Join Our School
Header Image 1

Curriculum Overview

Key Aims of our Curriculum

St Matthew’s C of E Primary and Nursery Academy’s curriculum provides a rich, broad and balanced curriculum which inspires a passion for learning and helps our children achieve the highest possible standard. We have developed our curriculum on the National Curriculum and around enrichment of purposeful visits and learning activities, designed to enhance wide vocabulary and oracy skills, build curiosity and fill our children with delight and the enthusiasm to learn. We seek to help our children become active learners; developing lively, creative, enquiring minds and providing them with the skills and knowledge which will prepare them for successful, healthy lives in the ever-changing world in which they live.  

Through the delivery of our curriculum, we aim to ensure that: 

  • all pupils experience a high degree of self-efficacy and worth through a range of experiences including opportunities for all to showcase their talent.
  • children will become fully engaged learners; actively reflecting on their learning, asking questions, retaining taught content and making links between subjects.
  • children will develop their knowledge and understanding of the taught content, their use of subject-specific vocabulary and language, and learning skills. 
  • we instil a sense of spirituality and moral values through our Christian Vision and develop children’s cultural, artistic and physical development. Our Christian vision of ‘Let your light shine’ (Matthew 5:16) and values of Love, forgiveness, courage, hope, trust and spirit forms the central spine to our central curriculum pillars.

Our School Week

Our school week is 32.5 hrs per week.  In addition we run an array of extra curricular clubs which run on a Friday afternoon.  In addition, we run wrap around care which starts at 7:30am and then run until 5:45pm.

Early Years Foundation Stage

Our youngest pupils are taught according to a specially designed curriculum, the Early Years Foundation Stage. This curriculum runs from Birth- 5 years and children complete this curriculum at the end of Reception before beginning the National Curriculum in Year One. The curriculum for these pupils consists of seven areas of learning: 

  • Personal, Social & Emotional Development
  • Communication & Language
  • Physical Development
  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts & Design

For more information about Early Years please see our EYFS page. 

Curriculum Organisation

Across the school we have chosen to use a variety of schemes of learning in order to help us deliver the National Curriculum in a way that will achieve our curriculum aims.  

Although curriculum organisation documents have been arranged in a logical and sometimes sequential order, for some subjects, it is right and proper that teachers take advantage of opportunities that arise and therefore may alter the order in which the topics are covered. Examples of this might be a community event, a significant weather event or making natural links across the curriculum. 

Therefore, the following subjects can be moved within the year group: 

  • DT 
  • Art 
  • Science 
  • Computing 
  • PE 
  • Music 
  • PSHE 
  • Geography 

The reason for this is that progression works in a vertical way for these subjects between the year groups rather than horizontally – between units within a year group. 

Each year, the overall curriculum documents will not be altered but the individual year group curriculum map will be changed so that parents know the order of coverage.  

Subject Progression

For each discrete subject area that comprises our curriculum we have a progression document.  The progression document drives teaching and assessment within that subject.  Please click on the links on specific subject pages.

Curriculum Coverage in Specific Year groups

The curriculum coverage documents for taught subjects across the school (found as part of the progression documents) have been distilled into separate Year Groups.  Click the links on the specific pages to see what your child's class will be covering this year.  

Collective Worship

In our school Collective Worship plays a central role in bringing our community together, and embedding our ethos and  values. Parents have the legal right to withdraw their children from daily acts of worship, but are asked to discuss the matter first with the Headteacher. We hold a weekly Celebration Assembly in key stages to recognise achievements throughout the week. We have a strong association with St Edward's Church.  

Forder Valley Mission Community. 

Each term, the school explores one of our values in more detail. This is combined with British Values, religious festivals and aspects of topical interest.