ONSchool will balance the teaching of ‘knowledge’ with ‘skills’ around the needs of each child. Every child is curious, and we want to develop a sense of wonder as children learn about the beauty to be found across the breadth of academic disciples - whether that be in a mathematical equation, a delicate ecosystem, a perfectly risen dough, or a great work of literature.
The UK has a range of curricula and ONSchool will use the newest; the internationally acclaimed Curriculum for Excellence, developed in Scotland. It will be adapted for our children and our local community. The strength of the Curriculum for Excellence is that it was designed to be adapted for a creative curriculum for skills, while retaining a strong core of subject knowledge.
To balance this, ONSchool will use the Opening Minds Framework from the Royal Society of Arts, to ensure that all the teaching in the school is constructed to support the development of 5 essential competences: Citizenship / Learning / Managing Information / Relating to people / Managing Situations. These will develop the skills that employers and further education seek to complement subject knowledge, and to help your children become more confident adults
ONSchool will offer a range of qualification pathways, including academic routes through from GSCEs to A’Levels, but also include the Scottish qualifications, as well as the International Baccalaureate.
We will also recognise qualifications for apprenticeships and more vocational pathways. Given the changing policy landscape, ONSchool will listen to the demands of children, parents, local employers and Higher Education as to how best to adapt around local needs. When the English National Curriculum Review is completed, and if any other education initiatives implemented by government, we will work hard to maintain the consistency of teaching and learning at the school.
ONSchool will be a hub for professional development for teachers in nearby schools, Oxfordshire, and beyond.
We want to encourage best practice from the teachers in ONSchool, and the best way to do this is to share practice and invite feedback,... and to keep on learning. We will be asking a lot from our teachers, and we want to give them job satisfaction and maintain their love of learning and teaching.
We will be accessing the communities of practice of teachers and educators all over the country and the wider world. Hosting TeachMeets, sharing case studies, and using social media to develop Professional Development helps the teachers, the community, the kids and the wider educational environment in Oxford.
