Pathways Curriculum

For children who can access the mainstream curriculum, their offer can be found in our mainstream curriculum which can be found here.

We do however know and understand that this curriculum does not meet the needs of all of our pupils. We therefore have our Pathways, who follow a specialist SEND curriculum. An explanation of our pathway model can be found below.

Intent

At Belmont School, we believe that all children have a desire to learn. We are committed to giving every child, regardless of their need or difference, every opportunity to thrive. We do this by taking account of pupils’ varied life experiences and individual needs. Our four curriculum pathways for children with a profile of severe learning difficulties reflect this vision. Teaching and learning for each pathway is matched to pedagogy, and this enables progress for every child, including those with Education, Health and Care Plans. Our wide and varied curriculum follows a thematic approach, which encourages independence and engagement in learning. Our curriculum follows the recommendations of The Engagement Model [July 2020] and delivers a non subject-specific curriculum which puts play, functional life skills for the 21st century and independence at its core, whilst focusing on early Literacy and Mathematics skills where appropriate. This ambitious curriculum is responsive to the highly individual needs of each pupil and build upon their strengths and interests.  Through our informal and semi-formal pathways, pupils experience their curriculum through sensory engagement, with a primary focus on communication, wellbeing and play. Our formal and semi-formal challenge pathways enable our pupils to engage through a more structured approach. We acknowledge that our learners can have spiky profiles, and the fluidity of our pathways reflects our belief that all of our children can achieve and progress in their own way and in their own time. All our pathways support a balance between themes, skills and therapies, providing our pupils with a range of learning experiences. We believe through their enjoyment of learning our pupils can make outstanding progress. Our approach is evidence-based and informed by research.  

Implementation

Each pupil has a personalised learning programme, which is based on assessments and recommendations from a range of professionals and sets challenging and ambitious learning targets which are reviewed termly.

We have three specialist pathways, followed by our 'Formal' pathway which represents the offer provided for pupils with complex needs within our mainstream environment. Pupils are assessed against the pathway criteria on entry to the school and then regularly evaluated to ensure that their pathway is provided the appropriate level of challenge. 

We use the EQUALS curriculum and scheme of work, alongside a thematic approach to provide a meaningful context for the application of skills, knoweldge and understanding, making sure that our pupils remember more over time and can apply what is taught to real world situations.

Key elements in all of our curriculum pathways are:

• Communication and Interaction

• Cognition and Learning

• Social, Emotional and Mental Health

• Physical and Sensory Development, including Independence

Impact

By creating our highly personalised and specialist curriculum we are able to demonstrate the impact through individual progress. We acknowledge that every pupil has their own starting point, and every step from this starting point is celebrated. The assessment of the progress of each pupil is highly personalised; we celebrate every child's uniqueness. Through evidence for learning, we work closely with families and external professionals to capture live assessment of what each pupil can do. 

Mainstream opportunities are there for those pupils who can benefit from them, and as pupils progress through our pathways, their ability to manage their sensory needs and anxiety so that they can successfully access their mainstream classroom learning. 

As a result of our ambitious and specialised curriculum, children with ever-growingly complex needs are able to be successful learners at our school.

Our pathway curriculum adopts the scheme produced by EQUALS and adapts it for the specific needs of our pupils. The curriculum is not subject-specific and is based around themes which are repeated throughout each student's school journey. More information on these themes can be found in the document below.

Whilst non-subject specific, our curriculum develops learners' early skills across the earliest elements of the national curriculum. More information on this can be found here.