Curriculum: Breadth, Depth and Balance Statement
At St Cuthbert’s we believe that every child is unique and made in the image of Christ. We believe that every child should experience a rich and broad curriculum where they can flourish, use all of their talents to the very best of their ability and reach their full potential. We believe that children develop their self- esteem and confidence when they feel valued and successful. When this happens children feel empowered to overcome whatever barriers they may face. In order to develop children’s skills there needs to be a balance between core and foundation subjects. This means we have designed, planned and organised a unique curriculum to ensure that all children feel emotionally secure so they can make excellent progress both academically and personally. Our high standards permeate through all areas of the curriculum. This motivates all children to enjoy their learning, make progress, strive to attain national expectations and develop critical thinking and apply knowledge gained at greater depth.
At St Cuthbert’s we sensitively discuss pupils’ backgrounds, life experiences and culture to help us design and plan a broad, rich and flexible curriculum. We believe that by focussing on the following key priorities our children will have had the opportunity to secure the skills and attributes necessary in readiness for the next stage of their learning journey. Our key priorities are:
- Aspirations – we strive to provide experiences which illuminate a wide range of possibilities and life chances.
- Initiative – we consistently promote varied strategies to support independent and resourceful learning.
- Environment – we aim to support pupils’ value their environment and understand their responsibilities in contributing to and sustaining their local and global environment.
Through systematically reflecting on the interests and experiences of all pupils in school, we believe that we support and champion our culture to ensure that everyone benefits from a full range of academic, spiritual, moral, social and cultural activities. These learning opportunities enrich their lives and develop a sense of pride in their British values and wonderfully diverse society to which they belong. Our broad curriculum promotes self-belief and encourages each child to lead a happy and fulfilled life as they aim high and strive to reach their goals and dreams.
At St Cuthbert’s we design and plan our curriculum to meet all learning outcomes but we also consider how pupils can achieve greater depth to their knowledge. This enables children to use their skills and understanding across a range of curriculum areas. To achieve this, we revisit previous learning, provide opportunities to repeat and practise key skills and processes and meticulously design learning outcomes that promote higher order thinking and depth of reasoning.
We believe that the curriculum at St Cuthbert’s prepares children for their high school years and paves the way for each and every one of them to lead a full and rich life becoming the very best person that they can be.
