Curriculum
Willows-Curriculum (ID 1023)
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Religious Education
Religious Education
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, Religious Education is at the heart of our curriculum and reflects our mission: “With Christ at our heart…”
Our Religious Education curriculum aims to develop pupils' knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, Scripture and the teachings and traditions of the Church. We want pupils to encounter the person of Jesus Christ, understand the story of salvation and recognise how faith influences the way Christians live.
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HRSE & PSHE
HRSE & PSHE
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, our PSHE and Relationships and Health Education curriculum supports pupils to become confident, respectful, safe and responsible members of society.
As a Catholic school, our curriculum is rooted in the belief that every person is created and loved by God and has inherent dignity and worth. We want pupils to understand themselves, develop healthy relationships with others and learn how to make informed and responsible choices.
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Art & Design
Art & Design
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to develop confident, curious and thoughtful artists who can express ideas, explore materials and make purposeful creative choices.
Our Art and Design curriculum is carefully sequenced from Reception to Year 6 so that pupils develop increasingly secure knowledge and practical skill. Pupils build their understanding of drawing, painting, sculpture and other artistic techniques through repeated opportunities to practise, refine and apply what they have learned.
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Computing
Computing
As the use of technology is an integral part of teaching and learning, we view the teaching of online safety as a fundamental part of our curriculum. At every opportunity, online safety is taught and discussed with our children where appropriate to everyday use, as well as having a specific focus on relevant areas of online safety, for example, where there are issues identified involving our children.
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Design & Technology
Design & Technology
Design and technology is an intricate part of our day to day lives and we therefore believe that our children need to be taught the importance of this subject in our rapidly changing world. Our children are encouraged to think creatively in order to solve problems and make improvements to existing ideas and products. It is through these methods that they can make positive changes to their own and others’ lives.
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English
English
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we believe that a quality English curriculum should develop children’s love of reading, writing and discussion. We have a rich, progressive English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. Our curriculum closely follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014.
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EYFS (Reception)
EYFS (Reception)
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to give every child the best possible start to their education.
Our Early Years curriculum is ambitious, broad and carefully sequenced. It develops learning across all seven areas of the EYFS, with a strong focus on communication and language, personal development, early reading, writing and mathematics.
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Geography
Geography
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to develop knowledgeable, curious and responsible geographers who understand their place in the world and can make sense of the people, places and environments around them.
Our Geography curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build secure knowledge of places, space and scale from Reception to Year 6. Pupils develop their understanding of their immediate surroundings before extending their knowledge to the United Kingdom and the wider world.
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History
History
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to develop knowledgeable, curious and thoughtful historians who understand Britain’s past and the history of the wider world.
Our History curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build secure knowledge of significant people, events, societies and periods over time. Pupils develop an increasingly strong sense of chronology and learn to make connections between different periods of history.
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Languages
Languages
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to develop pupils' confidence, curiosity and competence in learning a foreign language.
French is our principal modern foreign language. Our curriculum is designed to give pupils a secure foundation in listening, speaking, reading and writing and to prepare them for further language learning at secondary school.
We want pupils to develop a growing bank of useful vocabulary, phrases and grammatical knowledge which they can combine and apply with increasing independence.
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Maths
Maths
At The Willows, we strive to develop a love of all things mathematical. Every child is equally important and so our children are fully supported to enable them to develop at a level that is appropriate to them. As well as engaging our children through fun activities, our lessons focus on developing deeper thinking, rehearsing methods and learning new facts. Through challenging word problems, missing number tasks and open-ended problem solving where they explain their understanding, we challenge children to become masters of the subject. Children explain their answers rather than just giving a numerical answer and are encouraged to challenge others if they disagree and argue their case if they are convinced that they are correct.
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Music
Music
Music is an integral and well-resourced part of life at The Willows Catholic Primary School. We want the music lessons to be fun and inspiring, engaging the children with songs, lyrics and movement. We want the children to feel able and reflective and expressive, developing their own appreciation of music with the opportunities we provide as a school. All children are actively encouraged and given the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument, from standard classroom instruments to individual instrumental lessons with the visiting peripatetic staff.
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Physical Education
Physical Education
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to inspire pupils to enjoy physical activity and develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to lead healthy and active lives.
Our PE curriculum is broad, balanced and progressive. It develops pupils' competence across a wide range of physical activities, including games, gymnastics, dance, athletics, outdoor activity and swimming.
We want pupils to become physically confident and increasingly skilful. They learn how to move effectively, apply skills in different situations, work as part of a team and compete fairly.
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Phonics
Phonics
At The Willows Catholic Primary School we are committed to the delivery of excellence in the teaching of Phonics. We aim to develop each child so that they are able to read with fluency as well as develop a love of reading that will stay with our children all their lives. Being able to read is the most important skill children will learn during their early schooling and has far-reaching implications for lifelong confidence and well-being.
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Science
Science
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim to develop knowledgeable, curious and thoughtful young scientists who understand the world around them and are equipped to ask questions about it.
Our Science curriculum is designed so that pupils build secure scientific knowledge and understanding from Reception to Year 6. Learning is carefully sequenced so that new knowledge builds on what pupils have learned before, allowing them to make connections between different areas of science and develop increasingly sophisticated understanding.
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Swimming
Swimming
At The Willows Catholic Primary School, we aim for pupils to become confident, competent and safe swimmers.
Swimming is an important part of our Physical Education curriculum because it develops physical competence while also teaching essential water-safety skills.
Our curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils develop the confidence, technique and stamina needed to swim effectively using a range of strokes. Pupils also learn how to keep themselves safe in and around water and how to respond appropriately in an emergency.
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Writing
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British Values
British Values
At The Willows, we uphold and teach pupils about British values as directed under Ofsted guidance, September 2024, which states that school 'prepares pupils for life in modern Britain effectively, developing their understanding of the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.'
