Curriculum
Find out about our exciting, bespoke curriculum and the opportunities it provides for all our learners.
The curriculum at Lime Academy Orton is a personalised and purposeful education offer for learners with severe to profound learning difficulties between the ages of 2 to 19 years. We set aspirational goals for our pupils to achieve personally tailored outcomes. This is fully outlined in our Curriculum Document. Our curriculum is fully accessible to all pupils through our personalised approach to learning pathways in compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014.
Each phase of education at Lime Academy Orton is divided into a Family Group. Long term topic overviews for each Family Group reflect a development in the provision across the school, taking an approach of termly learning contexts to provide enriching and engaging stimuli and resources for lessons. Each Family Group set distinct pathways for their pupils, according to the provision they need to achieve their outcomes and to provide a varied learning experience.
At the Lime Academy Orton we believe that one of the central aims of the educational opportunities we deliver is to enable the children who arrive at the school to leave as young adults who are as independent as possible. To help achieve this it is essential to recognise that irrespective of the pupil's level of ability, the provision available throughout the school as they become older needs to reflect their changing age. This is achieved in a number of ways, such as ensuring that the work provided is developmentally appropriate in terms of both the learning contexts and the resources used, that teaching and social areas are designed to reflect changing interests and social dynamics and that the curriculum provided adapts to the changes in emphasis and priority.
You can find out more about the curriculum offered here at Lime Academy Orton by getting in touch via the 'contact us' page.
Our Approach to the Teaching of Phonics and Reading
Our approach to teaching phonics follows the Little Wandle: Letters and Sounds Revised approved programme. This ethos of teaching phonics is tailored to individual needs and is outlined within our curriculum document in a developmental progression. We recognise that each individual may progress in both linear and lateral ways through this continuum and that alternative teaching methods or levels of scaffolding will be required. This is planned on an individual basis utilising elements of the curriculum to form outcomes, linking to each learner’s EHCP.
We recognise and celebrate that all our young people have individual learner characteristics. This means that no one reading scheme will meet the needs of all. We work creatively with a range of texts and bespoke resources to teach our learners the next steps on their learning journey. We use Twinkle Rhino Readers as our phonically decodable books for teaching phonics and PM Benchmark to identify appropriately levelled natural language books for our 'Orton Readers' when they progress.
At Lime Academy Orton we interpret reading in the broadest context as involving deriving meaning from the environment. This includes using objects, sensory cues including sounds and smells, pictures, photographs, signs and written words to support teaching and learning in reading.
We aim to provide a ‘total communication’ learning environment using a wide range of communication strategies adapted to meet individual’s needs. We work towards enabling all students to be effective communicators.
Communication and Reading Strategy
Examinations / Testing Arrangements & Pupil Progress
Parents/Carers will be kept informed of pupil progress through the Annual Review of their child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. As the vast majority of the children do not achieve expected National levels they are disapplied from Standard Assessment Tasks. We record and celebrate the small steps made in progress on an individual basis. This progress within the National Curriculum is mainly through our developmental 'Lime SEND Curriculum' and all monitoring is carried out through practitioner observation, narrative and photographic assessment using ‘Evidence for Learning’.
The DfE Engagement Model of Assessment of Progress
The Engagement Model from the Standards & Testing Agency became active in September 2020. It is designed to be a system of assessing progress for pupils who are not working at a subject-specific level, which is most of our pupils.
- It validates our non-subject-based curriculum, by conceding the fact that there are pupils who are not working at a ‘subject specific level’, so do not need to be taught by subject
- It validates our strongly held opinions that such children can not be compared to each other, to produce numerical ‘comparative data’ and cohort data that can then be ‘moderated’
Our summative data since the inception of our bespoke curriculum has always been qualitative rather than comparative and number-based. It has always been ipsative, looking at how the learner makes progress in relation to their own previous achievement and individual starting point.
To facilitate this approach we baseline all learners against their personalised and purposeful EHCP outcomes. Alongside this we assess learner achievements and the acquisition of skills and/or knowledge against the bespoke learning outcomes within our curriculum document. These assessments are reviewed termly as part of the school Quality Assurance progresses, within Pupil Progress meetings.
Religious Education and SMSC
This is taught in accordance to the Local Authority Agreed Syllabus as far as it is practicable. Learning about and learning from religion and beliefs are important for all pupils because Religious Education helps pupils develop an understanding of themselves and others. Lime Academy Orton represents a diverse faith and multicultural community where spiritual, moral, social and cultural experiences are integral to the cross-curricular learning. Collective worship provides an opportunity for pupils to reflect on their own beliefs, feelings and experiences.
At Lime Academy Orton we pride ourselves on appreciating the value of others and being part of a whole school community. We are respectful of others and their beliefs creating an atmosphere of tolerance and consideration for all pupils, staff and families.
Daily spiritual time and weekly assemblies provide opportunities for reflection and focus upon a religious and cultural calendar appropriate to our pupils and relevant to topics of current interest. There is also time allocated for the praise of good work, certificates and birthday celebrations.
Curriculum Enrichment
At Lime Academy Orton we offer enrichment activities across the school year. We want our learners to have a range of experiences that celebrates the wonderful diversity of our school community. These experience are carefully planned to allow all learners the opportunity to generalise their skills in different settings during national and religious events. We will share any important information about each event with families and staff as it approaches. Our enrichment events are celebrated and captured on Evidence for Learning, in our newsletter and in our enrichment calendar.
Careers Guidance
Careers Information Advice and Guidance (CIAG) at Lime Academy Orton
Careers Lead – Jenny Wicks (Lead Teacher)
01733 391800
Supported by Helen Jeffryes (Assistant Headteacher)
01733 391800
Careers education at Lime Academy Orton is linked intrinsically to our approach to Preparation For Adulthood (PFA) for our pupils. This begins as pupils join the school and is embedded into both their individual Education Health Care Plan outcomes and their bespoke curriculum offer. For us and our leaners CIAG is having a planned pathway for life after school.
Fundamentally we want all our pupils to be supported to develop the skills they need to make choices and have a voice which enables them to partake in meaningful daily activity and the wider world around them once they move on from our setting. To enable us to support our pupils in achieving this we have created and sustain a wealth of partnerships with external Post 16/19 providers locally to allow them to experience first-hand the opportunities available to them in their adult life and therefore enable them to make informed choices about what comes next after school.
The school’s careers programme embraces the eight Gatsby benchmarks of good Career Guidance:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning form career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Linking curriculum to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
As with all areas of learning within the school these activities are presented to pupils on an individual basis, in a timely fashion, that takes account of their unique age, stage, interests and needs.
Relationship and Sex Education
At Lime Academy Orton we do not seek to be a substitute for the important role that parents/carers have to play within this delicate area. As within all areas of the curriculum, we strive to work very closely with families. We aim to provide a programme to all of our pupils, which will provide information appropriate to their physical and emotional maturity. Assisting pupils to develop strategies for keeping safe, good social behaviour and respect for the feelings of others is constantly being reinforced throughout the school. Any parent/carer with strong views on this subject is urged to contact the school for further discussions. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from sex education although not from those elements which are covered in Science National Curriculum.
As a part of your child’s education, we promote personal wellbeing and development through our bespoke Personal Development and Wellbeing curriculum programme. The programme supports learners to develop age and stage appropriate knowledge, understanding, attitudes and practical skills to live safe, healthy and productive lives. It is taught throughout the school, in every key stage and pathway in a safe learning environment underpinned by our Trust ethos:
As you may already be aware, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is now, nationally, a compulsory part of PSHE. RSE is delivered in all Lime Trust Academies and provides the statutory relationships education.
More details on our Wellness curriculum can be found on our curriculum document.
In addition to this we also work with external specialist Dhiverse who deliver their ABC Project in school to specific learners – we will always seek your permission before you child accesses this resource.
Our new Relationship and Sex Education Policy can be viewed on the Policy page of our website, which has been through a period of Parent and Carer consultation.
This is no right to withdraw from Relationship Education at primary level and we believe the content at this level – family, friendship, safety (including online) is important for all learners that are at a stage where they can access this on our inspire pathway.
Secondary learner requests to withdraw from Relationship Education should be made formally via email to the headteacher via the school office, attaching the form at the end of the RSE policy outlining the reason for withdrawal. As a learning community we are committed to working in partnership with families, if you have any questions or want more information to support your decision, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss.
Global Awareness
In the climate of global awareness, where every citizen is affected by world events on a daily basis, international issues are an important part of all our lives. By including an international dimension at Lime Academy Orton we offer children and staff a greater understanding of their national and international identity within a diverse and differentiated curriculum.
Swimming at Lime Academy Orton
We are very fortunate to have our own Hydrotherapy Pool facility on site here at Lime Academy Orton.
Pupils access the facility as part of their individualised curriculum. Learning within the pool focuses on the pupils Physical Development targets within their Education Health Care Plan.
When and where appropriate, pupils access our pool and local swimming facilities to learn to swim.
PfA statement
At Lime Academy Orton we begin to prepare our pupils for adult life from the moment they enter. We work hard to ensure that each pupil has appropriate, individualised Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) outcomes that are transferable to the real world. We want to support all our learners to gain skills that will support them in their future.
Preparation for Adult concentrates on the following key areas:
- Employment
- Independent Living
- Friends, Relationships and Community
- Good Health
At the end of their time in school with us our learners progress to a wide range of local college and social care providers.
Our family liaison officers support young people and their families with transition to other settings at the right time for them. In addition to this all our Post 16 learners have a varied curriculum offer which incorporates extended links with local providers to give them an experience of the different environments which will help inform their future choices.
We are also lucky to have our own Hub at the Hurlington Centre, which is used as an extension of our learning space to provide work related learning and community access opportunities for all our learners at a level appropriate to their individual needs.