Intent – What are we aiming to achieve through our curriculum?
To provide a variation of practical and theory-based lessons focused on horticulture, sustainability, and community engagement, while building on outdoor learning foundations established in KS3.
To develop students’ knowledge of plant growth, environmental requirements, health and safety in outdoor settings, and how outdoor projects can positively impact their community.
To give students the opportunity to apply their learning through practical projects such as seed propagation, allotment work, greenhouse management, and seasonal planting.
To encourage responsibility, teamwork, and problem-solving by engaging students in the care and management of living plants, tools, and outdoor environments.
To build resilience and independence through hands-on tasks that encourage students to take ownership of their learning and develop essential life skills.
To connect classroom learning to real-world contexts by exploring how outdoor learning and land-based projects contribute to wider community wellbeing.
To prepare students for the next stage of education or employment by completing Pearson BTEC Level 1 units:
LBS8: Growing Plants (Year 10)
PS11: Contributing to Your Community (Year 11).
To ensure all students achieve outcomes that reflect their best ability through nationally accredited qualifications, while also developing practical skills they can use beyond school.
Implementation – How are we delivering our curriculum?
Students access a broad and balanced curriculum that combines theory and practical outdoor work, with lessons differentiated to meet a range of learning needs and styles.
Learning is structured around themes linked to the BTEC units, ensuring students can make connections between theoretical knowledge (e.g. seed germination, community roles) and practical application (e.g. planting, volunteering projects).
In Year 10, the focus is on LBS8: Growing Plants. Students learn about the environmental requirements of seeds and plants, health and safety in horticulture, and apply this knowledge through hands-on growing tasks in the greenhouse and allotment.
In Year 11, the focus shifts to PS11: Contributing to Your Community. Students explore how volunteering and outdoor projects can support others, develop responsibility and teamwork, and contribute positively to their school and local area.
The curriculum is designed to revisit and reinforce key skills, providing multiple opportunities for repetition and practice to embed knowledge securely.
Students participate in ongoing seasonal projects across the school grounds, ensuring they experience the real-life cycle of planting, maintaining, and harvesting.
Outdoor Learning also builds on KS3 foundations by continuing to develop skills in tool use, teamwork, sustainability, and respect for the natural environment.
Impact – What difference is the curriculum making to our students?
The majority of students meet or exceed their expected progress in Outdoor Learning, both in practical application and accredited BTEC outcomes.
Students develop confidence in using tools, managing plants, and applying health and safety knowledge, equipping them with practical life skills transferable to future contexts.
Students gain an understanding of the value of contributing to their community and the positive impact their actions can have, supporting informed choices about education, volunteering, and employment pathways.
Students successfully achieve nationally accredited qualifications: BTEC LBS8 in Year 10 and BTEC PS11 in Year 11, ensuring they leave KS4 with recognised outcomes that reflect their best ability.
Learners become more resilient, independent, and responsible through taking part in long-term projects and outdoor learning tasks, while also contributing positively to the school environment and wider community.
By the end of KS4, students are well-prepared for the next stage of their education or work experience, with both practical skills and the confidence to apply them.
