Connected Curriculum
At Ravensbury, children learn Geography, History, Design and Technology and Art through our bespoke Connected Curriculum. Sometimes, when strong links can be made, Science, Computing, Music and RE will also be included in this learning. This is an approach to teaching and learning which builds the children’s skills, knowledge and understanding and leads to ‘an Experience’ in which the children have opportunities to apply their learning in real life situations. The Connected Curriculum is specifically designed for our children to acquire the skills and knowledge in a series of lessons which they then use independently during the Experience.
Our memorable Experiences offered to the children are practical, based on real life situations and encourage creativity such as holding an Art exhibition, producing a fashion show, recreating the first Olympic games, designing a functioning canal lock or publishing a poetry anthology. Each Experience will also be created to develop social, personal and communication skills such as leadership, team work or self- management.
The teaching and learning building up to the Experience in the Connected Curriculum is designed to immerse the children in the subject(s) they are learning about through role play or mantle of the expert activities. Each subject, whilst linking to the others being taught, keeps its own characteristics and children will frequently go into role ‘as Historians’ or ‘thinking as a Geographer’. This allows the children to develop subject specific skills and use our depths of learning approach to explore the subject. Throughout each unit of work, children will be given the opportunity to consolidate and apply English and Maths skills and there is a strong emphasis on developing oracy skills throughout our Connected Curriculum.
Each unit of learning, includes enrichment links such as visitors into school or visits to strengthen understanding of a specific subject. Recent enrichment links have been a visit to Stockport air raid shelters, a visiting author and a walk along a canal to identify Victorian features.
Each child will record his or her own Connected Curriculum learning in a special book which at the end of the year, the children can take home and treasure. Each child will also have opportunity to assess his or her own learning against the National Curriculum expectations and this year we have added time for the children to reflect on the learning and respond to the information we have gained through each unit of learning. Children are able to ask and answer questions to help them think about the spiritual, moral and cultural aspects of our learning and how it links to us.
We believe that children at Ravensbury will use the Connected Curriculum as a vehicle to make connections between the subjects and also between them and the wider community. Through developing skills and understanding, and taking part in meaningful and exciting Experiences, we hope that our children will develop their self-confidence, their self-identity and feel a sense of success and achievement.
We hope our Connected Curriculum will nurture a culture of lifelong learning, foster a positive approach to challenge and raise the aspirations of all of our children.
We create, we explore, we care…we soar!
Please click on the link to see our Connected Curriculum Policy, which outlines the intent, the implementation and impact of our Connected Curriculum.