Dear Parents, Choosing a school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will have to make. It is vital that you find the right school that will work with you in educating your child so they can achieve their aspirations. On behalf of the staff, children and Governors we would like to welcome you to our school. It will, I hope, be a happy, stimulating and rewarding time. I hope that the visits you make with your child will help you to know more about the plan, organisation and people who are to become very much part of your child's school life. This is a good school. All staff work very hard to provide an all round education in a safe and caring environment and we look forward to working with you. We promote a team ethos and encourage everything associated with being a part of a team- a sense of commitment, belonging, support, community,

Welcome to Oaklands School & Children’s Centre

Contact Information Name │ Oaklands School School Type │ Primary & Nursery Address │ Weedswood Road, Chatham, ME5 OQS Age range │ 3 - 11 years Telephone │ 01634 333810 or 333820 OfSTED grading │ Good Email │ office@oaklands.medway.sch.uk Web Site │ www.oaklands.medway.sch.uk Twitter │ @Oaklands_Sch_CC Facebook │ @OSandCC Head Teacher │ Mr Barry Symons, B.Ed (Hons) NPQH Chair of Governors │ Mr Veen Rama Medway Director of Children’s Services │ Mr Ian Sutherland, Gun Wharf, Chatham, ME4 4TR

encouragement and care. We hope that you too, as parents, will be able to feel part of Oaklands.

We have high expectations of children, both of their behaviour and the work they produce. Our school is focused on the pursuit of high standards and achievements for your child so we develop independent learners which possess the skills and ambition necessary to be successful in today’s world. Yours sincerely

Barry Symons Headteacher

At Oaklands, we have a simple vision:

Together Everybody Achieves More

Working with Parents We believe that only through strong partnership

between home and school is the best way to

raise standards in learning and achieve our high expectations of work and good behaviour. Teachers are happy to see parents after school to discuss any issues. We have a Meet & Greet play-ground every day where staff are out at the start and end of the school day to speak with you or pass messages to specific members of staff. The school welcomes you to be an active member of our community. There are a variety of opportunities for you to visit, from sharing your child’s learning, volunteering in school or even to enjoy a meal with your children. We have a weekly Newsletter which will give you information about your child’s learning and events. As well as this, the school has a Twitter and Facebook page which you can follow for up-dates and information. Most parents find this invaluable and definitely worth signing up for. We currently subscribe to Teachers2Parents whereby we can send text messages to parent’s mobile phones. We also offer an e-mail service of school letters and publications. If you can receive e-mail either at home or at work, please let us have your e-mail address and you will be placed on the address list. This will save you having to search through your child’s bag ever again! From time to time parents, and others connected with the school, will become aware of matters which cause them concern. In the first instance,

we expect you to speak to your class teacher who will be able to resolve most issues. If you wish to, you should also speak to one of the Senior Leadership Team, especially if you feel your problem has not been resolved. For further details, see our complaints policy.

Oaklands TEAM Values At Oaklands, although we are all unique, we agree to the same basic values. Whether we are a parent, a child or staff member, we believe it is important to have:

Ambition

Self confidence

Perseverance

Independence

Respect

Enquiring minds These values are actively taught, encouraged and celebrated with all our community.

Follow us on Twitter @Oaklands_Sch_CC

Follow us on Facebook @OSandCC

Like all good schools, you expect a high level of learning and

children to leave the school well prepared for the next stage

of their learning which is what you will find at our school.

As well as this, at Oaklands, we are proud of special

opportunities that we offer our children.

Community spirit

At Oaklands, we believes that Together Everybody Achieves

More. We have a great community spirit and groups like the

Friends of Oaklands and the Parent TEAM all have made the

school the success it is.

Marvel Mondays

We love Science! Every Monday, all the children in the

school take part in

practical science where

they explore, examine

and experiment.

The afternoon is an

engaging highlight of

the week where we

marvel at the wonders

of the world around us.

The Bunker

We have our very own radio station.

The children write, produce and di-

rect all the content of the radio sta-

tion and broadcast all over the world

via our Soundcloud site.

Swimming

With our own swimming pool we are lucky that all our

children have the opportunity to learn to swim every single

year. Main tuition happens in Years 4 and 5 but from

Reception the children will begin their swimming adventure.

What makes Oaklands unique?

Amazing Spaces

We are so lucky to have amazing outside spaces. From our

Forest school to out expansive playing fields, our children

make the most of the site.

Writer in Residence

Our very own Writer in Residence is a professional writer of

poetry, theatre and also for the BBC. She works with a

range of our children in writing in various different

genres and

experiences but

are always

memorable. The

scheme has been

so successful the

school has won an

Kent Literacy

Awards two years

running.

Music Tuition

Music is such a fantastic skill to learn and research shows

that it helps in all areas of the child’s curriculum. At

Oaklands, all our children learn a musical instrument in Key

Stage 2. As well as that, our children are able to take part in

a wide range of musical tuition including keyboards, guitar,

brass and strings.

Planning for the future...

The school is working on our next development of a training

kitchen, working farm and a community theatre space.

Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception Year) Louise Brace N Class teacher Caroline Collier-Ward YR Class teacher EYFS lead Arts Lead Steph Cullum YR Class teacher Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) Luci Gould Y1 Class teacher Michaela Williams/ Y1 Class teachers Rachel Humphrey Kerry Chappell Y2 Class teacher Jessica Beer Y2 Class teacher KS1 Lead Healthy Living Lead Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) Tracey Maple Y3 Class Teacher Bronwyn Lynn Y3 Class Teachers Sam Coomber Y4 Class Teacher L-KS2 Lead Humanities Lead Mary Shears Y4 Class Teachers Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6) Nadine Obray Y5 Class Teacher Georgia Bowie Y5 Class Teacher Charlotte Collins Y6 Class Teacher Gary Tovell Y6 Class Teacher

U-KS2 Lead Science & Technology Lead Sophia Amir Y6 Class Teachers Teaching Assistants (EYFS) Alicia Manewell, Barbara Scott, Tandi Munson, Katie Self, Eileen Nash, Gracie Douglas, Chloe Woodger Teaching Assistants (KS1) Lisa Dudman, Caroline Grant, Alison Nye, Beth Thompson Teaching Assistants (L-KS2) Nadine Coulson, Andrea Quarrington, Michelle Shepherd, Tara Francis, Teaching Assistants (U-KS2) Kerry Anne Barlow, Sarah Komorowski, Shelley Carter, Marie Bethel, Julie Pyne

Family Liaison Officer Carol Curtis Family Liaison Officer Sports and Outdoor Learning Luke MacMillan Sports Coach Gary Wimble Swimming coach Admin & Site Team Liz Stamp School Business Manager Leigh Cawe Admin (External) Lisa Moon Admin (Internal) Tasha Lee-m Williams Admin (Apprentice) Garry Bennett Site Manager Kelly Hallett Caretaker Jane Henson Crossing Patrol Senior Leadership Team Gillie Russell Assistant Headteacher Louisa Jones Assistant Headteacher Catherine McLaughlin Deputy Headteacher Barry Symons Headteacher Governors All Governors perform their duties on a voluntary basis. The Governing Body includes staff representatives and elected Parent Governors. If at any time you wish to contact a Governor, a letter handed in at the office addressed to the Clerk of Governors will be forwarded to them. Veen Rama Chair Nikki Ashby Vice chair Parent Governor Christie Ransom Parent Governor Caroline Webber Rosemary Taylor Rita Holding Emma Miller Daniel Moore Shenda West Adrian Gulvin LA Governor Levi Winton Staff Governor Barry Symons Headteacher Catherine McLaughlin Associate Governor Louisa Jones Associate Governor

The Oaklands TEAM 2019-20

Staffing for 2019-20 school Year

We place a great emphasis on school uniform as

we believe that it assists in the promotion of

higher standards and gives pupils a sense of

belonging to the Oaklands TEAM.

The children are expected to wear : • RED or GREY sweatshirts or cardigans • WHITE or RED shirts/polo shirts • GREY or BLACK trousers or skirts • Flat hard soled BLACK shoes (not trainers or

boots)

Jewellery For safety reasons we insist that all children abide by our strict ruling that no jewellery whatsoever is worn for physical activities. In school only watches and one plain small gold or silver stud (no bigger than 5mm) in each ear lobe are allowed-please do not send children in wear-ing sparkly or hooped earrings. Children may NOT wear nail varnish.

PE/Sport Children are to wear a T shirt for PE in the “house” colour. If you like, you can buy an Oaklands t-shirt at a cost of £3.50. PE kit should be brought into school every day. It is best to bring it in at the start of term and leave it until the end, when it can be taken home for washing.

Hair All hair shoulder length or longer must be tied back. Bows are allowed as long as they are in the school colours and smaller than 15 cm.

Sweatshirts, cardigans and fleeces printed with the `Oaklands' logo are available from the office. We keep a supply of "outgrown but not outworn school clothing" for sale at a cost of £1.00 per item.

Our School Uniform

Please MARK ALL CLOTH-ING CLEARLY. Any lost items are put in a lost property bin/rail in the front office.

Meals

The School Meals Service is run by Caterlink. All children in Reception. Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a FREE SCHOOL MEAL. A full school meal is available cooked on the premises with an element of choice for the children. A sample menu is shared on our website. Alternatively a packed lunch, including a sandwich or roll with a variety of fillings, cake and fruit can be purchased. The cost for children in Years 3-6 not entitled to Frees School Meals for both hot and cold meals at present is £1.79 per day. Alternatively, packed lunches

may be brought from home in a small sized named plastic container. Do not include sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks or Energy drinks.

Safety Teaching the children how to keep safe is very important. The children are taught safety rules in school, such as not running, to carry equipment such as scissors safely, etc. We also look at keeping themselves safe outside of school by looking at road safety, E-safety and positive rela-tionships.

Snack/Drinks Children in the Nursery/Years R, 1 & 2 are given a piece of fruit daily as part of the Government School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme. If you wish your child to have milk, it is free for under 5’s, after that it is subsidised by the parent.

Water in School Although water is available for children to drink from the water fountains in school, we find they do not always drink as much as they should. We therefore supply each child when they join the school with a named water bottle which is filled up each day and kept in the class for children to drink from whenever they wish.

Happy, Healthy & Safe

Sunrise Breakfast Club

We run a breakfast club from 7.30 – 8.35 a.m. This is run by qualified staff and provides a light meal and a variety of activities. Children are then escorted

to their classes at the start of the school day. The cost start at ‘£3.00’ per child per day.

Sunset After School Club We also have our own after school care to support those parents who work. This is also used on an ad-hoc basis by parents who on occasion need to collect their children later. The charges are very reasonable from £5.50 for a part session up to £8.00 for a full session to 6.00pm with a hot meal. Children staying until 6.00pm are provided with a hot meal.

Arrangements for disabled pupils Parents of disabled children are asked to give the school details of the disability as soon as they are offered a place at the school. The school will arrange a meeting to discuss the ways in which the child's disability might hinder her/him from taking a full part in the life of the school and the ways in which such difficulties will be overcome. We will then make any practical arrangements necessary to enable the child to participate fully in all lessons and activities. These may take time to put into place and may require advice and assistance from a school health or spe-cialist If your child has a diagnosed medical condition that may require management or special care during the school day, please let us know so that we can support in the most appropriate way. If it is needed we will work together with you to draw up a Care Plan to ensure that your child’s needs are met safely. We are happy to administer medicine to your chil-dren but this must be discussed and agreed with through the school office.

Caring for your child One of the most important things for a parent is knowing that your child is safe.

In school all staff have a great deal of involve-ment in the care and well being of all our chil-dren. Your child's class teacher will deal with most of the day to day matters and will usually be your first contact over any concern.

Every child in the school chooses a ‘Trusted Adult’. This can be any adult in the school. That way, if they have a problem they want to talk about, they can do so with who they feel most comfortable with. Each class also have a ‘Bag of Worries’ which they can use if they have a concern and don’t want to talk about it. Carol Curtis the FLO is also a valuable source of advice and support; she can be contacted via the office. The school has a statutory duty of care and follows the authority and regional guidelines on child protection and any concerns in this area have to be reported to Social Services in accordance with the Children’s Act. If there are any concerns about children’s welfare, appropri-ate action to address the concerns will be taken. School procedures for safeguarding children are in line with Medway Child Protection procedures.

Behaviour and Discipline We want all children to enjoy school and enjoy learning so they continue it for the rest of their lives. To do this we need clear expectations to keep our school community happy and safe. Each class follows the same procedures for be-havior based on the ’Good to be Green’ system. Children are regularly reminded of the expectations for school behaviour and we ask parents to support the highest possible stand-ards, and to ensure, as far as possible, that these are obeyed by their children. It is our policy to inform you if your child misbehaves or is un-cooperative and we may ask your help to resolve the problem. A failure to abide by the code of conduct of the school will result in a loss of privileges.

Class organisation We have two classes per year group-our classes are named after animals. The classes work in Phase teams with the staff in that phase working in each class. The staff are assigned children to work with based on individual needs. They may work alongside groups or with individual children. For a range of reasons.

Curriculum At Oaklands, we try to ensure that our curriculum is relevant and exciting for the children so that they become engaged in their learning. The school are keen on having a real purpose for their learning. We have our own Radio Station which the children write, present and produce and is available online for the whole world to listen to. As well as this, we have developed links with other schools over the world which the children enjoy communicating and sharing their learning with. We are lucky to have many different aspects which other schools do not have. The school has its own swimming pool, so children have the op-portunity to learn to swim from a young age. Our school is set in extensive grounds which incorporate woods, meadow land, an orchard and playing fields. We use these grounds whenever possible to extend and enrich the children’s learning. The children enjoy taking part in the Forest School and are developing their own allotments to grow and cook our own food. As well as this, the school has an extensive library and two IT suites which all allow a wide range of opportunities for our children’s learning.

Learning at Oaklands

At Oaklands we work hard to ensure that our chil-

dren are positive and independent members of

their community and that they have a good un-

derstanding of the wider world.

Our curriculum is based on a global model where

Year Group’s Learning is based on a specific area

of the world. Their topics will explore different

aspects of the culture, history and geography

allowing them to develop an understanding and

respect for the wider world.

Engage Phase As part of our curriculum, each topic has an exciting hook to start the topic off with a bang. We call these our Engage Phase. From time to time we arrange visits to school by various guests or arrange visits to places. The cost of these is mostly covered by the school. We ask parents to make a payment so that we can afford to run these events. We keep the costs as low as possible. We cannot arrange ex-tra-curriculum visits without such parental pay-ments. If individual circumstances make it diffi-cult for you to pay, please see the Head Teacher and some arrangement can be made.

Extra-curricular activities We run a wide range of free extra curricular clubs throughout the year. These are targeted at different year groups and offer a wide range of activities. These are in a range of different areas of subjects so everyone gets the chance to take part in an activity which they enjoy.

Special Needs As a whole school we work hard towards developing an ethos that is warm, welcoming and inclusive. It follows therefore that we are all com-mitted to involving our children who have special needs totally and fairly into the life of our school. We aim for consistency and rigorous efficiency in identifying, assessing, planning, recording, reviewing and evaluating for the overall support of children who present with challenges in learning, emotional or behavioural areas. Their needs are regularly reviewed and advice is sought from outside agencies where necessary. The Special Needs Code of Practice identifies the stages of need. Parents are kept informed of the practice and procedures employed. A copy of the School's Special Needs Policy is available on re-quest. The Assistant Head (Inclusion) is Gillie Russell she is highly experienced in supporting families with SEN. Please get in touch if you have concerns about your child’s learning or development.

Results The results speak for themselves. Over the past three years we have been above the national expectations for several years.

Keeping in touch with their learning Having a strong partnership between home and school is vital. Each term, you will have an opportunity to visit your child in school to share in their learning. These EXPRESS events give them a real life opportunity to demonstrate their learning to you. As well as this, we have various online ways of sharing learning such as KLZ, Facebook and Twitter.