Hello and welcome to this week's Wildern Weekly.  My name is Mr Orchard, and I’m the Safeguarding Officer (DDSL) here at Wildern School. 

 

My role is to help make sure all of our children feel safe, happy, and supported at school. I work closely with all of our curricular departments, year teams, support staff and SLT, to listen to any concerns, offer guidance, and ensure that everyone in our school community knows how to stay safe and where to turn if they need help.

 

As part of my day-to-day role, I check in with students and staff, follow up on any worries that are shared. I also help to teach children about staying safe - both in school and online - and I support staff so they feel confident in looking out for and helping others.  

 

Keeping children safe is at the heart of everything we do, and I’m always here if you or your child ever need someone to talk to!

Whole School

Monday 30 June Week A

Thursday 3 July Summer Dance Showcase

Friday 4 July Non-Uniform Day

Monday 7 July Week B

Thursday 10 July HPV Catch up Vaccinations (Yr 8 - 10)

Monday 14 July Week A

Monday 20 July Week B

Tuesday 21 July - Last Day of Term - School Closes at 12.30pm

Year 7

          Tuesday 1 & Friday 4 July - Arundel Castle Trip - History

          Wednesday 16 July - Paultons Park Trip

          Thursday 17 July - Sports Day

Year 8

           Wednesday 16 July - Paultons Park Trip

           Thursday 17 July - Sports Day

Year 9

Wednesday 16 July - Sports Day

Thursday 17 July - Paultons Park Trip

Year 10

Wednesday 16 July - Sports Day

Thursday 17 July - Paultons Park Trip

Thursday 25 September - Open Evening

5.30pm - 7.30pm

For information & to book your space click here

Friday 3 October - Open Morning

9.45am - 10.45am

For information & to book your space click here

Monday 13 October - Open Morning

9.45am - 10.45am

For information & to book your space click here

Hot Weather

The weather on Monday and Tuesday looks likely to hit 30 degrees. With this in mind we are writing to remind you of our uniform expectations during extraordinary hot weather.

 

For Monday 30th June and Tuesday 1st July students are able to wear the following:

• Wildern green PE top
• Wildern green PE shorts
• Black PE leggings
• Full Wildern school uniform without a jumper
• No black hotpants, cycling shorts or other tight fitting shorts are allowed
• No hybrids of half uniform and half PE kit

If students arrive at school inappropriately dressed parents and carers will be contacted to bring in their Wildern PE kit or school uniform. Until this time they will be out of circulation.

 

The rest of the week is forecast to be much cooler. All students will return to full school uniform on Wednesday 2nd July.

Wildern Lane Roadworks

We have been notified that there will be gas works taking place along Wildern Lane starting on the 21st June for approximately 3 weeks. 

 

They will have in place a 3 way traffic light system to manage the traffic flow.  Please keep this in mind for the journey to school and when using the community facilities.

Music Lessons - September 2025

If your child is interested in learning an instrument or in having singing lessons in September 2025, please see this google form for information and to sign up. 

No letters for Year 7, 8, 9 or 10

Year Books

Please click here should you wish to order a Year Book.  When the Yearbook company have 10 orders the books will be printed and delivered to school. As such the delivery date cannot be confirmed.

We are incredibly proud of our Year 10 students following their recent work experience placements. The feedback from employers has been overwhelmingly positive, praising students' maturity, initiative, and professionalism across a wide range of settings.

Our students were consistently commended for their punctuality, adaptability, and enthusiasm. One employer shared, “She approached her placement with remarkable professionalism, warmth and a natural ability to work independently.” Another said, “He was always on time, communicated well and showed great interest in the job.”

Many demonstrated impressive confidence and curiosity. “He asked insightful questions and was happy to share his ideas for the future,” remarked one business. Another student was recognised for her independence: “She was left to solve a problem and not only resolved it but documented the steps clearly to support the team.”

Students working in childcare and education made a real impact. “She had a natural warmth towards the children and created strong bonds,” one setting noted. Another said, “He showed great resilience when children found tasks tricky, he kept going and continued to support them.”

In more technical placements, students showed great aptitude and creativity. “His CAD designs were professional, accurate, and showed real attention to detail,” one employer wrote. Another was commended for their adaptability, “She was out of her comfort zone but
adjusted well and completed all tasks with confidence.”

Other highlights included students helping on school trips, working with clients in salons, completing retail tasks professionally, and even producing complex design presentations. As one quote summed it up, "A complete natural – she made a lasting impression on everyone she
worked with.”

This programme gave our students a real-world insight into the workplace while developing vital employability and life skills. Their ability to adapt, support others, and learn quickly has impressed everyone and we're excited to see how they carry this experience forward into their future careers.

Students can now view their individual employer feedback by logging into their Unifrog account.

Work Experience for current year 9 is now LIVE and has been extended to a full week.

 

You only need confirmation from an employer at this stage they are happy to offer a placement.

 

We will guide you through the next steps in September when we return with tutor launch sessions and a bookable parent information evening on 9th September.

 

Top Tip; Securing a placement can take time, so start now and use the summer break to explore companies and industries, contact as many employers as you can across a wide range of sectors to lock in a placement.

 

Let's get ahead of the game before the November deadline.

This year, students from our group entered the ‘Step into the NHS’ Day and competition. The day focuses on careers with the NHS and highlights potential pathways to this profession. Students from our group were lucky enough to present virtually on the day to schools around the country!

Additionally, two of our team became regional champions in the competition which was about promoting different careers, some that might not be obvious at first, within the NHS. They were one of seven winners from over 100 schools nationally!

 

Well done to all involved!

Thank you so much to the students and staff who joined us for the Big Summer Clean afterschool on Wednesday 25 June.

 

It was fantastic to see such a large number of the Wildern community coming together to make the site look clean and tidy ready for the year 6 induction day.

 

A big thank you also goes to the staff at Hedge End McDonald's who came along to support this team effort. 

Hampshire CAMHS are delighted to announce a whole week of young people’s mental health focussed training sessions, from September 8th – 12th 2025, in Winchester. Five separate full days which will include, Trauma, Anxiety, Eating difficulties/disorders, autism, ADHD. 

 

People can book onto as many as they wish. In addition we will be running a week of one hour sessions on a variety of topics, and people can book as many or few as they wish. There is a small charge to cover our costs, as always some discretionary tickets are available. These events are suitable for parents/carers as well as professionals wanting to understand mental health better, and build skills and build confidence to support young people.

 

We also hold a monthly drop in where families or professionals, from across Hampshire can come and speak face to face with a CAMHS clinician.

We are forever having to try to keep up with what our young people are doing on line, partly to feel like we know what is going on, but more importantly to ensure that they are staying safe. 

 

Sadly there are many applications, games and YouTube channels that are designed to entice our children into joining them, and sometimes its for reasons that are not appropriate, healthy or legal.

 

We have had an update on a new You Tube channel that is not all that it seems.

Jeffy (above) is a puppet character featured in a series of YouTube videos. The channel behind Jeffy has over five million subscribers and each video posted gains millions of views.

 

The character of Jeffy has been criticised for portraying an offensive stereotype of someone with unspecified learning difficulties or disability. The creator has argued against this characterisation, saying Jeffy is meant to be funny and does not represent someone with a disability.

 

Despite the video’s child-friendly animation style, our online safety experts found videos portraying sexual content, nudity, violence, gore, profanity and more inappropriate themes.

 

For more information on Jeffy and other similar channels, please click here.  Stay safe!

Did you know that according to a report published by Engineering UK only 16.5% of the engineering workforce in the UK is female?

 

Engineering Apprenticeship Vacancies Bulletin

There are no new vacancies this week, but there are still 5 vacancies, although they are a further afield from Southampton.   Remember to pop back regularly to the vacancy page on our website to look for any new adverts.  Please note though that most employers have now advertised for September this year.

 

Workshop Taster Day – Oct – Registration Open!

Our next Workshop Taster Day that is taking place on 18 October 25 for those in Year 10 upwards.  It’s an excellent opportunity for those that are interested in engineering to have a go at engineering activities in a workshop environment – all helping with students making informed decisions about their future choices post 16!  Registration is required online via SETA’s website.  It is already a half full, so make sure you don’t miss out!

Please see the menu for our hot food options for next week.

 

The main school meal deals are £3.20 which is in line with all Hampshire schools. In a meal deal, students can get one of the meal choices below with a bottle of plain water and a cookie or piece of fruit.

• either of the hot meal options,
• a jacket potato,
• a pasta pot,
• a chicken or beef burger,
• a salad pot (from the salad bar)

We encourage all families to use the free school meals eligibility checker, which can be found here, to determine if they qualify for this entitlement. 

 

Please remember, we can adapt the majority of meals to any dietary needs if we know in advance (your child can speak to kitchen staff by visiting the kitchen before 8:30am that day). Main A/B vegetarian options are always available - just ask Dan and his team.

 

* correct at time of sending, but may be subject to change

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids promises a safe, child-centric experience with colourful visuals, age-filtered content, and robust parental controls.

 

Designed to appeal to younger viewers, the app has grown rapidly, being used by tens of millions of children worldwide. But is it as safe as it seems? 

 

Despite YouTube Kids’ safeguards, reports have highlighted worrying issues, such as inappropriate content slipping through filters, subtle advertising, and the use of manipulative design to keep children engaged.

 

Our guide explores how to navigate these pitfalls, offering practical advice for making sure children get the most from the platform – without the risks.

Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts

 

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Wildern School

Wildern Lane

Hedge End

Southampton

Hampshire

SO30 4EJ

 

01489 783473

 

#WeAreWildern