RTS Parents' Newsletter

RTS Parents' Newsletter 14 January 2022

Head Teacher's Message

The Year 11 mock exams have continued this week - again with great displays of maturity and positivity. The other year groups in school have also displayed wonderful attitudes in being respectful and understanding with changes to room timetables and normal routes that are temporarily no entry; and moving quickly and quietly on when in the vicinity of the school hall.

We were delighted and privileged to have visitors from the Jack Petchey Trust in school on Tuesday. They provided excellent workshops for Year 10 students to learn about public speaking - which is fantastic preparation for their GCSE oral exams.

The government have updated COVID-19 isolation guidance twice the last two weeks and the administrative organisation of these constant changes can be sometimes challenging; so I would like to thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we manage these changes in school and in our communications with you. We have seen a drop in cases across the school since our return and whilst we must maintain our vigilance; I am hopeful that this term can run as smoothly as possible. Please do continue to encourage your children to test twice weekly as this really does help to keep the school community as a whole as safe as possible.

Ms K Dooley

Dates for the diary

Monday 10-Thursday 20 January: Year 11 Mock Exams
Wednesday 02 February: Year 9 Options Evening (Information to follow)
Wednesday 09 February: Year 11 Subject Teacher Evening (Information to follow)

Assembly Topics

Assemblies for the coming week and next are as follows:

British Values - Individual Liberty
National Subject - Holocaust Memorial Day

Contacting the School

If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open:

Monday-Thursday - 08:15-16:30
Friday - 08:15-15:00

Telephone: 020 8891 2985

Email: info@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Please use the Parents Communications Summary for guidance on types of query and where advice may be found/who to direct your query to.

LFD Testing

LFD at Home Tests - Students

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation in continuing to encourage your child/ren to take LFD tests on Wednesday and Sunday evenings and to report the results to school (via the app on their iPad). It is important to keep the school community protected and safe. Our deliveries from the DfE are delayed due to the nationwide shortage, we will distribute test kits as soon as we receive them.

Remember that if at anytime you need additional kits you can order them free of charge via the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/regular-rapid-coronavirus-tests-if-you-do-not-have-symptoms/

Pop Up Vaccination Clinics

There is a Pop Up Covid 19 Vaccination Clinic being held at Grey Court School, Ham, TW10 7HN this weekend (15 and 16 January 2022).

Parents can book an appointment online or call the Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust Vaccine Team on 0208 614 5306 to make an appointment over the phone.

Government Guidance Updates

Tuesday 11 January 2022

As a reminder, you are only asked to take a follow up PCR test after a positive LFD test if you:

wish to claim the Test and Trace Support Payment
have been advised to take a PCR test because you are in a clinically vulnerable group
have been advised to do so as part of a research or surveillance programme
have received a positive day 2 LFD after arriving into the UK.

If anyone has any of the main symptoms of COVID-19, they are strongly advised to take a PCR test, not an LFD test. If someone with symptoms has already taken an LFD test for any reason and the result is positive, they do not need to take a follow-up PCR test.

Monday 17 January 2022

People who are self-isolating with COVID-19 will have the option to reduce their isolation period after 5 full days if they test negative with a lateral flow device (LFD) test on both day 5 and day 6 and they do not have a temperature. For example, if they test negative on the morning of day 5 and the morning of day 6, they can return to their education or childcare setting immediately on day 6.

The first test must be taken no earlier than day 5 of the self-isolation period, and the second must be taken the following day. All test results should be reported to NHS Test and Trace.

If the result of either of their tests is positive, they should continue to self-isolate until they get negative results from two LFD tests on consecutive days or until they have completed 10 full days of self-isolation, whichever is earliest.

Anyone who is unable to take LFD tests or anyone who continues to have a temperature will need to complete the full 10 day period of self-isolation. Remember that the first day of symptoms, or the day of the LFD test, is counted as Day Zero NOT Day One.

Further information on self-isolation for those with COVID-19 is available.

Social Media

Thank you to those who have already engaged with and shared, liked or commented on our recent new content on our social media channels. If you haven't done so recently, please do revisit our social media channels which we have relaunched over the last few weeks. Find and follow us for regular updates on

Twitter: @RTS_Twickenham
Facebook: @TheRichmonduponThamesSchool; and
Instagram: @RTS_Twickenham.

Parent Trustee Election

A reminder to please read the email and letter sent to all families on Monday 10 January 2022. Our Trust Board will shortly have a vacancy for a parent trustee and the letter sets out in detail the requirements of the role and how to stand for a position.

If you would like to discuss the role and expectations placed on a new trustee at RTS, please email Kate Nepstad, the Clerk to the Trust Board via clerk@rts.richmond.sch.uk, who will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

If you wish to stand for the position of parent trustee please submit the following details in writing, by no later than 12 noon on Thursday 26 January, to: clerk@rts.richmond.sch.uk.

your full name, email address and the full name and academic tutor group of your child or children at the school; and
a personal statement (no more than 100 words).

It is recommended that your personal statement includes the following information:

Evidence of the extent to which you possess the skills and experience the trust board is seeking;
Your commitment to undertake training and development to acquire or develop the skills to be an effective trustee;
How you plan to contribute to the future work of the trust board;
If seeking re-election, detail your contribution to the work of the trust board during your previous term of office.

FORTS NEWS

Happy New Year and Thank You!

We would like to thank everyone for their support over the last year. Whether that has been donating time as a car parking volunteer, buying raffle tickets, attending meetings, donating directly via Peoples Fundraising; or by shopping via easyfundraising and AmazonSmile. However you have supported us - thank you. We have already spent some of the funds raised on more sporting equipment and empowerment workshops as part of the Autumn Term Subject Leader bids. The Spring Term Subject Leader bid process is underway.

Rugby parking – another £1,365 raised!

Thanks to our wonderful parking marshals who braved the freezing temperatures and rain to help us raise a further £1,365 on 27 December. We still have a few more rugby parking events this academic year; so it is looking like a bumper year from a rugby parking fundraising perspective.

We are always in need of rugby parking marshals - please let us know if you want to be involved at forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk.

Christmas PTA raffle - £411 raised!

Thanks to those that purchased tickets in the Christmas PTA raffle which raised £411 for FoRTS. We hope someone in the RTS community was a winner!

Upcoming FoRTS Meetings – save the dates

The upcoming general meetings for this academic year are due to take place on Wednesday 02 March and Wednesday 25 May, 7.30-9pm. At the moment we anticipate that the meetings will be held virtually. We hope to see you there.

Your FoRTS Team,

Vanessa (Chair), Mark (Treasurer) and Carey (Secretary)

forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Safeguarding

If you have concerns in relation to a student at RTS or indeed with regards to your own child, you may want to contact Single Point of Access (SPA) which acts as a central information hub for all professional agencies in Kingston and Richmond.

Richmond and Kingston SPA

The SPA phone lines are now open as follows:

Monday-Thursday 08.00-17.15 and Friday 08.00-17.00 - the phone number during these times is 020 8547 5008
Out of hours: 020 8770 5000

Hounslow Early Help Assessment

Telephone number: 020 8583 6600
Out of hours: 020 8583 2222
Email: earlyhelp@hounslow.gov.uk

NSPCC:

Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Telephone number: 0808 800 5000, or text 88858
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk
Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)

Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News

Richmond Girls’ Cricket Club

We are a local and inclusive girls’ cricket club which is an integrated section of Richmond Cricket Club.

Over recent years the girls’ section has been extremely successful, competing in both Middlesex and Surrey leagues (girls u10, u11, u12, u13, u14, u15 and u17). We have also been successful in national competitions, reaching the u13 & u15 National Finals.

We are starting our 2022 season with indoor winter training for the girls on Saturday afternoons 3:30pm–5:30pm. This is a great opportunity for girls to discover the sport, or continue to develop existing skills whatever their level. Our coaches are ECB level 1, 2 & 3 qualified, together with professional coaches that support the junior section in the club.

Whitton Wanderers

Whitton Wanders Football club are seeking new players for their under 12s (year 7) boys team.

Whitton Wanderers Hawks (1).pdf

Richmond Parent Carer Forum

Richmond PCF has lots of events planned for the early part of 2022, with a particular focus on Parent Wellbeing. The following activities are now open for booking for Richmond PCF members via our Booking Form here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RPCF2022Events. Please note, you must be a member of Richmond PCF to attend these events. Becoming a member is free and easy, just register here: https://www.richmondpcf.org.uk/membership/

Online Yoga

Beat any post-Christmas sluggishness and get those endorphins flowing with our 1 hour online yoga sessions, suitable for all ability levels. Not got a yoga kit? Not a problem! Please indicate that you need a kit on the booking form and we’ll get one to you. We only have a limited number of kits available so please don’t wait to book.

Thursday 13^th January, 10am
Thursday 20^th January, 10am
Thursday 27^th January, 10am
Thursday 3^rd February, 10am

Parent Carer Support Group

These groups will be facilitated for us by Richmond Mind and are an opportunity for parent carers to come together and share their experiences in a safe and supported environment.

Monday morning group. These will be in-person* sessions in Twickenham (venue details will be sent after booking) *Depending on updates to Covid 19 recommendations it may be necessary to move some or all of these sessions online.

Monday 31^st January, 10am-11:30am
Monday 28^th February, 10am-11:30am
Monday 21^st March, 10am-11:30am

Wednesday evening group. These will be online sessions

Wednesday 26^th January, 7:30pm-9pm
Wednesday 23^rd February, 7:30pm-9pm
Wednesday 23^rd March, 7:30pm-9pm

Walk and Talk at Kew Gardens

We’ll be meeting at Victoria Gate (the big one!) of Kew Gardens for an informal outdoor catch up.

Tuesday 18^th January, 10:30am
Tuesday 22^nd February, 10:30am
Tuesday 8^th March, 10:30am

Information Events

IPSEA Training in SEND Law – What happens Post 16?

This will be a three hour session looking at the legal framework after your child or young person with SEND turns 16 years old.

We’ll be running the session twice to include as many parents as possible:

Friday 4^th February, 10am-1pm
Monday 7^th February, 6:30pm-9:30pm

These sessions will be run by IPSEA/Richmond PCF and has been funded by the Local Authority in Richmond.

Themed Coffee Mornings – Communication

We’ll be hosting two drop in coffee mornings (flyer attached) in the Spring Term focusing on developing communication with children and young people with SEND. We’ll be demonstrating how to use Now & Next boards and visual timetables and sharing our own experiences of different communication strategies. We’ll be giving away Now & Next boards, visual prompts, cause and effect toys and story sacks for you to use at home. These are drop in sessions so there’s no need to book and open to all parent carers in Richmond.

Wednesday 19^th January, 10:30am-12pm at The Park Hotel, Teddington (opposite the Police Station) 19 Park Rd, Teddington TW11 0AB.
Thursday 3^rd March, 10:30am-12pm at Barnes Methodist Church, Station Road, London, SW13 0NH

We welcome parent carers to fill out our wellbeing survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RPCFWellbeing2022

Term Dates 2021-2022

Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:

Half Term - Monday 14-Friday 18 February 2022
Inset Days - Monday 21-Tuesday 22 February 2022

Parents' Calendar

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