Programme of Study

Heaton School students in years 12, 13 and 14 make up our post 16 cohort. As for the rest of the students in school, our focus in post 16 is very much on the 4 strands of the Preparation for Adulthood agenda: employment, independent living, good health, and friends, family and community.

We currently have 3 routes for our post 16 students at Heaton School.
Some students will continue in our ‘sensory/PMLD’ department where educational needs are met and teaching and learning happens through a multi- sensory and thematic curriculum. This results in key skills and learning being embedded through repetition and consistency. Sessions delivered include communication, sensory story, Intensive Interaction, music and movement/music therapy, light stimulation sessions, switch work, maths, Rebound, food technology, community and many more.

For those students who are ready to move away from the secure nature of a school setting with all of its in-house amenities, we have provision at our Cheadle Heath site, aimed at developing skills for future independence and work through a broad and varied curriculum. This includes work related learning activities through food technology, enterprise and Duke of Edinburgh, community inclusion activities such as shopping, accessing the local leisure centre, exploring the area on foot or by public transport as well as PSHE, English and Maths, Forest School and performing arts lessons.

Some of our post 16 students will continue their education at Heaton School in classes with higher ratios of support and which offer a greater sense of structure, consistency and security to meet students’ individual needs. They will access classes aimed at building up levels of engagement and interaction, communication skills, following instructions and working with others. Lessons will be developed with individual students needs in mind and some lesson subjects include maths, communication, food tech, PE, performing arts, Forest Schools and community inclusion. 

All of our students have individualised education targets which inform teaching and learning as well as our 2 assessment programmes - Routes for Learning and the Heaton levels. Progress for our students will be assessed, monitored and reported on through these systems through our online assessment package - Evidence for Learning. As in key stage 3 and 4, parents and carers will continue to get regular updates through Learner Journeys and meetings at school.

For further information regarding the post 16 study routes, contact Jen Beresford - Assistant Headteacher and Key Stage 5 lead.