MSI Unit Curriculum - Sense

Victoria School: MSI Unit Curriculumpreferences, are all taken into account in selecting activities. All learning activitiesare cross-curricular, to assist pupils to generalise and transfer concepts and skills.Group activities may involve pupils selected from a range of class groups, whosestrengths and needs create a natural group for the activity in question. Manypupils spend carefully chosen sessions included with groups of students frommain school classes or the neighbouring school for hearing-impaired children (see‘Planning inclusion for children with MSI’ by Heather Murdoch, Special Children,157, Nov-Dec 2003).An important aspect of the Ownership of learning domain is the development ofpupils’ abilities to identify the help they need and communicate this to others.Some pupils complete the Curriculum and move on; others continue to work atappropriate Phases until they leave school for adult services. In either case, itcannot be assumed that students will continue in specialist MSI settings wheretheir needs are understood by all around them, so they need to learn how toaccess and use support appropriately.Breadth, balance and relevanceBreadth: Breadth of curriculum is provided by the range of curriculum domains,which underpin National Curriculum subject areas and also include MSI-specificskills and concepts such as perceptual development and mobility. Inclusion withother class groups for specific activities (in the main school or the neighbouringschool for hearing-impaired pupils) provides additional breadth of curriculumto meet specific individual needs. Pupils also access school-wide workshops,performances and celebrations.Balance: Each pupil’s timetable is individually planned to ensure an appropriatebalance of learning activities, and annual targets and termly IEP targetsaddress a range of subjects. Lesson planning is cross-curricular, to promotethe development of generalisation and to reduce the problems of promptdependencyand context-dependency which limit the learning of many pupilswith MSI. Schemes of work specify the range of curricular areas addressed, sothat the overall balance for individual pupils can be evaluated.Relevance: Pupils with MSI typically have difficulty accessing experiences whichare beyond the immediate, present and familiar. The MSI Unit curriculumemphasises learning rooted in pupils’ own direct experience, thus ensuringrelevance, and the transfer and generalisation of skills are specifically taught.Cross-class timetabling allows pupils from different class bases to form groups forspecific activities which meet particular needs. The curriculum offers sufficientflexibility to meet individual learning needs based on profiles of ability anddisability.15