Latest News
All the latest news happening here:
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CEO’s Blog - Working together
Fri 26 Jun 2020How wonderful to see so many happy children back in school keen to learn and to show their teachers what they have been learning at home! Staff and pupils are all enjoying working together again and there are fantastic examples of learning going on in all ten schools. A big thank you to parents/carers for supporting their children’s home learning throughout lockdown and to those who are continuing to do so.
As well as celebrating the successful return of over 75% of our eligible pupils, we are busy planning the welcome return of all pupils in September. Our bubble system is working well and this will remain in place with each bubble growing to accommodate thirty pupils. Regular handwashing and a 1m space between pupils, wherever possible, will become the new norm. We have a new, ambitious “recovery curriculum”, designed to meet pupils’ needs, and we plan to use the additional funding promised by government to narrow gaps where these have occurred.
By working collectively to share and deliver best practice across all schools, we will continue to ensure the best outcomes for our pupils whilst keeping our community safe as we move forward together.
Have a lovely weekend.
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Kate Brunt
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CEO’s Blog - Welcome back Year 6
Fri 19 Jun 2020I think we all had a tear in our eye and a smile on our face as we saw our Year 6 children come back to school on Monday. Over the last seven years, we’ve watched these children grow into the wonderful young people that they are today. It is a real privilege to be able to work with them during these final weeks of their primary school lives. Even in normal times, this can be an anxious time for children in this year group and, as we know, these are anything but normal times! Their mental health and wellbeing will remain a priority over the coming weeks as we focus on fun transition activities to ensure that they are ready to meet the exciting challenge of secondary school.
Throughout this crisis, I continue to be amazed by the kindness and maturity of young people. This week, we have a wonderful role model in Marcus Rashford. What an inspirational example of a young person thinking of others and changing lives for the better!
Before I finish, I am delighted to be able to tell you that we will be opening holiday clubs in some schools across the trust during the summer break. Further details will be available very soon.
Well done everyone - another great week of learning! Have a lovely weekend.
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Kate Brunt
CEO
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CEO’s Blog - Welcome back Reception and Year 1
Fri 12 Jun 2020It was wonderful to welcome back our Reception and Year 1 children on Monday. I continue to be amazed by the energy and positivity of children, parents and staff. This week, I’d like to share a few of the many, many messages we have received that express this far better than I can:
“I didn't have a good day yesterday; I had a fantastic day” (EYFS child);
“I’m just REALLY enjoying school lately. I know it’s not the same as it was but it’s SO good” (EYFS child);
“His first day back at school has been his best day ever” (parent);
“I really appreciate everything you've done to keep my daughter safe” (parent);
“The youngest children in our school have been amazing. I cannot believe how resilient they have been and how calmly they came into school and just cracked on as if they had never been away” (teacher).
This week, we heard of a change in the government’s aim for all primary pupils to return to school before the summer holiday. As a trust, we continue to be creative and flexible in our planning to allow the maximum number of children to return to school safely.
Next week promises to be another exciting week with the return of our oldest children. We can’t wait for you to join us, Year 6!
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Kate Brunt
CEO
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CEO Blog - Bubbles
Mon 08 Jun 2020What an exciting week this has been for our Rivers family! On Monday, schools across the trust welcomed back pre-school and nursery children. It was wonderful to see the delight of children and staff as they were reunited after so many weeks apart. In one of our schools, the ‘Friends’ association donated bubble machines and the children walked and danced through rainbow-coloured bubbles in the sunshine as they made their way into school for the first time in ten weeks.
Of course, it’s not all about dancing through bubbles! We continue to prioritise the safety of our children and staff in the practical ways that I mentioned in last week’s blog and the bubble machines, whilst fun, were all about helping children to understand the ‘protective bubble’ strategy that we have adopted in our schools. Additionally, we continue to provide planning for those families who are home learning and, of course, we continue to provide school places for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
The positivity of children, parents and staff this week has been overwhelming. We are all looking forward to Reception and Year 1 children joining us on Monday and keeping our fingers crossed that the sun joins us too!
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Bubbles
What an exciting week this has been for our Rivers family! On Monday, schools across the trust welcomed back pre-school and nursery children. It was wonderful to see the delight of children and staff as they were reunited after so many weeks apart. In one of our schools, the ‘Friends’ association donated bubble machines and the children walked and danced through rainbow-coloured bubbles in the sunshine as they made their way into school for the first time in ten weeks.
Of course, it’s not all about dancing through bubbles! We continue to prioritise the safety of our children and staff in the practical ways that I mentioned in last week’s blog and the bubble machines, whilst fun, were all about helping children to understand the ‘protective bubble’ strategy that we have adopted in our schools. Additionally, we continue to provide planning for those families who are home learning and, of course, we continue to provide school places for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
The positivity of children, parents and staff this week has been overwhelming. We are all looking forward to Reception and Year 1 children joining us on Monday and keeping our fingers crossed that the sun joins us too!
Stay safe and stay in touch,
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CEO blog - First steps
Fri 29 May 2020First stepsOn Monday, we will be welcoming back our nursery and pre-school children followed by our Reception and Year 1 children from 8th June and our Year 6 children from 15th June. I know that many of you will be feeling anxious about this so I want to reassure you that the health, safety and wellbeing of all our pupils and staff is my priority. Planning for this next stage has been done within the framework of the latest advice from Public Health England and we have worked strategically with the local authority and DfE to implement a specific and robust health and safety plan and to carry out rigorous risk assessments. On a practical level, children coming into school will be grouped into small ‘protective bubbles’ of no more than 15 children, areas will be cleaned regularly, children and staff will wash their hands regularly throughout the day and PPE will be provided if needed. As we take these first steps towards a return to school-based learning, our focus remains very much on the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of all our children and staff.
We look forward to seeing some of you on Monday and to getting our Rivers family back to some kind of normality as soon as is safely possible.
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Kate Brunt
CEO
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CEO blog - Kindness
Sat 23 May 2020This week is ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ and it couldn’t be more timely. We know that good mental health is central to our ability to cope with and recover from this crisis. However, unsurprisingly, this long period of lockdown and the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has affected the mental health and wellbeing of us all, including our children. This year, the theme for the week is kindness, which seems an appropriate choice in the current circumstances. I’m sure that we can all think of numerous acts of kindness going on in our communities right now as we shop for elderly neighbours, keep in touch with relatives who live alone, donate to food banks, and much more. But the power of kindness doesn’t stop there – showing kindness to others has a positive impact on our own mental health and wellbeing too. In other words, by being kind to others we are also being kind to ourselves, which is just as important.
Another date to note this week was Wednesday 20th May, which was ‘National Thank A Teacher Day’. It was wonderful to see so many of you showing your kindness by sharing pictures, videos and messages online. I want to join you in saying a huge thank you to every member of the Rivers family for their amazing work, not only during these challenging times but all year round.
Finally, I wish you all a relaxing half-term break. Be kind to yourselves - try to switch off and enjoy the sunshine.
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Kate Brunt
CEO
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CEO blog- 15.5.20
Sat 16 May 2020Moving forward
I’m sure that, like me, you were all listening to the prime minister’s speech on Sunday evening as he set out the government’s plans to ease the lockdown over the coming weeks and months. I know that the announcement about the proposed phased return to school from 1st June for primary children will have been met with mixed feelings by many of you. I want to reassure you that the safety of everyone in our Rivers family remains my priority as we move forward.
During the next few weeks, we will continue to work closely with the DfE and Worcestershire Children First to make sure that we can open our schools safely. We are receiving regular advice from the DfE about how to implement the necessary policies and procedures for social distancing and regular handwashing. I will, of course, continue to update you as and when new information becomes available and/or the situation changes.
I continue to be awed by the efforts staff and parents/carers are making to ensure that our children are continuing their learning during this uncertain time. Thank you everyone - I realise the time and energy involved in making this happen and I am proud and humbled to be a part of such an amazing community.
Stay safe and stay in touch,
Kate Brunt
CEO
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Pupil vacancies across school
Mon 27 Apr 2020We currently have a small number of pupil spaces available across KS1 and KS2. Should you be interested in finding out more, then please do not hesitate to contact the school office via the school email address and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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