We were extremely honoured to be nominated by one of our parents for an award at the Runnymede Borough Council Civic Awards.

The Civic Awards recognise people and organisations who make a positive difference within the Borough, often quietly and without recognition. We were, therefore, delighted to learn that Stepgates Community School had been selected as a finalist and were very proud to attend the awards ceremony at Thorpe Park.

I was delighted to be accompanied by Mrs White and Mrs Conn for what we anticipated would be a very special evening. We believed that Stepgates had been nominated within the Community Awards category and, as the category was announced towards the end of the ceremony, we waited eagerly to hear the result. However, when our school was not named among the finalists, we were understandably a little confused.

The final awards of the evening were reserved for Special Recognition, and we were absolutely overwhelmed to discover that Stepgates Community School had been chosen to receive this very special award in recognition of our work and dedication within the school community.

There have been many achievements and successes during my time as Headteacher at Stepgates, but being nominated for and receiving the Runnymede Borough Council Civic Award for Special Recognition remains one of my proudest and most humbling moments.

I would like to thank every member of staff for their tireless work, dedication and, above all, the compassion they show to our children and families. This award belongs to the whole Stepgates community.

We were truly touched and humbled to receive this recognition, and I was honoured to dedicate the award to a Year 2 child and her wonderful parents. In the face of the most profound challenges, they have shown us the true meaning of bravery, courage and dignity. They are the real heroes of this story, and their extraordinary strength continues to be an inspiration to us all.

Stepgates Community School initially established ‘The Den’ Nurture Group to provide additional support for children with social, emotional and mental health needs. Following the success of ‘The Den’, we decided to apply to become a Locality Nurture Hub (LNH) and were delighted when our application was successful.

Locality Nurture Hubs are small, nurturing environments within schools that support a small number of pupils with significant or emerging social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.

‘The Den’ Nurture Hub is a school-based intervention run by two members of staff. Its aim is to provide children with a safe, supportive and nurturing environment where they can develop positive relationships with both adults and their peers. Through carefully planned activities and experiences, children are supported in developing the social and emotional skills they need to engage successfully with school life and learning.

Effective nurture practice follows the six principles of nurture. We also use the Boxall Profile as an assessment tool to help us identify pupils who may benefit from attending the Nurture Hub, based on their individual social, emotional and mental health needs.

Research has shown that a nurturing approach to education can benefit all pupils, helping children to develop their social and emotional skills and supporting them to learn. Nurture approaches can also have a positive impact on behaviour, attendance and attainment, while helping to reduce exclusions.

Wellbeing is a huge priority at Stepgates Community School. We believe children need to feel calm, focused and emotionally regulated in order to learn effectively, thrive at school and achieve their full potential.

As part of this commitment, we have taken part in, and continue to engage with, the Compassionate Schools Programme. All staff have received training in Attachment and Trauma, helping them to understand and support children who may have additional needs in these areas. All of our children also use the Zones of Regulation, which supports them in recognising and understanding their emotions and developing strategies to help manage them.

We continue to work towards achieving the Nurturing Schools Award through the National Nurturing Schools Programme, with completion expected later this year.

We are delighted to be able to offer ‘The Den’ as a short-term intervention for pupils experiencing social, emotional or behavioural difficulties that may make it harder for them to access learning successfully within the mainstream classroom.

Above all, ‘The Den’ forms an important part of our whole-school approach to nurture and wellbeing, ensuring that children have the support, understanding and encouragement they need to feel safe, valued and ready to learn.

We have waited for three years for the birds to use one of our bird boxes. Mrs White, with Mr Williams help, had installed a camera and have been eagerly checking throughout this time. 

Finally, a family of Great Tits nested and moved in a few weeks ago. Mrs White has been keeping an eye on the family, and was very excited when she spotted eggs in the nest. The live feed has been beamed into the classes across the school and the adults and children were able to watch when the eggs hatched earlier this week into chicks. It has caused great excitement throughout the school, especially for Mrs White, our own Mother Hen!

Please see the video(s) below to see our chicks and parents in action.

 

                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following a proposal by Surrey County Council, in conjunction with the Governing Body of Stepgates Community School, we were delighted to see the expansion and development of our specialist Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) provision.

The expansion provided additional places for children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs, alongside newly developed accommodation designed to support their individual learning and development. Following the building work, and apart from one or two final touches, we were thrilled to see the new facilities completed and ready for our children to enjoy.

Pupils placed within our specialist provision by Surrey County Council have an Education, Health Care Plan (EHCP) identifying the specialist support required to meet their individual needs.

The completion of this project marked another important milestone for Stepgates, enabling us to extend our specialist provision and provide a supportive, nurturing and inclusive learning environment in which every child has the opportunity to thrive.

All the pupils were excited to create their own individual masterpieces for the Stepgates Community School art exhibition entitled 'Multicoloured Modernism’'.

Using a range of art skills, each class followed a theme of their choice to create their art works. The exhibition coincided with our Family Picnic/Afternoon Tea, and pupils were enthusiastic to show their families around the exhibition.  Mrs. White, who organised the exhibition, was thrilled to see the pupils and families reactions when seeing their art on display. Families were able to purchase individual art, raising funds for art resources. The exhibition was a great success.

Thank you to all those who supported the event.

What an exciting time the children at Stepgates have had this week - they have enjoyed a Themed Week celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee! 

Each day, the children have taken part in many different activities, including: Drama workshops, tile painting, portrait painting, themed computing, Music and various arts and crafts to commemorate this event. On Monday, the whole school entered via the playground to the sound of the National Anthem, and walked the red carpet into assembly where the Queen was waiting for them! We all watched the Queen’s Coronation and talked about how significant being the longest reigning Monarch was; this was followed by an introduction to the week of celebrations.

The week finished with a community picnic, symbolic of the coming together of our school and families once again after a turbulent two years. The children all looked wonderful in their red, white and blue outfits and have all had a fantastic afternoon. Thank you to all our families who came along! It was wonderful to be back together again and to welcome you all to Stepgates Community School to commemorate this poignant time for our country. We have had a fantastic week, the school has looked wonderful, decorated with bunting, flags and portraits of the Queen. 

Finally, we would like to extend our thanks to FOSS, who bought every child a special bookmark to remember this event – thank you!

After many months waiting for COVID-19 to release its grip on our ability to mix with people, we were delighted to finally organise an official ceremony to celebrate the opening of our school swimming pool and changing rooms.

The Mayoress, Cllr Gill and her Deputy, Cllr Harnden (who will become the new Mayoress in the next few weeks) joined us, along with many of the wonderful people, past and present, who have helped us to achieve our goal after many, many years of fundraising.

With the pool looking sparkling in the sunshine and a welcome tea on offer courtesy of ‘Megan’s Cakes’ and the local Southern Co-op, along with the beautiful vintage crockery very kindly loaned to us free of charge from ‘All About The Taste’ in Chertsey, a lovely time was had by all.

It was particularly pleasing to welcome back staff, governors and FOSS members who have been instrumental in keeping this project alive over the past 10 years since our old pool was condemned and demolished.

The children at Stepgates are swimming once again as part of their curriculum, and we are gradually opening our doors to others in the local community.

THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us, every donation and every minute you have given up to help, is very gratefully received by us all.

The final step in this journey is to build an enclosure around the existing pool to create an all year round facility for the children of Stepgates and the local community to enjoy for generations to come.

If you would like to help us in any way, no matter how small, we would be delighted to hear from you. 

    

As part of Feeling Good Week (20-24th May 2024) Stepgates Community School organised our very popular Great Coin Trail and Sponsored Splash, followed by Sports Day. What an exciting time the children at Stepgates have had! Each day, the children have taken part in many different activities, including ‘Feeling Good Week’ dance sessions on the playground before school; Years 3-6 took part in a sponsored swim, where we had some amazing results and, of course, the big challenge of the week was our Coin Trail!   

The week finished with our very popular Sports Day, which was a huge success. Thank you so much to parents/carers and our whole school community for supporting this event and various activities throughout the week, including your kind donations of coins for the Coin Trail and for sponsoring children in their ‘Sponsored Swim’.  We have had a wonderful week where we were able to join together across the school, as well as raising money for our swimming pool roof.