Curriculum Overview

Our curriculum is engineered and tailored to meet the individual and longer term needs of our students. We aim to give our students a voice in their future and support them ready for fulfilled adulthood. Together, we develop individual learning plans (ILP) shaped to suit our students’ interests and aspirations.

Intent

The intent of the Supported Internship curriculum is to support our students to achieve the following destinations:

Being Independent
Working with support in my Community
Volunteering in my Community

We aim to develop students who are highly employable, prepared for rapidly changing workplaces and are equipped for the next step towards their educational-based goal (Apprenticeship, Traineeship or Further Education/Training). We want to empower students to succeed and make outstanding progress in their learning, achieve positive destinations, become equipped for future life and are ambitious to be the best they can be. We aim to stimulate students so that they can exceed their expectations and become well-rounded citizens of local, national and global communities growing in self-confidence.

We believe that all our students need a set of skills and attributes that will prepare them for adult life, further learning and employment. With this in mind, both the ‘Skills Builder Universal Framework’ (listening, speaking, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork) and seven core curriculum ‘Building Blocks’ (functional and communication skills, my personal living skills, helping me to work, staying well and healthy, being in my community, planning for my future and developing my interests) are mapped and threaded throughout all of our pathways to enable each one of our students to experience outstanding opportunities for future planning, progress, transition and progression. By the end of the programme, we aim for our students to have a good and strong portfolio of evidenced progress and accreditation, the tools they need to be able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people and they are able to manage the challenges of daily life.

In-line with Future Finders Employability MAT’s destination matrix, the focus is on progress towards the most appropriate future. At the College, there is a significant emphasis on increasing individual independence in preparation for adulthood by building on each student’s strengths secured during Y14, whilst also targeting areas that require further development in line with the aspirational destination of the particular student.

Implementation

The supported internship is structured over a five-day week, with approximately three days dedicated to placements Our curriculum is designed to give students access to work placement that they find interesting, thereby opening routes to as wide a variety of careers as possible and providing a firm foundation for their future.

Over a five day per week offer (30 periods), the supported internship programme includes the following core components:

Employability (accredited learning and work placement) - 18 periods
English 4 - periods
Mathematics - 4 periods
RSHE/Living Skills/Tutorial - 2 periods
Personal Development/Enrichment - 2 periods

Some themes within the components have a spiral and cumulative structure. Therefore, knowledge and understanding of concepts is built from repeated exposure to an array of different and relatable examples. Other themes within the components have a structure that is more hierarchical, whereby the knowledge and understanding of concepts is established by gradual mastery. The curriculum is delivered through a varied range of theory and practical lessons which support the development and application of knowledge, understanding and skills. This is achieved via structure and sequence, modelling and scaffolding, differentiate and challenge, applying bespoke methodology, linking curriculum to careers, having high expectations, applying retrieval practice and focusing clearly on assessment and constructive feedback.

Our curriculum is designed to give students access to work placement that they find interesting, thereby opening routes to as wide a variety of careers as possible and providing a firm foundation for their future. These placements are sourced from a pool of host employers and are tailored to help students gain confidence and develop the practical skills and qualities needed for various working environments. We foster a positive environment that enables students to perform at their appropriate level and develop their understanding of real-life working environments. This knowledge is embedded to ensure all students can progress to further education, paid employment, or long-term independent volunteering in the community. In collaboration with employers, job descriptions are created and followed by students, broken down into smaller step targets. To further develop the curriculum, elements are primarily delivered through practical sessions during placements, which are then reinforced by the knowledge gained in college across all areas of the curriculum, and vice versa.

Through target setting, evidence collection, feedback from both students and employers, and reflective diaries, students can reflect and identify key areas for development through professional discussions, both formally and informally. Evidence gathered from placements is linked to the skills, knowledge, and understanding assessed in the classroom environment. All evidence is logged on our online learning platform, ‘Evidence for Learning’ (EfL), with connections to Educational Health Care Plans, job description targets, and step targets to ensure progress towards end-of-education goals and Preparation for Adulthood (PfA). Additionally, the knowledge and understanding gained in the classroom are reinforced during placements, with clear sequencing across all areas of the curriculum. Key topics and vocabulary in all subjects are identified and emphasized.

Impact Measures

Future Finders Employability has designed our own assessment system to track impact. EfL is used to assess, measure and track progress of students academically, against a specified job description and their EHCP outcomes. The Academic Evidence for Learning is a series of accredited learning outcomes. All students are assessed formatively using our EfL system. Job Coaches set targets for all students using small step statements and learning activities in each area are carefully designed to give students opportunities to meet these targets. Job Coaches assess student’s knowledge, understanding and skills by making observations of the student working during lessons, out on placements and out in the community, providing both written and verbal feedback, with the opportunity for the learners to reflect on work completed. Job Coaches measure progress against EHCP outcomes using a BRAG rating, not achieved to mastered. Students are engaged in the assessment process by Job Coaches encouraging them to take ownership of their targets, understanding what they have achieved so far and what their next steps are. Frequently through the year, EfL is updated by Tutors and data collated to show the progress of individual students.

In addition, we measure impact based on student EHCP outcomes, achievement rates, progression and destinations, and stakeholders views.