Introduction

Castle School is an all-age school for children and young people with severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties. We are dedicated to providing a broad, rich, deep, and aspirational curriculum at levels appropriate to the developmental understanding of our pupils. In considering the curriculum, we ask ourselves: “What do our young people need to learn?” We do this by looking at pupils’ needs and developing planned learning outcomes to meet those needs. The curriculum provides the ‘vehicle’ through which those learning outcomes are delivered. It offers a natural progression from Early Years to Key Stage 5, with programmes designed for and implemented at an appropriate level.

Curriculum Intent

Vision, Mission, and Overall Purpose

Our school exists to remove barriers, unlock potential, and prepare every young person for a meaningful, fulfilled life. The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of pupils with severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties, from Early Years through to Post-16.

Our Key Drivers – Communication, Wellbeing, and Independence – shape every aspect of learning and form the golden thread through our curriculum. They ensure that pupils can express themselves, stay safe and healthy, and develop the functional skills needed for adulthood.

Our LIGHT Values – Love, Inclusivity, Goodness, Hope, and Truth – are woven through lessons, therapy, enrichment, and relationships, creating a school culture where pupils feel valued, safe, secure, and inspired.

Safeguarding and Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) are central to Castle School. Pupils learn the knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to stay safe, contribute to their community, and transition confidently to the next stage of life.

Purpose and Philosophy of the Curriculum

The curriculum is central to pupils’ success, wellbeing, and holistic development. It extends beyond academic outcomes, focusing on personal growth, life skills, and the ability to connect with the world.

We want pupils to experience rich, meaningful learning that goes beyond qualifications – including creativity, problem-solving, social communication, and functional independence.

Learning is transformative: through carefully planned experiences, we support pupils to achieve more than they thought possible and reach their personal best. The curriculum is ambitious without limits, but also accessible, balancing aspiration with a recognition of individual strengths, needs, and starting points.

Our belief is that the curriculum is dynamic and never stops evolving.

Knowledge, Learning, and Key Principles

Our pupils need knowledge and skills that enable them to thrive academically, socially, and personally. This includes functional literacy and numeracy, digital skills, emotional regulation, independence, and social communication.

Acquiring knowledge helps pupils to think more critically, creatively, and flexibly, and to generalise skills across contexts.

We use a spiralised approach, building depth through repetition, consolidation, and the transfer of skills into a range of contexts.

Learning is underpinned by equity, entitlement, and social justice – ensuring every pupil has access to knowledge and experiences that are relevant, real-life, and empowering.

The aim is to prioritise what is rich, meaningful, and relevant to each pupil.

Curriculum Pathways and Personalisation

Our curriculum is structured into appropriate pathways:

Pathways provide a structured yet flexible framework that ensures the curriculum is matched to the diverse developmental needs of pupils with complex learning profiles. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, pathways allow pupils to access learning that is personalised, meaningful, and relevant to their stage of development, strengths, and aspirations.

• Early Years: Our Early Years pathway provides a play-based, communication-rich, and nurturing foundation where pupils begin their learning journey through exploration and positive relationships.
  
• Pre-formal: The Pre-formal pathway offers a sensory, holistic, and therapeutic approach, meeting the profound and complex needs of pupils through personalised experiences.
  
• Engagement: The Engagement pathway follows a child-led, person-centred approach, fostering curiosity, communication, and meaningful interaction with the world.
  
• Semi-formal: The Semi-formal pathway develops functional communication, social interaction, and early independence skills, ensuring learning is purposeful and practical.
  
• Formal: The Formal pathway delivers subject-specific learning, enabling pupils to access a broad and balanced curriculum tailored to their individual needs.
  
• Post-14: The Post-14 pathway provides accreditation opportunities through subject-specific learning and a strong focus on Preparing for Adulthood outcomes, supporting successful transitions.
  

Learning is personalised, age-appropriate, and tailored to each child’s strengths, interests, and profile. The focus for all pupils centres on addressing outcomes detailed in EHCPs. Planning is based on skills, prior knowledge, and functional relevance, not age alone.

Curriculum Implementation

Pedagogical Approach and Teaching Quality

High-quality teaching ensures pupils master key skills and deepen their knowledge. The curriculum is spiral, sequenced, and revisited, extending learning in a range of different contexts and environments.

We use a balance of teacher-led, pupil-led, and experiential approaches, with creativity, sensory learning, and motivators central to engagement.

Equity of access is ensured through adaptations, therapies, and assistive technologies.

Engagement, Motivation, and Curiosity

Our curriculum nurtures a love of learning by making it exciting, meaningful, and rewarding. Staff are skilled in using a forensic approach to identify and overcome barriers to learning, ensuring maximum pupil engagement.

Enrichment, extra-curricular activities, and community experiences extend learning beyond the classroom to offer a more ‘real-world’ experience. Pupils are encouraged to explore, take risks, and embrace challenge in a supportive, safe environment which builds resilience and confidence.

Integration of Therapy and Transdisciplinary Working

Therapies – including speech, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy – are embedded into everyday routines and lessons, not delivered in isolation.

We adopt a transdisciplinary model, where teachers, therapists, support staff, and families collaborate closely to address holistic needs. Interventions are regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure a flexible, responsive approach that adjusts as pupils grow and change.

Supporting Key Developmental Drivers

Communication, wellbeing, and independence are taught and reinforced in every context.

Therapeutic practice flows through lessons, routines, and social times, ensuring consistency. Staff monitor and respond to pupils’ development, recording key observations to inform future planning, which forms part of class and pathway meetings.

Assessment, Monitoring, and Progress

Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils make progress from their individual starting points. Progress is measured through baseline assessments and a combination of formative and summative approaches, providing a clear picture of each learner’s development.

Assessment informs teaching, therapy plans, and curriculum planning, ensuring that learning remains ambitious, purposeful, and responsive to pupils’ needs. Targets are personalised, functional, and aspirational, guiding the next steps for every pupil. Progress is carefully tracked through termly ILP targets, drawn from Key Stage EHCP outcomes and pathway-specific curriculum goals, to ensure that each pupil’s achievements are recognised and celebrated.

Preparation for Adulthood and Life Skills

From the earliest years, pupils develop skills for independence, employment, and community inclusion. All pupils have a termly Independence or Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) target, which is prioritised and embedded throughout the term. The curriculum embeds resilience, health, relationships, regulation, and wellbeing into daily learning, supported through our PSHE programme.

PfA pathways are personalised, explicitly incorporating the four areas – employment, independent living, community inclusion, and health. We build on individual strengths and aspirations to prepare pupils to live as independently as possible.

Cultural Capital and Enrichment

We actively broaden pupils’ horizons through trips, visitors, clubs, community events, and creative opportunities throughout the academic year.

Learning builds upon pupils’ existing experiences and is tailored to individual needs, while opening doors to new knowledge, culture, and perspectives.

The curriculum inspires aspiration, achievement, and social mobility by being ambitious yet accessible for every pupil. It is personalised to celebrate individual strengths while removing barriers, ensuring that all pupils experience success and progress. Aspiration is fostered through meaningful goals, access to accreditation where appropriate, and carefully designed Preparation for Adulthood pathways that develop independence, communication, and life skills. Achievement is recognised in academic progress, therapy outcomes, and personal growth, ensuring pupils feel valued and motivated. Social mobility is promoted by broadening pupils’ experiences beyond school, embedding cultural capital, and equipping them with the skills and confidence to participate in their community, access opportunities, and transition into adulthood with purpose and dignity.

Curriculum Impact

The success of the curriculum is measured through a range of indicators, including pupil progress (via ILPs and appropriate assessment frameworks), personal development, attendance, incident logs, and pupil voice. Achievements are celebrated at every level so pupils feel recognised and valued, with in-class recognition, reflective opportunities, and weekly assemblies highlighting success. Progress is also shared with families through our Evidence for Learning app, strengthening home–school partnerships.

Subject Specific Learning

Subject-Specific Study provides a structured framework for pupils to develop knowledge and skills across the curriculum, ensuring breadth, balance, and progression. For learners working below national curriculum standards, programmes focus on building prerequisite skills through functional learning, structured play, communication groups, therapy, and Launchpad to Literacy. Pupils are assessed using the Launching Into framework, supporting their progression towards subject-specific learning. As they move through school, learners begin to access National Curriculum content and targeted interventions, with progress monitored through individualised assessment. At Key Stages 4–5, pupils work towards accredited qualifications such as Entry Level Certificates, Functional Skills, AQA, and ASDAN, alongside a curriculum that emphasises Preparation for Adulthood, independence, and community participation. This pathway ensures all pupils achieve meaningful outcomes, preparing them for future learning and life beyond school.

Would you like to know more?

If you have any specific questions about your child’s learning in a particular subject area, contact the school office on 01670 844322 and a member of staff will be happy to assist you.