Statement of Intent: Accessing the Community

Accessing the Community is taught for 2 hours per week to key stages 3 and 4 with the intention of fulfilling Fairmead School’s Vision of enabling young people to achieve successful futures as independent adults.  Whilst this is not specified within the National Curriculum as a subject in its own right, the school places great emphasis on the growth of Accessing the Community as it directly targets the four pillars of our curriculum.

Importantly, Accessing the Community supports students in achieving their personal targets as stated in their EHCPs under Self Help and Independence.  For many of our students, this includes crossing the road safely and interacting appropriately with people in the community.  Weekly, two hour lessons give students the opportunity to regularly practise these skills and build on their prior knowledge. 

The aspiration for all young people is that they are able to find their place within meaningful employment.  We see Accessing the Community as an essential stepping stone to achieving this goal as it aims to bring independence to young people’s interaction with the wider community.  In order to build the essential skills for independence, learning and experiences in each area has a clear sequence:

In Key Stage 3 students learn about the local community;

• how to keep safe in the community, including stranger awareness and road safety;
• travel and transport, including public transport, keeping safe as a passenger in a car and emergency vehicles;
• money, including recognising money and using this in the community and communication with a focus on talking to staff in shops and cafes;
• what activities are available to fill leisure time.

In Key Stage 4 students progress to learn about personal safety in the community, including:

•  ‘safe’ strangers and who to ask for help;
• communication, including arranging to meet up with friends, dealing with problems and accessing help and support;
• travel and public transport, including Independent Travel Training and train travel;
• leisure time, including keeping healthy, planning a visit and mental health;
• managing money, including visiting a bank and keeping to a budget
• helping in the community, including volunteering.