Informal Curriculum

Informal Curriculum Pathway

Informal pupils are ‘learning to be’, with the informal curriculum designed for our students

with complex learning difficulties who are working at the most complex end of the SLD

spectrum. It is designed to meet the individual educational, health and care needs of

students through a highly individualised approach focusing on interest led learning,

exploration and play.

We offer a broad and balanced curriculum but one which is wholly appropriate to the needs

of each learner. Ongoing assessment may point to a need for concentration and intensity in

one or two particular areas for some learners for a part, and sometimes a considerable part

of their time in education.

Staff use the engagement model to assess and recognise what pupils enjoy; structuring the

environment to extend engagement and widen preferences, enabling students to engage

further and make choices.

An essential part of our ENGAGEMENT approach is to recognise that the complexity of their

learning difficulties will mean that such students do not and cannot learn effectively when

taught in a compartmentalised and piecemeal manner. Therefore, we aim for as

much consistency and continuity as possible, not just in what we teach, but how we teach

and who is doing the teaching. Students accessing the informal curriculum benefit from

being in specific class groups taught by the same teacher for the majority of lessons with a

consistent support team of TA’s who have undergone training in teaching and learning

strategies appropriate for the students following this curriculum.

Routine and a total communication approach support students to develop their ability to

anticipate familiar activities or events. Staff model and play alongside pupils enabling them

to build upon their persistence and sustain attention. The approach used provides a

structure for pupils to learn to initiate play, communication, and interaction with an over-

arching aim for students to gain increasing autonomy and independence and to engage in

further meaningful educational and life experiences successfully.

The informal curriculum covers key areas of learning – Communication, Physical Well-being,

Independence, Creative Arts and Outdoor Learning and Sensory Play.