Headteacher's Welcome

Hello and welcome to Oakfield, a truly unique and exciting place to be!

We're not your 'typical school' and we would love to show you what makes our academy so special... there's so much to say ... but if you're short of time ... in a nutshell:

  • 💛 we're a school with a huge heart,

  • 🥇 that has high expectations

  • ⭐️ and are on a mission to ensure we develop children of good character who achieve excellence.

Sound good? Read on and we'll show you that it's more than words.

The things we're often remembered for...

💛 Culture - Our culture, ethos and community focus is what we're known for. We believe that schools should be welcoming places and a hub for the community | Large enough to cope, but small enough to care we know that children don't always remember everything we do, but they remember how we make them feel, and we want that to remain with them forever.

🌲Forest School - You may have heard about our amazing Forest School curriculum, something that sets us apart from other schools. As we're in the New Forest and our children are so passionate about the environment, it's important they learn how to use and take care of their natural resources.

⛺️ Enrichment - Our enrichment experiences which form part of our curriculum journey detail the exciting and valuable visits and visitors that enhance our offer. We might be a smaller school but we never want that to limit our offer.

📞 Communication - Communication with families and the community is so important, we have a distinct Tone of Voice that helps to ensure we communicate consistently and in plain English as much as we can. We use technology to share information and try to do without unnecessary paper.

🚌 Academy Status - We are an academy ... part of a group of schools who share values, resources and procedures that support each organisation to focus on giving the children and communities the best possible experiences. You can read more here.

Our Six Consistencies

Residential Visit to The Isle of Wight (2022)

Our Purpose

At Oakfield we set out to ensure we develop children ...

  • of good character

  • who achieve excellence

So that ...

  • they are prepared for their future

  • they make a positive contribution to their communities.

We strive to ensure ...

  • all are included and work hard to fulfil their potential regardless of background or starting point.

  • pupil choices are not limited by postcode, self-belief, opportunity, or circumstance.

The Totton Carnival (2022)

Our Values

  • Live

    • Preparing children for life.

  • Love

    • Love ourselves, learning, our community, and each other

  • Laugh

    • At ourselves and with each other

  • Learn

    • More than you ever thought was possible


The Choir at The O2 Arena, London (2022)

Our Learning

  • Creativity

  • Self-Management

  • Empathy

  • Collaboration

  • Resilience

  • Reflection

  • Curiosity

Year R Learning (Autumn 2022)

Our Pedagogy

  • Engage

    • Using interests and experiences to provoke thought, interest & curiosity.

  • Develop

    • Teaching knowledge & skills required to progress in a number of areas

  • Innovate

    • Applying learning & developing enterprise, independent thinking & creativity

  • Express

    • Reflecting, analysing & celebrating learning so that next steps are clear

The Chair of The Trust Leading Singing Games (2022)

Our Principles

  • Learning is a change to long term memory

  • Academic learning is difficult

  • We have limited working memory

  • Novices think differently than experts

  • Processing helps us to remember

  • Cognitive load can be reduced

  • Feedback should be useful

  • Assessment should relate to curriculum intent

  • Assessment should be manageable

  • Adaptations should be manageable

  • Subjects need specific methods

Our OWL Leader, Mrs Isaac (2020)

Our Behaviours

  • Relationships

    • Positive relationships with pupils, staff and families

  • Routines

    • Provide structure and organisation

  • Rules

    • Be Safe

    • Be Ready

    • Be Your Best

    • Be Respectful

    • Be Here


Our Values Explained...

Live - Preparing children for life.

  • We believe in preparing children for life, helping them to find their place in the world.

  • We do this by ensuring the things we do have a purpose beyond our school boundaries and ensure we keep things relevant.

Love - Love ourselves, learning, our community, and each other

        • We want children to love themselves, being confident, proud and happy individuals.

        • We want children to love learning, finding something that they have passion for and excites them.

        • We want children to love where they live, taking care of their environment and people around them.

Laugh - At themselves and with each other

        • We want to develop children who have a sense of humour, can be confident to laugh at themselves, the staff and with others.

        • We want learning to be fun - hands-on and inspiring.

        • Sometimes we even do things just for fun, to make lasting positive memories.

Learn - More than you ever thought was possible

        • We want learning that focuses on developing children who are confident readers, writers and mathematicians.

        • We want learning that extends beyond the academic and truly values a wide range of subjects.

        • We want children to learn HOW to think, not WHAT to think.