Base 2: Woodland and Rainforest
Base 2 provides a structured, semi-formal learning environment for pupils working across KS1 and KS2 pathways. Pupils receive increasingly subject-focused teaching while continuing to access visual support, sensory regulation and personalised communication strategies. The curriculum develops English, maths, science, history, geography and creative learning through topics including voyages, rainforests, the Stone Age, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Spain and the Romans. Teaching supports pupils to apply knowledge, solve problems and work with greater independence. Preparation for adulthood remains central, including communication, self-care, relationships, safety and community participation. Pupils access meaningful mainstream learning alongside peers wherever this is appropriate, beneficial and successfully supported.
Our Curriculum
Our Teaching Approaches and Evidence-Informed SEND Practice
Teaching in the Base is rooted in quality-first teaching adapted through specialist knowledge of autism, communication development, sensory regulation and learning differences.
Key approaches include visual timetables, first-then boards and now-and-next supports; TEACCH-informed structured teaching; Attention Autism; intensive interaction; PECS, Makaton, gestures and AAC; social stories and comic strip conversations; sensory circuits, movement breaks and sensory diets; and concrete, highly scaffolded modelling and repetition.
The curriculum also makes use of motivating themes such as WOW Wednesdays and Food Fridays, alongside carefully chosen texts and practical, experiential learning opportunities that connect subject learning with pupil interests and real-life function.
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Preparation for adulthood is the central thread that runs through all that we do. The school prioritises successful preparation for adulthood through learning that develops independence, social understanding, decision-making, self-care, communication, community participation and wellbeing.
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Across the year, the curriculum is organised through six themes: Self-Awareness, The World I Live In, Managing Feelings, Healthy Lifestyles, Self-Care, Support and Safety, and Changing and Growing. These themes are structured through Milestones 1–6, enabling pupils to progress from early engagement and identification to reasoning and increasing independence.
