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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
SEND
(Special Educational Needs
and Disabilities)
A very warm welcome back to all pupils, and welcome in
particular to our new Year 7s. All of us in the SEND team hope
the term is already off to a great start, and that with the right
support, our learners will have a fantastic year at St. Richard’s.
StafÏng update: We are delighted to welcome Mrs White,
Miss Hanlon, Miss Lawrence and Mrs Seal to our department
as Learning Support Assistants (LSA) and Individual Needs
Assistants (INA). We wish them all well and that they enjoy
a successful and rewarding post with us. We also warmly
welcome back Mrs Tadros (Specialist Assessor – part time)
who returns this term after a period of illness, and congratulate
also Miss K. Cronin on her new role as an LSA.
How to contact us and find us: Mr Smith and Mrs Britt are
based in the SEND OfÏce. This is in ‘A’ Block, next door to A4.
Beside our ofÏce is our intervention space known as the Old
Chapel. We can be contacted by email as follows: Mr I. Smith,
SENCo – mrsmithi@strichardscc.com, Mrs K. Britt, Learning
Support Co-ordinator – mrsbrittk@strichardscc.com
SEND clubs: Lunch Clubs: Our lunchtime club runs daily as a
quieter space for pupils to eat their lunch, have a chat and play
games during their lunch break. There is a room available daily
for Years 7 and 8, and a separate room for Years 9, 10 and
11. Please see the timetable on the SEND OfÏce door. Other
lunchtime clubs and activities, which are available to all year
group, and are warmly encouraged for all pupils.
Prep Club and Prep Club Plus: At St Richard’s, we offer
two after school homework clubs:
Prep Club: with Ms Hubbard in BICT Mondays-Thursdays
from 3:15pm – 4.45pm and 3:15pm – 4:15pm on Fridays.
Prep Club is available to all pupils as a supervised space
where they can access PCs to complete their homework at
the end of the school day.
Prep Club Plus: CICT from 3:25pm – 4:25pm (Mondays –
Thursdays). Prep Club Plus is for SEND pupils who benefit
from additional support to complete their homework,
supported by our team of Teaching Assistants/LSAs.
SEN Magazine: Please click here for the latest issue of the
free online SEN Magazine – there is usually something of
interest in every issue, for example this issue has a feature
on law relating to SEN.
Wishing you all a very happy new school year.
Mr Smith and all in the SEND team
GCSE results: Congratulations to all pupils who collected
their GCSE results this summer. There was so much to be
proud of and to celebrate. Pupils as they collected strong
results, with 40% of our SEN cohort achieving 4s in English
and Maths, and 60% of the same pupils achieving at least
one grade 5 or above. Congratulations to you all for your
wonderful achievements!
Mrs Ellis, Mrs Holder & Mrs Taylor-Singfield
Geography
Mr Skilton, Subject Leader Geography
Year 11 GCSE results
Congratulations to our recent leavers for their absolutely
wonderful GCSE results, with almost half of all the
pupils achieving a grade 7 or above. The results are
a testament to their hard work, perseverance, and an
awful lot of revision! We are so proud of all our pupils
and wish them all the best in their future adventures.
Block Day
During Term 6 our Year 9 GCSE Geography pupils
completed their fieldwork data collection with a
coastal investigation and an urban comparison study.
We had fabulous weather and we were impressed
by the effort and positivity shown by all pupils. This
is a compulsory part of the course and essential in
preparing them for the Paper 3 exam at the end of
Year 11.
Eco Schools
We are delighted to report that St Richard’s
has been successful in achieving Eco Schools
Status with Distinction! Congratulations and
thank you to all pupils and staff involved in
our sustainability initiatives during the last
academic year.
Isle of Wight Residential
Term 6 saw another fantastic residential field-trip to the Isle of
Wight with 44 of our Year 10 pupils. Pupils learnt about contrasting
examples of coastal management in Portsmouth and in the
beautiful surroundings along the eastern coast of the island.They
also had an engaging talk by a fossil expert, followed by a guided
fossil hunt along the sandy beach! There were lots of discoveries.
The Year 10s then studied river processes in action through a
journey from the source to the mouth of the River Medina - great
preparation for the first topic of Year 11. On Sunday, pupils put
down their clipboards and took to a variety of PGL activities
including the giant swing, vertical challenge, archery and axe
throwing! Great fun was had by all.