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

• Day 3 - Mental Health Awareness Week

  Wed 12 May 2021

  Health & Wellbeing

  Being outdoors is good for us in so many ways. Ideally, a connection to nature established at a young age will develop healthy, lifelong behaviours. Evidence shows that being outside and connecting with nature can provide many health and well-being benefits including:

  • opportunities to increase physical activity
  • guarding against obesity and type 2 diabetes
  • preventing Vitamin D deficiency
  • reducing the symptoms of stress and ADHD
  • contributing to dementia treatment
  • promoting academic attainment
  • developing employability skills
  • helping to prevent the loss of environmental knowledge and understanding

   

  These activities can be done by adults or can be adapted for children.

   

  Do activities outdoors:

  • Take a walk in a green space, such as a local park.
  • Get creative. Draw or paint animals or nature scenes, or let them inspire a poem or song lyrics. If you enjoy writing in a journal, try doing this outside.
  • Eat meals outdoors. Have a picnic in a local park, or simply sit in a garden. This might be something you could enjoy doing with other people.
  • Watch the stars. Use a stargazing website, app or book to help you recognise different stars, or simply enjoy looking at the night sky. Give your eyes time to adjust, as it can take about 20 minutes before you can fully see stars in the dark.
  • Try exercising outside. Run or jog through a local park, or do yoga outdoors. You could try it by yourself, or look for classes in your local area.

  

• Day 2 - Mental Health Awareness Week

  Tue 11 May 2021

  How can nature benefit my mental health? 

  Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. For example, doing things like growing food or flowers, exercising outdoors or being around animals can have lots of positive effects. It can: 

  • improve your mood 
  • reduce feelings of stress or anger 
  • help you take time out and feel more relaxed 
  • improve your physical health 
  • improve your confidence and self-esteem 
  • help you be more active 
  • help you make new connections 
  • provide peer support.

   

  What nature ideas could I try?

  Bring nature inside:

  • Buy flowers or potted plants for your home.
  • Collect natural materials, for example leaves, flowers, feathers, tree bark or seeds – use them to decorate your living space or in art projects.
  • Arrange a comfortable space to sit, for example by a window where you can look out over a view of trees or the sky.
  • Grow plants or flowers on windowsills.
  • Take photos of your favourite places in nature. Use them as backgrounds on a mobile phone or computer screen or print and put them up on your walls.
  • Listen to natural sounds, like recordings or apps that play birdsong, ocean waves or rainfall.

  These activities can be done by adults/young people or can be adapted for children.

  

• Day 1 - Mental Health Awareness Week

  Mon 10 May 2021

  This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. It provides a great opportunity for schools to normalise the discussion of mental health and wellbeing amongst pupils and staff. The theme for this year’s week is ‘nature’. 

  Recent National Trust research found a link between feeling connected to nature and having improved wellbeing. 

  Every day this week we will send home information, ideas and resources that link with this theme and support wellbeing for all the family.

  

• Learning Powers

  Thu 29 Apr 2021

  This term we are introducing our school Learning Powers: Explore, Connect, Persevere, Feel and Reflect.  To find out more go to:

  https://www.oaklands.leicester.sch.uk/learning-powers/

• The Carers Centre - Leicestershire / Leicester

  Wed 28 Apr 2021
  

• Parent Governor Vacancy

  Thu 22 Apr 2021

  Dear Parents,

   

  PARENT GOVERNOR VACANCY AT OAKLANDS SCHOOL

   

  I am writing to let you know that there is a vacancy for two parent governors at our school and to invite you to stand for election or to nominate another parent to do so. This is a fantastic opportunity to become more involved in the life of the school.

   

  The Governing Body, with the Headteacher, has overall responsibility for the running of the school. Governing bodies have three main roles: -

   

  • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
  • Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

   

  Governors need a strong commitment to the role, the curiosity to question and analyse and the willingness to learn.  However, we would particularly welcome nominations from parents with the following skills: - financial and premises expertise.  A wide variety of other skills are very welcome.

   

  Our parent governors have a term of office of four years. Our governing body usually meets four times a year and has two committees who meet four times a term.

   

  If you would like to stand for election or wish to nominate someone else, please complete the attached form in your child’s book bag. We must have the completed nomination forms returned by the end of the school day on Wednesday 28th April 2021. If there are more nominations than vacant posts, a ballot will be held and one voting paper per parent will be sent to you via your child.

   

  If you would like further information on your eligibility to serve as a parent governor or on the role of a governor, please contact me.

   

  Yours sincerely,

  Sarah Osborne

  Headteacher

• Summer Term Newsletter

  Fri 16 Apr 2021

  Dear Parents/Carers,

   

  This week, it has been a joy to see your children settling back in to school routines and activities. As I have visited classes, it has been very clear that they have enjoyed being back on site, and there has been lots of new learning happening through fun and exciting activities around the school.

   

  This term sees the launch of our Learning Powers. Building learning powers is based on the idea that we are all capable of becoming better learners and that through this we can help our pupils secure skills and characteristics that will prepare them for adulthood.  Our learning powers will be; explore, connect, persevere, feel and reflect. 

   

  Our teaching team have also been working hard to ensure that we have in place a high- quality Relationships, Sex & Health Education (RSHE) curriculum that addresses the specific needs of our pupils. This has become a statutory requirement for all primary schools this year. We know that having healthy, safe relationships in the real and online worlds can be even more challenging for Oaklands’ children for many reasons, and we also appreciate how very vulnerable our children are. However, we also know that they have a lot to offer the world and a right to experience friendship, love, work and other relationships that their mainstream peers might take for granted. Our pupils also have a right to high quality learning and practical experiences to build their understanding of how to be physically and mentally healthy. Online safety is a strong focus of this work too, from understanding risks to being respectful to others online. We have based this work on a STAR toolkit. Children will be working towards understanding the following skills and concepts:

   

  Safe	Be safe in what you show about yourself & what you share; sending images; ‘friends’ online and in real life; passwords/ privacy settings- public/ private, spending too much time online
  Trust	Not everyone or everything online is trustworthy or true; ‘fake news’; checking your facts; safe searching online
  Action	Take positive action if something upsets you; always tell someone what you are doing online; spending too much time online
  Respect	Be kind online; don’t be influenced to bully someone; understand that comments online leave digital footprint forever Understanding themselves and others is a key component of our RSHE programme across the school and this is taught in focused sessions as well as part of the daily ethos and routines of the school. Our special children are in relationships with trusted adults and peers every day that give multiple opportunities to develop tolerance of others, resilience, social skills and self-understanding. This all links neatly with our Learning Powers work as well. The full RSHE Curriculum will be on our website soon, but if you would like any further information, we would be happy to discuss this with you.   We continue to be extremely vigilant around cleanliness and hygiene in school and I am pleased to say that children are showing very positive attitudes to this. The one- way system and washing hands throughout the day have become a new normal, which they are taking in their stride. We ask that you continue to support us by ensuring that you do not send your child in to school if they are at all unwell. Whilst there has been a fantastic national effort to get the adult population vaccinated as quickly as possible, the virus remains in our community and becoming complacent now may compromise the work that we have all done to keep one another safe. Please do remember that if your child has a new, continuous cough, or a high temperature, or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia) they should not come to school, and take them to get a PCR test. Anyone can now order Lateral Flow Device tests, asymptomatic tests if you do not have Coronavirus symptom. You can collect them from a local site or have them sent to your house. Simply go on the website to order them or find out where to collect them near you. https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests   Many of our school community are currently celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak! As we look ahead to Eid, I would be very grateful if you could notify the school if you intend to keep your child at home on that particular day to share in the festivities. Please simply complete the slip in your child's' book bag as a day of absence for religious purposes.   Have a lovely weekend, and stay safe, Regards Sarah Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)

• Easter Activities

  Mon 29 Mar 2021

  We had a great time on Friday taking part in lots of different Easter activities - see the photos here

   

  https://www.oaklands.leicester.sch.uk/easter-activities/

• End of Spring Term 2021

  Thu 25 Mar 2021

  Dear Parents/Carers,

   

  This week has marked a full year since we first went into lockdown. What a strange and fragmented year it has been. However, your children have coped magnificently, and since returning on 8^th March, have re-established relationships with staff & peers, and showed great resilience in their efforts to get back to routine. 

   

  We finish the Spring term tomorrow and are looking forward to Easter Egg Hunt and a dress down day. If your child wishes to come to school in their home clothes rather than school uniform, they are very welcome to. 

   

  We were extremely proud of how children joined in with Red Nose Day this year. There were some fantastic Superhero costumes, and the donations raised £176.10 for comic relief. Whilst we appreciate autistic children can often find change difficult, they were clearly well prepared for the day and therefore had lots of fun. Well done and thank-you! 

   

  Over the first weekend of the Easter break, it is extremely important that you alert the school if you have a positive case of Covid-19 in your household. You can contact the school using the office email address: office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk. Alternatively, you can call 07742 800987 (10am-12 noon). We will need information about any positive cases to be able to liaise with Public Health if necessary and do our own contact tracing. 

   

  If you have any Safeguarding concerns during the Easter break, you can call the Leicester Duty and Advice service on 0116 4541004; this is for Social Care support or Early Help support if you are having a crisis. The service is open 24 hours, 7 days a week.  

   

  As we get to the end of the Spring term now, I am sure we are all looking forward to some warmer weather and lighter nights ahead when we may actually be able to get together with others outside of our households, perhaps having an Easter Egg hunt or simply spending more time enjoying the changes in nature outdoors. The picture celebrates the beautiful colours of the festival of Holi which is being celebrated 28^th- 29^th March.  

   

  Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy this precious time with your child and please do stay safe. 

   

  Yours sincerely,

  Sarah Osborne

  Headteacher

  

• Coronavirus Update for Parents/Carers

  Fri 19 Mar 2021

  Dear Parents/Carers,

  Coronavirus Information

    I am writing to advise you that this week, unfortunately we have had two staff members who have tested positive for Coronavirus. The parents/carers of children in those classes that are affected have already been notified. The children and the staff teams have been asked to self-isolate for 10 days from the last day of contact. We have been assured by Public Health England that we have taken all the correct steps and that 'our safety measures are thorough'.

   

  Unfortunately, this has also had an affect on our ability to safely staff some of the other classes in the Willow pathway this week, with further staff members needing to self-isolate aswell. However, the actions we have taken have all been necessary to ensure that we follow the Government Guidelines and have been taken in consultation with our public health colleagues.

  Please do continue to be extremely vigilant to keep everyone safe. We would very much like everyone in our Oaklands community to be able to enjoy the Easter break, and want to do everything we can to ensure that our children and staff remain well. For those children expected in school next week, if you have any concern that your child may be at all ill, please notify the school office and keep them at home. If your child has nausea, diarrhoea or any other signs of illness, you MUST keep your child off school for at least 48 hours after the last bout of their illness. 

   

  If your child becomes unwell with a new and persistent cough, or a high temperature, or has a loss of or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), you MUST keep them at home and you must follow guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, which sets out that your child should self-isolate for at least 10 days and you should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus (COVID-19). You can book a test online at nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or call 119. Please email the results of any tests taken by members of your household during the isolation period as we need this information in order to safely bring your child back to school. Please email any results to office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk.

   

  If your child or a household member has symptoms of Coronavirus and you need further advice you can call NHS 111.

   

  If you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us. As always, your child’s safety is our utmost priority.

  Regards

  Sarah Osborne (Headteacher)