Wirral WRAP Independent School
Curriculum Intent
Find below the outline of our curriculum areas
Literacy
Literacy plays a vital role in transforming pupils into socially engaged citizens. Being able to read and write means being able to keep up with current events, communicate effectively, and understand the issues that are shaping our world. Through Literacy lessons we aim to help pupils value the importance of having good literacy skills, whilst becoming more independent learners. We actively encourage pupils to find an interest and encourage them to read around the subject or author.
The Literacy Trust defines Literacy as ‘the ability to read, write, speak and listen well. A literate person is able to communicate effectively with others and to understand written information.’ In other words, literacy is more than just an understanding of spellings and grammar - it is the key to our pupils unlocking everything around them and supporting them with everything they encounter in their daily lives. From writing job applications to reading menus in restaurants - a high quality understanding and knowledge of literacy is essential.
At Wirral WRAP , we offer pupils a bespoke personalised Literacy curriculum that meets individual needs. All of our pupils are assessed for reading and writing so we can ascertain individual starting points and support them on their journey ensuring that progress is made. We are fortunate enough to work with our learners both in and out of the community - this gives our learners the opportunity to practise their literacy skills in real life contexts as well as in group sessions in our Memorial Garden and Forest School settings, where appropriate.
Numeracy
Wirral WRAP understands that numeracy is an essential skill in our everyday lives. With this in mind, we intend to ensure that pupils develop a healthy and enthusiastic attitude towards numeracy that will stay with them and enable them to draw upon the skills learnt.
The LP is designed to create curiosity, reduce anxiety, and develop confidence. Pupils are taught in small class groups/individually and are given work closely related to their mathematical needs/capability. Where possible, Numeracy is embedded in other areas of the curriculum. The purpose of Numeracy at Wirral WRAP is to support everyday life experiences and preparation for reintegration to school.
Given the widely differing needs of our pupils, we have developed a Numeracy Learning Plan that allows for bespoke personalisation. It starts with an initial assessment to ascertain current levels of attainment and engagement. Using this information, our pupils are able to make progress based on their individual starting points. Lessons are delivered using a combination of indoor and outdoor learning experiences, often within the community at venues that are familiar, maximising the wealth of opportunities to learn through observation and interaction within real life contexts.
Healthy Lifestyles and Wellbeing
A healthy lifestyle can not only help you feel better, but it can also reduce the risk of illness, lengthen your lifespan, save you money, and benefit the environment. Your version of a healthy lifestyle is whatever you define it to be. There’s nothing you must or must not do in order to be healthy. Identify what makes you feel good and what brings you the greatest happiness. Then, start small when you make changes. You're more likely to see success this way.
At Wirral WRAP we believe children are entitled to a childhood and are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living large proportions of their lives online. This presents challenges and risks and children need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. With this in mind we have built a personalised curriculum built fundamentally on the statutory RSE curriculum. We have designed bespoke lessons on what we believe to be the most important aspects of teaching children healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships, in all contexts, including online. This sits alongside the essential understanding of how mental wellbeing is central to lives of children and their happiness. We know that children are increasingly experiencing challenges, and we hope to equip them with the tools and knowledge of how to live a healthy, happy and respectful lifestyle.
Children need to follow their inborn stages of development in order for their brain to grow. The inborn stages are called reflexes and for a reflex to do its job properly it needs to be activated and then integrated before then moving onto the next one. If a reflex is not integrated then it is retained and the brain then attempts to move onto the next reflex as per it’s ‘schedule’. Reflexes are the reason we are able to walk, talk, eat, dance, react appropriately in certain situations, make rational decisions and so on. Here at Wirral WRAP we have embedded reflex exercises into our curriculum and believe they are a fun and important way for children, particurlaly for children with a diagnosis of ADHD/ADD and the inability to sit still, to develop confidence and boost self-esteem.
Mindfulness and Personal Progression
What would you like to do when you are older for a job or career? Before you decide what your next step is, you need to know what you are good at, what your interests are and what your end goal is. This Learning Plan will help you find out what opportunities are available to you when you are older and what you have to do to get there. During this LP, you will carry out a self-assessment, identifying what your strengths are, and what you need to develop to be able to meet your progression goals. You will learn how to set goals and plan ways to achieve them. You will then produce a 'Personal Progression Plan' to help you reach the next step. The new skills you develop in this will be good preparation when applying for college, further education or pursuing your career.
No matter the age of a pupil, they need to feel confident to spark a discussion about future careers and goals. Pupils need to be encouraged to think about the skills they have and how they could use them outside the classroom. Being asked to reflect on their own positive attributes will really boost their self-confidence. Here at Wirral WRAP, we want all our children to consider what they want to be when they grow up? It's important to aim high and have high aspirations.
At Wirral WRAP we have a dedicated Careers Guidance Counsellor who will spend time with pupils and offer advice on how to become a number of professions: chef, policeman, taxi driver, carpenter, doctor and more! It's important for all our pupils to learning about careers and keep a positive mindset. Having even a vague idea of what they want to do when they're older can have a big positive impact on young children. If a child knows that they're particularly good at, or especially enjoy, a subject then they're much more likely to stay focused in lessons. Pupils who know from an early age that they want to go to university or train as a firefighter, for example, will work hard to get into those positions. Our career guidance helps make students aware of what is possible and can help them achieve their goals.
New Beginnings
Belonging is a feeling we experience when we are loved and accepted for who we are. You will feel welcomed and understood when you're surrounded by people who love and accept you. When you belong, you feel like you are in the right place. And where there is mutual understanding and support, there is a feeling of belonging.
At Wirral WRAP, we want our pupils to know how they are the same as and different from their friends and to feel good about their strengths. We encourage pupils to explore and reflect on their own emotions and behaviour to gain a greater understanding of themselves. Self-awareness can often lead to pupils choosing their emotional response rather than acting impulsively.
We actively encourage our pupils to reflect on their emotions and foster a calm and emotionally healthy environment. Teaching pupils to cope with their emotions will improve their own emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Think Positive
Pupils will learn different ways to think positively and calmly, make good decisions and develop resilience. It also encourages you to explore the positive feelings associated with being thankful, grateful and mindful.
To help improve their mental health, pupils will be taught how our thoughts impact our feelings and behaviour. Pupils will be empowered to react to helpful thoughts and train themselves not to worry about unhelpful thoughts. Pupils will be able to identify helpful and unhelpful thoughts and understand the effect these thoughts have on the way we feel. Staff will teach strategies to cope with unhelpful thoughts and how to react to different situations at home and in school.
Pupils will be taught how to cope with change and explore the way that feelings change, especially after experiencing a loss, or adversity in their childhood.
Thoughts are words we say to ourselves every day. These are private, unless we choose to share them. Pupils will explores how they can learn to develop helpful thoughts, which prompt comfortable emotions, and what to do if we are feeling worried or anxious.
Our World our Planet
The sooner we can realise that the natural world goes its way, not our way, the better. The importance of our pupils knowledge and understanding of their impact on our world, our planet, has never been more significant to their futures.
Wirral WRAP aims to develop knowledge and understanding and practical skills which will allow students to enjoy, explore and investigate aspects of the world of science, becoming well-informed citizens ever curious about our planet and beyond. Pupils will develop an understanding and appreciation of their impact on the planet we live in and appreciate the importance of other cultures. Pupils will develop practical life skills through cookery lessons and will explore and discover where food comes from and locate different food from different countries.
Pupils will understand the importance of endangered species as part of a topic linked to climate change and will find out more about some of the living things that are endangered. Pupils will learn about the biggest threats facing our world today, including global warming and the effects of deforestation. Pupils will understand the importance of biodiversity and the problems that can occur when we no longer have a thriving ecosystem. Pupils will recognise the benefits of adopting good habits such as recycling, using fewer plastics and using renewable energy.
Reflection
Reflecting helps our pupils to develop new skills and consider their effectiveness, rather than just carry on doing things as they have always done. It is about questioning in a positive way, what you do and why you do it and then deciding whether there is a more positive way of doing it in the future.
In this Learning Plan activities are used to help pupils understand and change their negative behaviour. Pupils are encouraged to identify the triggers of their negative behaviour, take responsibility for their own actions, and turn negatives into positives. Our experienced staff will share expectations and coping strategies and give opportunities for children to reflect on their feelings, thoughts and behaviour.
In this LP we help pupils recognise and develop social skills. Some children will need more support in learning to recognise and use social skills in their day-to-day life. So, targeted one to one sessions where a trusted adult (Counsellor or Learning Mentor) talks to a child about how to be friendly, polite and respectful, are one way that adults offer support. A social skills intervention involves steps to improve a pupil's ability to socialise and recognise social cues. This is with the goal of functioning well in society in mind. Children with special educational needs such as Autism Spectrum Condition in particular may benefit from a social skills intervention.
Art and Design
Art is a therapeutic subject and all pupils have the opportunity to boost their creativity skills and explore and develop new skills. Have you ever wondered how you draw a picture? Do you look at paintings and sketches and wonder how the artist produced the image? Being able to draw, sketch and use 2D materials helps you express your ideas and create pieces of work on paper or canvas using different materials to draw exciting and creative images. In this unit, you will use 2D materials such as pencils, paints, inks, pastels, and chalks. You will experiment with different techniques in mark making and drawing. You will look at artwork produced by other artists and will use their work as a starting point to create your own work. You will produce a portfolio of work that shows your development in drawing art images, using your research of an artist as a starting point.
At Wirral WRAP we believe the teaching of creative arts is important as pupils can develop a wide range of artistic skills that can foster creativity and imagination. This can also boost self-expression, increase confidence and build emotional intelligence.
Enrichment and Community
Here at Wirral WRAP we provide opportunities for every pupil to take part in some form of physical activity. This could range from a therapeutic walk within a session or an activity in the Sports Hall or in an outdoor environment. We are aware that pupils arrive with different starting points, different experiences and that we believe there is an activity for everyone, and an activity that every person can enjoy. Physical activity can be the key to unlocking the door to educational and academic success and lifelong learning.
We feel strongly that instilling good health and exercise habits, will allow pupils to continue long after they leave us. Physical activity is pivotal, not only to a young person’s health and well-being, but also to the global sense of self esteem and self worth, which impacts hugely across the children's life experiences.
We provide opportunity for pupils to appreciate our different members of the community, different cultures through work experience and voluntary work.
Wrap (Wirral) CIC Ltd
22 Beechwood Dr, Birkenhead, Prenton CH43 9LB
0151 272 0813
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