The Richmond Primary Academy February newsletter

Trust News

Message from Simon Rose, Director of Primary Education, David Ross Education Trust (DRET)

Dear parents and carers,

I really enjoyed meeting many of you before half term and talking through DRET’s exciting plans to support The Richmond School.

A lot of hard work has already gone into building strong partnerships with The Richmond School’s leaders, teachers, support staff and governors, and we are absolutely committed to continuing this positive work as we get to know pupils and parents and carers over the coming months. Your school will officially join our trust on 1st March, becoming The Richmond Primary Academy, with new signage and press coverage planned over the coming weeks.

Our vision for The Richmond Primary Academy is for it to be the school of choice in the region. We have a strong, nationally recognised track record for working together with schools to rapidly improve them so that every pupil achieves their full potential; whether that be academic, sporting or artistic. We achieve some of the best academic results in the country, with phonics, multiplication checks and Year 6 SATs results significantly ahead of the national picture. We will set exemplary behaviour standards so that we can raise expectations in every classroom and ensure that all pupils are inspired to develop a love of learning. By joining a family of 34 academies (including 22 primary academies), Richmond pupils and staff will have direct access to high-quality teaching and learning resources and a professional network of teachers, leaders and subject specialists. We also help to remove much of the administration that can take up school leaders’ days, for example by taking HR, finance and estates work in-house, allowing your headteacher to focus on the essential task of teaching and learning. You can find out more about us here: https://www.dret.co.uk/Our-Team/

High-quality staff training has already begun, with more planned in the summer term and beyond so that we can ensure that all children can access and benefit from our world-class curriculum and experts in every classroom. Our drive to improve early reading and mathematics will begin in the summer term and will continue well into next year because this is fundamental to achieving rapid improvement. From September, your children will be taught their new DRET curriculum, aligning them with our other academies. Continued staff training will run alongside this. A new website is also ready to go live and will include links to the curriculum and information outlining what your child will be learning each term. We have some well-crafted, highly effective ways of teaching children that help them to make maximum progress whilst enjoying their learning. Read more about our ‘Primary DRET Way’ of doing things here: https://www.dret.co.uk/The-DRET-Way-Primary/

Not only does DRET provide a world class curriculum (which has been praised by Ofsted in all 14 inspections in the last two years), but pupils also get access to extracurricular opportunities they may otherwise not experience. These include world-class music and sporting programmes and annual events, culminating in performances and finals at prestigious national venues. I’m delighted that children in Year 5 will be able to take part in DRET’s Summer Cup this year. This is our annual celebration of sports which takes place at Grantham Meres Sports Stadium, where children can compete in seven different competitive sports, alongside 1500 students at other DRET schools: https://www.dret.co.uk/Sport/. More news on this to follow.

We place a high importance on having good relationships with parents at all our academies, with our joint aims of course being the best educational and wellbeing outcomes for your children. We will regularly update you within the academy’s newsletters and we will also ensure there are plenty of opportunities to hear your views. Here are some of the things you will see:

To mark The Richmond Primary Academy joining The David Ross Education Trust, we will be launching a vibrant new school uniform from September. As a welcome to current pupils and their families, every pupil will be given two sweatshirts in a new teal colour and a PE shirt in their house colour, all free of charge. Current pupils in early years and key stage 1 will also be given a DRET book bag. The Richmond Primary Academy’s new uniform will consist of a teal sweatshirt, grey trousers, dresses or skirts and white polo shirts. Further details to follow on this. School houses will continue to be named after local lifeboat crew in Skegness and PE shirts will also be in house colours – yellow, blue, red or green. All current pupils will also receive a branded water bottle with the new school logo.

This is an exciting time for the Richmond community as the academy embarks on the next stage of its journey. We are ambitious for the future and determined to fulfil our vision with pupils, parents and carers and the wider community as partners in this endeavour.

I very much look forward to working with you over the coming years.

Simon Rose, Director of Primary Education, DRET

Staff Spotlight

During a recent INSET training day, all the school staff attended training at The Quay Academy, Bridlington and Edward Heneage Academy in Grimsby. Staff were able to see DRET schools in action - and came back full of enthusiasm. This was an invaluable chance to see the processes and curriculum in action in preparation for rolling out changes in the very near future. Staff have already spoken of plans that they have to improve the learning environment in the school. We are very grateful to the team at Quay and Edward Heneage for being such brilliant hosts.

"I had a great day; I really enjoyed it. The children were so happy, and the environment was lovely." - B Millar, EYFS Teaching Assistant.

"Embarking on this journey with DRET isn’t just a step forward for our school but a huge leap into new and exciting possibilities, already we have had the pleasure of visiting the Quay academy in Bridlington where we felt welcomed into the DRET family with open arms. This day allowed us as staff to look forward into what a future at The Richmond Primary Academy could look like while giving us the assurance that the children will still be at the heart of every decision taken. This for me has just increased my excitement and belief that this new beginning will be a positive experience for all involved." - C Ratcliffe, Staff Governor and Teaching Assistant.

"The staff and pupils at Quay Academy were extremely friendly and welcomed us into their hardworking classrooms. The school was lovely (their art room and music room made me very jealous) and it was wonderful to see another DRET school in action. As we move towards becoming a DRET school, I look forward to working as part of a wider educational community and supporting our children through the transition." - B Sylvester, Class teacher and Arts Lead.

New Faces in School

We would like to introduce ourselves as DRET staff that you and your children will regularly see around school over the next term or so.

Wendy Baxter left is the DRET Director of Primary Development. She is an experienced head and was previously a regional director with the Trust. As part of her current role she will oversee the move of the school to become a DRET academy and co-ordinate all of the support required to ensure that the school continues on its journey of rapid improvement. You may see her around school as she will be coming in regularly to speak with the principal and other staff and pupils.

Dominique Osborne right is the DRET Regional Director for Lincolnshire and oversees a number of primaries in Grimsby and Lincolnshire as well as being principal of the amazing Edward Heneage Primary Academy in Grimsby. She is also the primary lead for SEND within our trust and a highly regarded leader. She will have ongoing responsibility for The Richmond Primary Academy, working closely with the principal and liaising with Wendy to ensure that the new academy continues to provide the very best education for all of its pupils.