Curriculum at Sevenhills Academy
Every child admitted to Sevenhills has been on a unique educational journey. We are committed to returning our students to mainstream school, moving them onto specialist provision, or positively transitioning them to the next phase of education. Students are therefore with us for varying amounts of time: some individuals will have a very short time on our roll, while others will remain with us until the end of KS3.
Because of this, our curriculum offer needs to be flexible, personalised, and designed to allow students to progress to the next stage on their educational journey. It is developmental not chronological: it is based on where a child is in their development, not which year group they are in. For many of our students, their personal development and SEMH needs mean that work in this area has to be prioritised, as a vital first building block in their learning journey. Our curriculum model also recognises the importance of having a strong academic core: for us, this means focusing on literacy, including spoken language, reading and writing, as one of the primary tools through which all other learning is accessed.
We use the idea of building blocks to create our curriculum offer.
Our overarching aim is to provide an inclusive curriculum that develops knowledge and understanding, nurtures key SEMH social skills and raises aspirations for our Students.
- Engage all pupils in learning
- Enable all pupils to make progress from their individual starting points, and to have successes in learning
- Focus on developing pupil’s social, emotional and mental health
- Focus on depth before breadth: having a strong curriculum focus on the facilitating subjects of English, Reading and Mathematics as well as PSHE
- Support all pupils to make healthy and safe choices
- Deliver a flexible, broad and balanced programme of study that reflects the national curriculum content
- Support all pupils to move into, and be successful in, their next phase of education.
Our Nurture Principles:
At Sevenhills we believe that working from nurture principles gives our students the best chance of making progress in their learning, both academically and in terms of their social, emotional and behavioural development. The nurture principles that underpin our pedagogy and all curriculum learning:
- Children’s learning is understood developmentally
- The classroom offers a safe base
- The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
- Language is a vital means of communication
- All behaviour is communication
- The importance of transition in children’s lives
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