Curriculum Overview

Overview

“Ensuring that no learner is educationally disadvantaged”

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Introduction

SILS philosophy is inclusive.   We believe that every young person who comes to SILS must have a second chance at success regardless of their circumstances.   We aim for all of our learners to make outstanding progress and every member of staff is committed to achieving this goal.

The specialist services on offer helps to support our learners to overcome the barriers that previously prevented them from being able to engage with education.   SILS thereby offers a bridge for young people to re-engage positively in their educational journey.

SILS works to provide the best possible learning outcomes for pupils who despite exclusion, missing education, illness or otherwise cannot access a mainstream school.  Where possible seeks to return learners to mainstream schools, as ultimately this is often the best environment for some learners.

The SILS curriculum reflects the national curriculum along with personalised learning, and provides pupils with the opportunity to make good progress in line with their needs in a supported environment.

The SILS small school supported environment, aims to refocus and re-engage learners, and where appropriate reintegrate students back into mainstream schools.

• SILS Curriculum Policy – DRAFT

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Curriculum intent

Our intent is to have a curriculum which:

1. a) Is engaging and underpinned by creativity, functional literacy, numeracy and development of enquiry
2. b) Creates pathways of skills and qualifications, to enable access to training, employment or further education (& prepares learners for the next phase)
3. c) Allows learners to experience success, in line with needs and abilities
4. d) Creates responsible citizens who can make a positive contribution to society.

It is essential that the curriculum is organised in such a way that it provides students with the opportunity to learn expected behaviours and be successful in their learning so that we can deliver our mission and aims.

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Strategic Intent

To develop a curriculum which:

1. Creates an aspirational high achievement culture.
2. Considers individual needs and starting points.
3. Allows everyone to experience success.
4. Raises standards of attainment.

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Curriculum Principles

Though pupils join SILS at different points in the year and at different stages of their education, our curriculum offers:

1. Progression through subjects, with teachers mapping concepts and skills from years 7 to 11
2. Reinforcement / re-learning driven by data to maximise progress
3. Opportunities to develop skills needed for adult life, i.e. literacy, oracy, numeracy…
4. Targeted support to ensure that all make expected or better progress

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Benchmarking with Mainstream

A significant amount of what our curriculum offer at SILKS is to be able to progress students back into mainstream settings and in order to facilitate this aim we work closely with the schools who place students with us to ensure that what we are delivering is in line with what our mainstream colleagues are doing. Subject leads have close links with their counterparts in mainstream schools and this is a regular focus of CPD activities.