Specialist Independent Living Skills Assessment Framework

Educational settings working with young people with Special Educational Needs spend a great deal of time teaching Independent Living Skills. SILSAF's mission is to promote independence in an essential area of the curriculum that has not previously had a robust tracking system. It also allows settings to celebrate student success, identify gaps and inform planning. The Framework is designed for individuals that are actively engaged in learning Independent Living Skills.

The Framework can be used within many different assessment systems. Currently it is compatible with:

• SIMS
• Earwig
• Onwards and Upwards
• Microsoft Excel
• Evidence 4 Learning (Evidence Capture App)

Development

This product was originally designed by Brookfields, an Outstanding Special School by teachers to track progress. The product was then piloted in over 20 Special Schools across the country. Three Outstanding Special Schools continued the development of the Framework and have worked in collaboration to bring the product to Market. The three schools are: Brookfields School and Addington School in Berkshire and Swiss Cottage School in London.

How SILSAF works

SILSAF is based around Five Key Modules:

• Independent Travel
• Kitchen Skills
• Work Based Learning
• Home Management
• Accessing The Community

Each module contains a series of living skills tasks written as 'i-can' statements under subheadings.

Independence in completing these tasks is measured against the SILSAF Assessment Levels on a scale of 0 – 5. An individual’s progress is tracked over time.