Curriculum

Our curriculum aims to develop the skills, knowledge and cultural capital of our students so that they have the emotional maturity and confidence to become valuable and functional members of their community.

At St. Clare’s school we believe that learning is the process by which students gradually acquire and assimilate knowledge; concepts; skills and attitudes to enable them to make greater sense of the world. Teaching and learning is central to our work as educators, and it stems from the schools aim, ethos and values. At St. Clare’s school our core values underpin our culture; climate and behaviour in all of our interactions and learning experiences.

St Clare’s school – Where we reach our goals!

REMARKABLE STUDENTS – UNIQUE ABILITIES

COURAGE – RESILIENCE –  PRIDE  

We expect all of our staff to deliver high quality, stimulating and dynamic lessons, where every teacher is a consistently good teacher. We expect all students to be challenged and make good progress in their learning.

Students of all ability levels will be given equal opportunities to achieve their full potential. Our purpose is to create a learning environment which fosters motivation and allows students to feel safe and flourish. We aim to empower our students to understand how to learn as well as striving to teach them what to learn.

Phonics

The whole-school approach to teaching phonics follows the Ruth Miskin Training Fresh Start Phonics programme. Fresh Start is a structured, systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) intervention designed specifically for older students who require accelerated support in reading and writing. The programme provides carefully sequenced lessons, consistent routines, and targeted resources to ensure rapid progress, improved fluency, and increased confidence. Teaching materials are underpinned by evidence-informed practice to maximise outcomes and promote long-term literacy development.
Phonics groupings are flexible and may operate across pathways and year groups where appropriate. This ensures that students receive targeted, needs-led instruction in small groups, allowing teaching to be closely matched to individual attainment levels and specific gaps in learning.
The Fresh Start programme includes focused reading and writing intervention modules aimed at addressing gaps and misconceptions for students who have not yet secured key phonics knowledge and skills. These sessions are designed to consolidate learning, improve accuracy and comprehension, and rebuild confidence and enjoyment in literacy.

Reading

We actively foster a culture that promotes a love of reading across the school, recognising its central role in academic achievement and personal development. Students have regular opportunities for independent reading, enabling them to practise fluency, build stamina and develop personal reading preferences.
Every class has scheduled weekly read-aloud sessions. These sessions are carefully selected to expose students to ambitious vocabulary, diverse text types and rich language structures. Through structured discussion, students develop comprehension skills, extend vocabulary, and strengthen oracy by articulating responses, predictions and interpretations.
In addition, the school uses the Talk for Writing approach to support the development of reading and writing. This strategy immerses students in high-quality model texts, enabling them to internalise language patterns, narrative structures and key vocabulary before moving into shared and independent writing. Through oral rehearsal, text mapping and structured innovation, students develop confidence, coherence and precision in both spoken and written communication.

The Library

The school library is organised by clearly identified reading ages and is colour-coded to enable students to select texts that are appropriately matched to their reading ability in a discreet and supportive manner.
The library offers a broad and engaging range of fiction, non-fiction and high-interest texts, which students can access during independent reading time. This carefully curated selection ensures that all students, regardless of ability, can find texts that both support their reading development and promote sustained engagement.

School Performance Tables

Curriculum Overview

Expected Outcomes

AQA Unit Awards

Religious Entitlement/Withdrawal

We encourage pupils to become enriched by the knowledge and understanding of different religious beliefs/cultural backgrounds of all people.

If you have a specific concerns and would like to discuss coverage of the curriculum, please contact our curriculum lead Mrs Webber on 01332 511757.

Music Development Plan

Music Development Plan

Remote Education

Remote Learning Policy

 British Values

Fundamental British Values

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