Our Curriculum
St. Luke’s Curriculum Intent Statement 2023-25
Our Intent
At St. Luke’s, our ambitious curriculum aims to inspire all pupils to learn and grow beyond the National Curriculum expectations. Pupils are fully engaged in their learning, demonstrating enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. Our small school's unique approach allows us to individually nurture each student's spiritual and moral growth through close partnerships with families, the church, and our local community. We support and encourage our children to become courageous advocates, not just locally but nationally and globally.
We aim to meet the needs of the 'whole child' by empowering our pupils through a comprehensive approach, integrating music, sports, and art with their daily academics. We prioritise classroom discussions to provide opportunities to retrieve knowledge and deepen understanding, ensuring that pupils 'Know More and Remember More'. We recognise and foster their unique talents, providing opportunities for holistic growth. Our goal is for our pupils to be prepared for challenges they encounter both in and out of school, living our core values.
As part of this goal, we organise a Y5/6 Careers fair each Summer to provide aspirational guidance for their next steps. Our curriculum offers multiple opportunities for pupils to learn and develop their 21st-century skills. We leverage our close relationships with providers such as the Institute of Imagination, Architecture in Schools, Zero Carbon Schools, Eco-Schools, UTC, STEAM Ambassadors, The Building Centre London, Local libraries, Cody Dock, Lea Valley Country Park, Mighty Oak public speaking, and Newham Music to enhance and enrich the curriculum, providing broader opportunities for our children.
We arrange a well-structured schedule of educational trips designed to enhance and ignite learning in meaningful and practical ways. These trips can serve as an exciting introduction at the beginning of the learning journey or as an enrichment opportunity to ensure that learning is deeply understood and integrated. All of this is rooted in our Vision & Values outlined below.
Implementation
Our interconnected curriculum enables connections between subjects, creating a network of knowledge so that pupils can grasp their learning and have the autonomy to apply this learning in various ways. This allows pupils to retrieve what they have learned and provides opportunities to hone their skills in real-world scenarios. Well-organised lessons make learning meaningful, providing chances for pupils to explore their curiosity, think critically, and work together.
To guarantee high-quality teaching throughout the school, we prioritise the professional growth of our teachers. All teaching staff are provided with ongoing coaching opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge.
Teachers facilitate dialogic classrooms and cultivate language-rich environments by using various strategies, including the "Mantle of the Expert" approach, where pupils take on different roles. This freedom allows teachers to teach with passion and enthusiasm, bringing excitement, engagement, and relevance to lessons.
Our curriculum ensures that the integrity of individual subjects is preserved and helps pupils understand how different aspects of the curriculum are interconnected. Teachers explicitly connect past learning, current learning, and future learning. To help pupils understand these connections, we use the 'Know More, Remember More' approach, which our staff have been trained on. To make this visible, topic pages outline the week's learning of skills and knowledge. Pupils independently add new vocabulary to the KMRM topic pages as part of their learning and at the end of each week, self-evaluate to review their progress.
We establish strong foundations so pupils understand what success entails. Teachers ensure that pupils comprehend how live feedback guides their learning journey, enabling them to act upon feedback and use purple pens to demonstrate progress. This fosters a growth mindset, helping them become resilient learners. To ensure knowledge transfer, teachers make explicit connections within the year and between years to ensure that learning is reinforced and retained.
A continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement ensures our curriculum remains relevant and purposeful in an ever-changing world. Teachers provide a personalised curriculum that meets the needs of pupils in their class, with in-lesson support and challenge to ensure success for all.
Our Impact
At St. Luke’s, our pupils leave with unforgettable experiences, ready to become inspiring citizens of their community and beyond. Many of our pupils secure places at prestigious grammar schools and receive scholarships at private institutions.
During Y6 handover meetings, receiving schools often praise our pupils' performance. By engaging in 'Justice' campaigns, supporting local initiatives, and participating in global events like COP 26, our pupils develop into courageous advocates. Our aim is for all pupils to progress in every subject, equipping them to confidently tackle challenges and make a positive impact in a dynamic world. As they leave, our pupils are prepared to make informed decisions, embrace lifelong opportunities, and make the world a better place with unwavering confidence.
We measure the impact of our work through pupil and parent testimonials.
Curriculum Unit Overview with Hooks
St Luke's Curiosity Approach
