RTS Parents' Newsletter

Last week the Senior Leadership Team and I headed over for a site visit to the new Sports Hall and a catch up with Ian, Site Manager for Beard Construction. Having been part of the build process for the main school site, it has been a privilege this time to also have been part of the concept and design process for the new Sports Hall. We are now at the stage where we are choosing and ordering colours for walls, floors, lockers, doors, handrails. There is still much to do on site, but the first fit electrics have been done and you can really see the build coming together. It is such an exciting project and I hope you enjoy the photos we have shared below.

This week saw us officially say goodbye to our Year 11 students. Whilst they still have GCSEs to come after half-term (along with study and revision sessions) this is their, and our, opportunity to say goodbye and thank you for the last five years! There are always tears - but also much sharing of fantastic memories. It is now time for Year 10 to step up to being our most senior year group.

Thank you for your support this half-term and I wish you all a most relaxing half-term break and hope that we are blessed with some warmer weather.

~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher

A brief update on our gymnast, Aurelia, in Year 8 - She has been selected onto the Women's artistic Aspire programme at British Gymnastics. This is a fantastic achievement and we can't wait to receive more updates and photos of Aurelia in action.

A different type of achievement now - Fabien in Year 7 spent some time at Twynersh Fishing Complex out at Chertsey. He single handily caught a Tench weighing approximately 6.8lb - beating his previous personal best. Well done Fabien - it's great to see the variety and range of activities that students take part in outside of school.

We have had some staffing changes that we would like to share with you:

Leaving us at the end of this Summer Half-Term are: Ms Edwards, Curriculum Leader English and Mr Neal, Head of Year 8. We wish them well in their new endeavours.

We were pleased to welcome Mr Doneghan, Teacher of PE, at the beginning of the term. He is also form tutor for 10 Madiba.

We are very excited to be hosting the Year 10 Careers Conference on Thursday 27 June 2024 and we are looking for parental volunteer support (from any year group) to help with our students to prepare them for the world of work.

During this event, students will be offered the opportunity to meet with experts from a range of education and employment areas via keynote speeches, a careers carousel and marketplace.

The format we would appreciate some support in is listed below and we would be very grateful for any support our parents (or friends of parents) are able to offer as part of this day.

Date: 27.06.24

Time: 10.55 - 12.25 - any time during this window

Session format 1: A workshop in a classroom where students are able to listen to a brief presentation followed by an activity that links to a specific job role or industry

Session format 2: A ‘market stall’ where students can network with you and/or your products; this can also include a 5/10 minute conversation about an industry or job role.

Please let us know if you are able to assist and which format would work best for you.

Ms Carrick-Steele - Assistant Head Teacher

Ms Broadbent - CEIAG Coordinator

If you have concerns in relation to a student at RTS or indeed with regards to your own child, you may want to contact Single Point of Access (SPA) which acts as a central information hub for all professional agencies in Kingston and Richmond.

Richmond and Kingston SPA

The SPA phone lines are now open as follows:

• Monday-Thursday 08.00-17.15 and Friday 08.00-17.00 - the phone number during these times is 020 8547 5008

• Out of hours: 020 8770 5000

Hounslow Early Help Assessment

• Telephone number: 020 8583 6600

• Out of hours: 020 8583 2222

• Email: earlyhelp@hounslow.gov.uk

NSPCC:

Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

• Telephone number: 0808 800 5000, or text 88858

• Email: help@nspcc.org.uk

• Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)

Your FoRTS team,

Carmelle (Chair and Acting Secretary) and Jason & Somi (Treasurers)

General: forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Parking: fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Schooldays will again be operating an appointment system during the summer months.
Book your slot early to avoid disappointment at:

https://schooldaysllp.co.uk/index.php/booking-form/

Also - you can now spread the cost of your purchases over 3 months - using Paypal, (Online only)

Best Wishes
The Schooldays & Just Dancing Team

Full-term dates and Inset day information is available on the school's website:

• Half-Term break: Monday 27-Friday 31 May 2024

• Summer Term 2: Monday 03 June-Wednesday 17 July 2024

Recirculate is a project which takes second hand bikes, renovates them in prison workshops, and gives them to NHS staff and children in need. They have given away 313 bikes to date and are now in need of more bikes, especially adult bikes. They are holding a bike donation day at West Middlesex Hospital from 9.30am to 12pm on Monday 3rd June - World Bike Day.

They are asking potential bike donors to tell them if they are bringing a bike, just to give them an idea of how many bikes they are likely to get. The link to the form is here https://forms.gle/ykQZseixwFbeYYEr5 and the form can also be accessed by scanning the QR code on the flyer.

We are running fun and exciting Tech Camp during the May Half Term holidays starting Tuesday 28th May to Friday 31st May 10am to 3pm at HACE Meadowbank Centre, Cranford, Hounslow for only £40 per day for 4 days. Places are limited and allocated on a first come first serve basis. Tuesday 28th May to Friday 31st May:

https://pay.easypaymentsplus.com/feepay1v2.aspx?id=2024,HTCAMP

Kingston Hospital are looking for a volunteer for the exciting role of Patient Partner Children and Young People.

Kingston Adult Education has a number of courses starting after half term, most of which are government funded so are free to learners. Take a look at their latest course guide for further details - https://bit.ly/KAE-JuneJulyGuide24.

Courses include:

• How to be happy in your life
• Digital skills
• Job search support
• Explore your business potential
• Introduction to GCSE maths and English
• Preparing to work in schools

Their classes take place throughout the week at various times, both online and at centres across the Royal Borough of Kingston.

If you are looking to start a course in September, Kingston Adult Education is hosting an Open Day at the Rose Theatre in Kingston on Thursday 20th June from 10am to 4pm. Go along to find out about next year’s adult learning programme, which includes wellbeing, vocational, maths, English, digital as well as creative courses. You will also be able to meet some of their tutors and see their learners in action. Full details can be found on page 8 of their current course guide - https://bit.ly/KAE-JuneJulyGuide24.

For further information, please contact Kingston Adult Education directly on 020 8547 6700 or at adult.education@kingston.gov.uk

We’re now looking forward to all the fun at our summer camp and wanted to remind you of the exclusive discount for your school community.

We wouldn’t want your school parents to miss out on this exclusive offer and would really appreciate it if you could promote this in your newsletters.

Parents just need to add SCHOOL20 in the promotion box to receive an extra £20 off when they book 2 or more days. Please find the coded flyer below and attached.

What’s more, if parents book now, they’ll benefit from our early booking discounts and can take advantage of our interest free monthly instalment options. There couldn’t be a better time to tick summer childcare off the list of things to do.

As we're Ofsted registered, we also accept ALL Childcare Vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare. Parents often like to use the vouchers/credits they’ve saved up over the course of the year for their summer holiday childcare.

The Mental Health Support Team for Richmond are running a series of online workshops for families, entitled ‘Helping Children with…’.

The last series was very popular and feedback was very positive. These workshops would be a great way to support your child at home if they are experiencing any difficulties in the areas covered.

Click on the first link to sign up; the second link is a follow up feedback form if you attend the session:

• Wednesday 05 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
• Thursday 06 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
• Wednesday 26 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form
• Friday 28 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form

Achieving for Children’s Mental Health Support Teams are delivering a series of webinars for

parents of secondary aged children and young people (CYP). The ‘Helping teens with ...’ series

of webinars will cover a range of common difficulties experienced by CYP and will aim to share

evidence-based strategies to help parents and carers support their CYP with these difficulties.

Below is a list of webinars on offer over the coming months. In the third and fourth columns of

the table below, you will find the sign up links. Please note that sign up links will be added a

month before the webinar dates.

My name is Cassim and I’m the South West London engagement lead for Kooth, covering Wandsworth, Croydon, Sutton, Merton, Kingston and Richmond. Kooth is commissioned by NHS. I will be running a number of Parent and Carer's virtual sessions in June and we’d love to invite as many parents as possible to find out how the school and Kooth are working together to support your young person. The session/s will be on how we work with schools to support your young people's mental health and wellbeing.

As you may already know, At Kooth, we offer free support with no waiting lists. Kooth is a safe and anonymous space for young people to talk about their wellbeing without the fear of judgement. We have clinical practitioners on hand to offer one-to-one support through text-based counselling, operating after school hours, on weekends, and during school holidays. Your child or young person can access the immediate help they need without a formal referral.

Which virtual session would you like to attend?

10:00-10:40 Sunday 2 June 2024
16: 30-17:10 Sunday 2 June 2024
18:30-19:10 Tuesday 4 June 2024
18:30-19:10 Thursday 6 June 2024

If you’d like to secure your Parents & Carers Kooth info session - London spot, please complete this form. I understand the limits that parents/carers have in attending work day sessions, so I have organised the sessions to be in the evening and on a Sunday too. I have tried to make these times as accessible for parents and carers as much as I can, so you know how schools and Kooth are working to support your young person/s.

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