Rainbow Curriculum Tool
Initially created for schools in Wales, the original Rainbow Curriculum Tool helped many schools begin their journey towards realising Curriculum For Wales. It was impactful but limited as its was created on Excel.
This new web-based tool/app allows school leaders, curriculum leads, and class teachers to design and interactively build their school curriculum. What’s more, it facilitates the identification of cross curriculum links and the integration of the cross-cutting themes. It is also linked to the LNF and DCF frameworks.
Now the tool enables leaders to monitor progress towards the key expectations at each stage/year group. Reports can be produced to demonstrate coverage, progression and cohort assessment outcomes.
It is intended to develop four versions of the tool: A primary and a secondary school tool for Wales and a primary and secondary tool for England.
The version for Wales is based directly on the official Statements of What Matters and Descriptions of Learning for the 2022 Curriculum for Wales.
The tool for England is based directly on the national curriculum for England. It will include the evolution of the curriculum following the recent Curriculum Review.
All versions feature:
- A drag and drop interface for building content, knowledge and skills.
- Tools for integrating experiences, vocabulary, thinking tools, key concepts and inquiry.
- The ability to incorporate teachers’ planning within the Rainbow Curriculum Tool.
- The ability to create reports that demonstrate coverage, progression and cohort assessment outcomes.
We want to get it right, so we have started by creating the version for primary schools in Wales.
To see what it looks like and how it works please use the link below to the website we have developed for the Rainbow Curriculum tool.
Is there absolute clarity within your school as to what is taught when and how?
Can you easily analyse coverage and progression? Can you show clear expectations and how many pupils have reached that expectation?
The Rainbow Curriculum Tool facilitates the development of a shared understanding of what is expected at each stage. Further, it allows analysis such as the identification of gaps, duplication and cross curriculum links, as well as making it possible to ensure expectations are clear and progression built in. Further, the tool now enables the creation of reports that demonstrate coverage and progression.
Wales and England have very different approaches to the curriculum. There are therefore different Rainbow Curriculum Tools for Wales and for England.
The versions (primary and secondary) for Wales allow the school to plan at what stage the statements of what matter are covered, as well as outlining where each description of learning is taught and what that looks for the learners in the school. Further, it can create reports that show the progression within each statement of what matters.
The versions for England, places the requirements for each subject into each year group/colour band. It also enables the reporting of progress towards meeting key expectation at each stage/year group
What does the Rainbow Curriculum Tool do?
The Rainbow Curriculum Tool supports schools and their teachers. It keeps all curriculum development in one place. It is not a scheme of work! It helps staff focus on what is already in place and what needs to be done next.
It starts with what teachers know now and helps them move forward. It ensures that teachers are left to use their professionalism to know how best to meet the needs and interests of the learners in front of them. There are no jaded, over used topics or themes here! The tool ensures that teachers know the skills, knowledge and experiences that they need to explore with their learners and leaves them to determine how best to do this for their learners, adapting and changing themes and topics as their learners’ ability and interest grows.
The tool for Wales ensures that the descriptions of learning are mapped out and contribute to the Statements Of What Matter. It ensures that staff are reminded of the progression steps, as they plan for their learners. Where descriptions of learning are considered to be vague and are covered across a number of year groups (band colours), it allows staff to determine ‘what that looks like for our learners in our context.’
The tool for England brings together all aspects of the national curriculum and related statutory requirements. It allows the school to plan exactly how and when the requirements will be met.
The tool facilitates the identification of cross curriculum links and makes the integration of cross cutting themes easier.
What’s more, the tool allows a school to demonstrate the progress that its learners make! It allows teachers to see ‘if these learners can do x, next I need to plan for them to learn/experience y.’ It is all about the journey of the learner.
As schools populate the framework, creating an over view of curriculum planning, the tool helps facilitate analysis such as the identification of any gaps.
The Rainbow Curriculum Tool encourages schools to look at the learning and experiences across all six AoLEs in Wales and the subjects in England. It is not a ladder for pupils to race up! It enables schools to be focused on the particular concepts that need to be developed, but equally importantly to be revisited and in a range of contexts. This is because revisiting, in engaging contexts, are key features of supporting retrieval practice! To that end the concept of teach and apply, becomes teach and apply and apply and apply!