A Connected Curriculum

At Rhyl we believe that every child must be nurtured, valued and empowered to have the highest aspirations for their future and to reach their full potential through the provision of a stimulating, innovative and creative curriculum. We strive for our learning community to achieve the highest possible standards by equipping them with the skills to succeed and inspiring a lifelong love of learning.

At Rhyl our curriculum has been designed to enable every child to succeed academically and reach their potential whilst developing as individuals who are ready and prepared for the world ahead of them, from the next stage of their education and beyond to employment and to living in their local and global community. Our curriculum has been designed to cover national curriculum content and provide a depth to children’s learning so that they are able to use and apply their knowledge and skills and understanding in all areas of the curriculum.

We understand our school context and our curriculum has been designed to celebrate the backgrounds, life experiences and cultures of our children, to celebrate their strengths as well as helping them to overcome potential barriers to learning. We provide a broad and rich curriculum so that our pupils are equipped with the skills to make positive choices about their education, social and working life. This is so that they will have a wide range of skills and knowledge to meet their needs both now and for the future in order to reach the highest aspirations.

Our connected curriculum is highly differentiated to ensure it is fully accessible and relevant for children with disabilities or special educational needs and we comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.

At Rhyl we provide a Connected Curriculum through which we aim to ensure that all our children are provided with opportunities to develop skills to become global citizens of the future. At the heart of our curriculum is the commitment to prepare children for their future life chances, giving them the confidence and skills that is their social and cultural capital. Through a thematic approach, children learn and understand the impact they can have on the world around them as well as within their own family life. We aim that children celebrate their locality and that learning helps them understand their place within London, and for them to positively contribute and be valuable members of their local and the wider London community.

Progressive curriculum maps have been designed in each subject to ensure children learn the key knowledge and skills in all subjects. Through our carefully planned curriculum provision we aim to  enable our pupils to understand that they are have a good start in life and that by caring about others in the world they can make the world a better place.

2024-25 Whole School Themes and Big Questions

Through our Connected Curriculum, we aim to ensure that all our children are provided with opportunities to develop skills to become global citizens of the future. At the heart of our new curriculum is the commitment to prepare children for their future life chances, giving them the confidence and skills that is their social and cultural capital.

What is the INTENT of the Connected Curriculum?

• To ensure our pupils are ready and prepared for the world ahead of them, from the next stage of their education and beyond to employment and to living in their local and global community
• To ensure our pupils have a range of skills to meet their needs that now and for the future and to reach the highest aspirations
• To ensure our pupils understand the impact they can have on the world around them as well as within their own family life
• To equip our pupils with the skills to make positive choices about their education, social and working life
• To ensure our pupils are able to manage their behaviour and reactions to those around them and to enable them to positively adapt to the changing environment around them
• To enable our pupils to understand that they are have a good start in life and that by caring about others in the world they can make the world a better place
• To celebrate their locality and help them understand their place within London, and for them to positively contribute and be valuable members of their local and the wider London community

IMPLEMENTATION of the Connected Curriculum

The curriculum is organised into whole school learning themes rather than topics over the year. The themes will be reviewed annually and selected to meet the needs of the pupils at the time. The learning across the theme is for a full term in order to ensure depth and strong links as well as quality time to embed learning and skills. The implementation of the curriculum is through a STEAM approach, which focuses on skills and understanding and the development of cross-curricular skills to enable pupils to use their learning in a meaningful and purposeful way.

Each term, subject specific days and weeks take place to ensure in depth coverage of subjects as well as thematic learning. This will also include national events and days of celebration as well as new discoveries and political issues where appropriate.

Concerts and end of term celebrations are closely linked to thematic learning to better involve parents and celebrate learning. Each term a ‘Fantastic Finish’ will celebrate and show case children’s achievements in a whole school event as well as year group events. Trips and visits are integral to the curriculum to provide our children with opportunities and experiences, which we know many of them do not have outside of school.

Common aspirational themes across the school are the focus of curriculum planning and experiences for children and are underpinned by British Values. Connections are made with world issues and current events of which children need to be aware with STEAM and creativity at the core of our curriculum.

Measuring IMPACT of a Connected Curriculum

Evaluation of a STEAM approach to curriculum planning and implementation has shown particular impact in the following areas:

• an improvement in oracy skills and the use of key vocabulary across STEAM topics
• more collaborative learning through projects, allowing and encouraging pupils to work as a team from the planning and research stage to the making, doing, evaluating and presenting aspects
• The STEAM approach has often given pupils a high quality end product such as flood proof structures or an enterprise product, for which they have taken responsibility for planning and developing their own learning
• Monitoring and evaluation of planning and teaching, both by SLT and with the teaching teams leading the STEAM approach, has been highly positive. We have seen greater engagement, greater links across learning and greater involvement in creating and making.
• Pupils are able to talk with greater understanding about what they are doing and enabling links to their own lives and locality
• Greater links within the curriculum has resulted in improved attainment in writing and oracy across the school,

The areas of focus in 2023-24 will be:

• Development and implementation of clear expectations for sequence of progression across each subject with clearly identified and measurable end of year expected outcomes for each stage
• Development of class and individual pupil portfolios to demonstrate achievement, progression and the sequence of learning across the curriculum through the use of See Saw and curriculum books
• Further development of Art & Design, Technology and Humanities across the curriculum as a tool for learning
• Increase proportion of pupils reaching higher levels through provision of depth in learning across the curriculum and the application of core skills in all areas of learning
• Ongoing effective assessment and highly personalised differentiation for vulnerable pupils and those with SEND to achieve highly and reach aspirational targets
• Improved progression and achievement of the lowest 20%, in particular of boys and disadvantaged pupils, to reach aspirational targets

If you wish to find out more about our curriculum please contact the school office.