Sent to parents and carers 7/11/25
Weekly Bulletin for Friday 7 November 2025
It was good to see so many parents and carers at the Year 8 parent/carer evening yesterday. I was pleased to be able to update attendees on the progress we are making following our recent Ofsted report. When compared to the same time last year, the 1st half of the autumn term has seen a 57% reduction in suspensions, a 63% reduction in the number of lessons students are being removed from following a C3 and a flattening of the spike we were seeing last year in C3 removals during periods 3 and 5. This may be attributed to the calming effect of our line-ups after break and lunchtime. In Year 7, which are now in a bubble in S block for most of their lessons, we have seen a reduction in suspensions of 40% compared to this time last year. In addition, there is a 73% reduction in the number of lessons students have been removed from following a C3.
In year group assemblies on Tuesday, Mr Stronach and I explained some of the adjustments we have introduced to our existing systems to further raise expectations of student conduct around the academy.
These adjustments were explained to parents/carers in Mr Stronach’s email over half term, but they include the expectation that all students arrive by 8:25, ready to start tutor time by 8:30.
Students arriving after 8:25 will be held at the gate by senior staff until line-ups have finished and they will then be taken to the food hall to complete work. They will continue with the rest of their day at 8:55 if they are co-operative and complete the work. Students who are uncooperative or defiant, will be taken to Seclusion for the rest of the day or suspended.
Students who are late to school will also receive a detention. The number of students who were late on Wednesday was far too high, but this new system resulted in 60 fewer students arriving late yesterday. We are aiming to reduce the number of young people arriving late to zero!
We have also recently raised our expectations around cooperation with staff. Whilst the majority of our students always follow instructions and cooperate with staff, a significant minority of students sometimes choose to be defiant and this causes interruptions to the orderly flow of the school day. We are therefore likely to place students who are being defiant towards staff into Seclusion for the rest of the day or, if the defiance is persistent, they are likely to be suspended. The aim is to create a calm and orderly environment for all of our young people and all of our staff so that we can all make the most of the great education that is on offer here.
The slides shared in Mr Stronach’s assembly can be found here:
Autumn Term 2 Student Assemblies
A copy of the Mr Stronach’s communication to parents and carers at half term can be found here:
Autumn Term 2-2025: Behaviour Expectations & Routines – Westbourne Academy
Ipswich Star Article
Parents and carers who take the Ipswich Star (or consume its social media content) may have read an article about “violent incidents” at Westbourne this week. I thought it would be helpful if I respond to the article through our own communications. During the time period in question (1/12/23 until 1/6/25), the incidents mentioned were for actions such as a playground fight after a dispute over a football game. We do not condone violence in any form but acknowledge that sometimes teenagers at Westbourne, and I imagine at other local schools, sometimes make poor choices and this can lead to physical force being used. In response to the incidents quoted in the article, every single one led to the culprit being suspended with a reintegration meeting with their parents/carers. Over 100 of them led to an intervention being put in place by the school, such as a behaviour plan being written by the pastoral team, a sequence of inclusion lessons with our interventions teacher, Miss G, or counselling with the mental health in schools’ team. The article also mentions that the police were involved in 21 incidents. The majority of these were where an incident happened in the local community and the police asked for our assistance in dealing with it, which we will always provide. The handful of occasions where the police incident was in school, police involvement was as a result of a family asking for them to become involved after the school had already dealt with it. Families are always able to involve the police if they wish following any incident of ‘child on child violence’ and we will always support the work of the police in those situations.
We take violence very seriously. Since I have been Principal, 11 students have been permanently excluded from Westbourne and many of these incidents have therefore been perpetrated by young people who no longer attend our school. As already mentioned above, suspensions are significantly down this half term compared to this time last year. Unfortunately, teenagers do sometimes still make poor choices but there have been significantly fewer incidents of this sort of behaviour since September than there were in the period quoted in the article.
I will be able to explain more about this in person at the next parent/carer forum on Wednesday 26 November but thought it was important to give you a summary here. The MS Form to register your attendance will be shared in the parent/carer bulletin on 21 November.
On a lighter note, it was a delight to read the entries into the Oikos writing competition over half term. We will be announcing the winners and awarding the prizes next week. Congratulations to the Year 7 Girls’ football team who beat Claydon HS 5-4 away in their first County Cup match this week and to the U16 Boys’ team who also beat Claydon HS 2-1 which sees them progress to the next round of the Suffolk County Cup.
Remembrance Day: Tuesday 11 November
We will be marking Remembrance Day in school on the above date with a two-minute silence at 10:50am (the end of period 2). Any students who belong to a uniformed service such as the army cadets, police cadets, sea cadets or air cadets are invited to come to school in their uniform on Tuesday.
After school at 15:00, our CCF students and CCF staff will holding their own Remembrance parade outside the AJ McClure memorial wall at the front of school and any members of the local community are very welcome to come along and watch.
The Importance of Reading in Learning & Growth
Earlier this week, parents and carers received a separate communication from Miss Bird and Mr Cole about the importance of reading in your child’s learning and growth. A copy of the communication can be found here on our website news page:
The Importance of Reading in Your Child’s Learning and Growth – Westbourne Academy
Uniform Expectations
As part of our commitment to maintaining high uniform standards, we routinely check that students are dressed appropriately for school. To avoid further reminders or potential detentions, please ensure that your child leaves home each morning wearing the correct uniform. If there are any issues or exceptional circumstances, please contact the school to discuss this further. Thank you for your support in upholding our school’s standards.
Whitehouse School Streets Proposal
Please look out for information from Suffolk County Council about the Whitehouse School Street Proposal which will be sent on Tuesday 11 November to parents and carers as well as our own staff and students. The whole community, as well as local residents, are invited to have their say and share their views on the changes being made to the streets outside Whitehouse Primary School. You can find a copy of the proposal information here on our website:
SCC School Street Proposal – Westbourne Academy
Suffolk County Council Healthy Living Services
Please find attached poster for Suffolk County Council Healthy Living Service. SCC are a service to support children and young people, 0-19 years old, overcome the barriers to achieve a healthy weight.
Access to NHS Dentistry in Suffolk and North East Essex
Please follow the links below to find out about how to access NHS dentistry in Suffolk and North East Essex, for patients who are not currently able to access a dentist.
NHS Dentistry – Suffolk and North East Essex – information document
SENDIASS sessions for parents and carers
Booking is open for two online sessions for parents and carers, hosted by SENDIASS.
Personalised Stories to support social communication
12 November 2025 (10:30am – 11:30am)
Register for session
Understanding Children and Young People’s Behaviour as a Communication Need
19 November 2025 (10am – 11:30am)
Register for session
Helpline: 01473 265210
Email: enquiries@suffolksendiass.co.uk
Text: ADVICE4ME to 87007
Suffolk SENDIASS website
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.
Vacancies for Exam Invigilators
We are seeking to expand our pool of exam invigilators who are able to work on a casual basis in term time, to cover exam sessions with the academy. This includes Progress Review Examinations in the autumn as well as the spring and summer terms. Duties will include the supervision of exams to ensure the proper conduct with regards to procedures, expectations and behaviour. The closing date is 19/11/25 and full details may be found here as well as online applications instructions:
Vacancy: Exam Invigilators – 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:
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:
Catering & Food Hall – Westbourne Academy
Nasal Flu Vaccination Mop-ups
Monday 15 December is the date when students in all years have an opportunity to get the nasal flu vaccine if they missed it in October. Students with parental consent will be collected from class by a member of staff. Please ensure your child knows beforehand if you have given consent for them to have the vaccination. A copy of the email sent to parents and carers with instructions on how to give consent online can be found here on our website:
Flu Vaccination for Years 7 to 11 – Westbourne Academy
Any queries about the vaccine or giving/declining consent should be made direct to Vaccination UK on 01449 701430 or by email to suffolk@v-uk.co.uk. Their online form does not always work properly for some devices.
Suffolk Junior Chess
Please find attached an updated version of the Suffolk Junior Chess Poster – note that Ipswich Junior Chess Club now runs on Sundays instead of Saturdays. Students can join in with Mr Day’s lunchtime chess club in school on Fridays in C26.
Whitton Times
Schools have been asked to share the Winter 2025 edition of the Whitton Times within their school communities. Details are enclosed of their upcoming Christmas and Crib Services. Please find a PDF document here:
Key Dates 2025-26
Monday 24 November – WA Community Hub 15:15-16:15
Wednesday 26 November – Parent/Carer Forum 16:15-17:00 (registration form to follow)
Monday 15 December – Flu vaccination mop-ups
Wednesday 17 December – Parent/Carer Forum 16:15-17:00 (registration form to follow)
Friday 19 December – Last day of the autumn term with early close at 13:20
Monday 5 January – Staff PD Day (school is closed)
Tuesday 6 January – First day back for all students
Monday 12 January – Y9 MENACWY+DTP vaccinations (info to follow)
Thursday 15 January – Y11 Parent/Carer Evening No 2 16:00-19:00
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
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