Good afternoon,

With just one more week to go until the end of our first half term, it’s hard to believe how quickly the past few weeks have flown by.

It was lovely to see so many of our Year 7 parents and carers at our Settling In Evening last night. It was a great opportunity to catch up and reflect on how well our newest students have settled into life at Westfield.

As we head into the final week, there is still plenty happening across school. Thank you, as always, to our students, staff and families for your continued support.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter and reading about some of the latest news from our school.

 

Information for Parents/Carers of all years

The Westfield Way

This week we have held assemblies with all year groups to reassert our Westfield Way and the expectations of our children and young people. We have talked about the importance of following reasonable instructions, being on time to lessons and using respectful and kind language to each other.

The majority of our community are already kind and respectful to each other and to the adults in school, they are on time and follow reasonable requests – we want to thank you all for supporting our expectations as you do at home.

Where a young person’s behaviour may fall below expectations, we will contact you and discuss how we can work together to improve behaviour. Where a child is repeatedly truanting inside the building, this may result in a more serious sanction as we need to maintain the calm and orderly running of the school.

Attendance Matters at Westfield School

We have been very pleased this week to see more students attending school every day and arriving on time, following the bout of illness that affected many students last week. Unfortunately, this illness meant that, on three days last week, our attendance was lower than on the corresponding days in both of the previous two years.

We would therefore like to ask for your continued support in ensuring that your child attends school every day from now until Thursday 22 October, helping us return to our usual high levels of daily attendance.

Please remember that important learning will take place in all year groups until 3 pm on our final day of the half-term. Too many students miss this day, and we are keen to work together to change this pattern. Please note that Friday 23 October is our Trust-wide INSET day, so the school will be closed to students.

We have also noticed that school attendance has been significantly lower on the final school day of the week since we returned after the summer holidays. This has usually been a Friday, although on one occasion it was a Thursday. We are keen to understand the reasons behind this pattern so that we can offer support where needed.

If we have noticed this pattern in your child's attendance, we will be contacting you shortly. We are keen to work in partnership with you and your child to identify and address any barriers that may be affecting attendance.

We are very encouraged by the number of parents and carers who have contacted us for support with attendance. It is always a pleasure to welcome you into school and work with you to support your child. If there is anything we can do to help, please contact the attendance team at:

attendance@westfield.chorustrust.org

We are also continuing to promote our October Attendance Challenge. Over 800 students are still 'In It to Win It'! Monetary prizes are available for students who make the greatest improvements in their individual attendance, and we will also reward the most improved form group.

Students who achieve 100% attendance throughout October will also be recognised.

All winners will be announced during the week following the half-term break.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us ensure that every student attends school regularly, arrives on time and makes the most of every learning opportunity.

Year 11 Updates

We continue to be impressed with our Year 11 students and their positive attitude towards learning. To support Year 11s in the lead up to their mock exams, please find details of key dates and activities listed below: 

Revision Week

• The week commencing the 19^{th of} October will have a focus on revision in lessons for all subjects. This will range from a 5-minute revision activity up to a whole lesson, depending on the subject. 
• We will also be handing out printed past papers to all Year 11 students during PDT on Thursday. There will be one paper per subject, with mark schemes added to Teams for students to check their work as they complete these papers in the lead up to their mock exams. 

Supporting Success Revision Event

• This is taking place on Thursday 22^nd October. There are still a few remaining tickets for each slot. If you would like to attend, then please visit this link to book your place https://www.trybooking.com/uk/event/year-11-supporting-success-revision-event-westfield-school-123123
• During this event, there will be the opportunity to talk to subject leaders, as well as our SEND team and Exams Manager regarding access arrangements. We will also have our careers team available to discuss post-16 applications and options. 

Year 11 mock exams

• These take place from Monday 16^th - Friday 27^th November. Here is a link to the timetable for the fortnight Year 11 Mock Exam Timetable
• French and Spanish speaking exams will take place the week commencing 9^th November. The times for these will be given to the student by their teacher. 
• Students who attend all of their exams during the mock period will be entered into a prize draw on Monday 30 November. 

Year 11 home learning and revision bulletin

• Every Friday, an email is sent home to all Year 11 families with a list of the revision and home learning strategies for the week ahead. We would welcome any feedback on these bulletins, in case there are any ways that we can improve this further. If you would like to complete this short survey, it can be accessed via this link Year 11 home learning bulletin - parent feedback – Fill in form  The form will close at 5pm on Wednesday 21^st October. 

Free Parent Webinar – The Secret to GCSE Success

Parents and carers of students preparing for their GCSEs are invited to join a free webinar from Parent Guide to Education, taking place on Wednesday 14 October at 7.00pm.

The Secret to GCSE Success, hosted by Emily Hughes, is designed to help parents and carers feel more confident in supporting their child through the GCSE journey. The session will offer practical strategies, reassurance and answers to some of the common questions and challenges families face as exams approach.

More than 1,000 parents from schools across the country have already registered. If you are unable to attend live, simply register and a recording of the webinar will be sent to you automatically afterwards.

Register free at https://parentguidetoeducation.com/reg/gcse-success/1737

Preparing for Adulthood – Free Online SEND Event

Sheffield’s How to Prepare for Adulthood online event series is returning, bringing together local services to support young people with SEND and their families as they prepare for adulthood.

The first session will take place on Thursday 22 October, 12.30–1.30pm online, hosted by Joy Sykes from Sheffield’s Autism Social Communication Education and Training Service (ASCETS).

The session will explore preparing for adulthood as a young person with autism, the advice and support available from ASCETS, and where families can access further help and information.

All sessions are free and are recorded for those unable to attend live.

Book your place: Eventbrite Booking Link

Bonfire Night Safety

This week, students attended a special assembly focused on staying safe and making positive choices during the Halloween and Bonfire Night season. We discussed the importance of enjoying celebrations responsibly, including firework safety, respectful behaviour in the community, road safety when out after dark, and looking after one another.

Students engaged really well with the key messages, and we encourage families to continue these conversations at home. By making sensible choices and being mindful of others, everyone can enjoy a safe, fun, and memorable Halloween and Bonfire Night.

We wish all our families a happy and safe festive season.

 

Good news stories

Weekend Triumph for Siblings!

It was an unforgettable weekend of orienteering success for Beau and Eliza-Blue who both delivered spectacular performances on the national stage.

Beau achieved the incredible honour of being selected as one of 24 juniors (aged 14–18) to join the England Junior Orienteering Squad. The elite team travelled to Scotland to tackle the challenge of beating the hosts on their home turf, narrowly missing out on the overall title to Scotland by just 2 points. Competing in her category, Beau finished in a brilliant 3rd place—marking her best-ever position in a national competition!

Competing at the British Score Championship at Shipley Park near Derby, Eliza-Blue dominated the Year 7 Girls category. Faced with a strict 45-minute time limit to find as many controls as possible, she scored an impressive 200 points to claim 1st place overall!

Huge congratulations to Beau and Eliza-Blue on these phenomenal achievements!

 

Dates for your diary

15/10/26 – Year 7 settling in evening

15/10/26 – SAYLS Induction Day at the English Institute of Sport

19/10/26 – Nature Based Blades educational visit

21/10/26 – Yorkshire Wildlife Park Conservation Conference

22/10/26 – Year 11 revision and exam preparation evening

23/10/26 – School inset day

 

Reminder of our contact emails

safeguarding@westfield.chorustrust.org

attendance@westfield.chorustrust.org

enquiries@westfield.chorustrust.org

sendadmin@westfield.chorustrust.org

 

As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

Mrs G A Jones