Purple: Pre-Formal
The Purple Pathway embodies the caring approach through highly personalised, responsive teaching, with ambitious goals for every child, celebrating the smallest achievements and building foundations for future learning.
The Purple Pathway is specifically designed for pupils with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD) who require a very specialist approach to teaching and learning.
Focus Areas
Early Communication and Connection
The pathway focuses on the very earliest stages of communication:
- Helping pupils become more aware of people around them
- Learning to anticipate what's coming next in familiar routines
- Understanding cause and effect – that their actions can make things happen
- Communicating through eye contact, facial expressions, body language, sounds or using switches
- Building trust with the adults who support them
Sensory Experiences and Physical Development
Pupils experience:
- Learning through all their senses – sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and movement
- Access to specialist therapies like physiotherapy and rebound therapy (therapeutic trampolining)
- Development of body awareness and movement skills at their own pace
- Use of specialist equipment to help them access activities
- Exploration of sensory activities in safe, supportive environments
Building Trust and Routine
The pathway emphasises:
- Helping pupils feel safe and secure with familiar adults
- Creating predictable routines so they know what to expect
- Celebrating every small achievement – a new sound, a longer look, increased alertness
- Supporting pupils to become more aware of their environment
- Recognising and responding to individual ways of communicating
Specialist Approaches
Learning is highly personalised and includes:
- Intensive Interaction – building early communication through playful, responsive interactions
- Massage stories – combining gentle touch with storytelling
- Rebound therapy – using trampolines to support movement and communication
- Sensory activities – helping pupils process and respond to different sensations
- Switch work – learning that they can control things around them
Preparation for Adulthood
Even at this early stage, the pathway prepares pupils for the future by:
- Helping them make choices about preferences
- Supporting them to express themselves in their own way
- Building their involvement in daily activities like eating, dressing and personal care
- Helping them become more comfortable with care routines
- Encouraging engagement with sensory experiences
Progress is carefully tracked using specialist assessment tools that recognise the smallest steps of development.