Dear parents & carers,
I hope you have had a good week.
I am delighted to announce that we have gained an International School's award for introducing internationalism. This award recognises the work being done at KAR for promoting diversity within our school life, and especially recognised the emerging partnerships we have with schools overseas, in particular the extremely successful Chinese partner school visit last summer. A big thank you and well done to Mrs Taylor, who has really driven this work over the last 12 months and opened up new opportunities for the school to build on moving forward. A statement from both the King’s Group Academies and the British Council are at the end of this newsletter.
This adds an additional strand to a growing focus on the development of well rounded children, who have the ability to experience new things which enhance their character. We have been doing a lot of work on our school website to ensure that the great things that are happening around school are brought to life where possible. I am particularly proud of the following document, which shows examples of the various events and opportunities that have taken place within this school in the last 12 months. It really brings our school to life and if you do have the time, please have a look through!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A9ssr4jlCD50h4cMPB5C1nxVtp0iiFubq1fojZ8xQaU/edit?usp=sharing
Many thanks for your input into the parent surveys before the half term. we had 207 responses, just under one third of the school. Within these responses, 92% responded that they would recommend the school to another parent. Whilst I will never be happy until we get 100%, this represents a positive move forward from the same question this time last year. In addition, our new survey format allows us to benchmark against other similar schools across the country. Across over 3000 schools, the average answer for this question from parents was 80%. In this sense, our survey represents a very positive parent response, so thank you for your continued support. We continue to work on ways to improve the school and are still reviewing all survey responses. We intend to introduce the simple format of ‘you said, we did’ in response to surveys to publicly acknowledge where things have been adapted or improved as a result of parent feedback.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Mr Harvey
Statement from KGA:
The International Dimension of KGA is delighted that King’s Academy Ringmer has been recognised by the British Council for the foundation level International Schools Award. This recognition is testament to the dedication of all staff who deliver a rich, internationally-minded curriculum which supports children to build the skills of empathy, cultural understanding and language learning needed to thrive in a global society. We look forward to continuing this work through our partnerships with schools overseas as well as our calendar of international celebration days and cultural events.
Statement from the British Council:
This is a very good application from King's Academy Ringmer for the Foundation Certificate of the International School Award, which I am happy to recommend for acceptance. You have put forward very different activities, especially a week-long visit from your Chinese partner and looking at land use in Brazil, both of which have served to allow your students to become more aware of the world and people who inhabit it. The Chinese visit was a very useful exchange of culture and language in both directions and you state that there was an excited buzz about the school for the whole week, and Ringmer students were visibly excited to welcome their guests and ensure that they had an incredible experience. I’m sure students from both schools had an incredible experience and that the relationships formed will grow in the future. It is good to see your international work celebrated on your website – and that it is prominently displayed rather than tucked away at the end of many clicks! I wish you well with your international journey; there is clearly much enthusiasm within the school and I look forward to seeing applications for the Intermediate and Full International School Awards.
Odd Socks day on Tuesday 12 November in support of Anti-bullying week
We are thrilled to announce that our school will be participating in Odd Socks Day during the week commencing 11th to 15th November. This initiative is designed to promote awareness of bullying and foster an inclusive environment within our school community. Odd Socks Day is not just about wearing mismatched socks; it is a powerful reminder that it is okay to be different and that diversity should be celebrated.
On Tuesday, 12th November, we encourage all students to wear their own odd socks to school. This fun and vibrant display will showcase our commitment to standing against bullying and supporting one another. In line with this initiative, we kindly ask each student to consider making a small donation to the charity dedicated to anti-bullying efforts. Together, we can make a meaningful impact, raising awareness and funds to support vital resources that help combat bullying. We look forward to your enthusiastic participation!
If you would like to donate direct to the charity, please access parentpay from Monday 11 November 2024
Ms. A. da Nobrega, Assistant Principal - Behaviour and Personal Development
Important Notice about reporting absences
Please remember that when reporting a student absence, you MUST go through reception. While the Tutor will be the first point of contact for most issues at school, reception need to be notified of all absences instance.
It is required that contact is made with school every day that your child is absent unless otherwise arranged with the school, giving the name of the child and the reason for their absence that day. We please ask that contact is made with the school before 08:00 ideally. There are three methods of communication through which to do this.
- Option 1: Through 'Absence Reporting' on the EduLink One app.
- Option 2: Phone call to school on 01273 812220, press option 2.
- Option 3: E-mail explaining student absence to ringmer.reception@kingsacademies.uk
Winter Showcase 2025
Students have been preparing enthusiastically for the Winter Showcase which will take place on Wednesday 11th Dec from 6 - 8pm in the Hall. Please put the date in your diaries. Information will be released soon about how to reserve tickets.
Ms Urquhart, Subject Leader for Music (in school Tuesday - Friday)
The Parents' Guide to Green Careers Week 2024 - 4th-9th November 2024
Now in its third year, Green Careers Week will take place between 4 and 9 November 2024 to provide young people with an insight into careers that protect the environment.
Led by Green Careers Week, in partnership with a wide range of organisations including the Department for Education, Green Careers Week is an inspiring week, with plenty of information on how young people can get involved with green careers.
A green career can be any job, role or occupation that contributes to preserving or restoring the environment and our planet. It can be any industry, not just those seen as ‘green.’ Green skills are abilities, attributes, values, attitudes, knowledge, and technical skills needed to adapt services, processes and procedures to support climate change.
- Find out about green careers at the Green Careers Hub https://www.greencareershub.com/green-careers-week/
- And complete the Green Buzz quiz to see what career would be a fit for you! https://nationalcareersweek.com/green-buzz/
Find out more here:
https://www.theparentsguideto.co.uk/_files/ugd/a0f9e4_b40487da4b9a4a73833c3c915f38a9f3.pdf
Sarah Colbourne, Careers Lead, School Librarian and LRC assistant
New Club - Eco Lab
We will be running an after school club on a Wednesday from 3.20 - 4pm weekly starting on November 13th called Eco Lab
The club will have a variety of activities that link Eco and Science - just a few examples of activities we will offer will include growing fungi, recycled crafts, improving the outside area, tracking wildlife, clearing, improving wildlife habitats, and mapping biodiversity. We are planning a Christmas themed week at the end of term with wreath making.
We will be based in the Eco Hub and will be working both indoors and outdoors. Therefore you are likely to get dirty and muddy so you should come prepared for this.
The space is limited to 20 students so you will need to sign up to ensure you have a space on the google forms link at the end of this email. This will be on a first come first serve basis and a waiting list will be made should the take up exceed this amount. Please check your emails to see if your place is secured.
We expect you to let us know should you be unable to come for any reason so we can offer the place to other students.
Please fill in the google forms if you would like to attend https://forms.gle/GMWpBdJtwTU7JRw67
Ruth Simon-House (Eco Coordinator) & Sam Dickinson (Science Technician)
Cut Your Carbon
Christmas Card Competition
It may be early but now's the time to start creating for our annual Christmas card Competition! Here's last year's winners:
Food Tech Update
Mrs Budd's Year 9s have been busy learning how to cook stir fry in their food tech lessons this week.
Science Update
Miss Collins' year 9 Science class was busy today making Rube Goldberg machines as a way of exploring energy stores and transfers. These are complex machines that create a chain reaction to carry out a simple task. 
New Term 2 Autumn menu – Chartwells
Please see the new canteen menu and tariff attached below.
Ringmer Skate Park Grand Opening
Saturday 16 November 2024 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm
Fearless 10+ group in November.
Parents can contact the Early Help 0-19 Parenting Team on EH.0-19parentingteam@eastsussex.gov.uk if you would like to book a place
Lewes District Citizens Advice Rural Outreach Project
Sue and Nicole will be offering a Rural Outreach Service at multiple rural locations across the Lewes District.
Together, they will deliver high quality, impartial and professional advice, support and referrals to people living in rural areas.
They will provide support to people on a huge range of topics, including welfare benefits, housing issues, food and energy poverty, debt and much more.
3 hour, in-person drop-in sessions are available at the venues below. No appointment necessary.
https://www.lewesdistrictca.org.uk/rural-outreach for schedule.
Vacancy
ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT
22.2 hours per week. Required to start asap
Permanent, Term-time only
Salary – KGA Pay Scale, Band 4, Points 4 to 6
Ie: £23130pa to £24362 to be pro-rated as part-time and term-time only – pay award pending
Duties will include:
- To assist the Careers Lead and Learning Resources Assistant to support students to prepare for further/higher education, training and employment, to administer Year 10 Work Experience placements and administration, to undertake general clerical and administration duties including administering a whole school library service, providing a reprographic and printing service to all staff and students.
- absences and to also assist colleagues as and when required.
- To organise and plan the Whole School Photo day in October with the PA to the Principal
- To assist the DofE Lead as the DofE Verifier for the school
- To assist the Assistant Principal with the administration for Enrichment Week
- To assistant the PA to the Principal to provide administrative support to the Senior Leadership Team
- To help to cover staff
Hours of work - 7.4 hours per day for 3 days a week. Work pattern to be agreed with the successful candidate.
King's Academy Ringmer is a rural comprehensive with an ethos of "Kindness, Ambition, Resilience ". We have a simple but bold ambition, to be the best school in Sussex. We consider this to be our ‘journey to excellence’. We are on a positive trajectory towards this goal, with outcomes a third of a grade above national average. We have a strong reputation for our inclusion, pastoral care and a rapidly improving trend of results in terms of student attainment and progress. The Academy is part of King's Group Academies whose mission is to equip all students with the confidence, knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to thrive in the modern world. We anticipate exciting developments ahead working together with students, parents/carers and the wider community to build upon our strengths and make this an outstanding school.
What can we offer you?
- • A chance to be at the forefront of educational development.
- • An Academy with a positive ethos, motivated students and focus upon learning
- • Excellent induction, support and staff development opportunities
- • A beautiful, rural environment situated approximately 12 miles from the coastal city of Brighton and Hove
For full details and an application form can be download directly from our website: https://www.kgaringmer.uk/news/?pid=6&nid=2&storyid=4 or contact Amanda French on either 01273 815463 or amanda.french@kingsacademies.uk quoting job reference P/487. We offer a first class working environment with supportive colleagues and opportunities for career development.
King’s Academy Ringmer is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts within our Multi Academy trust are exempt for the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all applicants will be required to declare spent and unspent convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as spent and complete an Enhanced Criminal Records Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
Closing date for applications is Monday 18 November 2024 at 8.30am with the interview date on Tuesday 19 November 2024.