The Curriculum
Our Curriculum
At Herons Dale, every pupil is entitled to an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum which reflects their individual strengths, needs and aspirations. Our curriculum is designed for pupils with a wide range of special educational needs and recognises that development does not always follow a straight or even path.
Many pupils have a “spiky” developmental profile. A pupil may demonstrate strengths in one area while continuing to build foundational skills in another. We therefore plan from each pupil’s assessed starting points rather than from age-related expectations alone. Pupils may access learning from more than one pathway or curriculum framework where this provides the right level of support and challenge.
The foundations of our curriculum
Our curriculum draws on:
- the Early Years Foundation Stage
- the National Curriculum
- Equals curriculum frameworks
- IMPACTS and Extended IMPACTS
- recognised subject schemes designed for SEND learners and schemes which reflect National Curriculum expectations
- school-developed frameworks, including the Herons Dale Writing Continuum
- statutory assessment frameworks, including the Engagement Model and Pre-Key Stage Standards, where appropriate.
These frameworks support our planning, but they do not place limits on what pupils can achieve. Teachers select, sequence and adapt learning according to each pupil’s developmental profile, communication needs, prior learning, EHCP outcomes and Personal Learning Plan priorities.
Adaptation changes how pupils access and demonstrate their learning while retaining the intended knowledge, skill and ambition.
Our pathways and cohorts
Our five curriculum pathways describe different approaches to learning:
- Discoverers
- Explorers
- Adventurers
- Voyagers
- Pioneers
The pathways support teachers in identifying appropriate teaching approaches, curriculum content and next steps. They do not represent fixed routes through the school. Pupils may draw on different pathways across different subjects because their strengths and needs can vary considerably.
Our Navigator cohort provides a flexible and highly personalised curriculum for pupils whose learning is significantly influenced by communication, regulation, social interaction or emotional wellbeing. Navigators access appropriate elements from across the curriculum pathways alongside carefully structured teaching, practical learning and personalised support.
Dazzle sits within the Navigator cohort and provides specialist provision for pupils with a primary need relating to social, emotional and mental health. Pupils access a broad curriculum alongside bespoke approaches which support emotional regulation, positive relationships, communication and successful engagement with learning.
Foundational skills across the curriculum
Foundational skills remain important throughout every pupil’s journey at Herons Dale. They are not restricted to a particular age, class or curriculum pathway.
Across subjects and throughout the school day, pupils continue to develop:
- communication and interaction
- cognition and learning
- emotional regulation and readiness to learn
- physical and sensory development
- early literacy and language
- early mathematical understanding
- personal and social development
- independence and everyday life skills.
Teachers weave these skills into subject teaching, routines, play, therapeutic provision, enrichment and learning within the community. This enables pupils to practise important skills repeatedly and apply them in different situations.
Communication at the heart of learning
Total Communication underpins our curriculum. We support pupils to understand, participate and express themselves through the communication methods that are most effective for them.
These may include speech, Makaton, gesture, symbols, Communicate in Print, objects of reference, photographs, switches, eye gaze and augmentative and alternative communication.
Communication supports access to learning, but it also gives pupils agency. It enables them to make choices, express preferences, develop relationships, ask for help and participate more independently in school and community life.
Subject learning and our topic cycle
Our curriculum is organised through a four-year cycle of engaging whole-school topics. These topics connect learning through four curriculum drivers:
- Understanding Myself
- Understanding My Community
- Understanding the World
- Exploration and Discovery
Working on shared topics strengthens our sense of school community and creates opportunities for classes to celebrate and share their learning. Each pathway approaches the topic in a way that reflects pupils’ developmental needs and readiness.
Within this cross-curricular model, the identity and progression of individual subjects remain clear. Subject overviews identify the intended knowledge, skills, vocabulary, experiences and outcomes for each unit. Subject coordinators monitor provision to ensure that learning remains broad, balanced and appropriately ambitious across the four-year cycle.
Meaningful links between subjects help pupils connect and apply their learning. However, subject content is planned carefully so that important knowledge and skills are taught explicitly and developed over time.
Meaningful learning and preparation for adulthood
Pupils learn most successfully when experiences are relevant, accessible and connected to their lives. Our curriculum therefore includes practical learning, sensory exploration, educational visits, visitors, performances, Forest School, physical activity, cookery and community access.
The Hungry Herons Café provides purposeful opportunities for pupils to develop communication, teamwork, responsibility and functional skills. Learning outside the classroom enables pupils to apply their knowledge within real situations and become more confident in their local community.
Preparation for adulthood begins when pupils join Herons Dale. Across the curriculum, pupils develop communication, independence, self-advocacy, emotional regulation, problem-solving and the ability to make informed choices. British Values, diversity and respectful relationships are taught through subjects, daily routines and participation in the wider life of the school.
Assessment and personalised next steps
Assessment is continuous and closely connected to teaching. Staff use observation, interaction, practical application, pupils’ work and their professional knowledge to understand what each pupil can do and identify the next meaningful step.
Personal Learning Plan targets link closely to pupils’ EHCP outcomes and individual priorities. Staff record evidence through Earwig learning journeys and review progress through termly progress and planning meetings. Teachers also use relevant subject progression frameworks and statutory assessment materials where appropriate.
This ongoing cycle of planning, teaching, observation and review helps us respond to pupils’ achievements and changing needs. It also ensures that curriculum decisions remain based on a detailed understanding of each child.
Working together and celebrating achievement
Our curriculum team and subject coordinators oversee the quality and development of teaching and learning. They regularly review curriculum plans, pupils’ work, assessment information and classroom practice to evaluate how well the curriculum is being implemented.
We work closely with families, therapists and other professionals so that learning reflects the needs of the whole child. Families receive information about curriculum topics and their child’s Personal Learning Plan, helping school and home work together towards shared priorities.
At Herons Dale, we recognise and celebrate progress in all its forms. This may include acquiring new subject knowledge, communicating a choice, managing a transition, solving a problem, participating with others or completing a task more independently.
We celebrate every achievement and every meaningful step forward.
At our school, Religious Education (RE) is an important part of the curriculum, following the guidelines set by the West Sussex Education Authority. RE lessons provide opportunities for children to explore different beliefs, values, and traditions, helping to develop their understanding and respect for others. In addition, we hold daily collective worship to support pupils’ spiritual, moral, and cultural development. This may include moments of reflection, giving thanks, or thinking about events in our school and the wider world. While parents have the right to withdraw their child from RE lessons or collective worship, we encourage full participation to enrich each child’s learning experience. Our Religious Education and Collective Worship policies are available on our website, but if you have any questions or would like to discuss the content further, please feel free to contact your child’s class teacher.