Dear Parents and Carers

Next week is an important one in the school calendar. We are proud to be supporting Children’s Mental Health week.  The theme is ‘Let’s Connect’, highlighting the importance of making meaningful connections between people. When we have healthy connections – to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing. And when our need for rewarding social connections is not met, we can sometimes feel isolated and lonely – which can have a negative impact on our mental health.  During the week we will be exploring the theme culminating on Friday with -

Dress to Express Day - Friday 10th February 2023

We will be showing our support for Children's Mental Health Week by holding a ‘Dress to Express’ day at school. The children can choose to wear clothes to express themselves, in their own unique way. They may wish to wear their favourite colour, or a more elaborate outfit! They may choose to wear sportswear, something that represents an interest or hobby or their most comfortable clothes; the main emphasis is self-expression. 

A great place to find out more about Children's Mental Health Week is via Place2Be; a Children's Mental Health Charity, based in the UK. Class teachers will be providing a link on Class Dojo, whereby you can discover more about the fantastic work that this charity do. If you wish to make a donation, you can do this directly via the link.

We are really looking forward to raising awareness for such an important event. 

https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/

Kind regards
Mrs D Hudson
Headteacher

Thank you to those of you who have contributed uniform for our Uniform Swap Shop. The rail of preloved uniform is now in the entrance hall (under the stairs). Please feel free to come and look for items for your child. If you see something you can use you are more than welcome to take if. A donation to school fund or a swap of an outgrown item of uniform is very welcome but is not required. Further donations of clean, tidy items of uniform which still have plenty of life in them would be very welcome.

Please can we remind you that trainers should only be worn to school as part of a PE kit. On all other occasions the children should be in school shoes. Thank you for your support.

We are sad to announce that our Lunchtime Superintendent, Mrs Shayle has decided to retire. Cath stepped down from her cleaning role in the summer but will be ‘hanging up her whistle’ at half term after after 21 years of working at The Ridge. Cath has always gone the extra mile and always has a smile on her face: she will be greatly missed but we will be pleased to see her around school as she will continue to volunteer to help with swimming and no doubt will be around and about on grandparent duties! We wish her every happiness in her retirement.

In news from Kindergarten, Mrs Spink will also be leaving. She has secured a new role working in administration for Resonance. Sonia trained as a TA at The Ridge and went on to support many children as they started their education journey at The Ridge. We want to thank her for her wonderful contribution to our early years team and wish her well as she changes direction. 

We are currently recruiting a new teacher to lead Kindergarten and will also be advertising the vacancy for a TA. In the meantime, Mrs Collett and Mrs Reynolds are leading Kindergarten.

Our Year 6 pupils taking on the role of being ambassadors for our school values are:

Lachlan, Bobby, Jack, Kayla, Jakob, Fleur, Brianne, Freya, Bailey, Maia, Alicia-Louise and Amelia

We know that they are going to be wonderful role models as they carry out their responsibilities around school.

The RFA will be holding a Valentine’s Disco on Wednesday 15th February and tickets will be on sale from Monday. The Reception and Key Stage 1 is between 5.45pm and 6.45pm (Tickets cost £2.50 and include a drink and a biscuit) and the Key Stage 2 Disco is between 7.00pm and 8.00pm (Tickets cost £2.00, with refreshments available to buy). Please note the earlier finish time for the Key Stage 2 disco.

Some children worry deeply about all sorts of things which may seem minor to us as adults. There are many aspects of the school day that may cause anxiety for some children, such as separation from parents/carers, social interaction with other children and staff, and stress about their learning, sometimes caused by striving for perfection. Many children can mask their worries at school but then let them all out at home.

Some children may try to avoid school in an attempt to reduce their anxiety, at least in the short-term. Vague symptoms such as headaches and tummy-aches are also common in children with anxiety, and may contribute to their absence from school.

Our PSHE programme, growth mindset work and pastoral support from staff are often all that is needed to get children through some bumpy times, however some children may need more help, for example from the school nurse. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you have concerns – no matter is too small and often and early conversation can help small worries turning into something more significant.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 94.15%

Reception - 95.67%

Year 1 – 96%

Year 2 – 96.33%

Year 3 – 93.21%

Year 4 – 96%

Year 5 – 95.17%

Year 6 – 86.67%

Well done Year 2 !

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

To link in with Children’s Mental Health Week, we will soon be launching a new role for our children in school, that of ‘Well Being Ambassadors’. Mrs Jarrott, our wellbeing lead, is going to be working with Worth-It, a national organisation that supports schools to develop a peer support programme for children or young people. The Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme empowers a team of children or young people to become leaders of wellbeing and mental health initiatives for their peers. More information (including seeking permission from parents of children who want to be wellbeing ambassadors) will be shared in the coming weeks.

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