Curriculum

Our Curriculum

Our curriculum is broad, balanced, and personalised to meet each individual pupil’s needs.

We offer an adapted UK National Curriculum, ensuring that appropriate time is devoted to the core curriculum and that additional subjects meet individual pupil’s needs.

Each child is different

We believe that learning is an adventure – one filled with inspiration, creative opportunities and a variety of experiences to enable every individual to grow and become their best self. Learning opportunities are diverse and pupil centred, with an emphasis on life skills, communication and developing independence; giving everyone the opportunity to achieve both academic and personal success. We work together to break down barriers and cultivate a respectful, inclusive community.

Our children and young people study the National Curriculum, which is carefully differentiated to meet their individual needs. Our core curriculum aim is to prepare our pupils for the future - ensuring they are equipped with a range of skills that allow them to be as independent in their next steps as possible and to prepare them for the wider world.

Through our positive and caring approach to learning, we support pupils to reach their full potential and celebrate each milestone reached along their learning journeys. Many of our pupils have barriers to learning and may be behind their peers. We offer high-quality literacy and numeracy intervention, with a focus on phonics intervention. We place a strong emphasis on developing the basic skills necessary to become a competent and independent learner and a successful adult.

The curriculum is taught through a combination of subject specific and cross-curricular sessions linked to themes derived from the National Curriculum and topics of interest. These lessons are taught alongside specialist input which meets the physical, sensory and communication needs of our diverse cohort. All planned provision is linked to EHCP outcomes.

We create knowledge organisers for each mixed age class across the primary and secondary years to ensure planned progression of skills and knowledge. The planning of the curriculum is linked to rolling cycles of topics to ensure full coverage is possible for pupils as they progress through the school. These topics are regularly reviewed to make necessary improvements to the existing programme of work.

Pupils are assessed according to their individual strengths and needs. Developing their independence, their motivation as learners and their sense of responsibility as future citizens, is at the heart of all teaching and learning. The staff at Oaklands School work hard to inspire pupils by planning lessons that are interesting and challenging.

All pupils will have access to phonics and numeracy intervention programmes and numeracy intervention programme and pupils will receive a mixture of whole class, small group and individual teaching time.

Our Curriculum Pathways

There are three curriculum pathways across our school:

GREEN

ORANGE

PURPLE

The GREEN Pathway:

Focus: For pupils at initial stages of learning or engagement.
Emphasis: Communication, emotional regulation, flexibility of thought, and social interaction.
Approach: Learning is tailored to individual needs with a focus on foundational skills.
Teaching & Learning: Combines structured and flexible methods to foster engagement and learning skills.
Goal: Developing readiness for subject-specific learning.

The ORANGE Pathway:

Focus: For pupils progressing towards age-related expectations.
Emphasis: Cognitive and experiential learning, communication, self-regulation, and self-help skills.
Approach: Subject-specific learning begins, emphasising participation and involvement.
Teaching & Learning: Encourages active participation with key experiences and texts.
Goal: Transitioning to subject-specific learning with a focus on participation and skill development.

The PURPLE Pathway:

Focus: For pupils nearing or at age-related expectations.
Emphasis: Cognitive learning, communication, self-regulation, and independence.
Approach: Subject-specific learning with a focus on bridging gaps and independent skill development.
Teaching & Learning: Structured and flexible methods foster independence and initiative.
Goal: Developing independence and readiness for qualifications appropriate to cognitive ability.

As part of our assessment system, we constantly review each pupil’s ability with a view that pupils will move through different Curriculum Pathways as they grow and develop. It is important to note that we do not ‘teach to the pathway’, we teach to meet the strengths and needs of each pupil.

Themes are assigned to age related phase groups, and it is the curriculum pathway that a pupil follows which determines how learning is taught and assessed. Our topic themes are cross-curricular lessons that incorporate curriculum and PSHE objectives. The topic themes run on cycles linked to the length of each key stage. They are chosen through national curriculum objectives and the interests of our pupils.

We also provide a broad range of wraparound activities and opportunities to learn outside the classroom that help to build pupils’ confidence and improve their language and communication skills.

Each of our curriculum pathways and themes are enriched through enjoyable events, educational visits, guest speakers and residential trips - we firmly believe that real life experiences like these create lasting memories and strengthen pupils’ passion for learning about the world around them.

No Child Is Left Behind

A nurturing approach and strong sense of our multicultural and multifaith community are central to life at Oaklands School. We have a high staff: pupil ratio. We offer a highly specialist and therapeutic wrap around education programme for young people with complex barriers to learning.

We discuss pupil’s needs for therapy with them, their parents and other professionals during their admission process.

Through our pathways, we also offer art, music and play therapy to enable young people to express themselves and improve their emotional wellbeing.

We encourage and promote a lifelong love of learning for all pupils. We are committed to evolving our approach through high-quality research and innovative practice as this impacts on their future.

Building a School Community
At Oaklands School, we place great importance on building a vibrant school community through meaningful engagement with parents and carers. We believe that strong partnerships between home and school are essential for the success and well-being of our pupils. Through open communication, collaboration, and involvement in various school activities and initiatives, we aim to empower parents and carers to play an active role in their child's education journey. Together, we create a supportive and inclusive environment where every member feels valued and connected.