Robert Clack School

[EduCativ]

Robert Clack School opened in 1955 and was named after the man who was Mayor of the Borough of Dagenham from 1940 to 1942. Alderman Robert Clack was rightly known as a fighter for social justice, someone who cared passionately about the people of Dagenham and worked tirelessly to secure better outcomes for them his values and principles permeate the ethos of our school to this very day.
Robert James Daniel Clack was born in 1901 in Bromley-by-Bow. He worked as a railwayman before becoming involved in local politics. From 1931 to 1934, he was an officer in the Bow branch of the National Union of Railwaymen and in 1933 he was President of the Dagenham Trades and Labour Council. The following year he was chairman of the Dagenham Ward Labour Party and was elected to Dagenham Council. Dagenham was then an Urban District Council but became a Borough Council in 1938. Robert lived with his wife and family on Moss Road, in Dagenham, and was appointed mayor of the borough in 1940. He was so popular that he was elected to a second term, until 1942. Robert died in 1953.
At Robert Clack Sixth Form we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver a first-class post-16 education to all of our pupils. We offer courses to cater to a wide variety of interests and aspirations. We have a proven track record of working with pupils to secure places at a range of universities (including Oxford, Cambridge, and Russell Group) to study a wide variety of different subjects (including highly competitive courses such as Medicine, Law, Dentistry, and Veterinary Science). Pupils also progress to employment and apprenticeships including at international firms in the City of London.
We aim to provide an outstanding holistic education that will ensure the young people of the Robert Clack School community are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attributes necessary to fulfill their potential and make a valuable contribution to society.
Our ethos reflects the values of Alderman Robert Clack, the former Mayor of Dagenham after whom our school was named when it opened in 1955. He was recognized as a fighter for social justice and worked tirelessly to advance the life chances of the people of Dagenham. His values continue to permeate our school ethos today, which is summarised perfectly by the maxim: 'Excellence for all excellence from all'. We strive for excellence in all that we do in the Robert Clack School community to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills, and attributes necessary to fulfill their potential and make a valuable contribution to society.
Teaching expertise and experience allows our pupils to excel in all of the subjects that we offer, as our 2017 results show. These can be found on the ‘Results and Destinations’ page. We are proud to help pupils progress to their desired university, apprenticeship, or employment destinations after Sixth Form. Also included on the ‘Results and Destinations’ page are the 2017 University places that our pupils secured this September.
Our pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum of A-level and vocational subjects, combined with extensive enrichment and personal development opportunities. All staff regularly receive training and updates around safeguarding policy, practice, and current issues. This allows us to make sure we meet our responsibility to ensure that children are happy and safe. To support this, children are encouraged to report any concerns through our pastoral systems. We use assemblies and various elements of the curriculum to make children aware of various issues related to safeguarding.
At Robert Clack we are fortunate to have an experienced counselor in school twice a week, holding timetabled sessions in the morning and a drop-in session one lunchtime. All sessions are confidential and students are referred based on their needs.CAMHS School Counselling is for any young person who's having problems, whether it's depression and mental health concerns or issues with parents or people at school. Students can expect to be helped by a supportive and non-judgmental counselor who is a BACP registered and trained in, amongst other training, Children and Young People Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP-IAPT) models. Many of our young clients tell us that they feel happier after they see the school counselor and are better able to deal with their problems. In some cases, the CAMHS school counselor helped them to concentrate better at school, or get on better with their friends and family. The school counselor can liaise with other professionals to support the young person where appropriate. The young person can be referred by a teacher or can ask to see a counselor. The counselor is available for drop-ins during lunchtime. What is discussed is confidential, unless the counselor is worried for the young person’s safety. The School counselor follows school protection procedures and works closely with the school to ensure all safeguarding procedures are responded to effectively.
We are passionate about ensuring that we support students to be mindful and aware. Mindfulness involves learning to direct our attention to our experiences as they unfold, moment by moment, with open-minded curiosity and acceptance. Rather than worrying about what has happened or what might happen. It trains us to respond skilfully to whatever is happening right now, be that good or bad. Well-conducted mindfulness interventions are capable of addressing the problems of the young people who take part, and improve their wellbeing, reduce worries, anxiety, distress, reactivity, and bad behavior, improve sleep, self-esteem, and bring about greater calmness, relaxation, and self-regulation and awareness. Robert Clack School has been selected to take part in an exciting opportunity and partnership with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. The school will be involved in research that will investigate how schools prepare young people to improve resilience and manage their emotional health. The research will take 3 years and will involve our current year 7 and 8 cohorts. The research will support a wider understanding of the impact of mindfulness on young people.
Today in our society, e-safety is a crucial part of children’s education. Although the digital world supports your child’s learning, we would like you, as parents, to support your child with the issues faced in the online world and how to protect themselves in the digital world. Cyberbullying is as offensive as being bullied physically, but the difference is that it’s being done through digital devices. Examples include bullying taking place over social media sites and text messages using mobile phones. A recent nationwide survey revealed that 55% of children have received hurtful comments online with 18% experiencing cyberbullying and the problem is growing.

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