Student Support

Looking after and supporting the development of the whole child

Arrangements for student support and care at Arrow Vale have been designed to provide a holistic approach to addressing the personal, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of every young person. Young people are encouraged to make the most of their time at school and every effort is made to remove obstacles to successful learning and to equip young people with the confidence and skills to be effective learners and responsible citizens.

All members of the school community have a role to play in assisting young people to be safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, respected, responsible and included. It is the responsibility of the Year Team Leaders and Heads of Year to ensure that this is done consistently and professionally thorough out the school; they work with parents, carers, members of the community and outside agencies to ensure that Arrow Vale students receive the care and support needed to be successful.

Support Structures

We have a support structure at Arrow Vale which provides all students with personalised support whenever it is needed.

At every stage of their school career, each pupil has a Form Tutor, Year Team Leader and Head of Year, all of whom have a key role in monitoring and supporting them in every aspect of school life.

Form Tutors, assisted by Year Heads, see all members of their form on a daily basis and write individual reports. They also organise tutor group activities and deliver our Learning for Life programme, designed to teach our students life skills and an understanding of the wider world. Form Tutors are present at all Parents’ Evenings and should be the first point of contact for any academic or social concerns.

The Year Team Leader supports the Form Tutor to monitor progress across the year group, ensuring that they are on track to excel in all academic achievements.

In addition, the School Nurse provides invaluable pastoral support, as well as addressing medical issues and participating in the personal, social care of students.

For further information and contact details please click HERE to the School Health Nursing – High School Leaflet

Learning for Life SMSC

Underneath the Learning for Life umbrella we are committed to providing high quality learning opportunities for all students regardless of gender, academic ability, social background, religious belief or ethnicity.

Through assemblies, tutor sessions and learning for life lessons we such we are well placed to contribute to students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education. We actively encourage our students to consider each other, their school community, their local community of Redditch and the wider world.

Through a variety of learning and reflective opportunities our students are encouraged to develop a moral conscience and the ability to consider ethical, economic and spiritual issues. For example every week there a theme for the week which is encompassed within each assembly and as moral centre point for tutor sessions.

Running concurrently with this we run Learning for Life tutor sessions that look at, through a variety of activities and learning. Also students attend one lesson per week of Learning for Life lessons and are given the opportunity to discuss and debate topics related to morality, discrimination and prejudice, matters relating to health, sex and relationships, finances and Religious studies.

Learning for Life teachers enthusiastically inspire students to discuss and debate SMSC issues outside the classroom. We ask our students to enquire, consider and question in lessons and beyond so they may become more rounded individuals whose opinions are valued and listened to.

Student Support:

Mr M Rash (Vice Principal)

Meet the Student Support Team

Lead Year Team Leader : Mr A Fortune

As Year Team Leader for Year 11, my job is to make sure every student in the year group has everything they need to be successful. Alongside our wonderful Head of Year, Mrs Ierston, and Vice Principal, Mr Preston, we work to ensure that our students are able to excel in the classroom and leave us as rounded young adults at the end of the year. With a focus on high attendance, excellent behaviour and academic support, we are able to prepare our young people to take the next steps in their journey.

Outside of the year Team, I’m passionate about providing the best English teaching and personal development opportunities, running the school’s Duke of Edinburgh Award programme and adventurous activities.

Year Team Leader : Miss K Roberts

I joined Arrow Vale Academy in 2018 as a Teacher of Science. I have always been interested in behaviour which led me to complete a degree in psychology, which I have utilised when supporting pupils to make improvements of their learning behaviours. As a Year Team Lead, I will be working with all our feeder schools to guide our current Year 8 pupils through the transition process to our school. In addition, I am looking forward to working alongside Mrs Cotterrell to support our Year 9 pupils on their journey into young adults by ensuring they have the best opportunities to make both academic and personal progress at our school.

Year Team Leader : Mr A Ballantine

With a decade of experience as Head of Learning I aim to bring this experience and add to an outstanding pastoral team already in place at Arrow Vale. With the in-depth knowledge Mrs Rawson has of the cohort, I will endeavour to compliment her outstanding work and drive the year 10 forwards in this vital year of study. In year 10, the foundations are set for future successes in year 11 and beyond. Within year 10, students need to quickly understand the rigor of GCSE study and the implications their attendance and behaviour have on learning. There is more to school than just the academic outcome, so, I will strive to help all students become the best versions of themselves every day.

As a PE teacher I am keen to harness the personal developments that PE can bring into the wider school context. Outside of school I am a keen sportsman but, as age catches up the sports are diversifying. I also enjoy spending time with my kids in the kitchen.

Head of Year: Mrs H Beardsley

I joined Arrow Vale in September 2022 as a Cover Supervisor and took on the role of Head Of Year in April 2023. This is my first role in a high school and I’m really enjoying building relationships with students to support them in their final years of education. Previous to this I was an Early Years specialist with 12 years experience. Outside of school I am a busy mom that loves long walks with my cocker spaniel and spending time with my family and friends.

Head of Year : Mrs N Ierston

I started my role as Head of Year at Arrow Vale School in April 2022, following a 14 year career as a PE teacher. I am passionate and committed to supporting our students and their families to ensure that each pupil has a positive experience at Arrow Vale. I believe that all pupils, no matter what barriers they may face should have the skills and confidence to aim high and achieve their very best.

Outside of my role, I am a busy mum of two who loves to holiday in our motorhome and be out on our paddleboards preferably in the sunshine!

Head of Year: Mrs R. Rowson

I joined Arrow Vale Academy in June 2021. I have been in education for 15 years and have gathered a variety of skills such as; behaviour support in secondary school, ASD special education needs & delivered training on and supported Students with Social, Emotional, Mental Health difficulties

Wellbeing Lead: Miss H Barnes

I am the Wellbeing Lead here at Arrow Vale. I joined Arrow Vale in January 2019 and begun as a Head of Year. I have now moved on to my current role which has been designed to support both staff and students with their wellbeing. My aim is to create positivity around Mental Health and encourage students to speak to someone if they are struggling. We have seen an unprecedented change in students and their own wellbeing over the past couple of years. I provide support for students to ensure they feel listened to and receive support both internally and externally when required so that they feel confident enough to engage with their learning.

Outside of this role you will usually find me running around after my three boys. However, I also love horse riding and going out for long strolls with my dogs.

Wellbeing Coordinator: Mrs S Curtiss

I joined Arrow Vale back in 2017. I work very closely with Miss Barnes, promoting positive mental wellbeing around the school and ensuring that pupils can access mental health support. The last few years have been a very challenging time for many of our students, and I now provide one-to-one sessions to help support those students struggling with issues such as low self-esteem, low mood, anxiety, anger management, self-harm, eating disorders or bereavement. In addition, I provide informal lunchtime drop-ins which students can access if there are struggling emotionally during the school day. I also liaise with external agencies who are invited into school to work with some of our most emotionally vulnerable students and their families.

Education Welfare Officer: Miss D Davies

I joined the team in September 2022 and work closely with key staff to identify and resolve attendance issues. I am passionate about breaking down barriers that prevent children from attending school and missing out on their education. My role involves meeting parents and pupils to identify these barriers and implement support from key staff so that our pupils can achieve their full potential. It also includes discussing the legal responsibilities a parent has to ensure their child receives a full education. I complete home visits daily to support families out in the community. My passion for supporting young people derives from my degree in Criminology, working in the probation sector and supporting young adults back into education or employment.

Houses

At RSA, Arrow Vale we run a hybrid house system that allows us to be in a vertical mixed tutor system or a horizontal year tutor system. At specific times and events we will run either system. This allows our students to benefit from year interventions and peer mentoring. When in the vertical system students will be grouped with a mix of all years but aligned by our houses.

Following the huge success of the house system and the way in which pupils have engaged with it we have decided to re-launch our houses giving each one their own identity and mascot so making the houses more colourful and vibrant.

The houses are as follows:

The AIM HIGH Alligators
The BELIEVE Bears
The DISCOVER Dragons
The EXCEL Eagles

Each member of our school community is allocated to a house and can gain points for them respectively.

Points are awarded by staff for Achieving in lessons, attending on time, Extracurricular, Community activities, doing lunchtime activities and Supporting others to name but a few.

Throughout the year students take part in several competitions from sports to academic tests to quizzes and competitions in specifically identified house weeks that add points to their house. These competitions coincide with a sports day that acts as the decider for which house will take the coveted Governors trophy but more importantly will have bragging rights within the school for the next year.

With the re-launch also comes the introduction of house captains, these students leaders selected from our sixth form will ensure that moral remains high, the rest of the students are kept informed about the progress of their house and that come sports day their houses have the biggest and best banners, their face paints are applied correctly, and they cheer the loudest!

House Points are a huge part of enhancing learning and behaviour at RSA Academy Arrow Vale they are awarded to students to recognise hard work, high attendance, good/improved report comments and key assessments, work experience participation, taking part in after school activities (belonging to a team, taking part in the school show, intervention etc.), doing something out of the ordinary….in fact anything you think warrants recognition for effort.

Points must be given to….

show that teachers recognise achievement
ensure students know that their efforts are being recognised
share and celebrate success in a variety of areas
encourage more competition between students
generate a sense of belonging to a tutor group
bring a sense of worth and belonging to a house
encourage students to participate in whole school and community activities

FIVE POINTS – (RECOGNITION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT): –

We all should be rewarding achievement equally (to ensure a level playing field):

RSA cards should be available during ALL lessons and tutor times (given for achievement NOT behaviour)

Tutor group attendance/punctuality (weekly) – cards don’t need to be written for this; a tutor can enter these straight into the spreadsheet)
Quality of work (achievement) and participation during lessons (not behaviour)
Quality of work (achievement) and participation during tutor time/Learning for Life (not behaviour)
Doing something out of the ordinary
Helping someone (putting yourself out)
Tutee of the week
Student of the week
Attending intervention

TWENTY-FIVE POINTS: –

Students often receive achievement certificates for other types of achievement (for attendance, Iris credits etc.) These should be given to the form tutor and twenty-five points should be added.

Also, a tutor will often be able to reward students for their efforts in other activities. Those organising such activities should ensure they have certificates to give out

Attendance Certificate (termly)
Reports on track to reach all target grades (progress)
Improvement in Key assessments (progress at each key assessment)
Participation in extracurricular activities
Work experience (good effort during work experience week)
Supporting any school events (i.e. on parents’ evenings)
School responsibilities (i.e. ICT monitors, prefects
After school projects
Partaking in after school sporting activities (playing for school teams)
Partaking in assemblies (end of term)

SMSC, Learning 4 Life and KASE

KASE day is a day designed for Year 9 to show how they use their…

…in an unusual and different type of Academy day. This year the theme for KASE day was “What does it mean to be British?” In the light of recent terror attacks in Paris, Belgium, Turkey and the very recent BREXIT vote this was a timely and important day. Sessions included:

Each session was led by a member of staff, supported by small groups of staff. Every single Year 9 student took part not only with the right attitude but were also able to use their KASE skills to show how much they have grown as a year group since joining us last September.

From looking at and understanding that ethnic diversity makes our communities stronger, through sessions on respecting and caring for our elderly – including learning to dance in an old fashioned way! As well as making bowler hats, Stonehenge, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Crowns and a local hospital! All Year 9 students took the day in their stride and were a thorough pleasure to teach and be with.

Transitions and Taster Days

At Arrow Vale we endeavour to ensure all pupils feel welcomed, secure and nurtured before they join us in year nine and throughout their first year of high school. The transition to high school can be a very turbulent time and it is our job to make the move as smooth as possible. To make certain that children feel confident all pupils visit the school for the transition days in July however. To compliment this, we offer Taster Sessions to help ensure that everyone has a positive transition to high school by experiencing all that Arrow Vale has to offer.

Sessions have previously run from 9am – 11am Monday – Friday and consisted of Orienteering, Resistant Materials, Nail art, Hair dressing and many more. The sessions are designed to help the students from all the different feeder schools; (Ipsley, Church Hill, Birchensale, Ridgeway and St Bede’s, Woodfield, Walkwood and Studley High School) meet and familiarise themselves with each other before the transition days. Each group is between 10– 20 pupils, thus giving an opportunity for teaching staff and the Head of Year and Year Team Leaders chance to acquaint themselves with the new pupils and, most importantly, a chance for pupils to see that they have made the best choice in choosing Arrow Vale.

From September onwards the sessions will run throughout the year with year 8 pupils and year 7 pupils. Recently, Gifted and Talented pupils from Ipsley and Church Hill Middle schools visited Arrow Vale to take part in two sessions based on team discussions and problem solving. The aim was to demonstrate to pupils how lessons are carried out at Arrow Vale. The experience is thoroughly enjoyed by all.