Post 16

Our Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to provide transferable skills which help to prepare for future provision and adult life. 

Students study for entry level functional skills courses in English, maths and Computer Digital Media.  

Students attend a weekly college link course to help them prepare and transition to the next step in their education.  The students travel to and from college by public transport and this helps develop travel training skills.

Following the Gatsby Benchmark principles students have careers interviews, take part in careers week, where they have meaningful encounters with employers and also study for an accreditation in Employability Preparation for Work.   This helps students to explore different careers options and develop the skills needed to help support them in the future and to gain employment.

Students take part in weekly work experience in the school’s Sociable Café, library and office.  Students work together to set up and run their own Café business, where they make and sell lunches to staff.  The Café also toasts and delivers breakfast bagels every morning for the whole school community.  They also work together to run the ‘Turtle Café’, a café which provides refreshments to parents, school bus drivers and visitors at drop off and pick up times.  This helps students develop life and communication skills.

Students have to plan, source, make and sell items as part of their Enterprise accreditation.   This enables them to learn about business.  The money made from selling these items allows students within Post 16 to plan and access a group activity of their preference.   They also learn how to grow fruit and vegetables in their outdoor learning lessons, which can be used in their Café. 

The work experience helps to build independent life-skills, such as planning and cooking lunches, household chores, communication skills, shopping, road safety, money skills and team work.  This gives students skills that can be developed further and thus enables them to have more choice about their future, including future living arrangements and ascertaining what support they need.

Students take part in community projects such as volunteering for the ‘Felix’ project, which is a charity that provides food to those that may need it.  Students take delivery of the food, bag the food and then distribute the food within our school community.  

Students can take part in after school activities such as karaoke club, sports clubs or social clubs where they can socialise with friends and other students.  They can also attend any of the many school clubs such as choir, reading club or computing.

As part of our RSE curriculum, students are actively encouraged to look after their own physical and mental health.  They have twice weekly physical education lessons, where they study for accredited courses in yoga, fitness training and cycling.  

To support emotional wellbeing, students study for an accreditation in mindfulness, which enables them to recognise how they can relax and self-regulate, giving them strategies they can use independently now and in the future.  They also have access to the indoor and outdoor gym area.  Students have weekly CDM lessons, which reinforces internet safety and also study relationships and sex education.

In their Life skills cooking lessons they learn how to cook healthy food on a budget.

For more information click on the Curriculum Map link above