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Welcome to our School

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

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Our Wider Curriculum

Our Wider Curriculum

 

Intent:

To practice and generalise skills pupils have learnt through the Creative Curriculum in the wider community and a greater understanding of the world.

 

Implement:

The Wider Curriculum is a carefully constructed programme of activities and interventions for all age pupils that provides a progression of experiences and skills throughout the school.

Impact:

Through our wider curriculum, pupils develop their resilience, self-esteem, confidence, problem solving, tolerance, communication, social skills and a sense of enjoyment (fun) in order to achieve skills for life and independence.  

 

  • Community Visits – e.g. using money, social communication, problem solving, travel training, tolerance of different people and places.  
  • Curriculum Enrichment Activities – e.g. Valuing Voices Arts’ Project has led to increased pupil confidence and engagement in the Arts and Pop Up Literacy Festival has inspired a love of stories and poetry in our pupils.
  • Physical and Sensory – e.g. Pupils have developed physical and sensory skills and improved mental health and this enables pupils to develop leisure interests.
  • A comprehensive programme of residential trips provides pupils with opportunities to stay away from home, develop their independence, experience different communities and cultures.
  • Clubs - Lunchtime, after-school and holiday clubs enable pupils to socialise with different groups whilst developing skills and interests.
  • Careers and Destinations – students to have meaningful experiences and opportunities for success, enjoyment and independence through a person-centred approach which ensures they are well-prepared for adulthood and employment.
  • P.S.H.E / R.S.E is a key thread that underpins learning to achieve skills for life and independence e.g. enable pupils to develop positive relationships with others, maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep themselves and others safe. 
  • S.M.S.C is fundamental to pupils’ understanding of the world they live in and in preparation for adulthood and to be contributing citizens e.g. School Council for pupil voice and Eco Committee for environmental issues. At Oakley we pride ourselves for our mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith e.g. LGBTQ celebrations and R.E. Days.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)

We are delighted to share that, as a result of the verification visit on 17th November 2022, Oakley School has been awarded Gold level of the National SMSC Quality Mark for the second time. Please read the Verification Report in which you will see our pupils shone during the visit and when asked to describe Oakley School in one word replied ‘home, fun, best place to be, good, wonderful, powerful, welcoming, superhero, forest school’.

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