Subject Leaders: Maddy Parsons and Katie Huddleston

Our mission is to create a vocabulary-rich curriculum that empowers every child to become a confident and articulate communicator. We prioritise oracy, giving pupils frequent opportunities to speak, listen, and explore language through meaningful discussion. We achieve this through the specific teaching of the key strands of:

• Reading

• Writing

• Speaking, listening and drama

• Spelling (including synthetic phonics)

• Handwriting

We aim to inspire children to read with deep understanding for both pleasure and the acquisition of knowledge; and to value our literary heritage. We strive to create a genuine love of language and enjoyment of the process of reading.

Writing is taught through engaging, high-quality texts that model grammar, punctuation, and style in context. We value quality over quantity—encouraging children to craft, check, and edit their work with care and purpose.

Through rich vocabulary, purposeful talk, and varied writing experiences, we nurture confident learners who use language with precision, creativity, and pride.

Teaching of Phonics and Early Reading

At St Mark’s, we aim to develop confident, fluent readers and writers through a consistent and high-quality approach to phonics teaching. By the end of Key Stage 1, we strive for all children to understand the alphabetic code, confidently blend and segment words, read and spell common exception words, and use correct letter formation.

How We Teach Phonics

We use Unlocking Letters and Sounds (ULS), a DfE-validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme, from Nursery to Year 2. Phonics is taught daily through structured lessons that follow four key stages:

• Revisit and Review - recap previously taught learning.

• Teach - introduce new phonemes, graphemes and spelling patterns.

• Practise - develop reading and spelling skills.

• Apply - use learning in reading and writing.

All staff are trained to deliver the programme consistently, and phonics skills are reinforced throughout the curriculum.

Nursery

Children begin with Phase 1 phonics, developing listening skills, sound awareness, rhythm, rhyme, speech and language. This provides the foundations for successful reading and writing.

Reception and Key Stage 1

Children progress through Phases 2-5 and aspects of Phase 6, learning to:

• Recognise, read and write phonemes and graphemes.

• Blend and segment words for reading and spelling.

• Read and spell common exception words.

• Apply spelling rules and patterns.

• Develop confidence as readers and writers.

Assessment and Support

Children's progress is monitored regularly through ongoing assessment. Flexible groupings and targeted interventions ensure that any child needing additional support receives it quickly. Where appropriate, support continues into Key Stage 2 through phonics groups or specialist interventions.

Phonics Screening Check

All Year 1 pupils take the statutory Phonics Screening Check. The results help us to:

• Evaluate phonics provision.

• Identify children requiring additional support.

• Inform future teaching.

Children who do not meet the expected standard receive further support and retake the check in Year 2.

Supporting Learning at Home

Parents can support phonics development by:

• Reading with their child every day.

• Practising phonics and common exception words.

• Sharing stories, rhymes and songs.

• Supporting weekly spelling practice.

Parents of Reception children are invited to a phonics information meeting each autumn term, and staff are always happy to provide further guidance.

Through systematic daily phonics teaching, children develop secure decoding, spelling and reading skills. They become confident, fluent readers and writers with the foundations needed for future learning and a lifelong enjoyment of reading.

Subject Leaders: Laura Whittaker and Rachael Shone

At St Mark's, we believe that every child can be successful in mathematics. Our curriculum follows the National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, providing a clear progression of knowledge and skills from Reception to Year 6.

We teach mathematics every day through engaging, interactive lessons that help children become confident and capable mathematicians. Using the White Rose Maths approach, pupils develop fluency in number, reason mathematically and solve problems in a wide range of contexts.

Children are supported through the use of practical resources and visual representations before moving towards more abstract methods. A strong focus on key number facts and mental calculation helps pupils develop confidence and automatic recall, providing secure foundations for future learning.

We encourage children to reflect on their learning, explain their thinking, discuss different strategies and make connections across different areas of mathematics and the wider curriculum. Our aim is for pupils to see mathematics as a valuable life skill that helps them understand and make sense of the world around them.

As a result of our mathematics curriculum, pupils develop secure mathematical understanding, confidence and resilience. They learn to persevere when faced with challenge, communicate their ideas clearly and develop positive attitudes towards mathematics. By the time they leave our school, pupils have the mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding needed for the next stage of their education and are well prepared to apply mathematics in everyday life.

Subject Leader: Katie Huddleston

Our science curriculum is based on the current EYFS Framework and the Primary National Curriculum (2014).

We aim to ensure continuity and progression from Reception to Year 6. We aim to develop the children’s scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding in biology, chemistry and physics.

We place a strong emphasis on working scientifically and use an enquiry based approach to ensure that children develop rigorous scientific skills while learning more about the world around them.

We teach about the lives and achievements of important scientists and aim to help the children understand the possible uses and applications of science today and in the future. Above all we endeavour to make learning science practical, exciting and fun!

Subject Leader: Justine Yarker and Sarah Robinson

RE is an essential subject at the core of all learning in school in that it encourages children to consider what it means to be human. By building on the school-wide development of the spiritual elements of life, RE takes children on a journey into the ways in which people have sought to answer the big philosophical questions at the heart of our existence.

As a Church of England school our emphasis is on the teaching of Christianity as a reasonable faith with a balance of narrative, thematic and doctrinal elements. We look at two other world faiths in detail in order to make comparisons and develop deep understanding and appreciation of difference. Judaism and Islam, in teaching, heritage and as monotheistic religions, have much in common with Christianity and thematic teaching will often draw on all three.

Our current syllabus is based on schemes of work produced by the Blackburn Diocese. - “Questful RE”. We are beginning to introduce concepts and units of work from the new Church of England sponsored Understanding Christianity materials.

We take an enquiry-based approach to the teaching of RE, encouraging the children themselves to raise questions for discussion, with a balance between ‘learning from’ and ‘learning about’ religion.

In all teaching we seek to provide opportunity for open dialogue and pupil self-expression in response to the ideas, issues and challenges raised.

In the current climate of fear of extremism and a fragile geopolitical context we seek to provide open, honest and challenging RE built on a shared set of Christian values.

Subject Leader: Hazel Cook

At our school, we aim to inspire curiosity and a lifelong interest in the world around us through a high-quality geography curriculum. Children develop secure geographical knowledge, an understanding of places, people and environments, and an appreciation of how the world is interconnected. We teach both geographical knowledge and geographical skills, alongside wider learning skills such as observation, reasoning, critical thinking and  hypothesising that can be applied across the curriculum. Where appropriate, we make meaningful links with other subjects to strengthen learning and provide a richer understanding of key concepts.

How do we do that?

Our geography curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that knowledge and skills build progressively from year to year. Several areas of content are deliberately revisited in different year groups, allowing children to first develop secure knowledge and understanding before applying this learning through more complex geographical enquiries. Lessons provide opportunities for children to develop fieldwork, map-reading, data-handling and investigative skills while deepening their understanding of both human and physical geography. Through engaging topics, practical activities and cross-curricular links, pupils are encouraged to think like geographers and make connections between their learning and the wider world.

What is the result?

As a result of our well-structured curriculum, children develop strong geographical knowledge and are able to apply their understanding through enquiry and investigation. Pupils demonstrate growing confidence in using geographical vocabulary, maps, data and fieldwork skills, and can explain their learning using evidence and reasoning. Children perform well in geography, show enthusiasm for the subject and speak positively about their experiences as geographers. They leave each year with an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the world and the skills needed to continue their geographical learning.

Subject Leader: Quita Davies

In the teaching of History through an enquiry-based approach we aim to foster in children genuine curiosity and a long, lasting interest in the past.

We work to enable them to understand the details of significant events and to ask and research questions about how and why the world has changed over time. We try to develop inquiring minds that ask questions about different beliefs and cultures and the ways in which they have shaped the development of our country.

Through study of the past we hope that children will learn more about themselves as individuals and members of modern British society.

Subject Leader: Sarah Robinson

Children experience many opportunities to develop their understanding, knowledge, skill and appreciation of art, craft and design. They explore a variety of tools, media and techniques to create sculptures, drawings, paintings, collages, prints and textiles.

Children are encouraged to express their ideas and feelings using these skills and techniques, even in other areas of the curriculum. Over time they will have looked closely at, and responded to, the work of a large range of artists from many different cultures and backgrounds, past and present.

Each week there is a chosen piece of art that is displayed around the school and in the hall during collective worship. A short introduction to the artist and their work is given in the whole school assembly at the beginning of each week.

Subject Leader: Currently vacant

Design & Technology – Curriculum Overview

St Mark’s Primary School

Our Intent

At St Mark’s Primary School, Design and Technology enables pupils to become creative, practical and reflective problem-solvers. Our curriculum is rooted in the updated 2024–2026 guidance and the National Curriculum, with a strong emphasis on an iterative “design, make and evaluate” process.

Pupils design and create purposeful, functional and authentic products for real users and real contexts. They learn to consider user needs, purpose, functionality and innovation, developing the confidence to make informed design decisions and refine their ideas throughout the making process.

Design and Technology at St Mark’s develops creativity, resilience and independence, while strengthening links with science, mathematics, computing and the wider curriculum.

How We Implement Design & Technology

Our curriculum is structured around the three key activity types:

• Investigative and Evaluative Activities (IEAs)
  Pupils analyse existing products and systems to understand how they work, why materials are chosen and how designs meet user needs.

• Focused Tasks (FTs)
  Children develop essential technical skills and knowledge, including:

  • Structures and mechanisms

  • Electrical systems (circuits, switches, motors)

  • Textiles (joining, stitching, pattern work)

  • Cooking and nutrition (food preparation, hygiene, healthy eating)

• Design, Make and Evaluate Assignments (DMEAs)
  Pupils apply skills and knowledge to design and create products for a specific user and purpose, evaluating and improving their work at each stage.

Learning is underpinned by the six core principles of modern Design and Technology:
User · Purpose · Functionality · Design Decisions · Innovation · Authenticity

Children record their learning in design journals or ‘Big Books’, capturing sketches, plans, photographs and evaluations to evidence the iterative design process.

Health and safety is taught explicitly and reinforced consistently, ensuring pupils use tools, materials and equipment responsibly and confidently.

The Impact on Our Pupils

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils at St Mark’s:

• Design and make functional products that meet clearly defined user needs

• Use a wide range of tools, materials and techniques safely and accurately

• Make informed design decisions and justify their choices

• Evaluate and refine ideas throughout the design process

• Use appropriate technical vocabulary to explain their thinking

Pupils leave St Mark’s as confident designers and makers, equipped with the practical skills, creativity and problem-solving abilities needed for future learning and everyday life.

Subject Leader: Quita Davies

While we currently follow the Lancashire Scheme of Work for PE we are actively looking to replace the scheme with a more up to date resource which incorporates online elements for teaching discreet skills and opportunities to support planning and assessment.

PE develops children’s physical competence and confidence and their ability to use these to perform in a range of activities. It promotes skill, agility, physical development and an understanding of the ‘body in action’. Children are encouraged to be creative and competitive and to face different challenges as individuals as well as in groups and teams.

Children can learn endurance, perseverance and resilience in the structured context of games and sports. We help them to learn how to lose with grace and learn from failure and making mistakes.

PE helps to promote the habits of a healthy lifestyle. In PE lessons children also learn useful skills that have applications in other aspects of learning: planning, performing and evaluating actions and ideas and improve on quality and effectiveness.

We have carefully structured schemes of work for gymnastics and games development. Elements of dance are included in these units.

Swimming

All children in Years 4 and 5 have a series of structured swimming lessons at Kendal Leisure Centre. The emphasis is on personal survival skills, based on the development of good basic strokes. Our aim is that all children achieve the KS 2 expectations for swimming before they leave the school. For that reason, children from Year 6 who have not yet achieved the standard may join the younger classes for lessons.

Children in Year 5 have an opportunity in the summer term to experience open water swimming in Windermere, in a session that also teaches the basics of safety at the water margin.

Competitive swimming is also encouraged in the fielding of teams to represent the school in the annual Kendal Primary schools swimming gala.

Competitive Sports

We encourage a mixture of individual skills development and competition. Within the KCP family of local schools and as part of the School Games programme organised by Active Cumbria, we are able to access a wide range of sports festivals and competitions.

Teams from St Mark’s have competed in Cross Country, Sports Hall Athletics, Football, Orienteering, Dodgeball, Tag Rugby, Cricket, Netball, Hockey, Rounders, Lacrosse and Swimming competitions in recent years.

We have also entered teams of children with SEND in local Panathlon events.

We regularly acknowledge the achievements of individual children who take part in sports out of school time by re-awarding cups, medals and certificates in our weekly Celebration assembly.

We have recently been successful in maintaining the Sainsbury’s School Games Gold Award for a third year, which recognises our participation and support in all areas of sport and physical activity.

For the last two years we have encouraged children in each class to walk or run 100 miles in the school year, as part of a national scheme to encourage fitness and fight obesity.

Subject Leader: Currently vacant

School Music Development Plan

St Mark’s Music Curriculum

Subject Leader: Anna Sykes

The overarching aim of the Computing curriculum is to transform children’s experience with IT from simply using computers to understanding how they work and learning how to write code and simple programs.

Our emphasis is on equipping young people with the skills and knowledge they will need for living in a modern and rapidly changing world. They need a wide set of skills to enable them to function in the digital world.

The computing curriculum aims to develop both skills and knowledge through three elements:

• computer science

• information technology

• digital literacy

These strands are developed discreetly as well as through learning in other subjects where ICT is used to enhance teaching and learning.

Children in Key Stage 1will have the opportunity to learn how to write and test simple programs. They will learn how computers work and how to program them to organise, manipulate and store digital content.

Children in Key Stage 2 will learn about computer networks (including the internet) and the services these networks are able to provide. Throughout their learning an emphasis is placed on the safe use of ICT equipping children with the knowledge they need to access the digital world confidently and safely.

We provide regular access to computers through the timetabled use of a portable bank of 16 laptops.

Subject Leader: Katie Huddleston

Teaching Spanish – Overview

Intent

At our school, the intent of teaching Spanish is to develop children’s curiosity about languages and cultures, and to provide a strong foundation for future language learning. We aim to foster positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures, helping pupils to understand their place in a diverse and interconnected world.
From Reception and Key Stage 1, pupils are introduced each term to different countries, languages, foods and cultural traditions, specifically focusing on France, Ukraine and China, to broaden their global awareness alongside early language skills. By Key Stage 2, pupils develop confidence in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish, enabling them to communicate for practical purposes and understand key grammatical structures.

Implementation

Spanish is taught weekly across Key Stage 2 using a progressive and structured scheme that builds vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and cultural understanding over time. Lessons include songs, games, stories, speaking opportunities and written activities to engage all learners and support different learning styles.
In Reception and Key Stage 1, pupils receive a termly introduction to global learning through age-appropriate exploration of France, Ukraine and China, learning about languages spoken, traditional foods, celebrations and everyday life. This early exposure supports cultural capital and prepares pupils for formal language learning in KS2.
Cultural awareness is embedded throughout the curriculum, ensuring pupils understand not only the language but also the traditions and lifestyles of Spanish-speaking countries.

Impact

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are confident, enthusiastic language learners who can communicate in Spanish using a growing range of vocabulary and structures. They demonstrate accurate pronunciation, an understanding of basic grammar, and the ability to listen and respond appropriately.
Pupils leave our school with a strong awareness of other cultures, respect for diversity, and a positive attitude towards learning languages. The early cultural introductions in Reception and KS1 ensure that pupils see languages as meaningful and relevant, supporting a smooth progression into more formal language learning and preparing them well for secondary education.

Subject Leader: Louise Hinton

PSHE – Intent

At St Mark’s CofE Primary School, the intent of our PSHE curriculum is to support pupils’ personal development and wellbeing, enabling them to thrive academically and socially and to be well prepared for life in modern Britain. Rooted in our Christian vision ‘Where Courage Meets Grace’ and the Church of England’s Vision for Education, our curriculum promotes dignity, respect, wisdom, hope and community.

Our PSHE curriculum is ambitious and inclusive for all pupils. It is designed to ensure that children:

• develop the knowledge and vocabulary needed to understand health, relationships and life in the wider world;

• build resilience, self-awareness and emotional literacy;

• form and sustain positive, respectful relationships;

• understand how to keep themselves and others safe, including online;

• become responsible, informed citizens who understand democracy, equality and the rule of law.

The curriculum reflects local context and pupils’ lived experiences and actively promotes equality, inclusion and respect for difference, ensuring that all pupils feel safe, valued and able to flourish.

PSHE – Implementation

PSHE is delivered through a coherent, well-sequenced curriculum that builds knowledge and skills progressively from EYFS through to Year 6.

• The school uses the 1Decision PSHE programme, a PSHE Association quality-assured scheme, ensuring full coverage of statutory Relationships Education and Health Education. Learning is structured around the three core themes:

  • Health and Wellbeing

  • Relationships

  • Living in the Wider World 1decision-pshe-programme-of-stu…

• Teaching follows a spiral model, enabling pupils to revisit and deepen learning over time. Lessons are adapted appropriately to meet the needs of all learners, including pupils with SEND, ensuring equity of access.

• Assessment in PSHE is purposeful and meaningful, focusing on pupils’ starting points and progress over time. Baseline, formative and summative approaches support reflection, inform teaching and demonstrate impact without using grades.

• Relationships and Health Education are taught sensitively and in line with our Relationships and Health Education Policy (2026). Teaching reflects the Church of England’s emphasis on living well together, valuing difference and nurturing positive relationships. Relationships Education and Hea…

• PSHE learning is reinforced through a whole-school approach, including behaviour expectations, collective worship, pastoral support and day-to-day interactions. Real-life situations are used as learning opportunities, enabling pupils to apply strategies in meaningful contexts.

• Pupils are given authentic opportunities to develop leadership and civic understanding through School Council, House Captain elections and engagement with local democracy, including visits from the local Member of Parliament.

• Safeguarding is fully embedded within PSHE. Sensitive issues such as bullying, discrimination, online safety and inappropriate language are explicitly addressed, challenged and recorded in line with school policy.

PSHE – Impact

The impact of our PSHE curriculum is evident in pupils’ strong personal development, behaviour and attitudes.

• Pupils are articulate, reflective and respectful, able to express their views and feelings using appropriate language.

• Children demonstrate positive relationships, empathy and kindness, contributing to a calm, inclusive and supportive school culture.

• Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including online, and know how and where to seek help.

• Children show increasing independence, resilience and emotional regulation, supporting their readiness for the next stage of education.

• Pupils understand democracy, equality and British values and participate confidently in school decision-making processes.

• Incidents of bullying, racism or discriminatory language are very rare, and pupils report feeling safe, listened to and supported.

Overall, pupils leave St Mark’s well prepared for life beyond primary school, with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute positively to society and to live life in all its fullness. The PSHE curriculum makes a strong contribution to safeguarding, wellbeing and pupils’ long-term outcomes.