The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the 2014 primary national curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. It is based on a child-centred pedagogy called The Four Cornerstones and is delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) and Knowledge Rich Projects (KRPs), which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of children’s learning. We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our curriculum provides many learning challenges throughout the academic year that require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively. Cornerstones also provide a rigorous skills and knowledge framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. These skills and knowledge are tied to activities and are age-related so that staff can track children’s progress and identify their individual learning needs.

Intent

• Our curriculum builds progressive core knowledge and key curriculum concepts using a range of learning and subject skills.
• Our curriculum leads to pupils being able to recall and describe the knowledge and concepts in familiar, unfamiliar, local and global contexts.
• Our curriculum is designed to enable pupils to make connections between their developing knowledge and concepts, their prior learning, and their lived experiences.
• Pupils are empowered to use their literacy, oracy, and digital communication skills to purposefully share and articulate their learning with others.
• Our curriculum enables our pupils to be resilient, confident, resourceful, aspirational and responsible individuals and citizens.

Implementation

• Class teachers are responsible for planning the curriculum for their class. They make decisions about what resources and materials they use, and how they differentiate them appropriately. They do this using their professional knowledge and expertise, sharing best practice and providing support for each other, focussed on outcomes for individual pupils.
• Subject leaders and senior leaders are responsible for designing the progression in core knowledge, skills and concepts into year group plans. They ensure that all teachers are familiar with curriculum expectations through training, monitoring and coaching, with a focus on ensuring that outcomes can be achieved by all pupils.

Impact

• Class teachers routinely evaluate the progress of pupils within and across lessons using the curriculum frameworks to make judgements. They use this information to analyse how effectively pupils are achieving or exceeding expectations and to adapt their planning accordingly.

• Teachers provide Subject Leaders with timely summative information about the outcomes of pupils in their class.
• Leaders routinely evaluate the summative outcomes for their area of responsibility. They use this analysis to identify any necessary actions that develop the quality of provision in their subject, to moderate assessments, and to benchmark outcomes against expectations beyond their school.
• Rigorous systems for assessment and evaluating the effectiveness of provision mean that pupils’ needs are quickly identified. Those children with additional needs are assessed and staff resources are deployed to support pupils particularly those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. A thorough provision map is regularly reviewed and adjusted according to need.

SEND Learners 

 Legislation states that a child with SEN/D “has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age”.

At St. Joseph's we strongly believe that a child with SEND should have their needs met, normally in the mainstream classroom through Quality First Teaching.

We believe partnership between parents and the school; together with the expertise from support agencies should combine to ensure every child attains their full potential.

The school follows a graduated approach to identification and support following procedures which are in line with the Revised Code of Practice. The stages of intervention are:

• Assess

• Plan

• Do

• Review

We aim to enhance SEND pupil's knowledge through:

• role play and drama including interactive workshops and hot seating 

• educational visits

• workshops 

• debates and discussions

• cross-curricular links and projects where possible, including challenge events and competitions

• careful planned use of visual stimuli like story boards, photographs, story boxes and bags, games and artefacts.

• use of IT and audio visual resources

• structured use of talk partners (think, pair, share)

• use of differentiated tasks, audio visual resources, IT to plan appropriately for those with Special Educational Needs.

More Able Learners

Our ‘more able learners’ are identified as performing significantly above their expected points target trajectory.

Opportunities to challenge more able learners are offered in a number of ways:

• Differentiated lessons

• Extra-curricular activities 

• Educational opportunities, visits and trips.

Within  lessons, more able children are extended and are challenged to develop their deeper thinking, for example, through open ended questions and challenge/extension activities.

Opportunities will provide pupils to tackle more complex issues and a wider range of resources. Participation in a variety of educational visits and workshops also ensures that more able children have opportunities to continue to inspire and motivate them.

If you would like further information regarding our school curriculum, then please do not hesitate to contact your child's class teacher for further information.