Curriculum
At the Link School the curriculum comprises of all the planned activities and experiences the pupils are engaged with during the school day. We have a responsibility to provide our pupils with a suitable curriculum which meets the needs of our pupils and is designed to provide opportunities for them to become successful learners.
Our curriculum is sufficiently flexible to enable us to address the needs of our pupils. We present them with opportunities to acquire, practice, apply and extend their skills and knowledge in different contexts some of which are not in school. The skills are relevant to life and learning and include key skills involved with communication, applications number, IT, working with others, discovering their community, learning about sharing, risk taking, improving their own learning and problem solving.
We take a personalised approach to teaching and learning, matched to the individual needs of pupils, while at the same time taking account of their particular SEN, health and medical needs, maturity level and general disposition. Each pupil has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which outlines the targets that have been identified and agreed with parents.
National Curriculum
Our curriculum draws from the framework of the National Curriculum where it is appropriate.We aim to ensure that all pupils participate as fully and as effectively as possible during lessons. Whole school curriculum planning enables teachers to modify the National Curriculum Programmes of Study to provide our pupils with relevant and age appropriate challenging work.
The aims of our school curriculum are the same for all the pupils. We offer our pupils a rich and varied curriculum, with a good balance of academic and skill based learning activities. This helps our pupils build up their confidence, self-esteem and resilience as well as their academic abilities. This balance also helps to re-engage those reluctant pupils allowing them to discover a love of learning and an enjoyment of education.
The key factor is that our pupils must be active learners in all the planned activities we provide. We achieve this by:
(i) setting suitable learning challenges
(ii) responding to the pupil’s diverse learning needs
(iii) overcoming potential barriers to learning
The Link School Curriculum
We aim to ensure that all pupils participate as fully and as effectively as possible, however, depending on the needs of the pupil we may need to modify the curriculum to ensure that he/ she is presented with relevant and appropriately challenging material.
English
Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
Maths
Numbers, Algebra, Shapes, Measuring, Geometry, Data
Our World
Science, Geography, History, Knowledge, Understanding, Enquiry, Investigation
Computing
Computer Science, Information Technology, Digital Literacy
P.E
Dance, Gymnastics, Games, Athletics
Personal Development
Health and Wellbeing, Self-Management including Relationships and Sex Education
Music
Listening, Responding, Performing, Composing
Arts
Drawing, Painting, Print, Clay Construction, Fabrics
Keeping Our Pupils Safe
We are very mindful of the expectations from parents that their child will be educated in a safe and secure environment and that the pupils’ safety is a prime concern for each of us every day. We keep our health and safety practice under constant review as we want to strike a balance between having a friendly and welcoming school and ensuring that our security measures and the safety of the pupils satisfy our high standards of care.
We hold an evacuation drill twice a year to ensure that the pupils are able to exit the building in a safe and timely manner. If an accident takes place at school the parents are informed.
Out of School Learning
Teachers plan for out of school learning activities as part of the curriculum. These are intended to help the pupils make the connection between what they have been learning in class and how it can be related to beyond the school.
Education Visits
We arrange a number of education visits throughout the school year. These might be relatively short visits, for example, to a post office or supermarket to familiarise them with using and counting money in a real setting, or to purchase items for a food technology lesson. Some education visits are longer, for example, a visit to a museum. Parental approval is always sought prior to any visit and details are sent home in advance.
Day Camps
We hold day camps during the year. These are usually attended by the whole school and may include extending the length of the school day depending on the activity.
