‘A Catholic School is a community of faith with common vision, based on Christian values and a knowledge of the world illuminated by faith.’ (The Lay Catholic in School)
- St Joseph’s School is based on a Catholic ethos in which we aim to provide a Christian atmosphere to help in the spiritual and moral developments of each child and encourage respect for religious and moral values and a tolerance for other races, religions and ways of life.
- Each child is a unique individual capable of affecting and influencing, or being affected and influenced by those around him. We would aim in each child to develop an awareness of him/herself and his/her individual potential to the full and to develop good relationships in and out of school.
- Through the National Curriculum we aim to help the pupils to develop enquiring minds and give them the ability to question and argue rationally and to apply themselves to tasks. To encourage an investigative approach to their work, to encourage independence of thought and action, perseverance and the realisation that scientific results can be open ended and leave questions unanswered. To give them the ability to apply knowledge and understanding of science to everyday life.
- To encourage children to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences – pupils, teachers, visitors and other adults with whom they come into contact. To be able to listen patiently with understanding and to carry out instructions, convey messages and respect other people’s point of view. To develop and enjoy the written word.
- To help children to acquire knowledge and skills relevant to adult life and employment in a fast changing world and to help them to understand the world in which we live, and the interdependence of individuals, groups and nations.
These aims are more easily understood in the context of subject areas which have now been defined by the Government and which are encompassed within the National Curriculum.
The Curriculum will be taught through subject based topics throughout the school within a 2 year rolling programme using cross-curricular work where appropriate.
Individual records are kept for all children to show work covered in all subjects and these follow each child throughout the school. In line with DfE guidelines parents will be kept informed of their child’s progress.
The professional aspect of the school will be constantly updated to keep ahead of new teaching approaches and requirements. This can be achieved through INSET and Directed Time working either as a school on subjects relevant to the school or as an individual subject co-ordinator.
The aims of the school are such that they can respond to any external influences and new developments as they occur. These changes can arise as the result of changes in the law or from policies or statements from those bodies or groups which are set up to help run the school effectively which can be:
- National DfE
- County LA
- Local Head Teachers groups, ARCHED, Peterlee Partnership etc.
- HMI & OfSted Documents
