Our curriculum is carefully planned. The rolling programme for our mixed-age classes ensures full coverage of all statutory curriculum requirements for EYFS, Key stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Phonics Scheme

Our school has adopted the Read Write Inc phonics scheme.

Find out more about the scheme by clicking on the link below:

Read Write Inc information for parents.

The Intent of our HRSE Curriculum

At St Mary's we are inspired by Jesus to be the very best we can be. We look after one another and show respect and love through our relationships with one another. Jesus is invited into our hearts. In the Beatitudes, Jesus Invites us to lead a full life with him by explaining what makes people blessed or happy. This is about understanding how loving our neighbour enables us to be happy too. Therefore, having a good relationship with ourselves and the other people in our lives makes us grow and flourish and we respect that everyone is a unique and beautiful part of God's creation. We are all children of God, called to grow in love for him through the person of Jesus Christ and to spread the Good News through the action of the Holy Spirit. 

The Implementation of our HRSE Curriculum

At St Mary's we follow the Life to the Full programme as published by Ten:Ten Resources. This is an ambitious, evolving programme of work that offers a fully-integrated and holistic programme in Relationship Education that truly enables children to 'live life to the full' (John 10:10).

The programme adopts a spiral curriculum approach so that as a child goes through the programme year-after-year, the learning will develop and grow, with each stage building on the last. 

Early Years Foundation Stage: Children will expand their vocabulary by applying names to family/friend relationships, consider positive/negative behaviour in relationships and learn to look to Jesus as their role model for a good friend. They will learn to resolve conflict and the importance of asking for forgiveness when necessary. 

Key Stage 1: Children are taught to identify the Special People in their lives who they love and can trust, how to cope with various social situations and dilemmas , and the importance of saying sorry and forgiveness within relationships. We also explore the risks of being online, the difference between good and bad secrets, and teaching on physical boundaries (incorporating the NSPCC PANTS resource). Children also learn about the effects of harmful substances (including alcohol and tobacco) , some basic First Aid and what makes a 999 emergency and what they should do in an emergency situation.

Lower Key Stage 2: The sessions aim to equip children with strategies for more complex experiences of relationships and conflict; this includes sessions that help children to identify and understand how  to respond to spoken and unspoken pressure, the concept of consent and some practical demonstrations of this, and further teaching on how our thoughts and feelings have an impact on how we act. The programme also explores the risks of sharing and chatting online at a level more appropriate to years 5 & 6, and a more complex understanding of different forms of abuse. Finally, the children will explore their relationship with the wider world. Here we explore how human beings are relational by nature and are called to love others in the wider community though service, through dialogue and through working for the Common Good. 

What does your child learn at school each day? Find information about our curriculum subjects here.