Community Awareness
Preparing for Adulthood Curriculum
At the Beacon College students participate in a Preparing for Adulthood Curriculum. This broad and varied curriculum enables the students to explicitly work towards their next steps in all four areas of Preparing for Adulthood pathways: Employment, Independent living, Good health and Community inclusion. This curriculum and Community Awareness in general, is very much intertwined with Independent Life and Living Skills with many of the curriculums crossing over and teaching aspects of both.
Preparing for Adulthood Overview:
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Autumn 1 +
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 + |
Year A
| Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Developing Community Participation Skills: Getting Out and About Formal Pathway: Preparation for work | Learning continues from the Autumn term.
| Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Developing Independent Living Skills Preparing drinks and snacks Formal Pathway: Parenting awareness
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Year B
| Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Engaging with the world around you: Objects Formal Pathway: Community Action | Learning continues from the Autumn term. | Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Using a community facility over a period of time Formal Pathway: Personal safety in the home Food safety in the home and community
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Year C
| Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Independent Living: Planning and preparing food for an event Formal Pathway: Managing own money
| Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Learning continues from the Autumn term. Formal Pathway: Using technology in the home and community
| Informal, Pre-Formal and Semi- Formal Pathway: Developing Skills for the Workplace Growing and caring for plants Formal Pathway: Working as part of a group Identity and Cultural Diversity
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Alongside the Preparing for Adulthood Curriculum, every student at the Beacon College accesses a variety of opportunities to develop their community awareness. For example, the Beacon College works with Herefordshire County Council to provide travel training for students who are ready to begin the process of travelling independently. We ensure that everyone who can is ready to begin their independent travel training and we then refer them to this service. At college with facilitate their progress by liaising closely with the travel trainers and providing frequent opportunities to practice the skills they have been taught.
Alongside this, students participate in a comprehensive programme of community groups, voluntary and enterprise projects, and community visits, as detailed in our Independent Lif and Living Skills and Physical Development offer. While participating in the groups, students are supported to progress in their Personal Learning Goals based on their EHCP (Education, Health, and Care Plan) outcomes such as applying functional skills to ‘real-life’ situations, developing their awareness of personal safety, and applying self-regulation strategies while out in the community.
SkillsBuilder
During the academic year 2023-2024 we have applied for and have been successful in gaining a sponsored place on the SkillsBuilder Accelerator programme. The SkillsBuilder Framework breaks down each of the eight skills into a sequence of steps, mapping out progression. We are using the SkillsBuilder Framework as a focus of our learning when participating in community groups and developing community awareness.
The Beacon College works with The Skills Builder Partnership to ensure every learner has opportunities to build eight essential skills to support them now and in the future. Research has shown that building these eight essential skills can support the emotional wellbeing and academic success of children and young people, as well as preparing them for life beyond school. Skills Builder has developed a Universal Framework that breaks each of these essential skills down into 16 teachable steps. We use this framework to teach and practise each of the eight skills at the appropriate level throughout college life.
Skills Builder also has a resource platform dedicated to helping parents and carers to build their child’s essential skills at home:
