Longcause Learning For Life (LLFL)

Welcome to the Learning for Life Webpage!  
 

At Longcause School, we recognise that some children will find the development of specific social skills and life skills a challenge. Within some settings it may be taken for granted that these skills will naturally occur, however at Longcause School we understand that these skills need to be directly taught. As a result of this Longcause School has created it's own unique PSHE curriculum which we name our 'Learning for Life Curriculum' (LLfL) 

Our aim was to create a curriculum for our pupils in order for them to reach their fullest potential in their wider lives beyond school, and to be able to provide them with the skills needed to live as independently as possible. 

Through our discussions with families and a whole school collaboration with staff, we were able to identify they key skills that we felt were the most important aspects for our pupils' lives. 

Our curriculum is aligned with our school's vision of Learning for Life, and therefore the encompasses the National Policy, yet is much broader in the skills that pupils have the opportunity to develop.

The LLfL Curriculum focuses on the following areas-

• Social Communication- This is split into an Early curriculum (Social Interaction, Expressive Communication, Functional uses of communication, Understanding, Choices, Emotional Regulation) and a Later curriculum (Theory of Mind, Verbal Communication, Non-verbal Communication, Play, Friendliness, Bullying, Thinking skills) and Engagement.

• Drugs and Alcohol Education- Staying safe, Medicines, Hazardous substances, Alcohol, Smoking, Legal and illegal drugs.

• Relationships and Sex Education- Keeping clean & Hygiene, Growing & Changing, Families, Body parts, Personal space & touch, Reproduction, Relationships, Contraception.  

• Looking After a Home- Cleaning and tidying, Making a bed, Rubbish, Looking after clothes.

• Personal Health and Safety- E-safety, Personal care, Getting dressed, Food & Shopping and  Careers.

• Safety Inside the Home- Fire & Smoke alarms, Electrical safety, Gas safety, Water safety and Security.

• Safety Outside the Home- Road safety, Travel safety, Getting lost & Who can help us.

• Mental Wellbeing - physical health, relaxation, relationships, balanced diet, sleep, self care, resilience, environmental factors.

In order to provide a breadth of experiences for all pupils, there is a rolling programme of topics across a two year cycle, however this is not to enable progression.

At Longcause School we understand that these skills are as important, if not more, as other subjects because they are built around our pupils' individual needs for their future lives. Through opportunities in other subjects we also ensure that LLfL flows through all aspects of our curriculum and the pupils' experiences here at Longcause School. 

Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. 

The Department for Education has developed a new framework for schools to implement which will be statutory from September 2020. This framework is to support us in teaching children and young people to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. We will be delivering the new framework within our current LLfL curriculum and have adapted it in order to meet these guidelines. In addition, we have created a 'Mental Wellbeing' strand of the LLfL curriculum in order to support children in developing the skills and knowledge they need in relation to mental health. We will be using our knowledge of our pupils in order to ensure that content is age and developmentally appropriate.

You will have received a letter home with your child about this asking your opinion, and inviting you to a consultation for families if you wish to come in and discuss the framework, new policy and what your child will be learning about. If you would like any additional information please contact Faye James by emailing fjames@longcause.plymouth.sch.uk.

TALKABOUT
This year Talkabout is delivered as an intervention throughout the year for small groups of pupils within the Middle School.

Talkabout has been created by Alex Kelly as a way of supporting pupils to develop crucial social  skills through practical and small group based activities.  We will begin our work at Longcause by looking at how to develop our pupils self esteem and self awareness to create the foundations for effective social communication. 

To find out more about the work of Alex Kelly and the 'Talkabout' scheme please visit the following website:

http://alexkelly.biz/

KS4 Accreditation

Pupils in KS4 follow the ASDAN PSD accreditation. More information about this can be found on the KS4 page.