St Paul's CofE Infant School

Intent

Curriculum Intent

Our school core values underpin our school curriculum and are evident in all that we do.

Our Christian Vision

At St Paul’s, our curriculum is rooted in our Christian vision: “Learning in God’s Love.” Inspired by St Paul’s words — “Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13) — we design learning that develops wisdom, knowledge, and skills, while nurturing the courage, compassion, and community that enable every child to flourish.

Our Core Values in the Curriculum

Courage\ Courage can sometimes be hard to find. However, it is essential for us to instil courage in our children and in ourselves. With courage, we move forward. With courage, we experience new things and make the world a better place for others or ourselves. In the words of St Paul: “Have courage and be strong.”

Compassion\ We encourage everyone in our school community to show compassion by being kind, thoughtful and caring. We develop an understanding of personal feelings and the feelings of others and ways of helping others. We always put the welfare of children first. In the words of St Paul: “Do everything in love.”

Community\ We create a strong, nurturing, Christian school community in which everyone is valued and can succeed. We have strong mutual relationships with our community. In our school community we cherish our world and everyone in it. We are preparing for and growing our understanding of our role in the wider community. In the words of St Paul: “Bear with each other and forgive one another … And above all, love.”

Our Curriculum

Our curriculum has been designed to:

• Enable all children to learn and achieve.
• Promote children’s academic, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• Prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life, enabling them to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider world.

We aim for all learners to enjoy their education and make very good progress in all areas of learning. Pupils at all levels are helped to achieve their potential. Those who are most able are challenged and supported through appropriate extension questions and activities. Those who struggle are encouraged and given targeted support to embed skills, develop at their own pace, or simply to learn in a style that best suits their individual needs.

Our focus on curriculum development ensures coverage and progression. It provides pupils with memorable experiences, in addition to diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. Our community is frequently used as a starting point for engaging interest. We recognise the importance of raising aspirations and engendering a sense of personal pride in achievement.

As the school serves a diverse community in terms of cultural capital and financial stability, we provide visits and activities that children may not otherwise experience. We recognise that children need both a sense of valuing themselves and developing aspirations for their future and for their community.

Curriculum in Action

• Wisdom, Knowledge and Skills – High-quality teaching equips pupils to think deeply, act wisely, and succeed academically.
• Character Development – Our curriculum builds resilience, aspiration, and hope, encouraging children to step out of their comfort zones with courage.
• Dignity and Respect – We celebrate diversity and inclusivity, ensuring all children are known, valued, and supported.

Distinctive experiences such as Forest School and our Nurture Farm put our vision into practice:

• At Forest School, children develop courage by facing new challenges in nature, compassion by caring for God’s creation, and community through teamwork.
• At the Nurture Farm, children learn empathy, responsibility, and belonging through caring for animals and working alongside each other.

Impact

Through this vision-driven curriculum, children flourish academically, socially, and spiritually. They leave St Paul’s with strong foundations of knowledge, character, and faith — ready to live out St Paul’s call to “be courageous and strong” in the wider world.

Our Curriculum:

Engage stage, this is when the children: gain memorable first-hand experiences, such as

• A visit out or a special visitor into school

• Enjoying ‘WOW’ experiences

• Getting an exciting introduction to a topic or theme begin researching and setting enquiry questions

• Getting lots of opportunities to make observations

• Developing spoken language skills

• Taking part in sensory activities

• Having lots of fun to fully 'engage' with their new topic.

Develop Stage, this is when the children:

• Improve their knowledge and understanding of the topic

• Develop and practice their new skills

• Compose, make, do, build, investigate, explore, write for different purposes and read across the curriculum

• Research their own questions and those set by others

• Follow new pathways of enquiry based on their interests

Innovate Stage, this is when the children:

• Apply skills, knowledge and understanding in real-life contexts

• Solve real or imagined problems using everything they’ve learnt;

• Get inspired by imaginative and creative opportunities revisit anything not fully grasped at the ‘Develop’ stage.

Express Stage, this is when the children:

• Become the performers, experts and informers share their achievements with parents, classmates and the community

• Evaluate finished products and processes

• Link what they have learnt to where they started

• Celebrate their achievements

English

English is taught using a sentence stacking approach through The Write Stuff by Jane Considine.

We use Essential Letters and Sounds for our phonics teaching.

Maths

We use White Rose, the overviews for this are available here:

Year R https://whiterosemaths.com/resources?year=early-years

Year 1 https://whiterosemaths.com/resources?year=year-1

Year 2 https://whiterosemaths.com/resources?year=year-2

PSHE

For PSHE we use the Family Links programme and have a consistent theme across the school which creates brilliant discussion and learning opportunities.

Music

Music is taught through Sparkyard by Out of the Ark by our specialist teacher.

PE

PE is also taught by specialist teachers from Complete Coaching.

RE

Our RE is taught through the agreed syllabus from Guildford Diocese. https://www.cofeguildford.org.uk/education/standing-advisory-council-on-religious-education/surrey-agreed-syllabus-for-religious-education

EYFS

The EYFS curriculum is closely linked to the Development Matters document. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment\_data/file/1007446/6.7534\_DfE\_Development\_Matters\_Report\_and\_illustrations\_web\_\_2\_.pdf

More information about our curriculum is available upon request (school@stpaulstongham.com)