Intent

At St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School, we are committed to developing the whole child. We want every pupil to grow into a confident, resilient and compassionate individual who understands themselves, respects others and is equipped to make a positive contribution to the world around them.

Our personal development programme is woven throughout school life. It extends beyond the classroom, providing pupils with a rich range of opportunities and experiences that develop their character, confidence, independence, wellbeing and understanding of the diverse society in which they live.

We believe that every child should have access to experiences that broaden their horizons and develop their cultural capital. Alongside our curriculum, we provide a varied programme of educational visits, visitors, clubs, activities and enrichment opportunities before school, during lunchtimes and after school. We deliberately include experiences that some children may not otherwise have the opportunity to access, helping every pupil to discover new interests, develop talents and build positive relationships.

Our pupils are encouraged to take an active role in the life of our school and wider community through opportunities such as the School Council, Chaplaincy Team and Eco-Warriors. They learn about responsibility, service and citizenship and are encouraged to understand how their actions can make a positive difference locally, nationally and globally.

Our personal development provision is closely connected to our Catholic mission and values. Through Religious Education, Relationships and Sex Education, collective worship, assemblies, Picture News, life-skills education and our approach to behaviour, pupils develop their understanding of themselves and others. They explore themes including kindness, compassion, dignity, respect, forgiveness, equality and responsibility. They are also taught about fundamental British values and how these values apply to their everyday lives.

We explicitly promote an understanding of diversity and individual differences, including age-appropriate teaching about the protected characteristics. Pupils learn to recognise and respect what makes each person unique, while developing an understanding of fairness, equality and the importance of treating everyone with dignity and respect.

The wellbeing of our pupils is central to our approach. Through our curriculum, pastoral provision, assemblies, relationships education, physical activity and wider enrichment opportunities, pupils develop the knowledge, confidence and resilience they need to look after their mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing, both now and as they grow.

Our personal development programme is carefully planned and progressive from Nursery to Year 6, ensuring that pupils experience a broad and purposeful range of opportunities as they move through the school (see personal development offer below). Each academic year, our programme is strategically mapped so that pupils build knowledge, skills, character and experiences over time.

To celebrate and track these experiences, every pupil has their own ‘Moments That Matter’ Passport (see below). This enables children to record the memorable experiences they have enjoyed during their time at St Francis Xavier, while also helping them to look forward to the opportunities still to come. From cultural visits and sporting experiences to music, performance, community involvement, prayer and service, our aim is that every child leaves St Francis Xavier having built a rich collection of ‘Moments That Matter’.

We want our pupils to leave our school not only with strong academic foundations, but with the confidence, character, knowledge, resilience and sense of responsibility to thrive and make a positive contribution to the communities in which they live.

Moments That Matter

The children who were successful in their applications and interviews accepted their eco warrior badges in our whole school assembly in front of their peers and families. We wear our badges with pride and cannot wait to start working together to make our school a happy, safe and successful environment.

Year 3 and 4 had a managing feelings talk with the school nurse. First, we looked at different emojis and discussed how they are feeling and what we feel like physically when we are feeling that feeling such as angry or sad. Then. we looked at different pictures and discussed what might have happened and how the people in the pictures or feeling. Next, we discussed our feelings in terms of a stress bucket and what happens when that bucket is full and what might happen if that bucket overflows. Finally, we discussed different ways and strategies of managing our feelings. 

Year 1 and 2 had a road safety talk. We followed the story of Mittons the cat and how they had to learn the green cross code. We discussed how to cross a road safely including on zebra crossings and with lolly pop ladies. Then, we discussed if we are on bikes or scooters we need to wear hi vis jackets and helmets to keep safe. Finally, we learnt that when crossing a road we need to stop, look and listen. 

This half term children enjoyed taking part in many different coding projects at coding club including making their own games and rock bands.

The School Council created the friendship stop/friendship ambassadors to combat loneliness for anti-bullying week. We introduced the idea to the whole school in Monday's assembly. We went through the friendship stop sign and how the friendship stop works. Finally we created a timetable to ensure a friendship ambassador is monitoring the friendship stop sign at all times on break times and lunch times.

Thank you to all parents who attended our KS1 Phonics workshop. It was great to see so many parents and hear such great feedback from the meeting. 

Thank you to all parents who joined us for our EYFS Phonics workshop.

Our Chess club have been enjoying learning new moves and tactics to help them win their games. 

Year 3 went on a school trip to the local museum, where they learnt more about their current history topic 'The Stone Age'. Year 3 completed a Stone age workshop, where they analysed artefacts from the Stone Age and learnt about coprolites which tells us what type of foods people from the Stone Age may have included in their diets!  

Year 4 went on a school trip to the local museum where they learnt more about Roman Britain. This has helped enrich current topic learning and give insight into the next history topic. Whilst on the trip, Year 4 engaged in a workshop about the Romans, had a look around the museum and even handled Roman artefacts over 2000 years old !