Yeoman Park Academy Special School - Nottinghamshire Local Authority School - Primary Team

Primary Team 3-11 years old

Yeoman Park is an outstanding academy for pupils with severe, profound and complex learning difficulties school aged 3-18 based in Mansfield Woodhouse.

The pupils/students form three SEN groupings - Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD), Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Each has their own bespoke curriculum.

The primary team is for learners aged 3 to 11, with four classes – C1, C2. C3 and C4 where learners are grouped by their age and needs. One class is for learners who require a high level of support to meet their complex learning, physical, sensory and medical needs. The other three classes are for learners who have severe or moderate learning difficulties combined with ASD or other diagnoses such as Down’s Syndrome.

Each class in the primary team has on average eight learners, a teacher and at least two teaching assistants. There are also personal care assistants and healthcare assistants working across the team. Sometimes a learner may move classes early or during the year to ensure that they are learning in the best environment we can provide.

Our job is to help young people become aware of the world around them and how to develop coping strategies to manage the challenges they face each day. We like to ensure our learning is practical and hands-on to provide learners with engaging and memorable learning experiences. Across the team we focus on developing communication and interaction skills alongside personal care routines and independence.

Curriculum

Our curriculum is split into five key areas: my communication; my thinking and problem-solving; my PSED; my creativity, and the world about me. Each curriculum areas has been developed by the academy from a range of pre-exiting curriculums and scheme including the National Curriculum; EQUALs; Launchpad for Literacy and EYFS.

The curriculum is delivered through skills-based teaching and practical activities, which is reflective of the needs of our learners. They require many opportunities to learn and practise their skills in different contexts; repetition is the key to their development and our approach. To ensure our content remains interesting, relevant and varied, we follow a thematic approach over a four-year cycle.

We recognise that every child requires a personalised approach; and therefore the delivery of our curriculum reflects this. We use waypoints within each curriculum area to provide learners with sequential learning, whilst acknowledging that our learners fluctuate and have a wide-span profile with regards to attainment.

Times and availability

Opening Times