Hope School Curiculum Intent, Implementation and Impact

(currently under construction) 

Curriculum Intent

Hope School is a setting for children with Social Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties from year 1 to year 8.  At Hope school has reviewed the curriculum offer in 2021.  Middle and senior leaders worker effectively together to create a quality curriculum for the needs of pupils at Hope School.

Hope School define the curriculum as the totality of the experiences here ensuring children work on their physical health, social skills, mental health and academic success.  Physical health is preparing the body so that children are healthy, able to support their body needs independently.  Mental health allows children to understanding how their body and mind respond to external stimuli. Social skills ensure children have the ability to express themselves appropriately.  Academic success makes children curious learners who gain sticky knowledge that lasts a life time.

Children also have access to the full national curriculum once they are ready and have the skills to be successful learners. We believe it is important that children achieve their potential so we track all areas of academic learning through progress expectations in each subject.

Curriculum Implementation

The quality if teaching learning and assessment is outstanding at Hope school.  Teachers have small classes and adapt medium term plans lesson by lesson taking into account pupils understanding and other additional needs to ensure the curriculum is both challenging and accessible, children feel comfortable and confident taking appropriate risks.  Senior leaders

Hope School offers a creative curriculum often driven by the humanities.  Oracy underpins the implementation with strong focus on pupil voice collaborative learning and participation. Reading is of high importance and the school strongly follow the Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc program daily for the teaching of phonics and early reading.  Once complete at any age Guided reading is used a minimum of twice weekly following Code Project X.  The outdoor curriculum is of high importance and children complete a day a week learning outside of the classroom, this includes local visits, forest schools and the school outdoor areas. SMSC underpins all we learn and can be seen in every part of the school day, this is supported by the teaching of British Values.  Trips and visitors enrich our curriculum and social experiences, we usually have a trip once a term and residential once a year. Charity and celebration days happen half termly.

Curriculum Impact

As a specialist provision our curriculum improvements and quality teaching will lead to better long term outcomes for children including improved wellbeing, mental health, attendance, physical development and academic outcomes.

Hope have a strong and consistent record ensuring good long term progress and outcomes from children’s starting points.  The school prepares pupils in wider holistic outcomes and being turned on to learning in the long term alongside more timely and measured outcomes in mathematics and literacy.  Overall pupils are happy and keen to attend school and strive to achieve their best on a daily basis.

Curriculum Linked to the Values of the School

Phonics and Reading Programmes

Key Stage 1 - Pupils are taught phonics using the Ruth Miskin's Read, Write, Inc Programme. They follow the National Curriculum for England and Wales and read several reading schemes such as Project X and Oxford Reading Tree.

Key Stage 2/3 - Pupils follow the National Curriculum for England and Wales and use the Project X and Oxford Reading Tree schemes of work for reading as well in addition to guided reading 3 times per week. 

We recognise that many pupils have become disengaged with learning in their previous schools and work to ensure that our curriculum fosters a love of learning that will continue beyond the time they spend with us.

Quality first teaching is complimented with intervention that all pupils access. The vast majority of pupils start Hope School working significantly below age related expectations. This can be due to poor attendance in previous schools, an extended period of absence from a school setting following exclusion or the needs of the pupils meaning that learning has been lost.

We have a specialist SENDCo, speech and language team, Occupational therapist, Cognitive behavioural therapist, Thrive specialists, Forest schools practitioner and highly trained staff who tailor intervention to the individual needs of the pupil.

Planning begins with an understanding of the key skills to be developed and the content is selected to support these. All the skills that are developed enable pupils to become good communicators, problem solvers , encourages them to work well with others and ultimately improve their own learning performance.

Our curriculum is also enhanced by celebration days and events including the following:

• PSHE week
• No pens Wednesday
• World Book day
• Maths Party
• Neurodiversity Week
• Arts Festival

For more Information click on the pages below or contact our curriculum leader Mrs. M. O'Neill at m.oneill@hope-school.co.uk or Mr. M. Gorman at m.gorman@hope-school.co.uk

Article 3; The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children.

Article 8; Every child has the right to an identity. Governments must respect and protect that right, and prevent the child’s name, nationality or family Protection and relationships from being changed unlawfully. 

Article 23; Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural activities.