10th December 2024

Letter to Parents 10.12.2024

 

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I am writing to provide you with an important update regarding the leadership at NUSA. As you will likely be aware, NUSAs current Headteacher, Mr Turton, has been off since October. The school has been well led and supported by the senior leadership team up to this point but as Mr Turton’s absence continues the trust have made the decision to put in an interim Headteacher to ensure the school progresses in the right direction. Until Mr Turton returns, I will be standing as acting Headteacher for NUSA. I am very fortunate to be joining a dedicated and supportive leadership team and will continue to be supported by Mrs Barker and Ms Backhouse as Deputy Headteachers. Having previously worked alongside Mr Turton, I am lucky to already know the school well in my primary role as Deputy Director of School Improvement for Nova Education Trust. As a former Headteacher and having held a number of Senior Leadership positions across the South, I bring a wealth of experience which I hope will complement the existing team and allow the school to continue to thrive and grow.

Our mission for all students at NUSA is to educate the young people of Nottingham and the surrounding areas, through a curriculum that is rich in academia and personal development. This is achieved through inspirational teaching by experienced, subject specialists who in engage students in an ambitious curriculum which is purposefully designed to meet local need. Alongside high-quality teaching, students can expect to be guided and cared for by teaching and support staff who have wellbeing and care at the heart of the classroom. In turn, students establish a real connection at NUSA and respond in an independent, mature manner, achieving their ambitions and broadening their horizons.

To successfully achieve these ambitions, it is important that staff, school governors and our parents share the same vision for what we want our young people to achieve and become. With this in mind, I would like to share the outcome of that work with you: Our vision is for every learner within our vibrant and diverse college community to experience transformative academic and personal growth and allows learners to embark on a journey that stimulates them intellectually, develops them socially and is personally transforming as they plan for their next steps into adulthood.

 

Behaviour curriculum changes

You hopefully will have heard from your child over the last week about a series of assemblies held to share the updated behavior curriculum currently being trialed. This week sees the final stage of implementation with a new detention system being introduced. In essence, we have removed the language of ‘red flag’s’ and replaced with a C1-C3 system which gives pupils more opportunities to reframe their behavior when the right choice hasn’t been made or disruption to learning has occurred. The system also now includes a Matrix system which means that despite a pupil needing to be removed from a lesson, they still have the opportunity to continue the learning but in a different classroom to ensure they are not missing out on learning for the subject.

However, as with any system there does have to be consequence for behaviour. Therefore, the following detention system will be in effect from this week.

C1 – Negative added to kickboard

C2 – removal from lesson to another lesson (Matrix) and a 30-minute detention issued on the same day

C3 – removal from lesson to ICE and a 60-minute detention issued on the same day

Non-attendance to a C2 or C3 detention will result in a 2-hour Headteacher detention on a Friday afterschool.

All children have had this shared through assemblies and tutor time this week and are aware how this will work should they be impacted, and the importance of the positive choices they can make to ensure they attend well and can access their learning successfully.

 

End of term arrangements

As you are aware, school closes for the Christmas break on Friday 13th December. This will be a half day with students being allowed to leave from 12:00. Please note that the new detention system mentioned above will also be affect from this Friday.

I look forward to hopefully meeting you in person over the coming weeks and if not before, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas break when it arrives.

 

Yours Sincerely,

Ms. Leah Miller

Acting Headteacher