Curriculum Overview

Our students drive how our curriculum is designed!

Our curriculum is designed to:

Develop knowledge and skills that lead to greater independence and purposeful employment.
Develop knowledge and skills that help students become active citizens that are visible in our local and wider community.
Develop life-long communication systems so students can make positive connections with others and access and enjoy the wider world.
Develop resilience and creativity so students can solve problems and take risks safely.
Discover individual talents and celebrate all successes both big and small!

We have three curriculum pathways to support the education of a broad-spectrum school. Please click on the pathway icons below for more information.

At Riverbank, we implement eleven broad subject areas that branch across our pathways and key stages.

For our Adventurer Pathway, the eleven subjects are designed to promote functional learning, adapted from the National Curriculum to maximise future opportunities and positive destinations.

For our Explorer Pathway, the eleven subjects are designed to promote key life skills so that students can lead happy, fulfilled, and independent lives.

For our Navigator Pathway, we use the resources and topics of subject-based learning as a tool for engagement which strengthens the connectivity across our pathways and gives students opportunities to transition from one pathway to another.

Each individual class at Riverbank is typically organised by key stage, with mixed-year groups in each class. We have a three-year rolling curriculum cycle for key stage three, a two-year rolling cycle for key stage four, and a three-year rolling cycle for key stage five. Students develop knowledge and skills over each cycle through different themes, topics, subjects, and experiences.

The order in which topics and experiences are covered is deliberately planned and sequenced with the intention of helping students know more and remember more over time.

Across each pathway and key stage, all schemes of learning clearly outline the skills and knowledge we want students to learn and remember.

The knowledge and skills outlined in our schemes of learning always lead back to our aims which strengthen the connectivity and purpose of our curriculum.

By clicking on the subject icons you will discover more information on how each individual subject is implemented across our pathways. We have also included an additional information pack for parents, carers, and visitors on our Navigator Pathway curriculum content.

If you would like to know more information on what we teach in Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and/or you would like to feedback on our RSE programme, please click on the green icons.

Every half term, we tweet and text a weblink to all our parents and carers so they can see what their child is learning. We call this our One-Stop Curriculum Shop! Please click on the shop icon for more information.

What difference is our curriculum making?

Purposeful Qualifications

ALL Riverbank students across all Pathways achieve qualifications that are aspirational and purposeful. Over the last two years, this includes a grade A, for A-Level Art, GCSE grades for English, Maths and Art, Functional Skills, ASDAN Life Skill Challenges and Bespoke AQA Awarding Units. The key progress headlines from our 2019-2022 reports reflect exceptional progress outcomes following a national period of turbulence. CLICK HERE

Across KS3, KS4 and KS5 our students achieve over 200 different types of qualifications. Our external verification reports are consistently complementary to the school’s curriculum delivery and assessment.

Positive Destinations

In the last four years, 100% of Riverbank leavers achieved a positive destination, with 80% of leavers on average accessing employment-based qualifications including, vocational, work experience and internship programmes. Each year, we identify a number of previous students that have secured employment and/or started an internship programme which reflects the long-term impact of learning at Riverbank Academy! Students from Riverbank that enter employment are currently 4.8% higher than the local area (this does not include students in internship programmes). CLICK HERE

Active Citizens

Our students have represented local and national events. In 2018 we were the only special school in the country to have hosted a World Class Event for 72 partner schools organised by a team of Riverbank students. In 2020 our students took part in a national programme to commemorate the Holocaust and composed, performed, and recorded a powerful drama piece which was based on the survivors of the Holocaust (2019-2020) CLICK HERE. In 2022 one of our 16+ students performed in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. CLICK HERE

20%-25% of students every year attend a residential trip where the application of their functional communication, skills and knowledge is applied successfully and in a variety of contexts and we are one of very few schools in Coventry where students achieve the Silver DofE award CLICK HERE

Being Visible and Having a Voice!

Over the last 5 years, our student council has played a wonderful role in influencing change. For example, following the national lockdown and to promote the visibility of SEND our student leaders met with Directors of Coventry City Council in a campaign to combat loneliness. During this time, our students successfully carried out several projects across the city to support other students and families in need.

In 2020, we were 1 of 10 schools in the West Midlands to achieve the Platinum Artsmark Award. Every year around 50 students have their artwork displayed in a local gallery to celebrate their abilities and creativity. In 2022, around 40 different Riverbank students performed in a variety of public places including the Albany Theatre, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry Cathedral, and our local Train Station! Audience sizes ranged from 100-300 people. The performances celebrated their confidence, resilience, communication, and talents!

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