Our Curriculum
What do students learn at Activate?
Throughout our curriculum, activities are planned to provide opportunities for students to progress towards personal targets so they can develop skills that are relevant and meaningful to them.
Targets are set from destination goals as highlighted in each student’s EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan). At Activate, learning includes working towards set Communication, Work Skills and Life Skills Targets and, for some students, an Employability target.
Progress towards targets is reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Unplanned and unscheduled learning is also documented and celebrated as WOW Moments on each student’s academic record, and these too may help determine future areas of development and learning.
How do students learn at Activate?
All students at Activate learn individually and at their own pace.
Session content in the timetable, regardless of the subject, is a vehicle for students to make progress via their personal targets. For example, in areas such as greater communication or independence skills.
The learning process is more important the final result; it is not about producing a beautiful piece of artwork but rather how the learner got to this point to achieve it.
If support staff are completing work, then it is the work of support staff. Repetition and extended processing time is usually planned into activities to facilitate learners to work as independently as possible.
Some of our PMLD students are supported to make progress through Intensive Interaction. Intensive Interaction is an approach where trained staff will work on a one-to-one basis with a specific student. It involves using specific learner led language (verbalisations and body language) as a means of communication/conversation. Intensive Interaction can help create opportunities for joint attention, and progression can be seen through greater acknowledgement of their partner. For example, through increased eye contact or increased verbalisation, etc.
Students are encouraged to be challenged and to work more independently. This may be via personal targets where they are asked to collect their own materials, or to help or interact with a peer. Regardless of student ability, ‘stations’ are usually planed that reflect the theme of a session. These stations enable individuals to either explore, interact or engage with activities at their own pace (often with an option of sharing a station to facilitate peer work). Instructions usually accompany each station, with support providing guidance as to what to do with a task or how to move onto the next step. Students can be challenged and stretched to make choices of what the next station or task will be and when to change or stay at the same station.
How do we know when learning is taking place?
At Activate we recognise small but valid steps.
Tutors and support staff are experienced in identify when and what learning is taking place. Staff work closely, often one a one-to-one basis, with all students to observe progress in areas such as communication and independence skills, recognition of cause and effect, anticipation of next steps, increase joint attention tasks, etc.
In each session, progress is documented on target sheets and these form the basis of Individual Learner Plans (ILPs). Teaching staff review student’s progress regularly as part of our personal target setting process.
What does a typical day look like at Activate?
The curriculum at Activate is learner led and delivered through individualised timetables.
Timetables are developed through Active Me; a person-centred process that collates learner’s strengths and interests alongside their areas of development. This information is gathered throughout each learner’s admissions, assessment and transition process, with parents and guardians also providing valuable input. Timetables are reviewed on a regular basis as a learner progresses throughout their college journey.
All learners at Activate also have two short sessions each day called SSD: Sensory Skills Development.
SSD is timetabled at the beginning and end of each day, and it is an opportunity for learners to participate in favoured or familiar sensory activities. At the start of the day, some learners can arrive at Activate presenting with anxious or passive behaviours. The activities offered during SSD (as highlighted in the Active Me process) can either help reduce anxieties or offer stimulation. The SSD session at the end of the day can also help some learners better prepare themselves as they finish their learning at college and get ready to travel home.
Learners access small groups for SSD so they can participate in activities by themselves or with peers who have similar needs. For example, some students may access sessions like sensory gym, sensory relaxation or yoga, whilst others may prefer music or breakfast club.
These sessions are not teaching sessions but encourage learners to acquire the skills they need to be able to both develop self-regulation and identify when they need it. It is the intention that the SSD sessions enable learners to maximise their full potential for the rest of the day and be in a good place to travel home again.