NewsletterJuly 2023

As the academic year draws to a close I would like to thank parents and carers for their continued support throughout the year and I would also like to thank and commend all of your children for their hard work, kindness and positivity. To all of the young people in Year 11 and Year 13 who have left Nottingham Free School this year, I wish you the very best for a happy and healthy future.

Since starting the school this year, I have been hugely impressed with the dedication of Nottingham Free School staff to provide the students in their care with enriching opportunities that support their personal growth as young people. There are many examples to draw from, but the most recent include our Year 8 camping trip, Sports Day, Culture Day and our school production of Aladdin.

At the end of this term we will say a fond farewell to several members of staff and I would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment in supporting our students throughout their time at NFS.

• Miss Adams - Academic Mentor
• Miss Ahmad - Academic Mentor
• Miss Brown-Messam  (Maternity Leave) - Lead Teacher of Science
• Mr Fisher - Academic Mentor
• Miss Hewitt - Teacher of Maths
• Mrs Johal - Head of Science
• Miss Keay - Teacher of PE
• Mr Kerr - Academic Mentor
• Mr Mee - Teacher of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics

A number of existing members of staff will also take up new posts at NFS in September:

• Mr Coppack - Associate Assistant Headteacher
• Ms Dirrane - Associate Assistant Headteacher
• Mr Garnham - Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator
• Miss James - Literacy Lead
• Miss Leivars - Head of Year 7
• Miss Sallis-Hunt - Head of Science

Finally, we will be welcoming a number of new staff to the NFS family in September.

• Ms Forth - Second in Department of Geography
• Mr Hall - Teacher of Languages
• Miss Lambert - Teacher of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics
• Miss Madden - Teacher of English
• Mr Mallard - Second in Department of Maths
• Miss Mbando - Teacher of English
• Mr Parish - Teacher of Science
• Miss Richardon - Teacher of Maths
• Mrs Santos - Teacher of Art
• Mx Shaw - Teacher of Maths
• Mrs Swift - Teacher of Business Studies
• Miss Wignall - Teacher of Maths

I wish you and your families an enjoyable and safe summer and look forward to welcoming your children back into school in September.

Dr Simpson - Head Teacher  

At the start of June, forty year 9 pupils went on a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Year 9 have been learning about sculpture in their recent rotation and were able to see pieces that they had discussed in class. Each student was given an art pack of materials and they really enjoyed sketching the sculptures they saw and created some brilliant sketches from observation. They saw a range of work from various sculptors including Henry Moore, Nikki de St Phalle and Thomas J Price. The students had a lot of fun and particularly enjoyed the interactive room and Erwin Wurm's Caravan.

Mrs Wilken - Head of Art and Personal Development

Safeguarding Updates:

As the academic year is drawing to a close and the 6 weeks holidays are approaching, it is important that safeguarding never stops and our support to parents over the holidays continues.  Mrs Gray (Designated Safeguarding Lead) will be contactable over the summer via email (kgray@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk).  

We would like to remind parents of the following agencies that are available to them during the holidays should you have any concerns:

BASE 51:

BASE 51 is a young person's charity supporting 11-25 year olds in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. They have the following services available:

• Counselling for 10-25 year olds - both free and low-cost
• Outburst LGBTQIA+ group
• Youth Club
• Young Leaders Programme
• The Studios @ Base 51 recording studio

For further information please visit their website: https://www.base51.org/

Be U Notts:

Be U Notts is an accessible early intervention service that is easy to navigate; providing timely access to advice, guidance and support for children and young people, families and partners.  Be U Notts delivers: community drop-in sessions; 1-1 therapeutic support; group sessions; online and virtual support; and self harm support.

For further information please click on the link which will take you straight to their website: https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/nottinghamshire/be-u-notts-service/

Ask Lion:

Click on the following link to find out what support is available in Nottingham: https://www.asklion.co.uk/kb5/nottingham/directory/home.page

KOOTH:

KOOTH is a safe, confidential and non-stigmatised way for children and young people to receive free counselling, advice and support online.  Staff are fully trained and qualified counsellors, available Monday to Friday from 12pm until 10pm each night and weekends from 6pm to 10pm.  

For further information please click on the link which will take you straight to their website: https://www.kooth.com/

ACT Early (Prevent Radicalisation):

Early intervention for people who are worried about someone close who is expressing extreme views or hatred.  

For further information please click on the link which will take you direct to the website: https://actearly.uk/

Fearless (Part of Crimestoppers):

Fearless gives young people the power to report a crime 100% anonymously.

For further information please click on the link which will take you direct to the website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/fearless

Mrs Gray - Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral) and Designated Safeguarding Lead

Personal Development Curriculum 

In order to support conversations at home we wanted to let you know what your students will be covering in the autumn term 1. 

Y8 – Internet Safety, Mental Health, Knife Crime

Y9  – Healthy Relationships including consent, contraception, and mental health

Y10 – Gangs and county lines, work experience, honour based violence and forced marriage, radicalisation

Y11 – Human Rights and Social Justice: Discrimination

 

Enrichment

Duke of Edinburgh

Bronze and silver expeditions are complete. There will be a celebration evening for the students who took part this year on Wednesday 20th September 6-7pm.

Also a reminder that students need to make sure they have completed all of their sections (skills, physical and volunteering) and logged these on edofe. Students also need their assessors to complete assessors reports for these sections. The easiest way for students to do this is to share this link to your assessor along with their edofe ID number.

https://www.dofe.org/assessor/

Culture Day – Friday 14th July

Despite the weather, culture day was a great success. It was so lovely to see and celebrate our diverse school community. We had some fantastic outfits, musical performances, mehndi and lots of lovely food. We also raised £245.70 which was split between the charities Build Africa and SFiCE.

Our school show, Aladdin Jr, has been an amazing success this year. Our students have worked incredibly hard to put on the show and they have all put 100% effort into their performances. The show involved singing, acting, dancing and students also made all of the set design and a number of the props too. Thank you to all of the students and parents who came to see the show to support our cast, and thank you to all the staff who helped produce the show.

We hope to do it all again next year - Bravo!

Miss Wilson - Head of Music

In Preparation for September:

All ear piercings need to take place at the start of the summer holidays as this allows the ear to heal in sufficient time.  Earrings are expected to be taken out for PE lessons. 

Please see the school website (https://www.nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk/page.php?p=uniform) for uniform requirements.  If you have any queries then please email reception or email your child's Head of Year who will be able to provide you with some clarity.

Pre-Loved Uniform:

Please see the below banner for information on Pre-Loved Uniform - you can visit our uniform page to make a request.

 

Please continue to monitor your child's activity online.  Ensure that you are aware of what apps they are accessing and our advice continues to be that you familiarize yourself with the app so that you know how to use it. The following websites provide support for parents and resources on how to manage conversations:

• https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
• https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
• https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
• https://www.internetmatters.org/schools-esafety/parent-online-support-pack-teachers/

Mrs Gray - Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral)

Some incredible work from our Year 9 students. Food Technology groups cooked 'posh fish finger sandwiches' using fresh hake provided by The Cods Scallops; as part of the Fish Heroes 'Fish From The Chippy' pilot.

All students worked safely when using fresh fish and the deep fryers. They were all so excited to be able to try their products in the lesson. Some of our students couldn’t believe how good the fresh fish tasted.

Thank you to all of the organisations involved:

• Fish Heroes - www.foodteacherscentre.co.uk/fish-heroes/
• Fastnet - www.fastnetfish.com
• The Cods Scallops - www.codsscallops.com

Miss Burley - Head of DT

Coming to the end of term and my time as Educational Visits Coordinator at NFS, I think this is the perfect moment to reflect upon the amazing opportunities that our staff have been able to provide for our students this past academic year.

It has been a true privilege to be able to work in close collaboration with incredibly dedicated staff in order to rectify this, and see the resultant happiness and excitement that it has brought to the students.

Starting with PE, the department takes students to the University to use the facilities throughout the year, as well as orienteering, tournaments and fixtures. Miss Singleton, Mr Coppack and the entire PE department facilitate this in an incredibly efficient and organised manner in order to maximise sporting opportunities for our students, despite our limited space. The work done by Mrs. Barrett in careers is equally impressive. Throughout the year, students (Year 10 in particular) are taken to science events, ambition workshops, tours of universities and spend time at local businesses, all with the intention of helping them to find their passion and path in life.  Heads of Year and our Behavior Support Team have taken our pupil premium students and those in receipt of other forms of support, to a range of specialised activities/workshops around the city with the aim of encouraging equal opportunities. This consistent work connects our school to the wider community, which in turn broadens the horizons of our students.

We started the year with a major residential. Mrs. Wilken’s London Art Trip saw students visit four art galleries, brave the Jack the Ripper walk, visit the Wonderlab at the Science Museum and still have room for a two-hour graffiti tour. A few smaller trips later, we had Ms. Cockayne’s Pantomime trip on a cold mid-December evening. Pupils from all age groups were able to experience a hilarious evening before saying goodbye for the Christimas break. After the holiday, early 2023, Ms. Payne – with help from Mr. Wright – took year 12 Geography students on a five-day residential to St. Ives, where students were able to undertake their geography fieldwork in a truly beautiful setting. The amount of work that went into these excursions was immense, but the pay-off was clear to see.

Between then and May we had: Miss. Singleton’s trip to the Great Big Dance Off, Mrs. Inglis’ RE places of worship trip, Ms. Fairbrother’s Sixth Form Othello trip and Ms. Payne’s Holderness Coast year 11 fieldwork trip. A busy period for trips pre-GCSE/A-levels which was capped off by Ms. Furlong’s English trip to London to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. An unforgettable evening for students, and one which was made significantly more affordable than it ordinarily would have been due to very the fact of it being a school trip, which is one of the key benefits in terms of providing students with those opportunities.

Aside from the consistent outings, the GCSE/A-level period was naturally quieter, but immediately after it finished, we had Mr. Cleveley’s Sixth Form University trip, Mrs. Wilken’s year 9 art trip to the sculpture park (on a perfect summer’s day), and Mr. Wells year 8 rewards residential to Camp Redwood. Following this, the year concluded with Mrs. Clarke’s drama trip to see Blood Brothers, Mr. Phillips A-Level Science trip to Dovedale, and Mrs. Inlgis and I’s year 9 trip to the Beth Shalom Holocaust Memorial Centre. A truly eventful year for trips, underpinned by an astronomical amount of hard work, dedication and care from NFS staff, creating memories which the students will keep with them for the rest of their lives.

A massive thank you to everyone who took the time to plan these trips for our pupils, and to all those who volunteered. It is so important. There is plenty to look forward to in terms of trips which are already in the works for next year.

Mr Mee - Duke of Edinburgh and Educational Visits Coordinator

 

On July the 11th Mr Phillips and Mr Goddard took the Y12 Biology group to Dovedale in Derbyshire to complete their Ecology Required Practical.  

We spent the day sampling in and around the River Dove completing a range of biological and chemical tests. We had an opportunity to put a range of sampling techniques that we’ve been studying into practice. Our results will form the basis of a report that students will submit as part of their A-level Biology practical assessment. 

The students were a credit to Nottingham Free School. Well done all involved. 

Mr Phillips - Teacher of Science 

 

On Tuesday 27th June, Y8 students took part in the City Athletics Competition at Harvey Hadden Stadium.

A big well done to everyone that participated; showing great character, togetherness and support for their peers.

A special mention to the following students for their outstanding results in their respective events:

• Samuel Edwards (2nd 1500m)
• DJ Rose (1st in 100m)
• Chima Okoye (1st in High Jump)
• Phillip Ludlow (4th in Triple Jump)
• Boys relay (1st in 4x100m heat)
• Boys team (2nd overall)
• Overall team (8th overall)
• Girls relay (2nd in 4x100m heat)
• Lucy O’Dowd (4th in 200m heat)

Mr Goddard - Teacher of PE

Please click here to see attached the new menu cycle ready for the start of the new school year.

For any enqurieis, please contact the main office in the first instance - contact@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk

Aspens Services Ltd.

The Mellors Group would like to provide you with a discount code for the GIANT Slip ‘N’ Slide to enjoy this summer.

Head on over to www.nottinghambeach.co.uk to book your tickets before the 31st  of July 2023.

Insert ‘SCHOOLSOUT23’ at checkout when prompted for a discount code.

We look forward to welcoming you.

T&C’s

• Your tickets must be booked before 31st July 2023.
• Online Bookings only – this code will not work on site.
• The code has limited uses, book now to avoid disappointment. The code reduces the cost from £12.50 to £8.50.
• Swimming costume required, Wetsuits available (deposits required) limited quantity.
• Please see the general T&C’s for the Giant Slip ‘N’ Slide here Frequently Asked Questions - Official Nottingham Beach
• Please contact customerservice@mellorsgroup.com if you require further assistance.

The Mellors Group

Nottingham Playhouse