Batley Buzz July 2023

July 2023

Edition 11

Our children deserve the best. No child left behind - ever. Every school a great school. Creating remarkable people.

Our Trust Vision

Every young person, regardless of their starting point, or background receives a high quality education, including first class care, guidance and support.

Our Infant and Primary News

Meeting people and looking at careers

The summer term has been so busy at Manorfield School. We have had a visit from Kim Leadbeater, our local MP, who delivered an assembly on her role as an MP and what her job was prior to this.

This year we have been trying to expose our children to as many different career paths as possible to raise aspirations for all. We believe it is never too early to start talking about careers and aspirations.

Sports fun

after the rain…

We have had all of our annual Sports Days which were a huge success (after the rain stopped!). We were incredibly lucky to have lots of parental support for our Sports Days and Mrs Towse did an amazing job of arranging sports days that were both inclusive and competitive.

School Fair

Thursday 27 July at 2pm

Is being organised by our fabulous fundraising committee, who have shown incredible commitment to fundraising for school this year.

Year 1 have enjoyed Ponderosa, Reception have explored the Yorkshire Wildlife park and our Nursery went wild at Lotherton Hall. Year 2 will be having a good old fashioned day beside the seaside in Filey in the next couple of weeks, a huge celebration of the last 4 years that they have been with us and a fantastic end to their learning about coastal areas. We have celebrated Eid across school with parties; our children wore the most beautiful party clothes! Our Change project art piece depicting seasons that Year 1 made, with professional artist Natasha Jackson, is currently on display in the gallery at Oakwell Hall.

We would like to extend an invite to all of our family of schools to attend.

Visits and experiences galore!

Sun, sea and sand

Our Key Stage 1 children have had such a lovely time in Scarborough. They began their visit at the RNLI where Juwairiah and her Year 1 friends donated the money they had raised earlier this year at their bun sale. This was followed by a picnic on the beach and a chance to paddle in the sea!

Carry My Story celebration event

Year 5 demonstrated their understanding of what it must be like if you are forced to leave your home country through art, song, drama and dance. They told the story of Mohjan, a refugee from Afghanistan, who the children welcomed to school in June.

The Change Project 2023

Year 4 were very proud to see their wonderful mosaic representing endangered species of the world hanging in the Change Exhibition at Oakwell Hall.

An abundance of activities and events…

It’s been a really busy few weeks - can you match the photograph to the activity?

● Robinwood Residential

● Yorkshire Wildlife Park for Years 1 and 2

● Y6 Treasure Hunt

● The Smoothie Bike

● Change Project Parents’ workshop

● Yorkshire Wildlife Park for Years 3 and 4

● Year 6 BBQ and Bouncy Castle

● ‘Carry My Story’ Celebration Event

Our learning journey throughout June and July has been thoroughly exciting, with lots of activities and events occurring in all year groups. Here are just a few highlights... Please follow us on Twitter @HealeySchool to see more!

Carry my Story

It was such a privilege for our Year 4 class to work with our friend from Iran; we welcomed her with open arms. She described her difficult life growing up and was blown away by the empathetic drama performance that the children performed to depict her life story. The children also made bespoke prints to celebrate Aber’s life. Year 4 learnt many things through this annual project, including the power of Oracy, teamwork, care and consideration of others, perseverance and following your dreams.

No truer words have been said than those of Jo Cox: We have far more in common, than that which divides us.

Believe Achieve Succeed

Reception classes were inspired and in awe of our local heroes. The Police, Paramedics and Fire Service visited all in one day! It was a brilliant experience to raise aspirations. They are dressing up in their superhero of choice in the upcoming weeks.

Y4 table display for Carry My Story at the Al-Hikmah Centre.

Spectacular Sports Days have been taking place this month, with Year 5 and Year 6 Sports Leaders helping out at all the events. They have put their training into practice and helped the younger children, enabling all to succeed. Parents in EYFS, especially, had a super time and joined in with the races.

Our Secondary News

Graduation celebration for Year 9

We held the Year 9 graduation in the Exam Hall with parents/carers, staff and students to celebrate their achievements.

Mr Vis led the proceedings and there were student speakers who read speeches they’d written eloquently and with intent. Afterwards, there were refreshments along with photographs - there were a lot of big smiles and proud families making memories to last a lifetime.

Year 10 visit to Castle Howard

“You can’t be, what you can’t see.”

As part of the final Effective Transition Fund Mayoral project, Year 11 students had a fabulous opportunity to visit ARUP in Leeds, an international company who provide sustainable economic development solutions.

Students took part in a 'Hospital Challenge' where they were involved in a workshop exploring a series of engineering challenges around designing a new hospital. They had the opportunity to meet a panel of female role models from Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust alongside structural and mechanical engineers from ARUP who were impressed with our young people and said we had structural engineers in the making!

Year 10 historians visited Castle Howard as part of the historic site element of their GCSE. The house is owned by the Carlisle branch of the Howard family with many links to the Tudor era, including fifth wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard. Both young people and staff had a great day - warm weather, an impressive stately home and gardens. Students' enjoyed relaxing by the Atlas Fountain, admiring the view at the Temple of the Four Winds as well as ice creams at the Boat Cafe!

Celebrating a record number of Key Stage 3 graduates

This term, our Year 9 students gathered in the Graves Hall to celebrate completing KS3. The evening was extremely well organised and enjoyed by learners and parents alike. The highlight of which was our esteemed guest, Matthew Cope, who showcased a variety of magical talents. We were also pleased to note that this year had the highest number of graduates ever received.

Taking on the West End!

The Drama team within Batley Grammar School arranged a jam packed itinerary for their Year 9 trip to London. This included a visit to Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour, a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a terrifying trip to London Dungeons and a Stage Combat workshop led by theatre professionals. In addition to all this, they also managed to watch live performances of Wicked and The Play That Goes Wrong.

The young people were a credit to school for the duration of the trip, with members of the public often commenting on their outstanding manners and friendly nature. One real highlight was that students were given the chance to hold a Q&A session with the leading performer of the musical Wicked. This was an invaluable opportunity for our young people to understand a career in the theatre, and hear about specific situations and expectations involved in this industry.

From Sudan to Batley…

Year 7 learners have been hearing about Adam, a Sudanese refugee, and recently he visited Forest School to talk to them in person as part of the Carry My Story project, which aims to develop understanding between different communities and cultures. He was welcomed by a campfire and a song being played on ukuleles, homemade popcorn was served during the conversation during which learners asked questions of Adam's experiences, his journey from Sudan to the UK and his life before the war.

They heard how he studied the Qur’an by firelight at night, the foods he ate, how different his life is now, and how can't find a mango in the UK as good as the ones in Sudan! The experience of meeting Adam was an eye opener for our young people who said they feel more grateful for their lives after hearing Adam's story.

Inspirational storytelling

The co-founder of Bradford Literature festival, Irna Qureshi, brought the author, designer and filmmaker Osman Yousefzada to meet Year 8 learners to tell his story and discuss his memoir, The Go-Between. Osman and Irna talked through his childhood experiences and his love of reading and powerful narratives. Our young people asked some excellent questions of their own at the end of the session. His responses really engaged the attention and interest of the learners who later wrote thank you postcards with personal messages to the author expressing how enjoyable and valuable the visit was. This was a brilliant cultural enrichment event.

Presenting at the House of Lords

A group of our innovative young people had a brilliant day at the Young Green Briton final, held at the House of Lords. The group of Year 8 learners have been working extremely hard developing their Eco Shark concept, which they presented to climate ambassadors including Chris Packham, alongside ideas from 16 other schools across the UK.

The Eco Shark; is an innovative idea to clean up litter from our waterways. They researched the local area and the impact it could have, and presented three phases for the product development; for ponds, lakes and the sea.

Our young people applied themselves creatively to produce a well thought through concept that they presented to a high profile audience.

Our Sixth Form News

Year 12 get to the root of the problem!

BG6 students who chose Dentistry for Enrichment have been taking part in a project with dentists from the School of Dentistry at the University of Leeds.

Below is a brief an account from one of the students involved:

As part of our Dentistry Enrichment, we undertook a public research programme called ‘Raised in Yorkshire’ with the University of Leeds. We were trained to deliver several workshops with students from other sixth form colleges. We were taught how to promote good oral hygiene and learned about the main causes of tooth decay. We then delivered the workshops to Year 7 students in the Leeds Cooperative High School, and also to a group of Year 7s in Batley Girls’ High School.

The idea of the ‘Raised in Yorkshire programme’ is to for older students to teach their younger peers about key dental health messages. Peer teaching is impactful, and it has been wonderful seeing the Year 7 students learning from BG6 students, as well as the developing confidence in our Year 12s.

Higher Education visits

Year 12 students attended the Higher Education Fair at Leeds Beckett University and then visited Leeds Trinity University. This provides young people with experience to inform future choices.

Prom time for Year 13!

The BG6 prom was a spectacular evening of celebration. It was fantastic to be able to reward the achievements of our young people at the end of their learning journey with us. Events like these demonstrate the significance of believing in young people and encouraging them to continue aiming high. Awards were given for aspiration, learning commitment, community and one poignantly in memory of a student who sadly passed away earlier this year, the Zara Iqbal Perseverance Award.

It was a memorable event for young people and staff alike - everyone had a brilliant time.

Young people said:

Speaking to universities to find out about the course I want to do was useful, each university offered something different.

The guidance that was shared enabled me to weigh up the pros and cons for the Uni lifestyle and an Apprenticeship.

Our Curriculum Enrichment

Our trust family of schools offers a wide range of curriculum enrichment activities.

This greatly enhances our young people's educational experience, and also supports their health & wellbeing.

For her outstanding work as the Trust lead for recruitment, supporting our Trust family of schools and helping all our schools recruit the right person for every role.

Our Staff Super Heroes

for her hard work, big smile and willingness to help and support others.

At Batley Grammar School. Karen is an inspirational leader and a wonderful woman who always goes the extra mile to help and support others.

Huge congratulations for recently completing her apprenticeship:

iCQ Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training. Her dedication and commitment is brilliant and this recognition is well deserved for all her hard work.

Primary Teacher at BGS and wellbeing lead. An inspirational teacher, a champion for finding those ‘Magic Moments’ and why working in education is so inspiring.

At Manorfield - for their amazing resilience and ability to embrace change. Manorfield only joined the Trust in September and the office team have had a change of systems as a result of becoming an academy. They have risen to the challenge with a smile and can do attitude. Two brilliant women!

Jerome has seamlessly slotted into the Trust IT team and is approachable, skillful, helpful and solutions focussed. A brilliant addition to the team.

Diane has worked for 32 years in education and will always have Healey School in her heart. Having taught in Nursery, Reception and KS1, Diane is retiring and looking forward to travelling

Rachel first came to Healey School in 2012 and has always been a reliable and conscientious available for supply after taking some time to enjoy the finer things in life, including visiting Vietnam in the autumn term.

Kieron has worked at Healey School for 10 years, as a senior leader, and is looking forward to an exciting new chapter, leading Maths in a new school and helping to achieve a world class education.

Jane Gilroy Karen Dack Farida Tai and Hazra Loonat Ayesha Tai Diane Yarrow, Rachel Smith and Kieron Jerome Okafor Emily Brook

Our Community Work

…

really means a lot to us, and we see our Trust and our schools at the very heart of our community. Community Makes Us and it is the unity in community that matters.

Song Geet visit Field Lane!

It was Make Music Day UK on 21 June and there were some special visitors to Field Lane - Song Geet, Bradford's first South Asian women's choir, performed and held a Q&A. Mrs Hirst made it happen and then ran workshops with each class in the school for everyone to embrace music!

A snapshot of our fantastic events during The Great Get Together 2023!

Careers work

Teamwork and partnerships

Our careers work is driven by partnerships and teamwork, working with local businesses, further education and higher education providers as well as other partners across our community; to help shape the world beyond school for our young people.

It’s vital that we not only share career options, but demonstrate the importance of clear communication as the basis for strong and lasting relationships. This will benefit our young people in the years ahead.

For example;

Listening skills to understand different people’s experiences and backgrounds i.e. Carry My Story

Communication skills interacting with visitors to schools, or while out on work placements. Asking relevant questions and listening to the responses help our young people to learn about the importance of empathy.

This month’s Batley Buzz is packed full of wonderful career experiences for young people of all ages and you can see these skills in action.

Employability Skills

Our wider links

Our family of schools Works closely with the BBEST Hub. Check out their website for details of local services, support and activities.

https://bbesthub.uk/About-Us/

We are proud to lead the Yorkshire Rose Teaching Partnership - providing high quality primary and secondary teacher training in West Yorkshire. This consortium includes 15 local schools, Exceed SCITT and local Higher Education Institutions.

Our schools play a key role in the Calderdale & Kirklees Teaching School Hub. This Hub offers support to over 270 schools across our region. The purpose of the hub is to provide high-quality professional development for teachers and leaders.

https://www.ckteachingschoolhub.org/

Support & advice for parents, carers and families.

Childnet International has produced a very informative resource for parents to help you keep your child safe online. https://www.childnet.com/resources/online-safety-activities-you-can-do-from-home For young people; For families; Other specialist services; Childline NSPCC Get it right from a genuine site

Providing help & support for Free support & advice for Find out which sites are legal for downloading Under 18s. parents/carers worried about movies, music and games.

0800 11 11 a young person. https://www.getitrightfromagenuinesite.org/ 0808 800 500 https://www.nspcc.org.uk/ Ask about games

https://www.childline.org.uk/

Advice and online guides about gaming and The Mix Family Lives PEGI ratings. Provides essential support for 13-25 Free, professional, non-judgemental https://www.askaboutgames.com/ year olds. advice.