At St. James' we have an exciting and engaging curriculum, details of our curriculum can be found within this page.

While we look for cross curricular links across different subjects, each subject is taught explicitly; based on the objectives found in the National Curriculum. This ensures that children are aware of the declaritive and procedural knowledge required to master that subject.

What is our curriculum intent?

Our curriculum offer emcompasses our school vision:

Embracing the Christian values of kindness, love and joy, from our beautiful location on the Malvern Hills, we nurture children as unique individuals, celebrating their talents, gifts and differences. Through a wide and creative curriculum, we encourage them to grow academically, emotionally and spiritually, and so enabling all our children to flourish in life.

As a church school, this vision, alongside our school values, lies in the heart of all that we do here at St James’.

We aspire for each and every child to leave us at the end of the school day or at the end of their Primary journey being confident, happy learners who are curious, kind and positive citizens with a passion to learn more.  We want our learners to be fully equipped for the next stages of their education be that going into the next year group or leaving us for High School.

We achieve this through an exciting curriculum which offers all our children the opportunity to excel in something.

We follow the statutory National Curriculum requirements for all subject areas to ensure progression in learning knowledge and skills. In EYFS children follow the requirements of the foundation stage curriculum. We recognise children’s prior achievements and provide first hand learning experiences.

How do we implement our curriculum every day?

Our curriculum covers the following key areas:

Core Subjects

• English - Reading (including phonics), writing, grammar, punctuation, spelling and speaking & listening. We place an emphasis on reading for pleasure and understanding of texts.
• Mathematics - Number, place value, operations, fractions, measurement, geometry and statistics. Fluency, reasoning and problem-solving are key focuses.
• Science - Biology, chemistry and physics units, with an emphasis on 'working scientifically' through investigations and observation.
• Religious Education (RE) - Explore different religions and worldviews, promoting understanding, respect and ability to reflect on own beliefs and values.

Foundation Subjects

• Art and Design - Developing creativity through a variety of media and learning about great artists.
• Computing - Digital literacy, online safety, basic coding and understanding how technology works.
• Design and Technology - Planning, designing, building and evaluating real-life projects. This also includes food technology.
• Geography - Physical and human geography, map skills, weather and global awareness.
• History - Significant events, people and periods including local history. This also includes chronological awareness.
• Music - Singing, rhythm, listening, notation, and instruments. Opportunities for composing and performing.
• Physical Education (PE) - Sports, dance, gymnastics, fitness and swimming.
• Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) - Spanish is taught in KS2.

Personal Development

• PSHE/RSE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education/Relationships and Sex Education) - Mental health, safety (including online safety), friendships and respect for diversity.
• Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC) - Encourages tolerance, citizenship and moral reasoning.
• British Values - Democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different beliefs.

EYFS

The curriculum for our youngest learners focuses on:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development
• Literacy and Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

Enrichment

• Outdoor education and forest school opportunities.
• Church events and religious experiences.
• Creative curriculum approaches - linking subjects to exciting topics.
• Special assemblies, trips and visitors.
• After-school clubs, inter-school sports competitions and festivals.
• Diffentiated support for SEND, EAL and high attaining children.
• Celebration and fundraising events.

To achieve success and flourish in school and beyond, children are taught the acronym PETI:

Practice - You cannot be successful the first time you try something. Learning from mistakes through repetition is key.

Effort - Thinking hard and trying your best will help achieve success.

Time - Managing time effectively and knowing that being successful can take a long time.

Input - Support from a text, a friend, a teacher or somewhere else will be needed to achieve success.

What your child is currently learning is specified on the Class pages of this website.

We are currently rewriting our curriculum to include detailed progression plans that effectively build on prior knowledge; adapt the National Curriculum for mixed-age classes in a small village school; link to our school vision; detail sequences of learning and key knowledge and vocabulary. These can be found in the subject specific pages below.