Subject Overviews
For more information regarding our curriculum, please click on the subject headings below.
Mathematics
At St. Joseph’s, we strive to empower children with the mathematical tools and authority to effectively describe and interpret the empirical world around them. We acknowledge that Mathematics is fundamental to the intellectual, personal, and social development of our pupils and that a secure understanding of mathematics is an essential factor in creating an equitable society. We seek to inspire in all of our children a love of mathematics and an appreciation of the beauty and majesty of mathematics as a subject.
All pupils, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, culture, class, or disability are given equal opportunity to acquire the appropriate skills, Mathematical concepts and knowledge required by the National Curriculum. All children will be guided to achieve their full potential in mathematics.
We follow The National Curriculum Mathematics programmes of study. The programmes of study are organised into distinct domains, within each year group. There are clear sets of objectives for Years 1 to 6. This programme provides teachers with the flexibility to make connections between mathematical ideas and to embed the teaching of mathematics within a range of other subjects in order to provide meaningful contexts for mathematical learning. Children are taught fluency in number, mental calculation strategies, reasoning and problem solving skills.
English
At St Joseph’s we aim to equip pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to develop their love of reading through providing them with rich and varied learning experiences. We believe that a high-quality education in English enables pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others accurately and expressively.
Spoken language
Spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are vital for developing their vocabulary, grammar and their understanding of reading and writing.
At St Joseph’s we believe the best way to teach children about the correct conventions for spoken language is to immerse them in it. In all subjects children have many opportunities to orally explain their ideas, make formal presentations and participate in drama activities and debates.
Our English curriculum, developed using the frameworks provided by the Literacy Tree Consultants, uses high quality books that offer opportunities for empathy and can aid philosophical enquiry, as a means of developing the spoken language requirements through discussion about the issues raised through, and within, the texts.
Reading
We believe the exposure of children’s literature within the primary school setting is vital as a rich context for learning; not only within English as a subject but to support building a reading culture throughout the school.
Children are taught a range of phonic strategies to enable them to decode new words so they can read fluently and with confidence. Through high quality discussion of a range of texts including; fiction, non-fiction and poetry, children develop their comprehension skills as well as an appreciation and love of reading.
Guided reading is a daily occurrence throughout the school and in this time children have further opportunity to engage with high quality texts from different genres and show their understanding through a range of responses, such as drama and extended writing opportunities.
Our home reading programme, which provides children with books to read at home and reading journals to make reflections about what they have read, plays an important role in developing our positive reading culture. Our annual book week celebrations, and events such as author’s visits and book fairs, create a culture of reading for pleasure which we hope will stay with children throughout their lives.
Writing
At St Joseph’s, we understand that being an effective writer requires many skills, such as; a sound knowledge of spelling rules and patterns, an understanding of proper grammatical conventions and sentence structures, a wide vocabulary to express ideas, and fluent, legible handwriting to write them down.
We ensure that all of our children are explicitly taught these skills through a mixture of discrete lessons, thoughtful discussion and analysis of quality writing.
Meaningful writing opportunities are provided within the diverse range of engaging, quality texts on our book based English curriculum or linked to other curriculum topics. Teaching in writing allows children to explore new vocabulary and grammatical structures used by authors, before learning how to apply these in their own work. In shared and guided writing activities, pupils work with their teacher to learn how to plan, revise and evaluate their own written work, enabling them to become more independent, successful writers.
Grammar and spelling lessons are usually linked to class texts to provide children with a context for their learning and they are taught through a mixture of games, quizzes and short written experiences.
In handwriting lessons, pupils are taught to form and join their letters correctly – using the Nelson Handwriting Programme – to develop a legible, cursive style which allows them to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
Science
At St Joseph’s, we recognise the fundamental role that a high quality scientific education plays in pupils’ understanding and interpretation of the world around them. Science has, and will continue to change the world therefore it is essential that we equip our children with a thorough understanding of key scientific knowledge and understanding, methods and processes. Through our science curriculum, we strive to inspire a sense of awe, excitement and curiosity in the natural world and natural phenomena within all of our pupils. We aspire to provide all of our pupils with the skills required to explain what they observe around them, predict the future and to analyse cause and effect in the natural world. We encourage all of our pupils to evaluate their scientific learning in light of the school’s core Catholic values and to recognise their roles as stewards of God’s world.
Computing
At St Joseph’s, we recognise the integral role that computing plays in day to day life in an ever evolving digital landscape in education, at home and in the workplace. We strive to equip our children with the knowledge and skills to become digitally literate and to be able to be active and responsible participants in a digital world. We recognise the deep links that computer science has with mathematics, science and design technology and how it can be utilised to support children with learning, expressing themselves and developing their ideas across the curriculum. Due to the ever changing nature of computing, we aspire to foster a growth mind-set within all our pupils which encourages children to recognise challenge as an essential component of their learning, that teamwork and communication are vital to effective problem solving and to embrace the evolution of new technologies.
History
At St Joseph’s we follow the National Curriculum programmes of study for history. We aspire to stimulate the children’s interest, curiosity and understanding about the past through our history curriculum. Through history, our pupils see the complexity and diversity of human experience, and understand more about themselves as individuals and members of society. A high quality historical education is an integral part of preparing our children to live and work in the contemporary world, what they learn from history will influence their decisions, personal choices, attitudes and values. History gives us a sense of identity, and a social, political, cultural and economic perspective upon the world in which we live. At St Joseph’s we strive to educate our pupils in fundamental historical knowledge and skills through a range of contexts and time periods from Ancient Egypt to Bermondsey in the 21st Century and everything in between. We encourage all of our pupils to evaluate historical events, changes and consequences in light of the school’s core Catholic values.
Geography
At St Joseph’s we follow the National Curriculum Programmes of Study for geography. Through our geography curriculum, we strive to inspire our pupils’ curiosity, fascination and sense of wonder about the world and the people within it. We educate our children in fundamental geographical knowledge and skills through a range of contexts from the South Pole to Bermondsey and everything in between and beyond.
We aspire to instil an understanding of, and sensitivity towards, the geographical issues affecting people around the world and in our local area within all of our pupils. We encourage our students to evaluate the geographical issues that face mankind in the current era in light of the school’s core Catholic values and to recognise their role in an ever-developing world.
Modern Foreign Languages
At St Joseph’s, we recognise that a high quality language education provides a window into alternative cultures, promotes tolerance and stimulates pupil’s curiosity about the world. Learning a second language provides pupils with a fresh perspective upon their understanding of English and supports the overall development of children’s oracy, reading and writing skills. Through our MFL curriculum we strive to inspire pupil’s curiosity and love of foreign languages and to establish a body of linguistic knowledge and skills – speaking, listening, reading, writing & grammar – laying the foundations for further language learning at KS3.
Through our teaching of the programmes of study from the National Curriculum 2014 we aim to enable pupils to:
- 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, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
- 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
Music
We believe that, by connecting young children to music, we can enhance not only their enjoyment, skills, understanding and appreciation of the subject itself, but also learning in other areas, including: thinking and listening skills, the ability to concentrate, creative, aesthetic sensitivity, perseverance, self-confidence, and sensitive to others.
Each class (including the nursery) has a weekly music lesson with the specialist teacher. Children are taught the knowledge, skills and understanding of music in accordance with the programme of study contained in the national curriculum.
We have a range of pitched and unpitched musical instrument for children use, including electronic keyboards and instruments from non-European cultures. Songs from a wide range of cultures, traditions and genres are learned, as well as practising songs for our assemblies and school productions.
Class teachers plan together with the subject leader to exploit cross-curriculum links between music and other subjects wherever practicable. The subject leader assists in providing good quality, well-performed music for assemblies and especially for the celebrations of the liturgy.
Design Technology
Design Technology at St Joseph’s gives our children an opportunity to explore and understand their world before using their creative and practical talents to design and construct a product from their own perspective.
The children look at existing products and investigate how their design has been tailored to a specific audience before considering how they might alter this for an alternative design brief. They are then taught subject specific skills in a controlled environment before applying those skills on their own design. At all times children are encouraged to consider and plan for any risk that may be present when using a specific skill, ensuring a classroom that is aware and confident.
The children’s learning will also reflect the prioritising of Nutrition in the New Curriculum, developing their skills and understanding in the kitchen environment from planing a balanced meal to learning how to safely prepare ingredients in a creative way for a set design brief. They will be encouraged to try new things and investigate flavours and ingredients from around the globe, all while understanding the vital importance of balanced meals, exercise and safe preparation on their health and well-being throughout their lives.
Religious Education
St Joseph’s is a Catholic school which aims to embed a relationship of love between our children, God and our community. We support our pupils in learning about the life and mission of Jesus in a loving, caring and supportive environment that reflects the gospel values. Through focused RE lessons, daily prayer, collective Acts of Worship and Celebrations of Liturgy, children learn about the life and work of Jesus; the traditions of the church; the importance of the sacraments and develop their understanding of the Mass. They also learn about other world faiths and the need to respect the beliefs and traditions of others.
At St Joseph’s we recognise that children should not just learn about the Gospel values but live them. We believe it is our duty to create an environment that is reflective of this; where children feel respected, loved and cared for in every aspect of their education and able to reach their full potential, not just academically but emotionally, socially and personally. We feel it is important that our children learn how to co-operate with others, respect others and forgive others through understanding the Gospel Values and living our lives through Christ.
Our aim is to guide the children to become religiously literate and spiritually developed young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills –appropriate to their age and capacity – to think spiritually, ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life.
St. Joseph’s follows uses the framework of the Come and See Scheme of work, following the liturgical year.
Physical Education
At St Joseph’s School, we fundamentally believe that physical education is integral to a child’s physical, social, emotional and personal development. We strive to inspire a love of physical activity and sport in all of our pupils by giving them opportunities to succeed and excel in competitive and physically demanding activities.
We recognise the essential role that exercise plays in supporting a child’s health and fitness and that sport provides opportunities to build children’s personal qualities and values such as resilience, perseverance, fairness and respect.
PSHE
The personal, social, health and economic education of our pupils in an integral part of our school’s curriculum, our pupil’s education and personal development. At St Joseph’s we strive to equip all of our pupils with the personal, social, health and economic skills to succeed in an ever developing and changing social, economic and political landscape. We aim to develop our pupil’s understanding of risk and to prepare them to make informed decisions in light of the Catholic values of our school. Our teachers endeavour to tailor the PSHE curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils focusing upon the following curriculum areas:
- Living in the Wider World
- Relationships
- Online Safety
- Financial Education
- Mental and Emotional Wellbeing
- Living a Healthy Lifestyle
- Moral and Spiritual development
Special Educational Needs
At St Joseph’s School we recognise that some children may experience learning difficulties during their time at our school. We realise that these needs will varied and will be specific to each child. Similarly we acknowledge the fact that children’s needs may change according to experience and circumstance.
As such we aim to:
- create an environment within our school that meets the needs of those children with Special Educational Needs.
- ensure that the Special Educational Needs of each child are identified, assessed and provided for.
- enable all children to have access to all elements of the National Curriculum
For our SEN Information Report, CLICK HERE
For more information on our curriculum please refer to half-termly class curriculum letters or speak to the class teacher.