Post 16

Key Stage 5 (Years 12, 13 and 14)

Following on from the bespoke pathway the learner has followed throughout school, in the Post 16 provision learners are offered a broad range of learning experiences designed to promote their personal development and aid them to make a smooth and well-equipped transition into adult life, following either a Pre-Formal (Pathway to Engagement) or a Semi-Formal (Pathway to Independence) route.

The core curriculum is based around the four areas of Preparation for Adulthood:

• Employment and Enterprise
• Health
• Community
• Independent Living

Other areas of learning for our Pathway to Independence include;

• Functional Skills Maths and English
• Digital world and Computing
• Duke of Edinburgh- learning new skills, completing physical activities and volunteering
• Enrichment

Other areas of learning for our Pathway to Engagement include;

• Communication and Interaction
• Music and Movement

All classes have a daily act of collective worship and focus on a range of religious festivals through the school year.

Some students may be entitled to financial support - see information regarding 16-19 Bursary.

Post 16 Coverage

It is important that when our students leave Newfield, that they are as independent as possible. Personalised learning activities help students to develop skills in key areas such as communication, personal care, shopping, cooking and travel training.

Here are our Post 16 Long Term Coverage Documents:

Year A

Year B

Year C

All of our Post 16 Students study Asdan’s units in Personal Progress with the aim of securing a diploma by the end of Year 14. Some of our students may additionally study for Entry Level qualifications.

See our Assessment and Accreditation section for more information.

Work Experience and Careers

Students take part in a range of work experience and enterprise activities within school.

We have developed areas in school to enable our students to complete ‘in house’ work experience activities including a school café and equipment to complete maintenance jobs around the building.

They also participate in a range of creative activities to learn about different job roles.

In addition, students have the opportunity to engage in work experience activities within the community.

The Post 16 Scheme of work uses work related learning opportunities across the curriculum arising from seasonal and local events to give students the experience of applying their skills in work-related contexts and situations. Communication is central to this focus and students work on team work, health and safety, following instructions and problem solving in order to promote this.

We currently have a range of internal and external work opportunities for our Semi-Formal learners including;

• Retail- OJ’s Charity Shop
• Greensleeves allotment
• Child care (external and internal ‘buddies’)
• Mini-enterprise
• Blackburn Market stall
• Café and tuck shop preparation and sales

Our Pre-Formal pathway uses school work place opportunities to work on their individual outcomes, interacting, communicating and engaging in sensory experiences.

We have created strong links with Post 19 provisions in the local community to enable our students to access these and express preferences for when they leave Newfield.

Students attend weekly or fortnightly visits or special events at;

• Purple Patch
• Hopwood Court
• St Aidan’s

Preparedness for work related learning begins in Year 7 and builds as students enter the Post 16 phase of their education. It is important that students are aware of the positive options that they have available to them and their future and we work alongside Careers Advice Service New Directions to help students identify the next steps after Newfield.

This is inclusive of physical health, PSHE and RSE. Students engage with a range of activities linked to their mental health and well-being, keeping safe, keeping safe online, healthy relationships, taking care of the environment, self-care and healthy lifestyles.

Physical health includes opportunities to engage in activities in the community such as cycling, swimming and walking or using our school gym. Some students have started the ‘couch to 5k’ challenge in school too.

For our Pre-Formal learners, individual therapy and MOVE programs are an important part of the area of Health. They also have access to our Hydrotherapy pool in school.

Students have the opportunity to access a range of activities within the local community – including shopping, swimming, going to the gym, visiting the park or café. They also participate in activities with some post 19 providers in order to help prepare for their transition to adult services.

As well as these core activities, our students also engage in a range of enrichment activities in the school community.

These include:

• Creative activities – dance, music, art
• Therapies – physiotherapy, speech and language, sensory integration
• Sensory experiences
• Lunch clubs
• Whole school events

We approach independence in a range of contexts with our learners. At Newfield we have a Life Skills room where students can complete daily tasks as well as a cooking space and school gym.

In addition, students develop independent living skills through community access, PSHE lessons and developing personal care routines.

Our school motto of ‘We never do for a student something that they can, could or should do for themselves’ underpins this area of development.

EHCP outcomes for our Post 16 students are framed around the above 4 areas of Preparation for Adulthood, this means that we are able to continually frame our daily curriculum learning around individual needs and outcomes.

Very often, this area of learning and development fits within a learner’s key skill development related to their EHCP. Independence is unique to each individual and it is the teacher’s job to identify barriers to independence and to try to remove these to enable each pupil to display as much independence as is possible.

Our school motto of ‘We never do for a student something they can, could or should do for themselves’ underpins this area of development and all staff fully embrace the ethos of creating an environment in which all learners can achieve their potential.

Developing independent learning is not our only focus in this area of development. Dependent on individual need, our learners may be working towards becoming more independent in:

• Managing their own self care
• Moving with independence
• Eating and drinking i.e. feeding themselves their own dinner/ holding their own cup
• Dressing
• Organising themselves for familiar activities
• Following routines with less adult support
• Handling money
• Some of our learners may access specific programmes/activities to support development of independence e.g. Toileting programmes, Travel Training
• College courses
• Work placement

Our Semi-Formal Pathway includes opportunities to develop English and Maths skills in a functional, applied way.

In English, reading, writing and communication skills remain important but the context of this is meaningful to their pathway to independence. Topics such as ‘Shopping and Money’ or ‘Travel and Transport’ allow for age-appropriate learning and preparation for adult life.

For our Pre-Formal learners, Communication and Interaction are the main focus of these sessions and where topics may remain similar, the context can differ, offering a sensory based approach.

Makaton is used consistently at Newfield and our Semi-Formal students often practice their Makaton by applying it to curriculum learning, practicing the Newfield 50 words and attending ‘Sing and Sign’ sessions in class.

Functional Maths consists of half termly topics that can be applied to real life scenarios, continuing to work on number and relevant aspects of measurement and geometry.

Some of our students complete Functional Skills exams at Entry 1 and 2 in both Maths and English.

We have a computing curriculum for our Semi-Formal learners in Post 16 too. Whilst this is often linked to our Functional English topic, it is also an opportunity for our learners to gain confidence when using a range of digital tools for different purposes in preparation for adulthood.

Our pre-formal learners enjoy weekly music and movement sessions, this is delivered in a number of ways, including;

• External musicians
• Sensory soup themed activities
• Songs, signs and sounds
• Musical events in school
• Class based music and rhythm sessions

Students in school enjoy a range of leisure and enrichment opportunities, often working towards individual goals or EHCP outcomes. These include;

• Sensory room sessions
• Massage
• Yoga
• Sports clubs
• Music sessions
• Walks
• Karaoke
• Art club
• Turn taking games
• Body percussion

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award

We offer the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award to our Post 16 students. The award is designed to challenge both their physical abilities and also their independence skills. Throughout the year the Bronze level students have weekly lessons to gain the experience required to complete all sections of the award.

There are 4 sections that the students have to complete in order to pass the award, these are;

• Physical
• Skills
• Volunteering
• Expedition

All of the bronze award is carried out in school including the volunteering with two sections lasting 3 months and one section lasting 6 months.

Physical – Students have the opportunity to develop their physical skills through a range of activities, for example building up their stamina by regular hiking or developing their movement skills by exploring the outdoor learning environment, we also have use of our school gym

Skills – Each student learns a new skill or strengthens an already existing skill. For the bronze level award, we use cooking and swimming as part of their skill development, we also have a musician visit weekly to give lessons to some students on developing the skills to play an instrument with independence

Volunteering – Volunteering takes a variety of forms according to students interests and abilities. They may volunteer in school to undertake projects to improve the school environment or they may help in the local community e.g. litter picking or painting fences at the community allotment.

Expedition – In order to complete their award, the students must complete an expedition. We develop this according to the needs of the students but they have the opportunity to develop their skills in:

• Pitching their tents
• Cooking on the stoves
• Making their beds
• Following route cards

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award

The Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award is the next level challenge for our students. The silver award is designed to extend each students knowledge about the great outdoors and also develop new and existing skills along the way. The silver award is an extension of the bronze award.

There are 4 sections that the students have to complete in order to pass the award, these are;

• Physical
• Skills
• Volunteering
• Expedition

The students have to undertake a physical challenge, learn a new skill and complete their volunteering over a 6-month period.

The government introduced a fund in September 2011 to help pupils facing financial hardship to stay in full time education which replaced both the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and 16+ awards.

The money is intended for books, meals, transport or other course-related costs needed to help a pupil stay in education.

Please look in our Policies section for the 16-19 Bursary Policy.