Oak Hill First School Curriculum

At Oak Hill, our curriculum is about more than what children learn. It is about who they become as learners.

From Nursery to Year 4, we want every child to build strong foundations of knowledge, language and learning. We want children to be curious about the world, confident in communicating their ideas and increasingly able to make connections, think for themselves and take pride in what they achieve.

Our curriculum is ambitious for every child and is carefully designed to prepare them for the next stage of their learning and for the world beyond Oak Hill.

What Shapes Our Curriculum?

Our curriculum is shaped around Knowledge, Attributes, Skills and Experiences, or KASE.

For our children, this means:

• Knowledge: knowing and remembering important things about the world and making connections between what they learn.
• Attributes: developing confidence, resilience, empathy and the willingness to keep trying when things are difficult.
• Skills: learning to communicate well, solve problems, work with others and use their knowledge successfully.
• Experiences: having opportunities that bring learning to life, broaden horizons and help children discover new interests.

We don't see these as separate parts of learning. They come together throughout children's time at Oak Hill. A science investigation, a story, a school performance, a history lesson, a sporting opportunity or a visit beyond school can all help children build knowledge, develop skills, grow as people and experience something new.

Our Curriculum Journey: Nursery to Year 4

We see our curriculum as one connected journey.

In Nursery and Reception, children build the language, knowledge, understanding and relationships that provide the foundations for future learning. Through carefully planned experiences, stories, conversations, play and direct teaching, children explore their world, develop vocabulary and learn alongside others.

As children move through school, these foundations are deliberately built upon. New learning connects with what children already know and becomes increasingly rich and challenging.

Our curriculum follows the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage Framework in Nursery and Reception and the National Curriculum from Year 1 to Year 4. We use carefully chosen curriculum programmes and resources, including CUSP across much of our curriculum, adapting them to meet the needs of our children and our school community. Our Religious Education follows the Worcestershire Agreed Syllabus. 

Building Knowledge and Making Connections

We want children to know more, understand more and be able to do more as they move through Oak Hill.

Learning is carefully planned so that important knowledge and ideas build over time. Teachers help children connect new learning with things they have learned before.

Children have opportunities to revisit important knowledge, practise new skills, talk about their learning and use what they know in different situations.

Language and vocabulary are an important part of this. We introduce children to the words they need to understand their learning, talk about it and explain their ideas with increasing confidence.

Reading at the Heart of Our Curriculum

Reading opens the door to so much of children's learning, which is why it has a special place at Oak Hill.

The journey begins with stories, talk, rhymes and language in our Early Years. Children learn to read through Read Write Inc. Phonics before developing into increasingly fluent and thoughtful readers through a rich range of books and texts, including CUSP Reading.

As children become confident readers, they increasingly use reading to learn about science, history, geography and the wider world.

Most importantly, we want children to discover the pleasure of reading and leave Oak Hill seeing themselves as readers.

Find out more about Reading at Oak Hill →

How We Support Learning

Our curriculum and our approach to teaching go hand in hand.

Teachers use what children already know as the starting point for new learning and help them make connections with what they have learned before. New ideas are explained clearly and broken into manageable steps where needed.

Children have opportunities to listen, talk, question, practise, explore, remember and apply what they have learned.

Teachers regularly check what children understand. This helps them decide when children are ready to move on and when they need more explanation, practice or support.

We want children to experience success while also learning that challenge, effort and making mistakes are a normal and valuable part of learning.

A Curriculum for Every Child

We are ambitious for every child at Oak Hill.

Children do not all learn in the same way or at the same pace. Some may need more time, additional practice or a different approach to help them access their learning successfully.

Teachers identify barriers and adapt teaching and support where needed, while maintaining high expectations. Children who require additional help receive it as early as possible so that they can continue to learn alongside their peers and take part fully in the life of their class.

We want every child to feel known, included and capable of success.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Experiences are an important part of our KASE approach. We know that some of children's most memorable learning happens when they have the opportunity to experience, explore and participate.

Visits, visitors, performances, sport, music, clubs, outdoor learning and opportunities within our local community help bring learning to life and broaden children's understanding of the world.

These opportunities are not simply extras. They help children discover interests, develop confidence, build relationships and create memories that enrich the knowledge they gain in the classroom.

Preparing Children for a Changing World

The world our children are growing up in is changing quickly.

Alongside developing strong foundations in reading, writing, mathematics and the wider curriculum, we want children to learn to think, question and make informed choices.

As they become increasingly independent, we encourage children to be curious about information, consider different ideas and begin to understand that what they see, hear or read is not always accurate or reliable.

Our aim is not to predict the world they will grow into, but to give them the knowledge, confidence, curiosity and character to navigate it well.

The Difference We Want Our Curriculum to Make

Ultimately, we want every child to leave Oak Hill having built strong foundations for whatever comes next.

Through the knowledge they acquire, the attributes and skills they develop and the experiences they have, we want children to know more about themselves and the world around them.

We want them to leave us as confident learners, thoughtful communicators and curious young people, proud of what they have achieved, secure in their place within our school community and excited about what they might learn next.

Everything we do through our curriculum comes back to what we want for every child at Oak Hill:

Achieve. Belong. Thrive.

For further information, please visit the government’s school and college performance measures website.