We understand that as a parent, your greatest wish is for your child to be heard, understood, and able to make their own choices. This pathway is designed specifically to help your child find their 'voice' and use it to actively shape their world.

What is an Active Communicator?

An Active Communicator is a learner who is moving away from just reacting to what happens around them, and moving toward starting interactions themselves.

Whether your child uses spoken words, sign language, physical gestures, or technology (like communication switches or iPads), our goal is to help them become independent, confident self-advocates.

How We Support Your Child’s Growth

We believe that communication and learning go hand-in-hand. In this pathway, your child’s school week balances academic learning with vital life skills:

• An Adapted National Curriculum: We adapt subjects like English, Maths, and Science so they are accessible and meaningful. Your child will engage with the same themes as their peers, using their preferred communication tools to answer questions, share ideas, and show what they know.
• ASDAN Frameworks & Personal Development: We use practical, nationally recognised ASDAN programmes to teach everyday independence. Your child will learn how to make personal choices, take care of themselves, and participate in community life.
• A "Total Communication" Environment: Every classroom is equipped with the tools your child needs to express themselves. Our staff are highly trained to pause, listen, and interpret every form of communication—valuing a gesture or a symbol press just as much as a spoken word.

A Typical Day

On a typical day, you will see:

• Student-Led Choice: Some lessons are designed around choices. Instead of being given materials, an Active Communicator might use an iPad or a symbol board to choose  which experiment materials they need in Science.
• Functional Independence: Using ASDAN frameworks, learners practice real-world communication. This includes planning a community visit, choosing and purchasing items at a local shop, or expressing personal preferences during daily living tasks.
• Communication Opportunities: Staff deliberately create opportunities for learners to initiate communication. 
• Peer-to-Peer Interaction: Group work focuses on structured turn-taking and collaborative ASDAN projects, helping learners use their communication tools to negotiate, share, and bond with their peers.
• Celebration of Success: Progress is measured not just by academic output, but by a learner's growing independence in making their voice heard and their choices respected.

What Success Looks Like

Success on this pathway is unique to every child, but our ultimate milestones focus on autonomy. We celebrate when a student:

• Starts a conversation or asks for something without waiting to be prompted.
• Refuses or rejects something they do not want in a safe, clear way.
• Uses their communication tools in new places, like at the local shops or at home with you.
• Makes meaningful choices about their daily routine, friends, and hobbies.

We work in close partnership with you, speech and language therapists, and specialist staff to ensure the skills your child learns at school transfer into their life at home and in the community.