Dear parent/guardian, 

I hope this update finds you well. Long term, updates such as this will come through the new school website however, until that work is complete, we wanted to update you on a few things that have been happening in school since the Summer Term. We also wanted to inform you of some longer term school improvements and remind you of some more recent changes and events. Finally, provide you with a quick access prompt to any upcoming events.

Early Reading and Phonics

Sadly, more than ever before, the number of children struggling to reach age related expectations in reading continues to grow. Although Covid-19 has undoubtedly impacted on this, the school’s performance has been in decline for a number of years now. Thankfully, we made an impact on this last year, showing a much stronger performance in reading but we are not yet satisfied and we are working hard to ensure this trend continues to improve. 

We have put together a monumental timetable to address the children’s reading confidence and ensure they overcome any shortcomings in their phonics knowledge from their time in Key Stage 1. These groups happen daily and are essential to enable your children to unlock the whole curriculum as confident reading is an essential life skill that we aspire to for all our children. Please speak to your class teacher at parents evening if you wish to know more about our intervention groups.

School Library Developments

We have re-designed the main school library, not only in physical appearance but also through establishing a rigorous timetable to ensure all children are developing a lifelong love of reading. We have invested a great deal to ensure that a higher number of quality texts are available for children than before and have removed some of the very tired stock previously held. Again, this is something that we would wish to develop further as more funding becomes available. For now, we hope the Library is being used effectively and represents a much better offer for our children.

We are also in the midst of establishing an Early Reading Library and should receive new shelving and furniture over the next few weeks to begin this project which again will make use of the new early reading materials school has sourced to support the reading enjoyment and confidence of those who are not yet at the required standard upon entry to the school. Quality texts mean better experiences for our children and again, we hope to expand our resources as funding becomes available.

Reading Champions 

If any parent or guardian would be interested in volunteering in school to help read with some of our pupils then we would love to hear from you!  The times available for volunteers to join us would be in the afternoon between 1pm and 3pm. Please email in to ‘info@rosehill.org.uk’ if you would like to volunteer and a member of our staff will be in touch. 

School Buildings & Site Update

We are very lucky to have an amazing site manager who has done and continues to do a fantastic job but sadly in recent years, Leadership have failed to prioritise and invest in its fabric which has left the school in a difficult position. I have been working closely with the Local Authority and Mrs Turton our new School Business Manager this last year to ensure some of the essential neglected upgrades take place and while there is still a number of issues that need to be addressed, we have managed to secure support or self fund a number of developments which has included;

• Whole School LED lighting upgrade to reduce running costs

• Significant roof repairs to prevent the water ingress damaging the school

• Replacement of the Sports Hall floor

• Replacement of the Sports Hall heating system

• Upgrades, conversions and developments to a number of internal office & intervention spaces

• Replacement of broken or unsafe classroom blinds

• Replacement of carpets in 50% of classroom areas

• Complete Broadband and WiFi infrastructure upgrade

• Significant additions to IT hardware provision

Future improvements are hoped to include :

• Heating installed to all parts of the building (Classroom Areas are all heated, don’t worry)

• Electrical Upgrade to key parts of the school

• Perimeter Fence replacement to better safeguard our pupils

• Development of outdoor areas to improve our outdoor learning offer

• Extension of the school playground to enhance all weather PE provision, significantly improve playtime enjoyment and increase safety for all children

• Development of an early learning area to enhance our provision for those children who are not yet ready to fully access mainstream learning

Inclusion Team

One of the things that was very obvious to me when I returned as head to Rosehill last year was that our provision to support the emotional and mental health of our pupils was not adequate or cost effective to meet the need. We have worked hard to ensure we have significant wrap around care and further support for our children through the formation of a 4 staff inclusion team. This team is led by Mrs Smith and Miss Swallow who are both devoted full time to this role whilst being supported by Miss Stansfield and Mrs Gyte.

This is an area we have invested heavily in but if a child is not ready to learn, they will never achieve their full potential. Supporting them with their anxieties, worries or barriers to learning is paramount for our children and we are adopting a nationally recognised THRIVE programme to support all staff moving forwards.

You may find from time to time that your child receives some support from this team and sometimes this work might continue. Your class teachers might discuss this work with you in more detail during parents evening if your child is undertaking additional support work. Please speak to your class teachers in the first instance who may initiate a meeting with one of the inclusion team.

Residential Visits

I am delighted to announce that the school has now resumed its residential offer to children in Years 4, 5 and 6 for the Autumn Term. While this year the visits are shorter in recognition of the financial hardships families are facing, we hope that in future years this offer will be extended to longer stays. We hope to have a visit planned for Year 3 in the spring or early summer term and will keep parents informed of any plans. 

Y4 Sponsored walk 

Our Y4 pupils took part in a 2.5 mile sponsored walk round Rawmarsh last Friday and they all did a fantastic job, the money they are raising will be used to subsidise the Y4 residential trip which takes place in November.  Today was the last day for sponsorship donations to be brought into school so we will be in touch with parents next week to confirm final prices, but I just wanted to say a big well done to all the pupils who took part and also a big thank you to parents for your support. 

PTA

I am excited to announce that we are hoping to launch a brand new PTA (Parent Teacher Association) at Rosehill.  This will be a committee made up of both school staff and parents who all share the same vision of making Rosehill the best place for our children to learn, grow and develop.  This will also be a great opportunity to bring parents and teachers together to help strengthen our school community. Our PTA will help to organise fundraising events and family and community events all to help our children have the best experience whilst at Rosehill.  If this is something that you would like to be part of then please speak to our reception staff who will be happy to help. 

After School Clubs

Currently we are running the following after school clubs;

• Y3 Craft Club - with Mrs Hepworth on Tuesday’s 3pm to 4pm

• Y5 & Y6 Hockey Club - with Mr MacDonald on Thursday’s 3pm to 4pm

• Y6 Cricket Club - with Mr Hayes on Mondays 3pm to 4.15pm

If your child would like to attend any of the clubs then please ask them to speak to their class teacher.  We will have more after school clubs coming up in the future and we will keep you all informed. 

School Photo Permissions 

We have recently changed our photographic permissions documentation and this new approach comes into play from the 1st October.  The full letter can be found on the ‘Parent Updates 2022’ page of our school website for further information.  If anyone has any questions in relation to this then please contact the school office.

Healthy Eating in School

To help promote healthy eating in school I would like to remind parents that children are not allowed to have chocolates, crisps or sweets for breakfast or school break time snacks.  We do recommend healthier options such as fruit and cereal bars.  

Secondary School Applications

For our Y6 parents and guardians this is a reminder that you will need to apply for your child’s place at secondary school by 31st October 2002.  You can find further details and apply online by visiting the Rotherham Council website below:

 https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/schools-schooling/starting-secondary-school

 

Coming up in October….

 

• 3rd October - Y6 Herd Farm Parents Evening 

• W/C 10th October - Parents Evenings (parents should have received an email yesterday explaining how to book a time slot with your child's teacher) 

• 17th October - Flu Vaccines in School 

• 19th October - Halloween Disco 

• 20th October - School Photographs

• 24th to 28th October - Half Term

• 31st October - Inset Day

We hope you have enjoyed reading about what’s been happening in school. Unfortunately, we continue to experience complications with the new school website provider but I am hoping to rectify these issues and get our site live asap. Have a great weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Hayes