Jemma Brown, teacher at Evergreen Primary School, discusses the introduction of a Complex Needs Pathway. She shares how the school has developed new strategies and the positive outcomes that have been achieved as a result. 

Evergreen is a school for children aged 2-11, and 130 of our 197 children are autistic.  We have a huge range of needs and learning styles. As a school, we recognised that learners are becoming increasingly complex, and there was a clear need to develop a curriculum which matched the needs of the children.

The curriculum:

The Complex Needs Pathway is a specialist curriculum which has been designed in response to the learner characteristics of pupils with complex learning difficulties and disabilities (CLDD). The majority of these pupils are autistic. The purpose of the curriculum is to provide a framework for teaching and learning to enable pupils with CLDD to develop and make progress over time in a meaningful and relevant way. 

The curriculum areas were designed in response to the learner characteristics of our cohort of pupils. We focussed the curriculum on six areas of learning: 

• Communication and Interaction
• Physical Wellbeing
• Sensory and Play
• Outdoor Learning 
• PSHED (Personal, Social, Health and Emotional Development) and Independence
• Creativity

We started with one class, and our first step was to work as a team to identify each pupil’s key areas of need and ensure their EHCP (education, health and care plan) outcomes and Personal Learning Goals reflected these.

Alongside this, we developed pupils’ engagement profiles. We know that, for our pupils, sustainable learning can only occur when there is meaningful engagement. By focusing on the five indicators of engagement, (Exploration, Initiation, Realisation, Anticipation and Persistence) we were able to look at how we could change our learning activity/experience/environment to stimulate curiosity in each pupil. Using Evidence for Learning, we recorded our evidence and did focused ‘engagement sessions’ each week. 

Over time we were able to build working documents of ‘Engagement Profile’ and ‘Engagement Profile motivators’ for each pupil in class. We used these profiles, alongside their Personal Learning Goals, to structure an informal assessment of the kinds of activities each pupil engaged with constructively and used these as starting points to develop our planning.  

Changes made:

During the initial trial of implementing our low demand curriculum, we first had to look carefully at our environment. This environment became less formally structured to incorporate a range of spaces within the classroom. We made the classroom low stimulus, with the ability to quickly change lighting, resources and activities to suit individual and group needs. 

The curriculum is delivered through units of learning to ensure pupils have a breadth of experiences and a variety of opportunities to consolidate new skills across different environments and activities. Pupils are taught through meaningful cross-curricular learning, which takes place indoors and outside. Termly topics and learners’ special interests are used as a vehicle for providing the individualised learning opportunities. Activities should be intrinsically motivating to the child, using their interests. 

Practical and play-based learning is a key aspect of this curriculum. This ensures learning is meaningful and is led by the learner to maximise engagement. Play should be planned and resourced, e.g. children choose from a selection of play opportunities that have a purpose and can be facilitated in different ways – for example, via communication boards, adult modelling or role-play.

Individual case studies:

For one of our most complex autistic pupils, we have seen a dramatic change in his tolerance of adult interaction and adult-led activities, and a reduction in his anxiety around his peers. He previously struggled to access any area alongside staff and peers without becoming dysregulated and displaying high levels of self-injurious behaviour.  We started by building lots of motivational activities into his day and offering choice at every opportunity. This, alongside a predictable routine and consistent approaches with low level demand, means that he is now able to spend time with others including taking part in favoured group activities, accepting others in his space and daily intensive interactions with all staff. 

Another of our very complex autistic pupils, who displayed high levels of both self-injurious and physical behaviours to those around him, finds dealing with his emotions difficult. If his anxieties escalated, this resulted in crisis, often without warning. The new curriculum has allowed us to focus on his strengths and interests and use these to reduce anxieties and develop trust and relationships with all staff. We have seen a significant decrease in the number of incidents, and when these do occur, he has responded quickly to de-escalation strategies such as reassurance and redirection onto a positive activity. Furthermore, he is now able to transition independently into and around school and is becoming more tolerant of boundaries across settings, which is a main target to develop his independent living skills. 

Outcomes:

Staff perspective has changed. Through observations, reflective discussions and trial and error of how this curriculum would best work for us, we were able to see an amazing change in confidence and knowledge in the staff team working on the pathway. 

Children on the pathway are making better than expected progress toward their EHCP targets. There has been a significant reduction in incidents, and sensory needs are met throughout the day, with more pupils showing they are able to self-regulate with reduced need for staff intervention.