At Tor View School, the curriculum is specifically designed to ensure the learning that takes place is relevant, engaging and motivating for our students. This has been developed to best prepare people for the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of adult life.
We place a strong emphasis on addressing each individual’s social and emotional needs. The ultimate goal is that the young people are enabled to become active learners, who are moving towards independence, autonomy, control, choice and learning, to effectively communicate their needs, wants and opinions.
The school provides an appropriate and adapted curriculum. Students have access to the National Curriculum, which is modified according to the individual needs and abilities of each student. The curriculum is delivered through a primary model where students spend the majority of the time with consistent members of staff, visiting other spaces for learning with specialist teachers where appropriate e.g. home cooking, art or outdoor learning. The curriculum intends to be aspirational though realistic about what the young people can access and process to enable engagement, joy and learning to be achieved with safety and individual needs in mind.
Core subjects include literacy, numeracy, PHSE (including RSE), PE/activity, home cooking skills, art and project. Project is theme-based work for the duration of a term that includes subject aspects such as history, geography, religious education, science and digital skills. The project allows knowledge, skills and understanding to develop in different contexts and ensures that students are exposed to a broad and interesting variety of content, whilst also allowing numeracy and literacy to develop discreetly. Off-site visits are an important aspect of the weekly routine, community and local amenities are visited to allow the students to experience life outside of the school with staff support and interventions based on the planned learning. These experiences enrich the curriculum content and prepare the young people for adult life with independent skills.
For some of our learners the curriculum is based on play, interaction and communication. Here the learners are supported in the development of non-verbal and verbal communication skills, emotional regulation and benefitting from a specific sensory diet determined by the specialist teacher and members of the Therapy team. This in time may prepare the students for the broader curriculum available as well as communicating verbally.
At Tor View School, we provide young people with access to enriching experiences and opportunities, all within a safe and supportive environment. Our specialist services develop emotional resilience, and enable lifelong learning and growth. We actively engage with our young people in their person-centred planning. We support young people to overcome any significant barriers to safety, learning, quality of life and personal growth, either on entry to our service or when they take place. Each young person will also have access to as complete and fulfilling a life experience as possible, with as many skills to self-advocacy as they can develop.
We aim for our curriculum to enable pupils at Tor View School (pupil perspective)
- To be literate and numerate to the best of my ability
- To gain knowledge and understanding of the world around us
- Know and use the most effective form of communication to meet my needs
- Become emotionally secure to lead fulfilling adult lives and independence in the community
- Awareness of my own emotional and physical needs (how they feel) and how to manage them
- Use my social skills to build appropriate relationships
- Recognise and understand how it feels to be safe and valued
- Develop social skills and confidence to make a positive contribution to society
- Experience a range of life experiences to discover my own strengths
- Understand my own needs and have strategies to manage and communicate them
- Have hobbies that enhance my life through social interaction and personal fulfilment
- Have aspirations and achieve accreditation or recognition for learning that will enable next steps towards further education, training, community involvement or employment
Young people joining Tor View School are welcomed into a caring, supportive and nurturing learning environment. Tor View School supports children with special educational needs to address and overcome their barriers to learning, re-engaging them with education and with the exciting opportunities that life has to offer. We empower young people to develop socially and emotionally, building the resilience that sees them rise to new challenges and develop a lifelong love of learning. Our school prepares young people for independent and fulfilling lives, where they contribute positively to society as active citizens.