SECONDARY & FE CURRICULUM

Our vision 

Freemantles Secondary and FE is a unique Centre of Excellence

Together, we are dedicated to leading a positive culture and a fulfilling legacy for our neuro diverse community

Our Secondary Curriculum

The aim of our curriculum is to prepare our young people for the world of adulthood and a life outside of Freemantles.

We want our young people to have the skills to live a fulfilled, happy, and purposeful life.

Our curriculum carefully exposes our young people to a variety of vocational and life skills pathways to ensure they (and their families) have the knowledge of the most appropriate next steps into adulthood.

Key Stage 3

In Key stage 3 students are encouraged to build on skills learnt in Key stage 2 whilst continually developing the skills needed for the future. There is a particular focus on Social and communication skills considering social context and personal and social development. Learning takes place both at school and in the community. All students cover a balanced and broadly based relevant curriculum according to their own needs.

All curriculum areas are covered through the use of topic-based curriculum. We have a three-year programme to cover different topic areas to avoid repetition of content, although the learning of key skills will be continually revisited according to the students’ level of development.

The curriculum incorporates both the life skills pathway and vocational pathway with the key core skills remaining the focus.

Key Stage 4

In Key stage 4 students are encouraged to build on skills learnt previously whilst continually developing the skills needed for the future. In addition to a continued focus on extending the social and communication skills developed in KS3; extending students’ understanding of social context and furthering their personal and social development, there is also a new focus on developing the skills students will need for further education, employment and adult life in recognition of their age.

All students cover a balanced and broadly based relevant curriculum according to their own needs and work towards a recognised portfolio qualification with the ASDAN programme.

The curriculum continues to incorporate both the life skills pathway and vocational pathway with the key core skills remaining the focus. 

FE Department

In Key Stage 5 the students are encouraged to continue to develop skills and experience, to compliment a transition into a fulfilling and rewarding adulthood.

That might be via the Life Skills Pathway working towards transitioning into a social care or assisted living placement.

To aid this we incorporate a mixture of essential Lifeskills: cleaning of bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, community shopping and travel training.

 An alternative route is through the Vocational Pathway, transitioning to a college or work placement.

In order to assess whether this is appropriate to each individual we access a 24-week link course with a local college. Also, numerous work experience placements are found for all pupils either with external links or through the weekly vocational sessions.

For some students it will be a combination of both Pathways.

The Core skills that everyone studies:

• Where appropriate, pupils have the opportunity to complete the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award.
• Functional Academic skills in Maths and English.
• Each pupil works towards accreditation with an Entry Level OCR certificate in Life and Living skills.

Individual Wellbeing is the driving motivator for the whole FE curriculum.