Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the Wildern Weekly. My name is Mr Fenner and I oversee our Careers provision, here at Wildern School.

A young person’s career is their pathway through learning and work. All young people need a planned programme of activities to help them make 14-19 choices that are right for them and to be able to manage their careers throughout their lives.  Schools have a statutory duty to provide careers education in Years 7-11 and to give students access to careers information and guidance.

Here at Wildern School we are committed to providing a planned programme of tailored careers education for all students in Years 7-11 and information and guidance is given through Education for Life lessons, tutor sessions and other curriculum activities. 

We endeavour to follow the National Framework for Careers Information, Advice and Guidance and base our careers guidance around the eight “Gatsby benchmarks” with Benchmark 1 being all encompassing of our programme. These are: 

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking Curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

I am lucky enough to work with Mrs O'Leary who is our Careers & Marketing Coordinator and Mr Henser, our Careers Adviser. Mrs O'Leary is passionate about supporting Wildern students with their careers journey and through her role has developed strong links within the local community. 

You can read more about the careers events that have taken place this term in our newsletter here.

The Careers Team are contactable through careers@wildern.org and you can follow them on Twitter and Instagram @WildernCareers and on YouTube. 

  In this issue...        **see new quick links**

5 Top tips for communicating with teenagers

Equality and Rights - On 29th November, 7 of our wonderful student leaders represented Wildern and joined students from Deer Park School at the regional ‘EARA’ meeting. ‘EARA’ stands for Equality and Rights Advocates.

The meeting brought together 9 schools from across the region to discuss and share ideas about how well their schools are promoting equality and inclusivity, and dealing with issues of inequality, mistreatment and bullying particularly around race, transgenderism, sexuality, sexism, disability and religion.

This was a great opportunity for students to use their voice, share their insights and find ways to make our school a better place.

Streptococcal Group A Information (Strep A)

You may have seen information in the media about the high number of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections this year, compared to previous years. This situation is affecting the whole of the country, including our local area. Group A streptococcus can cause infections such as a sore throat, scarlet fever, as well as infections of the skin and soft tissues.

Since Wednesday we have been informed that 7 students have been confirmed as suffering from a Strep A infection. Here is further guidance from Hampshire County Council that they have asked all schools to send out. It gives advice and guidance for everyone.

At school, we will resume hand sanitising at the start and end of every lesson and once more we will ensure that rooms are well-ventilated with windows and doors being opened. With these measures in places, students have been told that if they are cold they can wear their coats in classrooms.

Cold weather

With very low temperatures forecast next week we are encouraging students to dress warmly, remembering their coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Students will be allowed to wear their coats in classrooms due to the additional ventilation in place following Strep A guidance. Students are also encouraged to wear 'skins' or base layers under their pe kit to help keep warm. However, please do not send your child to school with a hot water bottle as this is a health and safety concern.

Nasal Flu Vaccinations - Thursday 15 December - Year 7, 8 & 9

We are seeing an increase in both students and staff suffering from viruses and the flu but students will not be able to have the nasal flu vaccination next week unless the consent form has been completed in advance.

If you haven't already completed the consent form, this needs to be completed by the end of this weekend using this link the online consent form and the school code SH136654. The original letters sent out about this are here and here.

Dan and his catering team can adapt the majority of meals to any dietary needs if they know in advance (your child can speak to them by visiting the kitchen before 8:30am that day). 

This week there will be a choice of grab and go meals in the main servery including pasta, jacket potatoes, paninis, baguettes, wraps and salads. The festive menu below will be available in the hall every day, with each year group having the opportunity to visit the festive food fair. See below for more details.

What Parents Need to Know about Social Media & Mental Health

An estimated one-third of children have a social media account, so it’s important that trusted adults know what content young people are consuming, what they’re posting and the interactions they’re having. On social media, it can be easy to go down a rabbit hole that isn’t beneficial to our wellbeing. As platforms grapple with managing ‘legal but harmful’ content, lives are being impacted – sometimes to tragic effect. We might be daunted by the scale of the tech giants and their content which enthrals young people, but we can still help children to be mindful of their mental wellness: recognising when something isn’t OK … and knowing what to do about content that upsets them.

In the guide, you'll find tips such as how to hide content, setting daily limits and discussing what children have seen online. This links with the work Year 7-10 have completed in the hall with Mr Knight recently.