Headteacher’s Bulletin – 13th September 2024

Week 2

Our first full week back at school has been wonderful and the students have settled back into school life with enthusiasm for their learning and getting used to their new timetables. The PE department have had a busy start to the term, holding the trials for Football and Netballs teams. It was brilliant to see so many students taking part and keen to represent their school. We were named the Secondary School of the Year last year at the Milton Keynes School Sport Awards, which was down to the commitment and dedication of our staff and students.  

On Thursday evening, it was wonderful to welcome so many Year 11 families to our Year 11 Learning Pathways Evening. It is amazing to think that our first cohort of students, who nervously arrived to Watling Academy on the very first day, are now in Year 11 and we are really looking forward to supporting them through this year.

This morning we held our first full practice Fire Evacuation for the year. Our evacuations are held in silence and I was impressed with the conduct of our students this morning, they followed our procedures well. These practices are important to make sure that everyone in our community knows what to do in the event of an emergency and I want to thank staff and students for their cooperation and support this morning.  

On Tuesday next week, we will be taking school photographs for students in Year 7, 9 and 11. We will be on hand throughout the day to support students and I would ask for your support to ensure that, as every day, they come to school in correct uniform.  

As the school has continued to grow, I know that it can be difficult to know where to direct communication so that it goes to the relevant member of staff. At Watling, we put students at the centre of everything we do and work hard to ensure that they have the best experience whilst with us. I know that there may be times when you need to speak to members of staff if you have a concern.  Your child’s Form Tutor is your main point of contact in school, however I have included some diagrams below to help identify our processes for dealing with concerns.  

Pastoral/Behaviour/Bullying queries/concerns 

Curriculum/Teaching and Learning/Subject queries/concerns 

SEND queries/concerns 

For Safeguarding concerns please use the dedicated email address safeguarding@watling.academy and one of our DSLs will be in touch. 

For Attendance queries/concerns please use the dedicated email address attendance@watling.academy

For the Headteacher’s PA/Governance Professional, Mrs Katie Brennen, please contact brennenk@watling.academy  

For anything else or if you are not sure where to direct your query then please contact the Admin team, who will direct you to the most appropriate person. Contact admin@watling.academy

As we come to the end of our first full week of lessons this academic year, I want to thank you for your ongoing and support in ensuring that students are punctual to school and in full uniform. I hope you have a restful weekend.  

Mrs H Fry 

What’s happening next week?

Key events happening next week include: 

  • Year 7 CATS (Information sent separately last week) 
  • School photos for Years 7, 9 & 11 only (Tuesday 17th September) 
  • Sports fixtures
    • Tuesday 17th September: U13 Girls County Cup vs Ousedale School (Away) 
    • Tuesday 17th September: U15 Boys County Cup vs Princes Risborough School (Home) 
    • Wednesday 18th September: U14 Boys County Cup vs Buckingham School (Home) 
    • Thursday 19th September: U13 Boys County Cup vs Hazeley (Home) 
  • Year 7 Learning Pathways Evening (Thursday 19th September) – email sent out this week with booking information.  Please make sure you book a presentation slot before Wednesday 18th September. 

Updated dates for the diary…

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We’d love to hear your thoughts on the bulletin. Have you enjoyed reading this? Is there anything else you’d like to see included in future? Should you have any questions, comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to email: mcdonaldl@watling.academy

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