Speech and Language Therapy

Welcome to our School

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

Speech and Language Therapy

At Oakley school, our speech and language therapists recognise that communication is central to learning and wellbeing. Therapists adopt a trauma-informed, neuro affirming approach to therapy that is integrated throughout the day.

We validate all forms of communication styles by using a Total Communication approach, ensuring that every student has a functional means to communicate that is individualised to them. We recognise and acknowledge all forms of communication including Makaton, speech, gestures, symbols, objects, written/pictorial, communication books and boards and powered AAC (buttons, VOCA’s, Go Talk).

We also recognise that echolalia and scripting can be meaningful stages of language development for our students who are considered Gestalt Language Processors (acquiring language in larger chunks or “gestalts” before breaking them into smaller units). School staff are trained by school therapists to acknowledge echolalia as communication and how to respond and model language to students.

Our team work collaboratively with teaching staff, other professionals and families to ensure that interventions are functional and consistent across all settings. We work closely with NHS speech and language therapists; other professionals and therapists; and the Kent and Medway Communication Assistive Technology team to ensure that therapy is collaborative, holistic and child centred.

We provide regular training to school staff which includes modelling AAC, Gestalt Language Processing, Intensive Interaction, Attention Autism, using visuals and, with the Occupational Therapist, Interoception. Training is an opportunity to up-skill staff and ensure that communication strategies are embedded throughout the day.

We also model targeted interventions in the classroom. This includes modelling the use Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC), Attention Autism groups, Interoception and language and communication groups.