Our Curriculum Vision

Intent-What we aim to deliver?

 Throughout the journey at Oakfield, we have deliberately designed an interconnected curriculum developing the whole child and embodying everything we know about cognition and memory.

Interconnection enables links between some subjects creating a web of knowledge so that children can make sense of their learning.  This supports interweaving between subjects and knowledge is organised within a meaningful context creating elaboration.

Elaboration aids memory and retrieval. Children may freely recall one aspect of knowledge that they can elaborate upon to trigger other aspects of learning.  This is also known as chunking. One piece of knowledge which is recalled may lead to others.

The curriculum is designed to deepen knowledge at Oakfield and starts in the foundation stage with concept teaching. Knowledge and skills are deliberately taught and practised in younger year groups to support learning in later ones.  All learning is progressive: knowledge recall and key vocabulary is threaded through the curriculum.

Our interconnected approach supports ‘sticky’ knowledge; recall and retrieval is built into every day. The more knowledge we have, the more we can make sense of and are open to.  This is due to a growing web of knowledge which helps us make sense of the world around us through making logical links and critical thinking. 

Implementation – How we aim to deliver?

Knowledge Focused

• Substantive knowledge and disciplinary knowledge is explicitly taught and embedded through retrieval and deliberate practice with planned opportunitiesfor children to recall and retrieve prior knowledge.  
• Knowledge can be recalled through the practice of other skills – including functional and life skills - without diluting the core concept being taught.  

Spiralised Curriculum

• Core concepts are spaced out over a period of time to promote better retention of information.Learning is returned to within and across the years to build on prior learning, transfer skills and knowledge and apply them to deepen learning.
• Spiralisation supports an extended web of learning ensuring children make greater sense of their learning – making links over longer periods of time.  This is spaced learning.
• Spiralisation over time means learners develop from the concrete to the pictorial, to the abstract, supporting deepened 

Contextualised Curriculum

• This helps learners relate their experiences and prior knowledge to make connections within their learning and develop a web of knowledge.
• It gives learners a sense of belonging, a greater sense of time and place and a sense of self in the bigger picture.  This supports citizenship.
• Supports educational visits capitalising on cultural capital.

Impact - How will we know we have delivered?

Our curriculum impact will enable children  to talk about what they are learning both currently and what they have previously learnt, including the skills they have gained and the experiences they have had. That can talk about how they learn in different subjects and they can identify the characteristics of different subjects. They are able to make links between different subjects and lessons and can talk about how their learning is part of a ‘bigger picture’. We expect all children to make good progress in their learning, regardless of their starting point and demonstrate good learning behaviours in lessons.