Teaching & Learning
The needs of autistic children and young people are wide-ranging and often unique. Each child has interests and strengths that must be understood and enhanced. Pupils will have complex learning profiles associated with their Autism; functioning below age expectations in many aspects of their development, but at or above age expectations in areas of relative strength and personal interest.
The Windmill School will embrace each learner's individual sensitivities and strengths to provide an autism-specific, predictable and purposeful learning environment where they will have the best chance of achieving academic and personal success.
The Windmill School provides a ‘Curriculum for Life’ that delivers personalised programmes to support both academic and holistic personal growth. We provide academic excellence in an environment where our pupils will thrive and be understood.
We deliver an adapted National Curriculum throughout the school, enriched with experiences that mirror real life and build skills for further education and employment.
We seek to provide a broad, balanced, relevant, meaningful, and motivating curriculum to develop the specific strengths, needs, interests and aspirations of our pupils.
Each child will study a programme at the level they are assessed to be ready for, regardless of age, ensuring academic rigour and appropriate challenge.
We have designed and implemented our whole-school curriculum offer to meet the range of learners at The Windmill School. The curriculum is planned to develop pupils' confidence and generate interest in and understanding of the world, with a clear message that they are accepted and valued.
Our curriculum model is based on Katie Gaudion’s (2015) research, which views autism through a person’s strengths and abilities, allowing them to pursue their academic interests according to their aspirations.
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