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Our Curriculum

As a Catholic school, it is essential that the love of Jesus Christ and the Gospel values that we live by remain at the centre of our teaching and learning. In addition to this, we strive for excellence and want to offer our children a variety of experiences that are relevant and inspirational, whilst developing the essential skills that they need for their future lives as citizens of our world. 

At St. Edmund's, we currently use the Cornerstone's approach as a basis for our topics but after ongoing evaluations, teachers have adapted and personalised the content of these topics to meet the needs of our pupils, enriching their learning experiences, developing life experiences wherever possible. 

The fundamental aim of any curriculum is to help children learn. What sets the Cornerstones Curriculum apart is that it’s based on a four-stage philosophy: Engage, Develop, Innovate, Express.

Engage

At the ‘Engage’ stage, children:

  • gain memorable first-hand experiences, such as going on a visit or inviting a special visitor into school

  • enjoy ‘WOW’ experiences

  • get an exciting introduction to a topic or theme

  • begin researching and setting enquiry questions

  • get lots of opportunities to make observations

  • develop spoken language skills

  • take part in sensory activities

  • have lots of fun to fully 'engage' with their new topic.

Develop

At the ‘Develop’ stage, children:

  • improve their knowledge and understanding of the topic

  • develop and practice their new skills

  • compose, make, do, build, investigate, explore, write for different purposes and read across the curriculum

  • research their own questions and those set by others

  • follow new pathways of enquiry based on their interests

  • complete homework activities that support their learning.

Innovate

At the ‘Innovate’ stage, children:

  • apply skills, knowledge and understanding in real-life contexts

  • solve real or imagined problems using everything they’ve learnt

  • get inspired by imaginative and creative opportunities

  • revisit anything not fully grasped at the ‘Develop’ stage.

Express

At the ‘Express’ stage, children:

  • become the performers, experts and informers

  • share their achievements with parents, classmates and the community

  • evaluate finished products and processes

  • link what they have learnt to where they started

  • celebrate their achievements!

Please find the Curriculum Overviews for each year group on the class pages -  you will see, the titles for the topics are very exciting and imaginative! 

                                                                                       

Religion

At St. Edmund's we follow the curriculum suggested by Salford Diocese: Come and See. 

To find out more about Come and See, please click on the link below.

http://www.comeandseere.co.uk/

SMSC Teaching and Learning

Our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultutal curriculum is delivered through Cartias in Action which delivers a range of scenarios, dilemas and life choices to our children.  Together with their peers, children are encouraged to apply thier knowledge and understanding of the Gospel values to arrive at an outcome suitable for all. 

Prayer and Worship

At St. Edmund's we use the Anam Cara scheme for our Prayer and Worship sessions as well as each class teacher composing their own based on the Liturgical year.

Mathematics

Mathematics is taught as a discreet subject, separate to the Cornerstones Curriculum. The school follows the 'Busy Ant' scheme developed by Collins to fulfil the higher expectations of the new 2014 National Curriculum.

The programme has assessment at the heart and aims to ensure conceptual understanding and mathematical progression . It aims to reach the needs of every child, helping them to develop the mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding they need to become competent and confident mathematicians.

To find out more about the Collins 'Busy Ant' scheme that the school follows please click on the link below.

http://www.collins.co.uk/page/busyantmaths

Phonics

At St. Edmund's we follow Read Write Inc. in our Phonics lessons.

To find out more information on Read Write Inc. please click on the link below.

http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/read-write-inc-programmes/phonics/