Curriculum

Curriculum Statement 2020/21

At St Luke's our aim is to provide the very best education and the most exciting opportunities to inspire our children. The curriculum we offer is bespoke and is based upon our ‘Learning for Life’ vision which is central to every decision we make. This vision is based on our mission as we adults and children:

‘Reach higher than we dream to become the person we really want to be as we do the best we can for the world, for each other and for ourselves.’

At St Luke's our inspiring curriculum is all about developing creative, critical thinkers with access to rich embedded knowledge who are equipped with the confidence, ability and desire to make the world a better place. Children are given opportunities to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills through:

1. An understanding of global citizenship in the 21st century including ecological awareness and responsibility, British values, consideration and respect for others, equality and rights and responsible and positive use of technology
2. Building Aspiration and Resilience including learning for life, exposure to jobs and careers and experiences of the working world, development of a Growth mind set and work ethic, opportunities beyond everyday life for all children and the development of enterprise skills
3. Equality of access to the arts including a culturally rich curriculum with creativity at its heart, making the most of London on our doorstep, creative partnerships that enrich the curriculum, all children learning an instrument and taking part in regular performances
4. Access to nature including Forest school, learning outside the classroom, residential trips and the opportunity to complete the National Trust’s 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾.

Key skills and competencies give children the means to successfully unlock learning and ensure they are prepared for the next stage of education. The 4 key competencies that we focus on are:

1. Communication – understanding and communicating ideas
2. Creativity – thinking outside the box
3. Critical Thinking – solving problems
4. Collaboration – working with others.

All of the above is built upon a foundation of solid reading, writing and mathematical knowledge, understanding and skills.

The 4 Pillars of Learning ensure our approach to learning and the curriculum is at the root of everything we do and is the base we build on. This is our approach to teaching English and Maths- an enquiry led approach to teaching and learning and the characteristics children need to develop to be successful learners.

• Pillar 1: Reciprocal Reading and the Alan Peat approach to the teaching and learning of writing
• Pillar 2: Inspire Maths based upon Singapore Maths
• Pillar 3 : An enquiry led learning approach including P4C (Philosophy for Children)
• Pillar 4: Growth mind set and developing the characteristics for effective learning

English:

The teaching of English is at the heart of our learning and teaching and is essential to every area of the curriculum. We aim to develop a child’s love of reading through widespread reading for enjoyment. We promote and encourage children to discover the value of strong communication skills and the importance of reading and writing in all aspects of their futures. (More information can be found in the Curriculum Statement for English, including approaches to teaching Reading, Writing, Spelling and Handwriting).

Maths:

At St Luke's we want our children to receive a high quality mathematics education that ensures all pupils are fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, have the ability to reason mathematically and can apply their knowledge and understanding to solve problems. We also want them to have an appreciation of the power of mathematics and a sense of fun and curiosity about the subject. We use a mastery approach to teaching maths. Inspire Maths- our chosen Singapore Maths scheme uses accessible textbooks to introduce concepts in a highly scaffolded way through concrete, pictorial and abstract learning. This enables children to develop critical thinking skills, make mathematical connections and become confident mathematicians. The Singapore scheme is a whole school commitment.

Other Subjects:

We follow a topic based approach to the curriculum for Geography, History, Art and DT (with strong links to the Science, Computing and English curriculum also). We follow separate schemes of work for RE, PSHE, Computing, Music, Spanish and Science making links to topics where appropriate. Topics have been carefully selected so that there is even coverage of the National Curriculum, opportunities to explore ideas in depth, revisit and expand upon previous learning and make links between subjects. In English children study quality books, plays and poems that are chosen to deepen children’s understanding of the topic. All topics are built around planned practical learning opportunities such as field work, museum visits and workshops that enrich children’s learning further. We take full advantage of our location in the heart of London through curriculum topics that explore the richness of London past and present. The organisation of the curriculum in this way helps knowledge to “stick”, to join up learning and ensure breadth and depth in the study of all subject disciplines.

Please see the Teaching and Learning policy and curriculum statements for each subject for more information.

A portrait of a St Luke's child

When a child leaves St Luke's at the end of Year 6 we aspire for them to have developed the following characteristics:

We believe this approach will embed the school’s ‘Learning for Life’ ethos and support the development of happy children who are ready for the next stage of their educational journey, have high aspirations for themselves and a strong sense of respect and belonging for their community.

Reviewed by Jenny Phillips 2021

Our bespoke curriculum is new this year and we will be trialling and refining it over the year.