Sent to parents and carers on 06/03/26
Weekly Bulletin for Friday 6 March 2026
This week has been jam-packed, with our Ofsted monitoring visit on Tuesday and Wednesday and Year 9 parents/carers evening on Thursday. Year 9 are approaching their GCSE options process, the first time many of them will have had a choice in the subjects they study in school. It was good to see so many parents and carers here supporting their children as they start this important process by finding out how well they are doing in their lessons.
The Ofsted visit was a positive process, it was good to be able to show the inspectors the progress we have made since the last time we were inspected back in June. The turnaround for their report to be published is shorter than it used to be, and I will share it with you as soon as I am able to do so.
Mr Arrow has been leading assemblies this week on our newly-relaunched rewards and awards system. Feedback from parents/carers, students and staff has been that we have not done enough to reward our quiet and well-behaved students in recent times, this is designed to fix that! Students using our food hall this week will have seen our new rewards wall, painted beautifully over the weekend by Ms Godsal.
Attendance Reward Update
Almost half of the academy from across Years 7-11 were rewarded for their excellent 15-day attendance steak in February today. The 468 qualifying students were treated to a can of drink, a doughnut and music of their choice, as they celebrated their achievement with the peers from their year group.
Further congratulations to the following students who also won a £10 gift voucher in the prize draw:
Leland M – Year 7
Eliza-Mae M – Year 8
Sophie W – Year 9
Tyler C – Year 10
Charlie C – Year 11
Congratulations to all who attended and good luck for our next ‘MEGA’ attendance challenge which starts this Monday 9 March. To qualify for this, students will need to complete a 20 day attendance streak in order to claim their Easter egg-stravaganza reward! Good luck to everyone – all students are now back able to qualify for this!
300 students have had 100% attendance since the start of the Spring Term in January – massive congratulations to you all!
142 students have had 100% attendance since the start of the school year in September – this is simply magnificent – and all students who can maintain it until the end of the school year in July will be rewarded with a £20 gift voucher.
Support Staff Vacancies
We currently have three vacancies for two Teaching Assistants and a part-time Design & Technology Technician. Full details can be found here on our website:
Vacancies – Westbourne Academy
SCC Funded School Travel for 2026-2027
Parents and carers will be able to opt in (apply) for Suffolk County Council (SCC) funded school travel for the 2026/2027 school year from 2 March 2026. If their child is eligible, they must opt in by 31 May 2026 to ensure the school transport is in place for the start of the Autumn term.
SCC have prepared some information, about the School Travel Policy, that schools have been asked to share with parents and carers:
Alternatively, parents and carers can call the passenger transport team on 0345 606 6173 or email them at passenger.transport@suffolk.gov.uk.
SCC Post-16 Travel Policy for 2026/2027 for Year 11 Students
SCC are consulting on the Post-16 Travel Policy for the 2026/2027 school year and are seeking school’s support to contact families of Year 11 and Year 12 students. The consultation can be found at Consultations, surveys and engagement – Suffolk County Council (suffolk.gov.uk) and will be open until 5pm on Thursday, 26 March 2026.
Full details can be found here on the SCC website:
2026_03_02_Suffolk_Headlines_attachment_to_article_for_Post_16_travel_policy_consultation_1_2_.pdf
For more details please contact: Post-16Travelconsultation@suffolk.gov.uk
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:
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 will be introduced after half term:
Catering & Food Hall – Westbourne Academy
Key Dates 2025-26
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