Our curriculum is designed around the Preparing for Adulthood framework, creating individualised programmes that are focused on four key outcomes for young people, enabling them to reach their own potential:
- Employment
- Friends, relationships and community
- Independent living
- Good health
Made up of a wide range of interesting and stimulating courses, our curriculum leads to a mix of accredited learning and non-accredited outcomes, personal to you.
We support all our learners to achieve their full potential, which is why, as well as teaching core subjects, we help to prepare them for adulthood through a range of options.
All our teachers have relevant qualifications and an extensive range of experience.
Our wide range of subjects, chosen to offer a wealth of experiences, include the below.
Core subjects:
English and Maths
Both English and Maths are taught as group and 1:1 sessions, as well as being embedded throughout the curriculum. After undergoing an initial assessment in both curriculum areas, each of our learners then follow the appropriate accreditation pathway, suitable for their needs.
Animal Care, including Equine, Farm and Small Animals
Learn about all aspects of animal care, from feeding right through to grooming, with the horses, ducks, pigs and other furry creatures on our very own farm!
Here, you’ll get the chance to work with a wide array of small and large animals, understand their diet and health needs and undertake practical activities such as egg collection and grading.
The course includes the opportunity to specialise in Equine Studies, encompassing a wide variety of horse related activities, from riding our horses and carrying out health checks to understanding equine nutritional needs and feeding.
Horticulture (on and off site, in the community)
Develop your green fingers by discovering more about the natural produce on our farm, from flowers to fruit and vegetables. Learn to grow your own produce in our indoor polytunnels and outside horticulture spaces!
By becoming involved in the whole growing and harvesting process you’ll understand the horticultural needs of individual fruits and vegetables, as well as increasing your wider knowledge of where and how our food chain starts.
Lifeskills
Discover and cultivate the skills for a fulfilling and happy life, both personal and interpersonal. Use our three on-site chalets to practice real life skills, from making your own bed to washing and ironing your clothes!
With food preparation a key area, we focus on meal planning, including elements of budgeting, shopping, food preparation and safe storage of ingredients. All these skills support our learners in becoming more independent and making the best choices for themselves.
PSHE
Here, we focus on developing the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to keep our learners healthy and safe and prepare them for life and work.
With a focus on the three core themes of Health and Wellbeing, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World, we also cover E-Safety, exploring potential online risks and giving information about how to stay safe online.
Vocational Skills and Experience
Learn about the different vocational skills required in the world of work, including the opportunity to undertake real-life work experience and internships.
The majority of our learners are involved in some aspect of work experience or work placements, where they are able to develop transferable skills such as communication and teamworking.
The course generates an understanding of how organisations work, brings jobs to life and helps build confidence through interaction with adults in a work environment.
Some of our learners use this opportunity to confirm an interest in a career and some continue their placements beyond their course.
Additional subjects:
Health, Fitness and Wellbeing
Enjoy a range of sports and fitness activities and understand how to improve and maintain your wellbeing. Through Health, Fitness and Wellbeing, you will learn to understand the importance of looking after your body and your mind, as well as exciting practical ways to keep you healthy.
Resistant Materials
Learn the skills required to design and make exciting new products with materials such as wood, metal and plastics. You’ll even get the chance to become involved in mini enterprise activities, by selling them at our market stalls and pop up shop!
Cycle Maintenance and Repair Workshop
Have a go at maintaining and repairing cycles in our fully kitted out bike workshop! Here, you’ll become involved in the repair and maintenance of bikes at all levels as well as building new bikes from old parts.
From basic checks to the essential tools you should carry, right through to fixing punctures and adjusting your brake and gear cables, for safe and happy cycling it’s important to understand how to check and maintain your bicycle for optimum performance.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Challenge yourself and learn new interests and skills, through this epic mark of achievement, recognised by employers.
Through this programme our learners have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence.
They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing their CVs and job applications.
Catering
From cookery to waiting on, learn the fundamentals of good catering and hospitality. We consider cooking an essential life skill and we teach our learners to do this with confidence.
Entirely hands on, sessions are taught in small groups, with learners developing and practising essential practical skills as well as understanding budgeting, shopping and food safety. Here, you can develop meal planning skills and produce your own dishes to share with family and friends.
Art
Get creative and learn how to use a wide range of different media to make your very own works of art.
Through our Art course you will learn skills including creative thinking, independence, problem solving, hand-eye coordination and communication.
All sessions encourage self-expression and creativity and help to build confidence as well as a sense of individual identity.
Enterprise
Explore what it takes to run a business and become a successful entrepreneur. Here, our learners develop the practical and creative skills required to run a viable business, as well as cultivating skills for learning, life and work and enriching their sense of social justice.
Through our hands-on learning environment and entrepreneurial operation located in our college setting, learners are involved with identifying, creating, and selling goods or services that meet the needs of the specified market. Previous projects have included making and selling wooden snowmen and Father Christmases on a stall at our local Christmas market.
Therapeutic Intervention
Here, we work with learners to improve their wellbeing through a wide range of interesting activities such as Mindfulness. These practices can help learners increase their ability to regulate emotions and decrease stress, anxiety and depression. Learners also discover how to focus their attention and observe their thoughts and feelings without judgement.
View our 2019/2020 timetable here.
Accredited learning pathways
Our study programmes are accredited by AIM Qualifications and Ascentis.
Through AIM qualifications, our learners study towards achieving vocationally related qualifications (AIMVOCs) in Personal and Social Development, Employability and Independent Living.
Regardless of their starting point, all learners continue to develop in their learning in Maths and English whilst following their study programmes. Through Ascentis qualifications, we are able to offer a full range of English and Maths qualifications from Entry 1 to Level 2. This is very flexible and allows a learner to select the units they need to develop, underpinning the skills and knowledge they need to progress, whilst also building confidence.
Non-accredited learning pathways
We embed the Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) outcomes across the curriculum and we measure the progress and achievement of learners on non-accredited learning programmes through RARPA (Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement).