Curriculum

At Oakbank School our curriculum is shaped by our school ethos of Integrity, Collaboration and Excellence. We aim to provide our students with a curriculum that challenges and supports them in becoming confident and well-rounded individuals who are independent, creative learners with a great sense of responsibility and care.

We have two main and overlapping aims for our curriculum:

First, we seek to deliver an enjoyable, engaging and challenging curriculum, which is also broad and balanced, that develops students’ subject specific knowledge, understanding and skills, which will equip them well for the next steps in their learning journey.

Second, our curriculum supports students’ wider personal development, so that they can develop the skills, attributes and cultural awareness to thrive as individuals, citizens and members of communities in their adult lives.

In relation to the first aim we seek to develop subject specific knowledge by:

1. Subject areas identifying a clear and articulated rationale for the most appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding for our students to acquire and by choosing exam specifications and designing programmes of study that support students in achieving their potential.
2. Ensuring a coherent approach to the delivery of subject curricula so that students build on prior knowledge and understanding, develop fluency and are challenged to apply prior knowledge to different contexts.
3. Carefully mapping cross-curricular links and aligning programmes of study to ensure a coherent scheduling of topics between subject areas.
4. Using assessment generally and specific strategies such as spaced practice, interleaving and retrieval practice to help embed knowledge in students’ long term memory.
5. Ensuring that students develop and apply a secure and sophisticated knowledge of language and tier 2 and 3 vocabulary,
6. Identifying and addressing those gaps in knowledge and experiences that are typical for our students, to deliver a curriculum that is relevant and appropriate.  

And with reference to our second main aim, we seek to support students’ wider personal development by helping them increasingly become:

1. Confident communicators - able to listen attentively, articulate clearly and present credibly.
2. Rounded individuals - who have experienced a wide range of educational visits, extra-curricular and enrichment activities and who have developed a broad appreciation of science, literature and the arts and of other countries and cultures.
3. Wise decision-makers – making informed decisions based on high quality information, advice and guidance about education, training and careers.
4. Future leaders - provided with opportunities to show initiative and lead others in achieving goals and be effective team members.
5. World ready - with the life skills necessary to participate and thrive in the world, including being well mannered, emotional intelligent and self-reliant.
6. Financially savvy - with knowledge and experience of managing money and being enterprising.
7. Digitally literate - developing and applying the cognitive and technical skills to use digital technologies and the internet effectively while staying safe online.
8. Excellent learners - who have developed the most effective behaviours and attributes for learning: curious, creative, responsible, motivated, resilient, resourceful and reflective.
9. Healthy people - with understanding of how to lead a healthy life, physically, mentally and emotionally, with particular regard to healthy relationships, drugs and alcohol, and managing risk, anxiety and stress.
10. Socially conscious - showing care for the natural environment and well-being of other people in the school community and beyond; supporting the work of charities in the local area, UK and overseas.
11. Morally responsible -  morally and ethically grounded; appreciating diversity and equality; having appropriate respect for the views and beliefs of others.
12. Informed citizens - having an understanding of current events, the UK political system and shared values, such as democracy, liberty and the rule of law.