How does Aila, our AI lesson assistant, work? Find out how Aila generates high-quality lessons using AI techniques such as prompt engineering and retrieval augmented generation. 

Understanding the ‘Ai’ in Aila

Teacher delivering lesson in a classroom of primary pupils

Read the independent evaluation report for Oak's impact on teaching in 2023/24, a year when we released new adaptable resources for 6,000+ lessons, launched innovative AI tools, and made all content Open Government Licensed.

Our impact on teachers and pupils in 2023/24

Use our quick guide to see how our new primary maths curriculum supports the use of the NCETM Curriculum Prioritisation materials.


Supporting the use of NCETM Curriculum Prioritisation materials

Whether you are creating bespoke resources or tailoring content, AI has the potential to help speed things along and ease your workload - but how can you get started? Join our webinars to find out more about Aila, our free AI lesson assistant, and how it could help you.


Interested in using AI in your planning? Join our webinars

Wondering just how adaptable our resources are? Find out how a Trust Strategic Maths Lead is drawing on our curriculum and resources to design their own.

How an academy trust is building a maths curriculum using Oak

Are you an EYFS,  key stage 1 or key stage 2 teacher thinking about how you approach the teaching of Remembrance Day this year? Here are some ideas to consider from our history subject lead, Benjie Groom.

Lesson planning ideas for teaching Remembrance Day

Looking for examples of high-quality curricula to help you plan your own? From art to sports, coding to food and nutrition, find about our new curriculum plans and see how they can help inspire your planning. 

Our new curriculum plans are here

A photo of a teacher engaging in conversation with two pupils at their desks

Teachers are dedicating increasing time to make sure they can support pupils with SEND - this blog explores the challenges they face and how Oak can help.

Supporting pupils with SEND? How Oak can help

Read about Aila, our new AI-powered lesson assistant, that you can use to build tailor-made lesson plans and resources in minutes


Introducing Aila, our AI-powered lesson assistant

Curious about using AI for lesson planning? Discover 8 things our lesson planning tool for teachers can do.

8 things you won’t believe our AI lesson planning tool can do

Are you an education innovator, creating products to help teachers and pupils? Do you want first access to Oak’s open-sourced content?  

You’re invited to Oak National Academy’s Hackathon. An open invitation to experiment with our open-source content to create high-impact, exciting ed-tech products that enhance teaching and learning. 



You're invited to our hackathon

AI-driven assistants, such as Aila, offer many benefits, but it’s crucial that we have a set of protections in place for using them. In this blog we share an overview of the protections we have put in place to ensure safe lesson creation.  

Aila’s safety guardrails explained

Ensuring pedagogical integrity has been a priority when creating our new AI lesson planning assistant, Aila. Find out why we built Aila, the research we used to inform its design and how we have improved the quality of the content that Aila produces in this blog. 

The pedagogical thinking behind Aila, our AI lesson planning tool

Find out how long it should be taking you to plan a lesson, along with tips from our experts!

How long does it take to plan a lesson?

Find out how to teach topics that might be challenging for you or your pupils - and what you can do to overcome this!

How to plan to teach difficult topics

How do you support your pupils with common misconceptions before they become embedded? Find out how to capture misconceptions and provide best-practice in the classroom.

How to address common misconceptions in lessons

Find out how to create your own lesson plan template and how they can help your thinking process.

How to create your own lesson plan template

Get confident with lesson objectives with our lesson objective examples.

Lesson objective examples

Find out how to create effective lesson objectives for your classes!

Creating your lesson objectives

Want to know the difference between 'learning objectives', 'lesson objectives' and 'lesson outcomes'? Find out more now. 

What are learning objectives?

Our new curriculum plans are now available! We've got your questions covered in this blog. 

New curricula: what you need to know

Ready to start planning lessons? Follow our simple steps to get started today.

How to plan a lesson: simple steps

In October, we launched an open procurement process to find our newest curriculum partners. Find out who they are and how they will be shaping Oak's curriculum in this blog.

Introducing our new curriculum partners

Find out about our new computing curriculum partner who we will be collaborating with on primary and secondary curricula and resources. 



Introducing our computing curriculum partner

Here you’ll find an introduction to our new art and design curriculum partner and the work they will be doing in the year ahead



Introducing our art and design curriculum partner

Find out who our new curriculum partners are for KS3 and KS4 geography and how they will be working with us. 



Introducing our secondary geography curriculum partners 

Here we introduce our new primary and secondary D&T curriculum partner and explore how we will be working with them

Introducing our design & technology curriculum partner

We are delighted to announce our primary and secondary PE curriculum partner. Here you can find out more about them and the work we will be doing with them. 

Introducing our PE curriculum partners

In this blog we introduce you to our primary and secondary RE curriculum partners and tell you about the work we will be doing with them over the coming months. 

Introducing our RE curriculum partners

We will be developing a new primary languages curriculum and secondary MFL curriculum in collaboration with our curriculum partner. Find out who they are in this blog. 

Introducing our languages and MFL curriculum partner

Find out more about our relationships & health education and RSHE curriculum partner and our collaboration to develop primary and secondary curriculum plans and teaching resources. 

Introducing our Relationships & Health Education and RSHE curriculum partner

We are developing a new secondary citizenship curriculum and teaching resources. Find out who we are partnering with and more about their work here. 

Introducing our citizenship curriculum partner

Here we introduce our new primary music curriculum partners. Read more about their expertise and the curriculum principles they will be following. 

Introducing our primary music curriculum partners

As well as sharing our curricula, we have started to develop plans to signpost additional curriculum sequences from Oak’s online products. We would like to hear from teachers, schools and providers to help inform our approach to sharing additional curricula. 

Give your feedback on how Oak could signpost curricula

Find out more about how you can apply to join one of our subject expert groups to share your expertise and help shape our new curricula and resources 

Share your subject expertise in our expert groups to help shape our new curricula and resources

Bennie Kara, a speaker, trainer and consultant on the curriculum, discusses the importance of creating diverse and inclusive curricula and her experience of working with Oak. 

Diversity in the Oak curriculum 

Having launched new, experimental AI tools for quizzes and lesson planning, we now want to help schools develop their own AI projects.

Our new AI tools for teachers are just the start

Our Chief Executive Matt Hood reflects on our new curricula and the limitations and benefits it will have for teachers.

What our new curriculum is, and what it isn't

We share findings for our latest evaluation about the impact Oak has on teachers.

What impact did Oak have in 2022/23?

Submit your bid to work with us to create brand new curriculum sequences and teaching resources

Launched: open procurement for new curricula and resources

Careful task design is vital to the successful delivery of any maths curriculum. Here we share our approach.

Task design within our maths curriculum 

Find out about the considerations made when planning our new music curriculum to help you when creating yours. 

Musical conversations and curriculum considerations

Need to design a subject curriculum but not sure where to start? Our 7 easy steps curriculum design guide is the perfect free guide for any teacher.

How to design a subject curriculum in 7 easy steps

Does your curriculum need a refresh? Watch our short video on making changes using our resources and start planning using our free quick guide. 

How to refresh your curriculum using Oak resources

Want inspiration to help you design a unit of study? Our handy guide and quick six minute video tutorial take you through the steps we follow.

How to create a unit of study

We explore our geography expert group's feedback on our new curriculum.

Collaborating with our geography expert group 

Learn about our subject expert group's feedback on the explainer statements, curriculum threads and sequencing of our new English curriculum. 

Collaborating with our English expert group 

Here we explore feedback we gathered on the curriculum explainer statements, curriculum threads and sequencing for our new science curriculum. 

Collaborating with our science expert group 

We sought feedback from our history expert group on our new curriculum explainer statements and sequencing. Find out what they said. 

Collaborating with our history expert group 

We have now met with our music expert group for feedback on our new curricula twice. Here we explore their thoughts on our curriculum explainer statements, curriculum threads and sequencing. 

Collaborating with our music expert group 

We explore our maths subject expert group members' thoughts on our curriculum explainer statements, curriculum threads and sequencing. 

Collaborating with our maths expert group 

Find out how Oak can help you on your ITT and ECT training years!

We can help on your teacher training year

Find out how our new primary geography curriculum will explore your local context. 

Teaching local geography in the primary phase 

How do we choose what to teach in English? It is the maddening, exciting, and challenging question that preoccupies anyone lucky enough to be tasked with making curriculum decisions in English. In this blog, we talk about the considerations made around our new primary and secondary curricula. 

Selecting texts to teach in English 

Find out how we've been shaping our NEW history curriculum, and some of the thinking behind curriculum challenges. 

How do we plan a history curriculum?

We are growing our community of partners and are now looking to share information with potential new curriculum partners ahead of an open procurement process in the new academic year covering a wide range of subjects. 

New opportunities to create resources for Oak

Get ready for teaching in September with our top tips for stepping into a new school or starting your teacher training!

Preparing to teach for September

Find out how we are developing our brand new science curricula through a 'big questions' approach. 

Exploring ‘big ideas’ through ‘big questions’ in science

Hear from teachers themselves about their hacks for speeding up and improving their lesson planning using Oak.

Rethink how you can use Oak this year

Open innovation: Licensing and access to Oak's new resources

Open innovation: Licensing and access to our new resources

Find out how to adapt and scaffold any lesson to support your pupils.

10 ways to scaffold your lessons, according to our experts

Read about updates for our 2022-2025 strategy, and how we're continuing to shape the future of Oak.

Our strategy update

Help pupils to understand the coronation and royal events with these easy-to-implement lesson ideas.

Using the coronation to teach about monarchy

We share our approach to incorporating concepts like 'monarchy' into the curriculum in a coherent and sequenced way. 

How to plan lessons and your curriculum that teach pupils about monarchy

Help your pupils to revise by reading our top tips!

6 tips and techniques to help pupils revise for GCSEs and other assessments

Find out how to motivate your pupils when starting a new topic.

Three ways to motivate pupils' learning and hook them into a new topic

Read about how our NEW curriculum partners and subject experts and shaping Oak's curriculum.

Science curriculum partner and subject experts

Maths curriculum partners and subject experts

Read about how our new curriculum partners and subject experts and shaping Oak's geography curriculum.

Geography curriculum partner and subject experts

Oak's new curriculum partners and subject experts 

Music curriculum partner and subject experts

English curriculum partners and subject experts

History curriculum partner and subject experts

Get inspiration for important calendar celebration days for your primary curriculum!

How to teach calendar-themed days in primary school

Find out how our new curriculum principles are shaping the future of Oak.

Our 6 principles guiding our approach to curriculum

Interested in working with our curriculum partners to make our new lesson planning and teaching resources? Hear first hand about what's involved.

I spent a month shaping teaching resources for Oak. Here's what I learnt.

We're asking science teachers to tell us what you want us to improve in our teaching resources to better support your planning.

Road test new science resources and tell us how we can improve

Now Oak is evolving, we want to involve you every step of the way. Explore some of the ways you can get involved.

Shaping Oak’s future: how you can get involved

Join a subject expert group and help to create an inspirational new curriculum. Find out more and how to apply.

Join us as a subject expert and help shape our new curriculum

Find out how to revolutionise your feedback planning, without adding to your workload.

4 ways to provide effective feedback on assessments and mock exams

Four fun and educational activities to help you teach about different religious traditions this term. 

Four ways to teach about winter religious events in EYFS and KS1

Got a great set of resources? We're investing £8 million in developing and sharing curriculum materials – here's how you can bid.

Bid to partner with Oak

New to key stage, year group content or subject? Find out how to improve your confidence quickly, using our thousands of free, adaptable resources. 

New to teaching a subject or topic? Build confidence with our 6 tips

Learn more about our approach to the EYFS framework and our lessons, and how they can be used to support your teaching. 


Our approach to EYFS

What do teachers want and need to support lesson planning workload and curriculum design? Read our new report to find out.

Workload and curriculum: what have teachers told us?

Find out how to incorporate regular quizzing into your lessons to supercharge your pupils’ learning, without adding to your workload.

How to use quizzes for your pupils' retrieval practice

It's time for Oak to evolve again. Learn more about our new role and how we plan to grow our support for schools and teachers.

The evolution of Oak: supporting you to thrive

Find out more and save your place for a market engagement webinar providing further information about the proposed open procurement process.

Create new resources for Oak

We’re still learning more about our 200,000 weekly users. We share what we know about why teachers are visiting Oak.

Why are teachers still using Oak?

Oak chief executive, Matt Hood, explains why curriculum matters so much and the system-wide challenges Oak will play a role in addressing. 

Curriculum matters: Matt Hood’s keynote session at The Festival of Education

Following recent announcements, we share more information on how Oak will support teachers in delivering excellent curriculum content and improving curriculum expertise.

Oak’s future: Continuing to support teachers and pupils

Find out how using our resources to support revision has been beneficial for both pupils and teachers

How using Oak for revision has personalised revision plans and reduced teacher's workload

Children's mental health week 2022 assemblies poster

We’re supporting Place2Be and BAFTA Kids to bring you a free assembly to mark Children's Mental Health Week.

Join the Children’s Mental Health Week assembly 2022

Rachel Watkins, Head of English at St Thomas á Becket secondary, shares the benefits they've realised from using Oak for lesson cover.

How using Oak for lesson cover has improved outcomes for pupils and teachers

Oak supported teachers in over half of all state schools in England during 2020/21. Find out more about the impact we had.

What impact did Oak have in 2020/21?

Find out how our curriculum maps can help you align our resources with your existing curriculum plans.

Using our new curriculum maps to support your classroom planning

Oak National Academy and our thousands of lessons, slides and resources will remain available and free into the next year. Find out more.

We’re staying open and free into next year

Now schools have fully re-opened how are teachers using our resources to support their teaching?

After lockdown: How have teachers used Oak resources since schools fully re-opened?

In this blog, we explore why mental health support for teachers is not a luxury but a basic need. 

Breathe between the thoughts: Why mental health support for teachers is not a luxury but a basic need

In this blog, we look at how you can make the most of our Special Educational Needs (SEN) lessons and resources for remote learning.

SEN Support - Accessible remote learning & making the most of the Oak offer

Read blogs from our in-house experts to find ideas to take away and try, from curriculum planning to lesson delivery. Plus, keep up to date with the latest news and insights from Oak.

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Inspiration for inside and outside the classroom

Categories

Understanding the ‘Ai’ in Aila

Our impact on teachers and pupils in 2023/24

Supporting the use of NCETM Curriculum Prioritisation materials

Interested in using AI in your planning? Join our webinars