Wider Curriculum
At St Michael's, we provide an ambitious academic curriculum covering the full range of subjects, but we also aim to develop the children more widely as young people who have a love of learning, a curiosity to find out more and an understanding of the many ways in which they can contribute positively to our world. We do this through offering a curriculum beyond the academic and do this in a range of ways including, but not restricted to:
- Collective worship and assemblies with themes linked to our school values;
- School council and eco-council;
- Working with our partner school in India;
- Working with agencies such as CDEC to learn to look after our world;
- British Values;
- Sports competitions and events;
- Working with our local community;
- Singing, music and drama performances;
- Trips, visitors and residential visits;
- Extra-curricular clubs;
- Gardening, and looking after our outdoor area;
- Mindfulness and well-being;
...and the list is developing and evolving all of the time!
British Values:
Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are at the heart of all we do, and this is underpinned by our own set of school values of Generosity, Perseverance, Love, Respect, Courage and Friendship.
Linked very closely to these school values, we also aim to prepare pupils positively for life in modern Britain through the promotion of the fundamental British values of Democracy, the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect for those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.
Democracy:
At St Michael's, we value and respect the rights of all individuals, and therefore it is important to us that everyone has the opportunity for their voice to be heard.
Following the success of our Eco-Council last year, we have now reintroduced our School Council which begins with a democratic process in September, where each class can nominate year group representatives . In doing this, the children are encouraged to see the link with the real world and, at an age appropriate level, to know about the main political parties and how Government works.
The School Council meet weekly with an agreed agenda and, whilst they are supervised by an adult, they do have a nominated Chair and Vice-Chair who lead the meetings. Any pupil or member of staff can bring an item to be placed on the agenda for discussion but the key focus areas are our environment, supporting charities and school development.
The School Council lead assemblies regularly and make sure the school know how they can contribute and how they are progressing towards their aims. The children are all able to make their voice heard through adding to the School Council suggestion box which is discussed at each meeting.
Pupils are also able to give their opinions through regular discussions with staff about areas of our curriculum, what they enjoy and what they would like to see or what would help them further in their learning.
The Rule Of Law:
At St Michael's, we are very conscious that our pupils are the citizens of the future. Therefore, it is important that our pupils learn about how society operates and the importance of being able to live in a way that does not negatively affect others.
As part of our PSHE curriculum, our children learn about being positive citizens and about the importance of following rules. Our pupils are given time to consider the part that we all play in society and we have high expectations for the behaviour of all pupils. Throughout the year, they learn about their rights and also their responsibilities and how our actions have consequences that can affect those around them.
Daily collective worship sessions set the tone for the day in terms of our high expectations and children are rewarded for positively displaying each of our school values.
Visits from the Police, Ambulance and Fire Service, our ambitious curriculum and lessons on keeping safe all help support the children in understanding the rule of law and becoming law abiding citizens who love and support each other.
Individual Liberty:
We provide our pupils with a safe environment and empowering education in which to make their own choices, e.g. pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms safely through PSHE and e-safety lessons.
Pupils are given the freedom to make choices within lessons, e.g. through choosing the methods and resources which support their way of learning. They are also given the freedom to make choices in extra curricular time. They learn explicitly about individual liberty through PSHE, RE, History and Geography and in our whole school collective worship sessions and they are able to apply for roles in school such as school librarian, school council or to take responsibility for sports equipment.
Mutual Respect For & Tolerance Of Those With Different Faiths & Beliefs & For Those Without Faith
Respect, Love and Friendship are three of our six school values and these underpin all that we do in school. At St Michael's. children learn how to show respect for others and understand that although we all have differences, we have lots more in common than that which divides us. This often forms the basis of our daily collective worship in school, by linking to our school values, and as a Church School, we have strong links with our local Church, with Reverend Banks, Reverend Freeman and Start Christian from North Lakes Foodbank leading collective worship each Wednesday.
We have carefully chosen Questful RE as the resource for teaching our RE curriculum, as it teaches through themes which link religions, cultures and beliefs about the world together, emphasising the wonderful ways in which we are the same, rather than focusing on difference and separation, while at the same time teaching children about a whole range of cultures and means of expression.
Our curriculum and resources have all been carefully chosen and are constantly being reviewed and updated to be representative of modern British culture to ensure that the messages of respect, understanding and love are constantly reinforced. Any concerns raised about lack of respect for others in school, are always followed up stringently and recorded where a protected characteristic is involved or if bullying is suspected.
Whilst developing our whole school curriculum, we have looked carefully at ways of enhancing our school visits offer for the children, in line with our school vision and values. All of our school visits have been carefully selected in order to build and develop their cultural capital and to prepare them as not just British but global citizens, ready to explore the world!
School Visits
More information about our range of school visits coming soon...