27 March 2015 Dear Parents/Carers We come to the end of a short half-term but an incredibly enjoyable and busy spring term. Inspire and Achieve: Winners of the Big Debate: Wellfield entered a team of four Year 11 pupils into the Runshaw College ‘High School Big Debate’ last night. Pupils had to debate over a series of rounds against other high schools on a range of topics such as Fracking; ‘artistic expression should never be censored’ and compromising privacy in the interests of national and international security. Schools had to debate on the side given (for or against) and not their personal feelings towards the topics, which was challenging and interesting for pupils. The standard of debating between schools was extremely high. However, after several rounds Wellfield were crowned the winners of the Big Debate 2015. This year’s debating team was made up of J Burgess, J Sagar, L Howells and C Robertson. Miss Snowden has led the Debating Team for the last two years and rd last year Wellfield was placed 3 in a similar competition. Well done to everyone and thank you to our hosts, Runshaw College. A brilliant achievement for the pupils and Wellfield High School. Ofsted: Last week we received an informal monitoring visit from our Ofsted inspector Mrs J Palmer, HMI. Mrs Palmer spoke to a group of pupils and staff about the schools progress. As a result of the visit, Mrs Palmer informed us that we should expect a full inspection in the summer term as she is confident that following her visit the school is ready to be judged ‘Good’. We know that the inspection will be extremely rigorous and that any judgement will be based on looking at the school over time and not simply what is observed over two days. The inspection team will dig deep into pupils’ books to look for progress over time and ask pupils about what they typically receive in their everyday lessons. I believe that we have further improved the standard of education for our pupils since the last full inspection in November 2013 and that all the efforts of our pupils, parents and staff will be recognised. Parents will be asked for their views via Ofsted Parent View and we may, at short notice, ask parents to complete the online survey to gather your crucial views on https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk . You can give your views now and then update again when the inspection team visit in the summer term. We have been gathering your extremely positive views through Parents’ Evenings this term but I know Ofsted will greatly value your input via their website as well. Open Evening: Our Open Evening this week was a genuine success and we had over 90 families visit us and explore Wellfield and what it has to offer. Our pupils were again the stars of the show and as often commented on “an absolute credit to the school and yourselves”. Year 11 GCSE’s: GCSE exams loom ever closer for our Year 11 (and some Year 10 Science pupils). Year 11 should be well into their revision looking to complete at least 2½ hours per day on school days. To support this, over the Easter break we have a number of subjects who are providing sessions for pupils across a range of subjects where it is felt these will benefit from extra study. A letter was sent out earlier this week to all Year 11 parents to inform them of these sessions. A copy is available on our school website in Parents > Letters to Parents. Please ensure your son/daughter attends these sessions as they will make a difference to their confidence as they approach their exams and the grades they achieve in August. Year 9 Choices Evening: Our Year 9 pupils and parents will have the opportunity to discuss with subject teachers the possible GCSE and other qualification options for Year 10 on Thursday 30 April 4.30-7 p.m. We ask all Year 9 pupils and parents to attend to ensure they access the information they need to make the right decision for their choices. This year’s event will take place in our sports hall in a “market” style so that all subjects are together along with further education colleges. Wellfield World Book Day: On Wednesday of this week we held our World Book Day and pupils and staff dressed as characters from books. Well done to all who joined in our day to keep our love of reading and books alive.
Challenge Chocolate Bingo: Thank you to our Friends of Wellfield for organising our Chocolate Bingo last week which raised over £300 towards more reading books for Wellfield. Free Girls Cricket and Rounders Sessions: On Wednesday of this week our project with Lancashire Sport and Leyland Cricket Club to host Cricket and Rounders sessions in our sports hall started. Please come along and join in; the sessions are open to all girls and women aged 10 and over, on Wednesdays between 6.15-7.45 p.m. The sessions are free of charge. Uniform: With the Easter break some parents may be considering renewing outgrown uniform or footwear. Please ensure any new purchases conform to our Uniform Policy (website Parents > Policies). This is particularly in reference to black leather shoes, and not black trainers or fashion lace-up pumps. Pupils not conforming will be sent home to correct uniform infringements and this could lead to unauthorised absences and Penalty Notices for parents. If there are issues please contact your son/daughter’s Pastoral Manager immediately. Nurture Special Educational Needs and Staffing in Art: I am delighted to announce that last week Miss Smith was appointed as our new SENDCo and will start after Easter. Miss Smith has already written to the parents of our SEND pupils to introduce herself and to invite them to a SEND Parent Forum after the Easter break. I will be personally working with Miss Smith in her new role and look forward to further developing the support for our SEND pupils. Mrs Starbuck (Subject Leader of Art/Photography) returned this week from maternity leave and I would like to thank Mr Cassidy for covering her leave. Mr Cassidy was responsible for organising our entries in the South Ribble High Schools Art Exhibition this year and we wish him good luck in the future. Resuscitation Training for all pupils: The North West Ambulance Service are visiting school on Monday 20 April to give valuable sessions to all our pupils on resuscitation techniques. All pupils will receive a certificate of completion of the training to develop these important life skills. Healthy Relationships Week: Over recent months we have been working with Clare House Women’s Refuge to develop a programme on supporting our pupils and staff in understanding healthy relationships. As a result we are launching a Healthy Relationships week (27 April) where pupils will receive input from trained staff from Clare House on what is a healthy relationship and how to look for the warning signs that may lead to future domestic violence issues. This is an extension of our PSHE and links with a national initiative through Women’s Aid “Safer Futures”. I wish you an enjoyable Easter break and would like to thank you for your continued support of our pupils and school. Yours sincerely
Mr P Tolson Headteacher Dates for the diary: Close for Easter Reopen for Summer Term NWAS CPR Training for Pupils Healthy Relationships Week Year 9 Options Evening May Day – School Closed Whitsun Half-Term Holiday Rewards Trip Closure for Summer Break
1 p.m., Friday 27 March 2015 8.55 a.m., Monday 13 April 2015 Monday 20 April 2015 27 – 30 April 2015 4.30-7 p.m., Thursday 30 April 2015 Monday 4 May 2015 Monday 25 – Friday 29 May 2015 Monday 20 July 2015 1 p.m., Tuesday 21 July 2015
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