Please e-mail office@oakley.kent.sch.uk if you would like any of the information on our website in a different format.
Our children and young people are at the heart of everything we do.
A very warm welcome to Oakley School. We are the district Special School for children and young people from 3 to 19 years with a wide range of special educational needs located in our Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge (post-16) sites
Our Mission: Children and Young People at the heart of all we do.
Our Ethos: Work Hard, Be Kind, Have Fun & Stay Safe
Our Vision: To give all our children and young people opportunities to engage, explore, discover and develop their independence – to become confident, resilient, happy and well prepared for a positive and meaningful future.
At Oakley School we are ambitious for our pupils and offer a rich Creative Curriculum that is personalised and offers learning in school as well as in the community. Our skilled and dedicated staff team work very hard to make learning motivating, interactive, challenging and fun, whilst ensuring that all our children and young people feel safe, valued and self-confident. We promote “Skills for Life and Independence” so that when pupil leave Oakley School they are prepared for the next phase in their lives and have the best opportunities.
Pupils' wellbeing and engagement is central to all our decision making and how we structure our school and the interventions we use.
Our Wider Curriculum offers excellent enrichment activities including: lunch and after school clubs, curriculum trips and residential experiences in the United Kingdom and abroad. These opportunities provide pupils time and experiences to develop their life skills in new places and with different people in preparation for their next steps.
We work collaboratively across our school community with our Families, Therapists, NHS Colleagues and other professionals and external organisations to support and meet the needs of our pupils.
We hope that you enjoy your visit to our website, and that you find the information you are looking for. Please feel free to contact the school directly with any queries you may have. If you would like a paper copy of any of the information on our website, we would be happy to provide it, free of charge. Email office@oakley.kent.sch.uk
or call us on 01892 823096.
It is my privilege to be the Headteacher at Oakley School and we welcome you to visit the school so you can meet pupils and staff to experience our very special school.
Sam Perryman
Headteacher
Our Mission: Children and Young People at the heart of all we do.
Our Ethos: Work Hard, Be Kind, Have Fun & Stay Safe
Our Vision: To give all our children and young people opportunities to engage, explore, discover and develop their independence – to become confident, resilient, happy and well prepared for a positive and meaningful future.
Transitions can be particularly challenging for some of our children and young people. We work closely with our pupils, Parents/Carers to provide a personalised approach and resources to support them in preparation for the next phase of their learning. We achieve this by:-
We have an active School Council which consists of a group of pupils who have been elected by their classes to represent the views of the pupils and come up with ideas to improve our school.
Thrive is an approach to support the mental health and wellbeing of our pupils across the school. We started Thrive last year, in the middle of the pandemic and it is having a great impact across our school community. As a result many children are happier and more able to express their emotions freely.
Thrive is a whole school approach and every day your children are receiving Thrive either as a class group or individually. Thrive helps pupils to learn to regulate their emotional responses through fun art based activities, play, mindfulness, dance, music and so much more, plus they are having so much fun with it.
In September 2022 we also started delivering Thrive Parent Workshops where our Thrive Practitioners teach parents and carers about brain development and how to help support their child’s emotional development using the Thrive Approach.
After School Clubs currently run on the following days:
Phase 2 - Mondays on the Tunbridge Wells site
Phase 3 - Thursdays on the Tunbridge Wells site
and
Phase 4 - Thursdays on the Tonbridge site.
Activities include art, crafts, baking, music/dance, games and in the warmer months, trips out in the local community e.g. Aspens, park etc.
Clubs run from 3.15pm to 5.00pm. Pupils attending can bring a change of clothes. A drink and snack will be provided. Children need collecting from school promptly at 5pm. The cost is £3.50 per week for each child attending. This can be paid weekly or in advance, whichever is easier.
Each term we write to parents inviting them to sign up for after school club. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis initially and then on a rota basis.
We also run lunch clubs on our Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge sites for those pupils who have special interests or want to do something quieter and calmer than play outside on the playground or MUGA.
On our Tonbridge site we offer:-
Day of the Week | Lunch Club |
Monday | Drama Club |
Tuesday | Singing Hands Club and Rainbow Club (calm activities) |
Wednesday | Spanish Club |
Thursday | Art Club |
Friday | THRIVE Club |
On our Tunbridge Wells site we offer:-
Day of the Week | Lunch Club |
Tuesday | THRIVE for Phase 2 |
Wednesday | Music & Makaton Singing |
Friday | THRIVE for Phase 3 |
Oakley was first awarded the highly prestigious green flag award in 2013 in recognition of our commitment to the underlying principles of the Eco Schools award. We achieved International Eco School status in July 2021.
The underlying principles are Global citizenship, Waste, Litter, Transport, Water, Healthy Living, Biodiversity, School grounds and Energy.
This commitment is shared by pupils, staff and parents and underpins what we do in school. It is reflected in the nature of the school curriculum, especially in science, PE and outdoor learning. However it is also displayed through our extra-curricular activities, for example in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Members of the school’s Eco Committee are drawn from every class and meet regularly to plan activities that further develop Oakley’s sustainable profile.