Headteacher's Newsletter

Dear families,

Welcome to the final half term of the school year 2023/24. You will by now all be aware that this will be my final half term at West Hatch, having started at the school in September 2008. I will be writing something to you all on the last day of term so I won't spend much time talking about this now. However, I did want to note two things; firstly this has been an exceptionally difficult decision for me and I would not have left West Hatch for just another Headteacher's role; my new role as Deputy CEO is leading a large number of primary and secondary schools so is a new direction for me rather than just a change in job. Secondly, I wanted to say how grateful I have been to receive so many messages from parents since the news broke, your kind words and support have been very much appreciated.

This half term is full of fun and excitement with a myriad of events occurring throughout the next seven weeks including; Graduation Day, Rewards Trips, Awards Evenings, the Summer Solstice, Work Experience and Yr11/13 Proms, just to name a few. All KS3 and Year 12 students will also be sitting their end of year assessments over the coming weeks to show the progress they have made over the course of this year. These exams are not only important in judging progress but also getting the students used to preparing for exams, ready for their future GCSE and A Levels.

Finally our Year 11 and 13's only have a couple of weeks of examinations left. We have been so proud of how well they have prepared for this years exams and although very stressful, most are leaving the hall with some confidence as a result of the hard work they have put in. I am excited to see how well they have done in August when the results come out.

Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter and I hope to see you all over the next few weeks at the large number of events occurring.

Some time ago I wrote to you about the new exit we had invested in to ease the congestion at the end of school. It finally opened on Monday of this week and it has already made a difference, particularly being able to queue the students inside the school for the buses. Just a reminder that students wishing to get the bus or walk to Chigwell must leave through the new gate. Those wanting to cross the road or walk towards Woodford Bridge must use the main school gate. The new gate is only open at the end of the school day.

We had two amazing Leavers Days last half term for our Year 11s and 13s, and it was fantastic to celebrate the end of 5 and 7 years with our students, seeing them off in style. There are some photos below. The Year 13 day was particularly poignant to me because, as pointed out by our Senior Ambassadors, they were my first Year 7 cohort and will be my last Year 13s as a Headteacher. I hope that all of our students enjoyed the events and look back on them fondly in the future. Thank you to all the staff who put so much effort into organising the days.

Following consultation with students, parents and staff earlier in the year the Governing Body have decided that from September the following rules relating to uniform will be in place:

• All students will be permitted to wear either the pink pin striped blouse or a white shirt and tie (white shirts must be worn with a tie). Students can wear different combinations on different days should they wish to do so, but the school uniform will no longer be gender specific.
• The expectation for skirts will continue to be that they are on the knee. Many of the students have grown and their skirt no longer reaches their knees, please address this before the new school year.
• Polo shirts are only permitted in the Summer Term (between Easter and the end of the academic year). Students are not permitted to wear polo shirts at any other time in the year.
• All other uniform relating rules remain the same and can be seen within the school's behaviour policy.

Just a reminder that any student involved in a physical altercation will have their break and lunchtimes removed for one month in the first instance. The length of sanction will double for any further infringements. Please find attached the updated school policy.

We had an amazing week celebrating what is different and what is the same about all of us during culture week 2024. The students were fantastic throughout the week and particularly on non uniform day; you can see some of the pictures below.

We also had a wonderful cuisine competition where students presented a range of dishes from their cultural heritage. Thank you to our Diversity Team and our House Team for their hard work in making the week a success.

Congratulations to Miss Pearce and our Target Team who have received the Panathlon’s Jack Petchey Foundation ‘Special Recognition’ award for their whole-hearted approach to inclusion in PE and sport.

Our Target Teams have been competing in Panathlon events for over 10 years and staff have been inspired to create a busy programme of extra-curricular clubs and end-of-term sports festivals for pupils with disabilities and special needs.

Learning Support Assistant, Miss Pearce, said: “I feel very privileged that the school has been acknowledged for the work we do in inclusive sports for our students. It’s my priority to provide SEND PE lessons alongside the curriculum PE lessons.”

For many years, SEND pupils at West Hatch have been part of a special PE group called the ‘Target Team’ who practise alternative sports such as new-age kurling and boccia. This group has three lessons per week for Years 7-9 with around 20 students in each class. It has more recently been extended for social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) pupils too. As pupils graduate from the programme at the end of Year 9, they become Target Team Ambassadors in Year 10 and guide their younger peers.

Fifty four of our Year 10 pupils recently took part in their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. Miss Huggins & Mr Howell said 'they were a brilliant group, walking 6 hours + each day along with an overnight camp, responsible for their own cooking, cleaning and route map planning. They were fantastic throughout and Lambourne End were extremely complimentary.' A big congratulations! Thank you also to Miss Howarth who supported our students in this activity.

Can I please remind parents that you shouldn't be parking on the zig zags outside the school. The zig zags are there to stop drivers park there so that approaching vehicles can see pedestrians or school children crossing clearly. If you are caught parking on the zig zags then the fine can be £100 plus 3 points on your licence.

Parent & Student Events

2nd July - Awards Evening (invite only)

4th July - Sports Awards Evening (invite only)

6th July - Yr.7 Graduation from 11.15am

11th and 12th July - Summer Solstice Event doors open at 6pm

Student Only Events

17th June - Yr.10 Sixth Form Taster Day

26th June - Yr.11 Prom at the Prince Regent at 7pm

3rd July - Yr.13 Prom

4th July - Yr.10 Mock Interview Day

8th July - Yr.10 Work Experience begins

22nd July - Yr.12 Work Placement Week begins

22nd July - Sports Day

23rd July - Last day of the summer term students dismissed at lunchtime.

Results Days

A Level - 15th August

GCSE - 22nd August

Congratulations to Elyh Harrison who is the goalkeeper at Manchester United U21s Team and has been named their Denzil Haroun Young Player for the 2023/24 season.

Thank you for taking the time to read my penultimate newsletter and thank you to all the families that have sent in details of their child's achievements so that we can celebrate their successes.

Daniel Leonard

Headteacher