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Letters

Below you will find the latest school letters, alongside an archive of past communications.

Paper copies and letters issued before autumn 2020 are available on request.

Our most recent letter is pasted below to allow for easy translation for non-English speaking families.

16th October 2025


Dear Parents and Carers


Invitation to Join the Rockwood Academy Parents’ Safeguarding Group


As part of our continuous drive to safeguard all our students—both in school and within the wider community—Rockwood Academy is establishing a Parents’ Safeguarding Group.
The purpose of this group is to strengthen our partnership with parents and carers by sharing perspectives, gathering feedback, and discussing how we can further develop our safeguarding procedures and practice.


We are particularly keen to understand the perceptions and experiences of our local community to ensure that our approaches are responsive, effective, and inclusive.
The group will meet periodically throughout the academic year to discuss safeguarding priorities, review initiatives, and consider how we can best work together to keep all students safe, supported, and thriving.


We are now seeking parent volunteers who would be interested in becoming part of this important group. If you are passionate about promoting the welfare of young people and wish to contribute to safeguarding developments at Rockwood Academy, we would be delighted to hear from you.


Please register your interest by contacting Mr. Hetherington, Designated Safeguarding Lead, via email at [email protected] or by calling the school office on 0121 566 6500 to leave your details by Friday 24th October 2025.


Thank you for your continued support and for working with us to make Rockwood Academy—and our community—a safe and supportive environment for every student.


Yours sincerely


Mr S Hetherington
Assistant Headteacher & Designated Safeguarding Lead

7th October 2025
Dear Parent/Carer


Mock Exams


During the weeks commencing 13th October until 25th October Year 11 will sit mock exams in English, Maths and Science. Students will sit a final second mock exam window during the weeks commencing 5th January until the 15th January 2026.


Mandatory Period 6 in Maths

To support all our students to achieve the best possible grade, we are delighted to be able to offer all of Year 11 one hour extra Maths exam practice every school week until the beginning of the summer exams. This will extend their school day to 4.10pm. We have a team of Maths experts who will teach and coach our students to further improve their grades in specific exam practice. The sessions will run on Wednesdays 3.15 – 4.10pm from 05/11/25 – 06/05/26. Attending these sessions will provide your child with the opportunity to strengthen their understanding of key topics and increase their confidence as they approach their exams. Achieving GCSE Maths Grade 4 and above will improve your child’s life chances and job opportunities.


Calculators


To ensure our students’ success and support our families, the school has purchased every student a scientific calculator at no cost to parents. Year 11 will be expected to have the calculator with them at all times as part of their school equipment, keep it free from graffiti and return it upon finishing their GCSE exams.


We are committed to supporting your child during this crucial period and look forward to working together to help them achieve their best possible results. Please complete the attached consent form and return it to your child’s Maths teacher by Monday 20th October 2025.


Yours sincerely


Victoria Creedon
Deputy Headteacher

26th September 2025


Dear Parents/Carers


Racism and Bullying Assemblies and Personal Development
As part of the essential ongoing work to ensure that safeguarding remains a strength at Rockwood Academy, we continue to protect the sense of belonging in our school community.

Students have received assemblies and Personal Development sessions on racism and bullying, which as you are aware are incredibly serious topics. Incidents of either can be damaging to a student’s sense of belonging and affect their mental health.


It is therefore important that we make it clear to all parents and students that Rockwood Academy has a zero tolerance of racism and bullying of any kind. All incidents are investigated thoroughly and may also be shared with the police where we deem this to be appropriate.


There are several ways for your child to report incidents of racism and bullying:

  • Through our Whisper Reporting tool, the details of this are in your child’s planner and on our
    website’s safeguarding page
  • By completing a ‘Concerns Slip’ in the canteen and posting it in the physical ‘Whisper Box’
  • Speaking to our safeguarding team in school or any other member of staff they are comfortable with
  • Emailing our Safeguarding address at [email protected]

If you have any questions about how racism and bullying are dealt with in our school, please refer to our Behaviour and Bullying policies on our website or speak to a member of staff. Please speak to your child about the seriousness of racism and bullying, as well as why it is essential that they report it, should it ever happen. Together we can ensure that all students remain safe and share the sense of belonging that we hold dear at Rockwood Academy.


Thank you for your ongoing support.


Warm regards,


Mr S Hetherington
Assistant Headteacher

5th September 2025
Dear Parent/Carer


I am delighted to inform you about an exciting opportunity for your child to take part in a residential trip to Condover Hall Adventure Centre in Shrewsbury from Monday 29th September – Wednesday 1st October 2025.
If your child is interested, we will be holding a Parent Information Meeting on Wednesday 10th September at 5.00pm at Rockwood Academy in the main hall to provide you with full details. We kindly ask that you attend this meeting with your child.
During the evening, consent and medical forms will be available to complete. To help with this process, please ensure you bring the following information with you:

  • Your child’s GP name and surgery address
  • Emergency contact numbers

This residential trip is at no cost to you, as the Trust will be covering all expenses. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. If the number of interested students exceeds the spaces available, selection will be based on merit during the first few weeks at the Academy. If your child commits to the trip and is told they are on the list to go then we expect them to do so.
The trip promises to be a fantastic experience for your child – a chance to build new friendships, grow in confidence, and enjoy learning in the outdoors.


We look forward to seeing you and your child at the meeting on Wednesday 10th September 2025.


Yours sincerely

Miss K Priest
Trip Leader and Head of Physical Education

3rd September 2025

Dear Parent/Carer
School Attendance Update

This is an important update about school attendance for the 2025/26 academic year. Rockwood Academy continues to work in partnership with parents and the Local Authority to improve school attendance. Thank you to the majority of parents who make sure their children attend school regularly. Your efforts, working in partnership with the school, will ensure that your child will have the best chance to achieve their academic potential and have real opportunity in further education and the world of work. It will also enable your child to:

  • access the lessons needed to achieve their expected grades
  • maintain friendships and develop new ones
  • have access to social and sporting events offered by the school
  • explore potential careers
  • develop work habits such as good punctuality which are essential to thrive in the world of employment
    There are 2 sessions in 1 school day, the morning session and the afternoon session. If your child misses 10% of all sessions within the academic year, they will be classed as persistently absent and a more formalised approach to improve attendance will be adopted by the school which can lead to legal proceeding in the form of government fines and prosecution.
    How does your child compare?
    Attendance during one school year equals this number of days absent which is approximately this many weeks absent which means this number of lessons missed
    18 sessions is 9 days, 2 weeks so 50 lessons.
    38 sessions is 19 days, 4 weeks so 100 lessons.
    58 sessions is 29 days, 6 weeks so 150 lessons.
    You may be aware of the changes to the law related to school attendance, in particular the new national penalty notice framework which came into force on the 19th August 2024. Penalty notice amounts have increased and there is now an escalation process for repeated offences.
    The Government has brought in the changes due to concerns about the decline in attendance linking to a deteriorating attainment and progress levels for children over the last few years. There is more information for parents here:
    https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20014/schools_and_learning/1502/school_attendance_advice_for_parents/5
    Birmingham City Council
    If you are worried about your child/children’s attendance the first port of call is to discuss your concerns with the school directly. The school has specialist staff who may be able to help, and all schools work closely with health and council teams who may also be able to help if needed. If you have concerns about mental health;
    domestic abuse; parenting; bereavement; finance; problems with drugs and alcohol; you can find help and support from the ‘From Birmingham with Love’ webpage:
    From Birmingham with Love https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/love
    It may be tempting to book a family holiday in term time to save on costs during the cost of living crisis. However, family holidays in term time are not allowed in law and are very unlikely to be authorised. Taking children on leave without applying for authorisation may mean the school has to report your child as ‘missing’ to the local authority and holidays cannot be authorised retrospectively in law. Adding even more absence to the time children have already missed only means that the children miss even more lessons that will not be repeated. Family emergencies also need careful consideration. It is not always appropriate or in the best interests of the child to miss school for emergencies which are being dealt with by adult family members. Notifying the school of leave due to a family emergency does not mean it will be authorised.
    Please note that where parents fail to ensure their child attends school regularly, legal action, including penalty notices, may be considered. New regulations also mean that children on extended period of leave may lose their school place where there is no evidence of a timely return to school or the date provided is too far away.
    We hope this information is helpful to you and we wish you and your child/children all the best for the new
    academic year.

Kind regards,


Mr R Reeve
Headteacher

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