Our school community strives to equip all pupils with a toolbox of skills, strategies, and knowledge to prepare them for their onward journey and realise the contributions they can make to the wider world.
This will be achieved through the offer of a rich, vibrant, and ambitious curriculum, which will draw upon meaningful real-life experiences. The curriculum is designed so that it is ambitious for all learners and enables them to make progress regardless of their varied starting points or academic history. Its ultimate aim is to provide learners with the cultural capital, skills and qualifications that they need to succeed in later life whether this lies in further education or within employment.
Class sizes
Each class is home to a maximum of seven children supported by a teacher and teaching assistant, so children get very individual care. We encourage individual learning, group work and plenty of outdoor education to help children gain a whole variety of skills as they progress academically. Some of our students really struggle to focus within a classroom and we have a number of individual learning areas where these children can get focused one-to-one support.
Early Years Education
For Key Stage 2, we set very individual educational plans for each child, using the National Curriculum for maths, science, design and technology, art, computing and modern languages. Every child’s plan will be completely unique and we’ll set targets and review progress on a half-termly basis. Alongside the National Curriculum subjects, we’ll also schedule periods of sensory play, life skills, relaxation and plenty of outdoor learning.
Secondary School Education
As children move up the school, they’ll continue to work through the core curriculum whilst pursuing their individual talents and interests. We also introduce enterprise studies at this level, to give our students a broad base of options and opportunities. Alongside their academic studies, our students will still take part in PE, life skills/outdoor learning, and personal, social and health education (PSHE). We also help all our students to take responsibility for their own work, so they develop good learning habits for the future.
Qualification Options
During Year 9, as part of their PSHE classes, children will be encouraged to start thinking about what they’d like to do in the future. We always start by asking children what their ultimate dream is and then working back to see what qualifications or experience they need to achieve it. We want our children to dream big and offer a wide range of GCSE and BTEC qualifications. Children are supported through their exams by teachers in school and in some cases support from an online tutor.
Examination Results
To view our examination results, please click on the links below:
Further Education
At Longdon Park we will do whatever we can to help our children succeed. Some children stay with us to complete their GCSEs in order to prepare for college. Whichever route our children choose, we ensure they are prepared emotionally, socially and academically.
Promotion of British Values
Background and Rationale
The Department for Education have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
The Prevent Strategy recognises the importance of schools in counter-terrorism activities. More recently, concerns about the inappropriate actions of some schools were highlighted in the Birmingham Trojan Horse case, where a number of OFSTED inspections revealed a failure to promote British values adequately in some schools, meaning that young people in them were vulnerable to radical and extremist ideas. Consequently, all schools need a clear statement of British values and how they are promoted through the school’s curriculum.
What is meant by “British Values”?
We believe that the following list exemplifies some of the values held dear by British citizens:
- Democracy
- Respect of the rule of law
- Appreciation of the rights of other citizens
- Individual liberty
- The promotion of opportunities for all
- Support for those who cannot, by themselves, sustain a dignified life-style
- Religious tolerance and respect for cultural diversity
- Treating others with fairness
- Participation in community life
- The contribution to, as well as the benefit from, cultural and economic resources
Although this list is not exhaustive, we believe it encapsulates the values we promote in our school.