A message from the Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

On Monday morning we waved off 40 excited Year 6 and 5 pupils as they travelled to the Pioneer Centre for the annual residential. This is always much anticipated by the children who enjoy challenging themselves on the range of activities on offer, along with the fun of being away overnight with their friends. They have had an amazing time taking part in climbing, abseiling, doing the zip wire and enjoying playing Laser Tag. We are so proud of the independence, determination, encouragement and team work that they have shown! We extend our thanks to Mrs Hadley, Miss Crowson, Miss Wesson and Mr Lamb for organising and accompanying them on the trip. Without the generosity of staff, such visits could not go ahead.

The next couple of weeks are rather a change from the usual Monday to Friday routine of the school term.

  • School (including Kindergarten) will be closed for face to face learning on Thursday 2nd May so that school can be used for voting. On this day, pupils will undertake the remote learning set by their teacher.
  • School and Kindergarten will also be closed to pupils on Friday 3rd May for an INSET day. Mrs. McGivney will be leading the day’s training for staff, focusing on supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs.
  • School and Kindergarten will be closed for the Bank Holiday on Monday 6th May.

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

Changes to the Timings of the School Day - September 2024

At the recent meeting of the school governors, the length of the school week was discussed. From September 2024, the expectation is that all schools will deliver a minimum core school week of 32.5 hours for all pupils from Year 1 upward.

The 32.5 hour minimum expectation includes the time in each day from the official start of the school day (i.e. morning registration currently at 8.50 a.m) to the official end of the compulsory school day (i.e. official home time) and includes lunch times and other breaks as well as teaching time.  Because of our staggered end to the day, some classes are not meeting this requirement so governors have been considering how we address this.

As a result it is proposed that the following arrangements will be in place from the start of the Autumn Term.

Start of the School Day

  • The main school gates will be opened at 8.35 a.m. for children to come on to the school site.
  • Classroom doors in Reception and Key Stage 1 will be opened from 8.40 a.m (as currently)
  • Key Stage 2 pupils will be able to line up from 08:35 a.m and go into school from 8.40 a.m (as currently)
  • Registration will at 08:45m. All children will need to be in their classroom by this time with children able to come into school from 08.35 a.m.
  • Children arriving in the classroom after the registers are taken at 8.45 a.m will be classed as ‘late’.

End of the School Day

Year End Time
Rec 15:10 p.m. - 15:20 p.m.
Year 1 and 2 15:15 p.m.
Key Stage 2 15:20 p.m.

The organisation of how children come in and out of school (i.e. the doors used) will be advised nearer the time. The School’s Attendance Policy will be updated to take account of these changes.

If you have any comments on these proposals, please email them to info@ridge.dudley.sch.uk and put ‘School Day’ in the subject line. Thank you.

Supervision of Pupils at the End of the School Day

Please can we remind you for the need to keep an eye on pupils once they have been released into your care at the end of the school day.

  • Children should not use the fixed playground equipment at the end of the day. It is especially concerning to see Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils on the Key Stage 2 equipment.
  • Children must not play football at the end of the day. Our kind neighbours often return balls to the playground but these pose a danger, especially to young children, when football is played in this crowded space.

Thank you for your support with this.

School Lunches

Thank you for your patience and understanding with school lunches on Friday. We were grateful that the gas leak at Ridgewood was repaired in time for us to offer hot lunches and hope that you weren’t inconvenienced too much by the contingency plans put in place.

We are now in the second run through of our new menu. After half term, AIP our new caterers will be sending out a survey to parents and carers to gain feedback on the service and menus.

Contacting Mrs McGivney, Our SENCo.

As you are aware, Mrs McGivney is only available in school on a Friday. After Easter we will have a new ‘triage’ system in place.  If you wish to speak to Mrs McGivney or arrange a meeting, please email Mrs Brown jbrown@ridge.dudley.sch.uk  who will liaise with Mrs McGivney the next time she is in school.

What a Star!

A big “shout out” to Elouise in Year 5 who over Easter, undertook a massive fund raising campaign.   At her Nan’s place of work she sold cakes and ran a raffle. Elouise even took her chickens and sold cuddles in order to raise money  which will be shared between the Food Bank and used to buy books for the school library.

In total she has raised an incredible £276.85 

We are so proud of you Elouise! On behalf of us all at The Ridge – Thank you!

Our School Council play an important role. Lead by Mrs Melia, they consult and represent their classmates giving the pupils a voice in decision making in our school. They influence the events we organise and the charities we support and even take part in our recruitment for staff.

We run our elections for the School Council to coincide with voting in the local elections. The children learn all about democracy and get to cast their own vote using the booths that the adults use so that their experience is as close to  real life as possible. Elections will be taking place on Wednesday 1st May. Look out for further information coming out soon from Mrs Melia.

Easy Fundraising

Easyfundraising is a scheme which allows you to collect free donations for The Ridge every time you buy something online. Since the scheme was launched at The Ridge, we have had nearly £1700 in donated by major retailers. This week Mrs. Hudson earned £7.00 for school when shopping online for breakdown cover and although not every retailer is as generous with their donations, the odd few pence here and there, quickly add up!

It won't cost you a penny extra so please help us in these financially challenging times by following these easy steps to start collecting.

1. Join

It's easy to get started, search for your cause and join in (or follow the link below.........)

2. Shop

From travel to toasters, every time you shop, do it the easyfundraising way

3. Collect

Help out when you check out - it doesn't cost you a penny extra

Attendance and Punctuality

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 91.38%

Reception - 88.89%

Year 1 – 94.83%

Year 2 – 83.33%

Year 3 – 91.11%

Year 4 – 87.65%

Year 5 – 93.68%

Year 6 – 100.00%

Well done Year 6!

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Mrs Hudson is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and any concerns should be shared with her or the Deputy Safeguarding Leads – Mrs Hadley, Miss Beddoes and Mrs Gledhill.  Where child protection concerns are raised, the school has a statutory duty to refer these concerns to children’s social care.

All schools in the UK have recently been sent information from the National Crime Agency, raising awareness of the recent rise in reporting of financially motivated sexual extortion (a type of online blackmail often known in the media as ‘sextortion’). Children and young people worldwide are being targeted. This type of crime involves an adult offender (often from an organised crime group based overseas) threatening to release nude or semi-nude images and/or videos of a child or young person, unless they pay money, or meet another financial demand, such as purchasing a pre-paid gift card. Victims of any age and gender can be targets, however a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged 14-18. A child or young person is never to blame if they have been a victim. Offenders will have tricked, groomed and/or manipulated them into sharing an image.

Find out more about online blackmail on CEOP Education’s parents and carers website.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/online-blackmail/

What's happening Next Week

Monday • Bank Holiday - School Closed
Tuesday • Year 4 Whole Class Clarinet Lesson
• Forest School for Year 2 and Year 4
• Year 5/6 Cricket Tournament
Wednesday • Year 4 Visit to The MAD Museum in Stratford
• Year 5 & 6 After School Cricket Club
Thursday • Open The Book Assembly
Friday

Full calendar dates for the academic year can be found here........  https://theridge.sch.life/page/detail/parent-dates-2023-2024

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