Core Subjects
Poles APart academic curriculum is child centred and built around the individual needs of a student. Other than built in therapy time, we build in Maths, English and PSHE in a nurturing and therapeutic way.
How is Mathematics delivered at Poles APart?
Mistakes are celebrated at Poles APart, and in Maths especially, mistakes help us to succeed and provide invaluable learning opportunities.
We aim to build and embed resilience by incorporating real life problem solving activities which will be introduced across all aspects of a students day. Students’ will build fluency and conceptual skills whilst completing activities, these skills will give them a deeper understanding when completing reasoning challenges.
Maths lessons wherever possible will be completed using our natural surroundings and will be linked to students’ interests and personalised Maths goals which were created on arrival.
How is English delivered at Poles APart?
Being able to communicate our wants and needs are pivotal at Poles APart, and in English especially, communicating through oral or written forms are important ways of expressing ourselves and feeling heard.
We aim to increase students’ confidence in key literacy areas and provide a nurturing environment for them to be creative with the English language in all its forms. English is delivered subtly throughout the day both inside and outside, as well as being applied to real life situations. Furthermore, all staff seek to address and support speech and language needs that become obvious to us in this smaller setting. Some students’ have a fear of language and literacy and our delivery is based around teaching it in a non-confrontational, non-judgemental way.
Why is PSHE important?
At Poles APart we believe that effective teaching of PSHE will increase students’ understanding of a set of overarching concepts including; identity, risk, diversity and equality, rights and change. Including PSHE in our curriculum will give students the opportunity to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs and develop the skills, strategies and language necessary to manage these issues in their lives.
The PSHE Association programme of study has 3 core themes that underpin the teaching of this subject; Health and Wellbeing, Relationships and Living in the Wider World. We will carry on teaching this curriculum and mirror the content being taught at the students’ school.
This broad approach to teaching the PSHE curriculum will avoid the tendency to teach the topics as one off subjects and enable students to revisit subjects and build on their previously acquired knowledge and make links to other topics, ensuring that learning is embedded and remembered by students, helping them to manage their lives now and in the future.