Curriculum
The purpose of the school is to develop the whole child in accordance with the National Curriculum. The curriculum we offer is guided by the school’s Mission Statement, encouraging pupils to grow and develop as individuals and responsible members of the community.
The Children’s journey through St. Joseph’s will have three stages:
Foundation Stage: Nursery & Reception (ages 3-5)
Key Stage One: Year 1 & Year 2 (ages 5-7)
Key Stage Two: Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 (ages 7-11)
Children will be formally assessed on their progress, taking National Curriculum Tests, at the end of each Key Stage, i.e. Year 2 & Year 6
The curriculum for all pupils includes:
Religious Education
English
Maths
ICT
Science
Design & Technology
History
Geography
Music
Physical Education
Art
Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education
Religious Education
As a Roman Catholic school our Faith and the Traditions of the Church permeate all areas of school life. Using the Salford Diocesan guidelines and other resources the Governors and staff of St. Joseph’s seek to enable our children to grow in faith and understanding of the Catholic Church and what it means to live in a multi-faith community. Understanding other faith traditions helps our children to grow strong in their own faith as well as reflecting the reality that there are non-Catholic children in our school. Respect for all faiths is central to the life of our Roman Catholic school.
Each day begins with prayers and the children prepare for assemblies and class/school masses in the parish church. We follow the liturgical calendar and celebrate various stages of the year with Mass and other prayer services. All of this helps our children to experience and explore how our faith is linked to ordinary life and growth in our Lord.
The Law makes provision for parents to withdraw their children from religious education and/or from collective acts of worship. Any parent wishing to know more about this should see the Head Teacher or a member of the Governing Body.
Homework
Doing homework helps children to develop important skills, in particular those of independent learning. For this reason homework is given to all pupils, although the nature and the amount of time spent on it will vary, and depend on the age of the child.
Parents are asked to provide suitable conditions for homework to be done and to check regularly that it is completed. Each pupil in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is expected to maintain a homework diary and you are invited to check this and sign it each week.