Principal’s Statement – 2nd July 2021

Prospectus Photo

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope this statement finds you and your families well. This week we have been successful in securing funding to develop our co-curricular, after school programmes for September and beyond. Leigh Academies Trust have provided significant funding alongside Kent Sport which will enable us to develop or purchase:

  • Weekend workshops for excellence in the Arts
  • Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award development
  • New tennis nets
  • A new trampoline
  • A new large format printer for printing artwork in high definition
  • Increased trips programme for design technology and food technology
  • Two new3D printers
  • New netball posts, rounders equipment, fitness testing equipment, two new Treadmills and two new exercise bikes

We are incredibly excited to purchase new equipment and develop new programmes that will undoubtedly provide opportunities for our students to experience industry standard hardware and enrich their education both inside and outside the classroom. In addition, further to our Chromebook programme I am thrilled to announce that the current scheme in Years 7-11 will now be extended to Year 12 in September although history tells us that there can be delays on large orders due to supply demands on chipsets as a result of COVID and Brexit. All of this represents an ongoing and significant investment to continue developing our provision and provide the best possible opportunities and experiences for our young people.

In my previous statement I said that we would reflect back on the last eighteen months, with the current national picture our progress in the last two years is continuing to be relevant. We began with how we develop character and culture to achieve academic excellence and are proud that our entire community has pulled together to provide a place of calm and consistency against the backdrop of the global pandemic. I am reminded of a maori proverb:

He aha te mea nui o te ao

What is the most important thing in the world?

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata

It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

Maori proverb

Or for us, it is the children. As the guardians of our future generations we are charged with taking care of the children, taking care of what they see, taking care of what they hear and taking care of what they feel.  That challenge is never more prevalent than right now and not just educationally, not just during the academy day, but also in the home and long after the pandemic has left us.  True partnership will only ever benefit our young people and in the last two years it has grown immeasurably, let’s not end there.

Our prevention measures to and from the academy continue as well as onsite, please, in the face of a shifting local and national picture ensure you continue to support Sunday and Wednesday testing facemasks and hand sanitisation. We have been incredibly successful in containing any transmission in the academy in the past and will continue to do the same. As I have stated, testing at home is our biggest asset. By testing on a Sunday, all students will have been tested before they attend on a Monday and midweek and as a result can follow appropriate guidance.

Mascalls Academy National Online Safety Certified School Certificate

I am delighted to confirm that Mascalls Academy has successfully met all the criteria to achieve the NOS Certified School Community accreditation for the 2020/21 academic year. Again, our commitment to ensuring the safety of our students online and staying up to date with the most recent challenges, please ensure that you continue to log into your National Online Safety Account which the academy will use to make available to you bespoke resources relevant to the issues we currently face within the academy. 

In the coming weeks please look out for an end of year report detailing the progress made through the year alongside attendance and attitude to learning information. We have naturally found a correlation between attitudes to learning and academic outcomes, when discussing the report with your son/daughter consider both grades alongside each other, if you have any concerns please contact the College team or the subject teacher.

Finally, from me as always, thank you. One week closer to the summer break, a little closer to Sports day. There is a focussed feel to the academy that feels rather like the start of a year than the end of it and that is down to our magnificent staff, your partnership and support. Just keep going, that is all.

Yours sincerely,

Mr W Monk

Principal