The national lockdown during the pandemic demonstrated that learning can continue during periods of extended absence from school. This is significant for our pupils who may be isolating or recovering prior to or following an operation or hospital stay. Bouts of extreme weather are also particularly challenging for many pupils given the long distances they travel and their additional vulnerabilities due to their conditions, making them more likely to stay at home than try to come into school.
Our offer can be found in Appendix 1 of the Remote Learning and Intervention Policy in the ‘Policies and Privacy Notices’ page on this website. The offer will need to be personalised for each pupil and comprise of both elements of our spiral curriculum; personalised learning goals are as important as learning packs or online activities that may cover topic-related content. Learning that takes place during daily routine activities such as mealtimes, (e.g. eating and drinking, sitting, waiting, taking turns and also communication and understanding) or when carrying out personal care routines, (such as cleaning teeth or bathing) will support pupils with their life skills and are likely to be linked to their personalised learning outcomes on their EHCP. All pupils will need learning broken down into manageable chunks and linked to attention levels and all pupils will need time for independent exploration, play and leisure too
Please see the ‘Professional Development Resources and Useful Links’ page on the website. This page is designed with both professionals and families in mind. It contains explanations of some of the specialist approaches we use at school and lots of links to teaching and learning resources. Not all will be suitable for all learners – please speak to your child’s pastoral teacher or their Head of Department if you have any questions about any of the resources or links on this page. If you would like to see any of the specialist approaches modelled, please contact your child’s pastoral teacher.
This is very important for many reasons: it aids well-being and recovery, it ensures continued access to valuable learning opportunities, it enables us to support families when care needs increase and respite may not be possible. We always stipulate that pupils should attend at least one virtual session with their peers as part of their daily package of learning wherever possible although we recognise that this may not always be appropriate or possible.
Please see the ‘Safeguarding Links’ page of this website for support with keeping safe online. If you have any difficulties accessing online learning, from equipment to content, please contact one of our co-principals who will signpost you to, or provide support accordingly.