📚 Curriculum & Pathways

We believe every child deserves an ambitious, meaningful curriculum matched to how they learn best.

Just like our mainstream classes, our SEND Unit is guided by clear curriculum drivers. In Blossom, these are shaped through our ACORN principles, which reflect both best practice in SEND and our Trust vision of helping every child flourish.

🌳 Our ACORN Drivers

We aspire for every child to grow from acorns into mighty oaks. Our curriculum is shaped by:

A – Achievement
We celebrate progress from individual starting points. We have high aspirations and focus on building strong foundations for future success.

C – Communication
We support children to express themselves and understand others through a total communication approach, developing language and emotional literacy.

O – Opportunities
We provide experiences that build independence, life skills and confidence — in the classroom and beyond.

R – Relationships
We nurture positive friendships and trusting adult relationships, helping children develop social understanding and connection.

N – Nurture
We prioritise emotional wellbeing, safe spaces and strategies for self-regulation and resilience in order to ensure children can learn effectively.

🌿 Inclusive Curriculum Design

Learning in Blossom is:

• Carefully sequenced
• Broken into manageable steps
• Supported by visual structures and modelling
• Adapted without lowering ambition

Children also access mainstream lessons and wider school experiences where this supports their progress and confidence.

🌳 Our Curriculum Model: Roots – Trunk – Branches

To ensure children thrive, our curriculum is structured in three connected layers: Roots (focusing on belonging, communication, emotional regulation and readiness to learn), Trunk (our learning pathways), Branches (wider opportunities that are available to ensure children flourish in an inclusive and supportive environment).

🌱 Roots – Foundations for Learning

For many children, learning begins with strong foundations, initially supporting communication and aspects of executive function.

We prioritise:

• Communication and language
• Emotional regulation and wellbeing
• Sensory and physical readiness
• Social understanding and routines
• Attention and engagement
• Building behaviours for learning

When children feel safe and regulated and can communicate, learning becomes possible.

These foundations are embedded throughout the school day and woven into routines, teaching and environment.

🌲 Trunk – Core Curriculum & Pathways

All children are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum aligned with the EYFS Framework and National Curriculum. Within Blossom, there is often a strong emphasis on foundational knowledge — communication, executive function, early reading, writing and mathematics — delivered through our pathway model.

Teaching is delivered through three Trust curriculum pathways:

• Pathway 1 – Highly personalised, focusing on communication, regulation and developing early learning skills
• Pathway 2 – Structured and scaffolded, building strong foundations in core subjects and access to wider curriculum. At this stage, children are ready for some subject specific learning
• Pathway 3 – Broadly age-related curriculum with targeted adaptations and support to access learning activities due to wider needs

Children in Blossom typically follow Pathway 1 or Pathway 2 depending on their individual need and stage.

Pathway placement is not fixed. It is reviewed regularly to ensure it continues to match each child’s development and progress.

Our aim is always growth — building confidence, independence and readiness for the next stage of education.

Across all pathways:

• Communication and reading are prioritised
• We utilise the Supersonic Phonic scheme, which provides structured and well-supported materials for children with SEND.
• Life skills, wellbeing and outdoor learning are integrated
• Progress is measured from individual starting points

🌸 Branches – Wider Opportunities

Learning is about more than academic progress.

Children in Blossom may access:

• Life Skills experiences
• Visits and enrichment activities
• Outdoor learning 
• Assemblies and celebrations
• Wider school life

We believe these experiences build confidence, belonging and readiness for the future.