Through our curriculum, specialist approaches and staff dynamism, we will develop successful learners, responsible citizens and confident individuals to enable them to succeed in society to the best of their ability. We achieve this by focussing on the following aspects that form the aim and intentions for all our planning and support:
- Successful learners
- Dynamic curriculum
- Bespoke and individualised learning
- Effective implementation of plans
- Responsible citizens
- Socially inclusive community
- Positive behaviour approach
- Embedded British Values
- Confident Individuals
- Development of physical, intellectual and social growth
- Independent life skills
- Positive social relationships
A dynamic curriculum that considers students who have gaps in their education and who have varying learning needs both academic and lower ability.
Curriculum design enables students to be placed in classes based on academic and social needs, which means that there are a variety of ages in each class.
Just over 50% of the school is a traditional curriculum offering a secondary approach with specialist teachers and the offer of GCSE’s. The rest of school being alternative curriculum, which follows a primary model with the same teacher for most lessons. Lessons are delivered holistically, including the National Curriculum but delivered to meet class and individual needs.
The students receiving the alternative curriculum require delivery to be slightly slower, nurturing and more creative in delivery.
The Post-16 provision is designed as a progression year for students that need a further year of career planning, emotional development and CV building. This is also an opportunity for functional skills re-takes.
Students can move across curriculums to meet ever changing needs both for academic and social need.
Therapy is embedded across the school and is prevalent in all classes. A 2-week timetable for individual therapy supports students to ensure regular lessons are not missed and designed with the curriculum in mind.
The curriculum design is based on solid research and utilises approaches from a variety of concepts and combines these into a provision that can be adapted to suit individual needs:
- National curriculum
- AET
- Autism and learning disabilities strength-based model
- EHCP recommendations
- Post-16 college qualifications such as Ascentis
- Social and emotional development
- Positive behaviour approaches (Responses)
- Preparation for adulthood
- Gatsby
- Executive functioning
- Scaffolding
Timetable planning considers the needs of students such as 45-minute sessions, longer morning tutorial sessions to embed support. The timetable also develops social skills and life skills to develop ASD needs and PfA.
Staff trained in PBS approaches support management of behaviour in and out of classroom. Bespoke approaches are used depending on needs of student.
The school believes there is always a reason for behaviour and the school will target the identified need to help solve the challenge. Extensive tracking and approaches are applied, sometimes over months, to establish the route cause and positive outcome.
The overall whole school behaviour expectation approach that uses inclusive and holistic approaches rather than demands.
Students are taught behaviour expectations by valuing and considering others and their environment, which in turn addresses life-long learning for inside and outside the school of expected behaviour rather than dictating a set of rules. This method has been an excellent driver behind behaviour and conduct across the school. Whilst rules and laws are taught through PSHE, mentoring and British Values, this method is utilised to enhance learning beyond the school.
Behaviour policy offers a bespoke approach to supporting ‘understood’ and ‘misunderstood’ behaviours. A menu of support responses enables the behaviour to be effectively targeted.
LGBTQ weekly groups in the community covered: LGBTQ+ History, LGBTQ+ Rights, where to find mental health support, how to manage situations where students may face people whose beliefs differ from their own and Q&As.