English

The Spa Camberwell Curriculum 

Our pupils face barriers to their learning created by their autism. Our curriculum is specifically designed to address these barriers, increase each pupil’s access to broader learning opportunities and support them to become the best adults they can be.  

The curriculum makes sure our pupils are  

• happy, safe and healthy 

• developing communication skills 

• developing independence while learning and achieving 

• getting ready for the future.  

Our curriculum is engaging, stimulating and designed to meet the needs of pupils with autism. It develops skills, builds confidence and self-esteem. It uses specialist approaches to help pupils with autism to learn.  

Curriculum Organisation 

English at Spa School Camberwell is taught to support students develop their skills in reading, writing and speaking and listening. Teachers thoughtfully plan their lessons and deliver bespoke resources for the needs and progression of each child.  All pupils are set an individual target in Reading, Writing and Communication, which is assessed each week.  The English Lead works closely with the Structured Play, Drama and Social Communication leads to ensure pupils Communication skills are developed to a high standard.   

Throughout the work the students do in English, they are regularly meeting the outcomes on their EHCP. This work is a fundamental part of the English curriculum. The students also enjoy a wide range of enrichment activities through English such as dressing up as literary characters for World Book Day, visiting and signing up for the local library, going to the post office to buy stamps and post letters and experiencing a range of literary experiences like performing poetry and plays. Check out the CLPE Power of Reading report here - The case study from Spa School can be found on page 8.

Reading 

Reading is developed through the teaching of decoding/encoding as well as comprehension skills in line with the Simplified View of Reading model. Reading for meaning is constantly promoted to support developing independence skills. 

There is a whole school approach to phonics using Phase I of Letters and Sounds followed by the Phonics for Pupils with Special Educational Needs programme. This is supported by the Engaging Literacy Reading Scheme.  

All pupils have access to high quality reading materials in their classrooms and in the school library. Each classroom has a reading area. Pupils are sent home with at least one book each week. We promote the enjoyment of reading and every term students will study high quality texts which have been adapted from the Power of Reading programme offered through CLPE. Multisensory activities bring texts to life for the students. They study a wide range of texts including high quality picture books, traditional tales, poetry, short stories, novels and Shakespeare. 

Students have opportunities to read independently, with staff, in pairs, groups or as a whole class. There are opportunities for role play, improvisation and imaginary play. Pupils regularly hear adults read aloud in order to encourage comprehension and enjoyment of written language. 

Where needed, symbols are used in delivering lessons, instructions and displays to support all pupils and enhance understanding. Students are specifically taught the functional language they will need outside and beyond school and to help prepare them for independent living. This could, for example, take the form of recognising signs in the environment or following instructions. 

Writing 

Students are given opportunities every day to practise and hone their writing skills. We work closely with the school’s Occupational Therapist to ensure that students are given the appropriate personalised support they need to progress with their gross and fine motor skills. If it becomes apparent that a pupil is unable to demonstrate their writing skills through handwriting, they have access to alternative methods.  

Students are encouraged to write for a wide range of purposes and audiences and to develop vocabulary relevant for any focused topic. Students are given a range of engaging topics that are both relevant and motivating for their lives and experiences. Further to this, students engage with high quality texts as a springboard to encourage their own high quality writing. The Talk for Writing approach is used to teach students to internalise high quality texts and then innovate these to create their own stories. 

Writing is an important life skill and the students are encouraged to be able to write at the best of their ability to support them for the rest of their lives. They are encouraged to write to fill out forms, to express their feelings and to show their understanding of the world around them. 

Speaking and Listening 

Students work on their speaking and listening skills in every lesson, but these are particularly the focus of Structured Play, Social Communication and Drama lessons. Pupils are set a communication goal each week.   

In Structured Play students are given opportunities to imitate and extend play scenarios, give and follow instructions. In Social Communication and Drama, lessons are based around our students’ very individual and specific communication and social interaction needs. Lessons develop confidence, independence, advocacy and communication with others in a wide range of real life situations. 

Students are also supported in their communication in whatever way best suits them such as iPads, PECs boards and the use of Makaton signing. All the work that we do to support students’ communication is done in partnership with our speech and language therapists. 

Learning is structured through three key approaches: 

• The Learning to Learn Curriculum 

• The Learning Together Curriculum 

• The Learning for the Future Curriculum 

Pupils follow elements from one or both approaches depending on their strengths and needs, with a longer-term focus on the preparation for the future.  

The Learning to Learn Curriculum 

Pupils with the highest level of need require a very individualised timetable. These pupils follow a highly personalised programme to develop:   

• routine  

• basic communication  

• reduced anxiety 

• joint / shared attention  

• play and cooperative skills  

• self-help and independence  

• the ability to follow simple instructions  

• turn-taking skills and the ability to wait, sit or be safe  

In Learning to Learn students are introduced to phonics through phoneme awareness activities and then individual sounds. They are also taught how sounds go together through dynamic blending. They are introduced to texts through a wide range of play opportunities and sensory stories. They develop their fine motor skills through multisensory pre-writing activities. This includes the Write Dance approach. Students learn to listen to individual sounds and then segment these in order to spell words. They learn how to construct simple sentences through the use of Colourful Semantics.   

The Learning Together Curriculum 

The Learning Together Curriculum offers a thematic approach in primary and a subject based approach for secondary pupils. Access to group learning is increased along with a focus on independence skills for life at school and the broader community. Subject based learning objectives are set for each pupil in every lesson related to the subject and pupils develop their knowledge and skills. Personalised support continues to develop relevant aspects of the Learning to Learn Curriculum. 

The Learning Together Curriculum supports pupils to develop social aspects of learning. The curriculum focuses on  

• functional communication 

• reducing self-directed behaviours 

• collaborative approaches  

• group learning skills 

• increased self-regulation 

• increased social awareness 

Through the Learning Together Curriculum students' phonic skills are developed where appropriate. Students begin to access more complex texts and a wider range of genres. They continue to use multisensory activities to access these texts meaningfully. The Talk for Writing approach is used so that students are able to compose their own stories. They learn different features of non-fiction texts and how to use these to research. Students begin to write extended sentences supported by the Colourful Semantics framework 

The Learning for the Future Curriculum 

Pupils continue to access relevant elements of the National Curriculum differentiated to meet their individual needs. They will build on the knowledge, understanding and skills developed in the primary years as the curriculum emphasises increased independence and preparation for the future. Curriculum content is defined through schemes of work for each subject. The schemes are written by subject leaders and differentiated by each teacher to match the needs of each pupil. Each scheme of work focuses on a theme that lasts for half a term. There is a three-year long-term plan for KS3 and a two-year plan for KS4.   

Learning for the future 

In Learning for the Future, we continue to focus on the skills and techniques required to learn English skills. We introduce the students to a range of activities and texts more suited to a secondary school environment to move away from the primary curriculum. Students practice reading signs and symbols within the school, think about the emotional experiences of fictional characters and apply this to their own experiences. They investigate non-fiction texts finding information independently.