Linden Lodge School

[EduCativ]

Linden Lodge is a specialist day and weekly boarding school in Wandsworth, southwest London, bordering Wimbledon Common and the All England Tennis Club. We educate pupils who are visually impaired, including those who are multi-disabled visually impaired, deaf-blind, and have more profound learning difficulties and complex health needs. Our specialist area of work is addressing sensory and physical difficulties.

Linden Lodge continually reviews its curriculum offer to ensure it meets the needs of a complex and diverse group of children and young people. Our pupils' abilities range from P Scale Level 1 to Level 2 of the National Curriculum. The pupils require different approaches to the curriculum on offer which is bespoke to their needs. Pupils with more profound multiple learning difficulties and complex health needs benefit from an integrated multi-disciplinary approach that combines therapy, nursing, and care into their day and waking day.

We pride ourselves on listening and collaboration: We work closely with a wide range of teams within the NHS, many of whom are based in the school and who ensure that all children within our community benefit from and enjoy joined-up and consistent support. Our approach is based on The Family Partnership Model of working which promotes exploration, understanding, detailed planning, and partnership built on solid relationships.

Over the last three years, Health and Education have strived to embed integrated working into the planning and management systems across the school. Integrated working challenges and inspires us to work collectively in the joint enterprises of education, health, and care, based on a child-centered needs-led delivery approach, designed to support and enrich each pupil's sensory and physical learning to maximize independent living.

Linden Lodge is one of seven special schools in Wandsworth, which also hosts 63 primary schools and 11 secondary schools. We are one of the largest schools in the Borough, based on staff numbers, supporting a diverse community of pupils with complex sensory and health needs. Deborah Rix is Head and Danny Sinclair is Interim Head of Residential Care and Extended Services. They each have Assistant Heads, senior teachers, Deputy heads of Residential Care, and Unit Managers with them whose responsibility is to promote the best possible teaching, learning, and care in the school. Our teaching and care teams are very well supported by our business and administration team.

To ensure that every young child despite their complexity of needs has the opportunity to grow and develop in their own unique and special way, through a multi-sensory and holistic approach. Growth and development only happen when a child feels safe, settled, secure, and happy and these elements are at the heart of all we do in ensuring both the children and their families feel welcome and part of the school community especially at the very start of their learning journey with us.

A child’s experiences between birth and the age of five have a major impact on their future life chances. At Linden Lodge School we believe that:

• Every child deserves the best possible start in life and should be given the support that enables them to fulfill their potential.
• A secure, safe, and happy childhood is important for every child no matter what the child's individual needs may be.
• A holistic approach to high-quality early learning provides the foundation a child needs to make the most of their abilities and talents.

Pupils enter Key Stage 1 at the age of five or six. The exact age is dependent on the transition from EYFS and many factors are taken into account when deciding whether a pupil is ready to move to Primary School. Similarly, the transition between Key Stages 1 and 2 is carefully managed and we ensure that all pupils are appropriately supported with an effective transitional program.

We offer three different curriculum pathways for Primary School pupils at Linden Lodge School. The ACE Curriculum is for pupils working at P Scale 4 and beyond and is based on the National Curriculum. The IMPACTS Curriculum is for pupils working between P levels 1 to 4 and is designed to stimulate and optimize our pupils' daily experiences. Our MSI Curriculum is for pupils with multisensory impairment.

Pupils generally transition from our Primary School to our Secondary School at the beginning of Year 7 (at the start of September following their eleventh birthday). In occasional circumstances we allow pupils to move into the Secondary School during the academic year, providing that we have available spaces and that the transition is appropriate for that child.

Our pupils at Linden Lodge School have their attainment levels and needs and are supported through different progression pathways to pupils in mainstream schools. We offer three different curriculum pathways for Secondary School pupils at Linden Lodge School. The ACE Curriculum is for pupils working at P Scale 4 and beyond and is based on the National Curriculum.

• Key Stage 3 ACE pupils complete units from the ASDAN New Horizons Scheme, which is an activity-based curriculum resource to support the delivery of PSHE, Citizenship, and Careers Education. The activities also support the pupils in developing communication and numeracy skills in a life-skills setting.
• For pupils working at P Scale 5 to National Curriculum Level 1, we offer ASDAN Awards and Qualifications including Transition Challenge (KS4), Towards Independence (16-19), and appropriate Personal Progression Units (14-19).
• For pupils working above National Curriculum Level 2, we offer the ASDAN Personal and Social Development Qualification (PSD), which includes Entry-level Functional Skills in English and Maths, and units from the WJEC Entry-level Pathways course.
• OCR Entry-level Science is offered at KS4 to pupils working at National Curriculum Level 1 and above and can be completed during Key Stages 4 or 5, depending on the individual pupil.

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