St Edburg's Christian Vision

But the angels said to them,

“Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people” (Luke 2:10)

Our vision is for everyone in the St Edburg's family to feel valued and loved by God.  The angels chose to bring the Good News of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.  They were the first to receive God's message and of hope and went to see the for themselves.  At St Edburg's we empower our children to shine as lights in the darkness, just like the shepherds, appreciating the world around them and becoming courageous advocates for positive change in our school, our local community and the wider world.   

All are valued, all are loved.

Please click here for relevant policies:

Teaching and Learning Policy

Curriculum Policy

 Curriculum Intent

St Edburg’s curriculum enables all pupils to contribute positively to the world; to know that they can make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others. In the current political and economic climate, our children face many uncertainties, fears and challenges. Our curriculum enables children to think deeply and motivates them to work creatively to solve problems.

Our curriculum is underpinned by our Christian vision 'all are valued, all are loved' which is evident in these ways:

• Equity of provision: even with different starting points, expecting all children to meet at least age-related expectations
• Providing depth challenges in each subject for all learners to access – ensuring these are appropriate so children feel empowered to ‘have a go’
• Staff have an excellent understanding of individual strengths and needs
• Behaviour management based on nurture and empathy – using the language of choice to empower all children
• Mutually agreed classroom charter to enable all learners to thrive in safe and productive classrooms
• Accessible but appropriate ‘challenge for all’
• Encouraging all children to take ownership of their learning, and that they can have a valuable impact in the world around them
• Encouraging everyone to think critically, to be curious and delve deeper so that they are resourceful, innovative members of our school community
• Diversity – not just in our libraries, but in our planning and lessons
• Providing the opportunity for children to coach each other – taking a lead when they feel comfortable and encouraging children to learn from each other. 

 Curriculum Drivers

 We have three clear ‘drivers’ which guide the development and delivery of our curriculum.

Include: Everyone is included in our curriculum – there is no limit to what all of our learners can achieve

Inspire: Our curriculum inspires children to make positive changes in all aspects of their learning

Interact: Children are encouraged to interact with the community around them

Examples of how our curriculum drivers may be evident in each phase are as follows

(most of the points below can be applied across all key stages)

Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum is coherently planned and logically sequenced - building on prior learning and working towards supporting the learning our children will encounter in the next stage of their journey. At St Edburg's, we want pupils to think critically about our curriculum content – we teach a curriculum of depth. Our subject leaders have thought carefully about the 'key concepts' in their curriculum design, as a way of focusing selection and the sequencing of curriculum content. Ours is a curriculum of challenge: we provide consistent opportunities for all children to deepen their learning and flourish as young people – taking risks, problem solving, building resilience and showing determination. We are unapologetically ambitious for everyone in our St Edburg’s family.

We are proud members of the National Association of Able Children in Education (NACE) and believe that by meeting the needs of our more and most able (MMA) learners and embedding a culture of challenge, all pupils are enabled to reach their potential. Our curriculum, including our enrichment programme, enables all pupils to deepen their learning. Across the school we ‘teach to the top,’ scaffolding and supporting learning where necessary.

Our curriculum has a cross-curricular approach to maximise links across subjects, to ensure teaching and learning is relevant and meaningful for our children. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum – we start every academic year with a whole-school shared text, which forms our class names each year.  Whenever possible, class novels are linked to our termly topic, enabling children to use knowledge gained from reading the text to inform their understanding of the topic and vice versa. Some subjects such as Spanish, PE and PSHCE may be taught discretely to ensure coverage of the main objectives and age-appropriate knowledge and skill development.

Curriculum Impact

First and foremost, the impact of our curriculum is that all children are included in the St Edburg’s family,

inspired to make a positive change and encouraged to interact with the community around us.

All are valued, all are loved.

The impact of our curriculum is that our pupils will:

• Develop a broader cultural capital, a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world around them and the ability to question others and develop their own informed points of view
• Reach their full potential academically, socially and creatively
• Have learnt a wide range of knowledge and skills in foundation subjects and are at least meeting age related expectations (internal data tracking– see assessment policy)
• Be equipped with the resilience and determination needed to tackle the next stage of their education and beyond
• Be inspired to become lifelong learners

Additionally:

• Pupil premium and children with SEND will make good or better progress from their starting points and the gap between them, and others, is narrowed
• More and Most Able children will have reached their potential

 It is our aim that by the end of Key Stage 2:

• The % of children working at EXS in reading, writing and Maths will be at least in line (if not above) national averages
• The % of children working at GDS in reading, writing and Maths by the end of Key Stage 2 will be at least in line (if not above) national averages

Curriculum review 

As a reflective school, in 2024 we conducted a thorough review to ensure that our curriculum drivers are embedded in each subject area. Our subject leaders, and class teachers, have a firm understanding of their subject pedagogy and what it means for their practice.

For more detailed information the pedagogy at St Edburg's underpinning each subject area click here. 

For more information on our Enrichment offer click here