WHOLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Our Curriculum at Our Lady of Compassion School

~ A Knowledge Rich Curriculum ~

OUR ETHOS

At Our Lady of Compassion School, in line with our Catholic ethos, we believe that everyone has a special part to play in God’s plan. As a fully inclusive school, we welcome all children with their individual strengths and needs and strive to give them the best opportunities to be able to participate in school life, progress and achieve their full potential. We believe that all children are entitled to a knowledge rich and diverse curriculum that is delivered through high quality adaptive teaching to meet the needs of all children; our approaches support the children in developing their collaborative and independent skills, as well as empathy and the need to recognise the achievements of others. Our mission statement, “To live as Jesus taught us”, is the golden standard of our lived experiences at OLC, enriching our curriculum and the children’s personal development.

OUR CURRICULUM INTENT

“An education in the fullness of humanity should be the defining feature of Catholic schools.”

Pope Francis

At Our Lady of Compassion School, we are committed to provide our children with a knowledge rich curriculum and learning experiences which stimulate and inspire them, whilst preparing them for life outside school. We aim to develop children as true lifelong learners, hungry for knowledge and understanding, proficient at transferring learning skills into a wide range of areas and proud of their achievements; learners who are confident, independent and resourceful, who have high aspirations and feel that they are able to make positive contributions to their community and the wider society, whose learning experiences enable them to know more and remember more.

In line with our Catholic ethos, we have identified the CAFOD principles for Catholic Social Teaching as the drivers that underpin our curriculum, as follows:

• Human Dignity – We believe everyone is special; we are beautifully made in the image and likeness of God.
• Common Good – We believe in thinking of everyone; we are called to work for the good of each and of all.
• Participation – We believe in taking part – people have a right and a duty to take part in shaping a more just and human society.
• Subsidiarity – We believe everyone should have a say; we are called to empower communities, to let everyone have a say.
• Stewardship of Creation – We believe in caring for God’s gifts; we are guardians of God’s creation, living sustainably and enhancing the wellbeing of our planet.
• Solidarity – We believe in showing we care; God created us as one global family called to support our brothers and sisters.
• Option for the Poor – We believe in putting people in most need first; to choose to consider the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people first.
• Distributive Justice – We believe in fair allocation of resources; everyone should have access to their fair share of resources.
• Being Peacemakers – We believe that peace comes from justice and love; we can be God’s instruments of peace through seeking justice.

Our curriculum builds progressively and sequentially across our four phases – Foundation Stage (FS1 and FS2), Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2), Lower Key Stage 2 (Year 3 and Year 4) and Upper Key Stage 2 (Year 5 and Year 6) – giving children the opportunity to revisit and extend their learning, allowing them to embed knowledge to their long-term memory. 

OUR CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT

As a school with mixed-age classes, our curriculum works on a two-year cycle for the majority of the subject areas. Our curriculum focusses on what content should be taught and in what order, ensuring that it is sequential and progressive whilst keeping in mind that children are susceptible to cognitive overload which then impacts negatively on their learning. Our curriculum supports the children to make meaningful connections within their learning, thus helping them to remember the new knowledge learnt – this is secured by:

• ensuring that the chosen content secures rich knowledge which is at the heart of the curriculum,
• organising learning in a coherent way, ensuring that it is sequential and that it builds from year to year,
• ensuring that learning is cumulative and progressive, building on foundations that secure conceptual understanding and skills over time,
• ensuring that every child is able to access learning, with adaptations implemented where necessary,
• regularly reviewing the curriculum to ensure that it successfully meets the needs of the children.

OLC’s curriculum therefore strives to ensure that through their learning, the children:

• know more and remember more,
• are able to recognise the connection between significant events and people, and how they have influenced the world around them,
• are able to make reasonable and informed judgements,
• develop confidence that results from their newly acquired knowledge and skills,
• are able to maximise their chances of leading rich and fulfilling lives,
• recognise their own role in God’s plan for humankind by becoming a responsible global citizen, consistently living as Jesus taught us.

Our curriculum is mapped out on curriculum maps for Cycle A and Cycle B, as well as our curriculum map for the subject areas that are taught discretely; currently (2023-2024), we are working on our Cycle A curriculum.

If you would like to find out more about our school curriculum, please explore the following links:

ADAPTATIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH SEND

At OLC, we believe that all children are entitled to a knowledge rich curriculum which is accessible to all children and which complies with the Equality Act 2010 and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Regulations 2014. We therefore ensure that teaching is of high quality, inclusive and adaptive, and that planning and provision promote children’s resilience and independence. We therefore strive to ensure that:

• all learners have access to the broad, stimulating and ambitious curriculum, adapted as necessary to ensure that all children reach their God given potential,
• the curriculum supports the children to gain a greater understanding of how they learn, developing a growth mindset through the skills of resilience, collaboration, participation motivation and reflection and independence,
• the children’s progress is regularly monitored and reviewed so that adaptations and provision are amended as appropriate,
• the children’s mental health and wellbeing is prioritised so that all children have access to high quality pastoral support as appropriate.