Dear Parents and Carers,

Congratulations! 

I have recently received a lovely letter from Cat Eccles (MP for Stourbridge) congratulating everyone at The Ridge on the success of our pupils. I have attached the letter for you to read. 

Cat has obviously done her homework (excuse the phrase!) not just looking at the recently published performance data but also speaking to parents about The Ridge: she makes specific reference to  both the academic and personal development aspects of our curriculum and is very complementary about the 'hard work and dedication' of the entire school community.

It is lovely to get such recognition; everyone plays their part – staff, pupils and parents -  and you should all be very proud of your contribution to our pupils’ success.

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

Over the last couple of weeks we have welcomed some new staff to The Ridge.

• Miss Donna Homer has joined us as teacher in Pre-School whist we recruit a permanent replacement for Miss Gledhill who has come over to school to teach Year 1. Miss Homer has settled in very quickly: so much so that we feel she has been part of the team for years! I know from the comments we have received that pre-school parents have valued her warmth and care, continuing the wonderful work of Miss Gledhill.

• After a long search, we are delighted to have recruited two new cleaners to work at The Ridge. Their role is vital and although their work happens after the children have gone, we couldn’t cope without them! We welcome Michelle Gilbert and Catherine Blewitt to the team. (We still have one vacancy so if you are interested or know anyone who might be, please speak to Mrs Jones.)

Dudley Performing Arts offer a range of opportunities for pupils who are learning an instrument (including singers) to join their bands and choirs. A number of staff at The Ridge were part of these ensembles in the past and can speak for the fantastic experiences they provided them with. Please see the link below to find out more.

https://www.dudley.gov.uk/things-to-do/dudley-performing-arts/bands-and-choirs/

We have noticed a number of children who were not wearing a tie or a button up shirt with a collar. We know that the supply of ties has been an issue but are delighted to tell you that this has been resolved and they are now readily available at a cost of £5.00.  If your child doesn’t have tie or has lost it, please place an order on ParentMail. 

Thank you for all your donations to our pre-loved uniform swap. You have been so generous that we have been swamped and have far more items that we need! Some of the surplus is being donated to Project Gambia but for the time being we are not accepting any more donations.

We are progressing with work on the bungalow garden, which we want to turn into a space where the children can grow fruit and vegetables, but is also an outdoor space to promote wellbeing. We are beginning to think about how we get the area prepared for the work to be done. We are aware that some corporate organisation offer opportunities for their employees to volunteer on community projects and wondered if any of you worked for or companies who may be able to practically support this? Please contact Mrs Hudson is you can help or have any leads that we can follow up. Thank you

It has been quite some time since we moved over to our new catering provider AiP. Whilst the Catering Manager from Ridgewood has been into school during dinner service and spoken with the children, we are aware there has not been an opportunity for parents and carers to provide feedback.

We have discussed this with AiP, who have now sent over a survey for us to send out. The results will go to AiP who will collate this information and share it with us. Following the survey, School will meet with AiP and discuss any feedback received.

Please can we ask that you take some time to discuss and complete this survey, along with your child.

https://forms.office.com/e/7qfpdF9nKp?origin=lprLink

Thank you for all your donations to the Black Country Foodbank. Since the school Council began the initiative we have two certificates.

Throughout November and December, you donated 49.6 kg of food, enough to provide 99 meals and 2.2 kg of toiletries to make up two toiletry packs.  Thank you for your on-going support.

We had an amazing afternoon with Award winning Author Dave Lowe.  Dave spent the whole afternoon in school with us, delivering an assembly and signing copies of his books.

Dave talked about how he became an author and shared lots of amazing tips on how to become a great writer. The children even shared their ideas to make a ‘Ridge story’.

Our Reading Ambassadors did a great job of making notes throughout and will be sharing lots of his tips in their next newsletter. Thank you for their hard work. I was amazed to hear that his best selling book has sold over 200,000 copies!

Dave has visited lots of schools all over the world to talk about being an author. He said that genuinely our children at The Ridge were the best behaved and most enthusiastic he had ever seen. A big thank you and well done to all of the children for being amazing, as always.

I have spoken to lots of children since his visit and they now want to become an author.

Just remember that Dave was just a normal boy who lived in Dudley… so our next big author could be a boy or girl who grew up in Wollaston!

Many thanks to Mrs Melia who organised this visit.

Over the last couple of weeks the children in EYFS and Key Stage One have taken part in a road safety workshop delivered by Dudley Road Safety Team. The children have been reminded about how to keep safe when walking by and crossing roads. They took it in turns helping to cross their friends across a pretend road whilst being a lollypop person. Please ask your child to tell you about their visit and how they can keep safe.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 96.18%

Reception - 96.00%

Year 1 – 99.00%

Year 2 – 96.21%

Year 3 – 97.10%

Year 4 – 98.00%

Year 5 – 88.89%

Year 6 – 97.33%

Well done Year 1!

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 and Ms Gledhill.  Where child protection concerns are raised, the school has a statutory duty to refer these concerns to children’s social care.

This year, Children's Mental Health Week is taking place from 3-9 February 2025. The week’s focus is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, with the aim to encourage children and young people across the UK to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them.

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