Looking at Participation Differently
The Pathway considers:
- communication profiles
- emotional state
- environmental factors
- participation barriers
- strengths and interests
- support strategies
This helps adults identify patterns across individuals, groups and cohorts, allowing small adjustments that can have a significant impact on engagement and participation.
Rather than creating multiple individual plans, the focus is on identifying practical changes that help more children and young people access what is already being offered.
From Individuals to Whole Groups
The Pathway can be used to support:
- individual children
- small groups
- classrooms
- youth provision
- whole settings
Patterns can be identified across a cohort, helping staff recognise where additional support, structure, flexibility or choice may be needed.
For example, a cohort with a high proportion of Expressive Sparks may benefit from increased opportunities for discussion, movement and collaborative learning.
A cohort identifying movement and activity as important through Young Person Voice may benefit from more active routes into learning, creativity or group participation.
The focus is not on changing every activity for every child.
The focus is on creating accessible entry points that support participation across the wider group.
