Engagement for Life

Who is the Engagement for Life Pathway for?
The Engagement for Life Pathway has been designed to support learners with a range of complex physical, sensory, cognitive and medical needs. We support students to access the world around them and to make purposeful decisions about their lives.

What makes us unique?
Students that access the Engagement for Life pathway benefit from high staffing ratios, allowing for a highly person-centred approach to learning. Where appropriate, our staff will make this support more discreet, to empower our students to be as independent as possible. Our staff work with care and compassion to ensure all students are respected and feel safe enough to have autonomy over their daily learning experiences. Staff are experts in specialist teaching and engagement strategies including sensory diets, Interoception, Sensology, TAC PAC, and massage stories, in addition to using assistive technology to support environmental access and control.

We use a variety of specialist programmes and strategies to support communication including Makaton, Intensive Interaction, TaSSeLs Tactile Signing, Objects of Reference, music cues and a range of high tech and low tech AAC including Eye Gaze technology.

Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to offer students a range of meaningful learning activities and experiences through which they can make progress towards their EHCP outcomes, therefore supporting their transition to life after college. The course includes sessions focused on communication, PSHEC, ICT (Environmental Control using technology), accessing and communicating within the community, personal hobbies and interests and sensory and physical development. Embedded throughout our curriculum is an emphasis on communication and recognising students as unique individuals.
We use a highly sensory approach to support engagement and create an environment in which students participate and have control of their day-today experience.

Students also have access to:
• Opportunities for community-based learning
• An engaging timetable of sensory and communication-based learning activities that support progress towards each individual’s EHCP outcomes
• Access to hydrotherapy
• Enrichment activities including boccia, drama, music, sensory cinema and adapted sports.
• A varied mixture of 1:1, paired and small group work
• Therapy interwoven into daily learning activities and delivered as standalone sessions.