Informal Curriculum Pathway

The Informal curriculum is designed for pupils with complex learning difficulties and based on a deep understanding of what the individual pupil needs.

This pathway focuses on putting the pupil at the centre of the curriculum and listening to each pupil’s behaviours and what this can tell us about their interests, motivations and potential for engagement.

Having a good relationship with staff members is paramount to the pupils’ learning experience. Through intensive interaction pupils can learn to trust the adults and the adults can learn about the pupils’ abilities and preferred communication approaches, their feelings, their likes and dislikes. Staff can then find objects and activities of interest through the safe and secure ‘friendship’ that has formed. Once established, the activities can be used to motivate the pupils to communicate, express themselves and develop independence.

Our pupils following this pathway will spend a large proportion of the day maintaining and consolidating what s/he has already learnt so as not to lose skills and understanding. The objectives, targets, sessions and evaluations will reflect this repetition. New concepts and understandings will be taught, when appropriate, in the framework of a familiar and structured session or activity.

The Informal curriculum offers six schemes of work, namely My Communication, My Sensory Play, My Physical Wellbeing, My Independence, My Creativity and My Outdoor Learning.