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

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Latest News

Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

TWBC Eco Arts Competition
Fri 30 Sep 2022

Last Term the Phase 3 Art Club took part in an ECO Project and chose the ‘No Time To Waste’ theme when joining an Eco Art competition. After exploring this theme, they took inspiration from Native American Totems which symbolise the earth, kinship and histories. They combined this with their exploration of Australian Artist John Dahlsen’s work, who uses recycled materials in his pieces.

The vision of the Totem pole was to ‘portray a polluted world reaching to a more eco standard of living with the ability to free ourselves of plastic pollution’. The Totem Pole is made entirely from materials found on site, and the piece incorporates the Oakley symbol and a floating feature. The group also used magazines to decoupage their Totem as well as painting and mark making.

The Totem pole is now on display in the Amelia Scott foyer in Tunbridge Wells (in their large Perspex box display).
Oakley School wins GOLD!
Tue 27 Sep 2022

On 1st July we were visited by Tunbridge Wells in Bloom judges. So, earlier today 2 of our Phase 3 pupils, accompanied by 2 members of staff, attended the Tunbridge Wells in Bloom awards ceremony at the Assembly Halls in Tunbridge Wells and we are delighted to share we won the GOLD Award.

Congratulations to all the staff and pupils who help make our outside area such a wonderful learning environment.
Creating a safe environment for Hedgehogs
Mon 26 Sep 2022

On Friday, 23rd September three members of Eagle Class worked together to build a hedgehog house, while the rest of the class were working on weeding and tidying the polytunnel. We will now do some research and decide where the best place to put it is. The fourth member (Charlie) took charge of the iPad and took all of the photos and videos. Hopefully this week Eagles will be able to take part in the #pickforprickles initiative to clear litter, creating a safer environment for any hedgehogs who may visit us.
We're working towards the Green Tree School Platinum Award!
Thu 15 Sep 2022

This term we have started working on the Green Tree School Platinum Award in our Forest school sessions.

First we read 'First Day at Bug School' and got to know a few insects.

Then we had a go at matching woodland creatures and trying to name them, we also thought about which ones might live in our grounds.

Finally, we went on a bug hunt to see what we could find in the woods and the garden areas.

We found slugs, worms, woodlice, spiders, beetles (black ones and colourful ones!) and saw butterflies, moths and other tiny, flying bugs. We turned over logs, shook trees to see if anything flew out and dug in the soil.

We have gained 5 points towards our platinum award and only have one project left to do!
Oakley wins Bronze Wilder Kent Award
Tue 06 Sep 2022
We are proud to announce that we have received a Bronze Certificate in the Kent Wildlife Trust Wilder Kent Awards 2022.

This is a new award to us and our first year of entering.

The judges particularly mentioned:
- We like how you have created habitats for invertebrates through bug hotels and log piles.
- We like how you promote a Meat Free Monday and teach children the importance of this.
- We like how you have just created a new Forest School area and are pleased to hear this is already being used regularly for Forest School sessions.
We hope to take part in this again later this year.