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

• Mental Health Awareness Week

  Mon 15 May 2023

  This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and everyone at Oakley will be focusing on the "Be Kind" and "Stay Safe" elements of our School Ethos - practicing our Thrive principles, getting lots of fresh air and doing other activities that support our mental health and wellbeing.

  

• Coronation Celebrations at Oakley

  Wed 10 May 2023

  Thank you to the staff team across the School for providing lots of learning linked to the Coronation. The pupils have really engaged in learning about this historical event.  

   

  As well as enjoying taking lots of photos in our Coronation Corner, pupils on the Tunbridge Wells site enjoyed the Playground Parade and Party, sharing all their wonderful red, white and blue outfits, with some proudly wearing the crowns they’d made.

   

  At the Tonbridge site our pupils and staff enjoyed a traditional British afternoon tea.

   

  Many of the pupils watched the service at home on Saturday with family and friends and enjoyed all the festivities over the long weekend!

  

• Oakley pupils become Sports Commentators for the day!

  Fri 24 Mar 2023

  Yesterday, Phase 4 pupils took part in a Class Commentary workshop with Dan Strange, a broadcaster of Olympic Games, World Cups and Paralympics and Clare Griffiths, a five time Paralympian and now a commentator too. Clare was Great Britain's Wheelchair Basketball Captain for London 2012.

   

  It was so inspirational  - our pupils were so engaged and involved, learning about and practicing their interviewing and commentating skills. Their behaviour was exemplary and even the shyest ones had grown in confidence by the end of the day. The workshop ran from 9.15am to 2.45pm and everyone was buzzing and talking about it all day.

   

  Dan sent an email after the event: ‘Can I say how fantastic we thought the pupils were. Funny, interesting and extremely polite, with so much character.’

  

• Futures & Destinations (Careers) Event

  Thu 23 Mar 2023

  Yesterday morning we held a Futures & Destinations Event at our Tonbridge site - there was a wonderful atmosphere as our pupils and their parents/carers explored some of the options available to them when they leave Oakley School. Thank you to all the Post-16 Education & Training providers and employers who came along to support the event.

  

• Oakley lead the way in SEN education with gold (again!)

  Wed 22 Mar 2023

  We are excited to share that, following our success in November 2022 when we achieved SMSC gold for the second time and retained our title of a SMSC Beacon school, Oakley School is featured in the latest SMSC Newsletter! Please click on the following link to read the article: 

  https://empowering.youngcitizens.org/citizenshipfoundationlz/lz.aspx?p1=VuqDA1MVMxODMyMTMxOTI6ODUzNDY4Rjc2NzlBRTQ1NDY1ODcwNkE2RkUzMzFFN0I%3d-&CC=&p=0

• RHS Schools Gardening Awards

  Wed 22 Mar 2023

  For the last two years staff and pupils from across the school have been working to reinstate the vegetable garden and make improvements to our flower garden. We have planted lots of bulbs and new plants and are busy planting vegetable and flower seeds.

   

  At the start of the year we signed up to the RHS Schools Gardening scheme and since then we have received our level one certificate accompanied by a gardener's calendar, our level two with a book on growing vegetables and today our level three certificate arrived with a £50 garden centre voucher.

   

  A huge thank you to everyone (pupils, staff and volunteers) who has supported this work in any way by digging, clearing, planting, weeding, sowing seeds or providing plants or advice.

  

• Total Communication Approach in Action!

  Thu 16 Mar 2023

  The photo below is of one of our Phase 3 pupils who is normally a reluctant writer - everything about it is a challenge from the actual physical skill of writing to thinking what to write and then remembering what he wanted to say!

   

  But not today - he used his VOCCA, gesture, a communication board and the laptop to re-write the story of Owl Babies.

   

  What the picture doesn’t capture is the noises and gestures he made as he wrote what he wanted to say, read it to himself and kept saying yes when he was happy with his composition.  He worked independently, read what he’d written to his Class Teacher and then just beamed!

   

  It was a joy for his Class Team to share his pleasure in his success and to see total communication in action!

  

• Oakley pupils 'sow solidarity'

  Mon 13 Mar 2023

  Last Friday, 10th March, Buzzard class had a trip to Calverley Park to take part in a Fairtrade Fortnight seed sowing event.

   

  The aim of this event was to 'sow solidarity' with Fairtrade farmers who are working hard to combat climate change and protect the environment. Sowing seeds encourages biodiversity - bees, insects etc., and it was a fun activity. The project was  organised with the parks department for Tunbridge Wells and Kent High Weald Project and the Fairtrade Town team.

   

  Buzzard class staff and pupils sowed seeds and planted bulbs and even though it was cold and wet they enjoyed their time supporting the local community.

  

• Green Tree Schools Award Platinum Project

  Wed 25 Jan 2023

  This week classes across the Tunbridge Wells site are looking at our woodland from different perspectives as part of their Green Tree Schools Award Platinum Project. Such great photographs capturing our wonderful outdoor area, who knew our pupils were such budding photographers?!

  

• Team GB is calling!

  Fri 02 Dec 2022

  CONGRATULATIONS to Gabriel, our Phase 4 British Down Syndrome Swimming Champion who has received an official invitation to join the GB Team in Scotland for a training camp in the New Year - very exciting! Since winning 7 GOLD medals, Gabriel has become a bit of a media star, appearing in a couple of newspapers: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/other-sport/16-year-old-sussex-swimmer-triumphs-at-inaugural-british-down-syndrome-swimming-championship-3931459