About Us

Aims

At Orion Academy we believe our children and young people are unique individuals and as such we have designed our school curriculum with their learning and SEMH needs at the heart of all we do.

Our nurturing approach seeks to extend our work out into the community; actively supporting, listening and engaging with our families and carers to deliver the best possible environment for our children and young people, thus enabling them to learn effectively, become active and responsible citizens who are well prepared for life after school.

We are committed to delivering this through:

Our nurturing approach that will provide an environment to thrive –

  • Where every child or young person is treated as an individual in a safe and nurturing environment that understands that all students can achieve but will require differentiated approaches based on their individual needs.
  • With a school-wide family ethos demonstrating our values of empathy, acceptance and mutual respect, so each member of the school community feels valued and supported.

Our focus on personal development is designed to –

  • Enable our children and young people to become more socially aware and of their responsibilities with a focus on trust and choice.
  • Ensure we support our children and young people to make better decisions, coach them how to regulate frustrations, and reflect on their experiences through our restorative practices.
  • Help our children and young people to make sense of the changing world and of the importance of diversity and equality of opportunity.
  • Enable them to make informed choices and develop the confidence to be successful in their adult lives through our embedded personal, social and health education programme.

Our focus on celebration and recognition of success is designed to –

  • Encourage and celebrate each student’s talents, skills and attributes.
  • Develop the confidence and self-belief of the individual – a culture of ‘I can’ or ‘I can’t… yet’ is ingrained across our school.
  • Provide opportunities for our children and young people to be successful and support them in both developing and promoting their individual resilience as well as celebrating the achievements of others.

Our ambitious curriculum offer that is designed to –

  • Create the capacity to learn and enjoy learning by broadening our students’ horizons and extending learning beyond the classroom.
  • Use real-world examples and first-hand experience; develop curiosity and a desire to challenge their understanding and deepen learning.
  • Prepare our children and young people for their future through our broad and balanced curriculum, providing them with knowledge, core literacy and numeracy skills and experiences as well as a range of qualification pathways.
  • Embed key learning and understanding through careful and thoughtful revisiting and reinforcing, whilst increasing student independence.

Our personalised provision that –

  • Is responsive to the needs of each student but is uncompromising in expectation. We will be relentless in our support for our children and young people to achieve beyond their expectations.
  • Understands that whilst a student’s needs are recognized and met, they are not confined by them; we do not define a future based on a child or young person’s past and we are unapologetic in our approach in wanting our students to continue to push the boundaries of their potential.

Our commitment to working in partnerships with our parents and carers which demonstrates that –

  • We believe our children and young people will achieve their best when families and our school work together in a partnership.
  • Effective working relationships are characterized by open and honest communication in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Our specialist and expert workforce who –

  • Are passionate and committed to working in special education and will know each student as an individual, recognizing their unique talents, skills and interests.
  • Have developed strong and positive relationships with our children and young people in order to support them effectively.
  • Have expertise, specialist knowledge and an understanding of a child or young person’s needs that embraces the most recent and evidence-based research will result in the best possible outcomes for students
  • Are committed to working with therapeutic specialists and external agencies to enhance our provision for our students and their families.
  • Support children and young people to recognise and value their own learning journey.

Co-constructed by Orion Academy staff
September 2021