Curriculum Policy

St Catherine's School
CURRICULUM POLICY - PREP
(Prep)

Reviewed by:	Head of Prep
Last Reviewed:	February 2025
Next Review:	February 2026

SCHOOL MISSION

We are inspired by St Catherine of Siena, who said ‘Be who God wants you to be, and you will set the world on fire’, to form young women of confidence and compassion, ready for service and leadership in the world. We fulfil our mission through these values:

Community: a place of cheerfulness, dignity and tolerance, where all are welcome
Faith: a Christ-centred school with time for reflection; a culture of gratitude and friendship
Courage: with self-knowledge, resilience and integrity, and a readiness for challenge
Scholarship: where gifts are developed through curiosity, imagination and ambition
Service: commitment to others, to stewardship, and to justice and hope for all

Aims

We aim to provide

A curriculum which values Religious Education and has, at its heart, the spiritual, moral and social values of the Gospels, as set out in the School Mission Statement;
A curriculum which reflects and respects the cultural diversity of the School, and which is committed to equality and accessibility, as set out in the Equal Opportunities Policy and the Accessibility Policy;
A broad and balanced curriculum, reflecting scholarship, intellectual values and personal growth that will bring pupils into contact with the elements of learning: knowledge, skills, concepts and attitudes;
A wide range of learning experiences: academic, creative, human and social, linguistic and literary, mathematical, moral, physical, scientific, spiritual and technological;
A relevant curriculum that will reflect the previous learning of the pupils, their aspirations and promote personal growth;
A differentiated curriculum that will allow for differences in pupils’ abilities and skills, including those of SEND and AGT pupils;
A curriculum which deals comprehensively and sensitively with Personal, Social and Health Education, and Relationships and Sex Education in line with the Catholic ethos of the school;
A curriculum that covers the core and foundation subjects of the National Curriculum and the Religious Education Directory (RED) programme in RE;
Effective preparation for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society including learning about Fundamental British Values;
A curriculum that enables pupils to appreciate the world of economics and careers and helps encourage them to fulfil their potential;
A curriculum which is appropriate to their educational needs in relation to personal, emotional and physical development and communication and language skills.

Objectives

To maintain a curriculum which:

Ensures that all pupils have full access to all areas of the curriculum;
Exposes pupils to a wide range of academic, creative, physical, spiritual, social and technological experiences;
Provides a comprehensive programme of RSE and PSHE that is in line with the Catholic ethos of the school following the Ten Ten program in RSE;
Covers the core and foundation subjects of the National Curriculum and the Religious Education Directory (RED) programme in RE.

To meet the needs of the individual by:

Focusing on the pupils’ development of the following skills and aptitudes:
- Self-understanding
- Decision-making
- Spiritual understanding
- Moral understanding and responsibility for own behaviour
- Social development and collaboration
- Contribution to others, the school and the communit
- Respecting diversity and cultural understanding
- Staying safe and keeping healthy
Using adaptive teaching methods within the classroom with some specialist support;
Providing support, within the resources that it possesses, for SEND and EAL pupils and those who find certain aspects of their learning programmes difficult.

Curriculum

In the Prep Department all pupils follow a programme in Religious Education, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Physical Education (PE).

All national curriculum subjects are taught as well as a wide creative programme: English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Art, Music, Physical Education (PE), including swimming, PSHE/RSE, Computing, French, Spanish. Music, Drama, and Food and Nutrition.

Requirement for Political Impartiality

For the purpose of the curriculum, girls may be presented with political views, and these examples can help pupil learning. However, pupils are not actively encouraged by teachers or others to support particular political viewpoints. Teaching staff take care not to exploit pupils’ vulnerability by seeking to convince them that a particular political position is necessarily correct, or by trying to impose their own views on pupils. Where political views are brought to the attention of pupils, they are offered a balanced presentation of opposing views so that pupils are made aware that there are normally countervailing views and a balance is struck between the opinions and beliefs discussed.

Able, Gifted & Talented

Able and Gifted students are pupils stretched through the planned curriculum and through co-curricular activities. Maths learning groups within the classroom are structured to ensure all pupils, including able and gifted learners, are working at an appropriate pace and level to maximise progress and deepen understanding.

Staff routinely provide ‘HOT’ (higher order thinking) or other stretch/extension tasks across all subjects to ensure every student in their classroom is always fully and productively engaged. Talented pupils are provided with extension and development opportunities within lessons and also within a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

An annual AG&T register is compiled based on nominations from teaching staff, and the progress of these students is evaluated at the end of each academic year, based on teacher observations and examination data. Following on from these discussions, Able and Gifted pupils are invited to attend our Prep SPARKS Club. Competitions such as the Primary Maths Challenge and the Royal Institute Maths Masterclasses are also attended, when available.