Longspee Academy

Overview - Longspee Primary

A Specialist Provision

At Longspee Academy we aim to address the underlying issues that are the barriers to learning, enabling pupils to develop core skills, knowledge and understanding which support the pupils to achieve outstanding rates of progress in line with their underlying ability.

At Longspee Academy we believe in the concept of lifelong learning and the notion that learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone; it should be fun (Children who are HAPPY and SAFE make PROGRESS). Through our teaching we equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to be able to make informed choices about the important things in their lives. We believe that appropriate teaching and learning experiences help children to lead happy and rewarding lives.

At Longspee Academy we believe children learn best when:

  • learning activities are well planned, ensuring progress in the short, medium and long term
  • teaching and learning activities enthuse, engage and motivate children to learn, and foster their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning
  • assessment informs teaching so that there is provision for support, repetition and extension of learning for each child, at each level of attainment
  • the learning environment is ordered, the atmosphere is purposeful and children feel safe
  • there are strong links between home and school, and the importance of parental involvement in their children’s learning is recognised, valued and developed

At Longspee Academy we have high expectations. We challenge both pupils and staff in order to achieve the highest standards. We know our pupils can find learning difficult, so we provide a high level of targeted support within windows of opportunities throughout the school day to ensure everyone is successful in achieving their individualised and bespoke targets and expectations. Tasks or work periods coincide with attention span using planned sensory breaks so that effort does not have to be sustained too long.

Our pupils face many different challenges and we look to help them develop resilience towards these. Our focus on the complete wellbeing of our pupils and nurturing approaches helps them feel safe and be safe.

Through our vision we aim to foster:

  • A high level of literacy and numeracy and an enquiring mind which wants to learn more each day;
  • Independent young people who are confident, flexible and able to cooperate with others;
  • Imagination and creative expression through a wide range of media;
  • Conscientious young citizens of our multi-cultural society who are tolerant and respect others’ values;
  • Pride in achievement and a desire to succeed;
  • Effective links between the school, the child’s home and the community which promote aspiration and high expectations;
  • Equality of opportunity for all;

Our Curriculum Intent:

Our Curriculum intends to remove barriers to learning and offer opportunities and experiences to increase pupil’s life chances on their journey to adulthood, through the teaching of key knowledge and skills.

At Longspee Academy all our pupils have significant barriers in their social and emotional development. Many of them also have deficits in their language, physical and cognitive development. Our curriculum is designed to support pupils with these difficulties and offer opportunities and experiences to increase their life chances on their journey to adulthood, through the teaching of key knowledge and skills.

Our curriculum is designed to allow pupils to catch up and progress in a class-based setting (many of our pupils have significantly low starting points). Pupils are taught in small class groups allowing us to provide high levels of support and challenge, whilst covering all areas of the National Curriculum. We ensure that our pupils with SEND are not disadvantaged and that the curriculum we provide is broad and balanced. Our curriculum recognises the importance of reading, writing and mathematical knowledge and aims to ensure that key concepts are embedded in long term memory and applied fluently. At the heart of our curriculum is the promotion of personal and social development, and British Values. All pupils at the academy have an Education Health and Care Plan with Social, Emotional and Mental Health cited as a key barrier to making progress educationally. The breadth and range of our curriculum fosters creativity, develops practical skills and helps pupils become independent learners. We encourage pupils to ask questions and to develop wide-ranging interests. There are regular opportunities for practical learning, both in and out of class, alongside more traditional class-based lessons. We believe in making learning enjoyable.

Curriculum Offer:

Particular focus is given to the development of key literacy and numeracy skills, improved levels of attention and concentration, social skill development, emotional health and wellbeing and self-regulation with regards to behaviours causing concern. Reading is prioritised to allow pupils to access the curriculum. In addition, Longspee Academy offers a creative curriculum that is engaging, rich and relevant. The creative curriculum is designed to be sequential; building on prior knowledge and skills using a spiral approach to enable pupils to learn more and remember more over time. Our curriculum is enriched by termly celebration events e.g. ‘The 5 Ways to Wellbeing’ and learning outside the classroom opportunities.

We address the underlying issues that are the barriers to learning, enabling pupils to develop core skills, knowledge and understanding which support the pupils to achieve outstanding rates of progress in line with their underlying ability.