Egerton Rothesay School

A School with a Difference

For pupils who need additional support, including those with

Dyslexia, Dyspraxia or Speech & Language issues.

 

Egerton Rothesay School aims to provide a unique and relevant education for each of our students. We believe that learning should be focused on the individual and should be about preparing each child for life after school - as well as academic subjects and exams. We say that “ERS is a school especially for the child who can benefit from additional support”. This means providing the best possible education, within a genuinely supportive framework, that will also be enjoyable for the child throughout their school career.

We are an inclusive school and welcome children of all abilities and from all cultures and faiths. We have the facilities to provide specialist support, whether for a specific educational need - such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia or Speech & language issues - or for a more general problem with learning. Our aim is always to enable each individual child to make the best possible progress and as such our input can be for the whole school career or on an interim basis to help re-focus a child’s progress.

Our core school structure is for children aged 9 to 16, but we also have facilities for younger children aged 5 to 9 in our Springboard and Rainbow centres.

 

We hope this information is helpful but we would also like to show you the school in action.

To arrange a visit, or for any more information, please contact Liz Martin

(01442 877060 or liz.martin@eger-roth.co.uk ).

Overview

The school’s overall mission statement is:

The Egerton Rothesay School objective is to provide an environment where learning can flourish, enabled by excellent teaching and a caring environment underpinned by our Christian ethos.

For clarity this can be divided into three distinct areas:

The School's Teaching and Learning mission

To achieve the highest standard of educational provision for each student

To encourage each student to gain the highest possible standard of achievement

To achieve the highest standards in pastoral care, support and individual development

To provide and maintain a disciplined, organised and caring educational environment

To enable each student to take the next step towards a fulfilling life and to become an integrated and valuable member of society.

To provide excellent teaching from a well trained staff who use their professional skills to meet the needs of our students.

The School's Christian Mission

To support all, both staff and students, in exemplifying the Christian values of love and forgiveness, respect, tolerance, honesty and diligence.

To encourage all to continually question and refine their values and to develop an understanding of the beliefs and assumptions underpinning those values.

To develop an understanding and respect of others’ views through open discussion and academic rigour.

To develop an appreciation and understanding of the world, of an individual’s place in it, and of their relationships with others and within their community.

To provide an opportunity for students to contribute to their community and to others who are less fortunate than themselves

Throughout their time in the school, to enable students to develop an understanding of the Christian Faith by providing a clear understanding of the nature and content of the Bible and the lives and work of Christian people, both past and present.

The Ethos of the Egerton Rothesay School is reflected in the quality and type of interactions which take place amongst members of the school community. It should reflect the following values:

Everyone is valued and respected as a unique individual with a contribution to make; everyone is of equal importance.

Every child has the ability to learn and the right to learn without disruption in a safe and supported environment.

All students should experience personal educational success within their school life.

Help should be provided where needed.

Diligence and effort should always be acknowledged and appreciated.

Non-confrontational discipline should be used whenever possible and patience should be shown even in the most trying of circumstances.

Positive reward should be used whenever possible but, where appropriate, redress is made and forgiveness shown when things go wrong.

All of this is underpinned by our Christian basis, a belief that each of us is made in the image and likeness of God and is a unique individual. Within the school, the commandment to love one’s neighbour as oneself is seen as being especially important.

Our History

Egerton Rothesay School arose from the amalgamation of two Berkhamsted prep schools by our founders, John and Heather Adkins.

Rothesay School, founded in 1922 and situated in Charles Street, was bought in 1981. Three years later, Egerton School, founded in 1951 and located a few hundred yards along the same road, was purchased. The two amalgamated and give us our current name. Children, split by age, continued to be taught on both sites.

The Founders' aim was to run a Christian school where, in addition to receiving a first class education, children learned about Christian values and developed a genuine understanding of the Bible and its teaching. This, within the context of small classes, concern for every individual and a strong family ethos, allowed the school to thrive from its beginning.

Over the next four years the school grew steadily and accommodation became cramped. During the same period there developed a shared desire amongst parents and staff to provide education for children throughout their secondary school years and these two factors led to further premises being sought.

1988 a purpose-built middle school was purchased from Hertfordshire County Council and the former Rothesay School buildings were sold for development. On a memorable day in September, our new premises were formally opened by the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Our remaining Charles Street premises continued to provide accommodation for younger children. Children of 7 years and older transferred to the new site in Durrants Lane and the secondary school department, offering continuous education through to age 16, was opened. A successful sixth form subsequently supplemented this for many years.

Our Future

We are currently based on two sites in Berkhamsted. Our Charles Street premises are converted from three Edwardian houses whilst our Durrants Lane site was a middle school purchased from Hertfordshire County Council. Both sites offer a good base for educational purposes but we are actively seeking to bring the whole school together in an exciting new project.

From January 2009 the whole school will be based at Durrants Lane.

We are currently building a new facility for younger children and putting in place plans for the necessary alterations, additions and improvements across the existing buildings to ensure continued high quality education for all our students.

PTA

For complete information about the PTA go to their dedicated website using the link below - meanwhile here are some headlines and the overview of the valuable role the PTA plays in the school.

PLEASE JOIN IN AND HELP

Everybody has a skill or contribution they can bring to the PTA even if it’s as simple, yet valuable, as shifting furniture, sweeping a floor after an event, volunteering to man a stall, making cakes etc.

We need organisers as well – those of you who can take onboard a project and see it through from start to finish. The committee can’t do it all – most of us live at a distance from school - and we need your help, so PLEASE do think about giving your own time and energy, occasionally, to assist the PTA.

WHATS HAPPENING NEXT

We are in full swing organising the Christmas Fayre. Please take a look on the PTA site, link below, and see what you can donate towards the various stalls being run. Boxes will be available at the school for your donations. On the site you'll also find details about the Christmas Card Project.

HOW DOES THE PTA WORK

To quote from our constitution; the object of the Egerton Rothesay School PTA is to advance the education of all pupils in the school, in particular by:

Engaging in fundraising activities, to provide facilities or equipment which will enhance the environment of the school and/or learning opportunities offered to pupils.

Developing effective relationships between the staff, parents and others associated with the school

Members are the parents, guardians or carers of any pupil currently attending the school; and the teaching and non-teaching staff currently employed by the school

Meetings are held two or three times per term, 7pm- 9pm at the school. Dates are advertised in the Weekly Times, via all-school emails and on the website. The Annual General Meeting is held in October.

 

Read more about the PTA

Jobs at ERS

Egerton Rothesay has a team of approximately 112 people who work, either full or part time, in a range of roles that deliver or support the special educational experience that we want to provide for each pupil.

Roles within the team

Teaching

With our core age-range being Y5-Y11 the majority of our teaching posts are subject based but we also have class teachers for the lower age children, whether within our mainstream years or our Springboard or Rainbow groups which cover the 5-9 years range. Experience of teaching children who need additional support and/or Special Needs is an asset but, as with all our pupil facing roles, we do provide comprehensive training.

 

Teaching Assistants

As well as small class groups we also employ TAs to support the teaching in the group (our staff to pupil ratio is sometimes as low as 6:1) so that each pupil has the right level of adult help and support. These roles are flexible and, whilst usually class based, there can be a role as an assistant for a specific child.

 

Admin

To ensure the school runs smoothly - and that we can deliver the educational environment we promise – we need a professional admin team. The skills we require range from reception to secretarial, from accountancy to IT, from catering to maintenance - and here again we need people who can be part of the wider team and can enjoy working with and for our pupils.

 

Basis of the school

ERS is a school with a Christian basis which we try to apply at all levels within the running of the school. Members of the team need to be comfortable with supporting those aims but, as with our children, we have in our team those from all faiths – and indeed none.

 

Jobs available now

The attached pdf lists all jobs currently vacant with full details of the role, application dates and the skills we are seeking. If there are no jobs at the moment that fit your skills but you still like the idea of working as part of our team please feel free to send us a cv.

 

Sending your details to admin@eger-roth.co.uk is the best route (but post works too) and, either way, we will keep your details on file and contact you if and when something suitable arises.

School Structure

The majority of our children are aged between 9 and 16, i.e. school years Y5-Y11. Within this age range, all children are taught within small classes where the maximum number of students within each is determined by the level of need within the class.

For organisational purposes children are banded into groups named after colours:

Blue. This is for students who benefit from our caring ethos or those who have a specific learning difficulty of a mild nature are taught in class sizes of no larger than 18 by a qualified teacher. If the class contains more than 9 students, the teacher/class will also be accompanied by a trained learning support assistant if this enhances the quality of provision.

Green. This is for those students with more marked specific needs and here the maximum class size will be 10. As with the Blue band further additional adult support will be available to aid the trained teacher.

Yellow. This is for students who have borderline moderate learning difficulties. The children are taught within age appropriate groups, and with a highly favourable staff to student ratio. Students in the Yellow band also have the facility of the John Adkins Centre as a base for their more academic subjects and for registration.

We consider all applications, but to find out more about our particular areas of expertise and how they might match your child, please click this link: Who the School can help for more details.

We also offer additional provision in our Springboard and Rainbow Centres for children younger than school year Y5 who have individual needs such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or speech and language difficulties. Please click this link: Provision below Y5 for more details about Springboard and Rainbow

Curriculum

The curriculum is devised with reference to the needs and abilities of our students. It seeks to challenge all students and emphasis is placed on each one making the maximum amount of progress possible in the development of literacy and numeracy skills.

The school day is organised in such a way as to facilitate students’ individual organisation. Opportunities for cross-curricular study are embedded in the school week. For those in Years 7 to 9 Friday mornings are devoted to thematic work which enables students to apply and develop skills and knowledge learned within specific subjects.

A central part of what we do is to encourage students to learn for themselves. Every student is unique and we therefore plan learning on an individual basis. Our ’learning skills approach’ enables them to find the learning styles and conditions which suit them best.

On most days students have ’review and response time.’ This is a time when they can do assignments that have been set within lessons. It is also an opportunity for the form tutor to work with individuals or small groups to support and enhance learning. These lessons do not entirely replace homework, but they can provide the opportunity to lessen the amount of work needed to be done at home.

More about the wider curriculum ->

Progress and Assessment

Students undergo a testing process on application to the school. This is not designed to be a pass or fail situation, but rather a diagnostic one seeking to discover the way in which ERS can best help a student.

Regular assessment is undertaken to monitor progress. This includes the use of cognitive ability tests (CATs) at the beginning of Year 7 and Year 9 and an annual reading test (Suffolk Reading Scale). In each class and subject, teachers assess students on an ongoing basis against National Curriculum Statements of Attainment.

All students receive a cross-curricular individual learning plan which is reviewed regularly. A review involves all key staff, and the students themselves. Individual targets which are both challenging and attainable are set and reviewed regularly for each student.

Pastoral Care

We place great importance on the personal and spiritual development of every child, with a strong focus on pastoral care.

Younger children remain in the care of their class teacher, who, because of our small class sizes, is able to form a strong relationship with each one. Older pupils have both a form tutor and head of section who monitor academic progress across the curriculum and give children the opportunity to share thoughts and ideas.

The form tutor plays a key part in the life of the student. In addition to monitoring progress, he or she is responsible for the general well being of the student, is available to listen to problems and concerns and is also the first contact point for a parent.

The school has a full-time Relational Youth Worker who is available to pupils at all times during the school day. He is able to discuss problems as they arise and will work alongside an individual if necessary in order to seek resolution to a difficulty.

Transport

In conjunction with a local contractor, we operate a fleet of buses to transport our pupils to and from home each day.

Buses travel to the school from all directions. Current routes are shown below.

ROUTE 1 AYLESBURY

ROUTE 2 BARNET & RADLETT

ROUTE 3 THE CHALFONTS To Follow

ROUTE 4 CROXLEY & AMERSHAM

ROUTE 5 DUNSTABLE

ROUTE 6 HIGH WYCOMBE

ROUTE 7 NORTHWOOD & WATFORD

ROUTE 8 PINNER

ROUTE 9 POTTERS BAR & ST ALBANS

ROUTE 10 STANMORE & BUSHEY

Term Dates

EGERTON-ROTHESAY SCHOOL TERM DATES 2009-2010 AUTUMN TERM 2009

Please note that Friday, 4 September, is an Induction Morning from 10.00am – 12noon

(uniform does not need to be worn) for the whole of school except Rainbow, who commence on Monday, 7th Sept

Commences Monday, 7 September

Ends Friday, 11 December

(Half-Term) Monday, 19 October Friday, 30 October

SPRING TERM 2010

Commences Monday 4th January

Ends Friday, 26th March

Half-Term Monday, 15 February Friday, 19 February

SUMMER TERM 2010

Commences Monday, 19th April

Ends Friday, 9th July

Half-Term Monday, 31 May Friday, 4 June

Please note that Monday, 3 May, is a Bank Holiday

TERM DATES 2010-2011

AUTUMN TERM 2010

Please note that Friday, 3 September, is an Induction Morning from 10.00am – 12 noon

(uniform does not need to be worn) for the whole of school except Rainbow,

who commence on Monday, 6 September

Commences Monday 6th September

Ends Friday, 17th December

(Half-Term) Monday, 18 October Friday, 29 October

SPRING TERM 2011

Commences Monday 10th January

Ends Friday 8th April

Half-Term Monday, 21 February Friday, 25 February

SUMMER TERM 2011

Commences Tuesday 3rd May *

Ends Friday 8th July

Half-Term Monday, 30 May Friday, 3 June

* Please note that Monday, 2 May, is a Bank Holiday

CONTACT EGERTON ROTHESAY SCHOOL

Key People to contact

Principal: John Bowcock

Head: Nicci Boddam-Whetham

Deputy Head: Neil Dewar

Bursar: Cherry Martin

Secretary to Principal & Head:

Sue Jukes

For further information or

to arrange a visit to the school

please contact

Admissions (Liz Martin, Registrar)

Egerton Rothesay School

Durrants Lane

Berkhamsted

Hertfordshire

HP4 3UJ

Tel: 01442 877060

Email: liz.martin@eger-roth.co.uk

 

 

Postal Address & Main School

 c/o Sue Jukes

Egerton Rothesay School

Durrants Lane

Berkhamsted

Hertfordshire

HP4 3UJ

Tel: 01442 865275

Email: admin.dl@eger-roth.co.uk Finance

Bursar

Cherry Martin

Egerton Rothesay School

Durrants Lane

Berkhamsted

Hertfordshire

HP4 3UJ

Tel: 01442 800152

Email: cherry@eger-roth.co.uk

 

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