Front Page News

One of my big frustrations is school attendance.

Most children attend and attend regularly. But we have too many who find the slightest excuse to miss out.

The importance of school attendance and the impact it has on a child’s progress, outcomes and future cannot be overstated.

I do understand barriers to accessing education can be wide and complex for an individual student and some families.

The law entitles every child to full time education suitable to their age, level of ability and any Special Educational Needs they may have.

It is the responsibility of every parent to ensure their child receives that education by being at school.

Figures from the Department for Education show students with higher attainment at the end of Key Stages 2 and 4 have higher rates of attendance over the key stages compared to those with lower attainment.

At Key Stage 4, students not achieving grades 9 to 4 in English and Maths have an overall absent rate of 8.8% compared to 5.2% for those who achieve grade 4.

The overall absent rate of students not achieving a grade 9 to 4 is more than twice as high as those achieving those grades.

Hopefully, the message is hitting home. Being in school every day it is open is crucially important to a child’s development, well-being and wider personal development.

Absence will be marked as unauthorised unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The Government has made attendance high profile. It is a priority that students are in full time education by attending school as close to 100% of the time as possible.

I do appreciate people fall genuinely ill.

But there are other times when we need to battle through. None of us feel 100% all the time.

The best place for a child to be is within a learning environment.

Sometimes, we need to show a little bit more resilience, determination and will not to give up.

There was a lot of that on show last Thursday at our sell-out Sports Presentation Night. Our thanks again to the businesses in attendance and sponsoring the event.

What a night. High quality and success among our young people were constant themes.

It was another great reflection of what we do, celebrating and rewarding our students’ achievements.

There are some talented individuals here with strong attributes and the event is an important showcase for PE, an area that has always been successful and important to us as an Academy.

We have another key event tomorrow (Thursday) when we host the first Community Café of the academic year between 3.30pm and 5pm.

It is a great opportunity for people associated with the Academy to come in, meet us and engage with the wider community.

We break up for half term on Friday. We have had seven busy and long weeks and a significant number of students can be pleased with their efforts and progress made.

Enjoy your break. It would be a treat to see a full attendance when we return on Monday, 31^st October – Halloween.

Time passes by and half term is at the end of next week.

It will be a welcome break after a busy seven weeks and offer a chance for reflection.

Before we break up, a significant event makes a welcome return to the Academy calendar.

Our Sports Presentation takes place this Thursday, marking its 15^th year.

I was at the inaugural event and, subsequently, hundreds and hundreds of students have been part of it ever since, creating many fond memories.

Those there will never forget, for instance, the 2012 event at the Baths Hall when more than 1,000 people attended as the Academy was being constructed.

It has stood the test of time and I am delighted to see its return.

It will be my first as Headteacher handing out the prizes rather than being present as a member of the PE team.

I look forward to celebrating the students’ wonderful achievements over the past 12 months with them, their parents/carers and the staff team.

It is being sponsored as an event by Pepperells Solicitors for which we are very grateful for their generous contributions in recognising the achievements of our young people in PE & Sport.

In addition to Pepperells, Wren Kitchens, Ongo, Lindsey Lodge Hospice, Paul Fox Estate Agents, Diddi Kicks, North Lindsey College and John Leggott College are also sponsoring awards on the night for which we are truly humbled and delighted.

My thanks to our Personal Development Lead Ryan Oates for his work in gathering local businesses and educational partners to support us and our Lead for Physical Education Lindsey Shutes for her team’s organisation to produce this incredible event.

Having it back on the calendar gives a chance to reflect on the things we have done well and reasons why we have been successful over time.

Speaking of success, I was so impressed to walk around after school on Monday and see up to 80 Year 11s staying behind for extra classes, preparing for their GCSEs next year.

We are only in week six so numbers attending when we get into the final run-up to exams in March, April and May look set to be extra-ordinary.

It is a great year group. They are hard-working with a terrific attitude, a desire to be successful and, most importantly, a willingness to work with teachers to get better.

Their teacher-predicted grades will be included in reports on 21^st October, ahead of exams after half term.

I cannot thank the students enough for their outstanding start to the school year and how they have applied themselves. They are great role models for our younger children.

Another key date in the school calendar is 6^th October, when the census is taken on the numbers on roll. This equates to the money the Government gives us for the year after.

I am delighted we are full at 795 children. When we opened in 2008, the number was 612.

For the past five years, we have been over-subscribed going into Year 7. This increase in our popularity has been down to the hard work of a significant number of people.

But we are very much about looking forward and those following us on social media will have seen how we are trying different things to improve further.

Last Friday, 15 students attended our first Business Breakfast hosted by Pepperells Solicitors, based on Doncaster Road.

It began promptly at 8am and our children learned about careers in the legal profession and were able to ask questions of practitioners.

It was a brilliant first event and our thanks to Pepperells again.

The event formed part of our personal development programme and I’d ask any businesses that would like to host a similar breakfast to please get in touch.

We continue to expand horizons to young people by opening their eyes to what is available.

Something new also took place in the science department last night. The first mini contact night was held for some Year 11 and their parents, offering a chance to chat with staff.

We want the triangular conversations to help our young people to get better GCSE results and I hope everybody attending found it worthwhile.

I would like to thank our Curriculum Progress Leader for Science Mrs Purbrick and her team for being creative and hosting the night. Another innovative and creative evening where students were at the heart of our core purpose.

It was more time well spent.

Student journeys at our academy have a beginning, middle and end.

The starting point is a Year 6 Open Evening, which we held last Thursday.

It was an incredible night. The reason why was a massive team effort.

Staff worked tirelessly and showed great creativity to put on an event which gave an honest and true reflection of our curriculum and life at the Academy.

I would also like to thank the students who helped host the 200-plus families who attended.

We stressed to our visitors the importance of asking questions and finding out the answers.

We never take for granted that parents will place their trust in us. We hope they had a good evening that helps them make an informed choice about the next steps in education for their child.

I thank them for coming and making the night what it was.

At the other end of our spectrum, we have finally had clarification from exam regulator Ofqual around standards for next year’s GCSEs.

Allowances, in place for the last three years because of Covid, will be scrapped and grade profiles   will return to those of 2019, though with an additional safety net that overall grades will be no lower.

Formula sheets in GCSE Maths, Physics and Combined Science are due to be kept but advanced information about what is covered in the exams will no longer continue.

Students will be expected to learn and revise all topics, and any could come up in the exam.

It is important information for Year 11. They are basically being told it is “back-to-normal,” pre-Covid times yet they have still experienced two years of disrupted education.

The draft of next year’s GCSE timetable has been produced and we will be talking to students in the coming weeks as to what that looks like.

In the meantime, we have published the timetable for Year 11 exams that will start after half term. It can be found here.

We stress to our young people all the time their experience is inclusive of so many things:

• Taught curriculum
• Reflections / collective worship
• Character education
• Futures
• Extra-curricular programme
• House participation
• Raising Aspiration Days (RADs)

The first RAD of the school year is today and I wanted to give parents a flavour of what the staff team have put together for Years 7 to 11.

Years 7, 8 and 9 have a day focused on PiXL Edge, a framework that rebrands our leadership programme.

They will be learning the importance of LORIC – leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative and communication – skills.

Year 9 will do so at Glanford Park, with the sessions delivered at Scunthorpe United. Thank you to them for giving our students the run of the ground.

Year 10 are focusing on Futures, including a work experience launch event. They will be learning what it is, where they might go and hear from fantastic guest speakers, who will talk about options and opportunities.

Finally, Year 11 are having a post-16 preparation day. It will feature sessions around high performance, including materials produced by BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey.

The day also looks at study skills and the application process for colleges and apprenticeships.

The day’s just as important as our curriculum and it’s the first example this year of our unique selling point that sets this Academy apart from others:

“Nourishing our young people with the skills needed to grow, flourish, and be well prepared for life.”

From the start with Year 6, through to supporting our Year 11s with the next steps in their lives at the end of their time here, and plenty of terrific midpoints in between.

What a journey.

26th September 2022

Year 7 Settling in Evening 

Wednesday 5th October 2022 – 5.00pm to 6.00pm

Dear Parent /Carer

Our Year 7 students have made a wonderful start to life in the academy and we are delighted to see that they have settled in really well. 

On Wednesday 5th October 2022 we would like to invite you to the Year 7 Settling in Evening from 5.00pm to 6.00pm, where we will celebrate the great start to secondary school that has been made. You will have the opportunity to meet with your child’s tutors and year team to discuss how your child has settled into the academy.  

We hope that you will take this opportunity to come and meet with us, where you will be able to discuss any issues you may have.  We look forward to seeing you and continuing to work with you closely in the future. 

Yours sincerely,

Mr Matt Cretney

Year 7 Achievement Team Leader

It is already midway through the first half term.

Summer seems a distant memory and students should be nicely settled into classes, building new relationships with staff and immersing themselves into Academy life.

A week today (5^th October), between 4.30pm and 5.30pm, we are running a Year 7 ‘Settling in Evening’.

It is an opportunity, five weeks into their secondary education, for parents / carers to meet their child’s tutor and have conversations around how they are doing, ask questions of the curriculum, and see images and videos illustrating what they have been doing so far.

The format is informal. Nothing needs to be prepared and if Year 7 parents / carers can only spare 10 or 15 minutes, that is fine. Please do drop in.

At the other end of the spectrum, staff are finalising the upcoming Year 11 exam timetable. They will be taking place in the two weeks commencing 7^th November.

It is the first time Year 11 will have been examined against what they have learned to date in the curriculum.

The exams will give them a perspective and a marker as to what grades they might achieve in their GCSEs.

It is really early in the run up to next summer, but these exams need to be taken seriously. Year 11 should prepare, revise, and learn from the feedback.

Staff will use data from these exams to see how students are doing. The aim will be to stretch those who do well and put in the support for those who need it.

It is all about maximising your child’s potential.

We are five-and-a-half weeks away from the exams starting and we hope parents / carers encourage children to start planning. The timetables will be distributed in a couple of days and provide further focus.

This week is a huge one for harvest, an important and traditional part of our calendar.

I am really proud Scunthorpe Food Bank has said this Academy was the largest contributor at harvest last year and their representative who visited recently was full of praise for our students’ generosity.

Many boxes are full with food and, at the end of this week, we will be arranging for it to be collected and transported to the Food Bank.

Thank you to those who, in difficult times for many, are thinking of others.

We repeatedly talk about our values.

How terrific harvest allows us to demonstrate our generosity so soon into the new school year.

School Photos are now live for Year 7, 9 & 11 students

If you have pre-registered you should now have an email with your unique access link. If not please contact Carmel Jane Photography via the following link: https://www.carmeljane.co.uk/pre-registration-support/

All photographs will be sent straight to home address with limited discounts available for the first 14 days.

Given what we have witnessed as a nation this past week or so, it seems highly appropriate to focus on events.

They all take planning, no matter how big or small.

However much you saw and whatever your opinions, nobody could have been disappointed by the level of organisation, planning and sheer splendour of Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral.

It just happens to be my week to address each of the year groups in assemblies over successive days.

I have been saying the Queen’s funeral was one of the first occasions in a while when you can be proud to say you are British.

We have stopped talking about what it is like to be British and what being British means.

The answer was across television screens on Monday, even if you only caught a glimpse.

What an occasion it was. It showed what living in Britain is all about.

It does not matter if you are first, second or third generation British.

As a nation, we are steeped in wonderful, long-lasting traditions. They were perfectly carried out for the watching world to see on Monday, despite it being a sombre occasion.

We teach British values in school and mutual respect is one. It was referenced numerous times throughout the day and is something we highlight frequently.

Academy events are, obviously, on a much smaller scale but I wanted to list key ones this term:

• Harvest Assemblies – w/c 26th September
• Open Evening – Thursday 29th September 4pm to 6.30pm
• Raising Aspiration Day 1 – Wednesday, 5th October
• Year 7 Settling in Evening – Wednesday, 5th October
• Thursday, 13th October – Sports Presentation Evening
• Reward Assemblies – w/c 17th October
• Community Cafe – Thursday, 20th October
• Year 11 Internal Exams 7-18 November
• Interfaith Week – w/c 14th November
• Anti-Bullying week – w/c 14th November
• GCSE certificate collection – Monday, 28th November
• Year 10 Consultation Evening – Thursday, 1st December
• Year 11 Evening of Ingredients – Tuesday, 6th December
• Christmas Service assemblies at St Lawrence Church – w/c 12th December
• Community Cafe – Wednesday, 14th December.

To get to the stage of announcing them, a significant amount of work has already gone in – when they are, who’s involved and how the message is communicated – and I thank staff for their efforts.

Please ensure relevant events are in your diaries. More details will be released closer to the time.

Homework is not an event, though for some students it is!

We have bought into software programmes that make it easier to set, communicate with parents / carers and understand the expectations around homework.

For parents / carers, it is easier for them to see, understand and support their child with it.

It also supports conversations about homework with heads of department and heads of year, for instance.  If you have any concerns, please get in touch.

Back to events and it is our largest of the year a week tomorrow (Thursday, 29th) between 4pm and 6.30pm when we host Year 6 pupils and their parents / carers in an Open Evening.

We have the highest-ever number of children on roll (786), 26 more than the start of last year.

I am proud of that and thank people for the confidence, trust and patience shown in us.

We are a popular school serving the immediate community, but we take nothing for granted. If you are aware of a family who should be there next week, please let them know.

For some, they will be stepping into the building for the first time. They will be most welcome and be able to talk to students as well as staff.

It might not be on the same scale as Monday’s event, but for us (and Year 6 and their families) it is no less important.