The Batley Buzz May 2023

May 2023

Edition 9

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

The Change Project

One of our Year 1 classes had an amazing opportunity to work with a professional artist to create a piece of art which will be proudly exhibited in a gallery in Oakwell Hall and will eventually be displayed in our main entrance corridor.

1SLS/GG worked with local artist Natasha Jackson to create 144 unique clay tiles, which will be placed together to create a tree which depicts the different seasons. The tiles were all made by hand and incorporate natural elements which we have found in our school environment. We were incredibly lucky to have lots of parents/carers and other family members join us for the day too, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Our next day with Natasha will be focussed on glazing our tiles and we are all very much looking forward to this. We can't wait to display our beautiful work in the gallery in July.

Twitter

Manorfield has joined the world of Twitter, we would love for you to follow us and find out more about the fabulous things we do, our Twitter handle is @ManorfieldInf

Coronation fun!

We had a special day devoted to the coronation of King Charles III in school. All children were invited to wear red, white and blue and they looked fantastic. During the day, all of our children learnt about King Charles and the historical significance of the Coronation. We all had lots of fun. Lunch time was a good old fashioned picnic and after school we had a special coronation bake sale which raised over £600! A huge thank you to our fabulous fundraising committee.

All aboard!

Reception had a wonderful school trip to Whistle Stop Valley. Our children went on a steam engine, learnt about how steam engines work, rode on the miniature railway and let off some steam in the play areas! We had some very tired little ones on the way back after such a fun-filled day!

Launch of our STAR Values

The school was decorated with stars throughout to promote our STAR values. Children drew logos, wrote poems and sang songs to celebrate.

S for Strength. We encourage our students to cultivate inner and outer strength, helping them to overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

T for Togetherness. We believe that working together and valuing each other's differences is key to building strong, supportive communities.

A for Aspirations. We encourage our students to dream big and believe in their potential.

R for Responsibility. We teach our students to take ownership of their actions and to be positive contributors to their community and environment.

In preparation for their visit to Scarborough, Key Stage 1 enjoyed a visit from Steve who saves lives with the RNLI. The children enjoyed trying on all the safety gear and finding out how to be safe near water.

Meanwhile, the children in Early Years found out all about the job of a police officer and sitting in the police van was the highlight of this session!

Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Day in style!

We asked all our staff to wear green to raise awareness about mental health… And we had a visit from a T Rex!

A visit from the RNLI and Police

Pen Pals at Flockton!

This year, Year 5 has been involved in a fantastic opportunity with the Carry My Story project. This initiative is about learning more about our own identity and those in the community. As part of the project, the children have become penpals with children from Flockton First School. They have been writing postcards, video calling and have also met face to face, including a visit to the school’s local church!

The students have loved writing to children at Flockton First School and even took Bob the Bear when they met in person. Bob really enjoyed the visit!

Coronation celebrations have been in full swing at Healey School, to mark this historical event!

Nursery Class had a very special visitor, who was in search of his lost crown…

The children came up with lots of solutions until eventually the crown was found! They made posters to help find the crown; they tried lots of alternative headwear; they made their own crowns; decorated the King’s golden throne; made lemonade scones and celebrated in style, at being kings and queens.

What a great turnout for our Year 3 coronation party!

The children had made a feast fit for a King! Of course, quiche was on the menu.

Arts and crafts, and reading centred around King Charles III.

Have you ever tried Lemonade Scones?

A red, white and blue day was the finale to our coronation celebrations.

Believe Achieve Succeed

Our Secondary News

Pledges in honour of Stephen Lawrence Day

To mark 30 years since the death of Stephen Lawrence, all our young people were taught about his story and both staff and students were asked to make a pledge towards making society a place that we can all flourish. A plethora of pledges were made and a selection have been included in a display in the Humanities department.

Deep sea to outer space

The STEM roadshow event, delivered by BAE Systems in partnership with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, informed our young people about how people live and work in submarines and spaceships. The students learned about how the application of technology from submarines can be used for space exploration in the future.

Biodiversity

Our Eco-Schools' group has been busy making bug hotels to help increase biodiversity around our school.

The students foraged in their own gardens as well as the school grounds to collect all of the resources they needed to create these fantastic homes for the wildlife.

Maths Masters

A group of Year 7 and 8 young people took part in the Junior Maths Challenge, with 12 of them receiving awards. 7 gained a Bronze certificate, 4 achieved Silver and 1 achieved Gold.

Well done to everyone who took part!

Ski trip to Folgarida, Italy

During the Easter holidays, BGS students travelled to Folgarida, Italy for their ski trip, organised by Mr Thompson. The children had a wonderful time on the slopes and represented themselves and the school brilliantly. The effort they put into everyday was phenomenal, despite the long journey they had to get there.

As well as skiing, young people also performed in the karaoke and disco night, and participated in an evening of Folgarida’s Next Top Model - the perfect way to spend downtime in between skiing.

We hope we have raised the hopes and future aspirations for the young people, and allowed them to capture sights they have never seen before, as well as take part in some great exercise in spectacular surroundings-all great for wellbeing as well.

Coronation Banner

The official King Charles III emblem is designed around his love of nature and in honour of his coronation young people were asked to consider what gives them joy and express this through drawing. We were one of eight schools across Kirklees who took part.

During the workshops with renowned artist Trafford Parsons, our learners listened to joyful, celebration music to spark their imagination, whilst generating images of what makes them happy in 2023. We ran this as a competition for Year 7 and selected two entries, who won, and their work (pictured) is now displayed on the official website.

The chosen pieces have also been turned into huge, printed banners, and are currently exhibited in St George's Square in Huddersfield in celebration of the Coronation. It will be on display for three months, so if you're passing, please pay a visit!

Pure inspiration

We were honoured to receive a return visit from Luke Staton to inspire our learners in Year 8, 9 and 10.

He spoke to our young people about his experiences, what's made a difference in his life and what he's learned. Speaking with him were representatives from Fat Face Foundation, the highly successful retailer Fat Face's charity.

The session was interactive so learners could express their aspirations and were encouraged to strive to achieve their dreams. One of Luke's key messages was; "once your mind is opened to something greater, it will never return to its normal size."

Enrichment opportunities

A recent visit empowered one our Year 10 learners to take part in the Kirklees Young Chef Competition.

Distinction for a second year!

Our young people have been successful in meeting the requirements for the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction, for a second year in a row.

The Eco-Committee members have used a wide variety of methods to inform their school community about their work including using an electronic noticeboard and even meeting with their local MP, Kim Leadbeater.

He baked a delicious meringue-based sponge cake with strawberry and the judges progressed him through to the finals, which is brilliant. He will go up against other young chefs from around Kirklees and will prepare a dish to wow the next set of judges, who are local chefs.

He also had the opportunity to visit an industrial kitchen and gain first-hand experience there.

Young people clearly take great pride in their achievements and are working hard to involve and educate everyone around them.

Our Sixth Form News

Channel 4: online work experience for 16-18 year olds

Next Gen Leaders Final

The focus of the Channel 4 work experience was learning about the company's internal workings and the various positions that play a part in the various stages that lead to the success of a TV programme. During the course of the work experience I have learned a variety of different skills, including how a TV show starts as an idea and eventually develops into a programme. With comedy shows, the various variables that must be taken into account to guarantee that the television programme complies with the broadcast law and how to allocate funds wisely so that the television programme can make a broadcasting decision.

These skills allowed me to understand how all these roles play a significant part in producing a TV show and I also understood there are a variety of different routes that I can take if I would like a career in TV including a degree, apprenticeship or even a degree apprenticeship!

- Account from a Year 12 student

Our two Enactus Enrichment groups took part in the Next Gen Leaders finals at ASDA House in Leeds. Change the 7ycle made sustainable period products and are advocating for cultural change to reduce the stigma around periods. Bookworm’s focus was to improve literacy skills within local schools through storytelling about food poverty/wastage and the importance of eating healthy, nutritious meals daily. They came 3rd out of 22 groups across the Yorkshire region.

Inspiring role models

To further our students’ enrichment experience Claire Jodrell, LRC Manager arranged for two inspirational talks to be held for Year 12 students.

Katy Brent - author, who dialled in via conference call amidst editing her latest novel and Leigh Unwin - former fashion buyer and entrepreneur who has established her own business since having a child with additional needs.

The students found the experience a brilliant example of female empowerment saying they showed resilience and didn’t give up, and that, “If they manage to

Budding actors

Further to the initial information gathering stage where groups of students looked at the different areas of storytelling from characters to plot. The Theatre of Debate team returned with the finalised script. Our students were supplied with this and less than 24 hours later had a full

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.

Our Staff Super Heroes

Is the new DSL at UBHS, but you wouldn’t know it. She has settled in really well and is already making a big difference with learners, proving to be a brilliant member of the team, supporting all areas of safeguarding our young people.

Kulsum is new to the office team at Healey, and is a smiling face for our parents/carers and visitors when they arrive at school. Kulsum works in such an efficient and organised manner and is a valuable member of our dynamic team.

Field Lane have nominated Jemma for the tremendous work she has done in creating a sensory room for their young people. Her commitment, creativity, vision and passion for this project shines through in the finished area. She has created a beautiful space from an empty shell, which will benefit both the young people and staff within our school.

These three staff members of Manorfield School have all embraced changes in their roles. All three have been based in the 2 year old provision and nursery for such a long time, but due to changes in numbers, have been working in other areas of the school and we have had fantastic feedback from colleagues about the skills they bring to different areas of the school. Fantastic work ladies!

Ammaarah is undertaking an Business Administrator, Level: 3 apprenticeship and is a relatively new, yet highly valued member of the general office team. She is proactive and always willing to help, and always with a smile on her face.

Is Lead Science Technician at UBHS, and she is also a strong advocate for mental health and wellbeing. She has helped learners produce some support services posters that have been put up around the school. She brought them to the Trust wellbeing meeting and these have now been shared across the whole Trust family of schools so everyone can benefit.

Sandeep is our Trust Senior People and Talent Advisor. She was nominated by Kim Bradshaw, Headteacher at Manorfield for the huge amounts of support that she gives all of the Trust schools. It's brilliant to have someone who is just an email or text message away, when any issues or concerns arise.

Kulsum Raje Jacqui Peake, Salma Akram and Mariam Hussain Jemma Wroe Sandeep Kaur Lex Metcalf Terri Halliday Ammaarah Aswat

Our Community Work

Calling all Trust colleagues!

If you would like to arrange a visit to the UBHS apiary please contact

sdobson@ubhs.co.uk

If you don’t have space on your school grounds, Steve will help you site and manage your apiary at UBHS.

A star in our community

A couple of weeks ago a member of our local community, Mrs Shazia Seedat, performed in the Coronation Choir on Sunday 7 May during the concert at Windsor Castle. Song Geet, Bradford’s first South Asian women’s choir, sang a beautiful rendition of ‘Brighter Days’ by Emeli Sandé in the magnificent setting and her choir lead performed the solo.

The choir is only one year old and their aim is to give South Asian women a voice; not only allowing them to sing, but to provide them with some time dedicated to themselves, where they stop looking after others and can focus on their own wellbeing and spend time with like-minded people. They are proud representatives of our community and are such an inspiration for others. Shazia has children in two of our Trust family of schools and she plays an active part in our school communities. How superb is it, that her first ever live performance was in front of the King and televised world wide-wow!

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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.

Careers work

Inspiring all our learners, at every age.

Careers work doesn’t begin at secondary stage within our Trust family of schools; we know it’s important to start talking about career options when our young people are in their formative years, which is why our primary schools begin the conversation with their young people as well-it starts in Early Years.

We’re mindful of breaking down barriers to different industries and addressing any gender stereotypes so our young people are able to listen to a diverse range of inspirational speakers to help them think about their own ambitions and dreams for their futures.

The sessions are interactive so the young people can also ask the speaker questions, which is always very interesting as young people of this age ask very different questions to adults. This gives them an insight into lives and experiences that are varied and unique. We aim to broaden their horizons so they believe they too can achieve their dreams. Also…

Huge congratulations to Batley Grammar School who have been awarded the Quality in Careers Standard, which is a national certificate that recognises excellent careers provision.

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.

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://bbesthub.uk/About-Us/

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.