Dear parents and carers. 

I hope you have had a good week. We have had a great week at KAR.

Firstly, I would like to commend our Year 11’s for their hard work this week in their mock exams. I have been impressed by their focus, and I am proud of their efforts thus far. 

I have been leading assemblies this week on the theme of anti-bullying. I have made clear to all students that we continue to take a zero tolerance approach to this, and have reminded students of the key members of staff to report any concerns to. We also have a reporting option on our school website, within the safeguarding section, if students would prefer to highlight concerns in this way. Research from the Department of Education suggests that 40% of students nationally have experienced bullying in the last 12 months, a striking statistic. I have reaffirmed to students that bullying will never be accepted in the school, and any evidence of repeated behaviours will not be tolerated within our school community. I will be writing to parents with some positive projects within this area to ensure our community stays as the positive one we have today, with information regarding student leadership within this area. I am pleased to report that student surveys highlight that they feel safe at school and have confidence in reporting concerns to an adult, and I will continue to ensure this remains high profile across the school. As always, the best part of my job is getting round the lessons and engaging with students at break and lunch time. Our students continue to impress me with their politeness, respect and good humour. We have a clear vision to create well rounded individuals, and character development is a key element of focus for us at this school.

Our Year 8’s this week have had some workshops from our police liaison officer, PC Ruth. One of the key areas of focus has been staying safe online, and ensuring that students are aware of their online ‘footprint’. 

Many thanks for all who attended the Year 9 options evening. We are collating the options applications and it is exciting to see students enthused by the next stage of their studies.

I look forward to our careers breakfast for Years 7 & 8 next Monday. Ms Colbourne has done a fantastic job in ensuring access to a number of professions including biomedical science, paramedics, content creators for sustainable fashion, property developers, a cinematographer and many more! We also have someone representing the teaching profession so we will see if we can interest any future employees!

We are really looking forward to celebrating book week next week with an array of activities across year groups. In particular, I would like to highlight World Book Day on Thursday 7th March, whereby we will be allowing non-uniform with a £1 donation to raise money for our library. We strongly encourage students to dress as their favourite book character if possible, and I am aware that staff have got some ideas for costumes already!  

Finally, an advance reminder that we have a school INSET on Friday 15th March. 

I hope you have a great weekend

 

Best wishes,

Mr Harvey
 

Book Week

Next week we will be celebrating World Book Day all week with a range of activities, lessons, workshops and competitions across the school.

Thursday 7/3 will be a dress up day - come dressed as your fave book character or author! Help raise money for the library - donations can be made now on Parent Pay called World Book Day 2024!

Please look out for full details on Monday!

Open Doors Visit to Glyndebourne Opera House

Some of our year 9 students had the fantastic opportunity to visit the world class opera house Glyndebourne this week. Open Doors is a project run by the East Sussex Careers Hub and provides young people in East Sussex with meaningful experiences of the workspace.
 

Students took part in a speed networking event with various members of staff from Glyndebourne.
They got to question them about the wide variety of roles and careers on offer, from a clearly dedicated and passionate team.
 

We were then taken on a tour of the auditorium, backstage and the dressing rooms and introduced to the various departments within Glyndebourne. We were shown examples of props, wigs, costume and set design. Students also learnt about lighting and stage management. Everyone agreed this was a fascinating and inspirational place and we felt very lucky to be able to see behind the scenes at one of the most celebrated opera houses in the world.

Mrs Colbourne, Careers Lead

What is the iCan Campaign?

The iCan campaign has been developed to support 12-25-year olds who have SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), and their parent carers & supporters, to develop confidence as they progress through education and into employment and enable them to become more independent as they transition into adulthood.

Our range of iCan resources, available here on our Careers East Sussex website can provide helpful information and advice about local post 16 education & employment pathways, and the organisations & tools young people can access to assist them on their journey.

As part of the iCan Campaign a series of posters have been created showcasing young people from East Sussex thriving either in education, local supported employment or full time / part time employment. Please download and print your own copies or email us if you would like support in accessing more materials. enterprise.coordinator@eastsussex.gov.uk

For more info: https://www.careerseastsussex.co.uk/information/young-people/sen/what-is-the-ican-campaign

Message from the East Sussex Parenting Team:

We all know the need is greater now than ever. Children showing real signs of anxiety about school? That’s something we can support the parents with, see page 21. More and more children seem to be presenting with additional needs, diagnosed or suspected; that’s something we can help the parents with too. In fact, we offer quite a lot. The email address and instructions on how to book are contained within the guide attached.

Do you qualify for Free School Meals?

To make applications easier for parents/carers we have changed the way that you can apply for free school meals. Applications are now processed online via East Sussex County Council, the criteria for being able to apply and for the online application please see the details below.

Free school meals for children in Year 3 and older

Older children may get free school meals if their parents or carers get any of these benefits:

• Universal Credit - GOV.UK – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

• Income Support - GOV.UK

• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) - GOV.UK

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) - GOV.UK

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 - GOV.UK

• The Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit -GOV.UK

• Child Tax Credit - GOV.UK, only, if your annual household income (assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) isn’t over £16,190

[Anyone who gets Working Tax Credit - GOV.UK, won’t get free meals regardless of income]

• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

Children will get free school meals if they meet the criteria and are in school both before and after lunchtime.

Children eligible for free school meals on or after 1 April 2018 will remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they’re in on 31 March 2023 even if your circumstances change.

• Apply for free school meals online

Our Electronic Checking Service might be able to confirm entitlement. If not, you’ll need to show recent proof that you qualify. Meals cannot be given until eligibility is verified.

Apply online if your child goes to school in East Sussex.

ParentPay account for lunch money

We would appreciate it if parents can keep an eye on your child's balance for lunch and top up payments when needed please. We are having more students asking us to call home to "top-up" their lunch account on ParentPay.

To top up your child's account you need to log into your ParentPay account (details of link are below) and it will show you a balance of your child's account. To top up click on the blue tab that says pay for meals. You then add the amount that you would like to top up the account with and add to the basket. Once you have finished adding items you click on the basket and choose the payment option and complete the purchase. This is then on your child's account usually within a few minutes.

https://www.parentpay.com/

If you haven't set up a ParentPay account yet or have lost the details, please email ringmer.finance@kingsacademies.uk and we will get another letter issued with  details of how to set your account up.

LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANT

30 hours per week.  Required to start asap 

Fixed-term, TTO

Salary – KGA Pay Scale, Band 2, Points 2 to 3

Ie: £22366pa to £22737pa to be pro-rated 

Learning Support Assistant required to start asap to work within the school to support students with additional needs.  Mainly based in the classroom, and working with small groups of students to support their individual and collective development, both academically and in their general wellbeing.  The successful candidate will support the SENCO and SEND department to help improve student outcomes and raise standards.  This is a fixed-term appointment until 23 July 2024.  There is flexibility that this may be extended.

The SEND department comprises of 6 dedicated Learning Support Assistants. There are numerous opportunities for CPD, including training from Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists and many other professionals. We believe it is imperative to upskill and support our staff, therefore any training opportunities are encouraged. Admin time is allocated on timetables to complete tasks, training and plan for enrichment groups.

Work pattern

8.30am to 3.30pm, 5 days a week ie: 6 hours a day / 30 hours per week plus an unpaid lunch break 

There is also the opportunity to be part of the paid lunchtime duty staff if the successful candidate would like to join this team.  Staff claim daily for their lunch duty - £16.26 per session.

King's Academy Ringmer is a rural comprehensive with an ethos of "Kindness, Ambition, Resilience ". We have a simple but bold ambition, to be the best school in Sussex. We consider this to be our ‘journey to excellence’. We are on a positive trajectory towards this goal, with outcomes a third of a grade above national average. We have a strong reputation for our inclusion, pastoral care and a rapidly improving trend of results in terms of student attainment and progress. The Academy is part of King's Group Academies whose mission is to equip all students with the confidence, knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to thrive in the modern world.  We anticipate exciting developments ahead working together with students, parents/carers and the wider community to build upon our strengths and make this an outstanding school.

What can we offer you?

• A chance to be at the forefront of educational development. 

• An Academy with a positive ethos, motivated students and focus upon learning

• Excellent induction, support and staff development opportunities

• A beautiful, rural environment situated approximately 12 miles from the coastal city of Brighton and Hove

For full details and an application form can be download directly from our website: https://www.kgaringmer.uk/news/?pid=6&nid=2&storyid=4 or contact Amanda French on either 01273 815463 or amanda.french@kingsacademies.uk quoting job reference P/463.   We offer a first class working environment with supportive colleagues and opportunities for career development.

King’s Academy Ringmer is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts within our Multi Academy trust are exempt for the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all applicants will be required to declare spent and unspent convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as spent and complete an Enhanced Criminal Records Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Closing date for applications is Monday 11 March 2024 at 8.30am with the interview date is Wednesday 13 March 2024.