In Brief
It’s not a club, it’s 40 minutes of fun...
Teachers
Incorporate Oasis into your teaching schedule...
Parents
Find out about the benefits of Oasis for your children...
Mission Statement
We aim to provide social and emotional development through mentored play opportunities ensuring every child feels visible and valued.
About Oasis at School
Janet Cross developed the Oasis at School concept and has, over a 5 year period, combined a select range of resources with a unique mentoring strategy. Simple yet succinct, as often the best ideas are, the Oasis package is primarily directed towards children in year 3 and over. However, this adaptable programme has also been successful in addressing challenging behaviour in infants and has now been recognised in Secondary schools as a valuable tool for engaging with and influencing the behaviour of young adults.
In the typical Junior School setting, Oasis is proposed as a lunchtime alternative for pupils, available 2-3 times per week. For certain schools it may be more appropriate to set availability to meet specific issues. To this end, Oasis is eminently flexible. Restricted availability is a crucial part of the overall psychology of the programme, ensuring that the children clearly understand and relate to the facility as a positive tool at their disposal. They readily recognise the invitation Oasis sends out and quickly learn to both wait for and utilise the opportunities to attend. It is genuinely something to look forward to.
It is in this setting that schools are provided with a unique mentoring opportunity. Oasis is a chance to nurture interpersonal skills and improve behaviour; it builds self-esteem; it also harmonises age, ability, racial and ethnic divides. All manner of opportunities are laid open through unscripted, constructive free play.
"Not by force shall the youth learn, but through play" - Plato
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