Our Learning

Curriculum:

At the ABC Centre we adopt a pupil-centred approach, ensuring that we deliver a varied curriculum that, whilst based around the National Curriculum, also allows for key learning skills to be developed. Entry assessments and close working relationships with our pupils’ schools, ensures that we have a good understanding of pupils’ attainment at the start of placements and allows us to narrow gaps, address misconceptions and accelerate learning. For those pupils who are already meeting Age Related Expectations, we look to further challenge and deepen knowledge and understanding.

Intent:

Our intent is for every pupil in our centre to learn and achieve, regardless of personal circumstance. We look to understand and address barriers to learning, as well as helping pupils to find their place in the world so they see their worth and see how they can positively contribute to their communities. High expectations, mutual trust and taking ownership supports our pupils to become motivated, happy, active learners who are better able to achieve their true potential.

Our intent is for pupils to gain the skills that they need in order to be successful in their next learning journeys, be it reintegrating back to their school or moving onto an alternative educational setting.

Our curriculum mirrors the learning taking place in host schools; covering phonics, spellings, handwriting, grammar, reading, writing and maths each morning. History, Geography, Science and Art are completed in blocks, taking place in the afternoons and again following the National Curriculum. By following the White Rose Maths scheme, as many of our schools also do, we can ensure core content is covered and pupils are not further falling behind their peers. We follow the Complete PE scheme for our PE lessons.

Implementation

Being a FS2 and KS1 provision, we have a duty to ensure that our pupils follow the national curriculum objectives for their academic school year. It is vital that our FS2 pupils have the same learning opportunities as their Early Years peers. Subsequently, we endeavour to provide a breadth of child led learning opportunities through areas of provision allowing our FS2 pupils to learn through play. Adults interact and help learning experiences to be deepened and varied. Alongside this, FS2 pupils complete adult led activities to support the development of their phonological understanding, gross and fine motor skills, book talk and understanding of the world. PSED runs throughout. We are conscious that our FS2 pupils need opportunities to learn alongside and with peers, and we purposefully find ways to allow for this.

We implement phonics by working closely with our host schools, enabling each pupil to continue following the phonics and reading scheme they know and understand. Schemes include Floppy Phonics, Little Wandle, Read Write Inc, Essential Letter and Sounds and Anima Phonics. Pupils are assessed on entry, to allow for effective planning for our daily phonics, spelling and handwriting morning task. Support staff from host schools visit for two sessions a week, and part of their role is to complete reading, phonics and spelling. Hereby, we can ensure that pupils have books changed and take part in phonics and reading tasks as their peers in school. Pupils continue to follow the same handwriting policy as their school, with the majority of pupils learning to write in a cursive script.

We plan for a breadth of writing opportunities to meet the national curriculum objectives. Shared writing to model expectations, in addition to the provision of Common Exception Word mats, phoneme mats that match their phonics scheme and handwriting mats; supports us to support our pupils to be independent and resilient writers. Feedback is immediate and pupils are very much aware of their academic targets and progress. In this way, pupils take ownership for their learning and learn how good it feels to give your best.

Pupils complete the White Rose Maths blocks for their academic year, which ensures they are being exposed to the core content during the main part of the maths lesson. Where gaps are identified, time is made to reinforce key concepts and cement understanding. Maths starters and plenaries bring all pupils together to practice key skills; counting, consolidating place value, number bonds to 10, instant recall of addition and subtraction facts to 20 and so forth. Differentiation allows all pupils to access, enjoy and learn together.

Foundation Subjects take place on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, with explicit therapeutic activities occurring on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. The development of executive functioning skills runs throughout, enabling our pupils to know how to be learners.

Impact

Impact is measured in a number of ways. Ongoing formative assessments helps us to effectively plan, and address gaps quickly. Summative assessments helps us to track long term progress, provide a bigger picture and judge where pupils are in regard to national age related expectations. The centre works closely with host schools, so that pupils’ complete assessments in line with their school peers using the assessment scheme chosen by the host school. Writing assessments are shared and where possible moderated with the class teacher. Pupils complete the end of block and end of term White Rose Maths assessments. We have ongoing phonics and spelling assessments, and practice for the Year 1 phonics screening. In this way we are able to measure the impact of our teaching and learning in relation to pupils’ attainment/academic progress.

However, our best measure of impact is to be seen in our pupils’ approach to learning, their management of “big” emotions and how they see themselves. A carefully planned transition process, makes reintegration a positive experience and pupils return to schools with the skills they need to thrive. In some circumstances, it is identified that an alternative educational setting is more suitable. On these occasions we are able to support this process.