Our Curriculum

St Peter’s Mission Statement:

At St. Peter’s, our mission is to achieve outstanding academic progress, especially with reading, and to grow pupils who are happy, spiritual, respectful and self-motivated.

In every subject, we plan for children to encounter opportunities to develop their relationship with ourselves, others, the world and God & beyond

Our Curriculum – Quality of Education Statements

At St Peter’s CE Primary, our underpinning ethos for all pupils, including those with SEND or Medical needs, is to achieve outstanding academic progress and to nurture pupils who are happy, spiritual, respectful and hard-working.

We support and value the abilities of all our pupils and believe that all children should be given the best possible opportunity to reach their potential. We achieve this through having high expectations for our pupils and by teaching them the skills needed to become independent, to feel confident and empowered to manage their individual needs and to access all areas of the curriculum.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

In the Early Years at St. Peter’s, our curriculum is designed to develop core skills in language, communication, and early literacy, creating a strong foundation for future learning.

In Nursery, we focus on Personal, Social, and Emotional Development, Communication and Language, and Physical Development, preparing children with the skills they need for Reception. Reading and language development are central to our curriculum, ensuring that each child builds confidence in speaking, listening, and early reading.

We value parents as essential partners and host regular events throughout the year to support learning, share progress, and celebrate achievements.

Key Stage 1:

Our Key Stage One curriculum is centred on teaching foundational knowledge in communication, reading, writing, number and calculation, ensuring students gain the knowledge necessary for further learning. Grounded in our mission, our RE syllabus and wider curriculum emphasise our core value of respect. At St Peter’s, the curriculum grows out of the EYFS, continuing to develop physical, emotional, social and spiritual awareness and skills to establish good learning habits in all children. Our children develop general knowledge that enables them to understand and engage with the world around them.

Key Stage 2:

We prioritise core skills in reading, writing, and maths while ensuring our RE, PE, and PSHE curriculum nurtures ‘happy, spiritual, and respectful’ pupils. At Key Stage Two, the curriculum is broad, covering all National Curriculum subjects alongside RE and PSHE/RSE, and rich in high-quality teaching and learning.

Phonics

We believe that ‘reading is at the heart of education’ and all learners can become successful, fluent and expressive readers by the end of Key Stage 1. At St Peter’s, we follow the Read Write Inc. scheme.

The key purpose of phonics and early reading at St Peter’s is to:

Develop decoding skills
Improve reading fluency by mastering phonics; read accurately, quickly and smoothly.
Develop expression by using the correct intonation

Enhance comprehension; strong phonics allow the focus to move to the meaning of the text.

Reading

We believe that ‘reading is at the heart of education’ and that all learners can become successful, fluent and expressive readers. We strive to nurture all children so that they love reading and choose to read to experience the joy, wonder and companionship that books can bring.

The key purpose of Reading at St Peter’s is to:

develop fluency so that all children can access the whole curriculum
expose children to a wide variety of high-quality literature
develop curious readers who think deeply about texts
build children’s ability to discuss and debate their viewpoints well
develop skillful readers who read strategically and critically
develop understanding of key literary concepts.

Writing

We believe that all children should become clear, confident communicators, who can speak and write fluently in order to express their ideas and emotions to others well.

We believe that children should be immersed in language and quality literature. Through their time at St Peters, children gradually build their bank of well-known texts supplemented by picture books, novels, poems and non-fiction books. We believe that this living library of language will equip them with the words they need to express their ideas and emotions to others well and will give them the confidence to think creatively and for themselves.

The key purpose of Writing at St Peter’s is to:

develop spoken language so that all children can communicate clearly and coherently
strengthen and extend vocabulary and understanding of the world
develop storytellers and writers who impact their reader in a purposeful way
provide a rich, experimental and imaginative curriculum that is rooted in high-quality modelled and shared writing
develop a secure understanding of phonics, spelling and grammar contextualised within the art of writing
develop children’s ability to take on feedback in a motivating way.

Maths

We believe that all learners can be good at maths. We aim to give children a thorough understanding of the number system, so they can work fluently, make connections and give reason to their mathematical understanding.

The key purpose of Maths at St Peter’s is to:

become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly, efficiently and accurately.
reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps.

Religious Education

We believe that Religious Education plays a vital role for all pupils to:

Develop knowledge, understanding, curiosity and respect or other people’s worldviews. (religious and non-religious);
Question, explore and develop their own worldviews to help them make sense of the world and how they live.

“The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that all pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and worldviews, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.” (taken from the Devon and Torbay Syllabus 2024 -2029)

The key purpose of Religious Education at St Peter’s is to:

learn about a range of religious and non-religious worldviews
develop the skills to agree and disagree respectfully
provoke challenging questions
develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue
educate for wisdom, knowledge and skills
educate for hope and aspiration
educate for community and living well together
educate for dignity and respect

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) & Relationships and Sex Education (RSE)

Our core aim is for all children to leave our school with a tool kit to keep themselves and others safe.

The key purpose of PSHE and RSE at St Peter’s is to:

Educate children to feel confident, understand and respect their own bodies
Give children real world experiences to enhance their in school learning
Educate children to be kind and compassionate members of the community
Ensure all children feel a sense of belonging within school and their local community

At St Peter’s we use the SCARF programme of study (which represents our values for children of Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship) to provide a whole-school approach to building these essential foundations – crucial for children to achieve their best, academically and socially. The curriculum is a spiral curriculum and the children revisit the same themes every year.

Science

We believe in ‘children being scientists’ and that all learners can develop enquiry skills so they can answer questions.

The key purpose of science at St Peter’s is to:

inspire pupils to explore their world
encourage questioning
Build working scientifically skills to answer questions

Art

We believe in ‘process over product’ and that all learners deserve to express their innate creativity.

The key purpose of Art at St Peter’s is to:

foster an appreciation of the visual arts by studying existing artists, paying attention to how local artists enhance our outstandingly beautiful local surroundings.
give license to our learners to be innovative and creative in their own artwork.
develop skills in using different media (including different types of paint).
encounter opportunities to develop our relationship with ourselves, others, the world and God & beyond, specifically by depicting local areas of beauty like the beach and the Otter Head.

Computing

Our Computing curriculum equips pupils with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to thrive and be safe in an increasingly digital world. It is designed to ensure pupils become competent in computer science, information technology, and digital literacy. Our sequential approach builds upon core concepts year by year, enabling pupils to develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills while staying safe and responsible in their digital interactions.

Design Technology

We believe in ‘process over product’ and that all learners can develop independent, creative and critical thinking within this process.

The key purpose of Design and Technology at St Peter’s is to:

build and refine pupils skills to overcome challenges
develop innovation
build skills, knowledge and behaviours to give children a secure foundation in the subject.

Eco Education

We aim to inspire a love for the natural world, help children understand the impact of human activity on the planet, and empower them to make positive changes and become advocates for a sustainable future.

Eco Education at St Peter’s is driven by a commitment to nurturing a deep connection with nature while equipping students with the knowledge and skills to live sustainably.

The key purpose of Eco Education at St Peter’s is to:

Be mindful of children’s emotional well-being by addressing environmental anxiety with age-appropriate, hopeful messaging that focuses on solutions and empowerment.
Foster a love for nature by creating opportunities for children to explore and appreciate the natural world.
Build environmental awareness by teaching about the impact of human activities on ecosystems and the planet.
Promote sustainable habits through practical lessons on reducing waste, conserving resources, and protecting biodiversity.
Empower change-makers to take initiative in improving their surroundings and adopting eco-friendly practices.
Encourage advocacy by developing students’ ability to champion environmental sustainability and conservation in their communities.

French

Coming soon!

Geography

We believe in fostering a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world and its environments so that all learners can understand and cherish the diverse world in which we live.

The key purpose of Geography at St Peter’s is to:

build an appreciation of space, place and interdependence
have an excellent understanding of our local area, country and planet
use an enquiry approach to ask questions about real issues
build skills, knowledge and behaviours to give children a secure foundation in the subject.

History

We believe that History helps give children a sense of identity, an understanding of the context of current events, and a framework for analysing sources of information.

We believe that students gain a better understanding of both Britain and the World by studying important historical figures and events. They also develop their critical thinking skills by looking for contrasts and connections, and analysing sources for their historical merit.

We believe that all learners can develop independent, creative and critical thinking within this process.

The key purpose of History at St Peter’s is to:

build a mental timeline of the last 5000 years
develop a web of knowledge that helps them understand the context of historical events
build vocabulary
To use their knowledge to analyse sources for historical merit
To look for connections and contrasts between different cultures and events

Music

We believe that through music and singing all learners can dwell in the moment of music and be given the opportunity to develop a lifelong passion for music.

The key purpose of Music at St Peter’s is to:

Children develop a sense of belonging and resilience through composing, rehearsing and performing music with others.
build skills, knowledge and behaviours to give children a secure foundation in the subject.

Physical Education

Fit, fun, forever

Because every child deserves to find the fun in being fit that will keep them in good shape forever.

We will also champion competition through our Good Samaritan ethos, teaching the lifelong lessons of respect, fair play, and resilience.

We build skills, fitness and knowledge through our PE curriculum, clubs, lunchtime activities and movement breaks.

We champion participation and competition through our daily run, Cross Country events, Swimming and Cycle competitions, Sports Days and Inter-School sports fixtures and competitions.