Principal’s statement – 11th June 2021

Dear parent/carer,

I hope this update finds you and your families well, it has been a lovely return to the academy this week. The academy has finally returned to the buzz associated with student movement around the site. Students have settled impeccably and traverse the entire site between lessons with impressive speed and settling into lessons wonderfully.

Year 10 students have been undergoing their end of Year examinations, shortly to be followed by Year 12 and then other year groups within classrooms. There are big shoes to fill as others approach those examinations as the conduct and determination to succeed shown by year 10s has been exemplary, I have no doubt however that they will be equally as impressive if not better.  As those key moments approach it is vital that parents and carers continue to be involved in the learning at home, ask questions, physically see the revision being completed, keep the dialogue about what they are doing going as much as possible. There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that the more engaged parents and carers become in learning the higher the grades, up to as much as 10% which in many cases can be an entire grade. Just by supporting and being involved you are worth at least a further 10%, incredible.

Mascalls Working Towards the Healthy Minds Kitemark – Another Milestone in our Commitment to Personal Development

Mascalls are proud to announce our commitment to the Healthy Minds curriculum by Bounce Forward. This milestone is a significant move forward in our mission to deliver the best personal, social and health education available and evidence of our ongoing commitment to the personal development of our students.

Overview

Healthy Minds is the only evidence-based complete health and relationships curriculum for years 7-11. It equips students with the life skills they need to thrive in and beyond school. The programme of study includes lessons that develop resilience competencies; self-awareness, compassion, flexible and realistic thinking, self-regulation, human connection, hope and optimism. The lesson learning outcomes focus on topics such as resilient relationships, decision making, navigating social media, the science of mental illness, and goal setting for the future.

Evidence-based

Healthy Minds is based on a research project that was trialled in schools over five years. Following the project, feedback from teachers, students, psychologists and education professionals has been used to develop the curriculum that we will implement at Mascalls.

We are delighted to have been acknowledged by Lord Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics who spearheaded Healthy Minds. As he has said, “Young people need to develop healthy minds and schools should make it a top priority. Bounce Forward’s Healthy Minds is the most outstanding wellbeing curriculum in the world. I am proud of the schools committed to this worthwhile investment in their students”.

Positive results were achieved across all the Healthy Minds research measures. Alongside our work toward achieving the National ONline Safety Kite Mark the wellbeing of our students has never been better supported.

Lateral Flow Testing

We continue to supply lateral flow tests for home testing to all students at Mascalls. Please, as a reminder, ensure that home testing continues to be conducted twice weekly. On Wednesday and Sunday evening, meaning the entire academy will be tested before their return each Monday and again midweek. Our ability to maintain fantastic attendance and place our students in the best possible position to achieve academic excellence relies on this process becoming our way of life for the time being.

Lastly, a huge thank you to our wonderful community. Parents, carers, staff and students have been remarkable in adapting to our return to site movement and a more familiar secondary experience. We have never deviated from a full curriculum throughout the last two years and to now see students accessing specialist areas to further enhance their progress is simply amazing. There is simply a feeling academy-wide that we continue to go from strength to strength alongside an underlying and unwavering belief in the undoubted potential of all of our students.

Yours sincerely

Mr W Monk | Principal