WLD Update for Parents & Carers - Friday 22 July 2022

Good afternoon,

As we close for the summer I would like to thank you for your support of the school and our students, your children, over the past year.  It continues to be clear to me that civilised, respectful, kind, empathetic relationships are at the heart of each young person's development and are therefore at the core of any good school.  That doesn't mean we never disagree - we are human, after all, and education is too important for there ever to be one simple answer to any issue - but the way in which we all (students, staff, parents & carers) relate to each other and work together continues to be absolutely crucial to each individual's success.

Staff leaving:  We have a very stable team of staff, but a few staff leave us each year for a variety of reasons.  This summer we thank the following staff for their contributions to the school:

• Mrs Patel, one of our Teaching Assistants, is leaving us to take up a post in a primary school;
• Miss Royal, our Careers Co-ordinator, is leaving us to take up a promoted post;
• Mr Hutton, Teacher of PE and Humanities, is leaving us to pursue a career outside teaching;
• Mrs Matthews, who has a role as both Teacher and Teaching Assistant, is moving to a role in another school;

Three members of staff are leaving us having served the school over many years:

• Mrs Jarman, our Catering Manager, is retiring after having been at Walton-le-Dale for 16 years;
• Mrs Withers, Assistant Headteacher, is leaving us to concentrate on her recovery from serious illness, as previously announced, having served the school for 20 years as teacher, Head of Department and Assistant Headteacher;
• Mr Hull, Head of Technology, is retiring having been at Walton-le-Dale for more than 20 years.

We thank each of them for the significant contributions that they have made to the lives of our young people.

Staff arriving:  We welcome the following members of staff to our school from September

• Mr Donnison joins us as Head of Technology;
• Mrs Myerscough joins us as a Receptionist;
• Mr Patel joins us as a Teacher of Science;
• Mr Lees joins us as a Teacher of Geography;
• Mr Charles joins us as a Teacher of PE;
• Mrs Patel joins us as a Cover Supervisor;
• Mrs Trainor joins us as an Attendance Assistant;
• Mrs Couzins joins us as a Teaching Assistant;
• Miss Minton joins us as our Careers Co-ordinator.

We look forward to welcoming them to Walton-le-Dale!

All years

• Nuffield Health Free Classes: Please see the link here for classes for students this summer
• Free School Meal Vouchers: Students on Free school meals should receive their vouchers for the summer break by early next week, these will come direct from Edenred, not the school.
• Attendance: Reminder ready for September - If your child is too sick to attend school, please phone the attendance line before 9.30am, with the reason for your child's absence. We request that you inform school EVERY DAY of your child's absence. Failure to provide a reason for an absence will result in unauthorised absences, which in turn may lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice from the Local Authority. If you have any questions regarding your child's attendance, please contact Mrs Gorrill: attendance@waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk
• Support over the summer break:  Our school website gives details of external agencies to contact should you need support over the summer break,  Please be aware that staff will not be checking their email - the main head@waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk address will be checked weekly, but individual email addresses will not be monitored.
• School Reopening: Reminder that the school will reopen on to all students on Friday, 2nd September at the usual time.  As a reminder - students are to bring their current school tie and we will exchange it for a new one without charge provided the tie is in good, wearable condition.

Year 8/9

• Catch-up Immunisations: Due to the hot weather earlier in the week, we had to postpone the immunisations from this Tuesday.  We will be in touch in early September with a new date.

Current year Year 10

• Geography Trip to Bowness: Those current year 10 students who attended the Geography Field Trips in June will be attending their second field trip on Wednesday, 14th September to investigate how tourism has an impact on Bowness on Windermere in the Lake District. Please can consent be made via parentpay by Monday, 5th September.

With very best wishes for a safe, enjoyable summer.

James Harris

Headteacher