St Anthony's CatholicCurriculum
Curriculum Vision at St. Anthony’s Catholic Primary School
At St. Anthony’s, we take great pride in our curriculum, which is shaped by our spiritual mission:
"Learning, Growing and Living with Jesus."
A Curriculum Rooted in Love and Excellence
Love underpins everything we do at St. Anthony’s. We value our children, families, and staff, ensuring that our pupils feel secure and supported throughout their learning journey. Our vision expects excellence, fostering a love of learning from the first day children arrive and striving to develop lifelong learners who challenge themselves and embrace the foundations of knowledge in core subjects.
Our holistic approach is grounded in our Catholic values and ethos, forming the foundation for all learning. We celebrate the diversity of modern British life and our local community by respecting all faiths and people with no faith, while explicitly teaching British Values. This helps our children develop a deep-rooted sense of morality, which guides them throughout their lives.
Ambitious and Experiential Learning
We strive for excellence with an ambitious curriculum where children learn distinct subject areas. A key focus is on developing confident, competent readers, with Disciplinary Literacy as a cornerstone of our pathway. Our dialogic model emphasizes speaking skills, encouraging children to engage in meaningful learning conversations.
Our broad and balanced curriculum incorporates rich experiential learning. Pupils have opportunities to visit learning attractions, such as museums and local sites, and participate in in-school workshops across subjects. Subject specialists, including our dedicated PE, Music, Computing, and French teachers, enrich this provision. With our own minibus, we can offer children even more opportunities, from external visits to sports fixtures and clubs.
Residential Trips and Spiritual Growth
To foster independence and resilience, we offer residential trips in Years 5 and 6, providing opportunities for children to develop new skills, step out of their comfort zones, and strengthen peer bonds as they prepare for secondary school. Spiritual growth is at the heart of our ethos, and Year 6 pupils attend a residential retreat, offering them time for reflection, confidence-building, and a deeper sense of self.
Building Strong Partnerships with Families
As a Rights Respecting School, we create strong partnerships between school and home, ensuring that children feel supported in all aspects of their learning. We regularly invite parents to school to demonstrate how we teach essential skills, such as phonics, reading, and times tables, enabling them to support learning at home. This aligns with Article 18 of the Rights of the Child, emphasizing that both parents share the responsibility for their child’s upbringing and that governments must support families in doing what is best for the child.
Inclusive Learning for All
We welcome and support children newly arriving in the area or country. Our skilled bilingual staff and teachers ensure pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) are given every opportunity to excel. Inclusion is central to our mission, ensuring all children thrive within a diverse and supportive community.
Nurturing God-Given Talents
We aim to develop every child’s God-given talents through an extensive range of extracurricular activities. From Library Club and Drama to Gymnastics, Football, Coding, and Choir, our offerings inspire creativity, skill development, and collaboration. Wrap Around Club, available until 6:00 pm daily, ensures additional support for families.
Catholic Social Teaching Connection
Our curriculum is deeply aligned with Catholic Social Teachings:
- Human Dignity: Recognizing and celebrating the worth of every child.
- The Common Good: Encouraging learning and activities that benefit all.
- Solidarity: Fostering inclusion and collaboration across our diverse school community.
- Subsidiarity: Promoting active involvement from families and pupils in the learning process.
- Preferential Option for the Poor: Providing support to ensure all children, especially those most in need, have the tools to succeed.
Through our curriculum, we aim to inspire children to become lifelong learners, confident communicators, and compassionate citizens, grounded in faith and prepared to make a positive impact on the world.
At St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, our English curriculum is built on three pillars: phonics, reading, and writing. These foundational elements work together to ensure that every child develops the skills, confidence, and passion necessary to succeed in literacy and beyond. Using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme and the Literacy Tree scheme, we provide an inclusive and engaging approach that meets the diverse needs of our pupils while inspiring creativity and critical thinking.
Phonics
Phonics lies at the heart of early literacy development. Through the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme, we deliver systematic, daily phonics instruction from Reception to Year 2. This structured approach equips children with essential decoding and segmenting skills, ensuring they become confident readers from the start. Phonics instruction is integrated across the curriculum, reinforcing its importance in all areas of learning. Initiatives like the Reading Squad in Years 1–3 provide targeted support to help children apply their phonics knowledge to reading real texts, transitioning to fluency books as they progress. Additionally, we involve parents through workshops, empowering them to support their children’s phonics and reading journeys at home.
Reading
Our reading curriculum is designed to foster a lifelong love of literature. Each class has a designated "class reader," allowing for shared reading experiences that build fluency, comprehension, and enthusiasm. Weekly reading lessons challenge pupils to explore themes, character development, and authorial intent, while daily opportunities to engage with a variety of texts – including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry – expand their horizons and cultural understanding. Regular assessments, such as GL Assessments, allow us to track reading progress and ensure children are engaging with age-appropriate, yet challenging, material. Through these strategies, we cultivate independent, thoughtful readers who can engage critically with the texts they encounter.
Writing
Writing is taught through the Literacy Tree scheme, which provides a comprehensive and creative approach. Our curriculum integrates writing across subjects such as Science, History, and Geography, helping pupils connect their learning to real-world contexts. Pupils are guided through the writing process, from planning and drafting to editing and publishing. Lessons include explicit teaching of grammar, punctuation, and spelling, alongside opportunities for creative writing that encourage children to express their thoughts freely. Techniques such as cold calling and live marking allow teachers to provide immediate feedback, fostering a growth mindset and ensuring every child’s writing improves. Independent writing assessments and reflective practices further support pupils in celebrating their progress and identifying areas for growth.
Biblical Inspiration
"The tongue of the wise brings healing." – Proverbs 12:18.
This verse highlights the power of words and communication, which we nurture through our literacy curriculum. By equipping pupils with strong reading and writing skills, we prepare them to use their voices thoughtfully and compassionately, reflecting the dignity and worth of every individual.
Catholic Social Teaching Connection
Our approach to literacy aligns with the Catholic Social Teachings of Human Dignity and Common Good. By ensuring every child has access to high-quality phonics, reading, and writing instruction, we affirm their value and potential. Literacy empowers children to participate meaningfully in society and advocate for justice, reflecting our commitment to nurturing thoughtful, articulate learners who contribute to the world.
For more on the Literacy Tree’s approach, visit their website. Together, we aim to inspire pupils to become confident, creative, and compassionate communicators.
Intent, Implementation and Impact 2024-2025
Please see some useful questions that can be used to support your child's reading at home.
EYFS
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
"Children need to be able to HEAR a whole word and SAY every sound that they HEAR."
St. Anthony’s School and Nursery follows the ‘Little Wandle’ programme when teaching and learning phonics. The programme was produced by the DFE which teaches the children that sounds and letters have a relationship, concentrating on activities to promote speaking and listening skills, phonological awareness and oral blending. This starts during the Early Years Foundation Stage, with the aim of producing fluent readers by the time they leave Year 2.
Phonics is taught through six phases starting with phase one and continues through the school until each child has successfully completed all six phases, with children being assessed at the end of each phase.
For more information and free to download resources, click on the link below:
|
Phase |
What Do They Learn? |
|
Phase One (Nursery) |
In Phase 1, the activities are split into seven aspects which include Environmental Sounds, Instrumental Sounds, Body Sounds, Rhythm and Rhyme, Alliteration, Voice Sounds and Oral Blending and Segmenting. |
|
Phase Two (Reception) |
In Phase 2, the children learn 19 letters of the alphabet with one sound (phoneme) for each letter. The children begin to blend sounds together to make words and learn to segment words into separate sounds. The children also start to read simple captions. |
|
Phase Three (Reception) |
The remaining 7 letters of the alphabet are taught, one sound (phoneme) for each letter. Graphemes such as sh, ng, oi, are taught as they represent the remaining phonemes which are not covered by single letters. The children read captions, sentences and questions. |
|
Phase Four (Year 1) |
There are no new phonemes or graphemes taught in this phase. Children recap prior learning and learn to blend and segment longer words with adjacent consonants e.g. swim, clap. |
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Phase Five (Year 1) |
The children now move onto the 'complex code.' Children learn that there are more graphemes for phonemes (ways to write the sounds) and that there are different ways to pronounce the phonemes they have already learnt. |
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Phase Six (Year 2) |
Phase 6 has a clear focus on spelling, including prefixes and suffixes, doubling and dropping letters. |
The Phonics Screening Test
The Phonics Screening Check is an assessment at the end of Year 1 to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonetic decoding to an appropriate standard. It enables schools to identify children who need additional help, so ensure they are given support to improve their reading skills. Children who do not 'pass' the check in Year 1 are able to retake it in Year 2.
It is a Statutory Requirement to carry out the screening check. The check is a short, simple screening check which consists of a list of 40 words and pseudo words (non-words), which the child reads one-to-one with their class teacher. For more information please click on the link below:
Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
Additional links
Intent, Implementation and Impact 2024-2025
Physical Education: "Creating Healthy and Active Young People"
At St. Anthony's Catholic Primary School, we deeply value the role of sports in shaping our young people. Through physical education, we aim to nurture not only the body but also the spirit, developing social skills, building resilience, and instilling lifelong values. Guided by Catholic Social Teachings, sports serve as a powerful vehicle to shape each child into a healthy, independent, and positive individual who contributes to the Common Good.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own." — 1 Corinthians 6:19
A Positive Start to the Journey
Our PE lessons mark the beginning of each child's journey into the world of sports. We are committed to making this a positive and inclusive experience for all students, reflecting the principle of Human Dignity by ensuring every child feels valued and supported. By offering layered activities, we empower children to choose challenges they are ready for, fostering a sense of Participation and ensuring a clear progression toward the lesson’s overall objectives.
"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." — Proverbs 22:6
Building Fundamental Movement Skills
Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on developing fundamental movement skills—agility, balance, and coordination. These essential skills form the foundation of every sport we play, helping children to flourish in a range of physical activities.
- Agility: The ability to move quickly and easily.
- Balance: The even distribution of weight that enables someone or something to remain upright and steady.
- Coordination: The ability to control the movements of your body.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." — Ecclesiastes 9:10
Developing Skills through The PE Hub
Our teachers use The PE Hub, a comprehensive resource, to deliver a well-structured and engaging curriculum. This ensures lessons are coherently planned, progressive, and aligned with our ambitious goals for every child. This reflects the Catholic Social Teaching of Stewardship, as we encourage children to develop and care for the physical abilities God has entrusted to them.
"The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength." — Proverbs 24:5
Beyond the Classroom: Extracurricular Activities
In addition to structured lessons, we offer a range of extracurricular clubs before and after school, and during holidays. These include football, netball, basketball, hockey, athletics, badminton, tennis, cricket, and more. These clubs provide opportunities for students to further develop their skills, explore new sports, and foster a lifelong love of physical activity.
This extracurricular provision aligns with the Catholic Social Teaching of Solidarity, encouraging teamwork and collaboration. By working and competing together, children build relationships and learn the value of community and mutual respect.
"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." — Hebrews 12:1
Catholic Social Teaching Connection
Our PE curriculum aligns with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching:
- Human Dignity: Ensuring every child feels valued and respected.
- Participation: Encouraging active involvement in physical education and sports.
- Stewardship: Caring for the gift of our bodies and developing physical well-being.
- Solidarity: Fostering teamwork and collaboration through sports.
- The Common Good: Promoting inclusion and a sense of shared purpose through PE activities.
Through PE at St. Anthony's, we inspire our children to become healthy, active, and compassionate individuals who contribute positively to their communities and glorify God through their actions.
Useful links