Curriculum

I Intent

The Semi‑Formal Pathway, underpinned by the Equals Semi‑Formal Curriculum, is designed to provide a broad, balanced and ambitious education for pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties, including those with cognition and communication needs, autism, sensory processing needs and associated physical or medical needs. The pathway recognises that pupils may not access age‑related subject content in a conventional way; instead it prioritises meaningful, functional and transferable learning that enables pupils to make deep, sustained progress over time, rather than accelerated coverage of content.

The core intent of the Semi‑Formal Pathway is to:

• Enable pupils to develop communication, interaction and independence skills that improve their quality of life and participation in school, home and community contexts.
• Support pupils to acquire knowledge and skills across all areas of learning through purposeful, experiential and connected learning.
• Foster curiosity, engagement and confidence by revisiting, reinforcing and generalising learning within meaningful contexts.
• Prepare pupils for the next stage of education or adulthood, with a focus on functional application, emotional wellbeing and lifelong learning.

The pathway is structured around the Equals curriculum areas (e.g. My Communication, My English, My Maths, My Independence, The World Around Me, My Creativity, My Physical Wellbeing, Thinking and Problem Solving and PSHE). These areas ensure that learning is coherent, progressive and curriculum‑led, rather than purely skills‑led or activity‑based.

Importantly, the Semi‑Formal Pathway is different rather than differentiated. All pupils follow a clearly defined semi‑formal curriculum model that is appropriate to their cognitive profile, removing the expectation that pupils are working towards formal National Curriculum outcomes. This ensures equity, dignity and ambition for learners whose progress is best measured through developmental steps, engagement and application.

Implementation

The Semi‑Formal Pathway is implemented through a consistent, structured and evidence‑informed approach that ensures pupils experience high‑quality teaching and learning every day.

Curriculum Design

• Long‑term, medium‑term and short‑term planning is mapped directly to the Equals Semi‑Formal Curriculum pathways.
• Knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced to support repetition, consolidation and progression, with frequent opportunities to revisit prior learning.
• Curriculum themes and learning contexts are meaningful and relevant, supporting generalisation across environments.

Teaching and Learning

• Teaching approaches are highly structured, multi‑sensory and personalised, while remaining firmly rooted within the agreed semi‑formal framework.
• Learning is delivered through a blend of whole‑group, small‑group and individual experiences.
• Pupils are supported to communicate using a range of methods, including AAC, objects of reference, symbols, Makaton and spoken language.
• Routine, predictability and clear structure are embedded to support regulation, engagement and emotional security.

Assessment and Progress

• Progress is assessed using the Equals MAPP assessment framework and other recognised semi‑formal assessment tools.
• Assessment focuses on what pupils can do, what they are beginning to do and how independently they can apply learning.
• Ongoing formative assessment informs planning, next steps and appropriate levels of challenge.
• Progress is reviewed regularly and shared with pupils, families and professionals in accessible ways.

Wider Curriculum and Enrichment

• Learning is enriched through real‑life experiences, community access, outdoor learning and practical activities.
• Therapies and specialist interventions are integrated into classroom practice where appropriate, ensuring a holistic approach.
• Strong links are made between learning, wellbeing, behaviour support and emotional regulation.

Staff receive regular training and support to ensure a shared understanding of semi‑formal pedagogy, high expectations and curriculum intent across the school.

Impact

The impact of the Semi‑Formal Pathway is evidenced through sustained progress, improved engagement and positive outcomes for pupils.

Pupil Outcomes

• Pupils make measurable and meaningful progress against their individual starting points, as evidenced through Equals MAPP assessments and internal tracking.
• Communication skills improve, enabling pupils to express needs, make choices and interact with others more confidently.
• Independence increases across daily routines, learning activities and self‑care tasks.
• Pupils demonstrate increased curiosity, resilience and willingness to engage in learning.

Quality of Learning

• Learning is purposeful, relevant and transferred across contexts, rather than remaining isolated or task‑specific.
• Pupils show improved ability to apply skills functionally, such as problem solving, turn‑taking and decision‑making.

Wellbeing and Engagement

• Pupils feel safe, understood and valued within a curriculum that is matched to their needs.
• Behaviour for learning improves as pupils experience success and appropriate challenge.
• Attendance and engagement are strong due to the consistency and relevance of the pathway.

Preparation for the Next Stage

• Pupils are well prepared for transition within school or to the next phase of education, supported by clear curriculum continuity.
• The focus on functional communication, independence and emotional wellbeing supports long‑term outcomes beyond school.

Overall, the Semi‑Formal Pathway delivers a coherent, ambitious and inclusive curriculum that enables pupils to thrive. By offering a curriculum that is different rather than differentiated, the school ensures that pupils are not judged against inappropriate benchmarks, but are instead supported to achieve their full potential through meaningful learning experiences.

Templecroft School provides a curriculum that is planned and delivered in a personalised and differentiated approach. We recognise that children learn in separate ways, so we provide visual, kinaesthetic, and auditory (where appropriate) resources.

Pupils are taught by Qualified Teachers in small class groups supported by specialist Teaching Assistants. The prominent level of staffing allows for individual and small group work as needed and the pace and style of teaching is modified to ensure all children can access lessons and make good progress. All staff have specialist qualifications ensuring an excellent quality of support for children’s individual learning needs.

PSHE/RHE is an important area of our curriculum and helps prepare our children for future independence, citizenship, healthy lifestyles, and personal safety. This includes an adapted PSHE curriculum that includes relevant research. PSHE runs throughout our school daily through PSHE lessons and activities, forest school, enrichment activities, and focused assembly time linked to our school values.

Our pupils need access to wider experiences to consolidate their learning and provide purposeful learning. As a school, we provide a wide range of educational visits and a variety of sporting events, including attending competitions with other local schools.

Pupils at Templecroft School make excellent progress. As a team, we constantly assess our pupils learning and progress. We use a range of assessment tools to monitor whether our curriculum is having an impact on teaching and learning. All teachers follow clearly adapted long term plans and medium-term plans for each subject.

Teachers are highly skilled and able to adapt to the needs of each individual pupil. As a school, we use teacher assessments to collate progress and assessment data. This is collected six times a year and then used to provide pupil progress meetings to discuss pupils’ achievements and identify any barriers to learning that may need extra intervention.

School council meet regularly and discuss how to improve the school and whether the curriculum is engaging and inspiring! All pupil feedback is shared and discussed in pastoral meetings with the pastoral team.

Baseline assessments are used when pupils start of their educational journey – This measures pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills.