Sent to parents and carers on 27/02/2026

 

Weekly Bulletin for Friday 27 February 2026

It has been a busy first week back after half term.  On Monday, Mr Stronach and I ran assemblies for our Year 7-10 students welcoming them back, congratulating them on the continued improvements they have contributed to at Westbourne and challenging them to continue to improve further this term.

On Tuesday, we welcomed 150 Year 6 students and their teachers from Dale Hall Primary and Springfield Juniors to watch the dress rehearsal of our first show since 2023, Shrek Jr. From their reaction and feedback, they had a brilliant day out and were totally enthralled for 2 hours by the whole experience. On Wednesday evening, we welcomed members of the academy community to the Shrek Jr opening night.  We were absolutely bowled away by the impressive quality of the show.  One member of the audience commented that it was the best show she has ever seen.  Congratulations to the cast and crew who have been rehearsing and preparing for this week since last summer.  They truly represent the best of Westbourne and show what we are capable of, when we work together to achieve our potential.  As I write this, I am very much looking forward to attending what is going to be a sell-out finale this evening.

On Wednesday we welcomed parents and carers into the academy for the 7th Parent/Carer Forum of this academic year.  I outlined the progress we continue to make against the areas for improvement Ofsted identified in their report in June 2025.  I have summarised some headlines below:

  • Internal truancy, previously a significant issue, has reduced by 91% since the start of this academic year, and this improvement has now been sustained throughout half term 3.
  • Lateness to lessons has reduced significantly by 47% since before Christmas.
  • Students leaving lessons without permission has reduced by 61% since before Christmas.
  • Break and lunchtime behaviour has significantly improved, with recent visitors from our Academy Improvement Board and RISE partner school noting that they saw no unkindness or swearing at lunchtimes when they visited.
  • We have made significant improvements to lunchtime arrangements, with multiple new clubs running including the 3G pitch being available for football to Years 8-11 every lunchtime and £100s worth of basketballs being available to borrow for use on the playgrounds following student feedback about how they would like lunchtime to change.
  • Our phone free school strategy has now become embedded.  During the autumn term we saw nearly 1000 instances of students using their phone then refusing to hand it in to staff.  During the last half term there were just 86, a massive improvement.
  • We recently conducted a staff survey about the phone free school and the feedback was entirely positive, including the following comments:

“Students are no longer hanging about the corridors in between lessons, they arrive promptly and are more inclined to learn.” 

 “I felt before I was constantly telling students to put their phone away, and this has dramatically improved.” 

 “Year 11 in particular seem to be more focused and not constantly sneaking a look at their phones.” 

 “I spoke with Student A and asked then how they were getting on without their phone. They surprised me and said it’s actually better and they like it. They would never just not use their phone in lessons so putting the pouches in place makes them concentrate and try.” 

 “Students are communicating and playing games together. It is lovely to see and hopefully with more time, it will improve confidence and friendships.” 

 “The playground is noisier – students are talking to each other at break and lunchtimes instead of going on their phones” 

  • Support for staff to adapt their teaching appropriately has improved significantly since last year, with all students on the SEND register having their One Page Profiles updated, and extensive training being carried out in how to adapt lessons to support learners to make good progress.
  • Our early reading support has improved as well, with all students in Years 7 to 9 completing reading tests in the autumn and spring terms, interventions in place for our weakest 20% of readers, and all students having access to a range of paper books in the library and through our free e-reader service.
  • The culture of respect continues to improve at Westbourne, with our December student survey showing significant reductions in the students’ experience of swearing, racist, homophobic and sexist language, and a significant increase in the number of students who feel confident in reporting concerns to staff.
  • We have identified that some of our English as an Additional Language learners have struggled to engage with the academy’s expectations, and Mrs Pietrus, our new EAL Co-ordinator has now developed an intensive interventions programme with those students who are struggling the most.
  • Our new Community Inclusion Worker, Mr Mason, joined us just before half term and is now starting his work with our difficult to reach families, to support their engagement with the school and to help their children to thrive with us.

 

Ofsted Monitoring Visit

As you will know from my message yesterday, we have received notification of a monitoring visit from Ofsted which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.  We have been expecting this to happen this term and I will be showing the inspection team the substantial improvements we have made at Westbourne since their last visit in June, as well as outlining the plans we have in place to continue our improvement journey.

If you are able to complete the Parent View survey it will really support us in explaining to Ofsted how much improved we are:  https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk.

 

Rewards and Awards at Westbourne Academy!

Following an internal review of our rewards and awards commitment and acting upon student, staff and parent feedback, we are pleased to announce that we will be launching our new rewards system. Mr Arrow will be delivering assemblies next week to all year groups explaining the new benefits pupils will receive!

As an academy, the staff are keen to reward pupils who behave well, engage in their learning, represent themselves and the academy in a positive light and are kind. The new rewards system will see the launch of ‘golden tickets’ and online logs of ‘acts of kindness’ as well as the relaunch of STAR cards and postcards home. These will allow for public recognition of positive behaviours as well as contributing to prize draws for trips, Amazon vouchers, food hall queue jumps and many other prizes.

 

Food Technology Lessons for Years 7 to 10

Please be aware that there are no Year 7 to 10 cookery lessons for the next three weeks due to Year 11 Hospitality & Catering exams taking place in C27/c28. Please tell your child not to bring ingredients or come into the food technology rooms whilst the exams are on. Practical lessons will start again Monday 9 March.

 

Introducing Mr Mason – Community Inclusion Worker

Mr Mason, our new Community Inclusion Worker (CIW) has been with us for 3 weeks and the purpose of his role at the academy is to:

  • support students who are experiencing social, emotional, behavioural, or attendance barriers
  • work proactively with vulnerable or at-risk students to improve engagement and inclusion
  • engage with difficult to reach families including those where language is a barrier
  • strengthen communication and relationships between school and home
  • support early intervention strategies and contribute to safeguarding processes
  • assist with reintegration following suspension, absence or other disruptions to learning
  • deliver targeted 1:1 or small-group support where appropriate
  • liaise with external agencies and community services when required

The CIW role is intended to complement and strengthen our existing pastoral and safeguarding structures, not replace them.  It will provide additional capacity to support inclusion and early intervention work. 

 

Personal Social & Health Education

On Wednesday 25 February, parents and carers of all year groups received a separate communication from Mr Bragg-Welling about sex and relationship education for the summer term.  Copies of the separate communication for each year group can be found on our website latest news page here:

Latest News – Westbourne Academy

All teaching materials are age-appropriate and we always consider the emotional maturity of the students concerned.  The team of teachers who are delivering the content will do so in an objective, balanced and sensitive manner.

Parents and carers have the right to express an interest in withdrawing their child from all or part of sex education, that does not form part of the statutory National Curriculum. Any such requests need to be made in writing and emailed to Mr Bragg-Welling. Please note that requesting to withdraw permission on the grounds of religious beliefs is not a valid reason. In accordance with our RSE policy, the final decision on withdrawal from the sex education element rests with the Principal, Mr Higgon.

 

Year 9 Parent/Carer Evening

A reminder to book appointments to meet with your child’s teachers on Thursday 5 March. A copy of the instructions sent to Year 9 parents and carers before half term can be found here on our website news page:

Year 9 Parent/Carer Evening: Thursday 5 March 2026 – Westbourne Academy

 

Psychology in Schools Workshops

The Psychology in Schools Team at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is pleased to share their live online parent/carer childhood neurodivergence workshop programme for March–August, now available on the Suffolk Local Offer page. Their free online workshops are designed for parents and carers of children on the neurodevelopmental (ND) pathway in Suffolk, and focus on the topics families have told us are most helpful.

You can:

If you register for any of the childhood neurodivergence workshops, you will automatically receive the recording, slides and resources, even if you are not able to attend live.  Also attached flyers for your information. These include:

  • A direct link to the Local Offer page where all workshops (upcoming and previous) can be found
  • Details of the live workshops running between March and August

Childhood Neurodiversity PST Workshop Poster March Aug 2026

CN Workshops Social Media Flyer March Aug

Please find information below for parent/carer workshops on Mental Health and wellbeing. All their upcoming workshops can be booked for free on their Eventbrite page. Information on all their workshops, past and present, as well as workshop recordings, can be found on their website.

MH Social Media Flyer Feb March

 

Parent/Carer Forum: Wednesday 25 March

Our next parent/carer forum takes place on Wednesday 25 March at 17:15. During this meeting Mr Higgon will go through the progress we are continuing to make following our Ofsted visit and answer any questions parents/carers may have about our ongoing efforts to improve the school.  To give us an idea of the numbers expected, please register your attendance on our online MS Form here:

Registration for Parent/Carer Forum: Wed 25 March 2026 – Fill out form

Entry is via main Reception at 17:15. Staff will meet you on arrival and take you through to the Main Hall.

The dates of future parent/carer forums for 2026 are as follows:

  • Wednesday 29 April
  • Wednesday 20 May
  • Wednesday 17 June

 

WA Community Hub Events 2026

The dates of community hub events for 2026 are as follows, all are welcome between 15:15-16:00:

  • Monday 23 March
  • Monday 27 April
  • Monday 1st June
  • Monday 29 June
  • Monday 13 July

 

Student Absence

Please ensure if your child is absent from the academy, that you have notified the attendance office at the earliest opportunity on each day they are not going to be in school, in order to prevent the automated text messages being sent or absence calls being made to parents/carers – these commence from 8.35am each day.

The ways in which you can contact the academy to inform us of student absence can be found on our website here.

 

Applying for Free School Meals

You can apply for free school meals online direct with Suffolk County Council. You will get an immediate response and confirmation email after you have completed your application. You will not be able to apply over the phone because you need to provide an email address, password and sign the declaration stating that you have parental responsibility. Follow the link below which will take you to the SCC website:

https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-meals-uniforms-and-trips/apply-for-free-school-meals

Contact: freeschoolmeals@suffolk.gov.uk

  

MyChildAtSchool (MCAS)

If you have not yet registered, please do so at your earliest convenience to ensure you have access to all the academy’s communications and services. We recommend that parents and carers use the website version of MCAS rather than the app as the website offers greater functionality than the app. A copy of the self-sign-up instructions can be found here:

Cashless System – Westbourne Academy

NOTE: If you have MCAS, then you won’t receive SMS messages from school so please remember to turn on notifications on your device because any messages will go through MCAS.

 

Food Hall Menus

The new menu on offer at break and lunch in our Food Hall can be found here on our website. The menus rotate every three weeks and new menus were introduced after half term:

Catering & Food Hall – Westbourne Academy

 

Key Dates 2025-26

Thursday 5 March                       – Year 9 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00

Monday 23 March                       – WA Community Hub 15:15-16:00

Wednesday 25 March              – Parent/Carer Forum 17:15-18:00

Thursday 26 March                    – Y10 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00 (info to follow)

Friday 27 March                           – Y8 HPV Vaccinations (info to follow)

Friday 27 March                           – Year 11 photos Period 5 & lunchtime

Monday 30 March                       – 1st day of Easter holiday

Monday 13 April                           – 1st day of summer term for students

Monday 27 April                           – WA Community Hub 15:15-16:00

Wednesday 29 April                   – Parent/Carer Forum 17:15-18:00

Thursday 30 April                         – Year 9 Pathway Evening 16:00-18:00 (info to follow)

Monday 4 May                               – Bank Holiday UK (school closed)

Wednesday 20 May                   – Parent/Carer Forum 17:15-18:00

Monday 25 – Friday 29 May   – Half term week (school is closed)

Monday 1st June                            – WA Community Hub 15:15-16:00

Thursday 11 June                        – Y7 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00 (info to follow)

Wednesday 17 June                   – Parent/Carer Forum 17:15-18:00

Friday 26 June                                – Staff PD Day (closed to students)

Friday 10 July                                  – Y11 Prom (All Manor of Events 19:00-10:45)

Monday 13 July                             – WA Community Hub 15:15-16:00

Friday 17 July                                  – Last day of the summer term

You can view our academy events calendar, together with term dates and PD days, on our website here:

Academy Calendar and Term Dates – Westbourne Academy

Kind regards

Mr M Higgon

Principal

 

Academy vision: Westbourne is an inclusive academy. We support all students, regardless of starting point, to achieve their potential and develop the skills necessary for employment and life.

Academy values: Be Safe, Be Thoughtful, Be Accountable and Be Respectful.

General queries to: wes-office@attrust.org.uk or 01473 742315