The DSP is for Pupils with Moderate Learning Difficulties at Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy. Staff support pupils with MLD all of whom receive full time shared support across the board of the NC curriculum either in the mainstream schools or in the DSP. Our pupils follow a balanced differentiated curriculum, tailored to their specific individual abilities and needs in accordance with the long-term objectives as recorded in their statements of SEND.
Curriculum
Students educated within the specialist provision at Stationers Crown Woods Academy will have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum that overcomes potential barriers to progress enabling them to experience success and become positive members of society.
SCWA provides its students with the best possible learning environment to meet their individual needs, and for students to leave us with the social, independence skills and qualifications relevant to their next steps. Students leave the provision having developed holistically to maximise their potential at post 16 level and into adulthood. We aim to provide a tailor-made learning environment and curriculum that matches individual needs as closely as possible.
We strive to provide the resources, trained staff, and specialist support to maximise the student’s ability to:
- communicate and interact with others
- develop and improve social skills
- access the curriculum
- improve independence
- develop literacy and numeracy skills
- learn within the mainstream environment
- gain appropriate qualifications for future employment
- develop the life skills to participate and be included in the wider community, and make friends and enjoy the company of others
In order to achieve our Curriculum Intent we will:
- Ensure all students receive a high quality Literacy and Numeracy curriculum which is bespoke to their stage, not age, to ensure that their individual needs are met.
- Implement a maths curriculum which provides concrete understanding and experiences, developing from sensory exploration to abstract thought and representation. Students will develop accordinging to their individual needs and pace inline with their EHCP targets and developmental milestones, where appropriate.
- Our RSE curriculum and policy takes into account the needs of our pupils.
- Students receive high quality interventions and support which are bespoke and tailored to their individual needs.
- Ensure the students have opportunities to engage in the SCWA co-curricular offer.
- Ensure that our students have opportunities to experience a wide range of learning inside and outside of the classroom so that they have the opportunity to apply their learning and understanding to the real world. They are given opportunities to interact with staff and students across the Academy by attending tutor sessions, assemblies and lessons in the mainstream where appropriate.
Curriculum Intent
Students follow a curriculum which focuses on 6 core aspects:
- Literacy and Numeracy
- Modified MYP Offer
- Topic
- RSE/PSHE Curriculum
- Tier 2 Support and Intervention
- Tier 3 Support and Intervention
There are daily literacy and numeracy sessions to support the development of students’ functional skills. Progress is assessed at 3 points each year using GL assessments and reading progress through Phonics International and Star Reader tests.
To further develop students’ Literacy and Numeracy and to expose the students to the full breadth of the curriculum, students study 6 themed units each year:
- Who we are
- Where we are in place and time
- How we express ourselves
- How the world works
- How we organise ourselves
- Sharing the planet
We recognise that some subjects are best taught by specialists and students are also able to experience DT, IT, Digital Media and PE in the mainstream through a modified MYP curriculum in the mainstream.
Learning is sequenced in the following way to ensure that students can acquire new knowledge and skills, demonstrate that knowledge and apply it in new and unfamiliar situations:
- recalling and reviewing prior learning
- teaching and modelling new learning
- pupils practising with scaffolds and modifications in place to enable access for all
- reflection and assessment.
Tier 2 interventions and support are given in a bespoke way to meet the specific needs of the students in the DSP.
Drama lessons take place for 90 minutes each week and are delivered by an external provider. This is tailored to the targets on the students’ EHCPs and those targets identified in the Annual Reviews.
ASDAN
ASDAN is a personal development programme which allows students to develop and recognise a range of skills that are invaluable when they start work and live independent lives. These include Teamwork; Independent Learning; Coping with Problems; and Using Maths, English and IT.
Students’ achievements can be certified at three different levels:
- BRONZE – 60 hours of learning (6 credits)
- SILVER – 120 hours of learning (12 credits)
- GOLD – 180 hours of learning (18 credits)
Careers
The SCWA Career Advisor visits students in a group twice per module with a focus on different careers and pathways that are appropriate for the students. This involves speakers and visits from external providers where appropriate.
In addition to this, KS4 students benefit from Work Experience and individual meetings.
TITAN Travel Training
Travel Training gives the students the confidence and skills to travel independently on buses, trains and walking routes. Being able to travel on public transport is a key life skill. During training, students cover:
- confidence in using buses or trains
- personal safety
- how to use timetables and buy tickets
- road safety, including how to cope with traffic on major roads
- what to do when things go wrong (e.g. the bus is late)
Tier 3 Support is accessed by individual students according to their specific needs.
- SALT
- Makaton
- ELSA
- Social Skills
- ASD Outreach
- Lego Therapy
- Sensory Circuits
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Touch Typing
- CAMHS
- Hospital Outreach
New learning, our ‘WOW Moments’ are captured using Tapestry and on our soft skills tracker which is bespoke for each student. Where appropriate, students are assessed against the MYP criterion.