We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyse our traffic. By clicking 'Allow All', you consent to our use of cookies. For further details, please see our cookies policy.
View navigation
OJS Community Hub
Welcome to the OJS Community Hub At Oatlands Junior School we recognise that a pupil’s happiness and wellbeing are the foundation for their success and that it is essential to nurture, not just the academic progress of the child, but to look after the whole person on their journey through school.
We take every opportunity to teach strategies for building social skills, resilience, independence, and raising self-esteem. At Oatlands, these are seen as vital steps in preparing our pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.
The OJS Hub, found at the heart of the school, offers a safe, confidential and supportive space for pupils to work with our Learning Mentor, Tricia Morales, whether that be 1:1 or small groups and allows any pupil, parent or carer to discuss issues or concerns that may arise.
If you are unsure of who or where to turn to, the OJS Hub is here to help, ensuring that concerns are addressed effectively and quickly and when necessary, you are signposted in the right direction for the appropriate support.
My name is Tricia Morales, and I am the Learning Mentor here at Oatlands Junior School, supporting our Inclusion Leader, Wendy McNerney and PSHE and RSE subject Leader, Claire Fretwell. I will be focusing on the social, emotional, behavioural and wellbeing needs of all our pupils, to help them manage their school experience.
As the Learning Mentor, I will be working closely with class teachers to provide nurture support and to build consistent relationships with children and families who need access to services both in and out of school. Working together and in partnership, makes us stronger in helping children access their learning and reach their full potential.
The newly created OJS Hub is a calm, relaxing space, away from the classroom, for pupils to work with me 1:1 or in small groups. There are also other areas in and around school which are used, such as the learning pods, library area, calm spaces in classrooms, playground and in the coming future the nature area. Children can be referred by class teachers for tailored support depending on their needs, which may be a daily/weekly/fortnightly intervention and will spend short sessions with me as their Learning Mentor. These sessions are discretely accessed, matching the need of the individual pupil that has been highlighted at the time.
Another role of the Learning Mentor is to have regular check-ins on pupil’s well-being, providing extra support if required. At Oatlands, we are introducing a green card system for children that have been highlighted by the class teacher.
The child can request support time during the day if they feel the need to talk, which helps encourage their resilience and independence, as well as allowing each individual to recognise their own triggers, self-regulation strategies and personal strengths. Each child is treated as an individual and approaches to support reflect this in varied levels of nurture that is provided. Either myself or your child’s class teacher will be contact with you should we feel, your child would benefit from the extra support. The Learning and Teaching Assistants will continue to work both within and outside the classroom and we liaise closely with external agencies to continue to support children and their families.
During lunchtime, there will be activities for children who sometimes find this time of day a little tricky, perhaps due to the busyness of the playground or sensory challenges in the dining hall. I aim to help build/enhance their social skills both with their peers and within the classroom environment.
I hope this has given you an insight into my role as Learning Mentor at OJS. I am available from 8.30am until 4pm and will be on the school playground at the start and end of each day. I will be happy to answer any further questions and look forward to supporting the happiness and wellbeing of all pupils at Oatlands Junior School.
Kind regards
Tricia Morales
Learning Mentor
We all can fly…..
….. with a little help.
