Our Curriculum

In OKQA we use a multi-sensory topic based approach tailored, where possible, to the individual child or young person’s (CYP) interests and strengths.

We identify how the CYP learns and individualize and personalize the curriculum and our teaching for each CYP.

The curriculum is designed around CYPs needs and functional experiences.  CYPs are offered a learning programme that will:

  • support them in developing key skills in Communication, Joint and Shared Attention, Social Interaction and play
  • engage and motivate them   
  • build skills in learning and thinking 
  • develop personal, emotional and social skills 
  • enable them to make connections 
  • help them transfer knowledge, skills and understanding

To help our CYPs generalise skills and prepare them for adulthood, functional skills are revisited and extended under different headings e.g.

  • EYFS Topic on ‘Looking after Myself’ is revisited and extended in
  • KS1 topic ‘Marvellous Me’
  • KS2 topic ‘Keeping Safe’
  • KS3 topic ‘Keeping Healthy’
  • KS3 topic ‘Belonging’
  • KS3 topic ‘Responding Responsibly’
  • PFA – Employment/Independent Living/Community Participation/Good Health

Intent:

The aims of the curriculum at OKQA are:

  • To create opportunities for adult and peer interactions and joint attention
  • To offer CYPs a range of communication tools and strategies to enable them to communicate their needs effectively
  • To enable CYPs to express their emotions more effectively
  • To teach functional literacy and mathematics skills to enable them to be more independent in the local community
  • To develop functional literacy and mathematics skills for life skills and employment opportunities
  • To celebrate shared cultural, historical and religious events together as a community
  • To learn about things that change and stay the same as they grow older
  • To build an awareness that everyone has unique experiences, history and beliefs
  • To feel part of a class, school, local, national and international community
  • To encourage CYPs to live a healthy lifestyle
  • To develop problem solving skills

Implementation:

CYPs follow individualised and personalised programmes in English and maths and are taught at OKQA through a mixture of discrete lessons, topic-based learning and through activities embedded throughout the school day.

CYPs are also supported through the whole curriculum where communication and understanding, early literacy and maths skills and knowledge and personal development are integrated into all learning as appropriate.

Impact:

Progress is assessed annually formally through EHCP review and termly through (PLP)Personalised Learning Plan targets.  Targets are agreed in collaboration with class teams, parents and school therapists.

PLP targets are informed by CYPs’ EHCP outcomes which are used to create small steps of learning and progress towards these. Engagement in NC based activities is often related to social communication, joint attention and emotional regulation areas of development as well as subject specific foci.  Development of skills are embedded across the curriculum and the school environment.

Themed learning walks look at the impact of subject teaching across the school

Speech and Language team regularly review communication aids and supports throughout the school, including opportunities for communication development across the curriculum, in the playground and at lunchtimes.

Lesson observations, as well as monitoring of assemblies, support the development of the curriculum subjects