© 2035 by The Clinic. Powered and secured by Wix
© 2035 by The Clinic. Powered and secured by Wix
Our Curriculum
At Phoenix ND Education Ltd, our curriculum helps young people reconnect with learning, recognise their strengths and build the skills they need for their next steps. We provide personalised alternative provision for learners with special educational needs and disabilities, including neurodivergent young people and those who have experienced disrupted education, anxiety or barriers to engagement.
Our curriculum brings together academic learning, practical experiences, creativity and personal development. We value progress in confidence, communication and independence alongside achievement in English, Mathematics and other subjects.
Our Aims & Philosophy
We believe young people learn best when they feel safe, understood and valued. Positive relationships, consistent adults and predictable routines create the foundations for learning. Our nurture-based, trauma-informed and neuro-affirming approach recognises differences in how students communicate, process information and experience their environment.
We maintain ambition for every learner while adapting the pace, support and ways of participating. Teaching builds from each student’s developmental stage and starting points, with age-respectful activities that connect to their interests and aspirations.
Through the curriculum, we aim to help students rebuild trust in education, address gaps in learning, develop emotional regulation and become more confident in expressing their needs. We support them to gain meaningful recognition for their achievements, participate safely in their communities and prepare for further education, training or employment.
A Curriculum Built Around
Each Learner
Every placement has an individual purpose. We work with students, families, commissioning schools and local authorities to agree priorities and intended outcomes. Baseline assessment, previous learning, professional advice and Education, Health and Care Plan outcomes, where applicable, inform planning.
Our year-group curriculum provides a sequenced framework, adapted to the length and pattern of attendance. Where Phoenix forms part of a wider education package, we coordinate learning with the commissioning setting to support continuity and agreed qualification or reintegration plans.
Students may learn in mixed-age groups, sharing a theme while working towards different outcomes. Learning is broken into manageable steps, with modelling, repetition, visual support and practical activities. Students can demonstrate understanding through discussion, images, technology, creative work and practical tasks, as well as writing.
Our Curriculum Pathways
Our three flexible pathways — Explore, Connect and Apply — help us plan the approach and support each student needs. They are not fixed ability groups and are not determined by age or diagnosis. A student mayuse different pathways across subjects or activities, and approaches are reviewed as their needs and confidence change.
Explore supports learners who need a high level of help with regulation, communication, sensory access or rebuilding participation. Short, concrete activities and familiar routines create opportunities to make choices, communicate needs and experience success. Learning might include exploring ingredients, handling natural materials, supported art or practising everyday routines. Progress may be joining an activity, expressing a preference or completing a familiar step with less support.
Explore
Connect helps students link knowledge and skills to everyday life. Structured topic work, shared projects and guided practical experiences develop literacy, numeracy, teamwork and growing independence. Students might follow a recipe, use money on a supported visit, create a photography project or plan an enterprise activity. Suitable achievements may be recognised through AQA Unit Awards or Entry Level Functional Skills, where appropriate.
Connect
Apply supports students to use their learning with increasing independence and prepare for future responsibilities. Activities may include budgeting, preparing meals, creating portfolios, vocational tasters and work-related projects. Appropriate accreditation can include Functional Skills, NOCN and other entry-level or vocational qualifications, with progression towards Level 1 or Level 2 where suitable. Support and adjustments remain available, and work experience is considered according to readiness and individual goals.
Apply
All pathways include communication, regulation, literacy, numeracy, safeguarding, careers and preparation for adulthood. Students do not have to complete one pathway before accessing another.
What Students Learn
English and mathematics are priorities across the curriculum. Students develop speaking, listening, reading and writing alongside practical numeracy, including time, money, measurement, budgeting and problem-solving. These skills are revisited through meaningful everyday tasks.
The wider offer includes science and environmental learning; humanities and community understanding; computing, digital literacy and online safety; art, music, drama, design, photography and media; and physical education, outdoor learning and wellbeing activities.
PSHE and Relationships, Sex and Health Education help students understand themselves, build healthy relationships and make informed choices. Cooking, food and nutrition, enterprise and other practical projects connect subject learning with independent living and future work. The National Curriculum informs subject content and progression, with delivery adapted to individual needs and agreed placements.
Learning through themes
Our themes connect subjects through purposeful projects and experiences. They provide opportunities to revisit skills, explore new interests and gradually take on greater independence.
Key Stage 3
Year 7 focuses on identity, belonging and feeling safe. Themes include The Story Of Me, Where I Belong, Stronger Together, Adventure Starts Here, Into the Wild and Ready for Anything. Students build relationships and routines while exploring their community, the natural world and change.
Year 8 develops discovery, curiosity and understanding of the wider world. How Stuff Works, Lights, Camera,Action!, Planet Earth, Into the Unknown, The Secret Life of Animals and Festival Fever bring together investigation, technology, creativity, culture and environmental learning.
Year 9 bridges into Key Stage 4 through choices, society and growing independence. The Rules of Life, Fact or Fake?, Survive!, Big Decisions, Money Matters and Dream Jobs and Big Ideas explore citizenship, medialiteracy, risk, relationships, enterprise and aspirations.
Key Stage 4
Year 10 focuses on real-life skills and independence. Living My Life, Food, Home and Survival, Work It Out, Out There, Create and Sell and Future Ready support self-care, cooking, employability, community access, enterprise and transition planning.
Year 11 combines reflection, achievement and preparation for the next stage. Who Am I Now?, Stories That Shape Us, Beyond My World, The Next Chapter, Leave Your Mark and Moving On provide opportunities for creative projects, community contribution, applications and supported transition.
Throughout Key Stage 4, English and mathematics continue alongside practical learning and appropriateaccreditation. Themes provide a flexible planning framework rather than an identical timetable for every student.
Post-16 Learning & Next Steps
Our post-16 curriculum builds on the learning and personal development established at Key Stage 4, with an increasing focus on the skills young people need for their next stage of education, training, employment or adult life.
Each learner follows a personalised programme shaped by their strengths, interests, aspirations and support needs. We maintain appropriate challenge while recognising that young people develop independence at different rates. Our Explore, Connect and Apply pathways continue to guide teaching, ensuring that practical learning, communication support and emotional regulation remain available alongside qualifications and vocational experiences.
Developing skills for adult life
English, mathematics and digital skills remain central, with opportunities to develop appropriate qualifications and apply learning in everyday situations. Activities may include comparing prices, managing a budget, reading workplace information, completing forms, writing emails and using technology safely.
Learners build independence through practical experiences such as planning and preparing meals, organising personal routines, accessing community facilities and developing travel skills. Learning about health, wellbeing, relationships and personal safety supports informed choices and greater confidence in adult situations.
We also support young people to understand their own needs, recognise when they need help and explain the adjustments that enable them to succeed. Managing responsibilities, making decisions and communicating with unfamiliar people are developed gradually, with support adapted to each learner.
Exploring future opportunities
Careers learning through the Thrive curriculum and platform helps learners connect their interests and strengths with realistic future opportunities. Vocational projects, tasters, employer encounters and work experience may form part of an individual programme, according to suitability, readiness and availability.
Learners practise the skills needed to take their next steps, which may include researching courses, preparing a CV, completing applications, practising interviews or planning a journey to a new setting. Practical projects provide opportunities to develop teamwork, problem-solving, organisation and responsibility.
Planning a supported transition
Transition planning is an ongoing part of the post-16 programme. We work with learners, families, commissioning partners and relevant professionals to identify appropriate destinations and the support needed to access them.
Next steps may include further education, vocational training, supported internships, apprenticeships, employment or other suitable provision. Where appropriate, preparation may involve visits, supported introductions, sharing learning profiles and communicating support needs to the receiving setting.
Our aim is for every young person to move forward with a clearer understanding of their strengths, greater confidence in expressing their needs and practical skills they can use beyond Phoenix.
Careers Learning with Thrive
Careers education helps students recognise their interests, skills and qualities, explore possible futures and develop confidence in making choices. Phoenix uses the Thrive careers curriculum and digital platform as part of this offer.
Thrive learning develops from self-awareness and understanding job roles towards exploring opportunities and preparing for transition. Activities can include identifying strengths through hobbies, considering the rewards and challenges of work, researching pathways, preparing CVs and practising interviews.
Students explore the platform independently or with staff support. Their interests and responses inform careers conversations and help connect learning with vocational tasters, employer encounters and practical experiences where appropriate. Activities are adapted across Explore, Connect and Apply so that communication, literacy or regulation needs do not prevent participation.
Thrive complements individual careers guidance and wider work-related learning. We use it to support transition discussions with students, families and commissioning settings.
Preparing for Adulthood
Preparation for adulthood runs through every stage of our curriculum. Students practise skills for independent living, health and wellbeing, relationships, community participation and employment. Cooking, managing money, planning journeys, working with others and asking for help give learning a practical purpose. Community experiences, travel training and enterprise projects are introduced with appropriate support. Student voice is central: young people are encouraged to express preferences, contribute to targets and become more confident advocates for themselves.
Learning about online safety, consent, boundaries and seeking support helps students make safer decisions. Respect for diversity, different beliefs and the rights of others is woven into everyday learning and relationships.
Recognising Progress & Achievement
Assessment is ongoing, personalised and sensitive to students’ readiness. We use observations, work samples, practical outcomes, portfolios and student feedback to identify progress and next steps.
Success may mean returning to learning, attending more consistently, communicating a need, managing a change or completing a task more independently. We recognise that progress can be uneven and review personal development alongside academic learning and EHCP outcomes where applicable.
Students may work towards Functional Skills, AQA Unit Awards, NOCN and suitable vocational or entry-level qualifications. The route and level depend on individual goals, readiness and course availability. Regular reviews with families and commissioning partners help keep learning relevant and support reintegration or a positive transition to the next setting.
