Subject Based Progression Pathway

Intent 

This pathway is designed for pupils who are able to engage in subject-specific learning while continuing to develop their communication, language and interaction skills. Although many pupils are working below age-related expectations, they benefit from a curriculum organised through discrete subjects, with learning carefully sequenced from their individual starting points to develop knowledge, skills and understanding over time. 

The intent of this pathway is to: 

• Provide a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum rooted in the National Curriculum, adapted to be developmentally appropriate and cognitively accessible. 

• Enable pupils to make sustained progress through carefully sequenced subject teaching that develops knowledge, conceptual understanding, vocabulary and subject-specific skills. 

• Foster curiosity, critical thinking and active engagement through opportunities for exploration, discussion, problem-solving and reflection across the curriculum. 

• Build strong foundations in communication, literacy and mathematics, while embedding communication and interaction throughout all areas of learning. 

• Ensure sensory-aware, autism-informed practice that supports regulation, wellbeing and readiness to learn. 

• Promote increasing independence, resilience and self-advocacy, enabling pupils to become confident and successful learners. 

• Provide meaningful access to the full breadth of curriculum subjects, enriched through first-hand experiences that broaden horizons and deepen understanding. 

• Interweave EHCP outcomes and IEP targets throughout daily learning, ensuring priority needs are addressed consistently and purposefully within curriculum contexts. 

All pupils in this pathway are taught phonics, English and mathematics at their current stage of learning, with communication and interaction embedded throughout to support literacy, numeracy and expressive language development. 

This pathway enables pupils to develop as knowledgeable, confident and increasingly independent learners, preparing them for future learning, greater participation in their communities and the next stage of their education. Learning is typically recorded through a range of practical, written, verbal and digital outcomes, with pupils engaging in increasingly formal approaches to learning as appropriate to their developmental stage. 

Implementation 

Learning environments are structured, predictable and visually supportive, with low-distraction areas, sensory regulation spaces and access to specialist resources, including AAC and a range of communication supports, manipulatives and sensory tools. Classrooms promote independence, emotional security and readiness to learn. 

Learning is organised through discrete subject teaching, with carefully sequenced curricula that build knowledge, understanding and skills progressively over time. Subject content is delivered through meaningful and engaging learning experiences, enabling pupils to make connections within and across subjects while developing increasing confidence as learners. 

Staff have a secure understanding of both subject content and pupils' individual learning profiles. Teaching builds upon prior knowledge and is informed by ongoing formative assessment, enabling teachers to identify misconceptions, adapt learning and ensure progression is meaningful, coherent and ambitious. Adaptations support access to learning without reducing challenge, maintaining high expectations for all pupils. 

Approaches include: 

• carefully sequenced subject curricula that revisit and build knowledge over time 

• explicit teaching and modelling of vocabulary, concepts and subject-specific skills 

• high-quality modelling of communication, thinking and learning behaviours 

• overlearning strategies to strengthen understanding, recall and application 

• systematic synthetic phonics (RWI) and pre-phonics programmes matched to pupils' developmental stages 

• questioning, responsive feedback and assessment for learning to identify misconceptions and deepen understanding 

• personalised scaffolding, visual supports and adapted instruction to maximise access and success 

• Total Communication approaches embedded across all curriculum areas 

• multisensory, practical and experiential learning to support understanding and engagement 

• opportunities to apply learning across subjects and in meaningful real-world contexts 

• targeted small-group and individual teaching where appropriate 

• clear routines and structures that reduce cognitive load and promote independence 

• sensory-aware, autism-informed practice, including regulation strategies that support access to learning 

• effective deployment of teaching assistants to maximise engagement, communication and progress 

• EHCP outcomes and IEP targets woven into daily teaching, ensuring personalised progress across all four areas of need 

Learning is delivered through a balance of whole-class, small-group and individualised teaching, enriched through educational visits, outdoor learning, creative experiences and real-world contexts. Pupils are supported to develop curiosity, motivation, resilience and problem-solving skills while applying and transferring their learning across subjects and increasingly unfamiliar situations. 

Impact 

Progress is evidenced through: 

• improved self-regulation, emotional wellbeing and readiness to learn, informed by THRIVE profiling 

• increased independence in learning, organisation and daily routines 

• more effective and purposeful communication, using each pupil's most effective communication methods 

• greater participation in collaborative learning, social interaction and wider school experiences 

• increasing confidence, resilience and engagement as learners 

• growing acquisition and retention of subject-specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary across the curriculum 

• increasing ability to apply learning across subjects and in meaningful real-life contexts 

• measurable progress in National Curriculum-linked learning through BSquared Progression Steps assessments 

• progress in Literacy Launchpad and/or Read Write Inc. assessments 

• high-quality work outcomes that demonstrate pupils' knowledge, understanding and application of skills 

• growth in INSPIRE outcomes (Independence, New Challenges, Self-Awareness, Partnership, Interaction, Resilience and Empathy) 

• sustained progress towards IEP targets and EHCP outcomes across all four areas of need: Cognition and Learning; Communication and Interaction; Social, Emotional and Mental Health; and Sensory and Physical 

• evidence of learning over time through Seesaw, work scrutiny, pupil voice, observations and assessment outcomes 

Leaders evaluate the impact of the curriculum through ongoing monitoring activities, including learning walks, evidence reviews, assessment analysis, pupil progress meetings and target-setting cycles. These processes support continuous improvement and ensure that teaching, learning and curriculum provision remain ambitious, inclusive and responsive to pupils' needs. 

Pupils leave each year group with increasingly secure knowledge and skills across the curriculum, stronger communication, literacy and mathematical understanding, and greater independence as learners. They are well prepared for the next stage of education through their growing ability to apply knowledge, think critically, solve problems and engage confidently with new learning.