Green Pathway

At Highfield Littleport Academy we offer a specialised curriculum for students who require additional support with communication, coordination, self-help skills, and cognition. These learners are working within the engagement model although there is a strong emphasis on Preparing for Adulthood. We use our learning values as a driver for this. Students are encouraged to work independently and within a team as these skills as those which they need to apply when they leave Highfield and embark on adult life. Students learning on the Green pathway curriculum require an enhanced level of support and there is a keen focus on engagement before progressing to more specific knowledge and skills.

Learners work within these areas according to their individual interests, needs and abilities. There are overarching topics and golden threads which help to contextualise learning with students interests incorporated into this so that there is a personalised curriculum offer facilitating challenge and development. A bespoke curriculum framework for each area helps teachers to identify students individual next steps in learning and measure progress. This is in collaboration with working towards students EHCP targets. Green learners are assessed according to the Engagement Model in addition to this.

Green Pathway learners are able to access developmental learning in core areas of the curriculum. They will need additional input in developing communication and independence skills and often require a higher level of adult support. Students working within this Pathway commonly present with the following characteristics:

Poor levels of engagement and attention
Fleeting attention skills
Emerging social skills
Require a strong focus on engagement and retaining learned skills

The Pathway for each student is decided on an individual basis based on the best way to meet needs. The Pathway system is designed to be fluid, meaning that pupils are able to move between Pathways throughout their school career if appropriate for their needs.

Implementation

Our Green Pathway has the following areas of learning with specific subjects and golden threads encompassed within:

Wonderful Me & Healthy Me: PE, PSHE & RSE, Personal Care, Travelling Skills, Food Technology

Students explore positive relationships and develop self regulation skills. Students experience swimming, Rebound therapy (trampolining), sensory circuits, dance, physio programs, yoga, massage, athletics, gymnastics and team games. They develop their personal social and emotional skills as well as linking to My Body and My Independence. They begin to understand how to take care of themselves and how to stay healthy. Within this area we encourage independence through cooking, life and living skills, touch and taste sessions, learning opportunities during personal care and dressing, lunchtimes. There is a strong focus on developing resilience and independence so that our learners are confident individuals.

School and Beyond & The Natural World: Geography, History, RE

Students explore the world around them, access to shops and cafe's, transition visits (post 16), assemblies, shared activities with other classes, lunch and break times and school trips.to help learn practically and develop social skills. They develop an awareness of their community, their own and others history and beliefs and what makes up the world around them.

Independent Investigators & Maths: IT & Computing Skills, Maths, Science & Problem Solving

Within this subject area we use approaches such as TEACCH (including letter and number recognition), sensory stories, messy play investigation, parachute games, making choices, attention building and problem solving. Work on attention and focus skills underpin this area. Students develop their resilience and thinking skills to help them prepare for real life situation in the community.

Story Makers & Communication, Language and Literacy: Speaking,& Listening, Reading, & Writing (English)

Students are encouraged to use AAC to assist their communication, PECS, intensive interaction, making choices, use of visual communication methods including objects of reference and visual timetables are all applied. We use Read, Write Inc as our consistent phonics scheme. More information about this can be found by clicking this link. We aim for our students to be efficient communicators using whatever method is appropriate for them. Students gain and understanding of stories and become immersed in the storytelling world to develop their imagination.

Music Maestros & Expressive Artists: Creativity (Art & Music), Play skills and cooperation

We develop students play and social skills, social skills through a variety of Art, Music, Dance, Drama activities. We encourage students to be creative and practice independent and cooperative play. We recognise that not all problems can be overcome simply and teaching a creative approach helps to overcome this!

Click on the subject names to see how teaching and learning is arranged within each subject and curriculum area. Green pathway learners have a higher level of adult support and there is also a focus on engagement as a pre-cursor to more structured learning.

Green learners learn key skills and knowledge focused on golden threads in the curriculum according to their level of development. We identify 'Foundations for Learning' which are woven into our teaching and learning and include the things that we want our learners to know, experience and be able to do. The learning is sequenced into clear progress steps which are used to plan our provision, routines and teaching. Assessment then ties into the green pathway framework to further help identify students next steps.

Impact

for some learners, the Green Pathway will have allowed them to transition onto the Purple Pathway
for other students remaining on the Green Pathway is more appropriate. They develop into individuals who have improved levels of engagement and attention
our young people are regular attenders - whether at an FE college, Social Enterprise or in a place of work
pupils are willing and more likely to try new experiences as they have had so many opportunities to do so during their time in school

Our classes have a high ratio of staff to pupils, enabling a personalised curriculum and assessment system based on the pupils’ EHCP outcomes and a bespoke curriculum framework to identify next steps in learning. This allows for pupils’ individual learning needs to be addressed in the most appropriate way, whilst providing a sense of belonging to a class group and creating a higher level of self esteem. Throughout our curriculum development we have worked with the students to build learning around their interests to ensure it is relevant to students needs and engage them appropriately.

This pathway uses our bespoke curriculum framework in collaboration with each pupils EHCP outcomes to create a meaningful learning scheme for each individual.

Take a look at the Green pathway curriculum guide here:

Progression

Learners work within foundational areas according to their individual interests, needs and abilities. There are overarching topics and golden threads which help to contextualise learning with students interests incorporated into this so that there is a personalised curriculum offer facilitating challenge and development. A bespoke curriculum next steps framework for each area helps teachers to identify students individual next steps in learning and measure progress. This is in collaboration with working towards students EHCP targets. Green learners are assessed according to the Engagement Model in addition to this. Click the feet to see the progression below:

The progression may be on a much slower basis and there is a high focus on engagement prior to developing these skills. Learners focus on exploration, realisation, anticipation, persistence and initiation as a precursor to later learning.

Preparing for Adulthood & Transition

Preparing for Adulthood and developing key life skills are a key part of the curriculum for all Highfield pupils. These skills are embedded within each of our pathways and taught at the most appropriate level for the learner. This is the basis for our work related learning strategy and as our strap line states it prepares learners for the next step in education, life or work - whatever is appropriate for them.

Careful and highly individualised curriculum planning across the school is related to students EHCP Outcomes and a bespoke curriculum framework. Many of these objectives run throughout the Green pathway curriculum. It aims to give all pupils the opportunity to experience and learn to prepare for real life situations, such as shopping, crossing the road, meal planning, writing a letter and posting it, or even growing and eating their own food. Take a look at our strategy and how we incorporate this into our curriculum below:

Our yellow and purple pathway learners move on at age 16 to an appropriate additional needs college course. These courses are classed as full time courses but are spaced over 3 days per week. We do not currently have a 6th form provision at Highfield Littleport as we do not have large enough numbers to make a viable cohort. Only learners within our green and blue pathway's will be eligible to study at our sixth form provision.

Green Pathway End Points and Transition from Highfield

Outcomes for learners in the green pathway vary according to the individual progress they make in their time at Highfield through the curriculum frameworks and against their EHCP outcomes. However all students are entitled to leave with qualifications in at least Maths, English, communication and one other curriculum area. In the green pathway we use ASDAN as the qualifications base. Students also have recognition of achievements through the AQA Unit Award Scheme.

We aspire for learners in the green pathway will leave Key Stage 4 with a qualification in ASDAN Personal and Social Development (PSD) and at least 3 AQA Unit Award certificates in recognition of their learning. These AQA Unit Award certificates will be tailored to their needs and interests and focus on key skills in developing independence.

Learners in the green pathway are likely to stay on Highfield roll until the end of the year they are 19, unless there is an alternative placement that would suit the individual's needs better than continuation at Highfield. Accessing LINC 19-25 is an option that can be explored if the individuals needs could be best met there subject to Local Authority approval and application. Discussions on moving on begin at the same time as the learners in the yellow, purple and blue pathways, from at least the year 9 annual review. Our Careers section within this link has more detail.

Learners will transition on to a variety of placements according to the progress they have made and what provision there is available to move on to. Destinations could be specialist college courses at their local college, accessing a social enterprise, or a combination of both. Learners may move on to social care funded placements, and their EHCP is ceased if that is appropriate for the individual.

Implementation

Impact

Progression

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