Help and Support from the Specialist Health Team

Guidance for parents and carers

Coronavirus: A Book for Children

Northants CC Coronavirus information

NCC Community Resilience Team  below for details

If you are self-isolating due to the Coronavirus situation and have no other forms of support, you can contact us to request help with:

• Urgent food deliveries
• Prescription medication collection (delivered by our staff or district/borough council employees)
• General support with loneliness
• Help to get online
• Posting mail

Call 0300 126 1000 and select Option 5 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

If you need to contact the 0-19 team including School Nursing or Health Visiting please do so using the e-mail or contact number below as I may not be available for part of the weeks ahead.

0300 111 1022

Title	Download
pdf A4 School Nurse Poster Chat Health	Download
pdf CAMHS Connect having kids at home	Download
pdf Resources to support Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health for Young People - Coronvirus	Download
pdf Emotion Coaching - CONNECT COVID19	Download

Rushden Academy is committed to providing holistic support for students. This means that we recognise that students' health, wellbeing and education can be affected by a whole range of issues, not just school! Below are some links to additional information you may find useful as you navigate the ups and downs of life as a family  

However we also have an onsite family support worker - Lizzy McKeznie. She works closely with the pastoral and safeguarding teams within school but is also available for the whole family to ensure that students are able to achieve to the best of their abilities. She is able to provide information, guidance and practical support in areas such as:

• parenting advice: from discovering your lovely child has turned into a teenager to the big issues of sex, drugs and online safety
• health and wellbeing
• finance - benefits checks; budgeting advice as well as emergency referrals to the food bank
• housing 

She is here for YOU - so if you need anything please don't hesitate to contact her at  or on the normal school number.

Our Ethos Team has released a parent podcast for all things parenting and the first episode is up now! Each episode will involve different experts talking about the major issues facing young people today, and asking how we as parents can talk to our teens about them. This week's episode is all about how to talk to your teen about well-being and mental health. Hear from our very own youth work Rosie and others on how to support well-being in young people. https://www.grace-foundation.org.uk/meetup/ethos-asks-episode-1/

At Rushden Academy, we have partnered with Grace Foundation who are working with us from the inside out to support the aspirational, relational and spiritual needs of students and their families through the work of our Ethos Team. Our Ethos team work onsite full time and consist of an Ethos Leader, Youth Worker and Family Support Worker and they work to create and implement the Ethos Programme. 

Have a look at the Ethos Blog for tips for your wellbeing.

Ethos Team Impact Term 3 2021-22

Here is a selection of some of the sessions we have run for different year groups during Term 3

Mr Noblett leads our Ethos Team here at the Academy. His role is to lead the team and build the Ethos Programme to support the school in Raising Student Aspirations, help students Build Healthy Relationships and better Understand Christian Perspectives. The aims of the Ethos Programme are to develop the whole person, enhance student wellbeing and improve student outcomes.

Hi, I'm Rosie, the Ethos Youth Worker. My job is all about supporting our students, and helping them to reach their potential. On any day you might find me running a wellbeing course for a group of students, playing games at a lunch time drop in club, mentoring a young person who's having a difficult time, teaching a lesson on resilience, leading a reflective session on prayer, or maybe just making someone a hot chocolate. If you ever need to have a chat about the stuff that's going on in your life - big or small - why not come along to the Ethos room and say hello?

Lizzy McKenzie is the Family Support Worker and part of the Ethos Team here at Rushden Academy. She works closely with the pastoral and safeguarding teams within school to help offer holistic support to students. This means being available for the whole family to ensure that students are able to achieve to the best of their abilities. She is able to provide information, guidance and practical support in areas such as: parenting advice: from discovering your lovely child has turned into a teenager to the big issues of sex, drugs and online safety health and wellbeing finance - benefits checks; budgeting advice as well as emergency referrals to the food bank housing  safeguarding She is here for YOU - so if you need anything please don't hesitate to contact her at  or on the normal school number.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance website has really useful information if your being bullied or know someone who is, please use the link below to visit it:

https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/

Want to tell us something?

Have you seen or have you experienced an incidence of bullying? We want to stamp out all forms of bullying and you can report your experience below. Just type your message and hit submit to send anonymously to our support team.

Cucina - We are delighted to partner with Rushden Academy

Our aim, along with the schools' is to provide all students with an exceptional catering experience. Our very talented Executive Chefs and our fantastic catering teams will be serving exciting menus packed with healthy ingredients, that are full of variety, and with loads of interesting new things to try. It's important that the food tastes as good as it looks, and we're sure you won't be disappointed. 

What's on the menu?

Cucina has long been considered the most inventive school caterer and that’s because we’re very clear about our food. All our dishes are prepared every day using quality, fresh and seasonal ingredients that are responsibly sourced. As well as ensuring the food on the plate is healthy, we want our customers to understand the importance of eating the right foods and help them with their food and nutrition journey.

• A huge selection of 'grab and go' items including baguettes, paninis, burritos and salads to name a few.
• A variety of healthy, tasty main meals prepared fresh every day from carefully selected ingredients. The menu will follow a similar weekly pattern, so you know what to expect, providing over 35 choices each day in addition to the ever-popular chef specials, themed events and loyalty schemes.
• Our Street Vibes range, global street food that tours the world. It’s always changing; from Korean fried chicken, Chinese bao buns, to Greek souvlaki, there’s always something new to try!
• A salad bar bursting with flavour, from traditional garden salads through to composite salads with a wide variety of grains, proteins, and dressings
• Theme days we're travelling around the world! We'll go to different regions each half term, with 3 days of special dishes alongside Street Vibes street food for the whole half term. There are also lots of individual special days and promotions that will run throughout the year!

Free school meals

We want to ensure that all of our customers have access to a healthy nutritious meal, with this in mind, we have some meal deals in place. These include the hot main meal offer, a hot wrap or hot chefs special with a hot dessert.

We have also developed our “Blue Dot Deal”, 4 items can be purchased for the free school meal price. Selected hot items such as garlic bread, mini pizza boats, mushroom quesadilla, and selected cold items such as filled rolls, crudites, fruit pots etc. (Usually priced at 90p each) can be bundled together at the free school meal price. However, students can purchase any items they wish that fall within the free school meal allocation, including the breakfast and break time offer at the school.

Did you know that your child might be entitled to free school meals? For more information and details on how to claim, visit www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

ParentPay & Biometric Consent

Rushden Academy is a cashless school and we use ParentPay to process all payments, including paying for your child’s lunch. All new students should receive a letter with an access code to activate your ParentPay login. Once you have logged into the system, you will be able to add money on to your son/daughter’s lunch account and track what they are spending each day.

If you have not received an access code please contact Rushden Academy at .

To pay for food in the canteen, students use their fingerprints. For more information about our biometric system and to give consent for your child to use their fingerprint use the form below.

Biometric Consent Form

EAL Coordinator – Mrs H Buckoke

Here at Rushden Academy, we provide personalised support for students who have English as an Additional Language (EAL). We deliver inclusive provisions for all levels of English language development. Students will be supported in the following ways:

• Small group lessons in English for pupils who are at the early stage of English Language.
• One to one support if required.
• Supporting pupils at all stages of language development across the curriculum, by working collaboratively with class teachers.
• Working with pupils at examination level to help achieve good grades.
• Supporting pupils in all aspects of school life in order that they may achieve their full potential both academically and socially.
• Acting in a pastoral capacity to deal with any problems and arranging home / school liaison where necessary.
• Arranging external examinations in pupils’ first language.

The GCSE results of our EAL students are improving year on year with them achieving a positive P8 score

Resources available to our EAL students:

• EMAS - online translation tool
• Tablets
• Dictionaries in native languages
• Peer support

If you feel that your son/daughter has specific language needs, please contact Mrs Buckoke, EAL Coordinator: 

Rushden Academy believes that personal and academic success is underpinned by good attendance and punctuality. We are committed to working alongside the young person’s parents/carers to promote good attendance and address any barriers that a young person may face in attending school in a supportive manner.

Our school day starts at 8:30am with students expected to arrive by 8:25am. They can come to school via either gate (Hayway or Spencer Park). If your child is later than 8:25am they will need to come through the main entrance located on Hayway.

Reporting an absence: 

If your child is going to be absent from school please contact the school by 8:15 am and provide clearly the name, year group and reason for the absence.

You can report an absence using the following options: 

01933 350391 selecting option 1 

Key people who can assist with attendance

Below you will find a list of people who you are able to contact to assist with any queries regarding attendance. We will always support you and your child with the aim to have good attendance.

Parents Guide to Attendance 

This academic year the government has made changes to Attendance and we have provided a guide below to highlight and summarise the main parts of the Government Guidance.

 Requesting a special leave of absence 

All requests for absence due to exceptional circumstances should be submitted to the Principal using the form below. We appreciate that sometimes it is not possible but please aim to submit the form at least 4 weeks prior to the absence. 

Please note that the Academy will not authorise any holidays taken in term time. The Academy reserves the right through the Education Inclusion Partnership to issue Fixed Penalty Notices where a holiday is taken during term time.

More details can be found  in our policy and on the request form below.

Rushden Academy’s Attendance Policy

Here you can find our Attendance Policy for the academic year 2024-2025. This is inline with the new guidance for Attendance from the Government from the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ which came into effect on the 19th August 2024.

Behaviour and Rewards

At Rushden Academy our #TeamRushden STARR Values underpin all that we do.

Pupils are rewarded for displaying positive learning behaviours both in class and around the Academy.  There are weekly Stars of the Week awards recognising excellent work and effort from all staff.

Departments also provide further recognition of pupil progress and achievement at the end of ecah half term in our Rewards Assemblies.

Every September, the Academy hosts their Annual Academy Awards Evening where we celebrate our pupil’s achievements and successes with parents.

When pupil behaviour falls below our expectations the Academy uses a simple and easily understood behaviour management system of ASK – MOVE - REMOVE to ensure that pupil learning and progress always comes first.

To further support or values and expectations the Academy has also set out a range of our key foundations such as being in uniform, having a planner and equipment, pupils being punctual to lessons and ready to learn. These key foundations we consider as ‘Non-Negotiables’.

Our current Behaviour and Exclusion Policy can be found here