Curriculum Overview
Curriculum Intent
At Our Lady of Compassion our curriculum is designed to meet the needs of our children and to ensure that each child develops their unique qualities and talents in an enriching and nurturing way that allows them to reach their full potential.
We want our children to be independent learners who are inquisitive, enthusiastic and excited about learning.
At the heart of our school are our core values and beliefs. Our mission ‘Compassion and achievement for all’ is at the forefront of our vision. In this statement we assert our fundamental belief that each child matters; each child is a unique and gifted individual and each child can achieve success both in learning and in life.
Children thrive in our school because their learning is purposeful and meaningful. We foster an environment of creativity, innovation and critical thinking that develops the whole child.
We strive to nurture and encourage the hopes and aspirations of our children and equip them with the skills and knowledge to succeed in life.
Our Core
Values
Employability
There are many diverse and different jobs in the world, some may not have been invented yet! At Our Lady of Compassion we want our children to develop their ‘employability’ skills in communication, listening, teamwork, creativity and digital citizenship.
We want our children to make links between the knowledge and skills that they acquire from their learning in school and the skills and qualifications needed for the world of work.
We ensure that our children are given opportunities to develop their academic, practical, and creative skills in meaningful contexts that promote their independence, develop their problem solving skills and allow them to improve their skill set in a meaningful way.
We celebrate children’s achievements outside of school and add their successes to their employability passport where coupled with their academic achievements the children grow their portfolio of knowledge, skills and talents that equip them for their future.
Our children gain many benefits from careers education that introduces them to the world of work and helps them see the relevance of their studies.
Whilst broadening horizons about the world of work through curriculum opportunities we strengthen children’s competencies in decision-making, presentation, transition, sociability, listening and planning. We want our children to aspire to be the best they can be.
Diversity
Through our catholic ethos, our understanding of the British values and our morals and values we teach children to embrace a variety of cultures, respect difference and diversity and celebrate our multicultural society.
We do this through creating an all-inclusive culture where all children are treated fairly and equally.
Lessons promote multicultural themes and reflect the diversity of the classroom using a variety of teaching methods and resources.
Our curriculum embraces opportunities to celebrate Black History Week
Resilience
Resilience needs relationships that don’t compromise independence but support and encourage independence. Children are supported cared for in a mutually respected relationship.
We encourage children to be competitive, to boost their self-esteem, optimism and a sense of personal achievement and to strive for the best in a nurturing and cultivating manner which fosters their drive for success a long side build feelings of competence and a sense of mastery.
We nurture children, teach them how to reframe. The ability to reframe challenges in ways that feel less threatening. In times of difficulty or disappointment, we help children to focus on what they have, rather than what they’ve lost. To build this skill, acknowledge their disappointment, then gently steer them away from looking at what the problem has cost them, towards the opportunities it might have brought them.
Bringing them into an emotional world at appropriate times we help them to see that sadness, stuckness, disappointment are all very normal human experiences. When experiences are normalised, there will be a safety and security that will open the way for them to explore what those experiences mean for them, and experiment with ways to respond.
Compassion
Our school and parish is dedicated to Our Lady of Compassion a devotion rooted her faith and belief in God. In her example we witness the truest example of the human love and compassion that each of us is called to offer to our fellow human beings.
Through our curriculum we seek to help our children to reflect upon the lives and experiences of those within our local community and the wider world. We encourage them to see the unique human dignity of each person and to follow the example of Our Lady in loving and caring for others because they see Christ in those around them.
A key facet of our curriculum is to assist children in practical ways of living out this example within our own school community. In the building and sustaining of relationships we promote the need for reconciliation and forgiveness; kindness and practical care; patience and attentiveness to the needs and concerns of others.
In promoting this culture of compassion it is not enough for us to merely talk about these core values; rather it is vital that we as a staff model the behaviours we wish to see adopted by our children.
Our children grow to be open minded, caring, patient, forgiving and kind individuals with strong morals and values.
Curriculum Implementation
Opportunities to further enrich learning and provide equal opportunities at Our Lady’s extend beyond the classroom and take advantage of local resources such as: educational visits to museums and theatres, music and sports venues, residential trips, and working with volunteers and charities in the local community.
Implementing a curriculum that inspires and engages our children is our priority, therefore chosen topics are inspired by the context of our school community; important local, national and global issues and our children’s interests. The curriculum is adapted to reflect the needs and interests of the children in each cohort, therefore the skills taught each year will remain the same, but the focus of lessons may change.
Curriculum Impact
The intended impact of our curriculum is:
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To fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum and to assess the progress and achievement of each child.
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To ensure that each child is ready for the next stage of their education.
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To provide a safe environment for all children so that they can thrive and develop as young members of our community.
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To deliver a curriculum that enables all our children to grow spiritually, emotionally, socially and academically.
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To provide the children with skills, knowledge and understanding so that they become lifelong learners.
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To provide our children with opportunities to be; creative, inquisitive, critical and independent learners.
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To instil in our children, the ability to make choices which will enhance their opportunities in life and enable them to become positive members of their community.
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To teach children about the world that they live in and how they can make a positive contribution locally, nationally and globally.
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To enable our children to have self-worth, respect and tolerance for others.