RNIB Pears Centre - School

SP13 Curriculum Policy

Aims

RNIB Pears Centre School’s principal aim is to offer a curriculum which is relevant to the individual needs of each young person, so that each individual can:

Enjoy learning and achieve
Develop their capabilities to learn skills for life and independence
Stay safe
Make a positive contribution

Context

The young people at RNIB Pears Centre are visually impaired; have learning difficulties with additional complex needs, and to achieve the above aims, the curriculum must be:

Broad and balanced
Fully personalised to meet individual needs
Challenging and stimulating
Engaging and enjoyable
Accessible
Age appropriate.

Objectives

To give the young person a breadth of learning opportunity.
To ensure that the young person’s individual aims and needs are met.
To provide opportunities for the young person to achieve and to have achievement recognised.
To promote self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem.
To develop self-help skills and independence.

Definitions

Breadth of Learning: The range of learning experiences offered to the young person.

Individual Aims:These are specific to the individual young person and can be found in the IEP and in schemes of work

Self-awareness:Understand that they have a role to play and a contribution to make as individuals.

Confidence: Having the ability to assert themselves and to influence the world around them.

Self Esteem: Feeling positive about themselves.

Accessible:Within the capabilities of and available to all the young people.

Organisation

All young people have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which is reviewed on a termly basis. The IEP details the young person’s personalised learning objectives and experiences.

Young people in our Orchard provision follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) programme of study.

Young people from the age of 7 to 16 follow National Curriculum pre key stage 1, to key stage 4.

Fully personalised and detailed planning ensures that the requirements of national curriculum are met and our young people are exposed to learning experiences which are both relevant and engaging.

This ensures a curriculum which is broad and balanced and which supports their progress towards their individual personalised targets.

The young people of key stage 3, 4 and post-16 age are taught in separate classes with a curriculum that is tailored to their individual needs, whilst ensuring that learning activities and objectives are age appropriate.

Some of the topics taught within each key stage have a high emphasis on understanding self and staying safe and healthy. Others focus on the local community, charitable work, the world of work and looking after the environment.

Target setting

All young people at RNIBPears Centre have yearly education targets set at their annual review. These targets are agreed by parents and sponsoring authorities at this time. These targets in turn inform each young person’s IEP.These educational targets are reviewed at the end of each term by the class teacher. The P levels are used as an indicator of progress and we use PIVATS assessment software. Progress is recorded termly and is used to support the target setting review process. Data from PIVATS is then translated by CASPA to provide a comparison with national progression.

Planning and assessment

Teachers’ planning is monitored and reviewed three times per year by SLT as part of our Quality Assurance programme. Young people’s achievements and responses to teaching are recorded at the end of each lesson. All young people are supported to assess their own progress through assessment for learning strategies.

Young people are encouraged to evaluate their own performance and to consider what they have been taught. Sixth Form pupils complete a daily diary in which they may express their feeling about themselves. At the end of each lesson there is a plenary session when teachers help young people understand what they have achieved and success is celebrated.

Therapeutic support for learning

Therapy support such as Speech and Language and Physiotherapy take place within the classroom to support the young person’s learning, with these specialist staff working alongside the teacher. This ensures that the therapeutic processes are made as relevant as possible to the young person's everyday learning but it is acknowledged that for certain activities the young person may need to access it in a different environment. This close collaboration between therapies and education colleagues enables the sharing of best practice.

Incidental learning

Break times and transition from one activity to another offer an important opportunity for learning to take place. We recognise that incidental learning opportunities arise throughout the time spent at RNIB Pears Centre. These opportunities can be very significant and should not be missed. These make up a hidden curriculum and its relevance and its significance should not be underestimated.

It is also recognised that the young people do not only learn during their time in school and that many appropriate learning opportunities arise during their time in the Home. Targets are set by eachyoung person’s key worker to ensure that the most is made of these times. This is particularly the case with PSHE where skills can be taught in a meaningful and relevant way. The work carried out in the Children’s Home is supported by the same professional therapeutic advice which is received in the school setting, with targets being shared across the Children’s Home and School. Targets for day pupils are shared with parents so that they can further support their child at home.

Enhancing the curriculum

This aspect of the curriculum includes visual and auditory stimulation, mobility, music therapy (where identified on a young person’s statement), the use of tactile reading codes and a total communication approach. The latter will include signing, Switch technology, braille objects of reference, Moon, print, symbols and the spoken word. The young people all have, where appropriate, mobility, physiotherapy and communication programmes, supported by the relevant professional.

Communication between school, parents and/ or social worker

To ensure a consistent approach to the young person’s learning and development, regular communication between the teachers and parents or social care worker is vital. This takes place in a number of ways:

Home – School liaison book/communication passport
Multi-professional meetings to maintain any specific guidelines (‘shared goals’).
Verbal communication between social worker/ parent/ teacher and teaching assistants.
Consultation evenings with the Children's Home staff.

PSHE and citizenship

The teaching of Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship helps young people develop as individuals in the wider society. Young people learn to understand themselves physically, emotionally, socially and sexually and to understand their relationships with others. It offers the young people opportunities:

To make choices and decisions
To have a degree of responsibility and control over their lives
To make a difference or make changes by their actions
To respect others’ opinions
To have wider community involvement
To adapt to change
To reflect on what they have done and how they could have done it differently.

All young people are taught about other cultures and how to respect the wishes and cultural needs of others.

Student voice

To further support PSHE & Citizenship, classes have daily assemblies where young people are encouraged to communicate within the group. Here their feelings and wellness are discussed, as well as looking back to what they have done previously and looking forward to what they are going to do.

The school has a Student Forum where representatives of each class meet with two Senior Teaching assistants twice each term, to put forward ideas around school organisation, who then reports the outcomes to the Deputy Head Teacher, for consideration by the SLT.

Young people are encouraged to understand that they can influence the world around them. They are given opportunities to express themselves and to make informed choice, using appropriate communication methods. This may be verbally, using switch technology, using symbols or recognising facial expression.

Young people are encouraged to take part in group activity thus helping them understand the importance of interacting with others and understanding others’ needs. Many young people find this difficult and it may take considerable efforts to include all the young people in group interactions. This is often reflected in their IEP.

Wider curriculum

Young people are encouraged to take part in whole school activities that support charitable organisations. This can include activities around Red Nose Day, fun runs and dressing up. There are halftermly theme days, organised by teachers on a rota basis. These are designed to enhance the curriculum by providing a themed focus for learning.

Young people have the opportunity to take part in a variety of educational visits outside of the school environment to further support their learning.

Independence and self-help skill development

Young people are encouraged to be as independent as possible in all areas of their development. It is acknowledged that this requires time and so is considered to be an integral part of their day. All personal hygiene activities are carried out with the dignity and privacy of the young person as the main priority.

Young people are made aware of their own bodies. This can be done as part of daily routines, as part of topic work lessons and, PE. Standard terminology is used to describe all parts of the body.

Responsibilities

IEP production- Class Teacher

Monitoring of IEP and pupil progress -Deputy Head Teacher

Production of schemes of work - Class Teacher

Monitoring of Schemes of work - Deputy Head Teacher

Curriculum development – Deputy Head Teacher

P level recording - Class Teacher and Senior Teaching Assistant

P Level reporting and monitoring - Head Teacher and Data Coordinator.