Post 16 provision at Fosse Way is led by Assistant Headteacher Lizzie Griffin.
In Post 16 we challenge the students to be the best that they can be. Our goal is for each individual to leave us with the emotional, social, and academic skills to guide them through their next steps. Our curriculum is highly personalised for both the short and long-term outcomes of each individual and focuses on supporting students to become as independent as possible in all aspects of their lives.
The outcomes are taken directly from our 3 differentiated curriculum pathways: Turing, Hawking and Keller, and each pupil’s individual education health and care plan (EHCP) which are reviewed annually. In post 16 we combine these by linking the subjects in our curriculum to the 4 key areas of the preparation for adulthood section of the EHCP: education and employment, community inclusion, independent living and health.
Maths and English Provision in Our Post-16 Curriculum
Maths and English remain compulsory for all students who have not yet achieved a Grade 4 at GCSE. Our Post-16 curriculum prioritises preparation for adulthood, independence skills, and functional learning, including applying maths and English in real-life community settings.
What We Offer:
- Students with a Grade 3 at GCSE
Will be entered for GCSE resits and attend targeted booster sessions. - Students with GCSE below Grade 3/ Entry level qualifications
Will follow a Functional Skills pathway in maths and English, focusing on practical application and progression.
Progression Expectation
Students achieving Functional Skills Level 1 are expected to progress to a college course the following year to continue their learning at Level 2.
Additional Support
- All students, regardless of academic level, have at least one extra hour of functional maths and English embedded into their weekly schedule.
ICT is taught to all students weekly, following the AQA Unit Award Scheme. Students will also have opportunities to access digital technology as appropriate, including laptops, tablets, using e-mails, the internet, and using their phones safely and functionally throughout each week to prepare them for adulthood.
Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education (PSHEE) including Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is taught discretely and embedded in other subjects weekly.
18 hours of Religious Education (RE) is taught over the year, usually through three focussed RE days, encompassing learning about a wide range of religions.
Please note: Parents/carers do have the right to withdraw their children from these lessons.
Employment and training
Students will have a personalised timetable of work experience during their time in post-16 and often access work experience opportunities daily. Placements vary widely and may include being involved in a class led business, supported placements internally or externally as well as independent placements in the community. We also have a ‘famous’ onsite training café called Longfellow’s which many of our students volunteer in. Do check out our film on Facebook!
Students are expected to complete at least one internal work experience placement in Year 12.
In Year 13, students who can attend offsite placements should complete both an internal and an external placement.
By Year 14, these students may spend up to 50% of their week in work experience placements.
For students unable to attend external placements, work experience opportunities will be provided within the classroom.
We offer a wide range of awards, accreditations and qualifications to best prepare students to pursue their chosen career path when moving on from Fosse Way School. Many of our students will also work towards a blend of QCF approved qualification while in Post 16. We use several exam boards and personalise the curriculum on a yearly basis to best meet the needs of the cohort. Students will work towards qualifications in areas such as employability, enterprise and independent living skills. Some students may undertake qualifications particular to a certain employment opportunity such as Level 2 in food hygiene.
All students will work towards maths and English qualifications at a level suitable to their ability. Where appropriate, we encourage our students to prepare for functional skills accreditations or GCSEs. These qualifications all comply with the Post-16 qualification requirements;
AQA GCSE English Language
AQA GCSE Mathematics
Edexcel Pearson Functional Skills English Entry Level/L1/L2
Edexcel Pearson Functional Skills Mathematics Entry Level/L1/L2
Additional Qualifications and Awards
AQA Unit Award Scheme in digital functional skills
AQAUnit Award Scheme in Employability
AQA Unit Award Scheme in PSHEE, relationships and healthy living.
AQA Unit Award Scheme bespoke Units focusing on independence, social and work skills or for pre-entry students, literacy and numeracy skills.
All classes take part in enterprise which is an excellent opportunity for the students to develop skills required in adult life and the workplace. Over the past few years, students have run classroom businesses including a badge making company and a shop in our café. For two years our students have run a market stall in Midsomer Norton at Christmas and in the summer. The money generated is reinvested into the students’ funds and, at the end of the year, is used to fund their activities week with all choice of activities decided by the students.
Fosse Way School has a dedicated careers lead who facilitates a range of opportunities for our students. As part of our school’s careers programme, all students in Year 13 and 10 have the opportunity to meet with an independent careers adviser on a 1:1 basis to discuss their preferences and opportunities for future employment, as well as the steps they could take to achieve it. All other Post 16 and secondary students access careers workshops each year. Students also regularly visit different employers and other education and training establishments to give them a full understanding of the different opportunities available to them. Please see our careers policy for more information on our detailed careers programme
Independent Living
Our curriculum promotes the development of independence at all levels and abilities. This may include teaching students to make their own choices, personal care skills, travel training, looking after the home, developing the skills to live independently later in life, and managing their own emotions. Students are regularly taught out in the local community and in our onsite training flat.
Community Inclusion
We have a strong sense of community at Fosse Way School and we teach our students to have the same. We access many local community facilities and build relationships with many local companies, especially to enhance our work placements. We teach our students to become actively involved in their communities and every year each group sponsors a local charity. We believe it is important to support and broaden our student’s social development. To enable this, we regularly meet students from other local provisions for social events to encourage new social opportunities.
Health
We support students to manage their own physical and mental health. Students learn about healthy living, are encouraged to exercise, learn to cook healthy food, develop positive friendships and learn how to fill down time. They also have access to the Post-16 Counsellor.
Each year students have the opportunity to take part in exercise in local community facilities such as the local gym and skittles sessions. All students also have, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) as well as Personal Social Health Economic Education (PSHEE) on their timetable, which vary in content depending on the needs of the class.
Beyond Post 16:
DFN Project SEARCH is a one-year supported internship programme for students in their final two years of education, after they have finished at Fosse Way School, or after College. The access to work programme enables interns to spend a year on site with an employer whilst gaining the skills, experience, knowledge, and confidence to find paid employment at the end of the year. Project SEARCH was developed in Cincinnati, USA and is now successfully replicated in many states. Fosse Way School was the first school in the UK to offer the course and this is now run separately to the school. For more information, please see the DFN Project SEARCH area of our prospectus.
Since the summer of 2013, the Government has increased the age of participation. This means that young people must now remain in education, employment or training for longer. The following information is form the Department for Education Website:
Young people in England are required to continue in education or training.
This is being introduced in two stages:
- pupils who left year 11 in summer 2013 had to continue in education or training for at least another year until June 2014
- pupils who left year 11 in summer 2014 or later have to continue until at least their 18th birthday
This does not mean young people must stay in school. They will able to choose from:
- full-time education (eg at a school or college)
- an apprenticeship or traineeship
- part-time education or training combined with one of the following:
- employment or self-employment for 20 hours or more a week
- volunteering for 20 hours or more a week
On completion of year 11 learners at Fosse Way School have a number of options open to them. Some learners choose to leave school at this stage to continue their studies at colleges of further education. Many opt to enter the sixth form at Fosse Way where they are entitled to continue their studies until the completion of the academic year in which they reach nineteen years of age. Fosse Way provides Programmes of Study (PoS) devised to prepare each learner for the next stage in his or her life, whether it be entering employment, following a course at a FE college or moving into supported living within a community placement.
For more information about the curriculum please see the Turing and the Hawking/Keller Curriculum Statements.