Whole School Curriculum Intent

At St Bernard’s, our curriculum is designed to help every child flourish—academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. Rooted in Gospel values and guided by Caritas in Action and Lighting the Path, it provides rich knowledge, purposeful learning and opportunities to live out faith through action. We focus on language, oracy, emotional literacy and cultural capital, ensuring every child can think deeply, speak confidently and act kindly. By the end of primary school, our pupils are curious, capable and compassionate learners, ready to contribute positively to the world.

St Bernard’s - A Joyful, Aspirational Community Rooted in Faith                                  

At St Bernard’s, with Jesus as our guiding light, our curriculum offers a rich, exciting and creative education that allows each child to grow in formation placing respect, communication and confidence at the heart of our curriculum.

We are committed to helping every child to grow and develop in the love of God and others, recognising the unique nature of each individual’s needs.

At St Bernard's we do things 'The St Bernard's Way'

We are gentle and try hard not to hurt anybody.
Like Jesus we are kind and helpful and try hard not to hurt people’s feelings with our words or actions.
We are honest.
We work hard and don’t waste time.
We look after property.
We listen to people.
We try hard to follow Jesus' example in all that we do. 

Parents and carers are our children’s first and most important teachers. Their support and involvement in our endeavours are vital. They know their children better than us, so we listen to them and share information, concerns and successes with them. Together we work to ensure a mutually supportive relationship that leads to success for the children.       

Under the guidance of Bishop John, we follow the Religious Education programme of “Come and see”. We develop spirituality in our community through: -

• Daily prayer and worship in class and in assemblies
• Mass and appropriate liturgies
• The sacramental programme
• Sharing and exploring the gospels
• Care and respect for others both inside our school and parish community and beyond

We aspire to relate the teachings of Jesus and the traditions of the Church to the everyday experiences of our children, thus making our school a setting for living, sharing and celebrating our Catholic faith.  We place as much importance on the delivery of RE as that of English and Maths and apply the same rigorous standards and expectations in teaching and learning.   

Teachers plan a broad and balanced curriculum, in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum for children in Years 1-6, and Early Learning Goals for Early Years Foundation Stage. They have high expectations of all children, recognise individual needs within our diverse community, and support each child to achieve his or her full potential.

We believe that children will make their best progress if they develop a sense of responsibility for and awareness of their own learning. At the beginning of a unit of work pupils take time to talk about what they already know and think about what they want to find out; at the end of the unit children reflect on what they have learned. All children are supported through positive relationships which develop self-esteem, promote well-being and resilience and provide the best possible opportunities for each child to learn and achieve.

Believe

Our patron saint, St Bernard, teaches us to pray, to work hard and to devote our lives to others and our children know this to be 'The St Bernard's Way'. Through what we believe, we show our intent to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to make a positive contribution to the world around us. 

Grow

We grow together in our faith as the implementation of our rich and varied curriculum provides the opportunity to learn and discover in many different ways. 

Succeed

Our children want to succeed and are always encouraged to see the impact, big and small, of the efforts that they make, both in the classroom, in their play times and in the wider community.

Treating Children as Individuals
We understand that each child in our care is unique, with a unique set of experiences. This is at the heart of a Catholic education, and ensures that all gifts and talents are nurtured and developed.

Ultimately, our curriculum empowers children to be learners for life and leaders for good—academically capable, morally grounded and spiritually alive.

Whole School Curriculum Implementation

At St Bernard’s, we implement our curriculum through high-quality teaching, purposeful learning experiences and consistent pedagogical practice. Our approach ensures that all pupils—particularly those facing disadvantage—develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to thrive academically, socially and spiritually.

Teaching across the school is guided by EEF research, Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, and the mastery approach. Lessons are sequenced in small, connected steps that build understanding over time, ensuring all pupils achieve depth before acceleration. We focus on teaching for understanding, not coverage—prioritising quality over quantity.

1. Coherent Sequencing and Knowledge Progression
Each subject follows a clearly defined progression of knowledge and skills from Early Years to Year 6. Teachers use long- and medium-term plans to ensure content builds logically, revisiting key ideas through spaced practice and cumulative review. Knowledge organisers, retrieval tasks and low-stakes quizzes help pupils remember what they have learned and make connections across subjects.

2. High-Quality Teaching and Pedagogy
Teachers plan lessons using evidence-informed strategies that support all learners:
- Explicit instruction and clear modelling of new concepts.
- Guided practice, where pupils apply learning with scaffolding.
- Independent practice that develops fluency and confidence.
- Questioning and dialogue, used to probe understanding and extend thinking.
This approach ensures that new knowledge is fully embedded in long-term memory and can be applied flexibly.

3. Oracy and Vocabulary Development
Language and talk underpin everything we teach. Every lesson is an opportunity to build oracy, vocabulary and structured discussion, supporting pupils with limited language or confidence. Teachers explicitly teach subject-specific vocabulary, model precise language, and provide sentence stems to develop reasoning and explanation skills across the curriculum.

4. Inclusive Practice and Adaptive Teaching
We are committed to inclusion and equity. Teachers adapt instruction so all pupils access the full curriculum, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged. We use EEF guidance on scaffolding, feedback and metacognition to ensure pupils receive the right level of support and challenge. Interventions focus on addressing misconceptions and securing foundational knowledge, not narrowing the curriculum.

5. Emotional Literacy, Faith and Character Education
Teaching approaches promote wellbeing, self-regulation and reflection. Pupils are encouraged to talk about their emotions, understand others’ perspectives and demonstrate kindness, respect and fairness. These values are reinforced through Caritas in Action, Lighting the Path, and everyday classroom relationships, ensuring pupils’ personal development is integral to learning.

6. Assessment and Feedback
Assessment is ongoing, purposeful and aligned with curriculum goals. Teachers use:
- Formative assessment to check understanding and adapt teaching in real time.
- Summative assessment to monitor progress over time and identify gaps.
- Feedback that is specific, actionable and focused on improvement.
Pupil voice and self-assessment are used to build ownership and reflection in learning.

7. Professional Development and Collaboration
Staff receive continuous training in evidence-informed practice, including cognitive science, retrieval practice, scaffolding, questioning and mastery principles. Subject leaders support teachers through joint planning, coaching and monitoring, ensuring consistency and shared ownership of curriculum quality.

8. Enrichment and Cultural Capital
The curriculum extends beyond the classroom through enrichment experiences that broaden horizons and nurture curiosity. Visits, workshops, themed weeks and community projects bring learning to life, helping pupils connect knowledge to the wider world and see themselves as active participants in society.

In summary, our curriculum implementation ensures:
- Teaching is consistent, inclusive and rooted in research.
- Knowledge and skills are built systematically and revisited regularly.
- Language, oracy and wellbeing are integral to all learning.
- Staff development and reflection drive continual improvement.

Through this approach, every pupil is equipped to achieve academically, grow personally, and live out our Gospel values in action.

Whole School Curriculum Impact

At St Bernard’s, the impact of our curriculum is seen in pupils who are confident, capable and compassionate. They achieve well across all subjects, communicate clearly and think deeply. Through Caritas in Action and Lighting the Path, they grow in faith, respect and kindness. We measure success through progress, behaviour, wellbeing and pupil voice—ensuring every child knows more, remembers more and uses their learning to make a difference in the world.

Our pupils leave St Bernard’s as secure, successful and spiritually grounded learners, ready to live life to the full and contribute positively to society.