Pathway 1 – Informal Curriculum for Learners with Complex Needs

Overview

Pathway 1 supports students with severe and complex learning difficulties, typically linked to autism and sensory processing needs. Learners are usually ambulant and physically active, but face significant challenges in communication, regulation, and engagement with learning.

Our curriculum is informal, highly individualised, and rooted in developmental progress. Students engage with the school’s seven Areas of Learning, but in a way that prioritises engagement, interaction, and experience over subject-specific outcomes. These are delivered through our core values of Engagement, Environments, and Experiences.

Engagement: Building Connection and Communication

• Relational approaches underpin all learning; we prioritise secure relationships with trusted adults.

• Functional communication is key – including signing, symbols, objects of reference, AAC, and body language.

• Students learn through familiar routines, repetition, play, and sensory interaction.

• Intensive interaction and total communication approaches support engagement at an individualised level.

Environments: Creating the Conditions for Learning

• Predictable, low-arousal settings support students to regulate and participate.

• While we do not have a dedicated sensory room, we adapt spaces flexibly using quiet corners, low-stimulus zones, tents, and movement areas.

• Environmental adaptations are responsive to individual regulation needs, using movement breaks, calming resources, and ear defenders.

• Total Communication is embedded across all environments, using structured transitions, visual supports, and consistent routines.

Experiences: Extending Learning into the Real World

• Students engage with real-life experiences that support independence, regulation, and interaction, such as cooking, messy play, sensory arts, and outdoor learning.

• Multi-sensory activities and community visits provide rich contexts for developing communication and emotional understanding.

• Learning is facilitated by responsive adults who scaffold participation, engagement, and emerging independence across the Areas of Learning.

Assessment and Progress

We assess progress using:

• The Engagement Model – focusing on responsiveness, persistence, initiation, realisation, and exploration.

• Evidence for Learning – capturing progress through photos, videos, observations, and annotation.

• Progress is reviewed termly with families, using accessible formats such as annotated learning journeys, observational notes, and photographic evidence.