Headteacher's Newsletter

This will be my final newsletter as a Headteacher at West Hatch and I wanted to, as I'm sure you expect of me, say a few words about my time at the school and particularly the last 7 years as Headteacher.

I feel very fortunate to have been a part of the West Hatch family for the last 16 years. When I attended my first interview in the summer of 2008 I got such a wonderful feeling about the school, a feeling that has kept me here for 16 years. I leave with a heavy heart and I am so grateful for all the messages, cards and gifts I have received from families since you heard of my news. As you know I am not moving to another Headship and I would not have done so; this is my school and I am exceptionally proud to lead it. But I have been offered an opportunity to challenge myself across a number of schools and try to help make a difference to a wider group of young people.

The last 7 years haven't always been easy and we've had a number of tremendous challenges along the way, including multi million pound building projects and Covid lockdowns. I have always tried to put the safety, well being and life chances of our students at the heart of every decision I have made, and I hope that we have made a difference to your children's lives and school experiences over the last 7 years; I know this will continue to be at the heart of Mrs Schaefer's decision making into the future.

For the very vast majority of our families, school has been a partnership built on trust and respect, and as a result challenges have been overcome and students have flourished. I have greatly appreciated the questioning when we get things wrong and support as we try to get things right. Sadly, as is the trend across all schools in the country, we have since Covid, seen a rise in the constant challenge given to our staff and myself by a very small number of families. My message to those parents is that you are lucky to have such a dedicated staff who care deeply about your children and genuinely want the best for them; who turn up each day forgetting about any past misdemeanors and wanting the day to be a positive experience for all. Unless you have stood in front of 30 teenagers you will never understand the challenge of teaching and with more and more staff leaving the profession, take care of those you have.

The school may well change over the next few years and Mrs Schaefer will take West Hatch in the direction she feels will make it most successful. She has been an outstanding Deputy Head and I have no doubt she will continue to build upon the last few years work and make West Hatch even better; you are all in safe hands.

It has been an honour to serve the West Hatch community, to see your children grow and develop, to see their personalities flourish and to see how talented they all are; this is something I will miss greatly in my new role. I have particularly enjoyed seeing so many of the students I have taught come back to work at the school which I think says everything I need to know about their experiences at West Hatch. I hope that the vision I sold you all at open evenings and the trust you put in me to look after your children has paid off and that you have been happy with your decision to choose West Hatch. I leave with sadness but also with a great deal of pride. Thank you again for all your support over the last 16 years.

Daniel Leonard

Headteacher

As always it is really important that parents ensure their child's uniform meets the school's expectations before they start back in September. Too often the school gets into conflict with students over their uniform, that could be resolved if parents had purchased the correct uniform in a timely manner before September. The uniform list is below, however please remember the following for September:

• Polo shirts cannot be worn, these are for the Summer Term only:
• All students can now wear either the white shirt and tie or the pink pinstripe shirt.
• If a students wears a white shirt they must also wear a school tie.
• Students are expected to have skirts that are ON THE KNEE
  
• All Year 11 students are required to have a completely plain black, v neck jumper in September. Blazers will not be permitted for Year 11
  

All other uniform expectations remain the same, please see the attached list for any clarification.

Students not wearing the appropriate uniform will not be able to attend lessons.

At this time of year we say goodbye to a number of staff who are leaving the school. I would like to thank all of the staff in the list below for their work with our students and their part in making West Hatch a special place. The very best of luck for the future to all those who are leaving us this summer. Parents and carers will be pleased to know that we will be fully staffed in September and ready to support your children both academically and personally.

Mr D Leonard - Headteacher

Mr S Langton - Assistant Headteacher

Mrs K Plowright - Sixth Form

Mrs T Roy - LSA

Mrs J Fahy - Science

Mr O Heeks - Maths

Mrs M Allachi-Hussain - English

Mrs H Moynihan - English

Just a reminder that the following members of staff will be taking responsibility for the year groups below:

Year 7 - Mr Blain

Year 8 - Mr Limon

Year 9 - Ms Fraser

Year 10 - Ms Reid

Year 11 - Mr Orton

We return from the Summer break on Monday 2nd September and this is a Staff CPD Day so there are no students in school.

Tuesday 3rd September we have just Year 7 and 12 in school.

• Year 7s arrive for 8.40am and have a welcome meeting in the sports hall with their parents.
• Year 12s arrive for 9.20am and go straight to the main hall for an assembly.

On Wednesday 4th September all years are in school.

• Year 7-11 in for 8.40am start and will go to form.
• Year 12s in for 10am and straight to Lesson 3
• Year 13s in for 9.20am and straight to an assembly

Please ask your child to check their Teams account before they return so they know what form they are in.

Congratulations to Abdul and Fariha who where successful in achieving the roles of Senior Ambassadors. We look forward to the great work they are going to do during the next academic year.

It's been a fabulous half term of celebration and reward for our students and we have all loved giving recognition to all those students who go the extra mile, work exceptionally hard and achieve amazing things across the curriculum. Congratulations once again to all our student winners, you are a credit to the school and your families.

Once again Ms Lord and Mr Vincent put on a fantastic Summer Solstice with singing, musicians, poets and dancers. It truly was a fabulous evening and I am overwhelmed by the talent we have in this school. It gets bigger and better every year.

It's been a great term with lots of fun activities, trips, visits and events for our students. I hope they have enjoyed everything that the staff have organised for them.

I would like to wish all our Year 11 and 13 students the very best of luck for their results; I look forward to seeing their smiling faces on results days.

Thank you all once again for your support and kindness, West Hatch is a special place because of everyone within its community and I know the new Headteacher has some fantastic plans to move the school forwards in the future; I'll be keeping a close eye on the schools progress over the next few years.

Have a wonderful summer holiday and I hope the students come back in September refreshed and eager to learn.

Daniel Leonard