In the Skills for Life Pathway, the emphasis is on students developing the skills to communicate more effectively within their environment, from simple communication with close family to being able to pay for everyday items in a shop using appropriate interactions. We aim for our students to gain a broad range of experiences which prepare them to face life after Carew with as much independence as possible.
As with all our cohorts, students will have lots of therapeutic input as needed around their stated EHCP therapy targets, and therapists will work closely with our teaching staff to ensure these therapeutic interventions are delivered discretely and embedded within the curriculum where possible. Students in our Skills for Life Pathway are given a specific curriculum to ensure the lessons they follow are both bespoke to each student, and offer opportunity for meaningful progress to be observed over time. Lessons generally follow the Equals curriculum, using a semi-formal approach, although students are still actively encouraged to take part in whole school activities at all times. Where possible, students in Upper School and Sixth Form are challenged to gain achievable Entry Level qualifications. As the curriculum is more bespoke towards real life application and life skills, it is important that time is given for students to embed their learning and make meaningful progress.
Skills for Life: Lower School
Students remain in their registration group for the majority of the working day, to enable a clear structure to be established by a core team of teaching staff who use their knowledge of the students to make the learning bespoke to their needs. This structure often makes use of a variety of theories of learning, such as the TEACHH system of a carousel of activities. This allows students and staff to develop an effective working relationship where school expectations are embedded and the students own individual learning patterns are discovered and as such their learning made bespoke to allow students to show as much progress as possible.
Carew Academy offers all of its Lower School students a core suite of curriculum subjects that provide a solid foundation of learning and experiences that are meaningful and relevant in 21st century Britain. Through our Options rotation, we offer a range of additional curriculum subjects and experiences that allow students to discover new topics and ways of seeing the world, enabling them to develop into rounded individuals. Students at Carew Academy are never given limits on expectations of their behaviour for learning, nor are limits placed on the experiences offered to them in school to best prepare them for a well-rounded, fulfilling happy life full of opportunity.
Subject Weighting in the Lower School Skills for Life Pathway
| Subject | Lessons per week |
| Literacy (English) | 4 |
| Numeracy (Numeracy) | 4 |
| World Studies | 1 |
| RSE / PSHE | 4 |
| Options A | 3 |
| Options B | 3 |
| Performing Arts (Art, Dance, Drama, Music) | 3 |
| PE | 4 |
| Outdoor School | 2 |
| Targets | 1 |
| Assembly | 1 |
There are two groups of ‘Options’ subjects for pupils to choose from, delivered on rotation:
| Option A | Option B |
| Art | Animal Care |
| Computing | Computing |
| Drama | Music |
| Music | PE |
| PE | RSE |
| SaLT | SaLT |
While the core curriculum aims to provide students with a solid foundation and a flavour of different subjects, Enrichment sessions (or the ‘Options’) are focused on supporting students to identify areas of strength and interest, and use this as a vehicle to develop their academic, social and independence skills. Each Option has 3 lessons per week and students are given the opportunity to take part in all of the Options throughout the entire academic year.
Skills for Life: Upper School
Students generally spend more time transitioning around different classrooms as they get older and are given a larger variety of teaching staff to ensure stretch and challenge. This also allows students to become more resilient with interactions with more staff, and experience more changes to the more structured routine of Lower School. There are specialist learning opportunities for pupils in the Upper School with Food Technology lessons and computing, as students can see how these valuable curricula can impact on their daily lives and learn skills that are used in their lives more frequently as they get older.
Subject Weighting in the Upper School Skills for Life Pathway
| Subject | Accreditation (where appropriate, particularly Years 10-11) | Lessons per Week: |
| Literacy (English) | Entry Level Certificate | 5 |
| Numeracy (Maths) | Entry Level Certificate | 5 |
| World Studies (Science) | 2 | |
| Computing | 1 | |
| RSE and PSHE | 2 | |
| Life Skills | 3 | |
| Options A | 3 | |
| Options B | 3 | |
| PE | 2 | |
| Food Technology | 2 | |
| Targets | 1 | |
| Assembly | 1 |
There are two groups of ‘Options’ subjects for pupils to choose from, delivered on rotation:
| Option A | Option B |
| Art | Animal Care |
| Duke of Edinburgh | Computing |
| Drama | Music |
| PE | PE |
| Photography | RSE |
| Travel | SaLT |
Students will experience each subject from both groups over the course of the entire academic year. These are all interesting and attractive subjects, most of which have a strong practical emphasis and offer students different experiences outside of those traditional subjects within the classroom. Our students have a wide range of choice about what they learn. This means that they can develop their particular talents in an enjoyable and highly personalised curriculum.
