Curnow School provides for pupils who have severe learning difficulties. Some have physical and sensory difficulties while others have an autistic spectrum condition. Pupils come to school from the surrounding towns and villages. The school has very close links with other professionals. Therapists and a nurse work with pupils at the school in a specially resourced unit known as The Hub. There are many more boys at the school than girls, especially in the sixth form. The overwhelming majority of pupils come from White British backgrounds and English is the home language of nearly everyone. A large number of pupils in the sixth form have all their lessons in classrooms on the site of a mainstream academy a few miles from the main site. Plans to move younger children to a mainstream primary school site are at an advanced stage. All pupils have a statement of special educational need and approximately one third of pupils are known to be entitled to receive support through the pupil premium funding. School leaders provide support to other schools and children’s centres in the locality, especially in the areas of assessment and curriculum planning. In recent years, the school gained specialist status in communication and interaction. The school meets the government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectation for students’ attainment and progress.