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Preparing for Adulthood: Life Skills at Severn Vale School
Published
Tia Gough and Beth Harper of Severn Vale School are part of the Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) Forum held several times a year at Shire Hall. Here they describe the great programme they have designed at Severn Vale to support their students towards their future pathways.
Preparing young people for adulthood is a vital part of their school experience, especially as they approach key transition points such as GCSEs and post‑16 education.
As students grow, they face increasing responsibilities such as managing their learning, understanding the world around them, and making informed decisions about their future. This can be a difficult time for any young person, but increasingly more so for our students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
At Severn Vale, we wanted to address this transitional and often turbulent period of time in our students’ lives, with a meaningful and supportive intervention, that provided them with not only the essential skills and life experiences but enabled them to feel supported to reach their full potential preparing them for life beyond Severn Vale.
Our Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) programme is designed to build these skills.
Addressing curriculum pressures: Coping with GCSEs
For many students; not just those with SEND, GCSEs represent one of the most challenging academic periods in their school journey. The expectations increase, workloads become heavier, and the pressure to perform can feel overwhelming.
Our PfA interventions acknowledge these difficulties by teaching students practical, transferable strategies, including:
- Employability/Next steps
- Community inclusion
- Independent Living
- Health
By equipping students with these tools, we aim to help them manage life beyond, with confidence and develop the resilience needed for continued success.
Incorporating this into the curriculum
Severn Vale promotes an Adaptive approach to our ethos. We step away from differentiation, and value the fact that all students should be given the same opportunities to thrive. This means, that for our Year 10 students; the first cohort that we have trialled this intervention with; we have adapted the curriculum to meet needs, meaning that:
- Our students are still doing core curriculum subjects;
- A reduced number of option subjects – two instead of the standard four.
The rest of their timetable is complimented by interventions that support core curriculum knowledge and homework support.
What we offer: Four lessons a fortnight
Students access four lessons per fortnight dedicated entirely to Preparation for Adulthood. These interventions focus on practical learning, real‑world skills, and personal development, giving students the knowledge, understanding, and experience they need to thrive beyond school.
Each lesson is tailored to support growth in key areas such as:
1. Employability and Next steps.
2. Healthy Living.
3. Community Awareness and Safety.
4. Independence and Life Skills.
Through our PfA curriculum, we encourage independence in areas such as:
- managing personal hygiene and cleanliness;
- understanding money and budgeting;
- basic household tasks;
- planning travel routes; and
- managing appointments and time.
These are fundamental skills that support long‑term independence and confidence as students move toward adulthood.
Conclusion
Preparing for adulthood is a gradual process supported through meaningful real‑life experiences and positive relationships. Through our structured PfA programme, we give students the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to overcome curriculum pressures and take their next steps with independence and pride.
Our PfA programme is an ever-adaptive programme, that grows and changes with the students that we are here to support. Here at Severn Vale, we have kindly been given the opportunity and freedom to develop this intervention thanks to our Head Teacher Richard Johnson and Assistant Head Teacher - SENDCo, Julie Williamson, whose continued support and encouragement has made this possible and allowed for future integration into the Key Stage 3 curriculum provision.
“I am extremely proud of our PfA offer at Severn Vale School. Beth and Tia have worked incredibly hard to get this up and running from scratch. Working with the local authority PfA team, the ladies worked quickly to plan a curriculum that they felt would benefit our students. Not only are they developing essential life skills, they are building resilience and confidence in themselves and we are seeing how this holistic approach to our curriculum is having a positive impact on them. The plan is to expand this into our next Year 10 cohort and to start timetabled sessions at KS3 from September 2026.”
Julie Williamson – Assistant Headteacher – SENDCo
The final words are from Year 10 Students currently working on the PfA – World of Work module on interview practice:
Student A: “I am finding the course useful.”
Student B: “It’s been very useful as it gets you in a chair and practising for the real world.”
For more information, please visit the Preparing for Adulthood pages Gloucestershire's Local Offer, Support for Families with SEND and visit the news page for information on a nominations for a national award for the PFA team.