Our School

Polden Bower is an all age special school which caters for children and young people With Special Educational Needs and Disabilities aged between 4 and 19 years. All students have an Education Health and Care Plan who attend Polden Bower School. 

Polden Bower caters for children and young people with a wide range of SEND which includes Moderate and Severe Learning Difficulties, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, children and young people with visual and/ or hearing impairments and those who have Autistic Spectrum Condition. 

The school has been designed in a way to enable transitions as children grow and develop. The school is built with four wings:

Albert Street Campus- Early Years 

Our youngest children in Reception, Year One and Year Two start their time at Albert Street Campus. Children follow an Early Years curriculum, which is predominantly focused around early play and development. There is a core focus on Early communication and all classes provide a structured, nurturing learning environment. All classrooms have direct access to the outdoor areas to ensure learning continues outdoors. 

Bower Lane Campus

Woodlands - Lower School

As children reach key stage 2, they move over to the Bower Lane campus and into Woodlands. This is where play and interaction are still a key focus, but learning is more formal with a higher level of structure to school day. Children have dedicated play spaces which enable them to continue their learning outdoors. They begin to follow a thematic approach to the curriculum with a core focus on early reading and communication. 

Hillside - Middle School 

Children towards the end of primary and moving in to secondary school are taught in Hillside. They have their own classroom and outdoor teaching space. Learning is practical in nature, students study the range of national curriculum subjects. Whilst they remain as one class for the majority of the time, there are opportunities for mixing groups and working with a wider range of staff and peers. Some students will remain in Hillside for Year 9, where they will benefit from less transitions and remaining in their main class for the majority of the week.

The Glade

The classes on The Glade link to either Woodlands or Hillside. These two classes provide a high level of structure for children. They have their own space for dining and their own outdoor space.  

Riverside - Upper School 

The focus in Riverside is preparing for life after school, some young people will be preparing for transition to college, others may remain at Polden Bower but move into the Centre for Independence (Post16) at the end of Year 11. Whist young people continue to follow programmes of study across a range of subjects, there continues to be a core focus on English and Maths. Young people follow an accredited route which leads to examinations. These include awards in vocational skills alongside functional skills and GCSE qualifications for core subjects. 

Centre for Independence - Post 16

At the end of Year 11, students either move on to college or they move into our sixth form. The curriculum is very much designed around the Preparing for Adulthood framework and provides a wide range of opportunities for young people to develop independent life and employability skills. We work hard to ensure that wherever possible all young people will have work experience, work related experiences and for some the opportunity to participate on an Internship with a local industry partner.