Blue Pathway

The Blue Pathway is the school’s curriculum provision for pre-formal learners. It has been carefully designed to meet the diverse and complex needs of our learners, which encompass a wide range of diagnoses.

The curriculum is structured to be flexible and adaptable, ensuring it can be effectively implemented across all Blue Pathway classes throughout the school.

Through the Blue Pathway, learners develop a broad range of skills, all of which are focused on increasing independence and fostering meaningful engagement with the world around them. Our understanding of learners’ progress and needs is informed by Evidence for Learning (our assessment tool), annual review meetings, regular communication with parents and carers, and ongoing day-to-day interactions with the learners themselves.

All aspects of the Blue Pathway curriculum are directed towards preparing learners for life beyond the classroom. The primary areas of focus are engagement, communication, interaction, and physical, social, and emotional well-being. Our overarching aim is for pupils to make sustained and meaningful progress towards living as independently as possible in adulthood.

Who is on the Blue Pathway? 

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Learners following the Blue Pathway are working at an engagement level across most areas of the curriculum and are not yet accessing subject-specific learning. Pupils within this pathway commonly demonstrate the following characteristics:

  • Emerging intentional communication
  • Emerging social awareness
  • Emerging contextual awareness
  • Possible learned responses to familiar routines
  • Early development of joint attention

The Curriculum

Each pupil has individualised lesson outcomes for every session, informed by their long-term EHCP outcomes and Blue Pathway targets. A high staff-to-student ratio ensures that learning is closely and consistently monitored, while also enabling the delivery of a high level of personal care.

Both teachers and teaching assistants possess a thorough understanding of pupils’ needs and intended learning outcomes and are well equipped to encourage and support learners effectively.

Lessons are frequently delivered through a sensory-based approach, engaging as many senses as possible. This may include the use of music to create immersive experiences, or the introduction of scents, sounds, tastes, and textures to support exploration. For many learners, developing whole-body awareness is a key priority, alongside the introduction of communication tools such as making choices and expressing needs.

Lessons are repeated over a minimum of one half-term to support anticipation, familiarity, and the initiation of new ways to explore, play, move, or interact. Close collaboration with the NHS Therapy Team ensures that pupils’ physiotherapy needs are fully met. In addition, regular liaison with other educational professionals and external agencies supports the continual review of our approaches and the ongoing development of best practice.

Pupils’ learning is monitored on a lesson-by-lesson basis through observational records and photographic evidence. Due to the complexity of learners’ needs, linear assessment models do not always effectively capture progress. Therefore, progress is assessed against EHCP outcomes and Blue Pathway curriculum targets on an ongoing basis.

We place great importance on recognising and celebrating every step of progress made by our pupils. This progress is shared weekly with parents and carers via the Evidence for Learning platform. We value strong home–school partnerships and actively encourage parents and carers to contribute to the learning outcomes of their children.

Exemplar Timetable for Blue Pathway

Blue Pathway Primary Learning Plan

Blue Pathway Secondary Learning Plan

Therapies and Interventions

Learners within the Blue Pathway have access to a broad range of specialist therapies and targeted interventions designed to meet their individual needs. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is a specialist aquatic intervention designed to support pupils’ physiotherapy needs. The school benefits from an on-site heated hydrotherapy pool. This provision has been shown to enhance quality of life for pupils with respiratory conditions, as well as supporting physical development and mobility.

Whole-Body Awareness
Whole-body awareness is an approach that supports pupils in developing an understanding of their own bodies and their relationship to others and the wider environment. This intervention promotes self-awareness and contributes positively to pupils’ overall well-being.

TacPac
TacPac is a sensory communication resource that combines structured touch and music to support the development of communication, social interaction, and emotional regulation.

Intensive Interaction
Intensive Interaction is a one-to-one approach in which an attentive adult responds to and mirrors the learner’s sounds, movements, and behaviours. This method supports the development of communication, shared attention, and early interaction skills.

Music Therapy
Music therapy utilises a range of musical styles, approaches, and instruments to enable learners to express themselves and engage with the world through a unique musical medium. Pupils access music therapy either on an individual basis or within small group sessions.

Rebound Therapy
Rebound therapy is a form of therapeutic exercise that uses a trampoline to provide structured opportunities for movement, physical development, and recreation. It also supports the development of communication, social interaction, and confidence.

Attention Autism
Attention Autism is an intervention model developed by Gina Davies, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. It is designed to promote natural and spontaneous communication through highly motivating, visually engaging activities and supports learners in developing understanding of attention, focus, and transitions.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
AAC encompasses a wide range of communication approaches and tools, including Makaton, PECS, communication books, visual supports, switches, timetables, and social stories. Classrooms adopt a total communication approach to ensure that all pupils are supported to communicate effectively in ways most appropriate to their individual needs.

 

Impact

Through ongoing observation and assessment, feedback from parents and carers, and input from further education and social enterprise providers, we are able to identify the following key impacts of the Blue Pathway:

  • Learners demonstrate increased engagement with the world around them. This may be evidenced through the ability to anticipate events, recognise familiar adults or peers, and respond meaningfully to a range of experiences.
  • Young people develop both receptive and expressive communication skills, enabling deeper and more purposeful interaction with others.
  • Pupils enhance their physical and emotional well-being and resilience through access to a range of ongoing therapies and targeted interventions.
  • Learners become increasingly able to understand, accept, and utilise the support available to them, supporting a positive transition to life beyond Highfield.

Moving On

Outcomes for learners following the Blue Pathway vary according to individual progress made within the curriculum frameworks and against their EHCP outcomes. All pupils are supported to achieve accredited outcomes drawn from their studies within the Blue Pathway areas of learning, with ASDAN Life Challenges used as the core qualification framework.

Learners typically remain on roll until the end of the academic year in which they turn 19, unless an alternative placement is identified as more appropriate to meet their needs. 

Planning for transition begins no later than the Year 9 annual review, with ongoing discussions involving learners, families, and professionals. Further detail is available within the school’s Careers Strategy, published on the school website.

Post-19 pathways may include a combination of social care–funded provision, direct payments to support community access, and involvement from the Learning Disability Partnership to meet ongoing health and care needs. Where a learner transitions to a social care–funded package or placement, their EHCP ceases in accordance with statutory guidance.

 

Please contact the Headteacher, Adam Daw at adaw@highfield.cambs.sch.uk if you would like any more details about the Blue Pathway.