R.E.A.L. learner Archie was proudly honoured at the Mansfield Rotary Courage Awards in March, for his sheer resilience and determination over the last few years.
Sadly, Archie’s Dad passed away several years ago, which was understandably a devastating time for him. Archie withdrew into himself and struggled with his anxiety which stopped him from going to school.
Since then, Archie along with the support of his family, and staff at R.E.A.L., has managed to take huge steps that a few years ago he didn’t feel was manageable.
The Mansfield, Ashfield and Sherwood News Journal has featured Archie and the awards ceremony in their latest paper, which includes a brilliant write up of Archie’s story.
We’re so proud at R.E.A.L. of Archie winning a Courage Award and for the big changes he’s made. Well done Archie!
R.E.A.L. Independent Schools have been nominated and shortlisted for yet another national award: the Education Today, Independent School of the Year award.
They are one of five independent schools to be shortlisted for the award, the winner of which will be announced on the 1st December at a ceremony to be held in London.
Nikki Purcell, current Head of Schools said: “Just to be shortlisted for national awards like the Education Today awards and the TES awards, is a real honour. R.E.A.L. Education plays such a vital and positive role in many learners’ lives and to be shortlisted from a national cohort of schools for this is recognition of staff hard work, dedication and commitment.”
On 11th November, the learners and staff across R.E.A.L. observed the national two minutes silence for Remembrance Day.
In honour of the day, artwork and window displays had been respectfully created by learners to remember those who lost their lives in wars around the world.
Learners at RIS Blidworth joined the Royal British Legion’s and National Literacy Trust’s live assembly, which brought together learners from across the whole of the UK.
RIS Ilkeston had war veteran Anthony Flanagan, speaking to learners about Remembrance Day and what it means to him.
Claire Bishop, Deputy Head of RIS Ilkeston said: “It was an honour to listen to Anthony speak about his time in the army. Anthony is a parent of one of our learners, so with him being a big supporter of R.E.A.L, we asked if he would mind coming and sharing his insight.”
Anthony served in the Falklands and Afghanistan, and his father and great uncles had served in the army too.
Claire said: “It was a pleasure to have him onsite sharing his passion for Remembrance Day. He brought in artefacts from World War 1, which was very moving for learners and staff to learn about.”
We know, you may think it’s too soon to start thinking about next year, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about your future career goals.
We can already reveal that next year’s careers fair will take place on Thursday 9 March at Mansfield Town Football Club.
The 2022 fair had a great turn out and it’s set to be the same for next year.
R.E.A.L. prides itself on making sure learners are equipped with the right knowledge and understanding of what they can progress to post-education.
If you’d like to find out more, email enquiries@real-education.org.
Nikki Purcell started her career at R.E.A.L. in 2010 and over the years has led on several Ofsted inspections. As she now hands over the reins of her position as Head of Schools, Nikki reflects on what it means to her receiving a successful Ofsted report for the last time in her role.
“This was our third standard inspection for R.E.A.L. Independent Schools, Blidworth since it opened in September 2013. I have had the honour to be Headteacher and lead on all three inspections. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed showcasing what we do on every occasion and I’m rather sad that this will be my last one ever as Head.
On this latest Ofsted visit, the inspectors recognised the “outstanding progress” that most of our learners make with regards to their behaviour and attitudes, which was a really emotional moment for our team.
They identified the “strong relationships” staff have built with learners and how skilled staff are at “motivating learners and keeping them focused on their learning.” Yet again, parent and learner feedback was very positive and sometimes overwhelming, with one parent saying that, since coming to our school, their child’s confidence has “sky-rocketed.”
Blidworth was our fourth school to be inspected by Ofsted in the last 15 months and, as with our previous visits, inspectors identified the same areas for development that we have placed within our school improvement plan.
This was reassuring for us and I know that Stephen Schmidt, the new Head of Schools, has already started work with the team to further improve our schools and take them on the next phase of their journey towards becoming outstanding schools.”
A former R.E.A.L. learner came back to share his experiences and achievements from his time at R.E.A.L with those at Sandhills.
The learner left R.E.A.L. at the end of the last academic year and now studies at Chesterfield College. He explained his journey through R.E.A.L., from starting as a 2:1 learner, to going into group lessons before eventually becoming a student mentor.
Claire Colley, Learning Manager said: “The current learners were very interested to hear how far he had come and that he was now doing his GCSEs.”
He’s now on a mechanics course and is also studying for his Maths and English GCSEs.
Claire said: “It was a really inspiring talk for our learners to hear from someone who’s been in their position.”
Doors? They don’t tend to be the most exciting part of a building, yet the doors at Sandhills, R.E.A.L. received a magical makeover in aid of World Book Day.
Lions, crocodiles, witches and wizards were just some of the marvellous creatures featured, as staff and learners had carefully decorated five doors in total, all inspired by children’s books.
Teaching Assistant, Stephenie Walters said: “There was a competition running across R.E.A.L. to design a ‘book door’ for World Book Day. We were only meant to create one, but we enjoyed it so much we ended up making five in total, we went a little overboard!”
Stephenie and Learning Manager, Claire Colley, chose The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and the books of Roald Dahl as four of the door designs. Each is decorated with quotes from the books, as well as characters ranging from Dobby the House Elf to the BFG.
Stephenie said: “The doors took weeks to be completed as there was so much detail that went into each one. It involved a lot of cutting and laminating, especially for the fifth door, which contained a whole bookshelf of over 60 books! We crafted each book spine individually and learners titled them with their favourite book.
“The doors have inspired the learners to engage in lots of interesting conversations already and we hope it inspires them to read more.”
Name and role? Victoria – HR Manager, I’ve been at R.E.A.L. for two months as I started in January 2022.
What’s a typical day like for you? Our typical day depends on the needs of the school and currently mainly consists of recruitment activities, managing absences (mainly Covid management) and answering day to day queries. My typical day at the minute is working with my team to support the current activity whilst learning more about R.E.A.L, the great work that everyone does and how my department can support this.
The best part of your job? All of the people that I get to work with, there is a really friendly and supportive atmosphere here which I have felt since the very first day. Also, I love being able to see other people really enjoy their own jobs and achieve both professional and personal goals.
If you had an extra hour in the day? If I was lucky enough to have an extra hour a day it would be spent doing something outdoors that is not gardening – I am yet to successfully grow a plant from a seed without it going horribly wrong or someone taking it off my hands to rescue.
If you like the sound of Victoria’s ever changing and exciting role, take a look at our current vacancies as we are looking for a special person to work in Victoria’s team. Our current vacancies are featured in the article below.
Name and role? Harry – HR Advisor, I’ve been at R.E.A.L. since September 2020.
What’s a typical day like for you? No day in HR is ever the same! My typical day involves wellness monitoring, supporting recruitment and responding to general HR enquiries. I also make sure to take some time to get around the office to check in with fellow employees, to see how they’re doing and if there’s anything I can do to assist.
The best part of your job? Definitely the people I work with. We have a great team and I take great pleasure in bringing more people into the business and seeing it grow.
If you had an extra hour in the day? There are a few things I would do, I’d workout, play football or have an extra hour in bed.
Name and role? Leanne – HR Advisor, I’ve been here since September 2020.
What’s a typical day like for you? Every day is different in HR. We are really busy but the variety makes it exciting – you never know what each day will bring. I usually start my day checking emails, and responding to queries. I also deal with absence monitoring, flexible working requests, as well as various administration tasks ranging from issuing offer letters and contracts, to reference letters.
The best part of your job? The people I work with, we have a great team and I love establishing relationships, and being able to help others. At the end of the day our door is always open and nothing is ever too much trouble
If you had an extra hour in the day? I’d spend it with my family.
We believe every child has a future... This vision lies at the heart of all we do here at R.E.A.L. Do you share our passion to enrich our learners’ curriculum and prepare them for an exciting and fulfilling onward career path? Are you looking for a creative and empowering employer? If the answer is yes… then we might just have what you are looking for!
A very rewarding and challenging role has become available for an experienced and person-centred educator to join the R.E.A.L. Education family.
R.E.A.L. Education provides both independent special schools placements and market leading alternative education. We are seeking someone who has extensive knowledge and experience of operating at a management level in a SEND environment to join us as our Head of Schools. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading and managing staff whilst ensuring that all of our learners have access to high quality teaching and learning through an appropriate curriculum.
The successful candidate will be responsible for 4 schools across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire and therefore travel will be a requirement of the post holder. There will be some opportunity for hybrid working but the majority of your working week will be based at one of our 4 schools.
We believe that fostering good relationships with learners is key to successful intervention. If this is something you believe in, then please contact us at applications@real-education.org for an application pack, to arrange a visit or for further information.
Closing Date for Applications: Wednesday 23 March 2022, 12pm
Staff at R.E.A.L. have jumped straight in with ideas to help raise money to support the people of Ukraine.
Claire Bishop, Deputy Headteacher of R.E.A.L. Ilkeston, kick-started the fundraising project in Ilkeston; Claire said: “As a school we would like to support the families of Ukraine who’re going through this difficult time.”
Collections for donations of toiletries, tinned foods etc are in place, as well as organising a book raffle and bingo event as a way to raise money. Claire said: “All proceeds will be split between the Ukrainian centre and specific Canine Rescue centres of Poland and Serbia”
Ilze Ziverte, Specialist Teaching Assistant at R.E.A.L., is also doing her bit to help raise money for The British Red Cross appeal for Ukraine.
Ilze runs the craft group at Woodhouse Road, Mansfield and is asking for help to crochet blue and yellow flowers to sell to raise funds. Please email ilze.ziverte@real-education.org Ilze for further details.
You can help this worthwhile cause by donating any spare blue and yellow wool – it would be very gratefully received at any of our learning hubs across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire or Leicestershire.