Curriculum

Whilst every child in the school is unique, and face their own unique barriers to education, to understand how our curriculum is constructed, it is important to understand the student cohort who we are fortunate enough to serve. Whilst understanding this, we are conscious to remain aspirational, and not to have a pre-conception on what our learners can do, or limit the expectations on what they can achieve. There is no glass ceiling for achievement, and we always expect to be amazed.

Our Pre-formal Curriculum is for learners with Profound and Multiple Difficulties (PMLD), working at the very early stages of development within the Engagement Model (previously between P1 and P4), and at a developmental level of between 0 and 18 months. Imray (2005) suggested those with PMLD are likely to be pre-intentional commutators and will generally (unintentionally) communicate for needs/wants only, have extreme difficulties conceptualising abstract concepts, have difficulty learning through imitation, be (often totally) physically reliant on others and have limited understanding of cause and effect. Less than half of the average PMLD pupil’s time at school is spent in a state where they are fit to learn because of such conditions as sleepiness, pain, discomfort, distraction etc. (Guess et al, 1990). Students with PMLD are learning the fundamental learning skills usually mastered by typical children in the first year or so of life (Lacey, 2011). The subjects may be able to provide an interesting and challenging context for practicing these fundamental skills but it is unhelpful to suggest that students with PMLD are learning English, Maths and Science. Many linear or hierarchical assessments will be unable to detect the very subtle changes in behaviour shown by learners with PMLD, regardless of how many “small steps” are provided. In real life, children’s development and learning is not compartmentalised.

Our Semi-formal Curriculum is for learners with Severe Leading Difficulties (SLD), working within the Rainbow Profile (previously between P4 and end of KS1 expectations), and at a developmental level of between 18 months and 5 years. Students with SLD have difficulties with communication, understanding abstract concepts, concentration, and moving things from short-term memory into the long (Imray, 2005). Lacey (2009) notes these learners typically have inefficient and slow information processing speeds, little general knowledge, poor strategies for thinking and learning, and difficulties with generalisation and problem solving. These difficulties may well be compounded by considerably higher than usual incidence of sensory, motor and health difficulties (Porter 2005); an additional Autism Spectrum Condition diagnosis (De Bildt et al., 2005) and considerably higher than average chance of having challenging behaviours (Allen et al., 2006).

Whilst these definitions are helpful to understand the challenges our students face it is vital we concentrate on the uniqueness of the individual. We are capability focused, concentrating on the positive potential of an individual so that an understanding of the capabilities of the child, rather than the deficits, become the central theme we work towards.

We aspire to deliver life changing practise through high quality teaching & learning based on sound knowledge of each child’s needs. We understand the privilege we hold to be able to have a positive impact on our learners’ every time they come through the doors into school.

It is fundamental to the curriculum that we can be helping the learner make progress towards all their targets, no matter what the activity they are engaged in, at any time of the day. This includes break times, play times, off-site visits (even the journeys), personal care, eating time and so on. Learning is best done when every moment and situation is regarded as a learning opportunity (Routes for Learning, 2006). It could be argued for example, that necessities like toileting and feeding directly impinge upon the school’s ability to educate, since doing it efficiently, safely and with care and consideration, takes up so much of the school day. Yet these are precisely the areas of learning which challenge us to use learning time effectively. Therapies are also integrated throughout the day, and throughout the learning, with the curriculum supporting the delivery of therapy and therapy supporting the learner progress.

The structure of the school day is timetabled for the different needs of different classes and learners, ranging from the very free flowing, slow-paced, reactive practice for PMLD and early years, through to a semi-formal, more structured approach for the most high-ability learners who have a more subject-specific curriculum, or for those who require a high level of structure such as those on the autism spectrum.

Each pupil drives the direction and content of their own ‘curriculum’. Whilst we deliver our curriculum through half-termly topics, the planning, learning and delivery may differ between and within classes. Priorities based on PLG targets, EHC outcomes, students’ age, need, motivation and learning style will help build the curriculum. It is essential that our pupils are comfortable and ready to learn and there is a focus on students being skilfully supported to be as independent as they can be. Learning opportunities should be concrete and real. Real objects should be used or very tangible representations of things/feelings/atmospheres. We expect more learning to take place when we teach in a concrete manner, through real life actual experiences, rather than in an abstract manner (through things such as written or spoken language). This means that learning is likely to be enhanced if we can actually practice thinking and problem solving in real situations in real time.

We need to be able to take every opportunity that the children present, as we cannot predict what their physical state might be, nor their levels of alertness, nor always what stimulus works or doesn’t. There are very few ‘lessons’ in the old- fashioned sense of children listening to a teacher and following instructions, rather we try what we think might work and then follow the children’s responses to see where we might go next, and this mostly means on an individual basis, or very small groups within a class. Our learners will not learn effectively under stress and therefore they must:

• Feel secure with the people around them
• Feel safe
• Be positioned comfortably
• Not be overloaded with stimuli (Cognitive Overload)
• Not be overly thirsty, hungry, tired etc.
• Be calm, as much as is possible to know

Learning is often skill-based, that need to be required by much practice. A skill must be broken down into smaller steps that are repeated over time so that they can be mastered and applied to relevant situations. Cognitive science tells us that learning is most effective with repetition and helps develop a deeper understanding. Our curriculum is not one-off activities that are likely to be forgotten but instead build up to mastery over time, where applicable, to enable fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Skills are improved if they are taught in context and the learner understands why. Our learners need an understanding of cause and effect to understand intrinsic reward, and they need to be motivated to engage within an activity. However, we recognise that a skill can be acquired without understanding and can be a useful teaching technique and a justifiable teaching and learning goal. 

We allow and actively encourage our students to learn from their mistakes. Skills can and will be lost if we were to stop teaching them, therefore they are regularly practiced. We provide the opportunity for learners to make small steps of progress and allows for the transfer of knowledge and skills into different and new contexts.

Oracy and our use of language must be clear and expressive. Sessions can be ‘teacher led’ with a structure, or may be set out in the class to allow for supported pupil-led exploration with only a small amount of teacher led introduction. Adults create ladders and scaffolds to provide additional support for our learners, which are gradually taken away as the learner “learns” to be more independent and solve problems on their own. It is important that we enable the students enough time in order to succeed and enable opportunities for students to take risks, make mistakes and work up through the following levels:

• Participatory – during which learners perform activities with considerable physical assistant, which may include physical manipulation or partial assisted movement and assisted technology such as switches, adapted utensils etc.
• Supported – during which learners perform activities with guidance and support, which may include physical prompts – such as object or music cues, verbal prompts, visual prompts – such as colour coding, icons or symbols, pictures or assistive technology such as BIGmack switches. All with supervision from occasional inspection to continuous observation.
• Independent – the final level where learners should be expected to perform the activities on their own.

Irresistible engagement is central to everything we do. Staff will continually consider how they can change the learner activity to stimulate curiosity, what they can change about the experience to encourage the child to persist, find learning that our learners respond to best. In order for the moment of discovery to come and real learning to occur, our pupils need us to wait and be given the time and space to process and discover.

The use of cues

Underpinning the delivery of all communicative activities throughout the day will be the extensive use of cues. These essentially fall into the category of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and will include touch cues, sound cues, object cues, signing, symbol use and photographic cues.

Object cues (Objects of Reference; OoR) - At Ivy House we use a generic, standard set of objects across the whole school for key actions throughout the day such as our time to learn star. This helps support our learners make sense of the world around them, helping to structure and routine the day. OoR should be readily available in every classroom and in key places around the school such as bathroom doors.

Touch cues -   These are very simple additional physical cues to assist with understanding, for example, a tap on the right shoulder indicates to the learner the wheelchair is turning right. 

Sound cues – At Ivy House these are generally pieces of music which are played at the start or end of a particular session. For example, the school day starts with the same start and finish song throughout the school.   Classes will have a time to learn and plenary song.

Symbol cues - Particularly used to develop choice making or make sense of the current task for example in the use of work cards to support understanding of the current demands on the learner.

Signed cues – using Makaton symbols as part of a total communication approach, even if learners are unable to understand the particular sign. 

A developmental perspective informs the curriculum at Ivy House School, where the starting point is each individual learner. Learning for our students at a very early cognitive level does not occur by laying one skill upon another to form a building block, but is adventitious, irregular and random, coming from all experiences in the holistic manner of young neurotypical children learning through play. Our students need:

• To be able to expressively communicate and understand others.
• To maximise independence through deep learning and mastery.
• To understand rules and the need to follow them, keeping them safe.
• To be able to make choices/decisions.
• To develop resilience.
• To have social skills and apply them in the community.
• To be able to learn to self- regulate to cope with challenge in an appropriate way.
• To know their sense of worth and have self- confidence.
• To use their bodies to complete fine and gross motor tasks and activities.
• To understand the world around them.

Ivy House have worked closely with, and adopted, the EQUALS curriculum for many areas. This suits the needs of the children and offers greater opportunities for extending learning in a range of exciting and vibrant ways. Curriculum Schemes of Work (S.O.W) have been written by professionals involved within the arena of education for children with SEND and so the activities planned build on important milestones and patterns of development. This is important for the children at Ivy House, who require repetition of learning to support their own progress and attainment. We pride ourselves on offering curriculum opportunities that foster and develop a range of personal skills, including:

• Finding out and exploring
• Concentrating and attending
• Perseverance
• Enjoying achieving
• Having their own ideas
• Making links
• Choosing how to do things

The school understands that the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage are applicable to many of the students across the age ranges, due to the developmental level of learning. An inclusive curriculum is about its applicability to all from its inception and not about adaptations and extensions to make a non-inclusive curriculum more applicable to extended groups (Jordan, 2005). It is not an assumption that we just need to water down what is already in place for neurotypical learners. The rationale underpinning our curriculum is in response to the Rochford Review and in consideration of the wealth of research underpinning effective pedagogy for pupils with SEND. Therefore, our curriculum design is arranged to fit the child, rather than the child to fit the curriculum. It is based on the needs, interests, aptitudes and achievements of learners. As educators we need to have deep knowledge of individual differences that steers teachers to provide meaningful contexts in which to really engage children by focusing on things that matter to them.

Our learning experiences are designed to provide maximum opportunities for irresistible engagement that facilitate the exploration, practise and mastery of the developmental curriculum. The process of engagement must be at the heart of any curriculum development (Carpenter, 2010). The pace of the sequence is set by the individual not by arbitrary measures. It is also not designed to be linear. Progress can be horizontal or in some cases backwards. It may be that the maintenance of a skill or the slowing down of a regression are huge steps for the individual learner. Its aim is to support children and young people to apply what they have learned in school in real life situations into real world opportunities so they have agency over their world once they leave us. For some learners, functional skills are directly related to real skills needed for now, transition and the future. Examples are independent eating, understanding and helping with getting dressed or own personal hygiene routines.

Pre-formal Curriculum

Our pre-formal curriculum offers a narrow range of curriculum areas that are concrete in form and focus on individual needs, physical needs, family needs and affective needs (including well-being and security). The curriculum enables them to develop a sense of security in the school environment, which is comprehensible and meaningful to them. The focus is upon enabling them to establish positive interactive relationships with others, to proactively explore the world around them, gaining environmental control skills. All students will be given maximum opportunities to achieve the highest level of independence possible.

The curriculum is process based, and the delivery includes activities such as intensive interaction, where there is no task at the centre of the process. The teacher doesn’t decide the target, the leaner decides where the interactive process will go; the pace and direction of learning and therefore the pace and direction of teaching. For example, when participating in an activity such as baking a cake, the aim is to offer meaningful engagement and improve exploratory abilities, the end product of the cake is unimportant; it is the process that is key. 

Semi-formal Curriculum

Students following our semi-formal curriculum learn best when learning is related to their own experience. Some may learn through play; others will learn more effectively through functional activities, and yet others will respond well to a topic-based approach. The curriculum content echoes the ground covered by the Early Years Foundation Stage (2021) since this framework is not confined to those below the age 5, but rather, extends right across the school where students are functioning up to end of year 1 expectations. However, the teaching approach reflects the age and learning style of the students concerned.