Village News - CRA December 2020

Enrichment at Charles Read Academy

This academic year we have extended our school day on a Monday and Tuesday by an hour so we can include additional opportunities for enrichment and support our Year 11 students, helping them build on work they missed in the first national lockdown. We have set up academic prep sessions so that students can complete homework on site with the support of a member of staff and have access to computers. In addition to this there are dance, drama, music, sport, debating, mindfulness and art sessions to name a few.

A lunchtime addition to our enrichment offer this term has been the Lego club, which has seen a tremendous uptake.  The club runs three times a week and is open to all Year 7 pupils. The club facilitates students building friendships with their peers and staff, improving their social skills, fine motor control and developing their creative abilities.

This week the group had a fantastic surprise, Sainsbury had donated a huge number of Lego collection books and cards. Mrs Coleman, our Pastoral TA kindly collected these and joined students and staff at the club to present them.

To say students were happy, is an understatement, we saw lots of very smiley faces and the room was buzzing with excitement.

Students all received a book and a pack of cards to begin their collection. We are encouraging students to earn further packs by having 100% attendance, positive behaviour, completing excellent homework or by showing any of our six CRA values.

We will be sending Sainsbury a photo of the students with their collections, along with our grateful thanks.

The David Ross Education Trust runs an extensive co-curricular offering which broadens opportunity and gives additional experiences outside the academy. It is exciting and varied, designed to encourage every young person to explore new things, develop their passions and discover their talents.  The benefits are clear. These opportunities support the learning in the classroom, give students the experiences that bring to life UCAS and job applications, and encourage them to realise the importance of developing social leadership skills.