What Matters Most

• Irresistible opportunities to engage
• Structures and routines 
• Long term planning for progression
• Repetition of activities
• Wide and varied activities and opportunities
• Need to promote independence in self help and self care.
• Access to a range of ready to learn strategies/sensory strategies
• Opportunities for medical and physical health needs to be met
• Opportunities to build play skills

Meteor Pathway Intent

The Meteors pathway caters for pupils who need a structured and routined approach to learning with plenty of opportunities for building communication skills. Pupils access the curriculum through an adapted EYFS model. This model provides plenty of learning through irresistible opportunities to engage.

The pupils on the Meteors pathway have different needs, ranging from Autism Spectrum conditions (ASC), physical disabilities, sensory needs and severe learning difficulties. All pupils within the Meteors pathway attend our Co-op Academy Delius BD3 site.

The Ambitious Curriculum for Meteors Pathway 

The curriculum has been designed to offer challenge and ambition for all pupils, therefore the pupils within our non-subject specific pathways will access the same topics, as the pupils within the same key stage as them in the astronaut pathway. However, the knowledge and skills which will be taught will be more relevant to the learning needs of the pupils and the context and theme will act as an exciting vehicle for their learning. 

The curriculum design has taken into account the needs of the pupils within the pathway and has ensured that some elements of the national curriculum are repeated and revisited in order to ensure that pupils have the opportunity to build long term memory of their knowledge and skills. The curriculum is based around a 5 year plan which ensures that all pupils have the opportunity for new skills to be developed, whilst continuing to consolidate previous knowledge. 

What matters most in our pathway: 

Using routines and structures to promote independence.

Structure plays a key role in the learning on our pathway. We believe that our pupils need a structured and predictable learning routine so that they are able to feel safe, happy and ready to learn. We implement our routine by offering our pupils access to their own individual timetable, travel board and activity schedule, which remains consistent throughout their education. Subject and curriculum leads have designed programmes of learning which focus upon the development of skills and knowledge over time. Throughout each session and at the end of each lesson sequence pupils are challenged to see what skills and knowledge they can recall and apply.

Opportunities for purposeful communication

Building communication skills is integral to learning within our pathway. All pupils are treated as intentional communicators and we follow an ‘assume competency’ way of working. This principle means that we believe everyone has something to say and everyone can learn. This is especially important within the Meteors pathway as some of our pupils may struggle to express their wants and needs, they may be reluctant to engage with other people and they may struggle to think of reasons to communicate.

We use a whole school total communication approach that uses a wide range of specific approaches such as Makaton signing, Objects of Reference and symbols. Pupils on our pathway may also benefit from a range of low and high tech equipment for communication such as ipads, switches and communication books.

Our curriculum offers lots of opportunities for pupils to use communication by answering simple questions, using pupil voice to express their likes and dislikes along with having staff skilled as communication partners.

Creative and engaging learning opportunities

Creating engaging and exciting lessons is at the heart of what we do. We believe that for pupils to fully access their learning their likes, dislikes and choices need to be carefully considered. This is why we learn through a topic-based approach, allowing pupils to work on core skills and their Personalised Learning Goals (PLGs). Pupils on our pathway experience lots of repetition of activities alongside different provision areas and high-quality resources to help embed learning.

Our pathway caters for a wide range of learners who learn in a variety of ways. This may be through using concrete objects, repetition of activities, or using a sensory approach which aims to meet the sensory input that our pupils may require to learn. Through repetition of activities our pupils are able to consolidate their learning and make progress. Thinking about things in different ways is important for our pupils so that they are equipped to solve any problems that they may face in the future. Pupils on our pathway initially access a wide range of high quality concrete resources to develop skills before progressing to applying their thinking, skills and knowledge to intangible and higher order concepts. 

Learning environments that promote positive behaviour for learning

The learning environments within the pathway are set up to provide a safe and stable place for pupils to learn. Meeting our pupils’ sensory needs is highly important to help get them ready to learn. Our classrooms all benefit from access to outside learning environments. Within these environments we have  a range of equipment we can use to help pupils regulate their sensory needs. 

Within the classrooms there is a clear structure to areas where pupils work and calm areas. Environmental labelling is used to help pupils understand their environment and to prepare their independence as much as possible.   

Strategies to promote Independence

Within our pathway we foster independence for our pupils in a variety of ways. This starts with our communication and encouraging our pupils to be able to say no and express their wants and needs. We also prioritise health and hygiene where we work on dressing/undressing, eating and drinking skills along with personal hygiene.