The School Curriculum

Our principal aim is to value your child as an individual who is unique in the eyes of God.  In sending your child to Regina Coeli School we share a responsibility with the family and the parish in the process of education.

Our curriculum is the totality of the learning experiences the child engages in during the school day – classroom activities, break times, the assemblies, the discipline, the environment, the relationships and the values that are shared.  Our approach also appreciates and values the skills and attitudes that are brought from home.

Our philosophy is to develop two main areas within the child;

  1. The spiritual and moral development of each person through our Religious Education programme ‘Here I Am’ and our ethos based on Gospel values and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
  2. The development of the child’s educational abilities, which will involve areas of academic, physical and aesthetic development.

Within our school the learning experiences offered to each child will reflect breadth, balance, relevance, differentiation, progression and continuity.

The school is organised into three key stages.  These are:

  1. Foundation Stage – Reception Year
  2. Key Stage 1 – Years 1 & 2
  3. Key Stage 2 – Years 3, 4, 5 & 6

Religious Education is a fundamental part of all our work and this is taught in specific lessons and supported through assemblies, the prayer life of the school, school ethos and the prepared liturgies.  Many schools have a programme of Personal and Social Education but in a Catholic School this is deemed very important and is called Education for Personal Relationships (E.P.R.).  At Regina Coeli School this programme is called ‘FOOTSTEPS’. It is centred on the development of the whole child and explores aspects of religious, spiritual, moral, physical, sexual and social education.  It progresses through the school and the work is both planned and delivered when it is most appropriate and at a level suitable to the child.  Again, like Religious Education this permeates every aspect of the curriculum and our ways of working.  E.P.R. includes issues of health and sex education.  This policy is set within the context of the Catholic faith and is fully approved by the Governing Body.

Parents have the right to withdraw pupils from lessons in Religious Education and sex education lessons.  Both are seen as central to the work of the school and discussion must take place with the Headteacher regarding this matter.

We teach the National Curriculum and throughout the school we support the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies.  Literacy and Numeracy are at the heart of what we teach and are the central core skills that we develop in each child in order to enable them to fulfil their potential; to make a valuable contribution to the community; and to prepare them for their secondary phase of education and life long learning.

The Core Subjects of the National Curriculum are:

  • Literacy
  • Numeracy
  • Science
  • Religious Education 
  • Information and Communication Technology

We also are required to teach the Foundation Subjects.  These are:

  • Design & Technology
  • History
  • Geography
  • Art & Design
  • Music
  • Physical Education

At Regina Coeli School we value the importance of developing the Core Subjects alongside the Foundation Subjects.

Some areas of the curriculum are taught as discrete subjects with their own separate lessons.  Other work is covered through topics or themes where several subjects are linked together under a broad heading, but within these topics pupils will acquire and develop the skills and ways of working and thinking that are appropriate to each discipline.  The areas to be studied are communicated, in writing, at the beginning of each academic year. 

Pupils learn a tremendous amount from first-hand experiences and we try to organise many visits within our local area.  Our school has an interesting history with modern sections alongside Victorian architecture.  Children are regularly taken on visits within our local community.  Visits related to specific topics or the classes plan themes and parents are informed, in good time, and strongly encouraged to contribute to the costs.  We visit regularly the Bromley Field studies Centre to support the Science Curriculum.  In addition to external visits we encourage visits from groups and individuals into school to support areas of learning e.g. BT Education, visiting authors, theatre groups, drama and music workshops and the Living Planetarium.

Year 6 pupils participate in a weeklong residential visit.  Presently, this is to the Isle of Wight.  The visit takes place at the beginning of Year 6 (autumn term) and the group are accompanied by at least six adults.  The approx. cost of this is £200 inclusive.  This residential visit supports all aspects of learning and forms the work of the first half of the term.  The project concludes with ‘An Isle of Wight Exhibition’ to which Year 6 parents, all pupils and the parents within the school are invited.