Headteacher’s message

Yet another busy term has flown by here at Staindrop Academy. A huge congratulations to the Year 11 students who have been preparing for and completed their second set of mock assessments. Their behaviour and attitudes were exemplary, and we wish them every luck in their GCSE exams which start in May. School will be open over the Easter holidays for specific revision classes to support Year 11 in achieving their best possible grades.

Our students have taken part in a huge variety of events over the past term including: sporting achievements, Wonder Mornings, careers visits, wellbeing walks, careers fairs and rewards trips to Infinite Air. It is fantastic to see our students accessing so many opportunities – lots of which you can see within the newsletter!

We are also busy preparing to welcome our new Year 7 cohort and are delighted to be full in Year 7 for September. We have a busy transition programme planned and are looking forward to seeing our new students next term.

As ever, thank you to the staff, parents and community for your ongoing support of the Academy. The developments and success are down to the hard work of everyone who is a part of Staindrop. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter break!

Literacy

This term, we celebrated all things reading at Staindrop Academy! Our World Book Day activities were superb and our students were highly engaged developing their love of reading. With assemblies, tutor time activities, book tokens for students and creative tasks available, the English Team have been awash with some of the most fantastic bookmark and token designs, as well as students recommending books they love to one another.

With the key message this year that “Reading Can Change Your Life,” students discussed books that have had all different kinds of effects on their lives: books that made you smile; books that remind you of being young; books that brought a tear to your eye – it was truly awe-inspiring to hear the great depths of our reading community amongst our students.

Finally, the very wonderful ‘Masked Reader’ competition has made its return! Staff members have been asked to record themselves reading an extract or the blurb to a key story from theirs lives, and to hide themselves behind a ‘mask.’ Every morning, tutor groups are trying to not only guess the staff member, but the book they most love. It has been a great way to get the conversations flowing around books and why they may be important to our staff members.

Pastoral Support

It has been another exciting term at Staindrop Academy. The recent news that we have 120 students joining us in Year 7 for September for 2024 is the result of a year’s hard work from the staff at school. We are very proud of this but know that the real hard work starts now. We are a small school and the way in which Year Leaders, teaching staff, non-teaching staff and tutors get to know the students is a key reason that the school has continued to grow.

The transition process for the students has started earlier than ever before to ensure that the students joining are able to hit the ground running and immediately feel part of our community. Our students play a significant role in welcoming new students in September but also as part of the moving up days and moving up evenings. Our young leaders will support at each of the events to be role models and offer advice to those joining us in September.

This term we have enjoyed the weekly success assemblies, our end of term celebrations, end of half term reward trips alongside some new initiatives outlined below.

Our ‘Connect’ programme in Year 7 is something we have trialled with success.  Students in Year 7 use two tutor periods per week to take part in some physical activity as a group and some discussion tasks to help them feel part of their form class, year group and the school as a whole. We expect to continue this into Year 8 and introduce it to Year 7 in September.

Boys in Year 9 and 10 took part in some training from the company ‘Progressive Masculinity.’ The training allowed boys to consider their responsibility in school, perceptions of being a ‘real man’, what is banter, social media, healthy relationships and online influencers. It was an eye-opening experience for students to hear information from the latest research and interviews from men who have made positive changes to their lives. The boys learnt a lot from the training, and we look forward to seeing how they lead on this project in school with other students.

In the classroom, we have had a clear focus on ‘Do Now’ tasks. Do Now tasks happen at the start of the lesson. Students enter the room in a calm manner and get straight on with their work.  This may be on the board or on a worksheet. The Do Now task is retrieval based to help consolidate prior learning. At this point, staff can review this learning and address misconceptions to fill any gaps in student knowledge. We expect this process to take 10 minutes from the bell and new learning will begin immediately after. The way in which our students have embraced this has not surprised us as we know that when we launch new ideas, our students buy in to help things flourish at Staindrop Academy.

Year 8

Year 8 continue to make great strides and are developing into well rounded individuals. We have seen many pupils receive Staindrop Star and Headteacher breakfasts. Year 8 have been involved in Sport leader events and sports fixtures; they represented the school with integrity, and we are so proud of their achievements. The year group has continued to grow with new students, who have been welcomed with open arms and have settled in well.

Year 8 have had assemblies from the NHS, Darlington College, Durham University and more to set themselves up for their options next year. They asked brilliant questions and showed curiosity throughout the term. I look forward to the summer term and watching year 8 continue to thrive.

Year 9

Year 9 have had another great term; working towards their goals for KS4.

In Morning Meetings, we have covered topics such as integrity, teamwork and proactivity. We have also discussed the importance of having respect for everybody including friends, family and a range of staff at school!

Year 9 have shown a great deal of maturity as they have picked their options – working with staff and parents / carers to make the best choices for their future ambitions!

We have seen a range of Staindrop STARs and acknowledged those students completing great homework and “getting it right” around school.

They have had the chance to participate in some outreach work from external agencies – these sessions are proving to be a success and students are really enjoying them!

We have also welcomed a number of new students this term; all of whom have settled in well and become a valued part of our team.

Safeguarding – Derogatory Language

What is derogatory language?

A derogatory term is a word or expression of thought which has a negative and/or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is used to hurt the perpetrator’s victim emotionally which can have long lasting effects on individuals. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard.  For example, racist and homophobic comments towards others.

A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person, according to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry report (page 362, section 45.17).  Something is a racist or religious hate incident if the victim or anyone else thinks it was carried out because of hostility or prejudice based on race or religion.

Homophobic language means terms of abuse that are often used towards lesbian, gay and bisexual people, or those thought to be LGBTQ+.  The use of homophobic language has a negative impact on gay young people, making them feel less happy at school and less likely to reach their full potential. This is not as ‘harmless banter; it’s inappropriate and offensive.

Homophobia is the fear or dislike of someone, based on prejudice or negative attitudes, beliefs or views about lesbian, gay or bi people. This can also include denying somebody’s lesbian, gay or bi identity or refusing to accept it. Homophobia may be targeted at people who are, or who are perceived to be, lesbian, gay or bisexual.

When racist, homophobic or religious hate incidents become criminal offences, they are known as hate crimes.

A hate crime is defined as: ‘any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility based on a person’s race or perceived race’

There are two main types of racist and religious hate crime:

  • racially or religiously aggravated offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
  • any other offences for which the sentence can be increased under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 if they are classed as a hate crime

Dates for your diary

April

Monday 15th April – Return to school following the Easter break

May

Thursday 2nd May – Year 8 parents’ evening

Monday 6th May – Bank Holiday

Friday 24th May –Break up for half term

June

Monday 3rd June – Return to school following the half term break

Thursday 27th June – Year 7 parents’ evening

July

Thursday 18th July – Break up for summer holidays

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