Latest News

Sixth formers River Thames trip to meet the Marine Police

On March 28th, two of our sixth-form students had the exciting opportunity to participate in a police patrol that journeyed from the picturesque Greenwich Pier to the historic Westminster. This immersive experience provided them with stunning views of some of London’s most iconic landmarks, including the majestic London Eye, London Bridge and the impressive Palace of Westminster.

Throughout the patrol, the students gained a deeper understanding of the marine police, exploring their vital roles throughout history and their current responsibilities on the River Thames. Furthermore, they visited the renowned Wapping Police Station, celebrated as the oldest police station in the world, founded in 1798. This historic site houses a fascinating museum that offers insights into the evolution of river policing and its significance in maintaining safety and order along the Thames.
This experience enhanced our students’ appreciation for the role of marine police in society and inspired them to consider a future in the police force.’

Rosa Potricelli
Numeracy Co-Ordinator
Teacher
Sixth Form tutor

Trip to the Florence Nightingale Museum

On the 26th of March, some of our Year 11 and sixth-form students currently studying Health and Social Care at Serenity Eltham went on an educational trip to the Florence Nightingale Museum in central London. This trip provided an exceptional opportunity for students to learn about Florence Nightingale and her significant contributions to nursing. Her work was instrumental in developing modern nursing practices, emphasizing the importance of sanitary conditions for patients, adopting a holistic approach, and utilizing evidence-based practice.

The students were deeply engaged at the museum and gained a greater appreciation for Florence Nightingale’s life and her impact on the modern nursing world.

Additionally, they had the chance to explore Westminster, view landmarks such as Big Ben and the London Eye and spend some time relaxing in the park near the London Eye. This experience also allowed them to bond with one another.

World Book Day 2025!

At Serenity Eltham, World Book Day was a delightful celebration filled with creativity and joy. Staff and pupils embraced the spirit of the day by dressing up as their favourite characters or donning comfy pyjamas to relax and read. The pupils embarked on an exciting reading trail, discovering beloved characters hidden around the building, including Paddington Bear, who was cleverly concealed behind his own book. Each pupil received book tokens to choose a World Book Day book from a local shop and were thrilled to take home their own special book. The day was brimming with artistic fun as pupils crafted their favourite characters out of potatoes using various arts and crafts materials. They also created imaginative narratives, read to their peers, and engaged in lively discussions about their favourite books, sharing the immense pleasure they derive from diving into the world of literature.

Sixth form Trip to Biggin Hill Airport

On the 27th of February, some of our Year 11 and sixth-form students went on an educational trip to London Biggin Hill Airport. This trip provided an exceptional opportunity for students studying Travel and Tourism, as well as those interested in the course, to discover the exciting world of the industry.

Biggin Hill, a historic site, is celebrated for its crucial role during the Battle of Britain in World War II, serving as a key fighter base that heroically protected Southeast England from German bombers.

In recent years, Biggin Hill has transformed into a vibrant hub for business flights, primarily catering to business jets and similarly sized aircraft, showcasing the endless possibilities within the aviation sector.

The students were fascinated as they explored various war bombers and absorbed the inspiring stories of bravery from both World Wars. They were also introduced to luxurious jets, opening doors to future business and apprenticeship opportunities in aviation.

During the visit, they captured unforgettable moments through pictures and embraced the exhilaration of stepping inside one of the remarkable jets, igniting their dreams and aspirations for a bright future.

Kind Regards,
Claire Pettman

Headteacher
Serenity School Eltham

CHRISTMAS LUNCH 2024

 
On Wednesday 17th December, our students enjoyed our traditional Christmas lunch with Christmas Crackers, party hats, balloons and Christmas decorations to celebrate the occasion.  We even received a surprise visit from The Grinch! 
 
We are all looking forward to the festive break and our whole staff team would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
 
With warm wishes, 
 
Claire Pettman
Headteacher

FUNDRAISER FOR DEMELZA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

 
For our Asdan as part of our module, My Community, we decided to do a fund raiser for Demelza Children’s hospital. We made homemade cakes and lots of sweet treats to sell to staff and students.
 
Sue Ferguson
Teacher  
 
 

PRICE Training at Serenity

We are pleased to share that due to our schools growth, 8 staff members were selected to complete the 5 Day PRICE (Protecting Rights In a Caring Environment) training to become trainers.
We are devoted to cultivating a positive atmosphere where both staff and students are treated with respect, appreciation, and encouragement. This training help to equip our teams with the necessary skills to manage behaviour in a caring and efficient way, ensuring the safety and rights of every student.

TEEP Training at Serenity!

Our Teaching and Learning Leads across our schools recently completed an intensive three-day training in the Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme (TEEP), a research-based model that aligns closely with our vision of fostering inclusion, independence, and self-worth for both students and staff. This training led by the remarkable Andy Williams of SSAT UK, marks the first step in our journey to becoming a fully-fledged TEEP school.
 
The TEEP model is centred on creating inclusive and dynamic learning environments, designed to empower each individual within our school community. Through this training, our leaders explored impactful strategies that will help us nurture self-worth in students and staff, foster a greater sense of independence in learning, and promote a collaborative culture that values every voice.
 
In the coming months, Serenity Schools will work to embed the TEEP framework across all classrooms. With our senior leaders guiding the way, we are committed to making TEEP a central part of our educational culture, building a school community where inclusion, independence, and self-worth are at the heart of everything we do

Parents Comments

“Enjoyed chatting and catching up with other mums. Would be nice to do this more often.”

“It was nice to meet with other parents.”

“It was lovely to meet with other parents, learn new things and exchange ideas.”


“Really enjoyed today! Great mums and teachers. Hope to do this again.”

“Enjoyed a lovely morning meeting other mums and staff. Thank you for making us so welcome and enabling us to see our Granddaughter’s school.”

The Great Serenity Spelling bee and Debate held at Eltham

Our literacy Focus for Summer 2 includes providing students with a valuable opportunity to improve their literacy, spelling and debating skills. On Tuesday, 18th June 2024 at 10:30am to 1:00pm, The Great Spelling Bee and Debate Competition was held at Serenity School, Eltham. Students showcased their spelling abilities, confidently tackling challenging words, and demonstrated exceptional debating skills, passionately arguing on the topic “Should vaping be banned in Schools?”.
We had 6 representatives from each of the Serenity Schools – Serenity Coulsdon, Crawley and Eltham, mostly from Lower School – Year 7, 8 and 9 students representing the competition.
The competition was opened by the Charmaine Ayisi, Director of SEND and Commissioning/Interim Headteacher at Serenity School Eltham. Also supporting the event was Ebere Emezie, the Chief Operating Officer, SED. Group Ltd, the Head of Upper School Eltham, Vivien Ochiama and Head of Lower School Eltham, Amanda Bridgeman. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and encouragement from peers, teachers, and the leadership team.
 
The event highlighted the importance of literacy, a passion for reading, critical thinking, and public speaking. This celebration served as an inspiring demonstration to the importance of literacy and a fun day out. All students received Spelling Bee medals, and a book prize while the winner Serenity Coulsdon won the trophy, celebrating their dedication and hard work. The awards and book prizes were presented to the winners by Charmaine Ayisi.

World Book Day 2023 - Secondary

Children’s Mental Health Week

February 7th – February 13th, 2022 is Children’s Mental Health Week. The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is Growing Together.

Growing Together is about growing emotionally and finding ways to help each other grow. Challenges and setbacks can help us to grow and adapt and trying new things can help us to move beyond our comfort zone into a new realm of possibility and potential. However, emotional growth is often a gradual process that happens over time, and sometimes we might feel a bit ‘stuck’.

As parents and carers, you play an important role in your child’s mental health. Check out some free resources for families on the link below.

www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers

Statement from the Headteacher

In addition to our robust COVID-19 action plan, I want to reassure parents/carers and all stakeholders that Serenity School Eltham has carried out a thorough COVID-19 Fog Decontamination procedure in school on Thursday 2nd December 2021. Please see our Decontamination Certificate attached.

I am also working in partnership with Public Health England, London Coronavirus Response Cell and Greenwich Local Authority for additional guidance to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 within our school community.

Year 11 successes

Despite COVID-19, we are excited that the 2020-21 academic year was a huge success for our year 11 pupils at Serenity School Eltham. We are pleased to announce that 100% of our year 11s were able to secure a qualification in Maths and English and 83% successfully achieved our Serenity Baccalaureate (5 or more qualifications). It is testament to the hard work and commitment of our staff, that all pupils have chosen to remain on at our prestigious Serenity School Eltham Sixth Form.

Welcome 12s, 7s and total number of new students

We want to formally welcome all new pupils including our sixth formers to Serenity School Eltham in September 2021. We now have approximately 80 pupils and young people on roll across the school. However, we maintain our very small pupil to adult ratio of assigning no more than 8 pupils in each class.
Our classes are structured as follows:

Primary phase

  1. Nurture groups
  2. Semiformal groups
  3. Formal group

Key Stag 3

  1. Semiformal groups
  2. Formal groups

Key Stage 4/5

  1. Semiformal group
  2. Formal groups
  3. Sixth Form group

What’s new

We have also appointed 20 additional staff at various levels within the school. This is to ensure we provide the required1:1 and small group support as outlined on learners EHCPs and IEPs. We have now implemented our robust 3 Tier Curriculum (Nurture-Informal, Semiformal and Formal) Pathways to create a more bespoke learning experience, and to meet the diverse needs of our pupils across the school community.

Children’s Mental Health Week

We are welcoming back all existing pupils from Monday 6th September 2021. All new pupils will have their transition day on Friday 3rd September 2021. All Primary phase new pupils will officially start on Monday 13th September 2021.

FUNDRAISER FOR DEMELZA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

 
For our Asdan as part of our module, My Community, we decided to do a fund raiser for Demelza Children’s hospital. We made homemade cakes and lots of sweet treats to sell to staff and students.
 
Sue Ferguson
Teacher  
 
 
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