Hello, I'm Mr. Fenner and I am a Level 6 Careers Leader and teacher here at Wildern where my primary role is making sure our students are on the right path to achieving their aspirations. It’s my job to help guide them through the maze of options out there - whether that’s heading to university, jumping into an apprenticeship, or figuring out the best career route for them as an individual. I work closely with students, parents, teachers and our Careers Advisor to help provide the best opportunities and advice.

Day to day, I balance teaching and running the careers programme. This involves everything from organising career fairs and bringing in guest speakers to college taster days and collapsed curriculum experiences. It’s all about making sure our students leave Wildern feeling confident about their future choices, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see that lightbulb moment when they figure out their next step.

The world of work is changing fast, so I also keep up with the latest trends to make sure what we’re teaching is relevant and up to date and that the curriculum is connected to the modern world of work. I’m always networking with local businesses and colleges to offer fresh insights into what employers are looking for, which helps us give our students a competitive edge.
 

It’s a busy role, but I love the challenge. Watching students discover their passions and seeing them thrive in whatever path they choose makes it all worthwhile. Thanks for your continued support - together, we’re helping shape the future!

Attendance Raffle

Yesterday saw the last draw for this half term of our “Every Moment Counts: Skip the Queue for Lunch!” raffle. Eligible students achieved 100% attendance and punctuality yesterday. Thank you for your continued support in promoting daily attendance. Together, we are making every moment count!

 

House championship

Here are the totals at the end of the first half term. It looks like Sovereign are storming ahead but will the other houses catch up next half term? There are lots of house events coming up, please encourage your child to get involved!

Sparx maths

Students have contributed to some impressive statistics so far this year. Well done to all those students who have worked so hard on their self study so far this year and to all the parents that have supported their children in completing Sparx assignments on time and to 100%.

 

For the first half term of the year we have an impressive 95% of Year 7 students completing all of their compulsory self study, closely followed by Year 9 at 93%. Can Year 8 and 10 match this participation rate next half term? 

Whole School

Wednesday 23-Friday 25 October Legally Blonde Performances

Monday 28 October - Friday 1 November Half term

Monday 4 November Week A

Monday 11 November Week B

Thursday 14 November Parent Information Eve - Love Languages

Monday 18 November Week A

Monday 18 & Tuesday 19 November Nasal Flu Vaccinations

Thursday 21 November Parent Information Eve - Wildern Meta-Learner

 

Year 7

Thursday 7 November Year 7 tutor parent consultation evening

Year 8

No key dates

Year 9

Wednesday 6 November University of Oxford trip

Wednesday 6 November & Juliet Education for Life trip

Year 10

Friday 25 - Monday 28 October Iceland Geography trip

Wednesday 6 November & Juliet Education for Life trip

Thursday 7 November Blood Brothers Drama trip

 

Year 11

Friday 18 - Saturday 19 October DoE expedition (catch up)

Monday 4 - Friday 15 November Practice Exams

 

It has already been a busy half term with our Careers provision here at Wildern. Each year group has had a Careers element to their learning and curriculum time in some way. 

 

Key Stage 3 have been getting acquainted with, or for Year 8, reacquainted with, our Unifrog platform. Unifrog is a widely used national website that allows students to plan and understand their future aspirations more clearly and keep a record of their activities that may have some link to careers. These year groups have undertaken skills and personality quizzes to determine possible careers that suit their interests. They have also accessed the extensive Unifrog careers database to get an idea of local Labour Market Information.

 

Year 9 students are beginning to think about future pathways, opportunities and responsibilities involved with future careers for their upcoming Education for Life lessons. 

 

Year 10 have been busy planning their Experience of a Workplace placements for this coming summer. After a very successful parental launch in early September and the student launch in Education for Life tutor sessions, applications have started to come in rapidly. A link to the slides and a video recording of the presentation can be found on our Careers webpage. As a reminder, the deadline for Experience of a Workplace applications is the end of November. Year 10 were also very excited to attend the Careers Fair in October where many volunteers from local colleges, apprenticeship providers and local big and small businesses came in to present their benefits to our students. Feedback from the volunteers was excellent and there was a brilliant buzz across the event.

Year 11 had their first Careers interaction before the curriculum time even began in September! As part of the Year 11 welcome back program, students were invited to a presentation by Mrs Jeffries, Mrs O'Leary and myself where we went through all the careers related opportunities the students had undertaken over their time at Wildern and what lays ahead for them in Year 11. They also undertook a Future Skills Questionnaire provided to us by the Careers & Enterprise Company to help students identify any requirements needed by individuals over the coming year. We've held a parent information evening with 2 guest presenters from Barton Peveril and from the Institute of Technology, both highlighting the virtues of further education and training but in very different ways. Students also had a week-long series of assemblies from local colleges who explained the opportunities that are unique to them and the benefits of undertaking further study with them. This led straight into Year 11 revisiting the Careers Fair as explained above.

 

We find that allowing them 2 opportunities to do this across Key Stage 4 allows for a much more focussed approach by our students when they reach Year 11 and have had the majority of information provided to them. Education for Life sessions have also been delivered with the intention of supporting CV and application letter writing. In addition, our Careers Advisor Mrs O'Leary has been speaking to individuals in their Careers Guidance meetings about their future aspirations. Every student is entitled to one of these across their time at Wildern and Mrs O'Leary will be in touch soon if she has not been already! Right now, Year 11 have started their applications for colleges and we will of course support students with any interview requirements that are upcoming. A list of college open dates and application deadlines can again be found on our webpage.

As you can see, the Careers Provision at Wildern is thorough and robust and will continue to be throughout your child's time at the school and we have many more activities and events planned throughout the coming year! Thank you for your ongoing support.

We know that for many the school holidays are an exciting time of the year however for some of you we know it can be a difficult time.

 

If you need support over the holiday period or if you are concerned about a friend below are some points of contact for you.

The Wellbeing Hub on our website is a great place to access support.

ChatHealth 07505 332160

Childline

Samaritans 116123

Police 101 or in an emergency 999

CAMHS

If you are upset and having thoughts and urges about hurting yourself, then stop, take a deep breath and read this page

If you are witnessing or a victim of Stop Domestic Abuse can provide support

If you are coping with grief Winstons Wish has some great tips to help you

Thank you to everyone who supported our charity non-uniform day last Friday. We raised over £1700 and many tutor groups have raised enough to adopt an animal. 

 

A huge thank you and massive well done to everyone who has contributed to the various charity events this half term! All of our events have beaten the totals we raised last year, which is amazing! The hugely successful Race for Life raised £2826 for Cancer Research UK, our first non-uniform day of the year raised £1711 for the WWF (up by about £500 on our last one!), and our Rotary Shoebox Appeal donating 241 shoe boxes full of lovely gifts (up by 18 boxes on last year).

 

That brings our total so far this year to about £700 off our full total for the whole of last year!

 

It's so great to be a part of such a generous community making a positive difference in the world! 

Hampshire County Council has appointed Rocon Contractors Ltd to implement remedial measures to address localised flooding on the shared cycle and pedestrian path between Tamarisk Road and Wildern Lane. These measures include releveling the shared path and installing a drain. Additionally, there will be some minor works to help cyclists rejoin the carriageway safely on Wildern Lane.

Works on the shared path are scheduled to start on Monday 28 October 2024, and this path between Tamarisk Road and Wildern Lane will be closed for five days. Work on the footway near Wildern Lane will commence on Monday 4 November under restricted working hours from 9:30am to 4pm using temporary traffic signals to minimise disruption to the public. This element of work will take approximately three days.

Please note that the works are weather dependent and may need to be re-arranged at short notice in the event of adverse weather. The nature of the work may bring some disruption or inconvenience however every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum. Please email any enquiries regarding these works to: capital.delivery@hants.gov.uk, with the subject line clearly marked, ‘Wildern Lane to Tamarisk Road Cycle Link Improvement, Hedge End’.

 

Further information about the scheme together with any updates about the planned timescales or traffic management arrangements are available at the County Council webpages at:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/wildernlanecyclelinkimprovement

Here is our updated Autumn term Co-Curricular timetable of activities for after half term. 

Friday 25th October

Year 7 Boys Football Vs Weydon School

 

Tuesday 5th November

Year 8 Boys Football Vs Hounsdown School

 

Thursday 7th November  

U14 boys Basketball Vs Oasis Academy Sholing

Wednesday 23rd October

Year 11 Boys A football won 7-0 against Bitterne Park School

Year 10 Boys football drew 1-1 against Bitterne Park School

 

Thursday 24th October

U14 boys Basketball lost 32-49 against St George's Catholic College

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 need to know about Horror Films & Age Ratings

 

Many children and young people enjoy exploring new and exciting genres and themes in the films and TV they consume – and as they grow, the maturity of this content will likely increase with them. However, without proper supervision and safeguarding, youngsters looking for a new title to enjoy – especially in the horror genre – might get a little more than they're ready for.

The emotional and psychological impacts of viewing age-inappropriate content can be severe. It's vital for parents and educators to know how to keep the children in their care as safe as possible while young people explore new, potentially grittier or darker, pieces of media. This free guide breaks down the risks of viewing age-inappropriate content, with a particular focus on horror, and offers expert advice on how to limit youngsters’ exposure to material that might upset or disturb them.

 

Sources

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/255852/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2023.pdf

 

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-us/news/children-as-young-as-six-regularly-making-their-own-decisions-about-what-content-to-watch-without-help-from-mum-or-dad

Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts

 

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Wildern School

Wildern Lane

Hedge End

Southampton

Hampshire

SO30 4EJ

 

01489 783473

 

#WeAreWildern