Dear Parent/Carer
Welcome back to a new school year at Rainford High. As a school we continue to look to improve and offer a better educational experience for every student. To ensure we can deliver our ethos of Everyone Matters, Everyone Helps, and Everyone Succeeds, as Principal I am asking for every parent and carers’ positive support of four key school developments over the coming year.
1. Last year we saw an increase in attendance and a 38% decrease in exclusions. Wishing to build on these significant improvements, we are focusing on eradicating all low-level disruption in lessons by focusing on talking out of turn and have developed a behaviour for learning system that links the League of Effort, behaviour and standards systems alongside our rewards and sanctions system. These systems have matured to be clear, inclusive and responsible and I would hope and expect that all parents/carers will support us in our drive to create an excellent learning environment for all.
2. We are also driving basic standards of uniform and equipment. All students need to be in full uniform and be properly equipped to be successful in school. Failure to meet the basic standards will mean students serve a lunchtime detention. Strong contributing factors in academic and all-round success in school include students turning up on time, ready to work and committing to working hard, as well as being fully equipped to take part in lessons. We expect every student to do this.
3. Having reflected and reviewed on how we have a significant impact on underperforming students, we have decided to implement a simple whole school policy relating to the quality and quantity of work we expect students to complete. Students must complete a minimum expected standard and quality of work in every lesson. If students fail to do so they will complete the work before the next lesson. This will be achieved in a number of ways including break, lunchtime and after-school detentions. For all our students to succeed every one of them needs to work hard.
4. We are committed to developing our students’ reading and development of academic vocabulary. To achieve this, we have introduced a reading driven homework system across the school at KS3 which means all students will read a minimum of 156 articles a year and complete quizzes based upon these articles. Students will also be taught academic vocabulary explicitly to support their learning and improve their access to the whole curriculum.
We will continue to offer high quality opportunities for all students who attend Rainford High. Every member of the Rainford High team is committed to ensuring that every student achieves their full potential and has a broad and balanced curriculum experience that allows them to be successful.
We are also expecting a visit from OFSTED this year and we would appreciate parents recording their views on the school on the OFSTED parent view website. The following link will take you to OFSTED’s parent view website https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk
Thank you for your support over the coming year.
Yours faithfully
Mr Ian Young
Principal