Curriculum Intent
Our intent is to ensure students access a broad and balanced curriculum which is underpinned by developing their literacy, numeracy, independence and life skills so they can engage in healthy relationships and be fulfilled and valued citizens in their communities who are prepared for adult life, having achieved external accreditation.
As a school we have three elements of our intent ‘Engage, Enable, Challenge’ that we expect of our staff to support our young people with to achieve this:
Engage young people in all aspects of their curriculum through well planned, sequenced and progressive learning opportunities and experiences; having have high aspirations for their outcomes, relevant to their starting points.
Enable young people to develop the functional skills and knowledge (including numeracy and reading) needed to participate actively in the world around them and to provide them with opportunities to develop cultural capital and skills for independence.
Challenge our learners to succeed in all aspects of their life, both in school and at home to help them become active members of their community.
Uplands School recognises that each young person is individual and has specific learning needs which need to be addressed through a well sequenced curriculum, with opportunities to meet our core learning and life values of independence and interdependence. The curriculum aims to:
- Develop cognition and the ability to apply the knowledge gained across different contexts
- Support the development of effective communication
- Enable students to develop the knowledge, skills and strategies to ensure their own social and emotional wellbeing
- Ensure students develop and maintain the best possible sensory development and physical health
- Prepare our students for adult life by equipping them with essential daily living skills, as well as providing them with cultural capital
- Enable all students to be valued citizens within their community, through opportunities to engage with recreational activities, volunteering, employment and enterprise.
Our curriculum addresses gaps in students’ prior learning and builds their subject specific knowledge so that they can make the progress in their education they rightly deserve and successfully go on to further education, training and work – whether paid or voluntary.
Our curriculum is knowledge based where we develop and build upon knowledge in all aspects of a young person’s life from developing and using knowledge in subject specific areas to the development of knowledge associated with communication and interaction, social and emotional engagement and physical and sensory development.