The blue Knowledge, Skills and Understanding section of our curriculum wheel focuses on the essential life skills and developmental milestones that our learners need to make academic and personal progress. 

The academic areas include Functional Numeracy, Literacy and Technology, which incorporate fine motor, reading, phonological awareness and ICT activities in engaging, practical learning tasks.

The personal development areas include Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, incorporating British Values through whole school activities led by our Student Council.

Activities

    We offer a range of activities including: 

• Fine Motor Skills are needed to use tools in the kitchen, hold a pencil for drawing and writing and fasten clothing.  Activities to help develop finger strength, co-ordination and control may include rolling playdough, peeling carrots, painting and using fingers to explore sensory trays.
• Functional Numeracy includes counting plates for lunch, selecting 5 potatoes in the supermarket, weighing 2 cups of flour when baking a cake and counting how many times they catch a ball.
• Functional Literacy builds on Fine Motor Skills activities to further develop writing for a purpose, like a Christmas card for family or creating a weekly shopping list.  Listening to rhymes, engaging in sensory stories and reading community signs helps build essential vocabulary through words, symbols and signs.
• Functional Technology may involve typing names on the song wheel, using the laptop to print a picture, selecting video clips on the Tiny Tablet or using the hand-held scanner in the local supermarket.
• Cultural events  are often planned by our Student Council. For World Religion Day they helped select 3 religions (Judaism, Islam and Buddhism) which became the focus for art, food and music activities.

This section of our curriculum supports the students in develop skills that they will continue to use throughout their lives.