St Richard's Catholic College Team reports Community links and fundraising activities Learning beyond the classroom EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TEAM The ET team comprises of a range of subject staff that have an interest in the use of ICT in teaching (SC, SCE, BS, JB, FN, AP, SW, JD, TH, DH, SC, HH, RV, TS, RFS) The aim of the team is to investigate how ICT could be used to improve teaching and learning at St Richard’s and to share good practice in the use of ICT across the curriculum. We also wish to plan for changes in teaching and learning arising as a result of new technologies. Objectives for 2012 to 2013 1. Share good practice. 2. Identify ICT needs of staff. 3. Develop the school website. 4. Develop the Moodle area of the school website. What has been achieved 1. Share good practice. This has been achieved – we have had several meetings where good practice has been shared and resources/websites shared with Subject Leaders to cascade to departments. 2. Look at the impact of ICT on the curriculum – This has been partly achieved – staff have filled in an online questionnaire which has highlighted their desire for more software training – SC delivered twilight sessions on various pieces of software but they were poorly attended. 3. Develop the school website – mostly achieved – all subject areas now have content on the front end of the school website – the next stage is more dynamic content (need technicians trained in use of adding dynamic content for this). 4. Develop the Moodle area of the school website – partly achieved – most subject areas have content. Currently waiting for new Moodle version to be installed in order to develop it further Objectives for 2013 to 2014: 1. Improve teaching and learning by sharing good practice in the use of ICT in all subjects. 2. Conduct an online questionnaire to audit pupils’ perception of use of ICT across the school and use the feedback to highlight strengths and areas for development. 3. Investigate the use of new technologies in the classroom such as iPads/notebooks. 4. Continue reviewing and improving the school website and Moodle. Ms S Cook Emerging Technologies Team - 1 - FINANCE This year has again been a very active year in all of the college’s accounts: Budget Account: Public money delegated from the DfE through the Local Authority: This is the main business account and makes the majority of purchases for the college. Unfortunately, this year has seen an increase in the number of ‘Non-order’ purchases which are in contravention of financial standing orders and this is highlighted in the staff handbook. School Fund Account: Devolved Formula Capital and other activities: this fund is used to collect money in and pay for educational visits and other activities. The number and complexity of visits has increased in the last year. Some staff discuss the logistics of activities before they occur with Glyn Marsh, in his role as Educational Visits Co-ordinator, which enables the office to prepare the systems in advance. Governors’ Fund: the office is now also responsible for the administration of ‘Gift-Aid’ on donations to the Governors’ fund. The college submitted its self-evaluation for the School’s Financial Value Standard (SFVS) in February; no comments have yet been received from the Local Authority. Denise Williams has completed the Certificate level of the Accredited Accounting Technician (AAT); she will very shortly achieve the Diploma level qualification. Her study is being undertaken in her own time with support from the college. Glyn Marsh passed the examination in Financial Reporting for Academies, through CIPFA, one of the Chartered Accounting Institutes. Sallie Relf’s skills, knowledge and understanding of the financial requirements of the college continue to develop. The 2012-13 budget has been reconciled to the LA figures with a reported surplus of £240,310 (5.48%). The LA has allowed the additional carry forward of 0.48%. HEALTH & SAFETY A number of projects have been undertaken this year to not only ensure a safe and healthy working environment for the college community, but to enhance the facilities. The remedial work of the A block extension has finally been completed. Replacement windows to the South, East and West of the Science and Technology Block, music rooms, the E-Learning Office and the Year 8 Pastoral Leader’s Office Additional outdoor seating has been installed, some of which is made from recycled materials. Magnetic holdbacks have been added to doors in C Block corridor and the gym to aid the flow through the building Fitted additional fans to the ICT cabinets that were re-located during the summer The former ICT office has been converted into an SEN and literacy workspace The Ladies’ toilets in B Block have been refurbished The last of the spring loaded blinds in various rooms were replaced during the Easter break. The girls and boys toilets near the hall have been refurbished and the latter adapted for ‘dry’ working An LCVAP application has been submitted for £130,000 to replace the windows and frames in A Block; the frames are poorly fitted in to the building and cause draughts and damp. This work will be carried out during the summer holidays The second music room was refurbished during Easter to create three additional practice rooms. The distorted mirrors in the Dance studio have been replaced. Work will commence during the May holiday on installing the lift, allowing disabled access to the top floor of the Science Block. An LCVAP application has been approved for £150,000 to refurbish the kitchen. A meeting has been arranged for term 6 with the Architects and ESCC. I am pleased to report that there have been no notifiable or dangerous incidents or occurrences this year. EDUCATION VISITS The administration of educational visits was, in January, transferred to an on-line system, which has been embraced by some staff but others are still having difficulty with it. Mr G Marsh, Business Manager - 2 - PASTORAL CARE TEAM The Pastoral Care team consists of our five Pastoral Leaders (Year 7 - Mr Bligh, Year 8 - Miss Easton, Year 9 - Mr Doherty, Year 10 - Mrs Bligh, Year 11 - Mr Calladine-Evans), the Principal (Miss Cronin), the SENCO (Mrs Tadros), Mrs Hills and Mr Padgham (form tutors with additional pastoral responsibility), Teaching Assistant Co-ordinator (Mrs Kelly), the School Nurse (Jenny Talbot), the Parent Support Adviser (Becky Ross) and Targeted Youth Support (Patrick Flynn). The team meets termly to discuss a range of pastoral care issues such as attendance, behaviour, anti-bullying, emotional health and the Three Year Improvement Plan. A large proportion of each meeting involves discussion of the pupils in our care. All Pastoral Leaders are line-managed by a member of the LMT and are in daily contact. Essentially, the aim of the team is to meet the needs of all the pupils in line with the College Mission Statement, and we are supported in our work by the Chaplaincy team, Behaviour and Attendance County team, School Counsellor, School Nurse, the Substance Misuse Service and a range of other services which we buy into when required. Over the past academic year, workshops have been organised on bereavement and loss, homophobia, anti-bullying strategies, Young Carers, domestic violence and drug awareness. Each Pastoral Leader is responsible for: providing support to his/her tutors; helping to build up a year identity; organising fundraising activities; overseeing the spiritual, academic and social welfare of the pupils in his/her year group; organising liturgies and assemblies, and leading the PSHEe/Citizenship programme. Pastoral objectives for 2012-2013 in line with College Improvement Plan and progress Mrs Hills received a temporary TLR and has designated time to carry out a range of pastoral work which has included working with the anti-bullying team and building the profile of peer support in the college. Mrs Hills liaises with the following outside agencies to ensure our pupils get the most out of their service: Young Carers, Community Nurse, Targeted Youth Support and the Counsellor. She has organised regular SASSY groups for pupils who need targeted guidance on relationships. Mr Padgham also receives protected time and has successfully carried out the role of mentoring some of our most vulnerable pupils. Parental voice has continued to be strengthened through the parental focus groups and the surveys carried out at every parents’ evening. As the use of the portal increases, e-surveys will become part of the practice of gaining parental perspective. The profile of Year Councils, Prefects and Student Listeners will become a target for 2013-2014. The pastoral team are receiving SIMs training in term six so that it is used more effectively for the monitoring of behaviour, rewards and sanctions. The percentage of pupils accessing mentoring in Key Stage 4 has increased. There is now a need to formalise this process and target Key Stage 3. Behaviour systems have been revisited and some changes have occurred. The review of the rewards system across the school will be carried over into 2013-2014 objectives. E-safety has been given a high profile across the college with assemblies taking place for all years. The college supported the Safer Internet Day. Ms Cook promotes E-safety across the college and has been involved in e-safety conferences. Smile Ambassadors have been established in years 7 and 8. PSHEe objectives for 2012-2013 in line with College Improvement Plan and progress More attention has been given to topics such as eating disorders/self-harm this year but there needs to be an emphasis on this lower down the school as well.