Lift Richmond Park

Terri Nardoni

If you have any queries regarding the admissions process please contact our Admissions Officer, Terri Nardoni in the first instance, who will be able to help you (transition@liftrichmondpark.org)

Richmond Park is welcoming and inclusive. We are extremely proud of our transition programme and work hard each year to ensure that parents and students alike feel happy and confident as part of our school community from the moment that they receive their offer from us.

The details of the transition events for this year are shown below

‍

Transition Programme

We are providing a series of events with the aim that you and your child feel as welcome, comfortable and confident as possible about moving to secondary school. We will aim to provide opportunities for you to share as much information about your child as possible so we can best support them in this transition. We hope that this will give our incoming students a really positive experience of their new secondary school so they can hit the ground running in September 2024.

‍

Wednesday 30th April: Friendship Party

Time: 4:30pm until 6:00pm

Our Friendship Party is led by Mr Costello and Mr Trace and includes a series of challenges and activities to introduce your child to life at Lift Richmond Park. Your child can be confident that they will leave the Friendship Party fully informed about what comes next so please do your very best to come along. We very much hope all new pupils will be able to join us for what is traditionally a very positive start to the RPA journey.

Please complete this form to confirm your attendance as soon as possible.

‍

Thursday 19th June and Thursday 26th June: Transition Meetings

You will be emailed with a bespoke time slot nearer to the date

The Transition Meeting Day will provide an opportunity for parents, carers and students to meet a member of the school’s Leadership Team and Co-ordinator for Year 7.

Important information will be available to help you and your child prepare for September including a Parent/Carers transition pack. The SLT member will be able to answer all your questions and any concerns. You will be sent an appointment time nearer to the date.

Should you want to, you will also be able to :

Speak to Mrs Scott, SENCo, about your child’s learning needs.
Make a voluntary contribution to the School Fund which is used to provide for additional resources for your child’s education.

‍

Monday 7th July: Headstart Day

Time: 8.30am until 2.30pm

On Monday 7 July, all pupils will attend an orientation day. They will be welcomed in an assembly by Mr Whelan (Headteacher) and Mr Costello (Deputy Principal). Pupils will get to meet some teachers and classmates and familiarise themselves with the academy site, including the Oak Tree Café. They will also begin to understand the structure of the school day and routines. They will spend time getting to know their form group during an extended tutor time as well as attending some taster lessons. Pupils will also register their fingers for our cashless catering parent-pay system.

Please arrive at school at 8:25am at the Student’s Entrance (via Hertford Avenue) and arrange for collection at 2:30pm at the same entrance. They are expected to wear their primary school uniform and bring trainers in case their class has a PE.

Please note that this event is weather dependent. If there is a significant amount of rain forecast, we may have to postpone the day. Please keep an eye on your emails and check the school website for updates!

‍

Wednesday 9th July: Year 6 parents’ and carers’ information & curriculum evening

Time: 7pm until 8.15pm

The aim for this evening is to give you as much information as we can to enable you and your child to have the best possible start at Lift Richmond Park.

‍

Monday 11th to Friday 15th August: Summer school

We are delighted to confirm that our Transition Summer School will run on site from Monday 11th August to Friday 15th August 2024. The aim of Summer school is to provide students with taster lessons in a variety of subjects, team building activities and an off-site activity. Students will have an extended chance to bond with their peers, get to know some staff, become familiar with the site and have a great time in order to help their transition into Year 7. Timings will be 10am-2pm daily and students will be required to bring a packed lunch and water bottle each day. Students should wear clothing appropriate for physical activity. Details of the off-site activity, including consent forms, will be shared closer to the time. We are asking parents who are not eligible for the pupil premium grant for a voluntary contribution of £100 for the week to help cover the cost of staffing and the off site activity. This will be through ParentPay once you are logged in.

‍

No items found.

Uniform

School uniform and a smart appearance are very important to Lift Richmond Park. The wearing of uniform indicates pride in personal appearance, and reflects acceptance of shared goals and support for the values the Academy seeks to achieve and is designed with both boys and girls in mind and is smart, comfortable and economical.

Uniform is one of the outward signs by which the local community recognises and makes judgements about our students and it is important that our students present themselves in a positive, professional way that conveys a disciplined and well-ordered learning environment.

Uniform page

Transition FAQs

What does the transition programme involve?
We are really proud of our thorough and extensive transition programme. Our aim is to ensure that students are familiar with the school and ready to start in September. The programme includes a Friendship Party, a 1:1 “getting to know you” SLT or middle leader interview, a Headstart Day, and team building activities in the first half term. We also visit primary schools to receive key information from individual Y6 teachers. An extended programme for transition is also available for students who would benefit from this.
What happens on my child’s first day at RPA?
I hear the behaviour policy is very strict, is this true?
We have unashamedly high expectations and expect our students to behave in line with our behaviour policy so that we have no wasted minutes in lessons and a bullying-free school. This allows every student to benefit from a distraction free learning environment. However, even though we are firm, we pride ourselves on being fair. We have a focus on rewarding students when they get it right and uphold our values (School Values: Pride, Aspiration, Resilience, Kindness, Skills for Life).
Do you set/stream?
All of our students enjoy a broad and balanced curriculum. Year 7 are taught in mixed ability classes across all subjects. A very high percentage of RPA students are High Prior Attainers (HPAs) so research has shown that this is the most appropriate way to structure the school to give all students the best chance of achieving positive outcomes. Within the mixed class environment, teachers differentiate work to stretch the most able and encourage those who are having any difficulty. For Year 7 students teachers have the full incoming data set to assist them with this differentiation.
How many extracurricular clubs do you offer?
At Lift Richmond Park, we have a wide array of extracurricular activities. We offered over 60 different clubs last year including everything from sports (see below), to dance, music, drama, science club, coding, film club and debating. We are confident that every student can find one that they are passionate about to enrich their curriculum offer. Y7-10 students are expected to participate in a minimum of two clubs per week.
‍
What trips do you offer?
Which sports are on offer? What opportunities are there for competitive sport?
We have an unparalleled sporting offer at Lift Richmond Park. Our aim is to provide students with a broad sporting offer so that they can be confident in maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. We have a great balance of cooperative and competitive opportunities and have very successful teams. We enter local, county and national competitions in a wide variety of sports. You name it and we offer it, including all of the traditional sports such as football, basketball, netball, cricket, athletics, hockey, rugby and others you may not expect, ranging from boxing, to trampolining to table tennis.
What support is there for students with additional needs?
What are your top tips to support transition?
Mr Costello’s Top Tips for Parents:
- Help to make a homework/revision timetable to ease concerns over time management.
- Take time to listen to students about their experience (it won’t be too long until it is hard to get any information out of them about school!)
- Encourage them to take every opportunity possible, including attending clubs/trips, this will help them to make new friends and become part of the school community.
- Slowly give them responsibility for their organisation. Always be there to help, but get them to pack their own bag, make their lunch and get themselves sorted for the day ahead.
- Encourage them to speak to a member of staff about any questions or problems they have.
- Remember that it is ok to make mistakes; if they get it right or wrong, we will follow our policies. We will label behaviour, not the individual. Learning from mistakes is how we grow.
- Encourage a growth mindset; live by the adage “I can’t do this YET”
- Communicate with us; we love to hear your feedback to improve the school.
How do you deal with bullying?
What equipment will my child need?
Will my child be in a form with other children who they know?
During the 1-2-1 meetings prior to joining, we will ask you/your child if they have any preferences for this. Wherever possible and appropriate, your child will be placed with at least one other learner from their primary school.
All learners will be given information about form groups and timetables on their first day of school. It is not possible to give out this information until the term starts.
Will my child be able to choose the language he/she wants to study?
What happens if my child is ill?
If your child is ill when they are at school, they will be sent to the Medical room where trained first aiders will assess how your child is. If required, a member of staff will call home to discuss how your child is feeling with you.
If your child is ill and going to be absent from school - We have an attendance target of 97% for each student and strongly encourage students to come to school whenever they can. However, if they cannot, please contact the school as early as you can via attendance@liftrichmondpark.org
How do we pay for school dinners?