Curriculum

At CJS we believe that reading is a skill for life which is essential for all other forms of learning. Our aim is to equip each and every one of our pupils with a love of reading and a secure set of reading skills. Our Class Reading Champions check the other children’s reading records, encourage everyone to read widely and for pleasure and celebrate those reading regularly in class through certificates and badges. 

At CJS, we teach our children to read in a number of ways

-Roots, which teaches strategies for reading to develop decoding, fluency and comprehension

-Shared reading, where the teacher models strategies needed for successful reading

-Guided reading, where children practise the new skills they have learnt alongside a teacher

All pupils are expected to read for at least 10 minutes at home, every day. Home reading is rewarded through the collection of stamps which earn certificates and badges. We believe this is so important that any children who do not read at home will need to catch up in school.

There are many strands to the English curriculum including reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing, grammar, spelling, handwriting, oracy, drama, debate and verbal presentations. There are specific lessons focussed on teaching the skills of reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling and handwriting. These skills are then applied during English lessons as well as other subjects across the curriculum.

At CJS, we teach English through a Novel Study approach, which provides children with a wide range of rich and challenging texts. We aim to create a sense of awe, wonder and curiosity about books while teaching all aspects of the English curriculum.

Mathematics at Catherine Junior School.

At CJS, our goals in Mathematics are to enable children:

- to have a deep understanding of mathematical concepts

- to apply their knowledge to solve problems and investigate questions

- to enjoy the challenge of Maths and have a positive attitude to learning

to enjoy their work and to develop a life-long appreciation of Mathematics

Our lessons are carefully designed using the Primary Mathematics National Curriculum as a foundation, and teachers draw on a variety of supplementary resources to create interesting, challenging and purposeful lessons.

The atmosphere in a Maths lesson is focused, and teachers work hard to foster a positive Growth Mindset to Maths, valuing mistakes and encouraging hard thinking and good questioning.

What is Project Based Learning (PBL)?

• Based on authentic, real world enquiry and links with the community and ‘professional’ experts
• Work is in depth, based around an essential question
• Outcomes are expected to be the highest (professional!) standard
• Progression of skills is tracked and monitored via a rubric, which children should have access to
• All final outcomes are exhibited

Why teach the new curriculum this way?

• Engaging and challenging at all levels
• The children learn real world skills
• Cross curricular learning
• Collaborative group work goes hand in hand with the principles of cooperative learning
• Learning to learn skills (4cs)
  • Critical thinking
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Collaboration

We are committed to ensure all children study R.E., in preparation for later life.  This encourages a tolerance of all religions and promotes British Values.

• R.E. is taught as a ‘stand-alone’ subject.
• We teach from the 2015 Leicester syllabus, which has been approved by all religious groups in Leicester.
• Additionally, each year the children take part in a celebration assembly performed in front of the whole school and to parents. The assemblies stem from one of the four main religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.