Curriculum

Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Vision

Developing independence is at the core of Meadow High School's Curriculum.

Our whole curriculum is focused on developing the best outcome for our pupils in life. We aim to help pupils to become confident young adults who have developed transferable skills whilst at school, which will enable them to access the wider community and, where possible, enter the world of work.

We want

Our pupils and staff to love coming to school
Everyone in our school will work together to learn and grow
To encourage independence, life skills, self-confidence and positive self-esteem
To support pupils to develop self-regulation and resilience

We have

To have high aspirations and expectations for all our pupils
An inclusive community, which values truth, diversity and mutual respect
Effective communication with all parents/carers and other partners
An environment in which every pupil has a sense of belonging, a feeling of being respected and being valued for who they are.

Pathways

Pupils at Meadow have a wide range of needs and varying skills levels.

To support tailored individualised learning, all pupils join one of the 2 main Pathways through the school. At times, pupils may swap pathways for some lessons, eg. areas of particular strength and interest. Most pupils at Meadow are in Pathway 2. Pathway 3 is mainly embedded into Pathway 2 and describes our pupils who undertake external accreditations such as GCSE and other accreditation bodies, awards including OCR, NCFE, WJEC, Sports Leaders and City & Guilds. Pathway 1 pupils may join Pathway 2 where their skill set allows them to.

Pathway 1: Pupils in Pathway one experience more cognitive delay and many face more communication and self-regulation difficulties. Pupils in Pathway 1 are supported by a more consistent staff team with class-based learning, allowing for more consistent structures and routines to be in place to support learning and sensory regulation.

Pathway 2: Pupils in Pathway 2 and 3 move from lesson to lesson across the school day to access subject specialist teaching. These pupils are supported by class TAs, SCERTS approaches such as transactional supports and a Form Tutor who really gets to know the individual pupils' needs.

Curriculum Key Focus

We have a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum aimed at supporting and developing our pupils' learning, not just during their time in school but also in ‘Life Beyond Meadow’.

Life Beyond Meadow includes helping pupils to safety access the wider community across and beyond their time at Meadow. It also focusses on pupils developing transferable work related learning skills to help them to access employment after leaving.

Pupils develop social skills across the school. We run weekly enrichment activities to support pupils to develop hobbies and interests which can transfer out of school. Meadow’s 8th Hillingdon Scout group and Infinity Explorer troop meet in school time to ensure that there are no barriers to pupils joining. Some Pathway 1 pupils also engage in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme whilst in school.

Personalised Learning

Everyone is different. We each like and dislike different things and learn in different ways. At Meadow, we value individualisation and focus on keeping the pupil at the centre of their journey through education.

Each pupil has a Personal Learning Intention Map which we call a PLIM for short.

The PLIM has 6 targets that the pupils are focused on across the curriculum. These targets are set by teachers, but we encourage pupils and their families to support us in writing these. PLIMS are linked to the pupil's Education, Health & Care Plan outcomes, their personal dreams & ambitions and to developing independence.

The 6 headings are:

My communication
My cognition and learning
My social skills and mental health
My physical and sensory
My independence
My personal focus

Life Beyond Meadow Across The School

Key to our curriculum focus is ‘’Life Beyond Meadow’.

Learning is so much more than finding out new information. It's about developing, improving and honing skills over time. Using these skills in different situations and ensuring that the pupils have ownership of their learning, so they can apply them in real life situations. This is why independence is so key to the school's vision. Working with families to develop transferable skills is key to our success.

Pupil safety is core to school's values. Across the school we teach valuable social skills including online and social media safety. Our Assistant Head Teachers provide pastoral support to pupils and their families to help them to keep their children safe in the wider real and virtual world. Whilst we try to support with issues out of school, we expect and support families in identifying measures that can be taken when out of school to help keep pupils safe.

Curriculum Impact

Measures for the success of our curriculum are encompassed in our exam and accreditations successes and our successful onward transition stories. We also have an award-winning careers programme that evidences the success of our approach.

The true impact of our curriculum is measured by the families we work alongside to support our pupils in developing skills that enable them to be independent at home and effective members of the wider community.