Freshfield Primary School
Resource Unit — EQUALS Semi-Formal Explore Pathway
Curriculum Overview and Areas of Learning
About the Semi-Formal Explore Pathway
The Semi-Formal Explore Pathway is the first of two semi-formal stages at Freshfield. It supports pupils who are beginning to engage with the world around them but who may find change, demands or social interaction challenging. Learning at this stage is low-pressure and child-led, with adults carefully supporting pupils to stay engaged, explore objects and activities, and begin to tolerate the presence and proximity of others.
Pupils on the Explore Pathway are moving on from the Informal stages of awareness and sensory engagement. They are developing the shared attention, communication and emotional regulation skills that will eventually enable them to access more structured, purposeful learning on the Semi-Formal Play Pathway. This is not a hurried transition — pupils stay on the Explore Pathway for as long as they need to, and every step forward is meaningful.
At Freshfield |
The Semi-Formal Explore Pathway connects with Freshfield’s whole-school values to Be Kind, to Work Hard, to Work Together, to Be Proud — and to Make a Difference. Pupils in the Resource Unit are part of the Freshfield community — sharing in school life and events — while receiving specialist, individually-tailored support that precisely meets their EHCP targets. |
Low Demand, High Motivation | Communication Before Content | Regulation First |
Sessions are structured around the child’s own interests and motivations. Adult demands are kept low, gradually increasing as trust and engagement develop. The environment does the work first. | Developing shared attention, intentional communication and the earliest social interaction skills takes priority over subject content at this stage. Communication is the curriculum. | A pupil must feel safe and regulated before they can explore and engage. Sensory circuits, Intensive Interaction, predictable routines and carefully designed environments support readiness to learn. |
Who is this Pathway for?
Pupils on the Semi-Formal Explore Pathway at Freshfield are likely to demonstrate some or all of the following characteristics:
Pathway placement is not determined by age or year group. Pupils are on the Explore Pathway because it is the right curriculum for them right now. Progress is always measured against their own starting point using ipsative assessment principles.
Progression to the Play Pathway |
Pupils are ready to move to the Semi-Formal Play Pathway when they are independently initiating engagement across a range of activities, tolerating the presence and involvement of peers, and beginning to sustain attention in slightly more structured contexts. This transition is planned carefully and gradually, never rushed. |
The Engagement Model on the Explore Pathway
All learning on the Explore Pathway is framed through Freshfield’s five areas of Engagement. On this pathway, Persistence and Anticipation are the primary focus — pupils developing the ability to stay with an activity for longer and to begin predicting familiar sequences. Initiation — choosing or starting something independently — is the key developmental milestone that signals readiness to move forward.
Persistence | Anticipation | Initiation | Exploration | Realisation |
Staying engaged with an activity for increasing periods of time | Showing awareness that a familiar activity or routine is about to happen | Beginning to choose or start an activity without adult prompting | Investigating objects, people and environments with growing curiosity | Beginning to notice that their actions have an effect on people and things |
Progress on the Explore Pathway is all about self-initiation, Persistence, tolerating uncertainty and developing shared attention. Even small increases in engagement time, small reductions in demand avoidance, or a first moment of parallel play alongside a peer represent significant and meaningful progress.
My Communication
On the Explore Pathway, communication development is the primary curriculum. Every session, every interaction and every environment is designed to create opportunities for pupils to communicate — in whatever way works for them — and to experience adults responding meaningfully to their signals.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Intensive Interaction | Following the pupil’s lead to build communicative dialogue; responding to and mirroring natural actions and sounds; prioritising connection over language; building turn-taking and shared enjoyment through responsive, playful exchanges | The foundation of all communication: connection and shared attention (Anticipation, Initiation) |
Attention Autism — Bucket Therapy | Structured shared attention through highly engaging, motivating activities; building the ability to attend to an adult-led activity for increasing periods; staged from individual to group attention | Shared attention and Persistence as the gateway to all further learning |
AAC and Total Communication | Consistent use of the pupil’s individual AAC system across all contexts; Symbol boards, devices; all staff modelling communication systems throughout the day | Ensuring every pupil has a reliable means of expressing wants, choices and feelings (Initiation) |
Colourful Semantics — Emerging | Early exposure to colour-coded sentence structure (who, what doing) through highly motivating, personalised content; not yet structured teaching but consistent modelling in context | Building the earliest awareness of sentence structure through meaningful communication |
Narrative and Routine | Consistent use of familiar greetings, songs, objects of reference and routine language; sharing and responding to simple events from the pupil’s own experience; narrative emerging through Sensory Stories | Anticipation of familiar sequences; the language of daily life (Anticipation, Realisation) |
My Sensory Exploration and Play
On the Explore Pathway, play is a foundational part of the curriculum. Pupils are developing through the earliest levels of play — from solitary sensorimotor exploration towards relational and functional play. All play sessions are carefully observed and used to inform next steps in each pupil’s individual learning journey.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Sensorimotor Play | Exploration through the senses — sight, taste, smell, sound, touch; water, sand, food, shredded paper, edible dough; exploring how materials feel, move and change | Building sensory tolerance and curiosity (Exploration) |
Relational Play | Exploring object properties — bounce, squeeze, sound, cause and effect; balls, playdough, musical instruments, simple cause-and-effect toys | Understanding that actions produce responses (Realisation) |
Functional Play — Emerging | Beginning to use objects for their intended purpose with adult modelling; cars along tracks, cups for drinking, brushes for hair; staff following the pupil’s lead to extend purposeful use | The first steps towards intentional, purposeful interaction with objects (Initiation) |
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Solitary Play | Independent play observed and supported by staff; understanding what the child does when given free choice; this is the secure base from which all further development grows | Establishing a safe baseline (Exploration, Persistence) |
Parallel Play — Emerging | Tolerating the presence of another person alongside; staff modelling play nearby without demands; gradually introducing a peer alongside the pupil in a shared space | Tolerance of others as the first step towards social engagement (Anticipation) |
At Freshfield |
Pupils on the Explore Pathway will primarily focus on solitary and emerging parallel play. All play is carefully observed by staff and used to inform next steps. No pupil is pressured to engage with others before they are ready — tolerance of proximity is itself a significant achievement. |
My Independence
Independence on the Explore Pathway is about developing awareness of and participation in the routines of daily life. The goal at this stage is not full independence but graduated involvement — pupils beginning to tolerate, notice and take small active roles in the activities that structure their day.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Personal Care and Routine | Developing tolerance of personal care routines; relaxing limbs for dressing and undressing; showing awareness of being dressed; beginning to take a small active role in familiar routines with maximum adult support | Body awareness, trust and the earliest participation in self-care (Anticipation) |
Eating and Mealtimes | Enjoying eating a range of foods in a social situation; developing tolerance of mealtime routines and the presence of others; beginning to show food preferences and make simple choices | Sensory tolerance, social participation and early choice-making (Initiation) |
Cooking — Sensory Exploration | Exploring ingredients through smell, touch and taste; experiencing simple cause-and-effect with kitchen tools and appliances (switches, blenders); no expectation of functional cooking but rich sensory and communicative experience | Sensory exploration and early cause-and-effect through real objects (Realisation, Exploration) |
Travel and Transitions | Moving between environments within school with adult support; developing tolerance of transitions; beginning to show anticipatory awareness of familiar routes and destinations; building confidence in unfamiliar spaces | Tolerance of change and the earliest environmental awareness (Anticipation) |
My Creative
Creative experiences on the Explore Pathway are entirely process-based — there is no expected outcome. Every session is an opportunity to encounter new sensory experiences, to share attention with a familiar adult and to begin to make an expressive mark on the world, however fleeting.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Sensory Exploration and Messy Marks | Exploring textures and media including paint, dough, sand, water and natural materials; mark-making using hands, feet and tools without expectation of a product; exploring 3D materials where appropriate | Sensory tolerance, curiosity and the earliest expressive agency (Exploration) |
Music and Sound | Call and response through Intensive Interaction; exploring instruments; Sensory Stories with sound effects; reacting to and beginning to anticipate musical cues; shared rhythmic experiences with a familiar adult | Shared attention, anticipation and turn-taking through sound (Anticipation, Initiation) |
Movement and Dance | Responding to music through body movement; copying simple actions; rocking rhymes and interactive songs; movement breaks to support regulation; Wake and Shake routines | Body awareness, regulation and the earliest physical expression (Exploration, Persistence) |
My Outdoor School
The outdoor environment is often particularly powerful for pupils on the Explore Pathway. Natural stimuli — wind, birdsong, the feel of grass underfoot — can unlock curiosity and engagement in pupils who find structured indoor environments more challenging. All outdoor learning is carefully planned to be low-demand and rich in sensory opportunity.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Sensory Exploration Outdoors | Experiencing the outdoor environment through all senses; responding to natural stimuli — weather, plants, animals, water; exploring natural materials with full freedom to investigate at their own pace | Broadening sensory experience in a naturally motivating context (Exploration) |
Tolerance and Readiness | Developing tolerance of outdoor clothing and footwear; building confidence in outdoor transitions; experiencing outdoor routines as predictable and safe | Routine, anticipation and growing environmental confidence (Anticipation) |
Community Connections | Accessing familiar local environments — parks, woods, beach; community visits linked to current interests and topics; extending sensory experience beyond the school site | Real-world exploration and connection to the wider community (Exploration) |
My Physical Wellbeing
Physical development on the Explore Pathway is focused on sensory regulation, body awareness and the earliest gross motor skills.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Sensory Circuits | Vestibular and proprioceptive stimulation with appropriate support; balance and timing; deep pressure stimulation to support regulation; organising the body and planning simple movement sequences | Sensory regulation as the foundation for readiness to engage (Realisation) |
Gross Motor Development | Rolling, pushing, sliding and striking activities; large apparatus exploration — soft play, ball pools, trampolines; developing body awareness and confidence in movement | Physical confidence and early intentional movement (Exploration, Initiation) |
Fine Motor and Dexterity | Grasp and release; reaching towards preferred objects; exploring cause-and-effect through switches and simple tools; beginning to use both hands in simple supported tasks | Physical agency and the earliest tool use (Realisation) |
Therapeutic Links |
Physical Wellbeing on the Explore Pathway is planned where possible in close consultation with Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy. Sensory circuits and movement activities are incorporated into EHCP targets for relevant pupils and reviewed regularly. |
PSHE
PSHE on the Explore Pathway is delivered entirely through continuous provision — there are no discrete PSHE lessons at this stage. Circle time, mealtimes, personal care, outdoor time and transitions are all PSHE learning opportunities.
Strand | Key Detail | Focus |
Being Me | Recognising familiar adults; showing preferences for people, objects and activities; beginning to communicate ‘yes’ and ‘no’; experiencing being valued, welcomed and responded to as an individual | The foundations of self-awareness and belonging (Anticipation, Initiation) |
Feelings and Regulation | Adults naming and responding to the pupil’s emotional state; building a vocabulary of feelings through consistent, calm adult responses; Intensive Interaction as an emotional co-regulation tool | Emotional awareness as the foundation of wellbeing (Exploration, Realisation) |
Relationships and Safety | Developing trust with familiar adults; learning the rhythms of safe, predictable interaction; knowing who safe adults are through consistent experience; body awareness and personal boundaries introduced through daily care routines | Safety, trust and the earliest relational skills (Anticipation) |
Healthy Living | Experiencing mealtimes as positive social occasions; developing food tolerance and preferences; physical activity as part of every day; outdoor experiences for wellbeing and regulation | Physical health and wellbeing as lived experience (Exploration) |
Assessment and Progress
Progress on the Explore Pathway is measured using ipsative assessment — every pupil’s progress is measured against their own starting point. At this stage, progress may be subtle and slow, but it is always meaningful. We assess progress using Engagement steps, looking specifically at: Cognition and Learning, Communication and Interaction, Social, Emotional and Mental Health and Physical and Sensory development. We measure this through:
EHCP targets are embedded into daily learning and reviewed regularly. Progress is shared with families through Annual Reviews, termly PLIM meetings and ongoing in the moment conversations either in person or via home-school communication forms.
Therapeutic Support |
Pupils on the Explore Pathway receive appropriate therapeutic input as part of their holistic provision. At Freshfield, this includes Speech and Language Therapy and specialist SEND support delivered by the Resource Unit team under the leadership of the SENCO. |
The EQUALS Semi-Formal Explore Pathway, delivered within Freshfield’s Resource Unit, ensures that pupils at these earliest stages of engagement access a curriculum that is ambitious, responsive and deeply respectful of who they are.
Freshfield Primary School | Resource Unit | EQUALS Semi-Formal Explore Pathway