St Peter’s Collegiate Academy
Part of the Three Spires Trust
Newsletter: 10 February 2023
“Almighty God, who alone can bring order to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity: give your people grace so to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, among the many changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
Message from the Principal
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those enduring the consequences of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. To support those affected by the disaster a number of charities have set up relief funds to get much needed aid to those most in need. I have included some links if anybody is able to support this critical work: Oxfam Red Cross Christian Aid Islamic Relief
This week at the Academy our pupils in year 7 spent a day learning about how to stay safe online. Pupils were receptive to the important messages being delivered and about the possible consequences of not following the safeguards intended to minimise the risks associated with being online. We will be delivering further e-safety lessons to all pupils through the PSHE to ensure our curriculum keeps pace with the emerging trends of social media and threats posed to children online. In the safeguarding section of this newsletter is some information for parents/ carers and how you can access important information to keep your child safe online. principal@stpetersacademy.org.uk
Mr T Mullen-Furness, Principal Notices for the week
Monday 13
February
Tuesday 14
February
Wednesday 15
February
Thursday 16
February
Friday 17
February
● Y11 Geography trip
● Y10 NHS RSE Group 3
● Y11 interviews week 3
● Y13 mock exams
● International Day of Education
Dates for your diary
NEU strike actions days: 01, 15 and 16 March 2023
Week beginning 06 March 2023: National Careers
Week
Year 9
• Wednesday, 08 February 2023: Vaccinations
• Wednesday, 08 March 2023: Options evening (New date)
Year 10
• Tuesday, 10 March 2023: Severn Trent virtual discovery workshop
Year 11
● Y11 Geography trip
● Step into the NHS webinar, 10:00 – 10:45 (Y9)
● National Theatre Production (Y8)
● End of the half term (15:00 finish)
• Thursday, 02 March 2023: Leavers’ photographs to be taken
• Friday, 03 March 2023: What Careers? Live in Birmingham
Year 12
• Week beginning Monday, 30 January 2023: Review and interventions week
Year 13
• Thursday, 02 March 2023: Leavers’ photographs to be taken
Quality of Education
At St Peter’s we believe that a broad and balanced curriculum with a strong academic core is a right for all pupils. We seek to encourage pupils to explore subjects of interest around their in-school learning and to enhance their curriculum experience through enrichment.
E. Hubbard
Why does presentation matter?
It shows that you care!
It feels good to produce quality work
It shows others that you have high standards for yourself
It gives you a sense of pride
You create a valuable body of work for later revision
Your ideas matter so help others to understand them by setting them out clearly
How should I present my work?
● All students should frame their work with a date and title every lesson. These should be underlined with a ruler.
● Students should write in blue or black pen.
● Diagrams, graphs and charts should be drawn in pencil and rulers used for straight lines.
● One neat line should be drawn through mistakes
● No graffiti
● Glue in worksheets
Year 7 Exercise Books
In the Autumn term we looked at the exercise books of every student in Year 7. We wanted to look at the standard of presentation, the amount of work students were completing and whether or not we could see that students were taking pride in their work. If you see one of these stickers in your book it means that it has been checked by a member of the Senior Leadership Team or a Head of Department.
“The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today”
Behaviour and attitudes/ personal development
We encourage our pupils to set high expectations for themselves, developing a range of effective interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in their chosen career. St Peter’s seeks to provide a range of opportunities for all pupils to pursue new interests, develop their skills and to experience different cultural events.
Caring for our neighbours on Newbridge Avenue and Newbridge Crescent
Please can those parents/ carers using Newbridge Avenue and Newbridge Crescent to drop-off and collect pupils be mindful of the residents and their access to their homes. The roads can become busy with vehicles which can prevent residents gaining access to their drive. Wherever possible we would encourage parents/ carers not park along the avenue and to wait a little further from the academy site.
In addition, if you are a parent/ carer of an existing sixth form pupil please can you remind them that once they have left the Academy site for home study that they should not be waiting or congregating in the avenue or local area. There have been instances where litter has been left in the surrounding area which could lead to an infestation of rodents. We as an academy will be working with the local authority to increase the number of bins. As parents/ carers please communicate to your child the need to maintain a tidy environment.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and support regarding these requests. We can only address these issues and support our neighbours through collaboration. We are grateful for your support.
Church of England - Flourishing Together National Conference 2023
On Friday 27th January 2023 11 students and 3 members of staff attended the Church of England Education Offices National Conference.
The conference was entitled Flourishing Together and its purpose was to deliver the Church of England’s vision for education. The Academy had received an invitation for students to attend the conference and take part in workshops to help develop leadership skills and examine the concept of sustainability in schools and other educational settings. The Head Girl and Head Boy, along with a selected number of our peer mentors, represented our school at the event along with our school chaplain, Joe Maggs and worship leader Nat Francis.
Students and staff left St Peter’s at 5.45 in the morning boarding a coach that had travelled down from The King's school in Stoke with 9 of their students and chaplain. An early start for all, but students were very excited as they knew this was a prestigious event to attend.
The journey down was broken by a stop at Northampton services for a fuel stop in anticipation of a busy day and a McDonald's breakfast. Students tucked into pancakes, hash browns, muffins, flatbreads, milkshakes etc., we did see one order of fruit as well!
Then it was on to Islington and the main gathering at Union Chapel. The students were able to listen to the keynote speakers: Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan, Dame Rachel de Souza, Lord Boateng and the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell. Their words were inspiring and our students talked about their passion while delivering their ideas on education and children's wellbeing.
It was then a short walk through a bustling Islington to St. Mary Magdalene's Academy for the workshops. St Peter’s students joined several other schools in 4 different sessions looking at sustainability in education and society. Workshops were very interactive and student led with pupils moving between groups and engaging with other young leaders. The students had input from leading thinkers on sustainability, one lady that spoke was an ex editor of the magazine Vogue. The St Peter’s pupils had made a video prior to attending the conference where they expressed their views on environmental issues and this was shared during the day with all the other young people
taking part. I know I will be biased, but ours stood out! We came away with lots of ideas on the environment and actions that can be initiated as well as a plan for the ‘perfect school’.
After lunch, pupils had the opportunity to head out and have a game of football with the other schools involved in the workshops. St Peter's students initiated this, led by our very own Gareth Southgate, aka James Crust, and of course... we won!
The day went very quickly and it was soon time to head home. The 4 hour journey was made much more enjoyable by the karaoke sessions led by the St Peter’s students. The students were amazing, a real credit to our school and displayed our Academy Values of Respect, Service and Aspiration all through the day.
I would like to thank the 11 students and other 2 members of staff for making this one of the best visits I have been on in my 22 years of teaching, it was a really special day.
Mr R Walker Assistant Principal“Our trip to the London conference, ‘Flourishing together’ was a great experience. We heard from inspirational speakers such as the Secretary of State for Education and the Children’s commissioner for England.
Being able to then listen to other students and talk about sustainability within schools was a real eye-opener. I really enjoyed getting to know other students within our school and being able to work alongside them in the group activities. It was a lovely and valuable day out.”
Libby Yeomans - Head Girl
“The National Conference was a great experience for all of us from St.Peter's. It was great to have such influential people from within the Education and Church of England spaces within this event. It was especially good to see speakers like Lord Boateng. Personally I enjoyed the group events in which we could interact and compete with other schools. Within this I appreciated the flexibility and support from all the members running this event, as they made sure everyone felt welcome and valued. Thank you all for putting on such a great event.”
Bavan Boughan - Head Boy
Uniform Standards
Being smartly dressed and ready to learn is an important part of developing into responsible young adults.
Students are representatives of St Peter’s whilst in uniform and being smartly dressed will reflect positively on the academy as a whole.
Please find below the list for the academy's uniform standard for the school Year 2023-2024. The following uniform standards are part of the academy's home school agreement.
Key Stage 3 and 4 Uniform
Plain black blazer with school badge sewn on.
White shirt & Key Stage school tie.
Plain black trousers (skinny fit trousers are not allowed) or plain black school skirt (no stretch/lycra).
Plain black or grey V - neck or crew neck pullover.
Smart, all black polishable leather shoes. Canvas shoes or shoes with logos are not allowed.
Plain navy blue or plain black coat.
Patka/Turban – (Sikh student head covering) navy blue or black.
Hijab– (Muslim student head covering) navy blue or black.
Legacy uniform is acceptable until August 2024.
Uniform in the Sixth Form
Students present a ‘business-like’ appearance when in school.
Full Business style suit: Colours should also comply with business style, Black, Navy or grey. Suit Jackets must be worn around the site but can be removed in lessons.
Cardigan or V neck jumper (optional): Black or Navy with either V-neck or Crew neck. No Hoodies or jumpers with logos on.
White business shirt/blouse - St Peter’s Sixth Form tie must be worn with shirt.
Black ‘polishable’ shoes: No Trainers or casual style shoes.
Enrichment and Enhancement
St. Peter’s has an extensive Enrichment and Enhancement Programme.
A timetable of sessions, for all year groups is in place to support students’ academic progress and attainment. Education at St. Peter’s, however, is not just about exams and exam results. We have always sought to educate the whole child and so we have included a range of non-academic activities. The programme we are providing aims to give students opportunities to learn and explore beyond the classroom, developing new friendships across their year groups.
Our staff are keen to offer enhancement and enrichment activities that students will engage with and enjoy, enabling them to unlock their full potential.
You can find details of the Enhancement and Enrichment Programme on the link below. Be aware that provision is organised by year group. There are sessions available before school, starting at 08:00, at lunchtime and after school. In addition to this, we also run some virtual sessions.
https://stpetersacademy.org.uk/whats-on-offer/
Safeguarding
St Peter’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the physical, mental and emotional welfare of every child and young person, both inside and outside of the Academy. We implement a preventative approach to managing safeguarding and child protection concerns.
Online safety
This week is Online Safety week. As mentioned by Mr Mullen-Furness, Year 7 spent the whole of Wednesday with Mr Mclean (Head of Year 9 and E-Safety Lead) working together on how to keep themselves safe whilst online. In recent years the world has become increasingly connected via the internet and this gives the children many amazing opportunities to learn about virtually any topic, to engage with friends and family remotely and for a huge range of entertainment, whether that is through streaming services, Youtube or via gaming. Unfortunately there are also many dangers on the internet, and at St Peter’s we work with the children through events such as the one this Wednesday and also through the PSHE curriculum and in Computer Science lessons to help them to spot danger and then to protect themselves.
Online safety advice for parents
As an academy we are aware that the online world is ever changing and adapting. As a parent this can be confusing and ultimately very worrying. In order to support parents to better understand the potential online risks and to help open up a conversation with your children regarding online safety we are working with National Online Safety to provide a short course to broaden your knowledge and understanding on Online Safety issues. The resources include Parents & Carers courses (presented by Myleene Klass), online video resources and weekly guides covering a huge range of topics, including:
· Online Relationships
· Fake Profiles & Social Bots
· Online Bullying
· Online Grooming
· Child Sexual Exploitation
· Sexual Harassment & Violence
· Sexting
· Live Streaming
· Online Identity
· Screen Addiction
· Online Challenges
· Overspending
· Social Media Platforms
· Online Gambling
· Radicalisation, Terrorism & Extremism
· Age Inappropriate Content
· Copyright & Ownership
· Hacking
· Fake News
· Online Fraud
· Online Reputation
· Personal Data
· Pornography
· Targeted Adverts & Pop-Ups
· The Dark Web
· Games & Trends
To create your account, please follow https://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/st-peter-s-collegiate-school-a-churchof-england-academy and complete your details. When you’re set up, you’ll be able to set ‘Parent/Carer’ as your user type. Once complete you will have access to the watchlist option from the menu on the left of the screen where you will see a module available for you.
If you would like to access some other resources we can recommend the following links, which provide a very comprehensive guide to a variety of online safety concerns: NSPCC - https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/ SaferInternet.org - https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
Thinkuknow/CEOP - https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/ - On this website is a link where you can report a variety of online concerns, including abuse or grooming. Of course, we are available in school if you would like to speak to us for advice, or to report an online incident. Please contact either the Safeguarding Team (safeguarding@stpetersacademy.org.uk) or Mr Mclean who is the school’s Online Safety Lead (rmclean@stpetersacademy.org.uk).
