St. Joseph's Journey Beyond the Classroom

Our Personal Development Offer

Our curriculum extends beyond academics, promoting growth in diverse areas of life, as seen in our Personal Development Curriculum. We aim to equip children with the knowledge to make thoughtful decisions, build resilience, and continue developing their character. Through a well-planned approach, we integrate both the curriculum and extra-curricular activities to provide enriching experiences that promote positive behaviours in school, family, and the community.

Children at St. Joseph’s know they belong to a world and learn to understand their role in society. As a child of God, they have a strong sense of self and know how to positively contribute to their local and global community. They become tolerant individuals and recognise that everyone’s voice should be heard, and every viewpoint acknowledged and respected.

By the end of their primary education, they possess key virtues to flourish, such as compassion, respect, responsibility, resilience, honesty, and self-belief. They take opportunities with confidence and are prepared to be responsible citizens of both modern Britain and the wider world, with solid moral foundations for the future.

 

Our Personal Development curriculum runs alongside curriculum areas, such as PSHE, RE, PE Science, Computing and Art/DT.  It is enriched through outdoor learning opportunities, educational visits, and a wide range of visitors who bring learning to life.

 

Flourish Friday

Flourish Friday is unique to St. Joseph’s and offers pupils a dedicated opportunity to deepen their understanding of our Character Virtues, Catholic Social Teaching, Protected Characteristics and British Values. Each half term focuses on a different theme, helping pupils explore key areas such as Health and Wellbeing, Contributing to the Community, Respecting and Tolerating Different Cultures, Caring for our Local Area, Protecting God’s Creation, and Preparing for the Future. These themes are brought to life through progressive, high-quality texts that enrich and connect learning across the curriculum.

Our sequential, well-planned events support our aim to ensure children leave us as well-rounded, tolerant, compassionate, respectful, and resilient individuals. These events allow pupils to revisit knowledge gained in other subjects, such as PSHE and RE, and put everything we teach them into practice by applying it to real-life contexts. Children develop an age-appropriate understanding of their place in society and their role in contributing to a positive community where everyone can flourish.

 

Find out more about our Personal Development Curriculum and Offer below:

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Our Character Virtues

Our character virtues, gifted to us through Christ, form the foundation of our personal development programme. We are committed to nurturing these virtues in every child, encouraging them to grow in character as they progress through their education. These traits are not only central to our Christian ethos but also essential for flourishing in life beyond school. Our character virtues are taught explicitly, are woven throughout our curriculum, and are celebrated weekly during Celebration Assembly.

 

Our Enrichment Offer

We are not only focused on a curriculum of excellence here at St. Joseph's, we are committed to providing our children with experiences beyond the classroom.

We provide breaktime/lunchtime clubs, after school enrichment and a wealth of educational visits and residential trips. These elements of our Personal Development curriculum provide opportunities to explore new interests, develop skills and build confidence and resilience.

Children are encouraged to develop resilience and confidence through taking opportunities that are offered to them. 

Educational Visits & Residentials 

Educational visits are carefully planned to align with our long-term cohesive curriculum. Each trip has clear learning intentions and is designed to bring classroom learning to life. We are committed to ensuring all visits are accessible and inclusive for every pupil.

Educational visits may include:

  • Locomotion in Shildon
  • Seaton Carew
  • The Bishop Auckland Project 
  • Durham City Centre
  • Beamish
  • Life Science Centre 
  • Hardwick Park

We start residential trips in Year 3. Residential visits are a valuable part of school life, helping children to build resilience, independence and confidence. They offer experiences beyond the village in which we are located, really broadening their horizons and deepening understanding of the wider world in which they belong. Children develop teamwork, social skills, and lasting friendships through shared challenges and new environments.

Residential visits for 2025/2026 include:

  • Year 3/4 retreat the Emmaus Youth Village - November 2025
  • Year 5/6 Turing trip to Estepona, visiting our Pen Pals in our Partner School and experiencing Spanish culture - May 2026
  • Year 6 Outdoor Adventure to Newby Wiske - July 2026

 

Participation in educational visits and residentials is never dependent on financial circumstances. We use Pupil Premium funding to help subsidise costs, ensuring that no child misses out on valuable learning experiences.

 

Breaktime and Afterschool Clubs 

Our clubs encourage teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills that benefit children in and out of the classroom. Regular attendance helps them make friends, build resilience, and establish a positive routine. 

 

All children are encouraged to attend. Adaptations are made and support is provided for those with Special Educational Need or those with an identified need. 

Engagement in clubs is tracked and monitored. Those not attending are targeted, encouraged and supported to attend.

Careers Education at St. Joseph's

Curriculum

At St Joseph’s, we encourage every child to dream big and explore the wide range of possibilities their learning can open up. Through our curriculum, pupils are introduced to careers linked to each subject, helping them see the real-world applications of their learning. By making these connections, children develop aspirations, confidence, and the skills needed to succeed in the wider world, while recognising that their talents are part of God’s plan for them.