Curriculum Overview

The purpose of our curriculum is to prepare students for the opportunities and the responsibilities of life in modern society.  At Oaks Park we aim for our curriculum to be ambitious and inclusive so that our students succeed. It is knowledge rich and complemented by our PSHE programme and diverse enrichment opportunities.

Curriculum Intent

• is inclusive, broad and balanced. It has sufficient breadth, depth and flexibility to allow success for all;
• is carefully sequenced to ensure students master key knowledge and skills over time;
• ensures competency in literacy, numeracy and oracy;
• is dynamic and creative. It ignites students’ curiosity and allows them to pursue areas of specific interest;
• develops our students’ character, aligning with our mantra values of being Organised, Active, Kind and Successful, empowering them to become confident participants in modern society;
• provides students with learning experiences and opportunities to develop and build their cultural capital;
• enables students to become self-regulated learners who achieve successful outcomes and develop the necessary skills for independent, life-long learning;
• focuses on students’ mental and physical wellbeing to support the holistic development of each individual;
• provides the disciplinary knowledge in a broad range of subjects to enable students to pursue the future pathway of their choice;
• incorporates career learning through lessons and co-curricular activities. It raises student aspirations and provides a sense of personal effectiveness, career readiness and improved educational outcomes. 

Curriculum Implementation

At Oaks Park High School, we believe that a carefully planned and well-structured curriculum is the foundation upon which excellent learning and development is built.  In all subject areas, the curriculum is designed and implemented in such a way that it builds on prior knowledge and prepares students for the next stage in their education.

Teaching staff are given training opportunities through Subject Professional Development sessions to develop their own subject knowledge, skills and understanding that informs successful lesson planning and implementation.

There is a strong focus on literacy in the curriculum. We understand that a rich vocabulary is likely to lead to better outcomes for students and explicitly introduce, explain and embed tier three vocabulary in all subject areas.

All curriculum subjects have their own Curriculum Intent with accompanying Curriculum Plans. These can be found in the Subject Information area of our website.

KS3 Curriculum

The KS3 curriculum is delivered across years 7 and 8 and is designed to build on the knowledge and skills founded at KS2. It has been mapped against the National Curriculum to ensure that students acquire essential knowledge and skills across a broad range of subjects. The sequencing of our provision has been carefully planned to enable knowledge to build over time so that students are able to deepen and apply it masterfully. Recall opportunities and interleaving are consistent features in schemes of work.

The KS3 curriculum allows students to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding required to make informed choices about their Year 8 Options and successfully transition to the KS4 curriculum.

Year 7 Curriculum

Subject	English	Maths	Science	Geog	History	French	Art	Art & Design/ Food Tech *	CFL	Drama/ Oracy*	Life (PSHE)	Music	PE
Hours per week	4	4	3	1	1	2	1	1	3	1	1	1	2

 

Year 8 Curriculum

Subject	English	Maths	Science	Geog	History	French	Art	Computer Science    / Food Tech *	Drama/ PE *	Life (PSHE)	Music	PE	RS
Hours per week	4	4	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1

* Subjects on rotation

KS4 Curriculum

At the beginning of KS4, students embark on a curriculum shaped by the option decisions they have made at the end of Year 8. We believe that commencing GCSE subjects in Year 9 allows our students the opportunity to develop greater depth and understanding in their examination subjects. Students study core subjects of English Language & Literature, Mathematics and Separate Science (3 x GCSEs) or Combined Science (2 x GCSEs). Students must choose a Humanities subject of either Geography or History and have three further option choices.

In addition to core subjects, students are offered a mixture of practical, vocational and academic subjects from all areas of the curriculum therefore allowing them to pursue a wide range of future opportunities in education, training and employment. At KS4, exam content and skills are regularly revisited through the years to support students’ retrieval of information and improve student outcomes.

KS4 Curriculum

Subjects	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11
English	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours
Mathematics	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours
Science	6 hours	6 hours	6 hours
Humanities (History or Geography)	2 hours	2 hours	2 hours
PE (Games)	2 hours	2 hours	2 hours
Life	1 hour	1 hour	1 hour
Option 1	2 hours	2 hours	2 hours
Option 2	2 hours	2 hours	2 hours
Option 3	2 hours	2 hours	2 hours

• At KS4, all core subjects are set by ability
• Option groups are largely mixed ability with some setting if there is more than one group in an option block.
• All lessons are 1 hour in length and there are 25 lessons per week.

KS5 Curriculum

At Post 16, students are encouraged to choose from a wide range of subjects, both academic and vocational, in order to meet their future career aspirations. There is a focus on personal development, progression and building aspiration; students are taught to be resilient, reflective and independent to enable them to be successful lifetime learners. 

• Subjects are in option blocks which are reviewed annually. 
• Students are taught in mixed ability groupings.
• All lessons are 1 hour in length and there are 30 lessons per week (including twilight). All subjects have 5 hours per week. 

CURRICULUM IMPACT AND REVIEW

Curriculum implementation is reviewed and quality assured on a regular basis in the following ways, with action points discussed and shared with staff:

• annual department reviews where data is analysed and priorities updated
• whole school/subject learning walks
• whole school/subject book checks
• exam review
• one day department reviews involving staff from across the MAT
• performance management

Weekly line management meetings take place with all subject leaders and their attached member of leadership. These meetings regularly involve discussions about the curriculum to ensure:

• it is ambitious, coherently planned and sequenced
• It is broad, balanced and inclusive for different groups of students. Data analysis supports these conversations at different points in the year
• schemes of work contain interleaving, memorisation, challenge and that cross-curricular knowledge and skills are taught

The curriculum hours and subjects offered will be analysed by the senior leadership team on an annual basis and discussed and agreed with governors.

Staff and student voice is a part of the annual review process.

WHOLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM DAYS AND MANTRA WEEKS

To further enrich and deepen our students’ experiences at all key stages, we have Whole School Curriculum Days that involve off-timetable opportunities that extend learning. These include trips, cross-curricular projects, specialist workshops, wellbeing activities, external speakers and performances.  

In order to continuously enhance our students’ understanding of our mantra values (Organised, Active, Kind, Successful), we hold mantra themed weeks across the calendar that inspire assemblies, enrichment activities and charity events.