Dear Families,
It has been an award-winning week this week for Rushden Academy with our brilliant PE team winning the North Northamptonshire Secondary School Active Communities award. We are extremely proud of our PE team for the work they do every day to support and encourage students and the wider community to engage with sport and lead a healthy lifestyle. Here is what was said about the team during the ceremony:
Rushden Academy's PE department has transformed student engagement through its innovative "ME in PE" curriculum and inclusive sports leadership programme. Over the past year, students have led primary school sports days, organised SEND games, and developed leadership skills through planning and delivery. The department's focus on inclusivity and empowerment has created a culture of participation and pride. Their work has not only increased physical activity but also built confidence and community connections. Rushden Academy's PE team exemplifies dedication to holistic student development through sport.
We would also like to congratulate all of the other nominees and award winners who were celebrated at the ceremony on Wednesday evening.
BTEC Update
We would like to remind families that students in both years 10 and 11 are currently working through their BTEC Assignments. The deadline for these assignments is 8th December 2025. We would like to remind families that these assignments count towards your child's final grade that they will receive. Period 6 sessions are available to support students, your child’s form tutor will be reminding them of these sessions.
Inclusion Update
We would like to inform you that we are in the process of updating our website with more current, and relevant information for supporting students with SEND. As parents, if you feel that your child may have additional needs, and you are concerned about this, we have added a reporting form to the SEND section of our website. This will allow the team to be notified so that we can work together to explore any concerns. The link to the form can be found by clicking here.
We would also like to confirm the date and times of two Inclusion sessions that we are going to run for parents. Following your feedback, we will be running two sessions for parents, the details of these are as follows:
- Wednesday 3rd December: 1:30pm until 2:30pm
- Wednesday 3rd December: 6:30pm until 7:30pm
During these sessions you will hear from myself, and our SENDCo, Ms Leech. We will share information on the following themes with you, whilst also allowing time for any parental questions to be asked:
- Rushden Academy's SEND offer
- What the expectations are of the Local Authority
- What support you can expect from the Local Authority
- Details on the process and timescales if you are considering an application for statutory assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
- Questions from parents
We will share details of how to book a place for these sessions via social media early next week. Bookings will be organised by Eventbrite.
We hope you all have a lovely weekend, and we look forward to seeing all students in school on Monday.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. J. Firth
Principal
