At Riverside School, we have designed a curriculum framework that is profoundly personalised, ambitious and shaped by our Motto, Mission, Vision and Values.

For most of our pupils, Riverside School will be the only school they go to and many will be with us for sixteen years. For that reason, we need to get the curriculum right.  And getting it right includes ensuring our pupils receive the highest quality teaching and learning; in areas that will truly make a difference to their lives and the lives of their families; ensuring they are fully prepared for life outside and beyond Riverside School.

We want them to leave us as confident, lifelong learners and to remember their time with us with great affection, memories of life-enriching experiences and enduring relationships.

Our curriculum framework is based around The Pursuit of Happiness. We believe that happiness, wellbeing, fulfilment and belonging are essential components needed in order for our pupils to thrive and succeed in education. To support our curriculum, all our pupils have a highly personalised Happiness Passport which details how best to meet their sensory, physical, medical, communication, wellbeing, cultural, engagement and regulation needs.

Our pupils’ uniqueness deserves a bespoke curriculum, tailored towards their individual interests, strengths and needs. As such, all our pupils have a Personalised Learning Plan (PLP). These are written with one goal in mind – to support a curriculum that is different not differentiated, one that is inspiring, aspirational, appropriately challenging and links seamlessly to their EHCP. PLPs are supplemented by Home Learning Plans (HLPs) to emphasise the interconnectedness between home and school.

Our curriculum framework has been designed to provide both continuity and progression as our pupils travel through the four age-related phases of our school. Each phase has its own identity, running alongside the different pathways that provide the golden thread that weaves each pupil’s educational journey together.

We have introduced five distinct pathways; Foundation Pathway, Blue Sensory Pathway, Blue Active Pathway, Orange Pathway and Yellow Pathway. Our pathway model ensures that each pupil is provided with a meaningful and appropriate curriculum offer tailored to their individual needs and learning style.

Our curriculum framework is broad and balanced, as well as highly concentrated and focussed where it draws upon existing frameworks such as Development Matters, Equals schemes of work, The Engagement Areas, SCERTS, the Moving On Curriculum and the Interoception Curriculum. It is co-produced with our families, multi-agency colleagues and pupils. It is designed to prepare our pupils for life outside and beyond Riverside School, extending their cultural capital and widening their worlds. It is also designed to fully support our mission: to transform our children’s lives and the lives of their families.