St Elizabeth School
LITERACY
MATHS
science
LANGUAGES
humanities
RSE
PSHE
music
COMPUTING
PE
CREATIVE DESIGN
If you would like to find out more about the curriculum at St Elizabeth, please contact us via our general contact form, email school@st-elizabeth.uk or message your child’s Class Teacher on ClassDojo.
At St Elizabeth, we strive to provide opportunities and encourage participation and sportsmanship, whilst promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. Pupils achieve best when they get the opportunity to put into practise what they have been taught. Our P.E lessons always have an opportunity for pupils to practise skills and build on what they can already do. We believe in developing skill prior to implementing it in sport. For example, during our Hockey lessons, the PE Coach would demonstrate the skill then the pupils have ample time to practise it in groups or with their partner.
The effectiveness of the teaching and learning is evident as we build upon the skills previously taught to the pupils. There is a structure to the lesson sequence whereby prior learning is always considered and opportunities for revision and practise are built into lessons.
At St Elizabeth, we use the White Rose scheme of work which follows the National Curriculum for Mathematics.
The scheme aims to ensure that all children acquire a solid foundation in mathematics, preparing them for future learning and real-life problem-solving. The scheme provides a structured framework designed to promote mathematical understanding and skills among young learners.
The focus areas are number, place value, basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), fractions, measurements, geometry, and statistics.
The Key Learning Objectives:
Number and Operations:
Understanding and manipulating numbers.
Mastering basic operations and building fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Fractions and Decimals:
Recognising and working with fractions and decimals in different contexts.
Measurement:
Learning about length, weight, volume, and time through practical activities.
Geometry:
Understanding shapes, angles, and spatial reasoning, and developing skills in measuring and drawing.
Statistics:
Collecting, organising, and interpreting data to understand patterns and trends.
Teaching Approaches:
Practical Learning: Emphasis on hands-on activities and real-life applications to make math relevant and engaging.
Problem Solving: Encouragement of logical reasoning and problem-solving strategies through various contexts.
Incremental Progression: Building complexity gradually, ensuring that children master basic concepts before moving to advanced topics.
Assessment:
Ongoing assessments help teachers monitor progress and tailor teaching to meet individual needs.
Standardised assessments are typically conducted at key stages to gauge overall development.
Support for Parents:
Engagement: Parents are encouraged to engage with their children’s learning through games, problem-solving together, and discussing math in everyday situations.
Resources: Schools often provide resources and suggestions for activities at home to reinforce learning.
Conclusion:
At St Elizabeth, we aim to create confident, capable mathematicians who can think critically and apply their knowledge in various contexts. By understanding this framework and participating in their child’s education, parents can enhance their child’s learning experience in mathematics.
Music is incorporated daily throughout the school across the curriculum.
Music learning entails:
– Listening to music from a variety of periods, genres and countries.
– Singing and exploring sounds
– Percussion (Djembe Drumming)
– Strings (Violin & Cello)
– Wind (Recorder)
Through learning these instruments, our pupils develop and improve music skills and perform during various events throughout the academic year. Music lessons follow the programs of study created by THAMES (Tower Hamlets Arts + Education Services). Our pupils also have the opportunity to attend extra-curricular music tuition as well as scholarship towards music awards.
Our Science curriculum teaches skills through lines of enquiry and investigation to stimulate creative thought and an understanding of natural phenomena through the disciplines of chemistry, physics and biology. Progression within these areas is developed through a variety of topics from Year 1 to Year 6.
Our Science Principles:
Ø Science lessons are practical and hands on
Ø Pupils will be encouraged to ask questions that they can investigate and answer themselves
Ø Science learning is child led
Ø Science lessons are relatable and relevant where pupils are enthusiastic, motivated and fully engaged in developing their Science Skills
Ø Science lessons are linked to other curriculum subjects
At St Elizabeth Catholic Primary School, we want to give children an education of the highest standard. We believe that providing pupils with a well-balanced, enriching and engaging Literacy curriculum will aid them in developing into becoming confident speakers, listeners, readers and writers, preparing them for life in the 21st century and beyond.
Writing
Our aim is to provide a rich variety of engaging, cross-curricular writing opportunities which are meaningful and relevant to the children. Writing is incorporated in all areas of our curriculum with an emphasis on writing for a real purpose. EYFS and KS1 pupils follow Pie Corbett’s ‘Talk for Writing’ approach. KS2 pupils follow Jane Considine’s ‘The Write Stuff’ approach.
As a school, we will deliver a broad, rich and deep literacy curriculum that considers the needs of all pupils in the context of our school covering Fiction; Non-Fiction and Poetry genres.
Grammar
Grammar is taught within each Literacy lesson. This is to ensure that grammar concepts are taught within context. Punctuation is also taught within each Literacy lesson. The punctuation for each year group will be covered throughout the year as a ‘learning chunk’.
Spellings
Spellings will be taught weekly following the Twinkl PlanIt Spelling Scheme in Years 2-6.
Handwriting
Handwriting should be taught via the weekly spellings using a modified Handwriting scheme.
Reading
Throughout the school, teachers use different strategies to improve the fluency of reading. This includes the teacher reading to the class.
KS1 follow the ‘Guided Reading’ approach. KS2 follow the ‘Whole Class Reading’ approach. Each session focuses on one of the Reading Domains (or VIPERS – vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, summarising and sequencing), incorporating a breadth of texts – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, songs and picture books.
Phonics
At St Elizabeth Catholic Primary School, we follow the ‘Tower Hamlets Education Partnership Phonics Programme”. This phonics scheme is taught from EYFS-Year 2.
Humanities: History and Geography.
History
History ignites our children’s imaginations, interests and inquisitiveness about people, events and places in the past.
We hope to stimulate and challenge the children with the dilemmas, choices and beliefs of the people of the past: would they have made the same choices? We use a range of media to increase the children’s interest and knowledge of history each year.
Geography
Geography inspires and activates an interest in and a sense of wonder about places, peoples and their environments and the often complex relationships between these. The study of geography helps our children make sense of a very complicated and rapidly changing world. We build on the children’s geographical knowledge and skills year-by-year.
We aim to help children grow into curious, confident and reflective language learners and to provide them with a foundation that will equip them for further language studies.
We recognise that parents hold the primary role in guiding and educating their children in matters of sexual development. We also value the support of the Christian community in helping parents fulfil this sensitive responsibility. At St Elizabeth’s, we teach the facts of human development in an age-appropriate way, grounded in the National Curriculum and inspired by Christ’s teachings on love, marriage, and the sanctity of life.
Since September 2020, St Elizabeth’s Primary School has been using the Life to the Full programme by Ten Ten Resources. Ten Ten is an award-winning Catholic educational organisation with a strong reputation and extensive experience in this area. In collaboration with the Catholic Education Service and the Department for Education, Ten Ten also provides teacher training in Catholic schools to deliver the statutory curriculum effectively. We believe this programme aligns well with the values and needs of our school community.
The Life to the Full programme acknowledges the vital role of parents and carers in educating and nurturing their children on these topics. It provides resources to keep you informed about what your child is learning in school and helps you engage in meaningful discussions, activities, and prayer at home.
At our school, we nurture an environment of respect and positive relationships between staff and pupils, ensuring that every child feels supported and valued. While parents have the right to withdraw their child from some or all of the sex education taught in school, this does not apply to the biological aspects of human growth and reproduction, which are statutory elements of the science curriculum.
Relationships and Sex Education (RSE): Our commitment:
Be visible and show support. Decolonise the curriculum. Representation matters.