Teaching Pathways at Oakham School

Thank you for considering starting your teaching career at Oakham. For me, teaching is both a profession and a vocation, and the Independent Sector is a richly rewarding environment in which to learn and develop.

Oakham School has a long history of welcoming new teachers, contributing to their development, whilst seeing them contribute to the lives of our pupils. There is huge expertise and support to draw upon, as well as the space, trust and resources for colleagues to make an impact and make their mark.

Whatever your subject, whatever your interest beyond the classroom, we hope that we can harness it and help it blossom.

We were all new teachers once, and I believe it is incumbent on us all to grow the next generation. Oakham School is a great nursery, where you can flourish and move on, or stay a while and grow roots.

Thank you again and we look forward to meeting you.

Your Pathway to Oakham

Mr Henry Price Headmaster

OUR PURPOSE AND VALUES

We provide exceptional, contemporary co-education with a global outlook and offer experiences to learn in a caring and inspiring boarding and day community.

Our four core values represent qualities that we wish to inspire and instill in all our pupils and that will guide them throughout their lives.

CARE

Care lies at the heart of everything we do at Oakham. We teach our pupils to show care for themselves and for others; to have a sense of pride in what they do and to take care in everyday tasks and opportunities.

COURAGE

Teaching our pupils to have courage inspires them to try new things, take on new challenges, and excel in things they may have never believed they could. Above all, we want our pupils to have the courage to be themselves, whatever that might be

CONTRIBUTION

Contribution is about how pupils can contribute in every aspect of their life, whether in lessons or outside the classroom. Pupils shape the School by what they contribute and learn to value the contribution of everyone around them.

CONNECTION

We encourage pupils to make connections in all aspects of their education and lives – in their academic work, co-curricular activities, and in their relationships with others and the wider community.

Your Pathway to Oakham

TEACHING AT OAKHAM

Oakham has always been a school that strives to marry innovation with the best of traditional approaches. Our vision is to deliver to pupils an innovative, ambitious and challenging education fit for the 21st Century by fostering a love of learning through:

Placing Care at the heart of everything we do. Inspiring the behaviours of Courage and Contribution in ourselves and others.

Seeking and finding Connection in all aspects of pupils’ education and future lives.

We are encouraged to think for ourselves; passivity is not an option.

Current Pupil

Your Pathway to Oakham

TEACHING AT OAKHAM

Like many schools, we are pupils to achieve outstan examinations; the Oakha our holistic educational p our pupils how to take th and rise to the intellectua

Your Pathway to Oakham

TEACHING AT OAKHAM

We have exceptional learning resources: well-equipped classrooms, a university standard library, state-of-the-art Science and Design Technology facilities, 40 acres of outstanding sports pitches, plus our own theatre and art gallery.

Our outstanding facilities reflect our ongoing commitment to providing the very best learning environment for our students.

Providing excellent facilities is only one part of the story; at Oakham we believe that the very best education can only come from being part of an outstanding community of learners – pupils, teachers and parents.

This is exemplified by:

our outstanding Career Pathway to nurture and develop new teachers

our comprehensive Continued Professional Development

ricular projects that see whole year groups

vestigate and explore a specific theme

Your Pathway to Oakham

TEACHING AT OAKHAM

We are proud to offer exceptional, contemporary co-education with a global outlook, offering experiences to learn in a caring and inspiring community for all our pupils, providing the knowledge, skills, and values for students to thrive and confidently contribute at Oakham School and beyond.

Your Pathway to Oakham

Your Pathway to Oakham

PASTORAL CARE AT OAKHAM

Through our exceptional pastoral care, we nurture all aspects of our pupils’ intellectual, physical, mental and spiritual development. Key to this is our unique House structure, which benefits every pupil at Oakham whether they be day, weekly boarding or full boarding.

The House communities enable us to provide support tailored to the age of our pupils at every stage of their Oakham journey. This support is given by a caring and experienced team of adults who are passionate about helping children to thrive and be the best versions of themselves they can be.

Each pupil has their own Tutor who works with them to fulfil personal goals, develop strategies to manage their busy lives and feel both academically and socially stimulated.

Oakham School is also home to a state-of-the-art Medical and Pastoral Centre.

Your Pathway to Oakham

CO-CURRICULAR AT OAKHAM

An essential part of the Oakham education is th Curriculum, with its focus on developing skills a attributes beyond the classroom that help our to become well-rounded individuals.

With over 125 activities, 30 sports, 80 and 5 major drama productions, pup opportunity to get involved and to fi

Your Pathway to Oakham

OAKHAM AT A GLANCE

Your Pathway to Oakham

TESTIMONIALS

I was fortunate to have a mentor from the moment I started my career at Oakham. Trainees are allocated one lesson per week with my mentor to cover portfolio work, and plan for coming assignments and areas to focus on over the coming weeks. Furthermore, support is also offered in the form of regular seminars with fellow PGCE students and ECTs within the school. Being able to have in-depth discussions with one another about teaching strategies and pedagogy is fantastic. I have learned a great deal from my fellow colleagues during these seminars.

Oakham has been a wonderful place to begin my teaching career. I have found the experience brilliant so far, largely due to the Oakham School staff body being abundant with knowledge, but also, a huge amount of support. This has come from within my department, as well as outside of it. As I started my second year, and with it my trainee year, this support has only increased!

Josh Arnold History Teacher

Your Pathway to Oakham

Zoe Wardell Music Teacher

Your Pathway to Oakham

TEACHER PATHWAYS

At Oakham, we aim to offer an inspirational student experience, based on the knowledge, skills, and values central to our holistic educational offer.

For those teachers joining Oakham at the beginning of their teaching career, we have a bespoke, school-based, programme to support you through the first few years of your practice, instilling in your practice a lasting sense of evidence-based excellence and reflection.

Teachers who have gained Qualified Teacher Status and completed their two-year Early Career Framework Induction period will still receive support through Oakham’s Continued Professional Development programme, which empowers teachers and subject departments to improve student outcomes and classroom practice, with Teaching and Learning sessions and other forums to collaborate and share good practice.

Your Pathway to Oakham

YEARS 1 AND 2

Pre-Qualified Teachers (Pre-QTs) at Oakham will have the opportunity to experience every aspect of life at Oakham, contributing to academic lessons, pastoral support in houses, and co-curricular games, activities, and the performing arts. By immersing themselves in the full breadth of what Oakham has to offer, Pre-QTs will not only be able to support students through their education, but also define their own pathway through teaching.

Pre-QTs will sometimes be offered support through subsequent training, such as in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or through School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) and other similar schemes (such as School-Direct).

Should Pre-QTs remain at Oakham for their training year towards QTS, their second year will be divided between school-based practice and university/institution-based training. Normally, teachers will have one day or afternoon off-timetable over the course of the year, to allow them to study at university or online. Pre-QTs have appropriate lesson remission to give them the requisite time to complete university assignments as well as fulfil their Oakham commitments. For 6 weeks of the training year, teachers will work at a local school as part of a contrasting placement.

YEARS 1 AND 2 CONTINUED

As a Pre-QT, teachers at this stage may be eligible for free accommodation on the Oakham School campus. They will also enjoy the other benefits of teaching at Oakham, such as access to our outstanding facilities and delicious dining.

Importantly, Pre-QTs are supported every step of the way through their practice; teachers are assigned a subject-mentor, are overseen by the Initial Teacher Training Coordinator, and have an appropriate amount of time in which to prepare and reflect on their practice. New teachers also receive inschool training using the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework. By the end of their training year, new teachers will have acquired Qualified Teacher Status and built their practice to the level of an Early Career Teacher. Given the extensive opportunities provided at Oakham, most new teachers are better prepared than their contemporaries in different school settings.

Oakham School is proud of the generous support we provide for aspiring teachers, and our initial teacher training programme is an investment in your future.

YEARS 3 AND 4

You may be joining Oakham having already acquired QTS, in which case you will of course not repeat Years 1 and 2.

As of September 2021, teachers who successfully obtain QTS will subsequently need to complete a two-year induction programme, guided by the Early Career Framework (ECF).

The Early Career Framework builds on high-quality Initial Teacher Training and extends the same principles and guiding standards. The ECF makes it possible for Early Career Teachers (ECTs) to develop their expertise within a timeframe that allows structured support alongside freedom to delve into professional development.

The key evidence statements (“Learn that…”) and practical statements (“Learn how to…”), and Standards have been drawn from the ECF, with materials for Oakham’s School-Based ECF Programme crafted using the T&L expertise at Oakham and activities provided by the four ECF core induction programme providers. Every provider structures their programme differently, but all are built on a strong evidence base.

Your Pathway to Oakham

YEARS 3 AND 4 CONTINUED

Early Career Teachers receive lesson remission to encourage continued professional development, and engagement with the ECF materials. They are facilitated in this by their mentor, with whom they continue to have weekly review meetings, the Initial Teacher Training Coordinator, internal and external ECF training sessions, and selfdirected materials. ECTs maintain the excellent level of engagement with, and reflection on, educational theory and classroom practice, which they honed during their Pre-QT training period.

During Years 3 and 4, ECTs benefit from the generous Oakham School pay scale. They are also fully accredited by the appropriate awarding body for the Early Career Framework.

A successful outcome is a joint responsibility shared between the individual and the school. Final judgements are based on the Teacher Standards. At Oakham, we strive to make Years 3 and 4 about sharing and celebrating bright spots from our practice, collaborating with fellow teachers to promote positive student progress and outcomes.

Throughout the course of their teacher training, Pre-QTs and ECTs will be supported in managing workload and maintaining wellbeing, both central pillars to success at Oakham and beyond.

Your Pathway to Oakham

AN OAKHAM EDUCATION

One of the things that people frequently comment on when they visit Oakham School is how wellrounded our pupils are.

Your Pathway to Oakham

AN OAKHAM EDUCATION

In order to help our pupils develop into grounded and responsible adults, well equipped for whatever life holds beyond our campus, Oakham teachers care for all aspects of their education:

Academic

Outstanding subject faculties and specialist academic facilities

Pupils in Forms 1–3 (Years 7–9) follow the acclaimed IB MYP curriculum

26 different subjects at GCSE

Two distinct pathways at 16+: IB Diploma Programme or A-levels and BTECs

View our most recent exam results on our website

Your Pathway to Oakham

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAY

A genuinely co-ed, forward thinking, well run school that benefits from its historic roots and close local connections with the town.

Always a trailblazer.

Oakham is a fast-paced, joiner-in kind of school so pastoral care is paramount. To its credit, Oakham’s pastoral offering doesn’t appear to be a Covid bolt-on and is central to the school’s ethos.

Your Pathway to Oakham

CARE COURAGE CONTRIBUTION CONNECTION

oakham.rutland.sch.uk