top of page

'Pupils study subjects which are appropriate to their specific needs. This provision is comprehensive and well thought through' (Ofsted 2022)

CURRICULUM

Intent/Design

All students at the ASPIRE: Lifeskills Learning Centre have a diagnosis of Autism, and an Education, Health and Care Plan which outlines the educational provision they require.

 

The Learning Centre curriculum has been carefully designed to support our students’ learning needs in a variety of ways with overall aim of supporting them to become;

 

Confident and Successful Leaners who become

Responsible Citizens and Effective Contributors in their adult life.

The ASPIRE: Lifeskills curriculum has been summarised in our 'Big Picture' overview which can be accessed by clicking on the image below.

Each student will be entered into a specific curriculum pathway depending on their academic ability as determined by a combination of; 'a students end of KS2 results/academic history', ASPIRE's  baseline assessments, and personal choice.  

 

The pathways are colour-coded on our 'Curriculum Overview' which you can view on the following link:

Curriculum Overview 

Students following the academic route will follow the Orange Pathway

Students requiring a more functional, lifeskills-based route will follow the Purple Pathway.

 

* Subjects not part of our core offer are flexible, in order to personalise the curriculum to a young people’s abilities and interests.

 

ORANGE PATHWAY

Students following our Orange Pathway will be able to access GCSE and A-Level courses in any or all of the curriculum areas, where applicable.  We pride ourselves on being able to provide high quality teaching in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science; and will source appropriate staffing to deliver any additional curriculum areas required at GCSE or A Level.

 

All students entering examinations will access these as external candidates at our link exam centre in Coventry.

PURPLE PATHWAY

Students following our Purple Pathway focus on developing functional life skills through practical real life experiences. The curriculum supports access to Functional Skills test in English, Maths and ICT  and can be taught at Entry Level or Levels 1 and 2.

Big Picture Overview_edited.jpg
Intent

Implementation/Approach

All ASPIRE: Lifeskills pathways are holistic by design and are carefully planned and delivered to support our students to develop the 'Cultural Capital' and lifeskills they will need to be successful in adult life.

 

At ASPIRE we recognise that 'Culture Capital'  for our students include the need to focus on the Personal and Holistic aspects of learning. We achieve this by infusing Personal and Holistic Targets into all our pathways and teaching. 

Personal & Holistic Targets 

 

As part of both the Orange and Purple pathways students work towards focused personal and holistic targets in the areas of; 

 

  • Social Communication and Interaction

  • Thinking Skills

  • Self-Management 

  • Sensory Processing 

These targets are linked to priorities highlighted in a young persons 'Education, Health Care Plans' and are set and monitored by the Senior Leadership Team, Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist. 

All sessions at the Learning Centre, both structured and unstructured includes the opportunity to teach or model an aspect of the ASPIRE's personal and holistic Curriculum. 

 

Engagement 

Many students who join ASPIRE have experienced significant difficulties accessing the curriculum in previous placements and have often resulted in extended periods out of education. At ASPIRE we recognise the importance of building relationship, confidence and enjoyment into the curriculum to ensure reengagement with the learning process. To facilitate this reengagement, students new to ASPIRE undertake a 3 months initial assessment period where their talents, skills and interests are used to help build an appropriate personalised curriculum. 

Orange Pathway

The orange pathway has an academic focus and as such has a core offer across Ks3 and 4.  

All students study structured session in the following subject areas;  

  • English

  • Mathematics

  • Personal Social Health Education /Personal Social Development - (PSHE at KS3 and PSD at KS4)

  • Social Communication 

  • Lifeskills

  • Physical Education/Leisure - (PE at KS3 and Leisure at KS4)


At Key Stage 3 Level

Student also have structured taught session in the following subject areas;

  • Science

  • Expressive Arts - (ART/DT)

  • Social Forestry 

  • The Environment and Wider World 

At Key Stage 4 Level 

Students have structured taught sessions in the following subject areas;

  • World of Work (WOW)

 

With a more adult focused approach at Key Stage 4 students are encouraged to take greater responsibility for their learning. As such students have timetabled sessions for independent study and are given the opportunity to choose options they would like to study.

Current KS4 course options include:

  • Humanities

  • Art/Design Technology

  • Science

  • Social Forestry/Princes Trust 

  • Psychology

  • BTec Sports Science

  • Computer Science

 

All students at Key Stage 4 have the opportunity to discuss careers options during the world of world topics studied and also meet with an independent careers advisor throughout year 10 and 11. 

Purple Pathway

The Purple Pathway Curriculum is designed to support students to develop the necessary skills to live as independently as possible. The overall aim of the purple pathway is therefore to ensure that when students leave full time education and transition into adulthood, they will be able to make a valued contribution to society. For this reason, the curriculum is structured to include opportunity to develop independent life and living skills including the skills to enable them to navigate additional complex issues they may face due to their particular SEND. 

To achieve its aims the Purple Pathway has a holistic focus and follows a thematic structure with functional lifeskills delivered practically through real life experiences. Learning resources are carefully selected to complement individual learning styles in order to achieve the greatest level of comprehension and success in transference of skills into real life. 

Themes with a strong Personal/Social Development or Lifeskills focus are planned on a half termly basis to capture student imagination. Activities are carefully selected around the theme to allow students to engage with real life experiences that provide the opportunity to develop key functional life skills. Some of these key skills including; verbal and written communication, handling money and finances, maintaining a home, cooking own lunch, working with IT, personal safety, personal rights and responsibilities, preparing for work, being a good citizen and interacting with the wider community. 

Themes are planned on a three-year cycle to keep learning fresh. 

 

POST-16 Overview 

The focus of ASPIRE's Post 16 Curriculum is to prepare our students for their next step into adulthood. This includes have the appropriate qualification, lifeskills and understanding of adult life to ensue they go on to be successful once they leave ASPIRE. To ensure students are ready and prepared to leave the Learning Centre the Post 16 curriculum is entirely build around individual need. 

Students who have not gain at least 'Grade 4' (Old GCSE Grade C) English or Maths will continue to study a GCSE or Functional Skills Level 2 qualification in either or both of these important subjects. The remainder of a students timetable will include a core offer of; 

  • Personal Social Development 

  • PE/Lesiure

  • Lifeskills 

  • World of Work & Employability 

  • Independent Study

Option courses in Post-16 will include:

  • Expressive Arts

  • A-Levels by request

  • Further GCSEs by request

 

Students in Post-16 will also have access to local college links (where appropriate) in order to support the delivery of certain curriculum areas.  As well as regular opportunities to meet with our independent Careers advisor to plan their next steps into further education or employment. 

Cross Curriculum/Embedded Subjects 

The ASPIRE curriculum has a strong focus on Personal Development, as such areas of study including RE, Citizenship and Fundamental British Values are embedded into the school ethos and PSHE/PSD curriculum. Click on the following statements to find to more about how we address this important aspect of the curriculum:

RE Statement 

Citizenship Statement 

Fundamental British Values Statement 

Example student timetables for Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and Post-16 can be found here:

Example Timetables 

Purple Pathway 3 Year Overview
Implementation
Impact

Impact

The ASPIRE curriculum has been carefully designed to support our students to achieve the following outcomes; 

Confident Individuals 

 

ASPIRE Students will have:-

  • Secure Values & Beliefs

  • Self Acceptance

  • Self Respect

  • Self Awareness

  • A sense of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing 

  • The ability to risk assess and keep safe

Successful Learners 

ASPIRE Students will be:-

  • Enthusiastic and motivated for learning 

  • Independent Learners 

  • Able to use literacy, numeracy and ICT skills 

  • Open to new ideas and thinking

Responsible Citizens 

ASPIRE Students will have:-

  • Respect for others 

  • Understanding of differing beliefs and culture 

  • Commitment to participating responsibly in political, economic, social and cultural life

  • Understanding of the world and their place in it

Effective Contributors 

ASPIRE Students will be:-

  • Able to slove problems  

  • Able to communicate in different ways and different settings 

  • Able to work in partnership and as part of a team

  • Self-reliant

  • Resilient 

Outcomes 

All our students have made outstanding progress in both their learning and personal growth over the 2019/20 academic year.

 

We are so proud of all our students achievements. 

2022

  • International A Levels (Jan 2022) Further Mathematics 1x B

  • International A Levels (Jan 2022) Psychology 2x B & 1x E

2021

  • English Language 2x Grade 5, 2x Grade 4 and 2x Grade 3

  • English Literature Grade 8 and Grade 5

  • Mathematics Grade 9, Grade 8, 2x Grade 5 and 2x Grade 3

  • ICT 2x Grade 9, 2x Grade 8 and Grade 7

  • Psychology 3x Grade 9, Grade 8 and Grade 7

  • History Grade 4

2020

  • English Language Grade 6 and a Grade 4

  • Mathematics Grade 8 and 3x Grade 5

  • Biology Grade 8

2019/20

 

January Series - 

  • English Language Grade 7 and Grade 7 

2018/19

  • English Language Grade 6 and a Grade 4

  • English Literature Grade 8

  • Mathematics Grade 5

  • Biology Grade 5

  • Media Grade 9

And Functional Skills test in:

  • English - Level 1 PASS

  • Mathematics - Level 1 PASS

We are incredibly proud of how well each of the students has coped with the stress and anxiety of siting this type of exam. I'm sure you'll agree these results as absolutely amazing!

Outcomes
bottom of page