North Ridge High School Do Your Best! Search for: Translate Contact Us Information Classes School Showcase Parents & Carers School Curriculum North Ridge High School Curriculum Overview Our curriculum is broad and balanced. We have high aspirations for all of our learners and encourage them to `Do their best’. Our curriculum aims to prepare all of our learners for the next phase of their life and prepare them for adulthood and to succeed in life. North Ridge High School is based on 3 sites. -Main site in Blackley for KS3, KS4, Structured and Experiential learners. On this site we have a Hydrotherapy Pool, Rebound trampoline, Gym, Allotment, Soft play room, Radio Station and a DT room with a Kiln. -KS5 Hub site in Crumpsall which is based on the Abraham Moss Campus with access to local leisure facilities and public transport. On this site we also have our student run cafe `Cup & Cake’ and our student run shop `2nd handmade’ in which we sell preloved items and products made by our learners (cards, candles, pottery). KS5 also run a small enterprise business ‘North Ridge Gift co’ which can be found on Etsy (online sales platform). -Class Nightingale, our pre supported internship, are based in a classroom on the site of North Manchester General Hospital. They also access the facilities at the KS5 Hub site. In addition to the main sites we have a community allotment at Crumpsall Model allotments. We use all of these facilities to deliver our curriculum. Intent: We have adapted the National Curriculum for our learners who have SEND. We have done this to meet their challenges to learning. Our learners work well below age related expectations and as such we have adapted the curriculum to meet their levels of early learning but to also develop wider skills. The focus is giving opportunities to learn knowledge and skills for their adulthood and to succeed in life. We provide opportunities for all our learners to develop as independent, confident, successful learners with high aspirations who will know how to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider society. For example, we want our learners to be able to make choices throughout their life whether this is being able to make a choice between two objects to indicate yes/no or choose what job they would like to do in the future. Our learners learn through a spiral curriculum that allows them to embed learning in small steps using a range of different learning styles. These include practical activities, sensory learning and educational visits. Learners have the opportunity to revisit skills and knowledge to ensure deeper learning and mastery. There are many important strands of learning. We ensure that learning within a strand is sequential and builds on prior learning and understanding. We often revisit strands to consolidate learning. However, we acknowledge that by ensuring the necessary breadth, and addressing the number of strands of the national curriculum, we sometimes have to move from strand to strand. Developing basic functional skills is key to our learners developing their knowledge across all subjects. As such, we place an emphasis on reading, writing and early mathematical skills across the curriculum. A strong PHSCE curriculum has been developed to enable our learners to become good citizens and have an understanding of their community, the wider world and how they can contribute to this. We teach learners the optimum access to the national curriculum, and pre-national curriculum, skills and knowledge that they can learn for mastery. This means that we teach learners by building on their existing skills and understanding. The teaching of knowledge and skills is carefully planned with each individual learner in mind and this is planned in small steps to ensure that learners know more, understand more and remember more. We use the principles of P4C (Philosophy for Children) as a way of delivering some of our curriculum subjects through the use of ‘Ask It’ which emphasises a pupils’ role in the learning process and asks them to engage with an idea or topic in an active way, instead of sitting and listening. This learning approach is all about asking questions and being curious. Key Skills: Across the curriculum we plan and teach learners key skills to maximise their life opportunities as they grow towards the next stage of their education and adulthood. We define the next step for the key skills we are prioritising in partnership with families at each learners’ EHCP Annual Review. These areas are Education and training, Preparation for Employment, Health and Well-being, Friends, Community Life and Leisure and Independence. Each learner has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) written by the class teacher in consultation with the learner, family and other professionals involved in their learning. Assessment: We use the following assessment models to track pupil progress and inform next steps. BSquared Progression Steps BSquared Engagement Steps BSquared Autism progress Onwards and Upwards- (this assessment scheme has been written by NRHS teachers and has been developed and grown from the work done through P levels and commercial developments.) Our curriculum model is flexible and learners can move between the different models depending on their individual need. (Click on the image to enlarge and zoom) Useful Links Contact Us 0161 507 9700 admin@northridge.manchester.sch.uk North Ridge High School Higher Blackley Education Village Alworth Road Blackley Manchester M9 0RP North Ridge Sixth Form Hub 142 Crescent Road Manchester M8 5UF Boardmaker Symbols - The Picture Communication Symbols © 1981–2018 by DynaVox Mayer-Johnson LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Used with permission.