STEPS Pathway

Who the learners are:

In the pathway we hope to achieve positive relationships and behaviour by supporting some of our most complex learners to access a highly personalised curriculum. We cater for pupils with complex social, emotional and behavioural needs, many of whom have a diagnosis of autism. Pupils may have difficulty in relating to a school environment or being unable to work alongside others and have additional motivational challenges. STEPS provides opportunities for these pupils to be included in educational activities that they would not otherwise access. For these pupils we offer individual personalised learning programmes and management strategies. We also offer pupils a learning environment where they have the opportunity to succeed, to feel safe and to build on their self-esteem.  See appendix 1 for more information on learner types.

Size of classes:

Pupils who share this setting should be compatible in terms of age, support and sensory needs. We have specialised training, resources, environment and high staff numbers to effectively support the complex learners in our pathway. Given the complex nature of the pupils and bespoke approaches class sizes should be a maximum of 8-9 pupils.

Classes within the pathway:

Class name	Teacher	Age range of pupils	Number of pupils
Dandelions	8-11	Peter Barnett	8
Dragons	10-15	Imogen Flack	9
Dolphins	8-11	Kurt King	8

Students are ready to join our pathway when:

Students join our pathway when they need specialist help in supporting their communication or social emotional development. Previous pupils have come from the sensory pathway when they need more of a structured academic focus.  We have pupils whose behaviour requires a specialist curriculum and pupils who have some significant social & emotional challenges, including school refusers.

What being prepared for adult life means in our pathway:

For all children to develop their skills so they be as independent in life as possible, for many of the learners in the pathway this will not mean full independence, so there is a focus on ensuring students are able to communicate as effectively as possible.  Students have access to appropriate careers guidance to enable planning to take place ready for post 16.

Being prepared for adult life in our pathway means supporting pupils in becoming:

 

We know students are ready to move on to the next pathway when:

We know students are ready to move on to the next pathway when they have some strategies to manage their own emotions, able to express themselves, motivated and able to be a part of a group.  They will be ready to move when they have acquired skills that increase the probability they will be successful in a less structured setting.  Students may move into the sensory, thematic or CLICK pathway as appropriate.

The skills identified are as follows:

Academic Independence: This category includes scores from specific areas of the VB-MAPP Milestones and Barriers assessments and the child’s independent work skills.

Learning Patterns: What are the child’s skills and observed patterns of behaviour related to learning?

Self-help, spontaneity, and self-direction: This category is a general set of skills that children need to succeed in a classroom setting.

Intent:

The SCERTS, ABLLs-R & AET Frameworks provide the tools needed to assess, instruct, and monitor the progress of children with autism or other developmental delays. It helps to identify individual’s strengths & needs to then implement and evaluate a bespoke intervention.

In general, the learning time allocation can be very pupil specific but mainly follows the whole pathway timetable as a universal support. Pupils’ individual timetables may vary according to their specific academic, behavioural, communicative, developmental and social emotional needs.

Their learning is organised following a baseline at the beginning of the year, which in turn informs an individual’s individual targets and pupil timetable.

The classes cover the four areas of communication, learning skills, functional living skills and social emotional skills. The weighting of these is class specific and then further individualised according to need. Pupils have a flexible pathway through the curriculum individualised to maximise personal potential and achievement. The curriculum is agile and responsive to the individual’s needs.

 

Academic Skills:

ABLLs-R: areas including language, social interaction, self-help, academic and motor skills that most typically developing children acquire prior to entering school.

Learning Areas: language and communication, number and counting, use of communication systems, phonics and speed sounds (Read, Write, Inc)

Functional Skills:

AET: An interactive assessment tool that helps practitioners identify learning priorities, set key learning intentions, and track progress for autistic pupils and young people.

Social & Emotional Skills:

SCERTS: This is used across the pathway as a reference document to support Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). SCERTS provides specific guidelines for helping an individual become a competent and confident social communicator and an active learner.

Learning Areas:

“SC” - Social Communication – the development of spontaneous, functional communication, emotional expression and secure and trusting relationships with children and adults.

“ER” - Emotional Regulation – the development of the ability to maintain a well-regulated emotional state to cope with everyday stress, and to be most available for learning and interacting.

“TS” – Transactional Support – the development and implementation of supports to help partners respond to the person’s needs and interests, modify the environment, and provide tools to enhance learning.

Specific plans are developed to provide educational and emotional support to families, and to foster teamwork among professionals.

Topic Cycles:

The topic cycles are designed to line up with the school and wider community, to give our students experiences which they may otherwise miss out on due to their needs.  The focus on celebrations helps give the students the skills they need to interact appropriately with friends and families at what can be quite stressful times, when they face changes to routine.

 Example timetable:

 

Implementation:

The curriculum currently consists of 3 frameworks which can be weighted differently according to the class and individual needs of the pupil. The documents which tie the frameworks together are the IEP and the pupil timetable. A professional decides which assessments to use for their class according to their training, experience, the needs of the class & pupils and through discussion with the pathway lead.

Once the assessments are complete they are used to inform the pupil’s individual targets.

  

  

• Creates an environment of predictability and stability to enhance skill acquisition and facilitate participation in activities
• Sets up areas of the classroom based on the needs of the students and classroom space
• Develops clearly defined areas of an appropriate size for given activity
• Gives clear cues to students and staff about expectations for different areas of the room
• Allow supervision of all students within the classroom 
• Create classroom areas that support the targeted skills for scheduled activities
• Develops areas that limit distractions and help students focus on the task at hand
• Create environments that increase engagement and prevent challenging behaviours
• Fosters student independence in navigating the classroom routine and everyday activities
• Creates workspaces to promote engagement in the classroom 

   

Impact:

Assessment:

EHCP targets:

Staff are encouraged to generalise skills in the environment using the continuum shown below. This is also reflected in the individual targets which incorporate 1-1 learning skills being generalised in a natural environmental context.

The specific programmes for distinct groups of learners provide an opportunity to build key skills, which allow for more inclusive experiences when these skills can be generalised (Quest For Learning, 2006) and encourages deep learning. EHCP targets are specifically focused on the concept of deep learning following four specific skill development areas; Prompting, Fluency, Maintenance & Generalisation.

EHCP Targets can be baselined at the beginning of the year according to the above four areas and their progress throughout the year can be used to inform the next steps on the provision plans at the end of each assessment cycle throughout the year.

SCERTS:

This is used across the pathway as a reference document to support Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). SCERTS provides specific guidelines for helping an individual become a competent and confident social communicator and an active learner.

A SCERTS observation is conducted and scored according to a criteria reference; the SCERTS Dictionary. Developmentally appropriate social and emotional targets can be prioritised and selected as part of the individuals EHCP document.

The 4 areas of SCERTS correspond to the 4 areas of the EHCP as follows and can be used to inform the long and short term sections of their provision plan:

Students are also assessed on the ABLLS and AET frameworks as listed in the curriculum table.

What being prepared for adult life means in our pathway:

For all children to develop their skills so they be as independent in life as possible,  for many of the learners in the pathway this will not mean full independence, so there is a focus on ensuring students are able to communicate as effectively as possible.  Children have access to appropriate careers guidance to enable planning to take place ready for post 16.

 

We know students are ready to move on to the next pathway when:

We know students are ready to move on to the next pathway when they have some strategies to manage their own emotions, able to express themselves, motivated and able to be a part of a group.  They will be ready to move when they have acquired skills that increase the probability they will be successful in a less structured setting.  Students may move into the sensory, thematic or CLICK pathway as appropriate.

Reading:

STEPS reading guarantees:

STEPS Pathway
Curriculum	Pre-formal learning activities form the curriculum Once an individual pupil has demonstrated a high score in the areas of motivation, visual performance, receptive language, motor imitation, vocal imitation, requests, labelling, intra-verbal and spontaneous vocalisations then they will access RWI daily for short bursts of learning
1-1 reading	Daily sessions according to attention and focus of individual student For individual students, inclusion opportunities to share a book with another class, once a week

 

In the pathway we:

Decode using RWI: When appropriate students use the Read Write Inc. or Fresh start programmes This focuses on grapheme-phoneme correspondence, labelling, sorting, categorising, blending & segmenting (including visual supports for this).

Vocabulary Building: Both labelling and receptive understanding of common vocabulary as described. The most common nouns the pupils are likely to encounter as described by the ABLLs-R program.

Comprehension skills taught daily:  Using the ABLLs-R intraverbals & Tact sections. Using the language through colour to aid in comprehension, categorising, sorting and intraverbal development. Evidence based practice to support the development of the use of the AAC - Clare Latham communication books. 

1-1 reading time weekly: An “I have been read to poster” to be In every classroom and following the sensory stories themes document.

Every student has the opportunity to take home reading material each week.

• Every student’s reading progress is recorded using our Earwig system, using the milestones for Reading and Communication.
• Every classroom has an area for reading with reading material available and a place to sit comfortably. Reading material is therefore part of continuous provision during the school day.

Maths in the pathway:

Maths is taught through the ABLLS curriculum or White Rose Maths resources, based on mastery, a teaching and learning approach that aims for pupils to develop deep understanding of maths rather than being able to memorise key procedures.  To achieve this the maths is designed to be purposeful and functional using a Concrete Pictorial Abstract approach.  Building the foundations of understanding number is key to the development of maths and development of understanding.  This approach is supported by the White Rose Maths programme, Maths for Life, and Numicon resources.