At Oakfield our fundamental principles surround the holistic value of each child.
We believe that in order 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.
We follow the National Curriculum and its programme of study. We make our lessons as interesting and hands on as possible to engage previous reluctant learners. We consider pupils’ interests and we listen to pupil voice and promote individuals’ aspirations through sessions with the Personal Development Co-ordinator. We develop targets for each individual pupil towards their aspirations and this is embedded into school life.
This commitment must however be consistent with any EHC plan for any young person which may well prioritise particular subjects or key areas of learning.
In Willow class the curriculum is highly individualised with detailed personal plans written by the teacher with support from Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist considering the targets set out in their EHC plans.
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 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.
Achievements of our Children
We have an excellent reputation for enabling children to return to mainstream education. 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 also recognise for many of our children that their strengths often don’t always lie in academic success and 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 should also not be overlooked.