Academic – Core Subjects
English, maths and science are central to our academic curriculum and progress in these subjects is a top priority. In KS2 students will access regular teaching in these areas to meet their individual needs.
Academic Foundation Subjects
Access to all foundation subjects from the National Curriculum: Art & Design, Computing, Design & Technology, Languages, Geography, History, Music, Physical Education, Religious Education, Personal Social and Health Education – PSHE (including citizenship, relationships & sex education, and careers). This enables students to develop a wide set of skills across the curriculum and to experience all subjects, allowing them to decide where their strengths and interests lie.
Communication and Interaction
Communication and interaction needs are assessed upon entry to the school. Appropriate targets will be set and supported. Students will access timetabled social communication lessons within the school week. These will be taught in class groups and will focus on areas such as body language, conversation skills and friendship skills.
Students who need additional communication and interaction support will be able to access group or 1:1 intervention with educational staff or our speech and language therapist. Students will have many interesting opportunities to practise and develop their social communication skills throughout their time at school e.g. through lunchtime clubs and interactive whole school topic days.
Wellbeing
Whole school and individualised approaches to support areas of difficulty, increase resilience, and encourage good mental health.
Students across the school will be directly taught strategies to recognise and manage their own emotions (for example, using the ‘zones of regulation’ tool). This is initially taught in class groups and then picked up through group and 1:1 intervention where further work is required.
A multidisciplinary team, including a range of therapy professionals, work together to support emotional wellbeing.
The school environment is accommodating to students with autism and/or sensory needs and young people will learn the skills to manage within less-accommodating settings more effectively. Resilience characteristics such as confidence, positivity and respect will be taught and developed within all aspects of the whole school curriculum.
Life Skills
Opportunities to learn and develop their independence and life skills throughout the school day. They will also have timetabled ‘life skills’ lessons within the school week, focussing on areas such as: money and finance, self-care, road safety, shopping, cooking skills, functional ICT, basic first aid and learning about their individual needs (such as autism and anxiety).
Life skills lessons will follow a clear progression framework and will develop with our students as they progress through the school. For example for younger students, a shopping topic will involve learning to find items from a list in a shop, interacting appropriately with checkout staff, and using money to pay.
