Education

The Meadows School is an outstanding school! 

In 2008 Ofsted judged every area to be outstanding and therefore outstanding overall.

At The Meadows School it is our aim to provide high quality care, raise academic attainment and provide a wide range of opportunities for achievement, within a safe, stable, structured and warm therapeutic environment.

The Meadows provides a 24 hour holistic, purposeful experience where all aspects of the daily routine, education and activities are structured to address individual needs and provide learning opportunities throughout the day. Every child is an individual and our mission is to make sure that each pupil makes good progress. We want to give each pupil a sense of self-belief by giving each one opportunities to experience success.

We will build a strong partnership with pupils, parents and social workers, keeping you regularly informed about his or her progress towards their targets, achievements and any problems.

The school building was completed in July 2006 and is a modern purpose built, single story building within the ground of The Meadows Children's Home. We have 2 classrooms, a small one to one learning support room that designed to offer high quality education to a maximum of 8 children, all of whom will be residents of The Meadows Children's Home.

We have a strong emphasis on outdoor activities and are licensed with the Adventurous Activities Licensing Authority to deliver a variety of outdoor activities including rock climbing, mountain biking, sailing, canoeing and mountaineering. We are also a Duke of Edinburgh's Award Centre. We believe that taking part in these activities give pupils real personal development opportunities.

The Meadows School aims to help pupils appreciate right from wrong, to realise the effects they have on other people and to insist they treat others with respect. We aim to help each pupil to reach their academic potential and become confident, self-directed, lifelong learners. We strive to develop the individuals self-esteem and self-image, and provide opportunities for them to develop the social, moral and cultural awareness to become more-constructive members of society.

Aims

• To provide a broad and balanced curriculum based on the National Curriculum, adapted to suit the unique needs of the individual and described through an Individual Education Plan

• To include the individual in their educational planning, provide continuous feedback and improvement to ensure individuals become confident, self-directed, lifelong learners

• To ensure opportunities are provided for individuals to learn and apply literacy and numeracy skills in a variety of situations both in and out of the classroom

• To provide accurate assessments of attainment, progress and achievement that informs future planning and progression

• To provide a variety of different instructional approaches that cater for the different ways individuals learn, including the use of technology, to support their learning

• To enforce firm boundaries and structure, with clear codes of conduct and teach appropriate ways of behaving both in and out of the classroom

• To provide the opportunities for the individual to develop the social skills and moral, spiritual and cultural awareness that will help them to become more-constructive members of society.

Daily Routine

The school day starts at 9am and is divided into seven 45 minute lessons. Pupils have a 15 minute break in the morning and also in the afternoon and a 45 minute lunchbreak. The timetable below gives an example timetable for a Key Stage 3 pupil although each pupil will have an individualised timetable that takes into account their academic, therapeutic and behavioural needs. School ends at 3.30pm.

The Meadows School Curriculum

Curriculum time each week adds up to 25 hours, organised as a 5 period day on a weekly timetable.

* time allocation may change due to individual needs eg. in Key Stage 3 French may be replaced by another English session if Literacy is a particular area of concern. At Key stage 4 the allocation may need altering to cater for needs e.g. a child who is doing GCSE Citizenship may need more than one session. The core subjects would usually be increased rather than decreased in line with needs

As an AQA Examination Centre all examinations up and including GCSE can be taken on site.

Personal, Social, Health Education and Citizenship

Throughout Years 7 - 11 Personal and Social Education is developed throughout the 24hour curriculum through taught sessions and key work sessions. Our PSHE programme is constructed to allow pupils to explore issues that are particularly relevant to the individual or that arise within, or outside, the school community. Within the context of PSHE pupils can discuss, question and form opinions on personal, social, moral, sexual, health, community and careers issues. These issues can also form the basis of an Entry Level Certificate at Key Stage 4.

ICT Entitlement