Curriculum

Closeburn House School provides a secondary model of education up to National 5 level for young people with a variety of additional support needs including those who are neurodivergent, have experienced trauma and those with social, emotional and mental health issues.

Our curriculum provides pupils with rich experiences which will meet their complex additional support needs and comply fully with the expectations of Curriculum for Excellence, aligned with the requirements of GIRFEC (now at the core of the Children and Young People’s Act).

Experiences & Outcomes

To achieve the incremental progress defined in Building the Curriculum 3, pupils attending Closeburn House School are offered a range of experiences which provide them with personalised, group and whole class opportunities for new learning, consolidation and challenge. Wellbeing, literacy and numeracy are at the core of our offering, along with the collegiate commitment of all staff across the service to foster that learning. Our pupils also have a clear voice in determining their learning journeys.

In both the Broad General Education and Senior Phase there is an emphasis on active learning, across a range of locations and differential approaches. The experience offered at Closeburn House is tailored to the individual needs of our pupils and reflects the principles of curriculum design in Curriculum for Excellence.

• Challenge & Enjoyment
• Breadth
• Progression
• Depth
• Personalisation & Choice
• Coherence & Relevance

Relevance

Relevance is a key hallmark of the learning opportunities experienced by pupils at Closeburn House School. Disengagement from learning – both formal and informal – is often a central issue for the children and young people who join our school. At the point of transition to Closeburn House School, the initial objective of all staff is to explore potential avenues to secure their engagement in learning.

Curriculum Planning

Teachers and the education team plan within the 4 contexts for learning: Inter Disciplinary Learning, Subject and Curriculum Areas, Personal Achievement and the Ethos and Life of the School. All of which are underpinned by a clear focus on Health & Wellbeing. Our young people benefit from our therapeutic and trauma-informed approach which helps to support them in managing their often complex behaviours and emotions.

An Interdisciplinary Learning Approach (IDL) provides the overview to ensure that the relevant Experiences & Outcomes are being addressed. Teachers and the wider education team support the delivery of the curriculum through skilled differentiation, by expectation, by resources or by approaches.

The core elements of literacy, numeracy and wellbeing are fully integrated into every learning activity. They also feature as discrete elements as appropriate in individual, and where appropriate, group learning plans.

We provide a variety of SQA qualifications up to National 5 level, as well as wider achievements such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Our highly successful electives programme has been running since 2022 and empowers our pupils, boosts academic achievement and improves confidence and self esteem. The electives programme changes each term and has included jewellery making, horticulture, drama and our highly popular and successful Warhammer club. You can read more about our elective programme by downloading our prospectus here.

We have well resourced classrooms with small numbers (maximum class size of 6), allowing pupils to benefit from a rich learning environment, one to one support and an exciting outdoor learning environment on the doorstep.

In the senior phase, young people are supported to achieve to their fullest potential through a personalised pathway. We have young people who volunteer in the local community, helping them to gain the confidence and skills they need for their next steps in life. We aim to always ensure our young people leave Closeburn House School and go on to positive outcomes. We work hard to ensure that transition is as smooth as possible in order to set them up for success in their future.

In the broader context of the 24 hour curriculum, our residential team provide additional learning opportunities in our residential setting and during recreational activities.