Oasis Academy Don Valley Year 7 Open Evening 5th October 2017
A message from our CEO A very warm welcome to Oasis Community Learning! I am delighted that you and your daughter or son are interested in becoming part of Oasis Academy Don Valley. Oasis Community Learning was established as a multiAcademy Trust in 2004 with the vision to create “Exceptional Education at the Heart of the Community”. We now run Academies in four main regions throughout the UK, providing either Primary, Secondary or All-through education. All of our Academies are committed to providing a rich educational experience and ensuring that every child and young person has the opportunity to achieve at the highest level. Our ethos is integral to that provision. It is an expression of our character, a statement of who we are and therefore the lens through which we assess all we do. We are committed to a model of inclusion, equality, healthy relationships, hope and perseverance throughout all aspects of the life and culture of each Academy community. We passionately embrace learning and are committed to every child within our care reaching their full potential, developing holistically across every area of their lives both now and in their future. All of this is underpinned by our philosophy of education which highlights our focus on inspirational leadership, deep learning and healthy communities. It aspires to develop the character and competence of every child within every community of which we are a part. At Oasis Community Learning therefore, we believe we are all ‘the architects of our students’ lives’ and as such we are committed to laying the right foundations for every one of our young people. So we look forward to your daughter or son potentially becoming part of Oasis, in the knowledge that we will work in partnership with you to ensure they become confident learners ready to fulfil their aspirations in life. Best wishes,
John Murphy Chief Executive Officer, Oasis Community Learning 2
Principal’s Message I would like to welcome you to this important event in the growth of Oasis Academy Don Valley – our first Year 7 open evening. At our Academy our mission is simple; to provide all children with an exceptional education which is at the heart of our community. Within the Academy, we celebrate diversity and relentlessly focus on the attainment of all of our children. We achieve this by having high expectations of behaviour through focused routines, an unwavering focus on outcomes and by offering the very best teaching and support. At Oasis Academy Don Valley children learn, behave and are well mannered. Our Academy is values-driven and from the moment children join our Academy family, we expect them to live our values. In our academic culture, children are focused on working hard and endeavour to do well, striving to be the very best version of themselves. The Academy has gone from strength to strength since opening in September 2015 and we believe we are developing a strong reputation across our community. We are especially proud that this year we were the first choice Academy for 97% of our families. The relationships we have with our parents and wider community is extremely important to us because it is only by working together that our children can achieve their social, emotional and academic potential. We understand that as a parent, nothing is more important to you than ensuring that your children have the best chance in life. That is why keeping your children safe and challenging them to rise to our high expectations is our main priority. We all want to be proud of our children’s achievements. Our Academy mission is to: ‘provide an exceptional education at the heart of the community, which prepares our children to have a positive impact on the world’ Oasis Academy Don Valley wants to be an integral part of our community. An exceptional Academy involves the whole community. We are all part of the Academy family and look forward to getting to know you and working with you in the best interest of our children.
Mr James Pape Principal, Oasis Academy Don Valley 3
Exceptional Education at the Heart of the Community
Oasis Academy Don Valley – Providing an Exceptional Education in the Community Oasis Academy Don Valley opened in the Darnall and Attercliffe ward of Sheffield in September 2015. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive, non-selective, coeducational Academy and currently provide places for Nursery to Year 6. The Academy will grow year-on-year until there are students in Nursery up to Year 11 in 2022. Our Secondary Phase will open to our first cohort of Year 7 students in September 2018.
Our aim is to inspire responsible and empowered citizens of the future – to see children, parents, carers and staff working alongside other people in the community; to help them achieve academic success, which will enable them to move onto the next stage of their education. We will support all children, including those with special educational needs, through creative teaching methods and the effective use of technology.
The new, purpose built Academy is situated on part of the former Don Valley Stadium site. Oasis’ vision is to create an Academy based on the belief that all pupils, regardless of background or ability, should be able to reach their full potential as they develop aspirations, self-belief, justice and respect for community and for one another.
We believe that it is only through partnership that we can achieve these goals. We will work with parents, carers, the local community, faith groups and other providers to ensure that Oasis’ vision for community transformation is achieved.
Our Values
Our Beliefs
Pride
Every Child
We endeavour to be proud of what we achieve
All children can be successful, regardless of their background
Respect
No Excuses
We respect our similarities and our differences
Adults, teachers, other Academy staff, parents and carers are responsible for ensuring our children achieve their potential
Enthusiasm We approach everything we do with enthusiasm
High Expectations
Courage
Children, staff, our community and our Academy will live up to the expectations we place upon them
We approach every opportunity with courage
Hope We have a deep sense of hope for the future
Lead Learning The most important things that happen in our Academy happen in our classrooms
No Islands When great Academies, staff, children and community work together, anything is possible
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The Curriculum
At Oasis Academy Don Valley, we inspire our children with a broad and balanced curriculum which reflects the heritage and culture of our community 6
By curriculum, we mean all the planned activities that we organise to promote learning and personal growth, as well as the activities we provide beyond the classroom to enrich children’s experiences. It also includes the ‘hidden curriculum’ – the values and attitudes which the children learn from the way they are treated and are expected to behave.
need to take. In order to ensure that children are successful, a range of teaching and learning experiences will be planned for; including knowledge based learning, dynamic and meaningful feedback and marking, active learning and practical activities. We will engage and nurture children’s interest by offering first-hand experiences and embedding learning by applying it in real life contexts.
The curriculum for Oasis Academy Don Valley is unique, bespoke and reflects the heritage, growth and sporting culture of the area in which the Academy is built. It also reflects the particular needs of our community at a wider local, national and global level. Our curriculum is well planned and structured across the entire Academy so that our children will have a challenging, cohesive and progressive experience from the time they enter at age two, all the way through to sixteen. It is founded on high expectations of our children.
There will be a strong focus on the sharp development of reading, writing and mathematics so that children can confidently access a broad, stimulating and challenging curriculum throughout Key Stage Three and Four. A culture of reading and a love of literature will be embedded through the planned use of high quality texts. Children will develop as skilled mathematicians through a blend of practical activities, knowledge based learning, practice and resilience. As children take the important and exciting step through into our Secondary Phase, there will be a personalised learning journey across Year 6 and 7 that is designed to raise their aspirations and attainment simultaneously, and to support them through transition and beyond.
Learning will be organised effectively. Planning will be based on the prior attainment of pupils and the next steps they
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The Olympic Legacy Park in Sheffield
Exceptional facilities leading to exceptional opportunities. Oasis Academy Don Valley is central to one of the most exciting developments in Sheffield – the Olympic Legacy Park. Offering all of our children access to exceptional facilities and leading to exceptional opportunities.
About Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) The OLP is set to be part of an internationally recognised Innovation District for Health and Well-Being research and learning. This will provide the children of Oasis Academy Don Valley with a unique chance to work with a diverse range of groups including Olympic and Paralympic athletes, professional sports men and women, amateur competitors, community sport programmes and other schoolchildren.
Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) This is set to become the most advanced research and development centre for physical activity in the world, creating ‘innovations that help people move’ in sport, health-care, physical activity and leisure.
At Oasis Academy Don Valley, we strive to achieve academic excellence alongside exceptional pastoral care
Working in collaboration with a partnership of private sector companies, including Toshiba and Westfield Health at the heart of the Olympic Legacy Park, talented engineers and researchers from Sheffield Hallam will design new products and services from initial concept all the way through to market. Opening in early 2018, the AWRC will act as a hothouse of innovation, bringing together companies that make things such as apps, activity loggers, sports equipment, orthotics, and clinical devices - anything that helps people move more.
Park Community Arena Park Community Arena is a multi-purpose indoor facility, which will be the home of the Sheffield Sharks basketball team.
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The Arena will be a flexible venue with the ability to seat up to 3,000 people. Facilities will be used by students from Oasis Academy Don Valley and UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park during the day and available for the community at evenings and weekends.
The English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EISS) The English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EISS) is a world-class, multi-sport venue home to Olympic champions Jessica Ennis-Hill and Nicola Adams, university students and community sports programmes. Facilities include a six lane, indoor, 200m, oval banked athletics arena and 130m straight, and a £1m, three-floor gym complete with spin studio, fitness studios and spa, table tennis hall, multipurpose sports hall, three-court sports hall and badminton hall.
Community Pitch The Community Pitch, is the highest grade all weather sports playing surface in Sheffield and one of only three in the county. The Pitch will be used by Oasis Academy Don Valley, UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park campus, Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre and Sheffield Eagles rugby league team. In addition, it will provide a fantastic new facility for Attercliffe, Darnall and the surrounding areas and will complement the range of resources already accessible at the Olympic Legacy Park. On opening on Olympic Legacy Park, we have been set two ambitious goals by Sheffield City Council: 1. For a child to join our Academy at the age of two, never to leave the Olympic Legacy Park and to become a doctor, physiotherapist or medical practitioner 2. To produce the next Jessica Ennis-Hill 9
Admissions Policy
Parents as Partners
Oasis always offers inclusive education designed around and for the community in which it is located. Oasis Academy Don Valley will serve local children and follows the Sheffield Admissions Policy. It will accept pupils regardless of faith or ability.
A close working relationship between home and the Academy means children will achieve and thrive. As a result of this, we strongly believe in building and sustaining close partnerships with parents and carers. You are positively encouraged to ask any questions, share information, celebrate successes or raise any concerns with Academy staff.
A copy of the Application Form can be found on Sheffield City Council’s website. Alternatively, you can visit the Oasis Academy Don Valley website for further information. www.sheffield.gov.uk/content/dam/sheffield/docs/ schools-and-childcare/admissions/Application%20 Form%20For%20Year%207%202018.pdf www.oasisacademydonvalley.org
“Parents are given a chance to share their opinions and concerns. Teachers take a very positive approach towards well-informed interaction with children and parents” “This Academy is great in the sense that they give individual attention to all the children”
A message from our Founder When I started Oasis back in 1985, I had no idea it would grow into the wonderful family of charities that it has become today. In Oasis Community Learning, we are the country’s second largest provider of Academy schools, educating around 25,000 children and young people. Through Oasis Aquila Housing, we provide housing for vulnerable young people. With Oasis Community Partnerships we run social projects – from community farms and coffee houses to churches and children’s centres – and much more besides. And we do this in communities as diverse as Gateshead in the North East to Bristol in the South West. So, the question is…why? Not only do we believe your child should receive the very best formal education, but also that there is more to a healthy life and future than simply the knowledge they hold. Every one of us is a product of the community in which we live. That is why Oasis is passionate that every community served by one of our Academies should be a happy, healthy place where every person is included and valued, and has the ability to thrive and achieve their full, God-given potential. That is why Oasis’ vision not only aims to deliver outstanding education, but also to help build great local neighbourhoods.
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We are motivated by our core Christian ethos which means that we believe every person – those of all faiths or none – are equally valuable and have a part to contribute in helping this vision become a reality. Helping a young person realise who they are meant to be is about more than simply the qualifications they get or the job they want; it’s about how they see themselves and those around them. That’s why Oasis’ goal is to help create great communities where every young person achieves their best, respects themselves, values those around them and contributes to the good of all. We look forward to welcoming you and your child to an Oasis Academy in order to experience this for yourself.
Steve Chalke, MBE Oasis
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Principal: James Pape Address: Oasis Academy Don Valley, Leeds Road, Sheffield S9 3TY T: 0114 220 0400 E: info@oasisdonvalley.org W: www.oasisacademydonvalley.org
@OasisDonValley
If you wish to know more about Oasis Community Learning – part of the Oasis group of charities please contact: 75 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7HS www.oasiscommunitylearning.org
@OasisAcademies