The primary and early years are a time where children progress and grow at a rapid rate and where children are bursting with awe and wonder, fun and joy. All the staff at St Mary the Virgin Primary School recognise the special responsibility they hold as custodians of these years and they do not lose sight of this treasured opportunity in which childhood is cherished.
St Marys is committed to the Church of England Vision for Education ‘Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good’, which calls us to:
Educate for Wisdom, Knowledge and Skills
Educate for Hope and Aspiration
Educate for Community and Living Well Together
Educate for Dignity and Respect
Foundational Knowledge & Skills
At St Mary the Virgin CE Primary School, we believe that every child deserves the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to become a successful lifelong learner. Our Foundational Knowledge & Skills Framework ensures that the essential building blocks of learning are taught explicitly, practised regularly and developed progressively from the Early Years through to Year 6.
Our approach is based on the belief that strong foundations lead to greater success. We place a high value on language development, reading, writing, mathematics, learning behaviours and personal development. By carefully sequencing learning and providing regular opportunities for practice and retrieval, we help children build secure knowledge and skills that can be applied across the curriculum.
The framework is built around eight key areas: Language & Communication, Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Knowledge Acquisition, Personal & Social Development, Executive Function and Motor Skills. These interconnected strands help pupils develop not only academic excellence, but also the independence, resilience and self-regulation needed to thrive in school and beyond.
We are committed to ensuring that every child can succeed, regardless of their starting point. Through explicit teaching, high expectations and timely support where needed, we help pupils develop the vocabulary, knowledge, learning habits and confidence required to access a broad and ambitious curriculum. By the time they leave SMTV, our pupils are well-prepared for the challenges of secondary education and the opportunities of the future.
How we will implement our curriculum
At St Mary the Virgin CE Primary School we follow the Cornerstones Curriculum; a creative and thematic approach to learning that is fully mapped to the Primary National Curriculum. Following the Cornerstones Curriculum ensures we have comprehensive coverage of the primary national curriculum expectations. Our curriculum ensures that every child has access to rich, relevant and age-appropriate content. At its heart of the curriculum is a child-centred pedagogy, The Four Cornerstones,which is delivered through two main types of projects:
- Cross-Curricula Projects – exciting, themed projects that spark curiosity, creativity and real-world connections.
- Knowledge Rich Projects – subject-specific projects that emphasise depth, rigour and progression.
Together, these projects form the foundation of our school curriculum and provide a rich menu of engaging and motivating activities that draw meaningful links across subjects. Over the course of the year, our children are challenged with tasks that require them to solve problems, think creatively, and express their understanding in different ways. Alongside this creative work, our curriculum includes a robust skills and knowledge progression framework, which sets out clear end-of-year expectations for every subject. These expectations are age-related and linked to specific activities, making tracking progress, identifying children’s individual needs, and planning targeted next steps effective and informative.
The most important underlying principle of a curriculum is to help children learn. We believe that a successful curriculum is brought to life by high quality teaching, inspirational learning activities and opportunities to listen and plan for the developing interests and motivations of children.
Our Curriculum 26/27