16+ Curriculum Overview

CURRICULUM AIM

What does the Curriculum empower our students to achieve?  

What do we see during this stage of their learning? 

The curriculum is designed to help students realise:

• Transition into further education, employment and supported or independent living provisions
• Confidence and self-esteem
• High levels of responsibility and respect in society

CURRICULUM TARGETS

• To empower students to manage their emotions appropriately
• To empower students to make suitable social interactions
• To empower students to develop personal independent activity
• To empower students to demonstrate intellectual capacity

LEARNING FOR LIFE & WORK

What areas of learning for life and future work / training do we develop through the current curriculum?  

• Social and emotional development
• Personal development and independence
• Financial awareness and capability
• Employability
• Supported living
• Responsible citizenship

KEY ELEMENTS

What are the fundamental components that underpin skills and knowledge across the curriculum?

• Personal understanding
• Personal health and well-being
• Respect for others
• Personal challenge
• Ethical awareness

• Citizenship
• Cultural understanding
• Media awareness
• Equality and diversity

• Employability
• Financial awareness
• Life-long learning

CROSS-CURRICULAR SKILLS & THINKING SKILLS

What cross-curricular skills do we value?

What range of thinking skills are used to develop learning?

Ensuring learning difficulties and disabilities are matched to thinking skills.

• Independence & responsibility
• Self-esteem & confidence
• Self-worth & self-value
• Respect for self and others
• Social engagement
• Interaction with peers, adults and the public
• Communication skills
• Flexibility & organizational skills
• Reading and writing
• Numeracy & ICT
• Role models to younger pupils
• Assisting staff with activities for KS3 and KS4 pupils

Students are given opportunities to learn how to: 

• Define a problem, enquire and predict outcomes
• Understand cause & effect
• Make connections, investigate, sort and classify, sequence and summarise
• Memorise, recall, compare, contrast, imagine, modify and make deductions
• Draw inferences, reason, explain, evaluate and create

AREAS OF LEARNING

Suites / topics / opportunities etc.

• Core
  English, Maths, ICT, Personal Social Development (PSD), Financial Awareness
• Vocational
  Hair & Beauty, Film & Media, Sport & Leisure, Community Enterprise
• Options
  Cooking, Gardening, Local Studies, DIY previously students offered Music, Creative Studies and PE
• Offsite activities
  College link programme, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Independence Skills in travel, accessing the community, shopping, personal care and moving on. Gym and fitness
• Complimentary activities
  Where appropriate – physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy, riding for the disabled and work experience

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

How are students engaged and their learning optimized to help with real-world challenges?

• Collaboration and partnership working
• Investigation & problem solving
• Relevant to daily experiences 
• Challenging and enjoyable
• Media-rich and creative
• Integrative and engaging
• Encouraging independence
• Active and hands-on
• Student-led / student-centred 
• Choice based and personalized
• Supportive and caring
• Culturally diverse
• Positive reinforcement
• Differentiated and reflective
• Structured yet flexible
• Understanding boundaries
• Knowing about expectations

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

How does assessment aid the students’ learning?

Through assessment in 16+ we:

• Build an open relationship between the students, teachers and support staff
• Have clear learning intentions shared with students
• Share and negotiate success criteria
• Have whole group and individual target setting
• Take risks to enhance learning
• Advise on what to improve and how to improve it
• Enable peer and self-assessment
• Celebrate success
• Encourage peer and self-evaluation of learning

ATTITUDES & DISPOSITIONS

What attitudes to learning and dispositions are clearly evident across the 16+ Curriculum?

• Compassion – Achievement – Respect - Responsibility
• Care and concern for others
• Willingness to challenge self
• Commitment and determination 
• Openness to new ideas and suggestions
• Understanding of progressional routes
• Where there is choice there is consequence
• Team spirit
• Flexibility