Pre-Prep
(Key Stage 1)

For children at Hilden Oaks, Pre-Prep represents the beginning of formal schooling for them. Pre-Prep is the part of the school that takes children from Form 1 through to Form 2.

Hilden Oaks children make excellent progress through the combination of form and specialist teachers, core subjects and extra-curricular activities. 

Pre-Prep is a time when children really begin to develop as citizens. It is at this stage that discipline becomes a natural part of school life, enforced fairly but firmly, but not at the expense of a child’s individuality. Children are encouraged to think about others and recognise that rights are balanced by responsibility. At this stage of a child's education, our parents tell us that there are noticeable positive changes in their children’s behaviour at home.

Hilden Oaks children are often admired for the courtesy and consideration they display in their everyday behaviour, and these are traits we encourage our children to take on, into their future lives. Children from Hilden Oaks are proud of the school they come from, and we are proud of the well-rounded, well-mannered, polite and intelligent children who leave our school.

Pre-Prep Curriculum

Pupils in Forms 1 and 2 will be introduced to a curriculum based on Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum.  Our highly qualified and experienced teachers are encouraged to use the National Curriculum as the framework for their teaching, but not to be constrained by it. As a consequence, pupils’ education is grounded in the fundamentals of Key Stage 1 but they are also challenged and stretched to extend their thinking and learning in order that each child can reach his or her potential.

At this stage the curriculum takes on a more formal and structured approach, with children being introduced to the concept of traditional, subject-based lessons. Whilst the broader, theme-based approach of the Early Years Curriculum evolves into more clearly differentiated subjects, pupils are encouraged to look for the links between them. This is important as it enables children to understand that the skills and knowledge learnt in one subject can support them in their development across the whole curriculum. The curriculum for Forms 1 and 2 covers:

The Read Write Inc. programme is continued throughout Forms 1 and 2 and children are placed in streamed sets for these lessons to ensure that they access the literacy curriculum at a level appropriate to their stage of development. 

Additionally, all children in Form 1 and above participate in our Creative Curriculum Programme. For a day each half of term, children in Prep and Pre-Prep work together to explore the curriculum through the filter of a whole-school topic or theme that the children have chosen. This encourages cooperative working and gives teachers the opportunity to introduce pupils to ideas and concepts that more structured, curriculum-based teaching cannot accommodate.