Sent to parents and carers on 11/09/26

 

Weekly Bulletin for Friday 11 September 2026

 

It has been a very exciting start to the new term, as we have welcomed back all of our students.

Over the summer I have been working closely with new colleagues from Inspiration Trust to develop the routines and systems we were using at the end of last year to maximise learning time in lessons and reduce the cognitive load of students by ensuring teaching staff use the same routines and high expectations in every lesson.  The systems we have introduced, such as asking students to line up in silence before entering a classroom, expecting silence as students come into class, and asking students to have the correct uniform and equipment for lessons, has been proven to help improve the behaviour in lessons in other schools in our new Trust and has led to significant improvements in the learning environment.  Where students feel their lessons will be calm, orderly and productive they learn better and are more likely to attend when feeling under the weather, which then leads to significant improvements in their outcomes when they reach the end of Year 11.

This week I have led a welcome back assembly with each year group on their day of return, outlining our expectations for the year ahead, introducing the changes we have made to routines and systems including an explanation of why we believe these changes will lead to significant further improvements at Westbourne.

I have been introducing students in assemblies to Mr Carter, who is joining us this year as Executive Principal from Inspiration Trust. He will be working alongside me and the leadership team to drive further improvements at Westbourne as we move to our new Trust.  Mr Carter has extensive experience of leading school improvement at Thetford Academy and Great Yarmouth Charter Academy in Norfolk, two schools which have seen significant improvement during their time in Inspiration Trust and are now performing well.

We are also delighted to welcome Mr Skipp, who is joining us full time as a Trust Assistant Principal leading on our behaviour systems. Mr Morel will also join us one day a week, as the Trust Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Director of Education.  This represents a significant investment of expertise into Westbourne to bolster our improvement journey as it enters an exciting new phase.

As always, at the start of term, we welcome some new colleagues who are joining the Westbourne family, and in some cases re-joining!  Welcome to them all!

  • Miss E Turner has joined us to teach drama and music
  • Mr I Cazorla has joined us to teach history
  • Miss C Williams-Macklin has re-joined us in the art department after successfully completing her teacher training last year
  • Mrs W Underwood, Mrs S Atker, Miss E Emmanuel and Mrs J Alexander are all joining our learning support department (Miss Emmanuel joining for her second stint as a member of staff having previously attended Westbourne as a student)
  • Mr Boyles who is joining us as an IT technician

Thank you to all parents and carers for supporting the inclusion of formal shoes into the uniform in place of black trainers.  The students look very smart despite some grumbling!  We have identified uniform as an area where we were being inconsistent in our application of our rules last year, so I have asked staff to ensure students are wearing their uniform properly throughout the school day.

Earlier today, parents and carers received a separate email about our expectations for full uniform from Monday 14 September. You can find a copy here on our website news page:

Parent Information: Full School Uniform Expectations – Westbourne Academy

Finally, over the past year we have developed the role of the student council to allow students to give more feedback to school leaders about how we can improve the school further.  One thing which was identified during last year was the need to recognise the good conduct of students more frequently.  To build on the progress we made in this area last year, Mr Arrow has developed further plans for the start of term, which are outlined below.

I hope everyone in the community has a lovely weekend.

 

Celebrating Success at Westbourne Academy

Relaunch of Our Rewards System

At Westbourne Academy, we believe that recognising and celebrating students’ achievements is an important part of building confidence, motivation and a positive school culture. We are therefore delighted to relaunch our rewards system from the week beginning 7 September.

Golden Tickets

Our Golden Tickets are awarded to students who consistently demonstrate positive behaviour, excellent effort, kindness, resilience and commitment to their learning.

Students can receive Golden Tickets from staff both in lessons and around the academy. Each week:

  • One student from each year group will be selected to win a £10 Amazon voucher.
  • Additional students will be rewarded with a range of prizes during assemblies.

We hope this initiative will encourage students to continue demonstrating the high standards and positive attitudes that we value as a school community.

Postcards Home

We are also encouraging staff to send Postcards Home to celebrate students who have made a particularly positive start to the academic year.

Receiving a postcard is a special way of recognising:

  • Excellent effort in lessons
  • Outstanding attendance and punctuality
  • Positive behaviour and attitudes
  • Significant improvements
  • Contributions to the wider life of the academy

We know that sharing success with families is one of the most meaningful ways to celebrate achievement, and we look forward to sending many positive messages home throughout the year.

Working Together

We are committed to ensuring that every student feels valued, recognised and proud of their achievements. We look forward to working in partnership with parents and carers to celebrate the successes of our young people throughout the year. We thank you for your continued support.

 

Heads of Year & Assistant Heads of Year for 2026-2027

We are pleased to confirm the Heads of Year and Assistant Heads of Year for September are as follows:

Year Group          Head of Year                 Assistant Head of Year

Year 7                    Mr D Payne                      Ms L Robbie

Year 8                     Mr J McLean                    Mrs G Rockell

Year 9                     Mr C Compton                  Mr M Masters

Year  10                  Mr M Agate                       New Appointment tbc

Year 11                   Miss S Bird                       Miss K Thomas-Astley Mon-Tue-Wed

AM &  Mrs A Fulcher Wed PM-Thu-Fri

 

 

Year 11 Prom: Friday 25 June 2026

Head of Year 11, Miss Bird, together with and her colleagues Miss Thomas-Astley and Mrs Fulcher, would like to draw your attention to a fundraising event in support of next year’s Year 11 Prom. This takes place after school on 18 September and is for Year 11 students only.

 

 

Ipswich Town Foundation Sessions – Free!

 

 

 

 

Co-Curricular Club: Boxing Academy

Mr Mason would like to announce a new club starting at Westbourne on 18 September, Westbourne Boxing Academy. This is for our students only and is free to attend.

 

 

 

 

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.

You can contact the attendance team direct on 01473 466145 or by email wes-attendance@attrust.org.uk

 

 

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 will be introduced after half term:

Catering & Food Hall – Westbourne Academy

 

 

Key Dates 2026

Friday 18 September                 – Whole School Photos

Wed 23 September                     – Y11 Geography Field Trip

Thu 24 September                      – Y11 Geography Field Trip

Thu 1st October                             – Y6 Open Evening 16:00 – 18:30

Thu 8 October                                – Y11 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00

Mon 12 October                           – Flu Vaccines

Mon 19 – Fri 23 Oct                    – Y11 PRE Week P1-4 in Sports Hall

Thu 22 October                             – Y7-11 Meet the Tutor Evening 16:00-19:00

Mon 26 – Fri 30 Oct                    – Half Term Holiday

Mon 2- Fri 6 Nob                           – Y11 PRE Week P1-4 in Sports Hall

Friday 27 November                  – Staff PD Day (school closed)

Mon 30 November                      – Flu Vaccines

Fri 4 December                             – Flu Vaccines (Mop-ups)

Thu 10 December                        – Y8 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00

Wed 16 December                      – Y8 HPV Vaccines

Fri 18 December                           – Last Day of Term / Early Close

Mon 4 January                               – Staff PD Day (school closed)

Tue 5 January                                 – 1st day of Spring Term

Thu 14 January                              – Y11 Parent/Carer Evening No 2 16:00-19:00

Thu 4 February                               – Y7 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00

Mon 8 – Fri 12 Feb                       – Y11 PRE Week p1-4 in Sports Hall

Mon 15- Fri 19 Feb                      – Half Term Holiday

Thu 25 February                            – Y9 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00

Fri 5 March                                      – Y9 MENACWY+DTP Vaccines

Thu 25 March                                 – Y11 Year Group Photo P5

Fri 26 Mar – Fri 9 April                – Easter Holiday

Thu 15 April                                     – Y9 Pathway Evening 16:00-18:30

Wed 5 May                                       – Y11 Summer Exam Series starts

Mon 13 May – Fri 4 June           – Half Term Holiday

Fri 18 June                                        – Y11 Leavers Assembly 14:15

Wed 23 June                                   – Y6 Transition Day No 1

Thursday 24 June                         – Y6 Transition Day No 2

Friday 25 June                                – Staff PD Day (school closed) & Year 11 Prom

Thu 1st July                                        – Y7 Parent/Carer Evening 16:00-19:00

Thu 8 – Sat 10 July                        – Y10 History Trip/Battlefields

Wed 21 July                                     – Last Day of Term / Early Close

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