Headteacher’s update

Happy weekend Stanley families

How lovely it is to have the sun shining down on us for the past couple of days.  I have the absolute pleasure of driving down Preston New Road each morning on my way to work and with the sun and blossom covered trees, it reminds me how lucky we are to be placed in such a lovely community area.

This week Mr Venables co-ordinated input and assemblies from the Anthony Walker Foundation. Students in Years 7 to 10 heard how the racially motivated murder of Anthony devastated family, friends and a community.  The focus of the assembly was about anti-racism and tackling all forms of discrimination through the strength in reporting and not allowing hate to continue.  It also covered how quickly nastiness can escalate into hate crime.  I feel a great responsibility to not just ensure your children have access to the best academic opportunities, but they also deserve access to all types of learning that will help them grow into a well-rounded young adult.  As a school we work very hard to expose where pockets of nastiness, and discrimination take place.  All students need educating on how to be kind to each other and be accepting to each other for the amazing humans they are.  Not all adults get this correct all of the time and for us as a school it is something we will constantly strive for and actively work towards.

Today you will have received a further communication from myself regarding industrial action.  I hope that the unions and government come to an agreement soon, to prevent further breaks in children’s education.

Whilst I support the need to ensure the education system is sustainable and high quality for all future generations, I can also recognise the impact on the broken experience of the students in education right now.  All Year 11 students will be expected in school on the next two strike days.

We have some incredibly exciting weeks ahead, as students in Year 11 are now into their final weeks in school, families of Year 11 – they are doing great and so are you!  I think quite often as a family member of a teen you sometimes feel more pressure than they show.  Keep encouraging them though, as there is still plenty of time to make a positive difference in any subjects.

This week we continue our work with Smoke Free Sefton, with the aim to educate students about the use of vapes.

I hope that you all had a pleasant spring break, and this week has not been too much of a shock to the system.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs J Shawe

Headteacher