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

• Celebrating Success at Oakley School

  Wed 28 Jun 2017

  It has been a day of celebrating success today at Oakley School!

   

  Abid, one of our Year 13 students who leaves us at the end of this week, passed his driving test yesterday and is rightly very proud of his achievement (see photo below), as are all the staff who teach and support him.

   

  Six of our Key Stage 3 students won GOLD in the Super 8's Athletic Competition in Medway Park, coming first out of 7 SEND schools. Its difficult to tell who is more thrilled by this success, the students or the staff who took them!

  
  Finally, a previous F.E. student who left Oakley in June 2015 to go to College has just passed his level 2 in motorsport mechanics at West Kent College.  Another fantastic achievement and one we are all very proud of.

   

  

• Oakley secondary students enjoy Tag Rugby

  Mon 26 Jun 2017

  Oakley secondary students have recently been involved in the Kent RFU Wooden Spoon programme. Wooden Spoon is a children’s charity of Rugby which funds projects all over the UK to support disadvantaged and disabled children.

   

  Over the past 3 weeks, a Tag Rugby coach, Darren Reeves, has visited the school to deliver a series of lessons to KS3 and KS4 to introduce the children to the sport. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and have already asked for this to be included in the P.E programme next year!

  

• Rare fungi found in the grounds of Oakley School

  Mon 26 Jun 2017

  It looks like an alien, an angry star fish or even an Octopus, but its not!  We have found a very rare and smelly fungi in our grounds of the Tunbridge Wells site called Clathrus Archeri.

   

  Clathrus Archeri is more commonly known as octopus stinkhorn, or devil's fingers and its a fungus indigenous to Australia and New Zealand, although thought to be increasing in Europe.  It would seem that the conditions in our garden are perfect for it, although it was only discovered because our partners from Herbilicious noticed the awful smell which apparently resembles the smell of rotting flesh!

  

• World Music Day

  Fri 23 Jun 2017

  Wednesday, 21st June was World Music Day and here at Oakley School we asked our Key Stage 3 students to choose their favourite song. It was harder to choose than they initially thought it would be, but the results were announced in today's Whole School Celebration Assembly. Our students chose:-

   

  1.  Bob Marley - Three Little Birds - WINNER

  2.  Michael Jackson - Billy Jean

  3.  ABBA - Dancing Queen

  4.  The Beatles - Help!

  5.  Madonna - Holiday

   

  We await to see if anyone performs the winning song at Oakley's Got Talent later this term!

   

   

   

  

• Heatwave - Alert Level 2

  Tue 20 Jun 2017

  We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our students and staff in the current heat, including making sure everyone is drinking lots of water and wearing hats and protective clothing at break times and when working outside.  Kent County Council have issued some advice, please see key points below, which applies to everyone, but in particular vulnerable Kent residents.

   

  Key advice in hot weather includes:

  • Plan ahead to make sure you have enough supplies, such as water, food and any medications you need.

  • Avoid the heat: stay out of the sun and don’t go out between 11am and 3pm (the hottest part of the day) if you’re vulnerable to the effects of heat.

  • Drink cold drinks regularly, such as water and fruit juice. Avoid tea, coffee and alcohol. Take water with you if travelling.

  • Never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially infants, older people, young children or animals.

  • Shut windows and pull down the shades when it is hotter outside. If it’s safe, open them for ventilation when it is cooler.

  • Keep rooms cool by using shades or reflective material outside the windows. If this isn't possible, use light-coloured curtains and keep them closed (metallic blinds and dark curtains can make the room hotter). Identify the coolest room in the house so you know where to go to keep cool.

  • Have cool baths or showers, and splash yourself with cool water.

  • Stay tuned to the weather forecast on the radio or TV, or at the Met Office website.

  • Wear loose, cool clothing, and a hat if you go outdoors. Wear UV sunglasses to reduce UV exposure to eyes and apply a sunscreen of at least SPF15 with UVA protection.

   

  A full copy of the press release can be found in our Parents & Carers section under Our School Community, but please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like any additional advice or guidance.

• Oakley staff raise £700 for Hospice in the Weald

  Mon 19 Jun 2017

  Congratulations and well done to the group of Oakley staff, pictured below, who survived and completed the Hospice in the Weald Moonlight Walk on Saturday, 17th June.   They had such a fun time and nattered their way round in a fantastic 2.5 hours!  Most importantly they raised over £700 in memory of one of our dear colleagues who passed away last summer.

   

  So well done to all those who took part and thank you to everyone who donated.

  

• SEND Parent Survey

  Fri 16 Jun 2017

  Kent County Council are surveying parents to gather feedback on their levels of satisfaction with their child’s provision and the new arrangements for Education, Health and Care Plans.

   

  In collaboration with the Kent Parent Carer Forum they have developed a county wide survey which they have distributed to all of the families that they provide information and support to. They want to gather the broadest range of views from across every district, representing every age range, type of placement and the breadth of special educational needs.

   

  You can access the survey by clicking on the link below. The deadline is Friday, 23rd June 2017.

   

  http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/local-offer-your-voice#tab-5​

• Oakley Nursery Update

  Thu 15 Jun 2017

  We are very pleased to say that the groundworks for building of our nursery are progressing well and are on schedule. The actual nursery building is being made off site – a “modular build” and will be delivered in several units that are then joined together on site here. We are taking delivery of all the modular units on Saturday, 24th June.  A photo of what the building is going to look like can be seen below.

   

  We are also pleased to report that our students are coping really well with the building work and the associated noise.  Some of the recent improvements to our playground on the Tunbridge Wells site have had to be fenced off in the short term, in order to keep everyone safe, but students have not been phased by the disruption and in fact, have been heard saying how much they are looking forward to the younger, nursery children joining us in September. 

  

• Oakley Students Promote Safeguarding

  Tue 13 Jun 2017
  Today on the Tunbridge Well site, our student council lead an assembly on "staying safe".  In front of all their peers (approx. 120 students) they very bravely shared their prepared thoughts and ideas on what kind of things wouldn't be safe and what to do if they felt unsafe.  Some photos are attached but the full presentation can be found on either of our safeguarding pages under the sections About our School or Our School Community\Parents & Carers.

  

• Oakley Students achieve their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award

  Mon 12 Jun 2017

  Four Oakley students spent the weekend completing their Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the beautiful Kent countryside.  According to the staff who supported and accompanied them, all four of them were fantastic.  They demonstrated great resilience and teamwork, they put their tents up independently and even demonstrated their first aid skills when one member of the group twisted her ankle (not that it stopped her from carrying on and completing the course). Three of the four students are the youngest Oakley students to achieve the Bronze Award, we are all so proud of them. Well done to all four students and a huge thank you to the staff who supported them.