Easter. News from Sheila Talwar, Acting Principal. Sheila Talwar, Acting Principal

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1 Stratford Lawn, Stroud, Glos. GL5 4AP Tel: Easter News from Sheila Talwar, Acting Principal It is hard to believe that Easter is almost here I think my most used phrase is I can t believe how time flies at St. Rose s! and the other favourite is, It has been a very busy term! This term we have had our cross regional monitoring inspection and yesterday the OFSTED care inspector arrived to inspect the school residential provision. We are proud of the quality of education, health and care we provide at St Rose s and hope this will continue to be reflected in this year s inspections. Although it seems a long time ago you will be pleased to know that we received very positive feedback from the CQC inspection for St Martin s held before Christmas. The students and staff continue to work hard and we celebrate student success at our Friday Assembly. Activities have included work experience for the post 16 students, many trips out to access community facilities and this week one of the classes was fortunate to see a lamb being born when they visited the Cotswold Farm Park. We welcome Maggie Smith (Foundation Governor) and Ruth Poole (Parent Governor) who have joined our governing body. The governors are regular visitors to St Rose s and we value their continued support. They are keen to meet parents/ carers and would be happy to be contacted to arrange a meeting. Since Christmas we have welcomed 4 new teaching assistants and 4 new members of staff who have joined the care team. We also welcome our IT manager who is being assisted by Robbie Gardiner who was a student at St Rose s a few years ago. We are very sorry to say goodbye to Emma Richards who will be leaving at the end of April. She has been appointed Deputy Headteacher at Claremont School in Bristol. Emma has worked hard as Curriculum and Assessment Lead for the past two years and was a class teacher for many years before. We wish her every success in her new job. We are also sorry to say goodbye to Jodie Vowles but wish her well as she travels the world. As Easter approaches we have been talking about this special time of year. Tomorrow we will be joined by the Rainbow Theatre Company who will be performing the Easter Story and on the last day of term we will have our Easter Assembly. It is a time to think about new life and to celebrate the story of Easter. I wish you all a very happy Easter and restful holiday. Sheila Talwar, Acting Principal Questions or comments? us at admin@stroses.org.uk or call

2 ICT Matters and experience of working in a local independent specialist college. Nick has been bravely holding the fort since Chas left at Christmas but help is now here in the form of Paul Jackson and Robbie Gardiner. Paul is our new IT Manager who is working three days a week on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays so that we have IT cover for the whole week. He began work on March 2 nd and is working closely with Nick while he settles in. He will be a real asset to the IT department and brings lots of knowledge We are also very excited to have had the opportunity to employ an ex-student Robbie to the post of IT Technician. It is great to see Robbie again and to be able to use his skills to benefit St Rose s and contribute to keeping our IT systems up to date. On March 9th we held some IT training sessions which gave an opportunity for staff to update their skills and learn some new ones. Carmel from our Speech and language department was able to deliver some training on Grid 2 and 3, the software used by many of our students with communication aids. It was a useful time and we will continue to train staff using peer support and our IT team. Jean Bankhead and the IT team

3 BBC CBeebies SOMETHING SPECIAL with Justin! We were delighted and excited to be involved with the CBeebies Something Special We re All Friends programme. Justin Fletcher and the BBC crew came to St. Rose s to film. Our very own Dylan, Gemma and various other staff were featured. The theme of this particular programme was Friendships. Dylan and Gemma have been at St. Rose s since 2006/7 and during this time have forged a true friendship. The programme featured Dylan and Gemma baking cakes together and then sharing them with other friends and family at St. Rose s. The programme, which was the series finale, was shown on 12th February. We hope you enjoyed watching it. FUNDRAISING Thank you to everyone who supported the Christmas Coffee Morning. This event was a huge success raising a fantastic amount This money was used the pay for the students Christmas activities. Thank you also to those who came to sing carols at Tesco. We raised 173 which was a great amount of money for 2 hours singing. The Quiz Night at The Rose was a great success. Funds will be put towards the refurbishment of the cookery room which will become a living skills room. We are all very excited about this project which will be the focus of our fund raising events until the room is complete. Forthcoming events: Sunday 15th May 2016 CAR BOOT SALE at St. Rose s. Sellers 9am, buyers 10am. 5 car, 10 van. Refreshments will be on sale. Saturday 18th June GARDEN FETE. 1.30pm 4.00pm September 2016 AFTERNOON TEA WITH MUSIC to be confirmed. Further details to follow. Please support these events in any way you can. We are always grateful for raffle prizes, paperbacks (no hardbacks please), good quality toys, cakes, bric a brac and fancy goods. You can send these in at any time for the attention of Elaine Shipway. Looking forward to seeing you at these events. Elaine Shipway, Chair of Fundraising Committee. 100 squares Some of you may have noticed the 100 square board in the reception area. The game is very simple. You buy a square for 1, when we have sold all 100 squares a name gets pulled out of the hat. The person s name that is pulled out the hat is the winner and receives 50. St Rose s receives the other 50. The winners will be announced in the following newsletter. Congratulations to our first winner Carmel Burke, Speech and Language Therapist.

4 ST MARTIN S Our students continue to surprise and amaze us with their enthusiasm and work ethic. This term has been no exception and they continue to take the opportunities on offer to them. Find My Style On 21 January St Martin s students had an opportunity to participate in a Find my Style workshop led by Sam, a fashion stylist from Flamingo Foundation. We created theme boards to identify the colours and styles of clothing we preferred from magazines and catalogues and Sam helped us to identify our style. We then had the opportunity to look at samples of clothes from high street shops. The event was captured by a professional photographer. Disability Awareness A group of students from St Martin s have been discussing issues and challenges for young people with disabilities. Bradley, Aiden, Frazer and Ryan visited Foxmoor School with their tutor, Mike, to explain to the staff and pupils how to communicate appropriately with people with communication difficulties. It was suggested that it would be really beneficial for staff at St Rose s and St Martin s to have this training and the group agreed to run training sessions for them. They prepared presentations about what staff need to know about young people and their disabilities. In particular they wanted to share how they want people to talk about and to them.

5 Our Voice to Live Another event was held, this time at St Rose s, and our students hosted the group who again had lots of ideas of what they should do next. They are now planning some new events which will be held later in the year. This is a great opportunity for our students to meet with other students from colleges around the area. Safer Internet Day Our students decided to think about the best way of reminding each other of how to be safe on the internet. We were part of hundreds of organisations across the UK who were all taking part in Safer Internet Day. Our students planned some activities for everyone to be involved in and it was a good chance to remind everyone of the importance of staying safe online. Personal and Social Development This is high on the agenda in St Martin s and students have weekly courses where they can consider issues and complete qualifications in PSD. They continue to have half termly sessions with a particular emphasis on relationships and the option of an individual or group mentor session. They also have other opportunities in tutor times and social times to chat about things that are concerning them. We had a visit from our community police force accompanied by an expert in drug use and its dangers. Health and wellbeing are important issues for our students who often have to contend with physical discomfort and health problems and the physiotherapy and postural management they receive is vital to enable them to learn and get the most from their time at St Martin s.

6 Visits There are always plenty of visits to places as part of the curriculum. Students regularly go into Stroud to practise independent living skills shopping, using money, wheelchair driving, communication etc. Special visits this year have included a visit to Paint a Pot in Nailsworth, a visit to the Cathedral in Gloucester and Gloucester library. Placement and EHCP Reviews We have now begun the reviews for this year and these are a great opportunity to show the progress the students are making in lots of different areas. It is always a pleasure to attend the reviews and listen to the achievements of the students and it is often inspirational. They continue to participate in a varied curriculum with independent living skills, work related learning, functional skills maths, English and IT and therapy all part of their learning experience. We are always looking for feedback from the students as we consider how to improve what we are offering and this might come in the form of comments they make or by observing the students participating in activities and observing when they are engaged and enjoying what they are doing and building on their skills. Toolkit for disabled children, adults and their parents, carers, families and supporter A new Toolkit has been developed by Cerebra in conjunction with Cardiff law school and some family ambassadors. It is intended to help families/carers to work their way through the system if they are encountering difficulties with the statutory agencies in relation to the provision of health, social care and education support services. This toolkit aims to unpick these problems and to develop effective strategies for resolving them. It does not relate to one specific piece of legislation, but offers a general, practical approach. To manage the process as effectively as possible. It's available on the Cerebra website at w3.cerebra.org.uk/help-and-information/guides-for-parents/problem-solving-toolkit/ DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: Around the world in 80 days dress rehearsal Monday 11th july with performances on Wednesday 13th july and Thursday 14th july -both in the afternoon more information to follow.

7 TERM DATES AND HOLIDAYS 2015/2016 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun MARCH APRIL MAY Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun JUNE JULY AUGUST Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun IN SERVICE DAYS ARE SHOWN IN PURPLE (STAFF ONLY) OPEN WEEKENDS ARE SHOWN IN RED Term 1: Tues 1 st Sept - Wed 21st Oct days Term 2: Mon 2 nd Nov - Fri 18 th Dec days Term 3: Mon 4 th Jan - Fri 12 th Feb days Term 4: Mon 22 nd Feb - Thu 24 th Mar days Term 5: Mon 11 th Apr - Fri 27 th May days Term 6: Mon 6 th Jun Fri 22nd Jul days Total 195 days* Christmas Bank Holidays 25 th December th December 2015 New Year Bank Holiday 1 st January 2016 Good Friday 25 th March 2016 Easter Monday 28 th March 2016 Early May Bank Holiday 2 nd May 2016 * 195 days are defined as School days. In the school year 2015/16 pupils must attend for 190 days. Schools may decide individually or collectively which 5 days in the year are INSET or non-contact days (days pupils do not need to attend). Spring Bank Holiday 30 th May 2016 Summer Bank Holiday 29 th August 2016

8 TERM DATES AND HOLIDAYS 2016/2017 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun MARCH APRIL MAY Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun JUNE JULY AUGUST Mon Mon Mon Tues Tues Tues Wed Wed Wed Thur Thur Thur Fri Fri Fri Sat Sat Sat Sun Sun Sun IN SERVICE DAYS ARE INDICATED IN PURPLE (STAFF ONLY) OPEN WEEKENDS ARE INDICATED IN RED Term 1: Thurs 1 st Sept Fri 21st Oct 2016 Term 2: Mon 31 st Oct - Fri 16 th Dec 2016 Term 3: Mon 3 rd Jan - Fri 10 th Feb 2017 Term 4: Mon 20 th Feb - Fri 7 th Apr 2017 Term 5: Mon 24 th Apr - Fri 26 th May 2017 Term 6: Mon 5 th Jun - Fri 21st Jul days 35 days 29 days 35 days 24 days 35 days Total 195 days* * 195 days are defined as School days. In the school year 2016/17 pupils must attend for 190 days. Schools may decide individually or collectively which 5 days in the year are INSET or non-contact days (days pupils do not need to attend). Christmas Bank Holidays 26 th December th December 2016 New Year Bank Holiday 2 nd January 2017 Good Friday 14 th April 2017 Easter Monday 17 th April 2017 Early May Bank Holiday 1 st May 2017 Spring Bank Holiday 29 th May 2017 Summer Bank Holiday 28 th August 2017