This has been another important week for Roding Valley as the new Behaviour Plan has been in operation since Monday. The aim of the Plan is to ensure that low level disruption of lessons is eradicated. Any student who disrupts the learning of others will receive a formal warning in the first instance. If they choose to repeat this offence then they will receive a second formal warning and will be moved to another place in the classroom (to be decided by the member of staff). If they persist with their disruptive behaviour they will then be removed from the classroom by a member of the Senior Leadership Team and will be taken to "Back on Track" (our new isolation room) for the remainder of the lesson. I have been very pleased with the way the system has worked in the first week. Only small numbers of students have had to be taken to Back on Track and the vast majority have responded well to the challenge. It is my expectation that in the weeks and months to come this will have a significant impact on the amount of work that students can get through in lessons and this should have a positive impact on the rate of progress across the board. It will also mean that there is a consistency of approach across the school which is vital if we are to become a truly Outstanding school in the future. I have been grateful to receive a number of emails and comments from parents saying how pleased they are to hear about the new system. Clearly all parents want their children to be successful in school and I very much hope that this new initiative will improve every child's chances of achieving their potential in every subject. I thank you for your continued support as parents and would like to hear from you if you have any thoughts on how the system is bedding in. With this is mind I would like to highlight the fact that we are holding our first Parents' Forum on Monday 20th October at 6pm in the main hall. Myself and Mrs Jenner, Deputy Head, will be hosting the event and the two main topics to be addressed will be "Behaviour and Conduct" and "Student Progress". These are two key factors that determine the success of any school and I think it is crucial for us to have a very clear and robust stance on both counts. I would like to invite you to attend on Monday where you will have an opportunity to share your views and hear about the changes to the ways we are supporting the students to achieve at Roding Valley. It was great to see so many of you at the Year 7 Parent Information Evening on Thursday. The aim of these evenings is to give some practical advice to you as parents about how you can support your child to be successful in school. We covered lots of points regarding lifestyle, school systems, reading for pleasure and Maths Mastery. The initial feedback that I have had from those in attendance was very positive but if anyone has any further thoughts I would be grateful if you could contact me. Parental support has a huge part to play in helping children succeed academically and we want to work with you all to help your children achieve. Congratulations this week must go to the Year 9 girls netball team who gave Braeside a bit of a lesson in how to play the game. Well done also to the Year 7 boys who were joint winners of the West Essex Schools Football Festival and the Year 9 boys football team who won both of their matches this week. Its always great to see our teams doing so well. Mr J Luck Headteacher
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