportunities to evaluate and discuss a range of existing products as well
as their own designs and creations to improve their work. Alongside this, they will be able to
research key events and individuals in Design Technology and investigate how they have helped to
shape the world.
A progression of skills document has been created to ensure that children are both working with
different materials and components throughout each key stage (EYFS, KS1, LKS2, UKS2) and also that
they are learning to use a variety of different tools and complete a range of practical tasks using
those tools, materials and components in their journey through the school. The planning units used
also show a progression of knowledge.
Where possible, Design Technology is linked to other learning in school in order for the children to
learn about real-life implications.

Impact

What does impact look like?

• Children have a range of skills and knowledge that meets the requirements of the National
  Curriculum.
• Children can confidently design, make and evaluate, keeping the needs and wants of the
  user and the purpose of the product in mind.
• Children have developed a range of practical skills that they can use with confidence to
  create different structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems, digital systems and food products. These skills we will see them use in school now but the children should be
  confident enough to use them outside school as part of their everyday lives both now (as
  appropriate to the families) and as part of their lives as adults- either part of their everyday lives or as a basis of their chosen profession.
• Through the design, make, evaluate cycle and research into existing products and key
  people, the children will develop an understanding of the impact on daily life and the
  importance of Design Technology in the wider world, enabling them to make future
  contributions to society.

Intent

Our goal at St. Francis Catholic Primary School is to help all of our pupils acquire the
abilities needed for their mental, emotional, social, and physical wellbeing. A healthy
mental and physical lifestyle is encouraged, which teaches pupils to be self-disciplined, to work
hard, to be resilient, and to have the determination to think that anything is possible. Physical
fitness and wellbeing are essential for successful academic development. Our goal is to provide
pupils with life skills that will benefit their future by providing high-quality instruction and a variety
of learning opportunities that encourage all pupils to try new things and instil values that will last a
lifetime.

Implementation

To maximise the opportunities for pupils to engage in physical activity, high-quality Physical
Education (PE) sessions for KS1 and KS2 are implemented before, during, and after school hours
with the help of both class teachers and sports specialists. By integrating the high-level gospel
ideals that are always present in the school with the values and disciplines that PE promotes, our
curriculum attempts to enhance every aspect of the pupils’ life. At St. Francis, we strive to provide
a variety of opportunities that are age- and stage-appropriate to maximise the potential for all
students to build their physical literacy. Physical literacy refers to the drive, assurance, physical
proficiency, knowledge, and comprehension that equips pupils for engagement throughout their
entire lives.
PE at St Francis provides challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of sporting activities
including; invasion games, net & wall games, strike and field games, gymnastics, dance,
swimming and outdoor & adventure. The long-term plan sets out the PE units which are to be
taught throughout the year and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are fully
met. Pupils participate in two high quality PE lessons each week, covering two sporting disciplines
every half term. In addition, pupils are encouraged to participate in the varied range of extra-
curricular activities. Pupils are invited to attend competitive sporting events within the local area.
This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but
also mental well-being. These events also develop teamwork and leadership skills and are very
much enjoyed by the pupils. Each year a small group of Year 6 pupils are invited to become
Sports Leaders for the school. They develop into sporting role models for the younger pupils,
assisting with lunch-time clubs, our annual Sports day and any other Sporting activities. Pupils
participate in workshops covering a variety of sports throughout the year. For example golf,
skipping, outdoor and adventure, rugby, again providing the pupils with an opportunity to develop,
improve their fitness and to try something new. Pupils in Year 4 attend swimming lessons once a
week for 3 terms a year.  Year 6 pupils participate in catch up swimming during term 6; this is for
any pupils that have not met the required standard.

We are soon to launch the “Golden Mile”, to help meet the government target of all pupils being
active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Impact

We strive to ensure that all pupils will make good progress from their own personal starting points,
being constantly assessed during the sessions by teachers and professional coaches and
challenged to improve and develop aspects of the PE being taught, to their full potential. Pupils will
know how to use a range of techniques and skills confidently and consistently such as: throwing,
catching, striking and fielding, in order to participate in a variety of games. They will be able to use
space and movement to prevent the opposition from gaining control of a game, working both
individually and as part of a team. They will know the correct sporting vocabulary depending on
the activity and use it in order to communicate effectively. They will be able to demonstrate the
skills required to perform their dance or gymnastics routine.

Intent

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, we believe and recognise the integral part
that technology plays in our children’s day to day lives. Through our computing
curriculum we aim to equip our children to become active and responsible
learners and participants in the ever changing digital world. As a school we also
believe that all of our children have the right to have rich, deep learning
experiences that balance all aspects of computing. It is through this belief we aim
to provide our children with as many concrete experiences of when and how they
can use digital media in different aspects of their lives. We believe that our
computing curriculum is designed to develop everyone's love for learning and
help to support our children to become safe, confident and independent users of
a range of software and hardware.

Implementation

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, we aim to provide an enriching, diverse
and creative curriculum that balances all aspects of computing. As such, we
follow the Purple Mash scheme of work.

This scheme of work provides inclusive opportunities for all pupils from EYFS to
Year 6 to cover the three strands of computing content Online Safety, Digital
Literacy and Computing Science to ensure a spread of complimentary
opportunities and skills to allow for curriculum coverage. By using Purple Mash
the teachers of St Francis Catholic Primary are able to expose all of our pupils to

a wide variety of skills, experiences and poignant real-life scenarios which
supports the notion of cultural capital, providing the foundations that lead to well-
rounded global citizens.

Impact

Computing plays a huge part in ensuring the curriculum that we deliver to our
children at St Francis Catholic Primary School is inclusive to all, engaging and
current. The successful teaching and use of computing are evident in the
enthusiasm our children have for the use of technology to help aid, support and
enhance all areas of their learning.
At the end of each unit the children are able to share their knowledge of how to
be a responsible user of technology through discussion when questioned. The
children will be familiar with and will discuss their understanding of the three main
strands and will know key vocabulary associated with these. Confidence in this

subject will also mean that pupils are able to be more independent and
competent in life skills such as problem solving and logical thinking.

Intent

In St. Francis School, through Science, children learn about the world created by loving God, the wonders of life and the space beyond.  We recognise the importance of Science in every aspect of daily life and as one of the core subjects taught in Primary Schools, we give the teaching and learning of Science the prominence it requires. We develop the natural curiosity of the child, encourage respect for living organisms and the physical environment and provide opportunities for critical evaluation of evidence.

Children are taught to

• Develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of Science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them;
• Be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.
• Develop the essential scientific enquiry skills to deepen their scientific knowledge.
• Use a range of methods to communicate their scientific information and present it in a systematic, scientific manner, including I.C.T., diagrams, graphs and charts.
• Develop a respect for the materials and equipment they handle with regard to their own, and other children’s safety.
• Develop an enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery.

Implementation

The National Curriculum provides a structure and skill development for the science curriculum being taught throughout the school. Science learning starts for our children in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and builds on their natural curiosity, where they are given opportunities to explore the world through practical and fun child-initiated activities and gives them a strong foundation to further develop their knowledge in Key Stage 1 (KS1). The learning aims for progression of skills and knowledge through EYFS, KS1 and KS2, where topics are revisited and developed throughout children’s time at school. Topics, such as Plants, are taught in Key Stage One and studied again in further detail throughout Key Stage Two. Some of the topics, where possible, e.g. Rocks in year 3, are linked to the theme topics to provide a creative scheme of work, which reflects a balanced programme of study. 

In St Francis school we base our curriculum around our children, where we ensure they are challenged and achieve success, regardless of their starting point. Teachers plan interactive, well-resourced and engaging lessons. They encourage curiosity, problem solving and give children opportunities to ask their own questions and use scientific skills and research to discover the answers. Teachers model scientific language throughout lessons enabling children to use the vocabulary learnt in explaining scientific phenomena. We make provisions for various needs in our diverse community of children, where teachers adapt the resources and scaffold learning to ensure everybody achieves their full potential. 

Teachers set high expectations for our children, allowing them to be independent in their learning by regularly assessing themselves against the success criteria in science lessons. Children are aware of their attainment and the next steps in their learning; teachers regularly give feedback and support children through effective questioning and scaffolding. Summative assessment takes place at the end of every term and can be accessed on our Juniper Education software.

Impact

We equip our children with the skills and knowledge about the world that will enable them to work scientifically at a deeper level when they go to secondary school.

We provide children with a broad and balanced curriculum in Science, aiming to ignite their interest in a range of science-based subjects, promoting STEM subjects so that children learn about the possibilities for future careers in science. Our school has strong connections with the national scheme of STEM and our school parent STEM community.

We recognise that Science lends itself to outdoor learning, and so we provide children with opportunities to experience this, where the children regularly use our outdoor pond, gardening and Forest school facilities.  At St. Francis school we give children possibilities to enrich their learning through engaging school trips to science venues outside of our school and visits of our local science agencies to provide children with opportunities to take part in nature explorations, science shows and visits.

At St. Francis school children love Science, as shown by the latest Pupil Voice assessment, and carry that life-long love of learning with them when they leave us.
 

Intent

National Curriculum Purpose of Study: 

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. 

St Francis Art Rationale: 

Art Education at St Francis provides children with artistic skills and the ability to know that success can be found beyond the academic subjects of English, Maths and Science. They discover history and the world beyond their classroom through the window of art and, with these two outcomes, our children continue their education as creative, experienced, open-minded individuals whose success and worth are not restricted to the core subjects alone.’ 

Implementation

National Curriculum Purpose of Study: 

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. 

St Francis Art Rationale: 

Art Education at St Francis provides children with artistic skills and the ability to know that success can be found beyond the academic subjects of English, Maths and Science. They discover history and the world beyond their classroom through the window of art and, with these two outcomes, our children continue their education as creative, experienced, open-minded individuals whose success and worth are not restricted to the core subjects alone.

Impact

The impact of the above will create children who: 

• Have confidence in their artistic skills, the progress they’re making and the next steps ahead of them.
•  Understand that their successes can lie beyond academics. 
• Have a wider view of the world that has been gained through the teaching of Art. 
• Have multiple, high-quality sketchbooks that range from Year 1 to Year 6, packed with art development, cold tasks, final pieces, personal responses, annotations and cross curricular work. 
• A deeply embedded knowledge of a plethora of artists, both current and past from a wide variety of countries, continents and cultures.
•  An understanding of art history, how art has changed over time, and the impact of different art movements on the journey of human art forms.
   

Intent

At St Francis school, with God’s love, we intend to develop children’s confidence and love of mathematics. All children will achieve in mathematics through a mastery approach to the curriculum, and during their time at St Francis will develop their skills and resilience in fluency, reasoning and problem solving. All staff at our school know what a mastery curriculum looks like. We intend for children to become curious about mathematics, and ask questions using mathematically rich vocabulary. Children should be able to make connections between mathematics and other subjects, as well as developing an understanding of how maths can have a vocational impact in later life. Children will leave our school well equipped with the mathematical tools required for the future.

Implementation

At St Francis, with God’s help, we implement maths through a mastery curriculum which uses the White Rose scheme of work blocks to guide how teachers plan and deliver lessons. Teachers use a variety of resources to help them plan but all lessons help to develop skills in fluency, reasoning and problem solving. The school has a calculation policy which outlines how methods are taught in each year group, as well as show progression across each topic. A variety of teaching and learning opportunities provide the children with active and stimulating learning opportunities:

• Learning intentions and success criteria are shared so children have a clear understanding of what they are learning.  Mathematically rich vocabulary is used at all times and children are expected to use correct mathematical terminology.
• Talk partners are used in maths to help children learn from others as well as share their knowledge.
• Where possible, children work at the same pace in maths using a variety of mathematical resources to further their understanding and help to close any gaps. They choose whether to work independently or with their partner.
• Children are taught mathematical concepts using a ‘pictorial, concrete, abstract’ approach as they move through the stages of mastery.  Gaps in knowledge are identified through effective feedback marking. Where possible, interventions are immediate in order to close gaps and keep children working together.
• Children practise mental maths daily to help develop their understanding of place value, mental calculation strategies and times tables.
• Opportunities for outside learning are used to further enrich mathematical understanding.  Al children feel valued and confident in maths.
• All current learning is clearly displayed on maths working walls. These are working documents, and their content is updated regularly to reflect current learning.
• IN EYFS and KS1, use of the ‘Mastering Number’ programme- which runs in addition to daily maths lessons- help children with their subitising and counting skills.

Impact

Upon completion of a maths unit of work, teachers undertake summative assessment to identify gaps ad misconceptions before moving onto new topics. Pupil progress meetings are held regularly, to discuss those children who are not making appropriate progress. Strategies are then put in place to support these children. Parents are aware of their child’s progress in maths, and how they can work alongside them at home. Children become mentally competent in maths, and can use a variety of mental strategies as well as recall their multiplication table. Children leave St Francis Primary school mathematically confident and Secondary school ready. We want to see that children are using the skills acquired and are applying them to all aspects of daily life.

Intent

At St. Francis, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) ensures children and young people are equipped with the knowledge, understanding, skills and confidence to cope with the many pressures and challenges of modern society. Learning about friendships and family are the building blocks to help children to understand themselves and others. RHE (Relationships and Health Education) supports children to be prepared for the physical and emotional changes they undergo at puberty. As well as equipping children and young people with the information, skills, and positive values to have safe, fulfilling relationships. It provides a positive view of people’s differences and promotes dignity of the human person. Children are supported to make practical judgments about the right thing to do in different circumstances whilst exploring and promoting virtues which are essential to promoting respect and dignity. All of this is done within the doctrine of the Catholic Church, faithful to the Church's vision of human wholeness whilst recognising the contemporary context in which we live today.

Implementation

At St Francis we follow the programme of learning provided by Ten: Ten. Ensuring coverage of all the statutory elements by the end of the primary phase; these are delivered at the appropriate stage for our children and is supported specifically by a very thorough, spiral programme of learning from Ten: Ten- Life to the Full. Life to the Full covers all the statutory elements of RHE and the non-statutory elements of PSHE.
RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health education) is taught as explicit lessons through the PSHE and science curriculums but is also embedded in other areas of the curriculum and day-to-day life of the school. In PSHE, RSHE is specifically covered in the units ‘Relationships’ and ‘Growing and Changing’ and in science ‘Animals Including Humans’ and ‘Living Things and Their Habitats’ also cover the statutory requirements. Parents are given the opportunity to explore the RSHE curriculum prior to their children participating.
Children are taught by familiar adults who they have a good rapport with, to facilitate constructive and supportive discussions around sensitive topics in a safe and secure environment. Staff have received in-house and online CPD to support them in responding to the needs of the individual child and support children with any questions or concerns they may have. If staff feel uncomfortable or unsure when delivering any part of the PSHE curriculum or dealing with individual pupil needs, they know where to seek advice and support. 

RSHE is taught in three modules across the primary school from EYFS to UKS2:
Module 1: Created and Loved by God
Module 2: Created to Love Others
Module 3: Created to Live in Community

Our high expectations of behaviour, interpersonal relationships, respect, and tolerance of others reflect the British Values upheld in both our community and the wider world. The British Values are taught discretely throughout the year with a different focus each term. These link carefully to the school calendar to support the children’s understanding. Through this connected and progressive curriculum, children develop key skills and are prepared for the wider world beyond primary school, a world in which they can keep themselves safe and healthy and thrive with the support of the positive relationships they forge with those around them.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum will be that the standards of attainment across the school will meet or exceed those which are expected of our children nationally. We continuously assess the implementation and impact of our RHE curriculum to achieve the highest outcomes possible across all year groups and ensure we provide the support that is necessary for all children to have a good understanding of the complexities of relationships and how they grow and change and a secure knowledge and skills base to navigate their way through these, now and in the future. Through our entire PSHE curriculum, we believe we can enhance children’s education and help them to become confident individuals who have positive body awareness, an in-depth knowledge of how to keep themselves safe and healthy and who will, through respect, tolerance and understanding, forge and maintain positive relationships with a diverse range of family and friendship groups.
 

Intent

St Francis Primary School believes that learning another language enables the children to develop their communication and literacy skills alongside raising their awareness of the multicultural world that is created by God. 

The school aims are in line with the National Curriculum for languages, to ensure that all pupils:

• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say.
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.

Attainment Targets
By the end of each Key Stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand skills which are specified in the National Curriculum.
The delivery of French within the school will be very practical, giving the children a vast range of opportunities to explore and develop their communication skills.
Within their lessons, children will be taught to:

• Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
• Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes.
• Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others.
• Speak in sentences using familiar vocabulary.

The children will also be involved in reading and writing activities but the main focus will be developing their speaking ability in French.

Implementation

French is taught from Year 3 to Year 6 by an assistant teacher who works closely with the school Modern Foreign Language (MFL) lead. The MFL lead is a specialist in teaching modern foreign languages and has additional training in MFL pedagogy.

Lessons of 45 minutes approximately in length, happen weekly and class teachers remain in lessons to observe, support and upskill themselves in the teaching of French.

The current programme of study has been amended by the MFL specialist teacher based on the scheme ‘Primary Languages Network’, ensuring effective coverage of reading, writing, speaking and listening is taught. Opportunities for children to revisit knowledge at varying degrees of complexity and at a variety of points are built in throughout the four years of study. 

Lessons are intended to be active and highly focused, with children working as a whole class, in small groups, or in mixed-ability pairs to complete tasks at their individual level. Activities consist of games, stories, songs, phonics, grammar and sentence-building activities, rhymes, role-play and dictionary work, to name but a few.

Impact

Formative and summative assessment are used during Frenchlessons to ensure progress over time. 
We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following method:
 
In Class/Lesson Feedback
 
We understand that feedback is linked to progress and has to be timely to make an impact. In class feedback is used to support the teacher's workload, ensure it is as immediate and timely and specific as possible, and leaves the teacher time to focus on individual identified needs. In French, immediate feedback is provided to pupils to support them in developing their skills and knowledge within each lesson.
  
When a pupil has not met the learning objective there is timely support so they are able to continue on the learning journey with their peers. Teachers adapt their planning for the next lesson to ensure there is time to address these misconceptions. Teachers support the children with small steps to ensure progress of a skill.
 

Intent

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, the teaching of English is the foundation of our curriculum. It is our intent to provide high quality learning experiences in order to develop pupils’ competence in both transcription and composition regardless of background or potential difficulty. We aim to ensure all of our children develop a genuine love of language and the written word, through exposure to quality literature, while providing exciting experiences and ensuring opportunity to write for purpose across all areas of the curriculum. Pupils will know how to write down their ideas fluently, spelling words quickly and accurately by knowing the relationship between sounds and letters in words. Opportunity will be given to enhance pupils’
vocabulary through reading and interactions with other speakers. Along with a secure knowledge of grammar and punctuation, pupils will learn to plan, revise and evaluate their writing effectively. We will strive to ensure our children leave St Francis able to write confidently, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. We aim to send our children fully prepared for their secondary education and ready to achieve their aspirations and thrive in their adult lives.

Implementation

Lessons are planned and taught following the National Curriculum. Children in foundation stage, begin to learn to read and write with FFT Success for All Phonics. This is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme that introduces phonics and its application in a sequenced and progressive way: moving from developing phonological awareness through rhyme, to introducing Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences (GPCs) through a phased progression. This multisensory approach offers pacey and active lessons that engage all children in a variety of activities in a fun and memorable way. As children move from phonic acquisition to spelling patterns, we use the ‘Headstart’ scheme of work for spelling, punctuation and grammar from year 1 to year 6.
Punctuation and grammar is at the heart of developing children’s writing skills and is a vital and essential part of the creative writing process. The content of the programme is guided by the National Curriculum and makes the important link between the various aspects of grammar and punctuation and real texts; this makes the learning of grammar and punctuation meaningful and exciting. The activities provided by the HeadStart Programme for spelling, allow the children to practise the words in a meaningful and exciting way while ensuring that the word is used in context.
At St Francis, quality literature is placed at the heart of all learning. Using suggested materials from The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, (CLPE) with links to our topics, we will enable our children to explore vocabulary and various aspects of writing – language devices, grammar, etc. We strongly believe that quality texts are a wonderful stimulus to engage students, offer time to reflect and make connections to their own experiences. Vocabulary rich texts are important for teaching children how writing works and the effect it can have on a reader. We will encourage our children to write for a purpose and develop their own style. Genres of writing are carefully planned to show coverage and progression through the year
groups. We know that children’s vocabulary increases significantly when exposed regularly
to authentic literature. Knowing and using lots of words helps them to understand what others are saying, to talk and write in an engaging way, and to better understand the world around them. Therefore, children will engage in a dedicated daily vocabulary lesson. Our texts from CLPE have been chosen to show challenge, progression and diversity and it is from these texts that we will focus our teaching of vocabulary. Each new word will lead the children to explore more new words such as synonyms, antonyms, verbs, nouns, prefixes, suffixes etc. Foundation subject vocabulary will be taken from each year groups knowledge
organisers.
Children will be taught handwriting using the Nelson Handwriting Scheme. This will
ensure a whole school approach to teaching handwriting which begins with fine
motor development in year R, introducing cursive in year 1, through to developing a
personal style. Teachers will have a secure understanding of those children who are working below
and towards the expected standards in writing and will have clear, focused
interventions in place to support these children. The Writing curriculum will be evaluated through moderation, work scrutinies, drop ins, pupil conferencing and learning walks. Progress will be monitored through assessment using a range of assessment materials including Pixl, FFT RAP, hot
and cold writes, and self-assessment writing checklists.

Impact

Our children will leave St Francis School with a love of writing. They will become lifelong writers and story tellers who have been given the skills to express their ideas, feelings and understanding through writing. They will have the skills to write clearly and accurately and adapt their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They will have resilience and independence and a key understanding of different genres and their features. All children will make progress in their writing regardless of their starting point including children with SEND and will develop their skills and knowledge of writing in readiness for the next steps of their education.

Intent

At St Francis’ Catholic Primary School, we believe that reading is an essential life skill and we are committed to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers. We understand that Reading is the gateway to all learning. Our aim is to foster a love of reading and provide children with a language-rich environment, high-quality texts, and inspiring learning opportunities which will help them to:

• Read accurately, fluently with understanding and expression
• Develop a good understanding and knowledge of vocabulary and grammar
• Gain a lifelong love of reading where children are confident to use books to gain information and immerse themselves in different worlds

Implementation

Through our reading curriculum, we endeavour to ensure a consistent approach to the teaching and learning of early reading and phonics in the Foundation Stage and KS1. We use the FFT phonics scheme to deliver daily sessions which are assessed every half term to monitor progress. Our reading book scheme has been updated to ensure that pupils are provided with books that closely match
and support their phonics development in KS1 and Foundation stage. We encourage a love of reading through whole class daily story time. Children are guided to use our library with pride, respect and enjoyment. We routinely celebrate reading through different events over the academic year including World Book Day, library club, bring your parent to read sessions, author and poet visits and workshops. We provide a text-rich environment in order to encourage a positive culture of reading throughout all classes and promote pupils’ enjoyment of reading. Through high-quality teaching and learning experiences, we continue to develop children’s skills and confidence.

Impact

Through regular assessments (formative and summative), EYFS outcomes, YR1 phonic checks, monitoring of teaching and learning, data analysis as well as listening to our pupil voice, senior leaders can be confident that children achieve well. By the end of their primary education all children at St Francis’ Catholic Primary will have experienced a broad and diverse exposure to quality texts and will be confident to use their skills and love of reading to support their future lifelong learning.