SLT Update
Looking out of my window this morning and seeing the beautiful winter scene it is hard to imagine that a week ago we were having to cope with Storm Claudia. Due to the flooding of the road into the village from the A1 the bus companies informed us that they would have to collect the pupils early, which led us to make the difficult decision to send pupils home before the end of the school day. Thank you to everyone who was able to get to school to collect their child or gave them permission to go home. We have reviewed the events of last Friday and have made changes to our procedures going forward. One of the changes we have made is to add to a consent button on the My Child at School App which you can select for your child to make their own way home in their normal manner in the event of a school closure, without us having to contact you again. If you haven't already had a look at this, please do so. It has been a busy week in the Academy with the Year 11 mocks coming to a close and pupils partaking in Rowvember each break and lunchtime. We are also very proud of our Year 7 and 8 girls' football team who won one nil last night, despite the freezing conditions. We are all very impressed by their resilience and aspiration. Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Milligan, Principal
Exclusive Invite to see The Nutcracker
A Special Performance for your schools' families this Christmas. When: 20th December 2025 | 10:00 start, Performance begins at 12:30 Where: Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD We’re delighted to invite your families to a special Paul Hamlyn Christmas Treat performance of The Nutcracker on Saturday 20 December. This exclusive event is for the families of your pupils who’ve taken part in the Royal Ballet & Opera Schools Programme this year — a wonderful way to celebrate the festive season together! From 10am, they can join us for fun family activities and mini performances around the beautiful front-of-house spaces of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, before the main performance begins at 12.30pm. The atmosphere promises to be magical, festive and full of Christmas cheer. Tickets are subsidised and range from £5–£30. Please note, this performance isn’t open to the general public. Book your place here If you already have an online account with the Royal Ballet & Opera, please sign out before clicking the link. You’ll be asked to sign in or register when checking out. If you have any accessibility requirements, need a wheelchair space and companion seat, or experience any issues booking online, please email the Box Office at: boxoffice@roh.org.uk.
Communication with School
I would like to remind all parents of the expectations when communicating with staff either face to face, over the phone or via email. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the overwhelming number of parents who do communicate with our staff in a friendly and respectful manner. However, unfortunately we have had a small number of individuals who have failed to communicate respectfully. We understand that this can often be due to frustration and wanting the best for your child, however our staff have a right to feel safe and respected.
We do have an expectation that any communication sent into the school will be responded to within 48 hours. It is not always possible for a member of staff to respond sooner than that due working patterns or other commitments they have during the day. If you do not hear back within the 48 hour framework please do contact us again.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Above and Beyond
Every week a certificate is issued for a deserving student who demonstrates CRA values. Please see below this weeks students and the reason they have been awarded.
Caeli - Alfie B for Resilience Alfie has thrown himself into the spirit of Rowvember with such enthusiasm and spirit. When I challenged Caeli students to row a little every day to gain themselves a big score by the end of the month, Miss Baker and I did not expect Alfie to go literally above & beyond everyone else! Alfie is always enthusiastic, despite rowing not being his passion and yet he has been working hard every single day to increase Caeli's numbers. Thank you Alfie! Terra - Sophia B-D for Confidence For exceptional participation in the rowing. Aqua - Alfie F for Courage For being extremely courageous in building his confidence in all lessons, especially in drama where he is coming out of his comfort zone and proving how far he’s grown.
Sparx Stars
Each week, our students at CRA, complete maths and reading for their homework on Sparx. Some students answer additional questions, further increasing their knowledge. We do this as there are online resources to help and guide students if they are struggling with a question. You might like to ask them to show you what they typically do on a weekly basis.
Our Sparx stars this week are
MATHS
READER
Table Talk
What is self-harm? We all experience difficult feelings at some point and we all have our ways of coping. Self-harm is when we hurt ourselves to cope with difficult feelings. We might self-harm for many different reasons, and in different ways. Sometimes we might not realise we’ve self- harmed until afterwards. Why might I self-harm? Some of us use self-harm to deal with something difficult in our lives, or as a way to cope with overwhelming feelings. Sometimes we might not know what to do Some of us might self-harm once and then try other ways of coping. But some of us might feel that it helps, so we start to rely on it. Some young people say they self- harm because they were trying to: -Show how they feel without speaking - Distract themselves from how they were feeling - Cope with, or escape from painful feelings, thoughts and memories - Feel more in control - Punish themselves for something - Stop feeling disconnected from themselves or the world - Create a reason to look after themselves, like caring for wounds.
Times Tables
At the end of all lessons students stand behind their chairs in silence to prepare for themselves for the next lesson. From September, on a weekly rota, Years 7 and 8 will be reciting their timetables to help embed them in their long term memory.
Week beginning 24 November 2025 - 9
Accelerated Reading
Week beginning 24 November 2025 - Period 1
Moments Matter, Attendance Counts
Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.
As we return to school and move into winter, there is inevitably an increase in illnesses. It can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off school when they are unwell. There are government guidelines to support you in this decision.
Attendance.
From Monday 3rd November you will be able to see your child's attendance to school on the My Child At School App. We will also be launching a series of new competitions based around attendance to celebrate the resilience, ambition and aspiration many of our students demonstrate by being in every day.
Prizes will include:
- X Box controllers
- Skin care products
- Food items
- Non uniform days
This will be alongside our In it To Win Competition that pupils gain entry to every week that they are in for 100% of the days
You should not go to school with a fever or other high temperature, but you can attend if you have mild symptoms like a runny nose or slight cough, if you feel well enough to go. Although there are no longer specific rules for COVID-19 in schools, you should stay home if you are unwell.
When to stay home
- • High temperature: If you have a fever or a high temperature, you should stay at home.
- • Feeling unwell: If you are generally feeling unwell, it is best to stay home.
When you can go to school
- • Mild symptoms: You can go to school if you only have mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or a slight cough, and you feel well enough to attend.
Why this advice has changed
- • There is a low risk of COVID-19 to children and young people.
- • There are high vaccination rates in the population, which helps to reduce the risk.
At Charles Read Academy we follow the guidance from the NHS and Public Health England on whether your child should be in school.
This covers all the usual childhood illnesses. For more information click on the links below:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19
If your child is absent from school, please ensure you contact school daily either by email/MCAS or by telephoning the attendance line 01476 550333 ext 502. It is vital we are notified everyday of any absence for safeguarding reasons, unless previously authorised. A reason for illness will always be requested, this is to observe attendance patterns and outbreaks of illness amongst students.
Please do not hesitate to contact myself tsandison@charlesreadacademy.co.uk ext 502 to discuss ways to support your child's attendance.
CRA - Lets work together to make every day count!
Leave of absence request
A Principal can only authorise a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. We will take into account the Government guidance when considering what the exceptional circumstances are- all applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. You may be able to take your child out of school in exceptional circumstances, providing an application is made in advance by the parent/carer, this request complies with Government guidance and the leave is deemed to be ‘exceptional’ by the Principal.
If you take a leave of absence without our permission or if your child fails to return by the agreed date if permission was granted, then this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and noted in your child’s record. You might also be issued with a fixed penalty notice for this absence. If your child has not returned within 10 days of the expected date of return then, after consultation with the Local Authority, we may take your child off our school roll.
As examples, the following reasons are not considered to be exceptional circumstances:
- availability of cheap holidays
- periods overlapping with beginning or end of term
- visits to family
- renewing passports
Requests for leave of absence will only be considered if made in writing. Please ensure you use the leave of absence request form to do this.
To request a leave of absence, please use this form.
House News.
I’m a Student Get Me Out of Here – Wednesday 26th November The eagerly anticipated return of I’m a Teacher Get Me Out of Here takes place next week! On Wednesday 26th November staff and students will take to the stage to face a series of our very own ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ style challenges. Trials will include eating critters, dunking for stars and facing fears in the animal encounters. We are excited to welcome Coral the Sinaloan Milk Snake, Charlotte the Chilean Rose Tarantula, Wiggly Woo the Giant African Train Millipede, Salt the Giant African Land Snail, Rainbow the Panther Chameleon and Sooty and Sweep the Fancy Rats for this years animal encounters challenge. Students that have received parental consent to take part in this years challenges will be drawn out on Monday. You have till 5pm today before the form closes - https://forms.gle/sy14Hg8gHD1ufKzv7
CRA Rowvember – Race Across the Channel We are excited to announce that the CRA Rowvember Race Across the Channel is complete, and the winning house will be revealed in assembly on Monday. It was an extremely close head-to-head competition, with each house in the lead at least once during the race. Despite this challenge being complete, Rowvember is still ongoing and as we approach the final week of the competition there is still lots to row for. The main pool of house points will be awarded to the house with the highest total distance across the month (student and staff scores combined). So far as a school we have covered over 200,000m, with Aqua currently in the lead. Caeli are in 2nd place, followed by Terra in 3rd. Please note that due to technical issues with the rowing software, the indoor rowing competition (involving individual sprints and house team relay races) is rescheduled to take place during lunchtime on Tuesday 25th November. Keep an eye out for the final results released in 10 days time!
CRA Santa Run 2025 REMINDER that there is only 5 DAYS left to submit your sponsorship forms for this year’s Santa Run (if students wish to receive the Santa/reindeer accessories). All students who raise £1 or more will receive a participation medal and certificate. Students who raise £9 or more receive a medal, certificate, Santa/Reindeer t-shirt, and hat/antlers. Students who raise £20 or more will receive all those items plus a free ticket to this year’s House Christmas Party (taking place on the same day as the Santa Run – more information to follow by the end of this week). Sponsorship forms must be handed in, with money raised to reception on Wednesday 26th November. Students can continue to fundraise right up to Tuesday 16th December (date of the event) but they will not receive any of the accessories as they are pre-ordered. There will also be a certificate and prize for the Highest Fundraiser and Fastest Santa/Reindeer.
The Sporting Post.
PE kit reminder - 2025/2026
The standard PE kit is as follows:
- CRA House PE top (compulsory)
- CRA PE shorts or skorts (compulsory)
- CRA PE Hoodie (compulsory)
- Black socks. These can be purchased from any provider.
- PE track pants / leggings / skins - optional - must be plain navy or black. These can be worn under the CRA PE top, shorts or skorts. These items should have no logos/writing/labels. These can be purchased from any provider.
Sports trainers- These can be purchased from any provider. No fashion trainers.
Girls will take part in hockey and boys will take part in rugby during PE lessons. Gumshields and shinpads are recommended for their safety.
Shinpads will also be needed for girls' and boys' football.
Moulded football boots are also recommended as students can wear these on the 3G artificial surface and grass field.
Please can all students be collected from the BACK of the school when being picked up from after school clubs and fixtures.
Term Dates
Please see the latest term dates for 2025-2026
A list of diary events can also be found on the CRA Website by clicking here
Credits:
Created with images by sosiukin - "upcoming evente word written on wood block. upcoming evente text on table, concept" • Taljat - "Covent Garden is a historic district in central London, known for its rich cultural heritage, markets, landmarks, shopping, dining, and entertainment." • A Stockphoto - "Wood block symbol telephone, address,mail and mobile phone.The concept of communication through technology advancement." • Pixels Hunter - "Two smiling coffee mugs with speech bubbles above them symbolizing communication and cheerful conversation on orange background." • bbbar - "Acronym of AAB for Above and Beyond" • Gerisima - "Christmas star decoration of golden confetti stars against white" • spass - "Happy family enjoying dinner at home.,Mother, father, daughter, son" • Naypong Studio - "Sports Equipment on white background" • tatomm - "close up of calendar on the yellow table background, planning for business meeting or travel planning concept"