HWA Blog - 20.3.26
Eid Mubarak to everyone marking this special occasion.
I hope everyone celebrating enjoys a joyful day filled with peace, connection, and plenty of good food.
Eid Mubarak and have a fabulous day.
Sharing the highlights…
Red nose day
Today we marked Red Nose Day with a fantastic range of activities across the school. Pupils and staff embraced the spirit of the day with plenty of fun, creativity, and community spirit. From themed crafts and challenges to laughter-filled classroom activities, it was wonderful to see everyone come together to support such an important cause.
Red Nose Day
Class focus of the week...
Year 7
Our Year 7 classes have been excellent this week, demonstrating impressive engagement and a positive attitude to learning across all subjects. Mr Purdey has visited several classes and has been highly impressed with the focus, enthusiasm, and maturity shown by our students.
There has been some wonderful learning on display across Y7 this week. 7JCH were extremely focused in Spanish on their assessments. There was a calm and productive atmosphere. In maths, the form engaged with I do/You do tasks and they remained focused and engaged. I witnessed effective use of access arrangements and strategies in English. 7OYG demonstrated superb listening skills and independence around climate zones of the UK in geography. I saw some great examples of personification in English lessons - again, high engagement and focused.
It has been wonderful to see Year 7 learners working so confidently and contributing so well to discussions and activities. Keep up the great work, Year 7
Engage
It has been a pleasure to visit the Engage Pathway classes this week and experience firsthand the vibrant, joyful learning taking place across the pathway.
The level of engagement from children has been truly heart-warming, with learners showing genuine curiosity, excitement, and immersion in the activities offered.
This week, classes have been exploring the story A Squash and a Squeeze, focusing on animals squeezing into a tiny house. The learning opportunities around this theme were beautifully differentiated and thoughtfully tailored to the needs of each group. Some children were building words linked to the animals, while others engaged in sensory activities using squashing and squeezing bags to deepen their understanding through hands-on experience. I also had the pleasure of joining a wonderful Attention Autism session, where children confidently used symbols to communicate, request items to be opened, and complete their own squash-and-squeeze piece of work in a multi- sensory way.
During a visit on Friday, I observed a class learning all about cleaning. Children were offered choices including cleaning windows, washing toys, or sweeping up a cornflake spill and it was inspiring to see them exercising autonomy as they selected the activity that appealed to them.
It has been a delight to see the dedication and creativity of staff, alongside the enthusiasm and hard work of the students. I am already looking forward to my next visit and to seeing even more wonderful learning in action.
Madeleine Lindley’s
This week, we would like to give a very special mention to Madeleine Lindley’s Booksellers, who kindly provided a wonderful selection of free books for children in Primary to take home. Although we had planned to highlight this on World Book Day, it’s far too lovely a gesture to miss, and we are incredibly grateful for their generosity and continued support for our pupils’ love of reading.
Inclusive education.
Mrs Needham director of curriculum and assessment at Hollinwood and Heywood Academy and Michelle Rather Executive Director for Learning and Impact for the MAT were honoured to present at the RISE: Focus on Inclusive Mainstream Northwest Conference, hosted by the Department for Education. The event brought together more than 350 educational leaders from across the Northwest to engage in discussions around inclusion and the most effective practices for embedding inclusive approaches within education.
The morning featured a strong line-up of keynote speakers. Their talks focused on the recently published White Paper, how schools can ensure all learners are supported regardless of need, and examples of high-quality inclusive practice across the sector.
During the afternoon session, Louise and Michelle were proud to represent the New Bridge Group. Their presentation explored how schools can use data to drive inclusion, sharing best practice from Hollinwood Academy and Heywood Academy. Leaders were provided with an insight into how both schools shape their curriculum and assessment frameworks to meet the diverse needs of all learners.
Following the conference, both Louise and Michelle have had some lovely feedback that we would like to share with the wider school community:
"Your ability to demonstrate how data can be used not just to track outcomes, but to genuinely understand pupil needs and remove barriers to learning, offered our colleagues a powerful new lens through which to view inclusion.
On behalf of the entire region, thank you again for your commitment, preparation, and professionalism. We appreciate your willingness to support our work and our region."
Vicky Beer CBE DFE Regional Director.
"I really loved your focus on making sure the data always connects back to real children with real stories and journeys — those examples were genuinely inspiring."
Kimberly Free DFE SEND Reform Lead
Introducing Our New Enrichment Programme
We are excited to introduce our new Enrichment Programme, a framework designed to provide students with diverse, non-traditional learning experiences that enrich and extend the standard curriculum. The programme aims to foster critical thinking, creativity, and real-world application of knowledge, supporting our students to develop broader skills and deeper understanding.
Built around four key pillars, the programme will link curriculum learning with a wide range of opportunities, including national and global awareness days, hands-on workshops, and meaningful community visits throughout the academic year. Through these experiences, we hope to enhance our students’ learning journey and open doors to new interests, ideas, and future pathways.
Let’s see what has been happening in the classroom.
In Mrs Boylan’s class this week…
"Spring has brought a sense of curiosity to our classroom, with learning across the curriculum rooted in exploration, observation and creativity.
In English, we have been writing acrostic Spring poems, using our senses to inspire relevant vocabulary. The children have explored adjectives and similes to describe what they can see, hear, smell and feel. From “fresh like water in a stream” to “buzzing bees and fresh grass”, our ideas have beautifully captured the season.
This has linked perfectly with our Forest School sessions, where we have been exploring signs of Spring outdoors. The children have been identifying changes in
nature, using their senses to support their poetry work, and making connections to life cycles with Miss Bennett.
Our Science, learning has been particularly exciting as we are observing the life cycle of a caterpillar in real time. Having caterpillars in the classroom has sparked lots of predictions about what will happen next. The children are beginning to develop an understanding of change over time.
In Maths, we have been focusing on length and height, using practical resources to measure and compare objects. The children have enjoyed measuring and developing their problem-solving skills.
In Geography, we have been learning to locate the seven continents and five oceans, using an Atlas and a Globe. The children are beginning to understand our Wonderful wider world, and our place within it.
We also had a lesson all about St Patrick’s Day – the children had a go at playing the spoons to The Dubliner’s and a try at Irish Dancing, we’ve got some very talented to pointers.
Spring 2 is always one of my favourite terms to teach, because meaningful links across subjects come so naturally and really deepen the children’s understanding. Mrs Boylan and Miss Jayne are proud of the curiosity and creativity the children have brought to the classroom this term."
RBN - 20.3.26
Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are Creative STARs...
Mrs Bailey’s HWA We Are Creative goes to Ziyan - For using his communication board to tell an adult what he needs to help him to regulate.
Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's STAR of the Week is Elijah Joynson for having a fabulous week after a tricky start.
Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's HWA We Are Creative goes to Adam Shazad- for an absolutely amazing week!! Super listening to his teachers, fabulous learning and wonderful behaviour in class. We are all so proud of you.
Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the Week is Romy for always trying her best with her work.
Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We Are Creative goes to Albie for his amazing DT work.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s STAR of the Week is George for always trying his best and supporting his friends.
Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s creative star goes to Diana for being creative with her maths work this week when making worms to measure.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s HWA We Are Creative goes to Nevaeh for engaging in a shared space activity with your friends. Great job.
Miss Pietraszewska’ s STAR of the Week goes to Elsie for happily taking turns in every activity and showing lovely interest in all our lessons. Great job.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Hope for coping really well with the fire alarm.
Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is Jack for wonderful engagement on Outdoor Education this half term.
Mr Corrigan Congratulates Kian for being proud of his friends.
Miss Donbavand’s STAR of the Week goes to Cole for great engagement during English and guided reading.
Miss Donbavand’s HWA We are Creative goes to Maya for communicating with her friends more and asking to join in play.
Mrs Boylan’s STAR of the Week goes to Faiha for excellent independent work in Geography.
Mrs Boylan’s HWA We are Creative goes to Kai for making wonderful progress with his communication targets.
Miss Oakley’s STAR of the Week is Simon for excellent participation in all lessons.
Miss Oakley’s HWA We Are Creative goes to Harry J- For being a superstar in PE, excellent sharing and taking turns.
STARS of the Week (20.3.26)
Well done to everyone.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Miss Gordon.
