“Let Your Light Shine”

‘They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour’ Isaiah 61:3

The curriculum at Oakhill Church School is underpinned by our vision for our children: “Together we Grow from Acorns to Oaks.”

• Being Connected: using our local environment where appropriate to invest in children’s cultural understanding and capital.
• Being Creative: using links and connections to establish purposeful learning experiences which is relevant now and for life in the future.
• Being Curious: using quality first-hand experiences to help children unlock their curiosity

Our Vision

Our vision for Oakhill Church School where all children are known and valued as unique individuals, where differences are respected and celebrated. With community and childhood at the heart, our school intentionally nurtures kindness towards one another and believes that children thrive only when their wellbeing is held at the core of their journey. We believe in our children, and through imagination, high expectations and challenge, we inspire them to reach their fullest potential, and develop an intrinsic happiness in who they are.

Our Christian Values

The vision for Oakhill Church School is under-pinned by our 12 Christian values, which guide how the community relates to each other, and our environment. These Christian values can also be seen as common values, held equally by members of different faiths and no faith alike. Exploring our values, which guide our choices and reflections, over a two-year cycle, we focus on a different value each term, celebrating and discussing it in collective worship, assembly and in class.

Through linking the selected value to events on the calendar, modern day themes and engaging children with the theological underpinnings, we strive to enable Oakhill Church School to be a community that seeks to embody an ethos of living well together – preparing children for the challenges as a 21st Century citizen in Modern Britain, respecting and showing understanding of others for all that is similar and different.

This strong ethos permeates school life and the emphasis on increasing our children’s awareness of our ‘values’ is a significant factor in enhancing the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Our Learning Behaviours

Oakhill children will become resilient to be able to deal with different challenges across the curriculum and in the wider world. They will develop the ability to solve problems without giving up. Developing the skills to work independently and as a team, they will be encouraged to reflect upon their actions, learning and opinions– evaluating ‘what went well’ and how they could improve by identifying their own next steps.

Our Key Words:

– Active Learner

– Creative Thinker

– Team Worker

– Self-manager

Our Curriculum Drivers

Global Responsibility – Oakhill children will develop an understanding about where they live and the wider world. Through learning about the world, they will understand their role in society and develop respect towards the environment, communities and all faiths. Our children will know themselves and where they come from but also look beyond Oakhill and the UK and recognize the incredible opportunities that are created by diversity and the richness of culture that there is across our planet.

Teaching our children about global issues and encouraging them to see the world through the eyes of others is of huge importance. In an increasingly interconnected world, today’s young generation need to learn to be able to engage in respectful communication with people from a wide range of different cultures and traditions.

Our Key Words:

– Environment

– Diversity

– Culture

– British Values – Tolerance, democracy,

– Local Community

– Global Community

Effective Communication – Oakhill children will develop the skills to work well with other people. They will know how to speak and listen with respect in a variety of different situations. They will become increasingly confident, eloquent and effective communicators. They will be able to express their understanding and share their learning widely in a range of ways. They will learn and apply technical and challenging vocabulary.

Our Key Words:

– Articulate

– Confidence

– Developing vocabulary

– Public speaking

– Presenting

– Teaching

– Pupil voice/opinion

– Oral Communication for a range of purposes

– Written communication for a range of purposes

Our Well-being– Oakhill children will understand the importance and enjoyment of a healthy lifestyle – both physically and mentally. Throughout life, our children will face many difficult challenges and need to have the mental and physical strength to be successful and happy.

Our Key Words:

– Mental and Physical perseverance

– Mental health

– Growth mind set

– PSHE/ Thrive

– Spirituality

Our Creativity and Expression – Oakhill children will be encouraged to be creative and expressive in the arts.

– Musicality – they will develop their talents through opportunities to sing, learn to play musical instrument(s), respond to music through dance and perform in musical theatre.

– Performance – they will be given regular opportunities to perform on stage, in church and in theatres (e.g. drama, music ensembles, class assemblies, dance, choral performances, whole-school assemblies, hidden talent celebrations) in front of both small and large audiences.

– Exposed to Art and Culture – The impact of a sophisticated cultural and artistic education is life-long, and adds enjoyment, depth and meaning to both personal lives and professional work as adults.

Our Key Words:

– Creativity

– Musicality

– Performing arts

– Art & Culture

Oakhill Implementation Statement

Knowledge

– The curriculum is knowledge-rich.

– Knowledge is prioritized so that children can gain a deep understanding of the concept.

– Staff are well read and have a depth of knowledge in the subject they are teaching.

Making Progress

– The sequence of learning is carefully considered so that skills and knowledge is built on year-on-year.

– Specific skills are taught and practiced.

– End of unit outcomes demonstrate the learning that has taken place.

Enrichment

– Children will explore the curriculum in a fun and exciting ways.

– Enrichment days are regularly planned for enjoyment in addition to further embedding knowledge and skills

– Events are celebrated throughout the year, celebrating diversity and achievement.

Text- Focused

– Readying is priority

– In most lessons, children are expected to read about the subject matter.

– The teacher reads eloquently at all times.

Support For All

– Children receive quality first teaching where their needs are met through small-step instructions.

– Effective modelling is incorporated into most lessons.

– Scaffolding and differentiation provides children with the structure to attain highly and build confidence.

Deepening Concepts

– Significant concepts are identified in connected subjects and topics. The understanding of these is deepened every time they are revisited.

– Teachers make a conscious effort to link prior learning and to build on existing understanding.

– Concepts are explicitly discussed and referred to in retrieval activities such as quizzes.

Recall and Retrieval

– Children participate in regular retrieval activities to strength their memory and embed the knowledge they have learnt.

– Previously learnt knowledge and concepts are sequenced and revisited in planned lessons.

– Remembering knowledge is celebrated in celebration assembly.