Our Curriculum Pathways
At Springfields we offer EYFS then two curriculum pathways:
Our Adventurers EYFS Curriculum:
We aim to deliver a curriculum that is accessible, engaging and effective for our autistic learners. By creating this, we will ensure a positive start to Springfields life for our youngest learners, building strong foundations and the stepping-stones needed for our children to lead safe, independent lives.
At Springfields Academy the children are at the forefront of everything we do. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we endeavour to provide the children with an excellent learning experience where all children are able to flourish, grow and progress to the best of their abilities. We take a holistic approach, embracing the children interests and ensuring that sensory needs are met through the learning opportunities provided.
“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. The EYFS promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘readiness’ for learning and gives children the right foundation for good future progress through school and life. The EYFS is about what children learn, as well as how they learn. Children learn through play, by adults modelling, by observing each other and through adult-guided learning.”
(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage).
We believe that the children's EYFS experience should be happy, active, exciting, fun, secure and support their development, care and learning needs.
In order for Early Years practice to be effective and have an impact on pupil outcomes, we aim to:
- Develop and promote independent skills in line with our Life Skills and Autism Tracker.
- Create communication friendly environments.
- Promote outdoor learning as part of the curriculum.
- Adjust practice appropriately to promote the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning as written in the statutory framework for EYFS, these are:
-playing and exploring: children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
- active learning: children concentrate and keep on trying and enjoy achievements.
- creating and thinking critically: children develop their own ideas, make links and develop strategies for doing things.
For more information please look at our Adventurers Curriculum tab:
Our Semi - Formal Pathway:
Our Discovery Curriculum is unique to each individual pupil. The pupil is kept at the heart of the learning experience. Our skilled practitioners provide a flexible and responsive curriculum the meets the very individual needs of each pupil.
The Discovery Curriculum is a Semi-Formal curriculum for learners who are at the very early stages of learning and development and for those who will work consistently below the National Curriculum with aspiration to work towards end of key stage 1 expectations. The term ‘Semi-Formal Curriculum’ is based on the ideas of Penny Lacey (2011). At Springfields our Discovery curriculum is designed for pupils with autism, communication and learning needs.
Semi - formal Discovery learners:
- have communication needs.
- require additional support to grasp abstract concepts.
- require support to develop concentration and attention.
- need support with short and long term memory, sequential memory and working memory.
- need support with ‘general knowledge’.
- require support with generalising understanding.
Discovery learners learn best when their curriculum is related to their own experiences and when they are given plenty of opportunities to overlearn. 
For more information please look at our Discovery Curriculum tab:
Our Adapted National Curriculum Pathway:
Our Explorer Curriculum is a knowledge rich curriculum where pupils are given the opportunity to revisit and over learn key curriculum concepts throughout their curriculum journey. Our Personal Development Curriculum thread places emphasis on life skills to enable each individual to thrive building a ‘safe, independent life’.
Explorer learners are able to access the key stage 1 and key stage 2 curriculum, some may access aspects of the key stage 3 curriculum in areas of special interest.
The Pathfinder curriculum allows pupils to apply knowledge and skills obtained from the Explorer curriculum in a functional way leading towards accreditation at their level of academic challenge. Pupils continue to experience a curriculum that prioritises personal development including life skills, preparation for adulthood (including careers and post school planning), PSHE and social skills. Time is spent to ensure each individual can transfer the knowledge and skills learnt functionally into their community and post school setting.
Pathfinder learners achieve at Entry level at the end of key stage 4, some aspire to achieve level 1 functional skills . There are occasions where learners achieve level 2 qualifications eg a GCSE in a subject of special talent or interest.
For more information please look at our Explorer - Pathfinder tab:
Explorer - Pathfinder Curriculum
