Newsletter Summer 2016
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Newsletter Summer 2016 ‘Outstandingly warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff form the basis on which the pupils make good academic progress’. Ofsted, 2016 Dear Parents, It has been an exciting term at Rainbow School. We have welcomed lots of visitors throughout the term, including Ofsted, who completed their inspection towards the end of June. The inspectors visited all areas of the school and observed nineteen teaching sessions in total! The inspectors even visited the local supermarket with one of our Sixth Form students to see how our tutors teach in the community. They were impressed with the school, students, and staff. As a school we are delighted with the report. It is an excellent reflection of all our hard work and we believe it highlights our strengths well, including their judgement of ‘Outstanding’ for our personal development, behaviour and welfare of children and young people. A copy of the report has been sent home with your child, but it can also be read on the Rainbow School and Ofsted websites. The summer term has included many trips, from a bowling alley to Hampton Court. However, the highlight was our whole school residential trip to Stubbers Adventure Centre. It was a fantastic few days and a unique opportunity for our pupils. Activities ranged from grass sledging and quad biking to powerboating and jet skiing! All the students and staff had a wonderful time and many memories to share. You can see more photos of the trip on the BeyondAutism Facebook Group. Our pupils have been working very hard this year and I am delighted to inform you that we have 13 pupils who have successfully completed the ASDAN Entry 1 Personal Progress, and one student who has completed the Entry 1 Personal and Social Development qualification! It was wonderful to welcome so many parents to our Mother’s and Father’s Day Assemblies. Rich LeRoy and Phillippa Pickering led two fantastic assemblies celebrating our pupil’s mums and dads. We are extremely grateful to the SAP Foundation for awarding the Upper School a generous grant of £10,000 for new IT equipment. The grant will go towards supplying individual iPads for our Year 10, 11 and Sixth Form students, so they can record and evidence their strengths while in and around the community. SAP is an organisation that is creating pathways to employment for people with autism around the world. At the end of any academic year there will always be people who are moving on, exploring new opportunities and taking on new challenges. This year is no different. We are grateful for how hard all our staff work, and we wish the very best for all those who are leaving us at the end of term. We hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable summer break, and we look forward to welcoming you back on the 5th September 2016. Bennie Lesch David Anthony Head of Lower School Head of Upper School Newsletter Stubbers Residential Trip During the week of the 4th July pupils attended a residential trip to Stubbers Adventure Centre in Upminster, Essex. Each class spent a night and two days at the centre and took part in a range of exciting activities whilst there, including grass sledging, quad biking, team challenges, bell boats and speed boat rides. Everyone really enjoyed the trip, with many of our students experiencing new challenges for the first time like going on a jet ski!! It was also the first night away from home for many of our students, and everyone coped really well. Staff worked with real dedication to make this trip a success, encouraging all of our students to have lots of fun, and working really hard to make sure that each child was able to access all of the activities. It was amazing to see the engagement between staff and students, and the amount of care and support there is in school for our students. Our members of staff who volunteered in the kitchen worked relentlessly to ensure that everyone was well catered for food wise and did a fantastic job of supporting specialized dietary requirements. Quote from Kirsten, Max’s mum: ‘We think Max really enjoyed it and clearly so did the staff. We were satisfied that Max was safe and happy and well cared for with the people he knew and that knew him. For us parents it was a real opportunity to just relax and recuperate. Max had never been away from us both and we would normally not entertain that thought, but we knew he was in safe hands. We were completely chilled out!’ Highlights from the summer term As we approach the summer break, it is lovely to have the opportunity to look back on some of the highlights from the term. Our annual parent open days at the end of June were a great success. It was a wonderful opportunity for parents to observe their child’s programme in the context of a school day. We’ve also had a lovely assembly for Father's Day and another Jack Petchey Award nomination phase. BeyondAutism and Rainbow School were represented with their own stands at the Wandsworth Fayre in May and the Autism Show in June, meeting parents and professionals and showcasing our services. We were delighted to have an opportunity to present at the Autism Show. Our Head of Upper School, David Anthony, presented in the Hub Theatre on the topic of ‘Post 16: Launching Lives, through the teaching of the whole child’, the session was well attended and it was great exposure for the organisation. Last Friday our Year 11 and Sixth Form students enjoyed their special leavers assembly and prom. Several of our Year 11 students have successfully completed their Entry 1 Diploma in Personal Progress from ASDAN. We are very proud of their achievements. We now look forward to an action packed sports day and achievement assemblies on Thursday to round off a wonderful term. Newsletter Term Dates 2016/2017 Jack Petchey Awards Summer 2016 Since 1999, the Jack Petchey foundation has given £100 million to support youth projects and Term ends: Fri 22nd July at 12.30pm reward achievement. Almost 2,000 schools, Autumn 2016 colleges and youth organisations throughout London and the UK run the Achievement Award Term starts: Mon 5th September scheme, and this is the first time we have ever (Inset day: 1st and 2nd September) run the scheme here at Rainbow School. Half Term: Mon 24th - Fri 28th October Each term we have held nominations for the Term ends: Fri 16th December at 12.30pm Jack Petchey Achievement Award. This award is for a pupil who has made outstanding Spring 2017 progress in the term. This year the awards have Term starts: Fri 6th January been given to Oliver Clark, William Kotey and Jonah Fox. They are all very well-deserved (Inset day: 4th and 5th January) winners. Half Term: Mon 13th - Fri 17th February This year’s staff Jack Petchey Leader Award Term ends: Fri 31st March at 12.30pm was awarded to Rich LeRoy. Summer 2017 We hope to be elevated to the silver scheme Term starts: Tues 18th April next year which will mean we can distribute (Easter Monday Bank Holiday: 17th April) more awards each year. Bank Holiday: Mon 1st May Bank Holiday: Mon 29th May Half Term: Mon 5th - Fri 9th June Staff Training and conferences (Inset day: 12th June) It has been a busy term for staff training. A number Term ends: Fri 28th July at 12.30pm of new staff have been trained in Team Teach, two members of teaching staff attended an ASDAN training day and Chloe Watkins delivered SaLT training to all staff. Two extra members of staff attended the Wandsworth safeguarding training for Parent training new Designated Safeguarding Persons and the Heads of School were trained to become the This term we aired a parent training webinar Designated Safeguarding Leads. David Anthony on ‘Sexuality & Sexuality Instruction with also completed Safer Recruitment training and adult Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders’. safeguarding training. First Aiders and Class We also hosted a coffee morning in late April Leaders have been trained in how to administer which included information on accessing medication effectively. support for disabled children, including short Following the success of the Makaton parent training breaks and respite. In June we held a parent in the past term, Cat Bradly will be running a information session on sleep disorders, which Makaton Beginners Workshop with staff next term, was led by Luci Wiggs from Oxford Brooks which provides a practical introduction to the University. We hope you have found these Makaton Language Programme. Sessions include discussing commonly asked questions, hints and sessions helpful. tips for effective signing and symbol use and how to start using Makaton in everyday situations at home or work. School nurse We are delighted to announce that Mikaela Green has passed her studies and is now a qualified Wandsworth are supplying a school nurse BCBA. We would also like to congratulate Matt Le Blanc and Cat Brackstone who have completed their from September. The nurse will carry out teacher training. termly visits to train staff and audit our systems - with a total of 6 visits a year. Newsletter Leavers assembly and prom Last Friday we celebrated with Violet Class as they graduate and move into Sixth Form. The leavers assembly was a fantastic celebration of all of their achievements and they all looked so handsome in their graduation hats! We are sad to say goodbye to Gabriel as he moves on from Rainbow School to West Thames College where we are confident he will continue to excel.