ASDAN

Team Leader: Mrs M. Mumby – mmumby@nullkettlethorpe.wakefield.sch.uk

ASDAN is a life skills based course designed to develop personal, social and work related skills. It is delivered at Key Stage 4 and pupils are selected based on their SEND needs as part of the options process in Year 8. Information about the course is shared with both parents and pupils so they are aware of the course content.

The course is made up of 12 modules and each module is divided up into Section A and Section B. Challenges in Section A are short and 4 = 1 credit. Challenges in Section B are longer and more in depth activities and 1 = 1 credit.

The modules cover a wide range of content within the following areas: Communication, My Community, Sport and Leisure, Independent Living, My Environment, Number Handling, Health & Wellbeing, World of Work, Science & Technology, The Wider World, Expressive Arts and Beliefs & Values.

The skills that the course is designed to focus on and develop are: ability to learn, teamwork, problem solving, IT skills, literacy and numeracy.

The way the course has been set up at Kettlethorpe High School is to allow for progression each year. Each pupil in Year 9 is expected to achieve Bronze Level which is 6 credits and the equivalent to 60 hours of challenges.

Each pupil in Year 10 is expected to achieve Silver Level which is 12 credits and the equivalent to 120 hours of challenges.

Each pupil in Year 11 is expected to achieve Gold Level which is 18 credits and the equivalent to 180 hours of challenges.

Evidence for learner’s portfolio can be in the form of photos, witness statements, learning logs etc which helps those pupils with low literacy levels and recording difficulties. The course has been designed to include trips and visits, where possible. and opportunities to learn outside of a classroom.

Each pupil has 5 ASDAN lessons over the two week timetable and one lesson per week, currently on a Monday, is spent in the allotment. The diverse activities the allotment has to offer, working with Grow Wakefield means evidence is produced for challenges across many of the modules, for example:

  • 6A7 – Show that you use weights and volumes, measuring these within a gardening environment
  • 6A8 – Measure and accurately mark out lengths of wood. This is built into making wooden planters.
  • 6A8 – Record the temperature at set times for an agreed period, the group will record the temperature every week for the whole academic year and draw a graph with this information
  • 7A3 – Take part in an emotional wellbeing activity – gardening
  • 7B4 – Experience something new, cooking outside
  • 9A2 – Show that you can use different tools safely, this includes the strimmer, lawnmower, shears, secateurs, loppers etc.
  • 11A6 – Create a product for display; a display of photography on a theme. The pupils will be taken photos of the chosen area in the allotment each month over the academic year to capture the changes over the different seasons.

In Year 10 the Expressive Arts module is taught by a specialist teacher.