Bulletin 15.2.22

Mobile phones inhibiting learning and social wellbeing 

Our school/home agreement has always been that mobile phones are necessary for travel and can support children safety before and after school. We recently revisited that view again, from a school perspective and from both a student and parent angle, accepting the importance that commutation facilities have on daily routines and student travel. 

Increasingly however, mobile phones are an issue in the school day, despite the clear school policy that they should be off and put away. This request seems to be, more and more, blurred by both students and adults each day to the point that some feel mobile phones are allowed. 

Constant access to mobile phones means that students are not receiving any respite from texts and social media during a school day. We are concerned about the impact this is having on their mental health and on learning and focus. For us, school is a time of safety, where students can immerse themselves in the school experience and be children. Unfortunately, the messages they are receiving during the school day, and addictive use without boundary, are compromising that environment for a significant number of children. Too often in schools, access to mobile phones and social media is cited in instances of bullying and the breakdown of friendships. This can be seen in messages being exchanged between students in school, but also from students in other. Regrettably a number of parents, and this is a rising and daily issue, have fallen into the habit of contacting their child during the school day. This happens without thought to the disruption on learning and lessons or the child’s day and focus. 

In a number of cases, parents have chosen to deliver messages in a text or a phone call that would have been better delivered face to face in the home setting or through school reception. We would ask you to be mindful of the impact that your contact could have on your child in a classroom environment. If you could please leave any communication until after school or contact the school office where we can speak to your child privately or pass on a message, if it is appropriate to do so. 

Too often we have negative experiences due to student-to-parent discussion around real-time issues and/or illness before school has even been made aware of the problem, or been given an opportunity to implement a remedy and inform home ourselves. 

This is not the system The Oaks operates and it cannot be a method used by students or parents, going forwards. It is worth remembering you are not on site and only receiving a child’s version of a situation(s); please allow us to perform our roles, putting your child first. They are the terms and conditions that you accepted when bringing your child to our school. 

I hope that in providing these examples you can see that there is too great an impact on a student’s ability to concentrate and continue their school day in the way required for good outcomes. 

Learning is being undermined by having constant access and communication through their phone, this deflects concentration and focus; and there is an alarming consequence on emotional wellbeing from an environment with no breaks from phones! Having discussed the problems and necessities of students having a mobile phone, we would like to reinforce our current policy; one which we feel is an example of mutual respect. Students can bring phones to school, however, they must be turned off from 8:35am to home time, as our school policy. And they do not need to be checked during lesson changes as a student moves classroom, this change of focus is a major reason for issues in school. Please be mindful and supportive of our school policy and our expectations, this is not something we can ‘negotiate’ after the event. All stakeholders need to understand the schools position and policy and not plead mitigation afterwards. No phone during school hours. 

In the first instance, students will have their phone confiscated and returned at the end of the school day. Future incidents may lead to the phone only being given to a parent/carer at their earliest convenience, but from this point forwards your child will have to hand their phone in during lesson time as trust has been broken – your child also needs to understand that a negative reaction towards staff due to phone issue(s) will not help matters, so please discuss this with them. 

Understanding our expectations and supporting school to help your child understand them is crucial. Schools worked well for many years before students had, or needed, mobile phones, in fact these were our schooldays!  

Thank you for your support on this matter. 

Mr K Graham 

Primary Liaison

We are delighted to be working closely with so many of the Crewe primary schools. It is crucial that schools work together to ensure that transition from primary to secondary is fluid and stress free for all parties. It is with this in mind, that we are increasing our commitment to the Crewe primaries, and over the coming months we will be releasing some exciting cross school collaborative project opportunities. 

As part of our ongoing work, this academic we have enjoyed visits to Brierley Primary, Edleston Primary, Gainsborough Primary and Wistaston Academy. It has been a pleasure to see the fantastic work that these school do in developing their students academically, socially and emotionally.  

As part of this collaborative work, as well as observing lessons, we have delivered careers and aspirations assemblies with year 5 and 6. As part of the assembly ex-students from the primary schools, who are now at The Oaks, were invited to share their aspirations for the future. Rhys, Gio, Dominika, Victoria, Alicja and Wikky were a credit to The Oaks and we all enjoyed hearing about their ambitions for the future. 

Over the coming months year 6 staff  from local schools will be visiting The Oaks to observe our year 7 lessons. This is part of our commitment in ensure progressive and challenging KS2 – KS3 transition. 

Our newly launched Oaks masterclass programme is supporting this transition with students from across Crewe, developing mastery skills in the core subjects. Our Maths teams are currently working with St Marys & Edleston Primary, our Science team with Wistaston Academy & Brierley Primary and our English team are currently working with pupils from Beechwood Primary, Edleston Primary, Gainsborough and Wistaston Academy. 

Oaks Masterclasses Flyer

If you or anyone you know has a child in year 5 or 6 and you are interested in booking on to these sessions then please get in touch. 

Mrs Abberley 

Careers

Careers and aspiration play such a vital role in education. As a school we are not only about educating your children, we are also committed to ensuring our students develop as well-rounded individuals who are able to make good choices. Our year 9 & 11 students are embarking on a pivotal point in their life, one which can steer the direction of their future, so it is important that they have high aspirations and are aware of the opportunities that are available to them. All of our year 11 students have access to careers guidance, and over the course of the year will have a one to one appointment to discuss their choices and opportunities post 16. Please discuss these conversations with your child and if you would like any further information then please feel free to contact Mrs Lockett who will be able to discuss this with you in more detail. As our year 9 students embark on their options choices, please remember we are here to help. Our options evening will help to answer many of the questions you may have, but feel free to contact any staff at any time to ensure that your child is making choices that will enable them to be the best they can be. 

Spotlight on careers 

Nutritionist 

JOB OF THE WEEK EPISODE #039 – NUTRITIONIST 

Barclays Apprenticeship Virtual Events 2022  

Barclays would like to welcome school-leavers and job-seekers to join our virtual career sessions to learn more about 2022 Apprenticeships in Barclays. You’ll hear about a variety of our business areas and opportunities, and meet some of our recruitment team, business leaders, diversity networks and apprentices. 

Monday 28th February 2022, 1630-1730pm – Women in Technology & Barclays Apprenticeships  

Thursday 3rd March 2022, 1630-1730pm – Multi-Culture & Barclays Apprenticeships Monday 7th March 2022, 1630-1730pm – Disability, Mental Health and Neurodiversity & Barclays Apprenticeships  

This is a perfect opportunity to hear first-hand from the people who are helping us change and shape the industry as we know it. Come ready with your questions– we look forward to connecting with you.  

Register Spaces are limited so please register your attendance as soon as possible, using the link below  

https://barclays.springpod.com 

 In the meantime, head over to our careers site for more information about our apprentice programmes and life at Barclays. 

Crewe Lyceum Youth Theatre  

We are delighted to announce that the Lyceum Theatre are launching their brand new youth theatre in January 2022. This will be aimed at young people aged 8-13 and attached is the flyer with more information, along with the link for more information about this exciting new project 

https://crewelyceum.co.uk/Online/crewe-lyceum-youth-theatre  

Fantastic opportunity for students interested in digital skills and marketing. Please contact Abbie on abigail.white@cheshireandwarrington.com for more information  

Youth Fed is a youth charity in the Northwest that supports young people between the ages of 10 and 29 to improve their lives through delivering a range of activities and programmes. They are currently on a mission to try and reach as many young people in the Northwest as possible and diversify the way they deliver services. Youth Fed are passionate about putting young people at the heart of everything they do and want to make sure that their newly developed digital platforms and marketing strategy listens to exactly what this demographic needs/wants from the charity. They are looking for the help from students who are active on social media and love keeping up with new digital trends to challenge and influence Youth fed’s Digital platform, content design and communication strategies with young people. Youth Fed are looking to hold a monthly 1-hour focus group as part of an IT/business lesson or after school/college time to talk to approx. 15-30 students about their digital platform design, development and marketing strategy. Young people participating will directly input and feedback their ideas on how the digital platform should be, the content and the marketing strategy. This is a fantastic opportunity for your students to work with a business, help contribute their ideas and get experience on how involving customer feedback in design process and strategic development is done in a real business. Additionally, this project will allow them to build transferable skills such as confidence, communication, and teamwork. This opportunity is open to any age group of students however, we would like to encourage students who are interested in business, digital, IT or graphic design to take part. 

Cheshire Police 

Cheshire Police are looking to appoint 15 young people aged 14-25 to their Youth Commission, which helps feed back young people’s views on policing and where they live. For more details please visit: https://www.cheshire-pcc.gov.uk/get-involved/youth-commission/join-the-youth-commission/ 

Join the Cheshire Youth

Alumni 

As part of our careers and aspirations programme we are currently in the process of collecting information from The Oaks Alumni. Last week we shared a post on social media and have been overwhelmed with the responses so far from ex-students and we are looking forward to sharing their journeys with you and our students. It’s amazing to see where life takes us and with so many success stories why wouldn’t we want to share these with you! It’s not too late to send in your details, please can I encourage you to get ex-students of The Oaks Academy, Kings Grove or Crewe Grammar school for Girls to email eabberley@theoaksacadey.co.uk  

Mrs Abberley 

Safeguarding

Safer Internet Day was 8th February 2022 

Top 10 tips for respect online 

Even before lockdown inflamed the situation, 1 in 10 young people were experiencing difficulties online; abusive messages, having rumours spread about them or being excluded from group chats. As a society, we haven’t properly adjusted to how different our lives have been made by digital devices.  

There’s plenty that we can do to make the internet a safer place. It’s vital that we educate and empower everybody to create a more tolerant online environment. Whether that’s thinking more carefully about the content we all post and share, or considering how we interact with other people when we’re online.  

Safer Internet Day 2022 explores this theme of respect and relationships in the digital world. This includes keeping ourselves safe and maintaining positive communication online. Have a look at the Top 10 tips for respect online poster for some great ideas. 

Spotlight on Maths & Business Faculty