The Batley Buzz September 2022 Edition 1

1

2022

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

Our Infant and Primary News

A fantastic start!

Joining Batley Multi Academy Trust’s family of schools.

Over the summer term, we were working closely with the Trust team to rebrand our school, developing a new logo and our Manorfield Values in line with the Trust’s core values. We are incredibly proud of our School Council who were the driving force behind our rebranding. Feedback from parents/carers and visitors has been really positive, with parents commenting on all the great changes that are happening at Manorfield.

We have had the most amazing new starters join us in Reception and Nursery this year, they have shown very high levels of engagement and maturity, quickly settling into our Manorfield way of life and our Key Stage 1 pupils have settled back into school life brilliantly.

Our after school clubs have restarted again, with children enjoying both football and multisports clubs.

Over the Summer we hosted the HAF project at school, running activity clubs for the 4 weeks of August from our school, these were a huge success and supported families over the summer break. We have also developed our Year 1 outdoor area over the summer; we are now the proud owners of a beautiful treehouse to enhance our outdoor provision.

We are incredibly excited for the year ahead, we know that by working in partnership with the Trust family of schools we will achieve the most amazing outcomes for all our children.

Autumn Harvest

It has been a fantastic start to the year at Field Lane.

We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of our young gardeners with over 40 children signing up for the first gardening club session of the year. Lots of parents joined us too. The children set to work weeding and digging and preparing the beds for planting next year's crops.

We harvested blackberries, apples, pears, rhubarb and more! Learning all about fruits and vegetables, and where our food comes from is a key part of our curriculum.

From butterflies to Egyptian gods

Batley Grammar School Primary Phase were welcomed back this term to see their butterflies on display encouraging them to fly.

They were also able to see their amazing rain forest mosaic from the Change project up on the wall, looking absolutely stunning!

Year 3 pupils then had to brave the wrath of the Egyptian gods before entering their classroom or, was it in fact a tomb?

“Superman –Superman is using a wheelchair.

Around 1.2 million people in the UK use a wheelchair”.

“Spiderman –Spiderman is using a false [prosthetic] arm. There are useful tools to help people manage everyday life”.

We are all excited to be back at school, for the new academic year. This half term school theme is “Identity” and each class is exploring what this means. Our own sense of identity - who we are, where we live and where we belong in the world - helps us understand ourselves and others better.

In our PSHE lessons, we use toy posters to show visible differences. We explore these differences to promote empathy, understanding of others and to represent differences in a positive light.

“Hulk –Hulk has diabetes and his body needs help to balance the amount of insulin in his body. The pump helps him do this”.

“Roller Girl, has a skin condition called vitiligo. This affects the colour of skin. It can affect people’s self esteem”.

Believe Achieve Succeed

Our Secondary News

Culture Day

On the last day of term our students dressed in clothes that represent what culture means to them; learning about cultures across the world, how culture has evolved and reflecting on the cultures that have made us. Exploring traditions, food, language, dress, the arts and history. This term we welcome our new year 7 students as well as welcoming back our older students.

Many of our year 11 students have chosen to continue their education at bg6, and we are delighted to see them return. We have an exciting year ahead.

RAF Camp!

25 RAF cadets were able to enjoy an action packed week at RAF Cranwell. Expectations were set high for the cadets as soon as they arrived and placed into their flight groups.

Activities included a trip to The Imperial War Museum Duxford, as well as the obligatory flying experience and drill practise to ensure they were fit to pass out later in the week. All cadets took part in a low rope exercise to test their head for heights and ability to work together and motivate each other.

The final visit was to RAF East Kirkby. The museum is home to an outstanding amount of exhibits relating to the Lancaster Bomber. The museum is also home to a working Lancaster bomber, that although not air-worthy, is able to taxy around the site. The cadets arrived just in time to watch the Lancaster complete its only taxy of the day, a real highlight.

All cadets enjoyed an invaluable experience, meeting others, refining their own skills and applying some real discipline to their conduct all week. A fantastic learning experience was had by all.

We know how to treat our new Year 7 learners, with their Summer School team building as a great introduction to UBHS, and their Forest School initiation taking place during their first few weeks with us.

What a welcome for our new Year 7

Lego Masters

A huge thank you to Turner & Townsend for delivering the LEGO workshops for our Year 7 learners. They really enjoyed the sessions, which enabled them to explore both their practical and creative skills. As Albert Einstein once famously said; “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

Creative Health Day

Our Year 7 learners have also enjoyed Creative Health sessions run by musicians.

The focus of these sessions is to promote positive wellbeing through the medium of music to support their transition phase into high school.

Our Sixth Form News

Celebrating Culture

BG6 students were invited to the launch of 'Curry Flavour', a book of poems that they had contributed to alongside Mr Ahmed Lunat OBE and the Gujarati Writer's Forum.

The successful event not only brought together people from both our local community but also the Gujarati community from as far as India and Canada. The young women of BG6 made us proud with their enthusiastic reading of the poems that they had written.

All the poems were published under the theme of ‘Cultural Roots’ and were inspired by interviewing members of their family who had travelled from India and had settled in the UK. Through their poetry, they were able to capture the wave of emotions felt through their journey from the heartache of leaving their loved ones to the pure joy they felt when they could celebrate their culture in a new country, with an occasional trip down memory lane filled with stories of ‘Khichdi’ (a traditional rice dish) and the ‘panchaat’ (gossip) of the village people!

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr Ahmed Lunat OBE and the Gujarati Writer’s Forum for allowing our young women to be part of such an exciting opportunity!

Our Curriculum Enrichment

Our family of schools offers a wide range of extra curricular activities. This greatly enriches our young people's educational experience, and also supports their health & wellbeing.

Our Staff Super Heroes

Huge congratulations to Nial Sherrard, Assistant Head and Careers Leader at UBHS for reaching the grand mark of 25 years at UBHS.

The above four colleagues from across our family of schools were all nominated for their excellent work on the Keepin’ it Real science and literacy project.

Some of our Trust schools partnered with Leeds University on this fantastic project and these colleagues are specifically nominated by Leeds University for their exceptional contributions to the project.

Shabana Karim

Nial Sherrard

Hazel Saxelby Sobia DinCharlotte Hirst

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.

Honouring Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II

Our Trust family of schools were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, she was an inspirational figure who dedicated her life to public service.

We observed moments of silence and contemplation the morning after she died as a mark of respect and in recognition of her life of devoted duty, and all schools were closed for the funeral.

One of the teachers from Healey School went to London to lay flowers and messages from the staff and children at Buckingham Palace.

We are looking for Governors across the Trust…

Are you interested in a key strategic leadership role?

Governance is all about ensuring we provide the very best education, care, guidance and support for all our young people. No child left behind - ever.

The main charitable aim of our Trust is looking beyond one school, to the whole community and every child.

What's involved?

Attendance at four Local Governing Board meetings each academic year where you will play a strategic leadership role in our schools, including; securing continued improvements and ensuring high standards are achieved and maintained.

Want to know more? Please email Laura Bland at: governance.professional@batleymat.co.uk

Careers Hub

Two of our secondary schools; Batley Girls’ High School & Upper Batley High School, lead on the Kirklees Careers Hub, and offer support on careers information, advice and guidance across all Kirklees Schools.

We are passionate about providing outstanding careers education for all our young people, and raising their aspirations for the future.

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.

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.

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

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/