Our most recent school newsletter is below. Previous letters are available to read by downloading them at the bottom of the page:
15th November 2024
Dear Parents and Carers
A few key notices from Rockwood:
Attendance and Lateness to School
As you are aware, attending school each day and on time is vital to the progress of all young people.
Please can I ask you to ensure that your child is on time at school, which is by 8.30am for an 8.35am start. It is unacceptable for a young person to arrive late or even slightly late. Vital learning takes place in form time at 8.35am, including an important reading lesson during the week.
Please do look at your child’s Planner, where they are tracking their own attendance each week.
Lockdown Drill – Pupil Safety is our priority
We conducted our Lockdown drill at the end of last half-term which was an important practice in case we ever need to initiate an actual Lockdown. All pupils took part and handled it well. When the alarm sounded, they and their staff ensured rooms were locked and they remained out of site. We always end a Lockdown drill with a fire alarm to count heads and ensure all are safe. Again, this was observed impeccably.
Learning Journeys
For each subject or course that our pupils take, they are given a Learning Journey that is placed at the front of their exercise book. This shows the “road map” over 5 years of the topics that they will learn over the course of their time in the school and therefore how their current topic fits in the “bigger picture”. Last week, Miss Creedon led assemblies with all year groups on the theme of “Knowledge is Power”, where she highlighted for them how important it is to learn key knowledge and fill gaps where learning has been missed.
Please do look at your child’s books and discuss with them their current topics and their overall Learning Journeys.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mr R Reeve
Headteacher
25th October 2024
Dear Parents and Carers
We have reached the end of a long half-term and I would like to thank you for your support of our school.
Key Dates Reminders
Friday 25th October 3.10pm: School closes for half-term
Monday 4th November 8.35am: School starts the new half-term
Monday 11th November: School is closed for a CORE Education Trust Staff Development Day
Lockdown Drill – Pupil Safety is our priority
On Tuesday this week all pupils and staff took part in a Lockdown Drill. This was a practice for all in the event of a risk to the school (such as an intruder or a local incident) where all staff and pupils lock their classroom doors and move out of sight of windows. The Drill was observed by all impeccably and is standard practice in
all schools.
Visiting School and Communication
Can I please ask all parents/carers to refrain from attending the school site without an appointment.
Sometimes Reception staff are faced with a parent/carer arriving without an appointment and expecting to see specific staff. This places undue pressure on staff who are not always available – for instance, they may be teaching or in another meeting with someone who had an appointment! Please do seek to arrange an appointment first.
Email communication is welcome. However, please bear in mind that staff are now working to a protocol where they do not respond to emails outside of school hours (for instance, late at night or the weekend). It is only fair that my staff have the opportunity to switch-off and have a family life. We ask staff not to send emails to each other outside of school hours also for this reason.
Have a restful half-term.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mr R Reeve
Headteacher
10th October 2024
Dear Parents and Carers
Lockdown Drill – Tuesday 15th October 2024
Here at Rockwood Academy, we take very seriously the safety of all pupils and staff. Therefore, next week on Tuesday 15th October 2024 all pupils and staff will take part in a Lockdown Drill.
A Lockdown Drill is an important practice in case the school ever has an intruder or local incident that risks the safety of all. As Headteacher, one always hopes that we never have an emergency situation such as this.
However, we must be prepared for any unforeseen circumstance. Therefore, we practice this drill regularly.
During the Drill the following will happen:
- An alarm will sound around the building
- All staff will lock each classroom and pupils and staff will position themselves out of site (under
tables and away from windows) for a short period of time until the Drill ends - At the end of the Drill, all classrooms and indoor spaces will be evacuated by the Fire Alarm so
that all pupils and staff are registered outside to ensure all are accounted for
During this week we have been preparing pupils for the drill and so when we do it on Tuesday 15th October
2024 it will not surprise or worry anyone unduly.
If you have any questions, please do contact me via my PA, Ms Foster at [email protected]
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mr R Reeve
Headteacher
26th September 2024
Dear Parents and Carers
We are three weeks into the new term and the summer holidays are firmly in the rear-view mirror.
We have had a great start to the year here at Rockwood and I would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome new parents to the school. Year 7 have had a fantastic beginning, and they are purposeful and enthusiastic.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few things that are either important reminders, new initiatives or important general points.
Stranger Awareness
There have been a couple of incidents in Ward End Park of strangers approaching our students. Please could you inform your child that they should not be walking alone and to be mindful of their safety.
One-Way System
This term, we are trialing a new one-way system for pupils around the school-site. We are a heavily over-subscribed school and space is often hard to find. In the interests of a safe, orderly and purposeful movement for all between lessons, pupils have been shown the new system as part of our new Behaviour Curriculum. We aim to actively teach our pupils about the best way to behave not just in school but in the wider society. There is no substitute for good parenting, however we feel it important to reinforce the importance of safety around others.
Attendance
One of our key priorities this year is improving Attendance. Since the Covid-19 Pandemic, more pupils have been regularly missing school than in the years prior. We simply must give our young people the best chance in life by attending school every day. If your child is absent for a prolonged period, please expect key staff to be in touch in order to support them back into school. Pupils must only be off if they are very ill and contagious – a slight sniffle means still coming to school!
Toilets
I was asked recently by a member of the community about our toilet format in school. During social times, our pupils are directed to separate Boys and Girls toilets. All but 2 of our toilet areas are split gender. The 2 that may be used by both boys and girls are only available during lesson time and are used rarely as we prefer pupils to be in lessons throughout.
Communication
If you need to communicate with a member of staff in school, the first port-of-call is usually your child’s Head of Year or Year Group Coordinator.
| Ms J Wu | Head of Year 11 | [email protected] |
| Ms A Ghafoor | Head of Year 10 | [email protected] |
| Mr S Hussain | Head of Year 9 | [email protected] |
| Mr G Singh | Head of Year 8 | [email protected] |
| Ms N Holness | Head of Year 7 | [email protected] |
| Mr B Amjad | Year Group Coordinator Year 11 | [email protected] |
| Mr J Ikhlaq | Year Group Coordinator Year 10 | [email protected] |
| Ms H Mirza | Year Group Coordinator Year 9 | [email protected] |
| Mr M Fairweather/ Miss H Dermody | Year Group Coordinator Year 8 | [email protected] [email protected] |
| Ms M Sula | Year Group Coordinator Year 7 | [email protected] |
Medication – IMPORTANT
Please do not send any medication to school with your child for them to keep during the school day. We must keep all children safe and therefore I ask all parents/carers to follow the Rockwood protocols on medication: If your child requires medication, parents/carers must attend reception and complete a form and give us the medication. The staff responsible for first aid will then store it safely and arrange the administering of it. This is the only way medication can be taken in school. Following this protocol ensures children do not self-administer and therefore we reduce risk to them.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mr R Reeve
Headteacher