25th October 2024

(Upated Version)

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to address a growing concern regarding the standard of school uniform. Recently, we have noticed that some students are not adhering to our uniform policy, which is essential for maintaining a sense of equality, discipline, and pride within our school community.

As you know, our uniform is designed to promote inclusivity and minimise distractions, helping students focus on their education. It also enhances school identity and prepares students for environments where professionalism is expected. Unfortunately, deviations from the uniform standard compromise these important Team Rushden values.

Additionally, when students do not follow the uniform policy, it creates unnecessary disruptions to teaching and learning. Teachers and staff are required to address these issues throughout the day, which diverts attention away from instructional time and can affect the learning environment for all students. We want to maintain a focus on education enabling students to aspire, explore, and succeed. Ensuring all students follow the uniform guidelines is an important part of achieving this goal.

We understand that sometimes ensuring your child has the correct uniform can be challenging. To support you, we can offer assistance through uniform subsidies for families in need, and we also have a stock of second-hand uniforms available. Students are also able to loan an item of uniform on the condition they leave a deposit, such as a phone, earpods or other personal item. This will ensure that the item of uniform is successfully returned at the end of the school day. Please feel free to reach out to the school office if you require any support in obtaining the correct uniform for your child.

Starting from Monday 11th November 2024, consequences will be put in place for students who do not comply with the uniform policy. These measures are meant to ensure that all students follow the guidelines and uphold the school's values. We kindly ask for your cooperation in ensuring that your child adheres to the uniform requirements.

The details of our student uniform policy are:

• School blazer
• School tie
• White shirt
• Black tailored trousers or school skirt (worn at the correct length, i.e. not turned up)
• Black ‘polishable’ footwear
• Coats must be waterproof and padded

Students are NOT permitted to wear:

• Hoodies of any sort (including, half, full or quarter zips). 
• Sports tops, or tracksuit tops
• Leggings or any skin-tight trousers
• Nose rings
• Jackets underneath their blazers
• Fluffy socks
• Canvas footwear

The advice I would give you for determining if an item is going to be classified as leggings is that if the material is stretchy and/or skin tight, then they are not acceptable. We appreciate that some shops advertise ‘school trousers’ when they are in fact leggings. Please check this carefully when purchasing any new items of clothing.

Should students arrive to school from 11th November 2024 with incorrect uniform then the following system will be applied:

• Students will be asked to correct their uniform at the school gates. This may be a case of putting on their blazer, or removing a nose ring, for example. Once they comply they will be allowed to continue with their day. Any further infringement during the day will lead to a detention and (where applicable) having the item (such as a hoodie) confiscated, in line with our behaviour policy.
• If students do not have the correct uniform, they will be offered the opportunity to borrow the correct uniform from our pastoral provision. If the student complies with this request then they will be able to continue with their day.
• Should a student refuse to borrow an item of uniform, then they can expect to work in our reception building, under the supervision of a senior leader. Students will remain in this provision until their uniform is corrected. Work will be provided for students to complete. This will enable all teachers to focus on their core purpose of delivering outstanding lessons to all students without the distractions of having to tackle uniform issues. 

By providing you with advance notice of this initiative, we hope that there will be isolated issues with the student's uniform when we return to school after the half term. Students have the opportunity to have any nose rings professionally removed over the half term, and these can be replaced with a nose stud. The additional week following the half term has been provided so any parents/carers who are concerned about this initiative, or require support, can contact the school to arrange any support that is required.

We are aware of individuals who may not be able to wear specific clothing due to medical or SEND needs, and we will continue to support these individuals as part of our reasonable adjustments, where medical evidence has been provided, or is mentioned as part of any Education Health Care Plan. Where we do not have any medical evidence, I urge you to ensure that the school receives a copy prior to the 11th November 2024 so that any reasonable adjustments can be applied and your child is not unfairly sanctioned.

I appreciate that for most students, our concerns regarding uniform do not apply, and we thank you for ensuring your child attends Rushden Academy looking smart and proud to be a part of Team Rushden. 

Thank you again for your continued support in fostering a positive and professional environment for our students.

Yours faithfully

Jonathan Firth

Principal

Dear Parent / Carer

We have had a number of trips out this week, enriching and supporting both the wider curriculum and personal development programme that we offer students at Rushden Academy. Earlier in the week, Mr Ross accompanied a group of students to Auschwitz as part of a trip arranged by the Holocaust Educational Trust. Students took part in seminars before visiting a number of different sites and a museum. 

On Thursday, students from years 11, 12 and 13 visited De Montfort University as part of our careers and futures programme. Students had the opportunity to look around the campus, meet current students studying for their degrees, and to get a feel for what it would be like to study at university. We are looking forward to offering students further opportunities later in the year to visit different universities, along with visiting various apprenticeship and careers fairs.

Yesterday evening, Huxlow Academy hosted the Huxlow and Rushden Sixth Form open evening. The evening was well attended and we hope that all students looking to see what was on offer, found a range of suitable courses. Students will have their first round of 1 to 1 discussions next week to get them thinking about what courses they would like to study, and what qualifications they will need to achieve in order to access each course. Students will then receive a follow up discussion later in the year.

Our assemblies this week were delivered by Mrs Ogungbadero focusing on Black History Month, its history, and the many ways that we celebrate this. The theme this year is Reclaiming Narratives and Mrs Ogungbadero shared a number of stories with students about key individuals and their achievements. 

Thursday was Harry Potter Day across the country, and the library team went all out with an amazing event for staff and students. The theme this year was 'Care of Magical Creatures' and so the team thought it would be an ideal time to invite someone in to show and talk about some of the amazing animals we have in our world. Dave Sharpe from RaptorXotics brought a selection of wonderful creatures with him, including a toad, a tarantula, a blue tongued skink, an owl, and a golden eagle!

The students who attended thoroughly enjoyed themselves and many were very brave in stroking or holding the animals. They behaved very respectfully and listened so well to everything Dave was telling them. After being sorted into their Hogwarts houses, students had activities such as a coin hunt, a Harry potter quiz and Quidditch Pong. It was a great night and a well-deserved Hufflepuff; Team 2 won the overall prize, with the highest point score!

Keep a lookout in next week's newsletter for some more information about the night and lots of photos too!

Looking forward to next week, students will be taking part in their end of half term rewards assemblies, along with our attendance prize draw that will be taking place on Wednesday morning.

Please remember that school closes to students next Thursday, and will reopen on Tuesday 5th November.

Finally, we have received several reports from concerned parents about the amount of traffic in the school car park after school each day. We appreciate that there are concerns over the way individuals park and block others that causes issues. Our main concern is the safety of our students. With this in mind I intend to start liaising with the local authority to conduct an impact assessment on local traffic and safety should we decide in the future to install barriers that would prevent access to the school site during the day. Please be mindful when collecting your child from school, and do look out for others to ensure all students get home safely. If you are able to consider dropping your child off at an alternative location, that would be greatly appreciated.

I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Mr J Firth

Principal