Curriculum

We aim to provide every pupil with a curriculum that is varied, balanced, challenging, engaging, personalised and motivating to them as individuals. Staff provide a seamless blend of group work and specific teaching around personal goals rooted firmly in Education Health Care Plans, as well as being responsive to the day-to-day experiences and development of every child.

Preparation for adult life is at the heart of the curriculum and the development of communication, independence, confidence, emotional resilience and self-help skills are key components of this, supporting pupils to access both the school and wider community and to continue to learn. Our curriculum is based on a multi-tiered curriculum approach.

We want our pupils to develop strategies for communicating their emotions and develop strategies to self-regulate so that they can develop opportunities to engage with others within their circles.

The curriculum is designed for pupils with learning difficulties, either moderate or severe, who require experiences and opportunities which promote the development of functional skills, communication, emotional wellbeing, confidence and independence – this encompasses our semi-formal curriculum.

The general principles governing our curriculum and schemes of work are:

• Developmental in nature and open to personalisation – they start at the beginning of the pupil’s learning journey and aim for the highest level of independence possible.
• Cover all stages of education but are not directly related to age or key stage – pupils fit into them according to their individual abilities, interests and learning journey.
• Lateral in their approach, pupils can work across the curriculums dependent on area of need. The curriculums are not defined by age, but by need and achievement; allowing pupils to move flexibly between the two at any point during their school career.

Our Semi-Formal Curriculum addresses the following:

• My Communication
• My Thinking and Problem Solving
• My Play and Leisure
• My Independence
• My Creativity (the arts)
• The World About Me
• My Citizenship
• My Forest School
• My Physical Well-being

For some of our pupils, more formal learning e.g. for literacy and numeracy provides an appropriate extension to our semi-formal curriculum. We maintain high aspirations and pupils who can access the National Curriculum and qualifications are supported and encouraged to do so, taking account of their preferred learning styles, preferences, barriers to learning and EHCP outcomes.