Sent to parents and carers on 05/09/2025
Weekly Bulletin for Friday 5 September 2025
It has been wonderful welcoming back our students this week and hearing how their summers have been and, in particular, seeing our new Year 7s as they start their five-year journey with us.
On Wednesday and Thursday this week, I spoke to all of our students about the importance of starting the new school year positively with the intention of making the most of the opportunities on offer here.
Every year the majority of our Year 11s achieve excellent results in their GCSE exams. This unlocks a wide range of opportunities for them in Years 12 and 13 and as they go on to their careers in adult life. Students who achieve that well are those who make positive decisions on a daily basis, attending their lessons on time, trying their hardest in class and in their home learning, and who attend regularly (95% or higher). Students who do this, always do well and they go on to do something they love after they leave high school.
As you may be aware, we do have a minority of students who do not always make the most of our academy. Our new year teams will be working hard this term to help them connect better to our expectations so that they, too, can benefit from attending Westbourne.
This week we have introduced a number of changes to encourage better conduct amongst all of our students. These include lining up for tutor time and after break and lunch time. Some students can become quite excitable during social time and this will help them to calm down and be ready to learn after break and lunch, as well as making it simpler for students to see where their next lessons are.
We have explained that we will be enforcing our “see it, hear it, take it” mobile phone policy. There were some inconsistencies in how this was being applied last year. This meant some students were using their phones during the school day, leading to them being distracted in lessons, communicating with their friends during social times, and even occasionally causing other students to feel anxious. We will be consulting this half term on how we can move to being a phone free school after October half term, further details will follow about this important consultation.
It is apparent that not all students are coming to school with a bag and a reusable water bottle. We have several water fountains around the site which are accessible before school, at break and lunchtime. These are designed to fill up water bottles not to be drunk from directly. Please do ensure your children are equipped with a bag and a reusable water bottle.
Year Group Ties Reminder
As you will be aware from previous communications last term, going forwards students in each year group need to wear the following colour ties. This colour will remain the same as they progress through school with next year’s Year 7 students taking on the red tie from current Year 11.
- Current Y7 – Blue (Head of Year Miss Farr)
- Current Y8 – Yellow (Head of Year Mr Perry)
- Current Y9 – Green (Head of Year Mr Agate)
- Current Y10 – Purple (Head of Year Mr Durrant)
- Current Y11 – Red (Head of Year Mr Payne)
Families who find themselves in financial hardship and who are struggling to cover the costs of uniform should contact Mrs Clarke at the school in the first instance to discuss the support available (carol.clarke@attrust.org.uk)
Ties can be bought from PMG Schoolwear or through the school on the MCAS shop. Students may collect ties before school, at morning break or after school from the Central Admin office which is located opposite the lift to the library on B block. We cannot accept cash at school.
New Staff
This week, we welcomed a number of new teaching and support staff colleagues to team Westbourne and they are as follows:
- Team Leader of Languages: Mr C Luziani
- Team Leader of RS & PSHE: Mr J Bragg-Welling
- Team Leader of Vocational Subjects: Mr M Opukah
- Seclusion Manager: Mrs J Piper
- Science Teacher: Mr J Okparagu
- History Teacher: Miss D Ellis
- DT Teacher: Miss K Marshall
- Assistant Head of Year 11: Miss L Robbie
- TA: Miss C Johnson
- TA: Mrs M Kowalska
- TA: Mrs M Veedu
- HR Admin: Mrs V Gill
- Cleaner: Mrs T Synouri
Mrs L Percival is now our Seclusion Assistant and Miss N Wright in attendance is now our Student Support as well as the Home Visits Coordinator. Mr K Carr & Miss K Thomas-Astley are joint Assistant Heads of Year 10 and Miss S McKnight-Shaw is Assistant Head of Year 9 and Mr Z Elseidy is Assistant Head of Year 8.
We are currently in the middle of appointing a new Assistant Head of Year 7 to work along side Miss Farr as well as new Team Leader for Design Technology, an EAL Coordinator, a Lettings Assistant and an Enabling Education Support Worker. Full details of these vacancies can be found here on our website: Vacancies – Westbourne Academy
Parent/Carer Forum Meeting: Ofsted Report
In our communication to parents and carers at the end of last term, about the recent Ofsted inspection and report, we announced the new monthly parent/carer forum meetings that are being introduced. The first of these takes place in our Food Hall on Wednesday 10 September at 16:00 and will last about an hour. These events will provide a valuable opportunity for open dialogue and collaborative working to share progress and invite feedback. To give us an idea of numbers and the seating required, please register your attendance using the confidential MS Form below – the form will close at 15:00 on 10 September:
https://forms.office.com/e/iASQkMsHW6
Future Parent/Carer Forum meetings will take place as follows. As they arise, we will ask you to register your attendance in advance:
- Wed 24 September
- Wed 22 October
- Wed 26 November
- Wed 17 December
- Wed 28 January
- Wed 25 February
- Wed 25 March
- Wed 29 April
- Wed 20 May
- Wed 17 June
Lost Property
We still have lots of lost property from last academy year including coats, jackets, hoodies, bags and jewellery. Please remind your child to see Mrs Lambert at break, lunch or after school if they wish to retrieve any items before they are donated to the WA Community Hub. Mrs Lambert’s office is located next to the Hub in what was previously the Green Room.
Security Upgrade to Entry Gates
During the summer holiday we have upgraded some of our site security. We now have autolocks on our vehicle entry and exit gates and the pedestrian gate at the front of school. If you arrive on foot, please press the buzzer to talk to our Receptionist. She can see you and hear you.
If you have an appointment in school and you arrive by car, please drive up to the gate and use the buzzer on the new steel post which has been installed in order to be admitted to the visitor car park.
If you are dropping your child back at school after an appointment, they should please use the student gate on A block, nearest Whitehouse. They do not need to enter via Reception as our attendance team will mark them into school. The same applies to students who arrive later than 8:30 when the student gates are locked.
No students will be admitted into school via the visitor gate to Reception until 8:15 at the earliest. At which point they will go straight through Reception and into school.
If you are collecting your child during the school day because they have an appointment or they are unwell or have been sent home for any reason, please drive into the car park and collect your child from Reception.
If you routinely collect your child by car at the end of the day, you will need to wait on Marlow Road and your child will come out to you.
School Approved Calculators
We would like it to remind parents/carers that a school approved Casio scientific calculator is a required part of student equipment and they must bring it every day. Students who do not have a scientific, exam approved calculator will be at a disadvantage in their maths lessons. They will also need calculators in other subject such as science, geography and technology.
Parents/carers can purchase the approved Casio scientific calculator on MCAS for £5, this is heavily discounted against the retail price of £15-£20. Students may then collect the calculator before school, at break or at lunch from the central admin office towards the back of the main hall, near the library stairwell.
Satchel One for Year 7
On Thursday 11 September, Year 7 students will be given their Satchel One parent/carer login codes to take home. This allows parents/carers to login into the Satchel One platform that we use for our home learning tasks. If your child does not bring the slip home by Friday 12 September, please email wes-office@attrust.org.uk and request a copy. Please note, Year 7 students will only know how to login (using the Office 365 button) once they have had a computing lesson and know their email/user name and password.
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 8.35 each day.
The ways in which you can contact the academy to inform us of student absence can be found on our website here.
NGRT & CAT4 Tests for Year 7
Next week, our new Year 7 students will begin a series of New Group Reading Tests and Cognitive Abilities tests. Parents and carers have today received a separate communication about the timetable for these tests from Mr Hawkes. A copy of the email can be found here on our website news page:
Year 7 Tests: NGRT & CATS 2025 – Westbourne Academy
Exam & Assessment Timetable for 2025-2026
Parents and carers of Year 11 students can find a copy of the 2026 exam dates on our website here:
Exams Information – Westbourne Academy
The final exam for Year 11 students is on the morning of Tuesday 16 June (Spanish) and their leaver’s assembly will be held that afternoon at 14:15 in the main hall. Mrs Woodhouse will be announcing details of The Class of 2026 Prom at the Year 11 assembly next week.
Year 10 students will also be sitting PREs in all subjects next summer, under exam conditions in the sports hall. This information is also listed in the above timetable.
School Photos
Kittle Photography will be with us on Friday 26 September to take new photographs of all students and they will be escorted to the Girls Gym by their class teacher when it is their turn. On the day, students will be given a named QR code on a piece of card to take home so that parents/cares can purchase copies of their child’s photos online. There will be an opportunity for sibling group photos to be taken at lunchtime. Siblings will need to manage this themselves. Students should please wear their full academy uniform for the photograph. Any photos or merchandise that is ordered will be delivered free to school and distributed after October half term.
Update on SEND Support
Earlier this week, Mrs Piper wrote to parents and carers about the changes being made to our SEND support and intervention programmes. A copy of the email can be found here:
Update re SEND Support – Westbourne Academy
WA Community Hub
Monday 29 September is the date set for the next event. Queries may be sent to opal.degville@attrust.org.uk. The dates for this year’s Community Hub events are now released and can be found here on our website:
WA Community Hub Diary Dates for 2025-2026 – Westbourne Academy
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:
The Department for Education (DfE) has updated the Free School Meals (FSM) guidance to confirm that all households in receipt of Universal Credit will be entitled to receive FSM from the start of the 2026/2027 school year. They have also extended transitional protections until the end of the 2025/2026 school year.
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 that the app. A copy of the email and instructions sent to new Year 7 parents and carers can be found here on our website latest news page:
Cashless System – Westbourne Academy
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:
Catering & Food Hall – Westbourne Academy
You will need to pay for any food or drink that your child buys in the Food Hall via MCAS.
Free Online Mental Health Workshops
Please see details of the upcoming free online parent/carer Mental Health workshops for the Autumn term being offered by NHS Norfolk and Suffolk.
Autumn Term Psychology In Schools Workshop Programme Sept To Dec 2025
All their upcoming workshops can be booked for free on their Eventbrite page. Information on all NHS workshops, past and present, as well as workshop recordings, can be found on their website.
Pastoral Queries (from 1st September 2025)
For non-urgent, day to day matters, the first point of contact between home and school is your child’s form tutor. For urgent matters, please contact your child’s Assistant Head of Year or Head of Year:
Year 7
Head of Year – Miss C Farr (01473 466102) catherine.farr@attrust.org.uk
Assistant Head of Year – New Appointment to be confirmed
Year 8
Head of Year – Mr T Perry (01473 466128) tom.perry@attrust.org.uk
Assistant Head of Year – Mr Z Elseidy (01473 466172) zachery.elseidy@attrust.org.uk
Year 9
Head of Year – Mr M Agate (01473 466143) matthew.agate@attrust.org.uk
Assistant Head of Year – Ms S McKnight-Shaw (01473 466101) shaffron.mcknight-s@attrust.org.uk
Year 10
Head of Year – Mr A Durrant (01473 466168) aaron.durrant@attrust.org.uk
Assistant Head of Year – Miss K Thomas-Astley Mon/Tue/Wed (01473 742315) kyia.thomas-astley@attrust.org.uk
Assistant Head of Year – Mr K Carr Wed/Thu/Fri (01473 742315) karl.carr@attrust.org.uk
Year 11
Head of Year – Mr D Payne (01473 466109) danny.payne@attrust.org.uk
Assistant Head of Year – Miss L Robbie (01473 466170) lisa.robbie@attrust.org.uk
Co-Curricular Clubs & Activities: Autumn Term 2025
We are updating our programme of co-curricular activities for students and this will be posted on our website here: Co-Curricular & Enrichment – Westbourne Academy
The activities on offer at lunch and after school by the PE team are now available on our website link above. The library is open every lunch time and after school on Monday to Thursday. Students can access computers at lunch and after school in the library to do their home learning under the supervision of a Teaching Assistant.
News and Information from SENDIASS
The team at Suffolk SENDIASS have asked schools to share the following bulletin with families. There is lots of information and resources on SEN support and the threshold for EHC needs assessment which may be of help. Also included is information about school anxiety and a range of helpful guides for families.
Any queries regarding SEN support at Westbourne may be sent to our new SENDCO, Mrs W Piper.
Key Dates 2025-26
Wednesday 10 September – Parent/Carer Forum 16:00-17:00 re Ofsted Report
Monday 22 September – Y11 Geo field trip (information to follow)
Tuesday 23 September – Y11 Geo field trip (information to follow)
Monday 29 September – 15:15-16:00 WA Community Hub
Thursday 2 October – 16:00-18:30 Year 6 Open Evening (early close at lunch)
Friday 26 September – Whole school photos
Monday 6 October – Y7-8-9 flu vaccinations (information to follow)
Monday 13 October – Y10-11 flu vaccinations (information to follow)
Thursday 16 October – Year 11 Success Fayre 18:00-20:00 (info to follow)
Monday 27 – Friday 31 Oct – Half term holiday
Monday 3 November – Staff PD day (school is closed)
Monday 15 December – Flu vaccination mop-ups
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 Please be aware that Monday 20 July 2026 is now a staff training day and the academy will be closed.
Parent/Carer Evenings
Here are the dates of our parent/carer evenings which take place in the main hall between 16:00 – 19:00. You will receive email instructions approximately two weeks in advance announcing when the online booking system is open for you to meet your child’s teachers:
Year 7 – Thursday 11 June 2026
Year 8 – Thursday 6 November
Year 9 – Thursday 5 March
Year 10 – Thursday 26 March
Year 11 – Thursday 16 October & Thursday 15 January
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
Attendance or Absence queries to: wes-attendance@attrust.org.uk
Exam queries to: anna.fulcher@attrust.org.uk
Lettings queries to wes-lettings@attrust.org.uk
MCAS, online payments and data information queries to: wes-data@attrust.org.uk
Safeguarding queries to wes-safe@attrust.org.uk
SEND queries to: willow.piper@attrust.org.uk