Oaktree values every child. Our community is a place where friends are made, amongst the students, the parents and the staff; a place where the teachers and leaders really get to know their students, what excites them and what challenges them; a place of laughter, fun and hard work; a place of tradition where children engage with each other and the world around them; where they understand the place for technology but have not lost the art of conversation.
Oaktree is an inclusive school, welcoming children with additional needs into the community and ensuring that they achieve their full potential. Equally, there will be a strong provision for gifted and talented children, so that the ethos is that of a quintessential British village primary school with a real mix of talents and achievements.
Our inspirational teachers model our values, see each child as an individual and help them to achieve academically, socially and emotionally. Small classes of 18 in the Foundation Stage and 22 in the Primary Years increase the amount of quality time each child will receive.
The building itself will be landscaped to feel like a mini oasis with lots of trees and natural seating to encourage children to explore. Teachers will take their classes outside to bring lessons to life, whenever the weather permits. There is a sensory garden with seating where children could read, paint, study plants or measure angles to name a few options. Each classroom and the corridors all have natural light and windows that can be opened. In addition, there are specialist areas for science and technology, art, music and drama and PE, including a swimming pool, and a separate playground for our Foundation children.
Our Aims
Oaktree is a community school where each child is valued as an individual and is encouraged to reach their full potential. In our rapidly changing world, we believe that teaching children how to think, to challenge and to overcome obstacles, are equally as important as teaching them facts. That is not to say that we don’t focus on the core skills of reading, writing and maths, we do. It’s the way that we teach that makes the difference. Our teachers create hands on lessons, including real world issues and outside learning wherever possible, to ensure that our students develop a wide range of skills which will equip them both with the knowledge and a passion for learning.
Our Values are central to school life. They are embedded in the curriculum and the ways that our teachers teach and they guide how we behave towards each other and the wider community.
ConfidenceBeing a can-do person; learning to question and to act independently
CreativityHaving good ideas, dealing with uncertainty and being able to see patterns and make connections
CommitmentPersistence, overcoming obstacles and taking responsibility for success
CitizenshipUnderstanding the world, celebrating diversity and recognizing that we achieve more when we work together
British
Foundation Years
FS1 and FS2 (Ages 3 – 4 years)
The foundation years at Oaktree are spent in a separate, purpose built area of the school. Each room is filled with light and has an interactive white board to support learning. A well‑stocked Foundation Stage library encourages our children to develop a love of reading with age‑appropriate books that they can take home and, when they are ready, start to read themselves. There is an indoor gym with climbing equipment and each classroom has easy access to outdoor areas, including a separate playground and water‑play area, to ensure that our children have opportunities to learn by exploring and building their motor skills, as well as having some fun.
The foundation years are designed to ensure that every child enters into the Primary School with confidence and a love of learning. We follow the four guiding principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum to achieve this:
Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self‑assured.
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents.
Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.
Much of this learning is play based, with phonics introduced in songs and rhymes before transitioning into reading simple words. Letters are often best learned by tracing them in sand before they are written on paper to encourage the correct formation. Arabic language and culture will be introduced from the start using the same techniques to prepare our non‑Arabic speakers for the formal curriculum in the Primary school.
Key Stage 1
Years 1 and 2 (Ages 5 – 6 years)
As our students enter the Primary School, their passion for learning gained in the Foundation Stage will be encouraged and developed. Our small class sizes ensure that each child gets the individual attention that they need to thrive as school starts to become more structured. We believe that enjoyment, self‑belief, the ability to keep trying with tricky questions and the willingness to practice and try new things out are essential for each child’s success.
During Key Stage 1, much of the focus is on English and Maths with the aim of developing the habit of reading and writing for pleasure, discovering the power of stories and acquiring a fascination for numbers and the patterns and connections that they bring with them. In science and topic work, our students will have many practical opportunities to make things and will begin to understand that their bodies need to be looked after in terms of healthy eating and exercise.
Through differentiated lessons, our teachers ensure that every child is challenged to reach their full potential. Students who show particular strengths will be offered extension opportunities whilst those who need extra help will be supported and encouraged. Our children will learn to work successfully in groups and pairs as well as by themselves, ensuring that they learn the art of collaboration that is so essential for later life. They will learn to listen, to wait for their turn to speak, to disagree courteously, to negotiate and to keep track of task they have been set.
Regular field trips will be organised to support and reinforce the curriculum, giving opportunities to experience the real world and get involved with the wider community.
Key Stage 2
Years 3 – 6 (Ages 7 – 10)
The upper years of Primary School continue to develop the core skills of reading, writing and maths, building on the achievements of the earlier years and ensuring that each child reaches their full potential. Across all subjects, but especially in science and topic work, our students will develop the skills of research and enquiry ensuring that they become effective future learners. From Year 3, French will be taught, as the third language of our school, in the same immersive style as for our other subjects. Outstanding specialist teaching of PE, music and Arabic complements our class teaching.
We are committed to a cross‑curricular approach that provides our students with a wide range of opportunities to develop their skills. We believe that this will develop them as well‑rounded individuals with a good balance of personal, academic, creative and physical skills. We will continue to develop each child’s collaboration and communication skills to prepare them to be effective contributors both in school, the community that they live in and wider society. Our students will be given opportunities to develop their leadership skills as Student Council Representatives and House Leaders and will be expected to set an example to the younger children by being kind, considerate and well‑mannered.
By the end of Year 6, our students will be fully equipped to enter into secondary school as confident young people with the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century.