The Compass School aims to provide a broad, balanced, and therapeutic curriculum that removes barriers to learning, fostering resilience, emotional regulation, and academic progress. It prioritizes social-emotional development alongside academic knowledge, empowering pupils to achieve EHCP outcomes and qualifications.
Key Outcomes
The intent is for pupils to become confident learners who can regulate their emotions, take risks in learning, and transition successfully to the next stage of education or training.
Core Intent Pillars
- Therapeutic & Holistic: Embedding emotional regulation, self-awareness, and mental health support within every subject to build resilience and engagement.
- Broad & Balanced with Personalisation: Delivering the National Curriculum, adapted to meet individual learning needs and starting points, allowing for flexibility.
- Life Skills & Functional Skills: Strong emphasis on communication, literacy, numeracy, and independence to prepare for adulthood and employability.
- Safe Learning Environment: Utilising clear, predictable routines to reduce anxiety and create a supportive, trauma-informed, and nurturing atmosphere.
Subject-Specific Intent (Contextualized for SEMH)
- English/Literacy: Focus on developing communication skills to express emotions appropriately, building confidence in reading and functional writing.
- Maths/Numeracy: Developing functional numeracy, financial literacy, and problem-solving skills to foster independence.
- Science/STEM: Promoting curiosity, practical skills, and understanding of the physical world through hands-on learning, fostering engagement.
- Humanities (Hist/Geo/RS): Building understanding of the world, community, and empathy, whilst developing critical thinking.
- PSHE/Citizenship: The core vehicle for teaching emotional intelligence, resilience, relationships, and sex education.
- Creative Arts/PE: Providing outlets for self-expression, improving physical health, boosting self-esteem, and aiding emotional regulation.
Structure and Progression (KS2 – KS4)
- Key Stage 2: Focus on repairing gaps, building secure relationships with staff, emotional regulation, and engaging in foundational learning.
- Key Stage 3: Developing independent learning habits, consolidating core knowledge, and introducing vocational elements.
- Key Stage 4: Intensive, personalised, and flexible pathways aimed at qualifications (GCSE, Functional Skills, vocational certificates) alongside post-16 preparation.
Our curriculum vision for our academic curriculum and our wellness curriculum are shared below.
We aim to provide an education which delivers outstanding outcomes for children with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Underpinning this are high expectations and aspirations for all, so we ensure that all children make good progress from whatever their starting points and are supported to achieve accreditation and qualifications which enhance their life chances.
We ensure that children have positive destinations to move on to in the next stage of their lives. We believe it is essential children experience a ‘rite of passage’ through which they can grow and develop increasing maturity towards that goal.
We have established three phases in the school: a Key Stage Two phase, a Key Stage Three phase and a Key Stage Four phase. Each of these phases have distinctive features and an appropriate curriculum offer founded on the National Curriculum.
Within the phases, we have combined a strong curriculum offer with multi-agency and therapeutic support and we work in partnership with Havering Local Authority and other local providers to deliver this.
Our Subjects
Reading
Reading lies at the heart of our academic curriculum and we are determined that our students will leave us with the reading, writing and communication skills they need to flourish. We believe:
“Reading is fundamental to education. Proficiency in reading, writing and spoken language is vital for pupils’ success. Through these, they develop communication skills for education and for working with others.
The Reading Framework: Teaching the Foundations of Literacy (DFE July 2021)
The school believes that ‘True navigation begins in the human heart’ and this is underpinned by our STAR values (Success, Teamwork, Aspiration and Resilience). This informs our approach to the curriculum.
Whilst we appreciate the pupils will have additional needs and present with additional challenges, we see no reason to lower our expectations of both what they can eventually achieve and the final outcomes which are possible for them.
We do appreciate we will need to address these needs through a relevant, modified curriculum and therefore include Social, Emotional and Communication and Therapeutic strands to the curriculum as set out here.
Our Curriculum Offer
Academic:
- English (including drama, functional literacy and wider reading)
- Maths (including practical application of maths outside the classroom and financial literacy)
- Science (including links to sport, health and nutrition)
- Humanities: History, Geography, RE
- MFL – tutor time sessions and enrichment
- Food, DT
- IT
- Art
- Music
- Careers and work-related learning
- PSHE
- PE
Interventions and social learning:
- Additional literacy and numeracy
- Tutor time – assembly themes, zones of regulation, mindfulness, Check-In, Check-Up, Check-Out, visual timetables, social stories, sensory circuits
- Nurture events – built in for individuals as part of Wellness Curriculum
- Timetabled nurture sessions for small groups
- Structured and supported social time (break and lunch) and transition time (planned and structure play, social and sensory and physical activities)