Vision and Curriculum

School vision and curriculum intent

School vision

A school family rooted in God's love

Ephesians 3:17: and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,

as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

At Brindle St James’ we are a family who are grounded and grow with the love of God. Hungry little minds full of imagination, come to be educated, which we feed and nurture with love, Christian values and expertise to help them grow to reach their full potential. Close links with parents and family means that learning can happen effectively both within school and at home.

We aim to grow and nurture our children with these 5 values:

• Generosity – To share their gifts and faith to make a difference upon the school, community and beyond.
• Independence – To develop resilience, confidence and wellbeing skills to deal with life’s challenges.
• Gratitude – To appreciate the objects, experiences and people they have around them.
• Friendship – To work together offering peer support and have respect for individuals and all communities.
• Love – To have a passion to become the people God wants us to be - academically, personally and spiritually.

Curriculum intent

At Brindle St James’ we strive for all children to grow and flourish by providing an ambitious curriculum delivered through quality teaching. Subjects are mapped so that children grow and build upon prior learning and have time to practise and consolidate their learning through inspirational and exciting topics. Our curriculum is supported by targeted interventions which are rapidly put into place for pupils identified through monitoring of progress and attainment to support our school family in the way they need it most. In addition, we aim to support the development of the whole child and our families by offering more than just the curriculum. Examples of this include cultural opportunities and family support.

Curriculum implementation

Each child joins us with their own, special background at different stages of their educational journey. On entry to school, we observe to see how each child excels and where they may need to grow. As educators, our aim is to support each child reach their full potential through high quality teaching, additional support when needed and development of close links with parents as we recognise and value that learning continues beyond school.

Mental wellbeing and children’s safeguarding at Brindle St James’ are seen as the corner stones of our school, as without these in place, children are inhibited from flourishing. A key focus at Brindle St James’ is to support children’s mental wellbeing so that they are ready to engage with their lessons and to give them the skills and resilience to deal with a rapidly changing world. The safety of children is of our highest concern and staff are trained to identify children who may be in difficulty and how to get help.

Our curriculum is underpinned and enriched by child-led enquiry. Children’s varying experience along with their prior learning is used as a firm foundation upon which knowledge is built. Wow moments create a buzz around school which inspires a curiosity and positive attitude towards learning and growth.

Spirituality

Christian values are woven throughout our curriculum, behaviour system, worships and relationships so much so, that the children express these values through their actions and voice. These values truly do shine out from within them.

Faith links include:

• Worship led by the Priest and other officials from Brindle St James' Church and visits from Blackburn Diocesan Bishops. 
• Regular learning visits and worships held at Brindle St James’ Church
• Weekly WABs (Worship at Brindle) club and a community worship each term for the local parish
• Christian festivals celebrated both within school and at Brindle St James’ Church
• Other celebrations, particularly linked to our children religion and culture, celebrated

Community

The rural community of Brindle is utilised to primarily support geographical and historical explorations. Well established links with the community provide a wealth of learning experiences and sources of inspiration. Children at Brindle St James’ have a sense of where they belong in the wider world, enhanced by the strong links forged with our twinned school, Pencott in Mable, Uganda.

Community links include:

• 3 community actions days each year with a focus on the local , wider and worldwide community. 
• Talks from Brindle Historical Society
• Parish members delivering craft activities linked with the art and design technology aspects of our curriculum
• Half termly community assemblies delivered by the WABs group
• Intergenerational project between Brindle St James’ and Brookside Care Home for children and residents to share their experiences with each other
• Fundraising led by children focusing on their own passions
• Fundraising for national charity events e.g. Remembrance day, Children in need
• Fundraising for our twinned school, Pencott through operation orphan.

Parental link

From the outset of a child joining Brindle St James’, our aim is to develop strong and meaningful relationships with both children, parents and their wider families. Home visits in reception, regularly end of day chats and formal updates are key to building a positive relationship. Parents are encouraged to be part of their child’s learning journey and teacher  show parents how they can support their children at home.

How our school and delivery of the curriculum is unique?

We consider each child to be unique, celebrating their successes both within school and in the wider community. Children are challenged and encouraged to expand their knowledge. When learning is more difficult, targeted support is provided to aid children to embed their skills, allowing them to develop at their own pace in their most suitable style of learning.

Our unique offer to our children includes:

• Small class sizes
• Family feel with older children supporting and nurturing younger children
• Learning environment allow children to flourish
• Daily worship centred around the Christian values
• Opportunity to lead worship shared with the community of Brindle through WABs club (Worship at Brindle)
• Child led prayers
• 30 minutes of daily physical activity
• Strong and established links with sports coaches within the local community
• Swimming from reception through to year 4
• At least 3 trips per year focusing on cultural and curricular enhancement.
• Other language opportunities
• Music lessons
• Bespoke intervention quickly implemented when identified
• Strong links with parents
• Annual residential trip for year 5 and 6

Curriculum impact

Our children grow into independent young people who are motivated and committed to making a difference to their community. The children have high aspirations for themselves and are academically and socially prepared for the next stage of their academic journey when they leave us in year 6. Local businesses who employ our past pupils have commented on their politeness, confidence and professionalism which they feel has been instilled in them at Brindle St James'. 

Families can find out more information by speaking with their child’s class teacher.