Our Mission Statement

'Making a difference by inspiring a love of life and learning for all. We build strong foundations within God's loving hands'. 

Our Core Values

We provide a Catholic Christian education based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Our Core Values. Our Core Values are inspired by Gospel values and stem from love - love is forgiveness, sharing and kindness. They are:

• Responsibility
• Compassion
• Respect
• Honesty
• Perseverance
• Courage

At Christ the King Catholic Primary School we inspire our children to have a lifelong love of learning through a broad, enriched and balanced curriculum. We aspire for all children to be the best they can be and make a difference to our world by building strong foundations within God’s loving hands.

Our Approach, Aim, and Curriculum

Our key curriculum drivers are:

• Inclusivity
• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Oracy 

Intent

At Christ the King Catholic Primary School, we aim to inspire a lifelong love of learning. At the heart of our teaching, we believe that every child is unique and deserves the best possible education. We recognise that every year we have a diverse cohort and that each child’s starting point is different. We understand that the children may have limited experiences outside the local area and so we aim to provide them with a greater awareness of the wider world. There will be opportunities beyond the classroom for real life learning and for pupils to experience things they might not usually experience.

Our EYFS setting is a caring and nurturing environment where the children help, support and care for each other. We are inclusive and want the children to flourish regardless of backgrounds, circumstances or needs. We use different learning styles, which can be highly personalised, which support different ways children learn and we respect their own rate of development and support what is right for each child.

We observe children and reflect on their individual needs and adapt our classroom and provision accordingly. We provide engaging and challenging learning opportunities both indoors and outdoors, with extensive opportunities to promote oracy in a consistent and stable environment so the children can thrive and reach their full potential. Children will develop into independent learners and draw on the skills and knowledge they are taught to solve their own problems. We encourage them to take risks and not to be afraid of making mistakes.

Throughout their time in the EYFS, the children understand how Catholic virtues and British values relate to themselves and will develop a sense of belonging to our school community and will be ready for a smooth transition to Key Stage 1

Implementation

We ensure that we have the 4 overriding principles at the heart of our teaching

• Unique child           
• Positive relationships         
• Enabling Environments         
• and Development

Daily opportunities are planned and provided to ensure that children develop the Characteristics of Effective Learning

1. Creating and Thinking Critically- pupils have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things
2. Active Learning- pupils keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy their achievements
3. Playing and Exploring- pupils investigate and experience things and ‘have a go’

All areas of the EYFS curriculum are followed and planned for to ensure that there is a broad, balanced and progressive learning environment and curriculum. These seven areas are used to plan children’s learning and activities. We have an overview of areas of the curriculum we will be teaching but we also take time to get to know children’s interests and use these to support their learning using in the moment planning and more detailed planning of mini topics arising through the cohort’s interests. Planning for the curriculum is designed to be flexible so opportunities are provided for each cohort to learn that are meaningful to them. Time is given to review and revisit to consolidate what the children have learned. Our reflective practice identifies needs quickly and so next steps are put in place quickly to ensure progress is maintained.

We recognise that children’s starting points are varied so opportunities are provided to widen their experiences. We start by finding out what each child knows and plan next steps accordingly, looking at the best use of our space to provide the children with the learning opportunities they need.

By finding out how each child learns best, we can support our learners in individual ways, using a variety of teaching and learning styles to ensure that all children are able to make progress.

We provide a balance of child- initiated, play- based learning, covering the seven areas of the curriculum, using continuous play, small group, and 1-1 activities, ensuring there is time to concentrate on individual needs. Quality time is spent with the children to improve oracy skills and we plan for a wealth of new vocabulary that they will use throughout the year, teaching them how to hold back and forth conversations and allow them to express their own ideas and opinions in a safe and nurtured environment. Skilful questioning by the staff and high quality resources and ideas for play-based learning are giving the children opportunities for them to learn and use a wide range of new skills. We provide an environment where we actively encourage them to solve their own problems.

We have developed an effective and engaging environment and take into account where each child learns best. Children can access all areas of learning both inside and outside, where active learning is encouraged to ensure they are motivated and interested. Our outdoor areas are used all year round and we use these to help support the children’s Gross Motor development. Walking, scooting and cycling to school and a healthy lifestyle are actively encouraged to stay healthy and improve balance and co-ordination.

We provide an environment, which is caring and safe where children are able to talk about their feelings and how they can help and support each other.

We provide regular opportunities for parents/carers to be involved in their child’s EYFS journey. We work on partnership with parents to ensure we get a better understanding of the ‘whole’ child.

Impact

By the time pupils leave they will:

• be enthusiastic learners
• Have increased their vocabulary and be effective communicators
• Know and be able to follow our school rules and values
• Talk about and show ways they can ‘Make a difference’ in school and in the wider community
• Have good phonological awareness and developed a love of reading
• Have developed a deep understanding of numbers to 10
• Have good gross and fine motor skills
• Have a greater understanding of the wider world
• Know that their opinions and ideas are valued
• Have developed the skills necessary for them to become independent learners

We will measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Continuous observations of the children to identify needs and next steps in their learning
• The EYFS lead constantly monitors teaching and learning and provision to improve standards
• On entry Baseline assessment, mid-point data and exit Early Learning Goals
• Pupil progress meetings with Head Teacher
• Termly assessment of Phonics using the data to identify who needs extra support to close the gaps
• Online Learning Journal which records images, videos and comments of children both in and out of school
• Books for Maths, Literacy, RE and Art which record children’s development
• Strong Partnership with parents, through discussions, training sessions, meetings, online journal and emails
• Effective transition into Key Stage 1
• Monitoring the well-being of the children