Principal Update
Message from Vicky Ross, Principal
Parents, Friends and Carers
Is it half term already? Where did September and October go?
I truly can’t believe the speed at which this term has gone. The school community has really focused on ensuring that our children are working to their full potential as we implement the many changes associated with a brand new curriculum.
We have had more parent workshops than ever – SEND, Early Help and Phonics to name a few. We will be focusing on curriculum subjects next term and hope to see more and more parents attending these. They take place at 9am most Tuesdays and are a good opportunity to meet other parents, have informal chats with the staff and, of course, get a free cup of tea!
Led by our focus for improvement in outcomes, and by the responses on our parent survey, we continue to support our students with a focus on ‘gap learning’, homework, reading at home, and maths basics like number bonds and times tables. You will get a chance to learn a bit more about this during our parent coffee mornings next term.
Our academy believes in developing the whole child – personal development is key! This term, we have been organising our pupil voice and the children have applied, and been elected for important leadership positions in school. Year 2 to Year 6 now have a School Council Representative – their first drive is on improving the school environment through litter picking. As the school council are having a big push on litter picking and looking after the school environment, we have booked some workshops for Y1-4 focussing on recycling.
Other leadership roles that have been filled are Team Captains and Reading Ambassadors. More about what they have been doing in our next newsletter.
Still on the subject of pupils’ personal development, our academy’s safeguarding focus is on children having the skills to keep themselves safe. We have had input from the NSPCC (PANTS rule), RNLI (water safety) and Firework Safety. Moving forward, we will be looking at road safety, online safety and much more.
Support for the school
As always, the PFA have been amazing in helping us out with our budget. In the past, local businesses and families have also been so supportive in donating to the school - to enable us to keep funding initiatives such as morning ‘Toast for All’. This term, parents and carers dug deep to help us raise money for our library by buying a book at our bookfair. Here is a little message from Mrs Green,
‘I just wanted to say a massive thank you to all those that helped at the book fair. We took an incredible £850, which has provided us with £430 in rewards for our school.’
The last thing from me is just to draw your attention to is the ongoing drive for great attendance. To incentivise children, we have introduced several rewards for our classes and individuals who continue to show good (above 97%) attendance.
With the highest weekly attendance, classes can win the privilege of caring for Arni – the Attendance Plant. Children can also win a class party at the end of each half-term and any child with attendance above 97% get a special shout out in assembly and a raffle ticket for our end of term draw.
Congratulations to 3J who are the attendance champions week in week out and well deserved winners of the first tea-party!
Mrs Ross
Communications
A reminder that we are communicating via:
Email - enquiries@richmondprimary.co.uk
Academy News
Feel Good - Do the right thing!
Did you know that our children know that making good choices is the best reward: Ultimate Glory. This is the feeling you have when making the right choice and being helpful! It is knowing that you have done a good job. It's a feeling of pride in yourself. It's a warm glow and it makes others happy! Our children are so good at this that they have started finding ways to help others in their own time.
Charity starts at home!
This term, two Y5 children have stood out as going the extra mile for others. They set themselves a target to raise money for the RNLI. The students made braclets which were sold to friends and family - raising a total of £205.47. Well done Amelia and Jenson!
This term, another pupil is donating her hair to raise money for the Little Princess Trust. She needs a boost to meet her target – the QR code below will take you to her Gofundme site if you can spare a little cash. Let’s help her meet that target!
Staff Spotlight
Our Team at the Parent Friends Association (PFA)
As always a massive thanks to all of the PFA members for their continued hard work and support of the school: a huge £12,790 was raised by the PFA last year. |Fundraising has already started for this year: events having taken place already being the exciting Halloween disco, colouring competitions and a very successful Quiz Night at Artisan. The team are already considering potential planned spends this year like maybe helping with a new sound system, a choir uniform, and up-to-date books for the library – thanks to all parents and children who completed our book survey – these have already been ordered.
Christmas events are currently being organised – there will not be a Christmas fayre this year but the team are looking forward to repeating the successful Wreath Making event combined with a Chocolate Bingo night; Santa’s Breakfast, Christmas Movie Nights for KS1 and KS2, and and Advent Calendar raffle – dates will be confirmed soon.
To support with our school priorities, the PFA have been successful in completing a Tesco community fund registration which gives the academy the chance of winning the £1500, £100 or £500 prize to go towards an outdoor, wellness/reading area with books and storage units.
We do need your help – our PFA need a new shed – due to spending restrictions, money raised by the PFA needs to be spent on the children and school budgets are tight – if anyone knows a local business that would be willing to donate towards a new shed for the PFA, please contact the school.
Trust News
Take One Picture
Are you interested in what is happening across our trust schools – it will give you a valuable insight into some of the activities that are children will be able to join in with. This year, in addition to the sports and music, we will be joining the trust in ‘Take One Picture’ – a chance for our artists to shine! Look at the amazing entries by Cedar Road and Quay academy that were chosen to be displayed on the website and Cedar Road’s sculptures in the National Gallery exhibition. Well done!
11+ Success
Congratulations to our Year 6 children who were successful in passing their 11+ and will be applying to Skegness Grammar School. Don’t forget to make sure that all Year 6 children apply for their secondary school of choice by 31st October 2024 through the local authority admissions website
Check out tonnes of other trust news here…David Ross Education Trust
You Said, We Did
You said...'Should I purchase a smart phone for my child?'
Is it the right time to get my child a Smart phone? This is something we are asked a lot by parents. A new film by the charity Nip in the Bud discusses the hidden dangers of social media and smartphone use among children. If you are considering getting your child a phone we would urge you to watch the film available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zhfd0jW7iY&t=605s
The film provides insights from children, headteachers and doctors, shedding light on the everyday harm caused by digital platforms.
You can read more information here which provides more options to consider around technology prior to purchasing smartphones for children.
https://nipinthebud.org/fact-sheet/smartphones-and-social-media-fact-sheet/
In simple, we discourage buying primary age children a phone and accessing social media is not allowed. We have had to involve police in investigating serious incidents involving shared images and contents between very young children! Protect them for as long as possible from these dangers.
You said....'What are you doing about parking?'
Despite a very stern message, parents and carers continue to stop dead along Richmond Drive, unable to access the lay-by due to cars that are parked right in the entrance. Next term, we will be trialling a system of placing cones along the entrance to the layby, preventing parking, and encouraging drives to move further towards the end of the lay-by before letting children out of the cars. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BARRIER AT THE FAR END WILL LIFT ON APPROACH - THE LAY-BY IS NOT A DEAD END!
Nobody will be allowed to drop children before the zebra crossing. We ask, if the queue is stretching out of the lay-by that parents continue driving on Richmond Drive and find a safe place to stop! This is the last attempt to use the layby before the decision will be made to shut it completely.
Community News
Contextual Safeguarding is combatting the risks to children that are presented by their location - part of which is the community they live in. At the Richmond Primary Academy, we have identified that our Primary Contextual Safeguarding Concerns fall into the following three categories:
Risk/Harm caused by inappropriate supervision of children
The proximity of water (sea and waterways), the railway, busy roads and dangers caused by the influence of drugs, alcohol and gangs, means that children who are alone - or poorly supervised in the home and community are at risk - we aim to support parents with increased knowledge and access to local/national agencies. In this way we will minimise these risks and educate our children in navigating these dangers.
Risk/Harm caused by anti-social and/or criminal behaviour in the community
Domestic and sexual violence, gang crime, shop-lifting, arson and anti-social behaviour are prevalent in the area of Skegness. We are making links with the community services to support our families. Children, through PSHE and values education, will have the right character to resist these dangers.
Risk/Harm caused by exposure to inappropriate content
TV, media - including social media, streaming, and online gaming are conduits for children to access the dangers of grooming, self-harm images, explicit images and extremist views. Our PSHE and parental engagement programme will be developed to support parents in reducing the risks of exposure to these and to build digital resilience in children.