WILLOW PARK OUTCOMES

By adhering to our Teaching and Learning Handbook, we aim to develop confident, communicative, and independent individuals who are prepared for the next stage of their education and life. We aim for our pupils to leave our school with a strong sense of self-worth, the ability to form meaningful relationships, and the skills necessary to navigate and contribute to the world around them.

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🌟 Pupil Passports at Willow Park School

At Willow Park, a specialist school for children with autism and communication & interaction difficulties, we know that every child learns and communicates in their own unique way. Our Pupil Passports are a key part of how we understand, support, and celebrate each child’s journey.

 

🧩 What Is a Pupil Passport?

A Pupil Passport is a personalised, child-centred profile that brings together everything we know about your child—from their strengths and interests to their communication style, sensory preferences, and learning needs. It’s a practical tool that helps us provide consistent, meaningful support across the school day.

 

🎯 How It Helps Your Child Thrive

Each passport includes:

• Clear goals and targets tailored to your child’s EHCP and developmental stage.

• Support strategies that reflect how your child learns, communicates, and regulates.

• Risk assessments and behaviour plans to keep your child safe, calm, and engaged.

• Regular reviews to track progress and adapt support as your child grows.

We use these passports daily to guide teaching, therapy, and care. They’re developed in partnership with families and professionals, and they ensure that every adult working with your child understands how best to help them succeed.

 

📈 Measuring What Matters

Progress at Willow Park isn’t just about academic achievement—it’s about communication, confidence, independence, and wellbeing. Our Pupil Passports help us measure these outcomes in a way that’s meaningful for each child, and they form a vital part of our ongoing assessment and review process.

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​🎯 How We Check Progress
At Willow Park, we don’t use formal tests. Instead, we observe, celebrate, and support every small step your child makes. Progress looks different for every learner, and we use a variety of tools to understand how your child is growing:
•    The Engagement Model
This helps us see how your child explores, realises, and sticks with activities. It’s all about noticing their curiosity, focus, and how they respond to the world around them.
•    SCERTS Framework
This supports your child’s social communication (how they connect with others) and emotional regulation (how they manage feelings). It helps us create a calm, supportive environment where your child can thrive.
•    Play Assessments
We watch how your child plays—whether they’re playing alone, alongside others, or joining in group play. This tells us a lot about their social and thinking skills.

•    Willow Park Curious Roadmap

To track and celebrate progress, we use our Curious Roadmap—a bespoke assessment tool designed specifically for our learners. It covers the seven strands of our curriculum:

1. 🗣️ My Communicative Interactions

2. 🎨 My Sensory Play

3. 🏃 My Physical Play

4. 🎵 My Musical Interactions

5. 🌍 My Interactions Outside of the Class and School

6. 🌪️ My Movement

7. 🧼 My Independence

Each day, staff make observational assessments using the Roadmap, which are:

• Shared with parents via Tapestry, so you can see your child’s progress in real time

• Linked to developmental checkpoints, aligned with the Engagement Model and SCERTS Framework

• Used to inform planning, ensuring learning is always responsive and meaningful

This approach allows us to measure what really matters—communication, confidence, independence, and wellbeing—not just academic outcomes.

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Whole Cohort Progress Summary (2025–26 Academic Year)

Based on the 11 pupils on roll during the academic year.

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Throughout 2025–26, pupils at Willow Park School made clear and measurable progress from their individual starting points across all areas of the Curious Curriculum. All pupils demonstrated developmental growth, with many moving through multiple stages of the Curious Pathway and several achieving Advanced and Proficient levels in specific areas of learning. The strongest outcomes were seen in communication, sensory development and physical play, reflecting the school's emphasis on communication, engagement, regulation and personalised learning.

My Communicative Interactions

Communication remained a significant strength across the school.

• Increased use of vocalisations, gestures, signs, symbols and communication aids.

• Improved joint attention, turn-taking and shared interactions with adults and peers.

• Greater confidence expressing preferences, needs and emotions.

• Growing ability to initiate interactions and respond to communication from others.

• Many pupils progressed into Functional, Advanced and Proficient levels of communication.

My Sensory Play

Pupils made consistent progress in exploring and understanding the world through their senses.

• Increased curiosity and engagement in sensory experiences.

• Greater confidence exploring a range of materials, textures, sounds and environments.

• Improved regulation through sensory activities and personalised sensory support.

• Development of sustained attention and purposeful exploration.

• Sensory Play was one of the most consistently strong areas across the cohort.

My Physical Play

Strong progress was seen in physical development and active learning.

• Improved balance, coordination and body awareness.

• Greater confidence using climbing equipment, playground resources and outdoor environments.

• Development of fine motor skills through creative, construction and self-care activities.

• Increased participation in physical challenges and movement-based learning.

• Physical Play was among the strongest curriculum areas across the school.

My Musical Interactions

Pupils continued to develop confidence in musical and expressive activities.

• Participation in singing, rhythm, movement and instrument play.

• Growing awareness of sound patterns, tempo and cause-and-effect experiences.

• Increased engagement in shared musical experiences.

• Development of confidence in making choices and expressing preferences through music and performance.

My Interactions Outside the Classroom and School

Pupils increasingly applied their learning beyond the classroom environment.

• Engagement in educational visits, community experiences and outdoor learning.

• Growing confidence exploring unfamiliar environments with support.

• Increased awareness of people, places and routines beyond school.

• Development of social interaction skills in real-life contexts.

While this remains an area for continued development, pupils demonstrated important early progress in transferring skills into wider environments.

My Movement

Progress in movement and physical confidence was evident across the cohort.

• Improved mobility, coordination and motor planning.

• Greater confidence moving safely and independently in different environments.

• Increased participation in movement-based activities, games and sensory-motor experiences.

• Development of physical stamina, balance and spatial awareness.

My Independence

Pupils continued to develop important life skills and personal independence.

• Increased confidence making choices and expressing preferences.

• Improved participation in self-care, daily routines and classroom responsibilities.

• Growing ability to complete familiar tasks with reduced adult support.

• Development of persistence, resilience and confidence when facing new challenges.

• Many pupils made steady progress towards greater independence in everyday activities.

Overall Outcomes

• All pupils made measurable progress from their starting points.

• Most pupils achieved at least one full stage of progress, with many making progress across multiple stages of the Curious Pathway.

• Several pupils achieved Advanced and Proficient levels in specific curriculum areas.

• Communication, Sensory Play and Physical Play were particular strengths across the school.

• Pupils increasingly demonstrated their skills across a wider range of activities, experiences and environments.

• The next stage of development focuses on increasing independence, generalising skills and applying learning confidently in real-world situations.

This summary reflects Willow Park School's commitment to providing a highly personalised curriculum that enables every pupil to make meaningful progress in communication, independence, engagement and preparation for life.