Curriculum 

At Oakfield our fundamental principles surround the holistic value of each child. 

We believe that for any of our children to thrive and progress in a positive and vibrant manner they must feel safe, secure and ready to learn. We provide nurturing classes that focus on the individual child and develop positive trusting relationships. 

Once our children are settled and regulated within our school environment, we endeavour to provide creative experiences through a broad, varied and enriched curriculum tailored to their particular needs. 

At our school we believe that the word ‘curriculum’ should be interpreted in its widest meaning. It is every planned learning experience the pupils have as a member of the school, both learnt formally within a lesson or informally outside the classroom throughout the whole school day.  

It is all the planned activities that we organise to promote learning, personal growth and development. Teachers and support staff structure these experiences to ensure that they have the most positive effect on the attainment, progress and personal development of all pupils; delivering a broad curriculum that includes a range of linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human, social, physical, aesthetic and creative aspects appropriate to their age, ability and stage of development. 

Approaches used to plan and deliver the curriculum are created to meet the needs of the individual child. For some this may include the use of subject focussed approaches, and for others it is more appropriate to base these approaches on Personalised Learning Intentions. 

Our planning is driven by the young people’s needs and interests, whilst also being informed by Development Matters, National Curriculum, and other approaches to planning learning such as our Personalised learning intentions, which are linked to a young person’s individual EHCP outcomes. 

We have grouped our curriculum into Pathways to create learning journeys for our young people. Every child’s learning journey is different and as a school we have varied expectations of progress dependent on that child’s needs.  

Beyond the Classroom 

At Oakfield we believe that every opportunity should be given to children to practice what they have learned in real life situations and settings. We have regular trips and encourage our children to take an active part in our local community. We also offer Forest Schools and Scouting experiences to all our pupils. 

We work to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development considering how school can support the pupil and what targets they need to meet to achieve their goal. We have been using Youth Voice to identify what aspects of school can be better for each pupil and develop plans to successfully enhance pupils experience in school. 

We also have a fantastic immersion room for all our pupils to access. The flexibility of our immersive environment means that scenarios can be controlled in various ways for students of all abilities to enjoy. Whether the environment needs to be soothing or stimulating, the space can be adapted to suit the needs of all our pupils. 

Achievements of our Children 

Our children tell us that they leave Oakfield with not just lots of good memories of being here but a stronger sense of personal worth and determination to succeed in the future. Oakfield has acted as a springboard to achieving throughout their future lives. 

For most of our children their achievements have been reflected in rapidly improved academic skills and self-confidence. Literacy and Numeracy skills have seen large improvements, and our pupils are on the road to embracing learning to become independent learners that enjoy learning for life. 

For some of our children their achievement has been to overcome personal difficulties that they have faced, and Oakfield staff are always on hand to listen and help where they can. We have a fantastic pastoral system that supports this. 

We celebrate all the achievements children make at our school. Tolerance, politeness and willingness to have a go at things without giving up are repeatedly told to us by parents as examples of their child’s progress and growth and these are achievements that we believe should not be overlooked.