St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School

Our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and includes a wide range of enriching experiences and opportunities both within and beyond the school day. This includes an extensive programme of after-school clubs, that support the core curriculum offer, as well as those which develop specialist skills, such as football, kickboxing, singing and drama, whilst also extending the range of children’s experiences.  A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations, engender a sense of personal pride in achievement, and provide a purpose and relevance for learning.

During their time at school we provide opportunities for children to:

• learn to swim (Year 3)
• play the Keyboard (Year 4)
• cook a variety of meals/desserts (all years)
• Learn photgraphy and animation skills (Year 4,5 and 6)
• learn to take care of ourselves and our world through gardening and mindfulness activities (all years)

In Addition to this all children take part in Forest School activities (in our Forest School area) and take part in our Wild Beach School enrichment. 

Read our Intent statement here:

St Mary star of the Sea Catholic Primary School believes that enrichment gives children opportunities to try new and varied activities that develop character, resilience and motivation, which encourages children to pursue wider goals. We run outdoor enrichment at the beach and the forest for years 1-6 throughout the year.  Forest School and Wild Beach help to teach life skills that benefit children beyond the classroom. We aim to develop the pupils character, resilience, confidence and independence, to teach them how to keep physically and mentally healthy, to prepare them for future success and to equip our pupils to be responsible, respectful and active Christian citizens. Forest and Wild Beach enrichment is learning through PLAY and as child initiated as possible. Forest and beach schools provide children with the perfect opportunity for both collaborative and independent learning. Experienced teachers introduce pupils to new environments, giving them the space and freedom outside of the classroom to explore and understand the world around them through supervised risk taking and trial and error. Beach and forest schools are immense fun for all children taking part, no matter what their age.  At Forest & Wild Beach we use natural surroundings and resources to create, explore and bring to life what’s in our imaginations, and we are fortunate to have a private forest area on site. Depending on the weather conditions we offer the following activities; Building dens, Creating fires cooking food, Scavenger hunts, Exploring nature, Imaginative games, Using tools, including saws, drills & knives (child-safe versions!),Sensory activities, Natural Arts and crafts and Seasonal celebrations.

Forest School is about exploring and experiencing our natural forest area.  We have a fire circle with fifteen seats for pupils, therefore each year group experiences 3 sessions if they are split into two groups and each group has the whole afternoon, otherwise the two groups share six afternoons.  This is dependent on the cohort and the class teacher.

We teach and model how to move safely around the fire circle area.

We give the pupils opportunities to set up their forest site; fire site, cooking/preparing, creating and building.

We talk about the forest site as a habitat for other creatures.

We teach and model environmental awareness, respect and responsibility for the world around them.

We teach and model to older pupils how to light a fire using flint and steel safely.

We give all pupils from Year 1 – 6 the opportunity to explore, to climb, to listen, to feel, to guide, to talk and to make through practical activities.

The children go out in all weathers, all year round, exploring and learning from the seasons and environment changes. (During high winds we will consider if it is unsafe)

The Forest School Leaders monitor the site so that it does not become overused and for any foreign bodies from outside of the school environment.

Wild Beach School is an unforgettable way for a whole class to immerse themselves in the wonders of their local coastline and sea.

Our Wild beach sessions are physical, we utilise the wide-open safe space and water bucket relay, beach races, beach workout, tug of war, with a walk from school and back again.

We calculate risk of the area and create a safety zone.  All pupils who have been to Wild Beach school know what our safety zone is.

The Wild Beach adults scan the area for foreign bodies. All pupils are taught NOT to pick up anything (with their hands) that is not natural to the beach but to stand by it and call for an adult.

We collect and sort pebbles to create sculptures, pictures and stacks.

We rock pool, paddle and skim stones when the sea allows us to.

We create art using what we find on the beach.

We sketch what we see on while sitting on the beach.

We celebrate our surroundings and leave our gratitude for passersby to see and smile at.

We discuss pollution and pick up litter. It is important to leave our little part of the world cleaner than it was when we arrived.

We enjoy what we see with the people we learn with, we ask questions and make observations. We breath fresh air and wonder at our surroundings that are less than a mile from school.