Curriculum
What Makes Careers Education At Haywards Farm School Different
Haywards Farm School is proud of our curriculum. It is ambitious and inspiring. Tailored around the needs of our individual students, our curriculum is broad (in terms of subject areas covered), balanced (in terms of skills and competencies) and delivered at a range of different levels across all year groups, enabling any learner – regardless of their starting point at Haywards Farm – to achieve and progress.
Student achievement is recognised at many levels at Haywards Farm School. We place our students’ personal and social development at the very centre of everything we do, helping to create well-rounded, happy and independent students. By incorporating the National Curriculum within cross-curricular, topic-based learning and our school values, our curriculum seeks to equip the students with the skills and knowledge to be successful adults in the future.
Reading is a vital form of communication for everyone. The key to improving outcomes in all subjects is fostering a love of reading. There is substantial evidence showing how reading impacts on a wide range of issues, including attainment, mental health, economic wellbeing and relationships.
There are daily lessons in Mathematics, English and Reading alongside weekly lessons in PE, Science, Geography/History, RE, Computing, Music, Art/ Design Technology, Cooking and PSHE. SMSC and British Values are embedded within all aspects of the curriculum.
We understand the importance of emotional and social literacy in developing a child’s character. For this reason, we follow a Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) scheme of work developed by our team of therapists and educators, that seeks to empower students to take responsibility for their own mental health.
Careers as a Core Part of the Curriculum
Careers learning is embedded across every subject, not confined to PSHE or themed weeks.
Teachers explicitly link skills in English, Maths, Science, and vocational areas to real-world careers, supported by local labour market information and employer examples. This helps students understand why learning matters and how it connects to life beyond school.
A Therapeutic and Individualised Approach
Our students’ personal development sits at the heart of every careers conversation.
Through our Parental Figure model, Thrive, and PACE approaches, staff build trusted relationships that enable open dialogue about ambitions, fears and aspirations. Each student’s careers journey is highly personalised, aligned to their EHCP outcomes and B² progression steps.
Real-World, Hands-On Experiences
We believe that meaningful experience drives motivation.
Students regularly visit local employers, farms, colleges, and training providers, take part in enterprise projects and contribute to community-based initiatives. Every encounter is carefully planned and risk-assessed to ensure it provides authentic insight into the world of work.
Careers Woven Through Personal Development
Careers education is integrated throughout our wider Personal Development Curriculum, which includes PSHE, ASDAN, Forest School and Stable Futures.
Through these opportunities, students develop vital employability skills — teamwork, leadership, communication and resilience — while building confidence and self-awareness through reflective practice and community engagement.
Early and Continuous Exposure to Possibilities
At Haywards Farm School, At Haywards Farm School, careers education begins in Year 7, rather than Year 9.)
From the start, students explore their strengths, interests, and values, supported by Adviza, local employers and community partners. This early focus nurtures aspiration and ensures students are well-prepared for informed post-16 planning and work experience by Key Stage 4.
Partnership with Local Employers and Providers
We are proud of our strong and growing partnerships with local and regional employers, FE colleges and training providers.
These relationships give our students repeated, meaningful encounters with inspirational professionals, challenging stereotypes and broadening horizons. Our collaboration with Adviza Careers Advisers ensures all guidance is independent, impartial and high-quality.
Evidence and Tracking
Every student has a Careers Passport — a live record of experiences, encounters and achievement.
This portfolio supports EHCP reviews, post-16 applications, transition planning and providing tangible evidence of each learner’s growth and aspiration.
Building the Skills to Thrive in Life
Communication and interaction
Health and well-being management
Understanding identity and relationships
Understanding society and the wider world
We want every pupil to leave Haywards Farm School with more than academic knowledge. We want them to have a genuine love of learning, the self-belief to take on new challenges and the confidence to achieve whatever they set their mind to.
Curriculum Intent
Our curriculum is designed so that all students, regardless of when they join Haywards Farm and at what stage of their learning, will have a range of subject opportunities at a level that is suitable for their age and stage and differentiated according to their learning levels.
We aim to include a range of different assessment methods to accommodate our students needs and abilities, whilst enabling them wherever possible to achieve an equivalent standard to their chronological mainstream peers.
We have clear pathways for learner progress and the subjects thread through the school, with clear progression from one year to the next, allowing the process of learning, revisiting and embedding skills and knowledge.
Finally, we aim to provide a curriculum which recognises our students’ needs, plays to their strengths, supports them to develop those skills which may not come naturally to them and prepares them for a full, independent and successful life, in line with CEIAG (Careers, Education, Information and Guidance) and PfA (Preparation for Adulthood) themes.
Curriculum Implementation
Our curriculum – across all subjects – is differentiated to meet the individual needs of the students and to draw on their strengths, interests and abilities. We have high expectations of our students and work hard to enable them to achieve their potential.
The curriculum, underpinned by therapeutic principles, is delivered using phenomenon-based teaching, enquiry-led learning and clearly defined structures of learning. This is to support students to understand the relevance of topics and be able to ‘place’ their learning within real life and familiar contexts. It also promotes opportunities for creativity and collaborative work with peers.
Our teachers are all regularly trained and understand Autism, ADHD, PDA, Trauma & attachment, its individual presentations and its impact on learning; as such, they deliver their lessons with a unique style to engage, challenge and progress students within school.
Learning is delivered in small groups with a high level of support staffing; our approach to learning is underpinned, not only by therapeutic principles, but within the context of positive behaviour management, to minimise disruption and maximise focus.
The curriculum across all subject areas is designed to enable students to learn, relearn and revisit topics across different year groups, adding layer upon layer of learning to reinforce and develop subject knowledge.
Curriculum Intended Impact
Ultimately, it is our goal that students will leave Haywards Farm with:
An understanding of emotional regulation and the strategies needed to achieve this.
An understanding of their social/relationship needs and appropriate behaviours within these.
A positive self-esteem and an understanding of how uniquely wonderful they are.
A range of self-help and independence skills.
Students with EHCP’S and who EAL is identified will leave Haywards Farm School equipped with tools to support their welfare.
A developed sense of sensory integration and physical development.
A clear pathway into the secondary phase of education and adulthood, with an understanding of their next steps.
An ability to express themselves appropriately, positively and with maturity.
Core Learning
Phonic And Reading
English
Mathematics
Science
Computing
Humanities
P.S.H.E. & R.S.E.
Personal Development
Promoting British Values
Promoting Cultural Capital
Spiritual, Moral, Social And Cultural Development
PE
In Their Own Words
Get in Touch
Whether you’re a parent, carer, or professional looking to find out more about Haywards Farm School, we’d love to hear from you. Our friendly team is here to answer your questions and help you take the next step.
