The cohort of Students at St John’s work towards meeting basic threshold concepts in Reading, Writing and Maths as well as developing key skills in a range of foundation subject areas.
The students are grouped according to their age and SEND needs. Some students are taught in mixed age/key stage groups. Where possible and appropriate to the needs of the students we ensure students are taught within a peer group of students of a similar age/key stage who are following a similar pathway.
The students will follow one of 3 pathways– formal, semi-formal or a personalised pathway. The selected pathway is dependent upon their developmental skills, subject specific skills and outcomes indicated on their EHCP. The curriculum pathway for the pupil is flexible and adapts to meet the needs of the pupil as they grow and develop. Individual pathways are reviewed regularly within annual EHCP reviews and termly pupil progress reviews to ensure it is tailored to the specific skills and interests of the students.
Formal Pathway 1
Students following a formal curriculum pathway will work through National Curriculum programs of study in a range of subjects. They will work towards formal accreditations eg. GCSE’s, Diploma’s and A Levels.
Semi Formal Pathway 2
Students following the semi-formal curriculum pathway will work on a blended combination of National Curriculum programmes of study alongside vocational accreditations (ASDAN/entry level qualifications) to support them with the development of skills for independent living.
Personalised Pathway 3
Students following the informal curriculum pathway are working at relatively early developmental levels. They follow a curriculum, which focuses on supporting them to make choices and develop their skills for independent living. This approach effectively provides the consolidation and over-learning that our students need in order to further
their language knowledge and conceptual understanding of the world. For these students, enrichment activities out of school are vital in providing the real-life experiences needed to underpin their learning. Weekly out of school learning includes trips to the village shops to buy ingredients for cooking activities, and visits to cafés and playgrounds, as well as frequent trips to amenities further afield that link with a curriculum focus. Examples of such trips include a ride on a narrow boat to consolidate the concepts of narrow and wide; visiting a Leeds recycling centre; a trip to a local reindeer farm in preparation for Christmas; and a ten-pin bowling competition, which was part of the Panathlon sports event.
Sixth Form Pathway 4
Students accessing the provision in sixth form are offered a curriculum pathway which is personalised to their individual skills, interests and ambitions. The sixth form at St John’s has strong links with Askham Bryan College (ABC) and York college which allows students to attend mainstream colleges with the support of mentors who are skilled at supporting SEND Students. Some students require additional time to prepare for a college-based course. For those students where a college-based course is not suitable St John’s can provide a school based sixth form. The sixth form staff devise programmes of study which are highly personalised to meet the individual needs of the student to ensure they are equipped to independently move to the next stage of their lives whether this is further education, vocational courses or employment.
Whichever pathway a student is taking, subject leaders formulate long term plans to ensure students are exposed to a broad and balanced curriculum where cultural capital and an understanding of local and global citizenship is embedded within the teaching and learning journey. The long-term plans are reviewed annually to ensure the breadth of the curriculum meets the needs of the current cohort of students.
