The Willow Dene Curriculum

At Willow Dene, we believe that every CYP is unique and deserves a curriculum that recognises and celebrates their individual strengths, interests, needs and aspirations. Our curriculum is ambitious, personalised and meaningful, providing opportunities for all CYP to develop the knowledge, skills, independence and confidence they need to thrive in school and beyond. Our intent is to enable all CYP to become active learners, moving towards greater independence, autonomy, control and choice, whilst developing the communication skills needed to express their needs, wants, thoughts and opinions.

The Curriculum Offer outlines how we provide teaching and learning opportunities that are essential to the learning and development of every CYP. Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum programmes of study for Key Stages 1 to 4 and includes all statutory curriculum requirements. In Key Stage 5, the curriculum is personalised around Preparation for Adulthood outcomes, Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) targets and the individual aspirations of each learner. The curriculum is carefully designed to meet the diverse needs of our school community, reflects our key values and complies with the duties of the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Code of Practice 2014.

We place a strong emphasis on meaningful learning experiences. Our curriculum maximises cross-curricular links, provides opportunities to practise and generalise skills across different contexts, and uses a text-led approach to enrich learning wherever appropriate. Central to this is our Learner-Centred Pedagogy, which underpins every aspect of teaching and learning and ensures that every CYP can access a curriculum that is engaging, relevant and aspirational.

Learner-Centred Pedagogy

Our learner-centred pedagogy places every CYP and their family at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that no two learners are the same, so our teaching is responsive, flexible and carefully adapted to meet individual strengths, needs and starting points. Through nurturing relationships, thoughtfully designed environments and personalised teaching approaches, we create learning experiences that support regulation, build confidence and enable meaningful progress.

We believe that successful learning happens when CYP feel safe, valued, understood and ready to engage. Our learner-centred pedagogy is built around four interconnected elements that work together to create the best possible outcomes for every learner.

Responsive Adults

Positive and consistent relationships form the foundation of learning at Willow Dene. Our staff develop trusting and meaningful relationships with CYP, helping them feel emotionally safe, supported and confident. Through responsive and attuned interactions, adults provide encouragement, reassurance and co-regulation, enabling learners to develop resilience, self-confidence and a strong sense of belonging within the school community. These relationships create the security that allows CYP to engage fully in learning and develop their independence over time.

Enabling Environments

Our learning environments are intentionally designed to meet the diverse needs of our CYP. Spaces are organised, predictable and responsive, helping learners understand expectations, make choices and develop increasing independence. Through the use of visual supports, structured routines, sensory considerations and engaging learning opportunities, we create environments where CYP feel safe to explore, communicate, problem solve and succeed. By removing barriers and promoting accessibility, our environments support every learner to participate meaningfully in school life.

Teaching Toolkit

We know that effective teaching is not about one approach, but about selecting the right strategy at the right time. Our teaching toolkit consists of a wide range of evidence-informed approaches that support learning across the curriculum. These include facilitating learning, scaffolding, modelling, chunking learning into manageable steps, embedding learning through play and using visual supports to enhance understanding and independence. Staff carefully select and adapt these approaches to ensure learning remains accessible, motivating and appropriately challenging for every CYP.

Readiness to Learn

We understand that learning can only flourish when CYP feel safe, regulated and emotionally supported. Readiness to learn is therefore a fundamental aspect of our curriculum. By prioritising emotional well-being, communication, positive relationships and regulation, we support CYP to become more open to exploration, engagement and new learning opportunities. When learners are ready to learn, they are better able to acquire knowledge, develop skills, build independence and achieve their individual goals.

Early Reading

We have a carefully considered and sequenced approach to early reading which ensures that every learner develops the foundations they need to become successful readers.

For CYP working at an Early Development level, we focus on building the essential pre-reading skills that underpin future success. These include early visual, auditory and motor skills, attention and listening skills, early communication and interaction skills, as well as memory and sequencing abilities.

For CYP working at an Emergent Concept level, we establish the foundations for reading through a strong focus on language comprehension and word recognition. Learners develop vocabulary, language structures, phonological awareness and background knowledge through high-quality stories, poems, rhymes and listening activities. These experiences help children build the language skills that are fundamental to future reading success.

For CYP working at Basic Concept and Applying Knowledge levels, who have secured the necessary foundations, we support them in becoming effective early readers. We continue to develop language comprehension alongside more formal decoding and word recognition skills. We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds systematic synthetic phonics programme to build learners' understanding of the alphabetic code, enabling them to master phonics for reading and spelling. Alongside this, learners access carefully matched Big Cat decodable books, allowing them to apply their phonics knowledge while developing fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading.

Through this progressive approach, we aim to foster a lifelong love of reading and ensure that all CYP can access high-quality texts and meaningful literacy experiences.

Teaching of Religious Education (RE)

RE is not taught as a stand-alone subject at Willow Dene, elements of the RE curriculum feature in strands of Time, People, Place and Culture (TPPC). These include strands of 'Community' and 'Cultures' which will contain reference to a range of world religions, cultures, world and religious rituals, festivals and celebrations. Whilst we do not teach about the content of religious teachings in depth, we do aim to teach children about diversity, respect and tolerance of other religious beliefs. TPPC is taught through storytelling, use of props, artefacts, sensory and immersive experiences. Parents and carers have the right to withdraw their children from sessions that link to RE. Please inform your child's class teacher if you do not wish for your child to partake in these elements of the TPPC curriculum. 

Bringing Our Curriculum to Life

Our curriculum and learner-centred pedagogy work seamlessly together. Responsive adults, enabling environments, effective teaching strategies and readiness to learn provide the foundation upon which all curriculum experiences are built. This ensures that every CYP can access learning in a way that is meaningful, personalised and ambitious.

By placing the learner at the centre of every decision, we empower CYP to become confident communicators, curious explorers, resilient learners and active members of their community. Our curriculum is designed not only to develop knowledge and skills but also to promote well-being, independence, choice and self-determination.

At Willow Dene, we are committed to ensuring that every CYP is supported to flourish, achieve and reach their fullest potential through a curriculum that is engaging, relevant and truly learner centred.

To find out more about our curriculum coverage and specific information such as the sixth form curriculum, refer to 'In This Section'.  

The link below 'Willow Dene Curriculum' provides more detail about our curriculum.