Our Curriculum

Curriculum Intent 

Our bespoke curriculum is rooted in our Christian ethos, with God at the centre of all we do. Inspired by our vision, ‘Courage to Flourish in the Love of God’, our curriculum enables every child to Achieve, Belong and Thrive. We nurture pupils to flourish spiritually, emotionally and intellectually, equipping them with the knowledge, character and confidence to embrace life in all its fullness.

Our core values — community, love, forgiveness, trust, courage, hope and thankfulness — shape the culture of our school. They guide relationships, influence decision-making and shape the experiences we want for every pupil.

We are proud to serve a diverse and resilient community where many children face significant disadvantage and barriers to learning. This strengthens our moral purpose: we are committed to ensuring that every child is known, valued and given the opportunity to succeed. Our curriculum is ambitious, inclusive and responsive — reflecting pupils’ lived experiences while broadening horizons, raising aspirations and opening pathways to future possibilities.

Achieve

We want every child to achieve highly and develop secure foundations for future learning. Our broad and balanced curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build, retain and connect knowledge over time. Reading sits at the heart of our curriculum because we recognise that fluent reading unlocks learning across every subject and provides access to future opportunities.

We maintain high expectations for all pupils and provide the adaptations, scaffolding and support necessary to ensure that every child can access the same ambitious curriculum and experience success.

Belong

Every child should feel that they belong at St Michael’s. Our curriculum reflects and celebrates the diversity of our school community while helping pupils understand and appreciate the wider world.

Through our Christian vision and values, pupils learn to develop positive relationships, respect difference, show compassion and understand their responsibilities towards others. We ensure that pupils see themselves represented within the curriculum while also encountering people, places, cultures and experiences beyond their own.

Our commitment to inclusion means that every pupil is known, valued, supported and able to participate fully in school life.

Thrive

Our curriculum is designed not only to prepare pupils academically, but to help them thrive as confident, resilient and compassionate individuals.

Through rich learning experiences, enrichment opportunities and personal development, pupils develop curiosity, independence, creativity and the confidence to take on new challenges. We broaden horizons and raise aspirations so that children recognise the possibilities available to them and are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life beyond St Michael’s.

While fulfilling the expectations of the National Curriculum, our approach is carefully shaped around the needs of our pupils. We aim to develop learners who are Ready, Respectful and Responsible, equipped with both the knowledge and personal qualities they need to Achieve, Belong and Thrive and to have the Courage to Flourish in the Love of God.

Through our curriculum, we aim for our children to:

• achieve strong foundations in knowledge and skills, enabling them to build confidently over time and succeed in their learning;
• read fluently and with understanding, enabling full access to the curriculum and developing a lifelong love of reading;
• develop secure, connected knowledge and make meaningful links within and across subjects;
• belong to a community in which they feel known, valued and included, while respecting and celebrating the diversity of others;
• grow spiritually in the love of God, reflecting, questioning and deepening their understanding of themselves, others and the world;
• embody our core values, showing kindness, empathy, respect and responsibility;
• develop confidence, resilience, independence and high aspirations;
• experience opportunities that broaden their horizons and enable them to discover their interests and talents; and
• thrive as knowledgeable, compassionate and well-rounded individuals who are prepared for the next stage of their education and have the courage to flourish in the love of God.

Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum is implemented through a consistent, evidence-informed approach that enables all pupils to acquire, retain and apply knowledge successfully. High expectations, carefully sequenced learning and a shared pedagogical approach ensure every child is supported to flourish academically, socially and spiritually.

Curriculum Sequencing

Knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced from EYFS to Year 6 so that learning builds progressively over time. Progression is carefully mapped from Nursery to Year 6 across all subjects, enabling pupils to revisit, retrieve and deepen knowledge over time.

Consistent Pedagogy

High-quality teaching is underpinned by a consistent lesson structure across the school. Learning begins by activating prior knowledge before new content is explicitly taught through clear explanations and modelling. Pupils then move through guided practice towards independent application, with teachers checking understanding and addressing misconceptions throughout the lesson. Learning concludes with a review of key knowledge.

Retrieval and Memory

Every lesson begins with a Do Now retrieval activity that revisits learning from previous lessons, units and year groups. Regular retrieval strengthens long-term memory, supports automatic recall and enables pupils to build increasingly connected knowledge.

Vocabulary and Reading

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and is prioritised across every subject. Pupils read daily for both purpose and pleasure, enabling them to access ambitious curriculum content and develop a lifelong love of reading. Disciplinary vocabulary is explicitly taught, revisited and applied in every lesson, developing confident and articulate learners.

High Expectations for All

We maintain high expectations for every pupil. Teachers adapt learning through responsive teaching, appropriate scaffolding and carefully planned challenge, ensuring all pupils access the same ambitious curriculum while receiving the support they need to succeed.

Assessment

Teachers use ongoing formative assessment throughout lessons to identify misconceptions and adapt teaching. Every lesson ends with an Exit Quiz, enabling pupils to demonstrate what they know and remember while providing teachers with immediate feedback to inform future teaching.

Enrichment

A wide range of educational visits, visitors and practical experiences enrich our curriculum, bringing learning to life, broadening horizons and deepening pupils’ understanding of the world.

Curriculum Impact

The impact of our curriculum is seen in the knowledge pupils retain, the confidence with which they apply their learning and the character they develop over time. Through high-quality teaching, consistent pedagogy and carefully sequenced learning, our pupils become articulate, knowledgeable and compassionate individuals who are well prepared for the next stage of education and have the courage to flourish in the love of God.