PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AT STONE HILL SCHOOL AND POST 16
The curriculum at Stone Hill School and Post 16 focuses strongly on developing our pupils and young people into well-rounded individuals who are able to live as independently as possible, making positive contributions to their communities and wider society. Our offer is underpinned by a robust commitment to developing individuals who meet their potential, and learn with increasing independence. Young people at Stone Hill have an awareness of the world around them, and are supported to develop confidence and self-efficacy. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils are able to move on to positive destinations that build on their successes at school.
Our Health and Wellbeing (PSHCE and RSHE) curriculum, together with our Life Skills, and Careers and Employability curriculums provide a solid grounding for pupils and young people to develop skills for life, learning and employability. Our wider learning offer includes regular community engagement, outdoor learning, and trips and visits for pupils in our Lower School. In addition to these opportunities, pupils and young people in our Upper School and Post 16 are able to complete Duke of Edinburgh and Sports Leader Awards. All pupils from Years 1 to 7 participate in weekly swimming lessons led by qualified swimming teachers. School and Student Councils are the voice for all pupils and young people. School Council representatives are actively involved in ensuring our school continuously improves and grows, also taking responsibility for maintaining our Eco Schools Green Flag status. Whole school and key stage assemblies reinforce learning and development associated with British Values and our pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Regular assemblies allow us to recognise and celebrate our pupils’ achievements.
All learning is underpinned by a focus on the development of Learning Behaviours in our Lower School, and Skills Builder in our Upper School and Post 16. This helps our pupils and young people develop the skills and knowledge they need so that they are ready to learn and can approach transitions with confidence and resilience. Trips and visits are carefully planned, both to enhance curricular learning and provide rich opportunities for pupils to engage with their communities, developing skills for growing independence.
When the time is right for them, our pupils and young people access independent travel training thus supporting their growing independence and journeys to employability. Our careers offer includes expert careers advice, and robust work experiences and placements based on pupils’ interests and abilities. We further support these experiences and placements in our capacity as Autism Education Trust partners and our delivery of Employability Training to our business partners.
Regular engagement with parents and carers is facilitated via the Seesaw App. This allows us to share daily learning and progress with parents and carers, as well as celebrate pupils’ successes and any exciting trips and visits. Regular parent and carer workshops see families to meet up over coffee and cake to learn more about what happens in school. We also invite in our strategic partners to support parents and carers with their children’s development, while our teachers’ presentations keep parents and carers up to date with learning in school. Parents and carers are also invited into school to immerse themselves in their children’s learning in the classroom, enabling them to extend this learning to the home environment.