Dear Parents & Carers,
We have certainly now reached the summer with such glorious sunny weather over the last few weeks although we are very pleased that today’s sports day ran with a bit of a cooler breeze! The children never cease to amaze me in all that they achieve and I always see or hear of children who ‘went that extra mile’ to support someone else, which shows true sportsmanship and such kindness in thinking of others. Your children are amazing! There will be certificates awarded for achievement, which will also include a few as special recognition for sportsmanship too. My grateful thanks to all my staff and governors who helped out today with sports. You too are amazing and the morning ran like clockwork due to your fantastic support. Thank you to all the families who came to support children in their races and we hope you all enjoyed the joint picnic on the field with your children. It was lovely to see so many families coming together for this joint Infant/Junior event.
We are very grateful to our fantastic PTA for providing both Infants and Juniors with electric fans for all the classrooms last week which was a lovely unexpected surprise. These were very gratefully received by staff and children and have certainly made all our lives much easier as it is so difficult to concentrate on teaching and learning when the classroom is too hot! Our PTA have also funded a gift for each Year 6 child that will be with them shortly. I am in awe of the creativity of this latest idea, which our Year 6 staff loved, and am sure it will be something memorable to keep (no spoiler alert – just something coming soon). In addition, our PTA also fund the Year 6 BBQ every year. I do not know what we would do without such a lovely, kind, caring and supportive PTA. THANK YOU – your help and support is greatly appreciated!
Staff have been very busy writing reports over the last few weeks and I am now in the process of reading them before they are sent to you – I enjoy reading every report and I only add my comments on Year 6 reports as this is the children’s last report from us, so it is always good to wish them well as they move on to their new secondary schools. I would like to thank staff for all their hard work making learning unique and such fun for our children, whilst also keeping assessments, data and reports up-to-date – you are all amazing.
Finally, we could not do what we do, without the help and support of our parent community. Thank you for all you do to support your children with their learning at home and also our dedicated parents who regularly support us in school – we could not do our job without you. THANK YOU!
Mrs Hazel West, Headteacher
Dates for your diary
For the latest dates for your diary please click here.
Egyptian Day
On Wednesday 14th June, Year 3 took part in Egyptian Day. The children dressed up in Egyptian-inspired clothing and got to accessorise with their home-made broad collars. We had spent a few weeks designing, practising, and sewing scarab beetles which looked great on their costumes!
During the day, we created cartouches by making some fake papyrus and writing our names on them in hieroglyphics. We also made a small model of a sarcophagus, complete with a mummy hidden inside! In the morning, the children explored the tombs of Egypt in a puzzle-solving activity in the library and even managed to uncover some treasure. We ended the day with a boat race across the Nile on the playground.
Thank you to all the parents who were able to come in and have a look at what we made in the day!
Library Books
We would like to advise all parents that as from today there will be no further books issued by the school library until the beginning of the new academic year in September. Please can you ensure that any school library books are returned before the end of term. Any lost books will need to be either replaced or paid for. If you believe your child’s book has been lost, please write a note in the Homework Diary and we will endeavour to check the shelves in the library to see if it has been returned without being checked back in again. Many thanks for your help with this.
Food Bank Vouchers
“We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis”.
If you are in need of a little help and support with feeding your family then please email Nikki Lenon at nlenon@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk . Nikki is able to issue foodbank vouchers to families in crisis. This service is confidential and will also be able to be accessed during the summer holidays via email.
Tesco Community Grant Schemes
We are delighted to let you know that two of our applications to the Tesco Community Grants Scheme have been successful and our projects will be put forward to a customer vote in Tesco stores as detailed below. Voting will commence in stores from the first week of July 2023 until the end of September 2023. Please support us if you are able to.
Oaklands Junior School; Project Title – Educational Psychotherapy and Parent Support Service
Tesco Wokingham RG40 2NS
Tesco Greenwood Road, Crowthorne RG45 6QX
Oaklands Junior School, Corvus Learning Trust; Project Title – Wildlife Area
Tesco Forest Park Bracknell RG12 0XQ
Tesco Bracknell RG12 9TZ
Tesco Bracknell North RG42 3JP
Tesco Ascot High Street SL5 7HP
Department of Education Guidance
There have been some discussions recently regarding parental/carers responsibilities regarding their children and young people in school. The DfE have now produced comprehensive parental guidance. To access this guidance please use the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-guide-for-parents/a-guide-for-parents-on-school-behaviour-and-exclusion
Local Authority Link Officer Visit
In our May News Update, Mrs West spoke about a recent visit from our Wokingham School Improvement Partner, Jim Mathieson and we would like to take this opportunity to share his report with you all.
| Context |
| Oaklands Junior School is a Thinking School, and its strapline is Learning to Think – Thinking to Learn. The Ofsted inspection in April 2022 recognised the power of teaching pupils to think to aid their greater understanding of the curriculum they enjoy. The Inspector also recognised the success of the curriculum offered to pupils, and the well-constructed cross-curricular links which help the pupils to build and understand the wider concepts in their learning. This Link Officer visit was an opportunity to more fully understand the curriculum construct, and there was an opportunity to view the pupils at work at the end of the afternoon. |
| Curriculum Discussion outcomes: |
| As stated, the school prides itself in being a Thinking School, and is a local Hub for this approach to pupil learning. Blooms Taxonomy plays an important part in the curriculum design and the way in which it is offered to pupils. Staff also use additional tools to support pupils’ learning: P4C and Thinking Maps being two of these. Retrieval of knowledge taught in the past is built into the curriculum design and the timetable. A great deal of thinking has been undertaken on assessing pupil learning in the Foundation Subjects, and a model similar to the system used to assess the Core Subjects is being formulated. This is very clearly aimed at looking at a progression of skills, and some interesting work has been completed on how this skills progression might work in the areas of the PE curriculum, as one example. To make this assessment manageable there may be a model of assuming the vast majority of pupils make the expected progress in each subject and will meet the ARE by the end of Year 6. This would leave teachers free to focus on the ‘exceptions’ pupils – those exceeding or working towards ARE. The PSHE curriculum has also been well planned, with a clear understanding of where the vast majority of pupils will be on entry to Year 3. Towards the end of the afternoon there was an opportunity to visit each of the classes to see the curriculum in action. Year 3 pupils were thoroughly enjoying sewing – a piece which will contribute to their finished Broad Collars with its linkage to the Ancient Egyptians. Year 4 were thinking about the importance of certain events for Jewish people. On the walls were beautiful water colours of a very high standard. Year 5 were working on a piece of improvisation around taking a notable guest around the Huntley and Palmer biscuit factory in Reading – when it was there! Year 6 needed to have a group photo taken out in the grounds, but their absence allowed us to look carefully at their charcoal pictures in the style of Henry Moore depicting war-time scenes at night in the Underground in London. A wide range of media is taught to the pupils across the school in Art, and the work is of a very high standard. Clay work in Year 4 depicting a dragon’s head incorporating a glass ‘eye’ was particularly striking. Textile work was evident in the sewing and also in the crown banners to mark the Coronation, along with the sewn bunting. In the entrance hall were examples of an Easter challenge to depict a diorama around something about the new King, with an egg being incorporated somewhere in the scene. These are innovative and really well executed and provide a really good introduction to the innovative and interesting curriculum pupils at Oaklands Junior enjoy. The creative curriculum, with logical links between subjects, is alive and very well at Oaklands Junior. Jim Mathieson LA Link Officer May 24th 2023 |
Book Sale
Are you looking for some low cost books to keep your children occupied during the summer holidays? Yes – then you may be interested in a sale of children’s books that we will be holding after school on Monday 17th July. The books have all either been donated to us or are no longer required in the school library/class reading corners. The sale will take place in the Junior School Gazebo. All books are priced 50 pence each or three books for £1. We hope to see as many of you as possible.
Doughnut and Biscuit Fundraising Event
You will recall that back at the end of May, Year 3 ran their Doughnut and Biscuit fundraising event. We are delighted to announce that this raised a fantastic £149.90. Thank you to everyone who supported this activity.
Just Play Sports Holiday Club
Just Play Sports will be running a holiday club here at Oaklands Junior School in the summer holidays. To find out more click here.
Beehive Holiday Club
To find out more about the Beehive Holiday Club click here
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service – Water Safety Poster
We have been asked to circulate the attached Water Safety Poster to all our parents / carers.
For more information, please visit: Home | Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (rbfrs.co.uk)
Cost of Living Help
Wokingham Borough Council have asked us to share the following information on how to obtain help with the current cost of living.
Local Community Information, Activities and Events
For information on local community activities and events please visit our web page below which is updated on a regular basis:
Local Community Information, Events and Activities
Secondary School Consultations
A number of local schools are currently undertaking consultation processes with regard to their admissions policies. Details can be found on our website under Secondary School Information.
Contact Us
Headteacher: Mrs H West
Address: Oaklands Junior School, Butler Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 6QZ
School Office
Telephone: 01344 773496
Email: admin@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk
Parent Support Advisor: Nikki Lenon
Telephone: 07748 415 285
Email: nlenon@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk
Chair of Governors: Charlotte Kieran
Email: chairofgovernors@ojsgovernors.co.uk
Oaklands Junior School Governing Body
The Governing Body is ambitious for all children and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables outstanding outcomes. We oversee financial performance, challenge, support, and focus on the strategic direction of Oaklands Junior school.
If you want to raise a concern, please speak with your class teacher in the first instance. We welcome your feedback if you wish to contact the Governors, please email Charlotte Kieran, Chair of Governors.
Raising a concern
Parents-Carers-and-Visitors-Conduct-Policy-Including-Raising-a-Concern
Governing Body team
Governors Profiles