Latest News and Updates

Friday 8th March 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website. 

Year 9 Options

Thank you to those families who attended options evening last week. We have had overwhelmingly positive feedback and were so pleased to see the students engaging well with their next step into KS4 learning here at Maltings. The presentation from the evening and a copy of the options booklet along with the options form were emailed to parents on the 1st of March. There are some hard copies of the options booklet available in school, please see Mrs Brinkley if you would like one. The deadline to submit your options form is Wednesday 13th March 2024.

World Book Day

What a fantastic day we had in the Academy to celebrate World Book Day. Ms Wilson and the team of student librarians put on a range of activities in the Library for year 7 students. There was everything from designing book covers, solving (fictional) murder mysteries and finishing stories from the first line that was given to students. The student librarians did a phenomenal job of supporting the day alongside Ms Wilson. 

All over the academy students and staff decorated their classroom and office doors in the theme of a book. The creativity and standard was incredibly high, we have had to delay announcing the winners while we go and get more prizes! You can see photos of doors and the library event in our next newsletter.

International Women’s Day on the 8th of March was marked in the Academy by The World’s Biggest Girls Football Match

Ms Martin (Head of PE) organised this fabulous opportunity for all the girls in the academy who chose to participate in The Barclays Bank and England Football World’s biggest girls football match. Girls had a coaching session with lots of fun drills and got to practise their skills before breaking into teams to play a tournament of matches. Huge thanks to Simon and Debbie from Witham Town Belles who joined our PE team to deliver fantastic training sessions and then referee football matches between the girls on Friday. If your daughter is interested in playing football please get in touch with Witham Town Belles to hear about training sessions. 

Year 10 Parents Evening Thursday 14th March

Please sign up for slots to meet with teachers this Thursday using the SchoolCloud link that was emailed out to families. This is a great opportunity to work together to help our students make the most of their GCSE studies, we look forward to seeing you on Thursday. 

Punctuality to school and to lessons

As a reminder we have moved our late detentions to lunch time as an alternative to after school. 

Any student arriving at school after 8:30am or arriving late to lesson, will be issued with a same day 20 min lunch time detention. 

In the event that this detention is not attended, students will be set a detention for an hour after school on a Friday. (3:15pm - 4:15pm). 

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform. 

If they arrive without the correct uniform they will be required to wear spare uniform. Thank you for your support with this as we continue on our improvement journey.

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child is on time for school and in the correct uniform. 

Thank you. 

Friday 1st March 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website. 

Raising Achievement

This Friday saw the first of a number of small group study seminars for Years 10 and 11, delivered by Elevate Education and designed to promote study skills and aid in examination preparation.  Year 11 students will have their first session on Thursday 7th March, we hope the students found the sessions useful and will be able to apply these skills moving forwards towards their GCSE examinations.

Mock Examination Results - Year 11

The final deadline for submission of the Year 11 mock exam results was Thursday 29th February and the Raising Achievement team are now closely analysing the performance of students to help refine our intervention offers to target those students who we feel will benefit most from additional support in the final 9 school weeks until the examinations start.

Early analysis of results has shown a promising upwards trend, with students on the whole attaining grades higher than in their first round of mock exams, this is down to the hard work of the students and the staff who have been supporting them in class and during intervention sessions this term.

This early analysis supports that attendance at after school Power Hour interventions in English Maths and Science has a huge impact on student performance, with all students whose attendance at these sessions was over 80% showing an improvement in their grade from mock 1 to mock 2. Please continue to support the Academy by encouraging your child/ren to attend intervention sessions which they have been invited to.

Weekend and Easter Interventions - Booster Club

Students who are part of our ‘Big 40’ group who we believe will benefit most from additional weekend and holiday study sessions in Maths and English have already received their invitations, if you have received an email and not yet completed the linked Google Form could you please do so at your earliest convenience to ensure that we know how many invited students will be attending these sessions.

Punctuality to school and to lessons

As a reminder we have moved our late detentions to lunch time as an alternative to after school. 

Any student arriving at school after 8:30am or arriving late to lesson, will be issued with a same day 20 min lunch time detention. In the event that this detention is not attended, students will be set a detention for an hour after school on a Friday. (3:15pm - 4:15pm). 

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform. 

If they arrive without the correct uniform they will be required to wear spare uniform. Thank you for your support with this as we continue on our improvement journey.

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child is on time for school and in the correct uniform. 

Thank you. 

Friday 16th February 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website. 

Punctuality to school and to lessons

As a reminder we have moved our late detentions to lunch time as an alternative to after school. 

Any student arriving at school after 8:30am or arriving late to lesson, will be issued with a same day 20 min lunch time detention. In the event that this detention is not attended, students will be set a detention for an hour after school on a Friday. (3:15pm - 4:15pm). 

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child is on time for school and in the correct uniform. Thank you. 

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform. 

If they arrive without the correct uniform they will be required to wear spare uniform. Thank you for your support with this as we continue on our improvement journey.

Changes to relocation from lesson ‘Disruption free learning’.

As we continue our improvement journey and embed the ‘Maltings Way’, we will be making a slight change to our behaviour policy with regards to relocation during lesson time.  

Our current system utilises a ‘reminder’, ‘warning’ and ‘relocation’ staged response to any behaviour that disrupts learning. This will remain unchanged. 

As an alternative arrangement to students being relocated into another class within the department, any student that has been relocated will now spend the lesson in the ‘Reset Room’.  

The Reset room will be supervised by members of the leadership team, students will complete a reflective task, before continuing to work on subject material.  

The process regarding same day detentions for 30 minutes after school and calls home from the class teacher  to discuss the incident that led to the relocation all remain in place.  

Our aim is to ensure that any low level disruption to learning does not impact negatively on the majority of our students who demonstrate the ‘Maltings Way’ consistently during lessons. 

Raising achievement

As part of our package of additional support for students in Year 10 and 11 to help them maximise their achievement in their GCSEs we have a few key events coming up over the first few weeks of next half term. 

The first 2 events are:

Friday March 1st - Elevate Education ‘Study Sensei’ small group seminar for Year 10 to help the students with their transition into KS4 and prepare them for the rigours of Year 11.

Thursday March 7th - Elevate Education ‘Ace your exams’ small group workshop for Year 11 to help students with target setting and goals following their 2nd round of mock exams.

Both sessions will have an accompanying parent online workshop and follow up resources, more details on these to follow.

Friday 9 February 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website. 

Punctuality to school and to lessons

As a reminder we have moved our late detentions to lunch time as an alternative to after school. 

Any student arriving at school after 8:30am or arriving late to lesson, will be issued with a same day 20 min lunch time detention. In the event that this detention is not attended, students will be set a detention for an hour after school on a Friday. (3:15pm - 4:15pm). 

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child is on time for school and in the correct uniform. Thank you. 

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform. 

If they arrive without the correct uniform they will be required to wear spare uniform. Thank you for your support with this as we continue on our improvement journey.

Changes to relocation from lesson ‘Disruption free learning’.

As we continue our improvement journey and embed the ‘Maltings Way’, we will be making a slight change to our behaviour policy with regards to relocation during lesson time.  

Our current system utilises a ‘reminder’, ‘warning’ and ‘relocation’ staged response to any behaviour that disrupts learning. This will remain unchanged. 

As an alternative arrangement to students being relocated into another class within the department, any student that has been relocated will now spend the lesson in the ‘Reset Room’.  

The Reset room will be supervised by members of the leadership team, students will complete a reflective task, before continuing to work on subject material.  

The process regarding same day detentions for 30 minutes after school and calls home from the class teacher  to discuss the incident that led to the relocation all remain in place.  

Our aim is to ensure that any low level disruption to learning does not impact negatively on the majority of our students who demonstrate the ‘Maltings Way’ consistently during lessons. 

Raising achievement

As part of our package of additional support for students in Year 10 and 11 to help them maximise their achievement in their GCSEs we have a few key events coming up over the first few weeks of next half term. 

The first 2 events are:

Friday March 1st - Elevate Education ‘Study Sensei’ small group seminar for Year 10 to help the students with their transition into KS4 and prepare them for the rigours of Year 11.

Thursday March 7th - Elevate Education ‘Ace your exams’ small group workshop for Year 11 to help students with target setting and goals following their 2nd round of mock exams.

Both sessions will have an accompanying parent online workshop and follow up resources, more details on these to follow.

Friday 2 February 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website. 

Punctuality to school and to lessons

From Monday 5th February, we will be moving our late detentions to lunch time as an alternative to after school.

Any student arriving at school after 8:30am or arriving late to lesson, will be issued with a same day 20 min lunch time detention. In the event that this detention is not attended, students will be set a detention for an hour after school on a Friday. (3:15pm - 4:15pm). 

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child is on time for school and in the correct uniform. Thank you.

Year 11 Mock Examinations

As you will be aware the second round of mock examinations for Year 11 is underway currently. During the course of the two weeks the students have sat a large number of examinations under JCQ conditions, including options subjects and whole cohort core examinations.

I would like to congratulate all members of Year 11 on their impeccable behaviour during the  mock examination season thus far. The Academy has taken on board comments from students after the last round of mock examinations and has increased the level of realism in both the line up process and the location of the papers being sat. The cohort of students has stepped up to this added degree of realism and challenge with a great deal of maturity.

As subject teachers, and an Academy as a whole we look forward to marking and assessing the papers set, and to work with the students on areas for improvement as they continue to build towards the summer GCSE examination season.

Interventions for Year 11 students

We have identified our key focus group of 60 students in Year 11 who will benefit from additional interventions over and above those already on offer within the school day in order to help them achieve their maximum potential.

The group of selected students have already received their personal invitation to partake in a series of holiday and weekend morning tutoring sessions organised by our own Raising Achievement team, and delivered by Booster Club.

This series of tutoring sessions represents a large financial investment by the Academy in these students and I am very pleased to see that the uptake of the invitations has been very positive so far, if you have received an invite please complete the google form link as soon as possible and we look forward to welcoming you for the first session during the February half term break.

Elevate - Small group study skills

On March 7th Year 11 will be having a ‘drop down day’ where small groups of 35 students at a time will be taken off timetable for an hour across the day to benefit from small group study skills provided by Elevate Education.

These small study sessions are designed to help the students maximise their opportunities post mock examinations, and to learn from what went well and what went not so well during this particular examination period.

Changes to relocation from lesson ‘Disruption free learning’.

As we continue our improvement journey and embed the ‘Maltings Way’, we will be making a slight change to our behaviour policy with regards to relocation during lesson time.  Our current system utilises a ‘reminder’, ‘warning’ and ‘relocation’ staged response to any behaviour that disrupts learning. This will remain unchanged. As an alternative arrangement to students being relocated into another class within the department, any student that has been relocated will now spend the lesson in the ‘Reset Room’.  

The Reset room will be supervised by members of the leadership team, students will complete a reflective task, before continuing to work on subject material.  The process regarding same day detentions for 30 minutes after school and calls home from the class teacher to discuss the incident that led to the relocation all remain in place.  Our aim is to ensure that any low level disruption to learning does not impact negatively on the majority of our students who demonstrate the ‘Maltings Way’ consistently during lessons. 

House Point totals this week…

Well done to ‘Scott’ House, leading the way in both the week and the term with their House Points. 

Remember any House Points awarded will be in the form of stickers for your child's ‘Golden Ticket’.  The more ‘Golden Tickets’ that your child enters into the draw, the greater the chance of winning Amazon Vouchers or an Ipad at the end of term celebration assembly.

Friday 25th January 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website.

Punctuality

Just a reminder to families and pupils that children need to be on-site by 08:25.

Please continue to support good punctuality to school by helping to ensure that children are on-site by this point. 

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform.

Friday 19 January 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website.

Punctuality

Just a reminder to families and pupils that children need to be on-site by 08:25.

Please continue to support good punctuality to school by helping to ensure that children are on-site by this point.

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform.  

Annual Student Leadership Dinner 

Last night saw the first Annual Student Leadership Dinner where students from our Student Leadership Team and Student Council came together to celebrate the good work of the school and to recognise the students who have been nominated to to support the work of the school moving forward. It was lovely to see so many families and over 180 people attended for dinner. Thank you to all the staff and students who helped to prepare for this special event. Photos to follow in the newsletter next week.

Year 11 Mock Interview Day

This week also saw our Year 11 students participating in a day with employers. They were put through their paces from an interview perspective and our visitors were highly complimentary about our students and how they conducted themselves. 

Friday 12 January 2024

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website.

Uniform

A reminder that leggings cannot be worn as part of our school uniform.  Please support us by ensuring that your child comes to school wearing the correct academy uniform.  

House Badges 

Students have now all been placed into new houses as this term will see the launch of our new house system and inter house competitions.

As part of this students have been issued with a yellow, red, blue or green pin badge that should be worn on their blazer lapel. 

The colours represent the following houses - Green - Attenborough -  Red - Scott  - Yellow - Watson - and  Blue - Stormzy. We will share further house developments and the running house point totals in all newsletters going forwards. 

Golden Tickets continue! 

After a successful term of Golden Tickets we will be continuing this as part of our praise and recognition program for all students going forwards.  The next ‘Golden Ticket’ draw will take place at the end of the Spring term.  Details of the Autumn Term winners can be found in the Newsletter.

Friday 5 January 2024

Year 11 Mock Interviews

We are seeking volunteers from business to support us with our year 11 mock interviews that take place on the morning of the 17th January.  If you would like to offer your time to support our year 11’s it will be extremely beneficial for them to develop these skills, and receive feedback.  Please contact Julie Joiner on jjoiner@maltingsacademy.org

Year 10 Update

Mr Fox will be taking over as interim Head of Year for Year 10 until our new Head of Year joins us at Easter. 

As always, your child’s tutor remains your key contact, but do not hesitate to contact Mr Fox on tfox@maltingsacademy.org should you need to. 

Year 11 Progress Evening

Our 2nd Year 11 Progress Evening will be taking place face to face at Maltings Academy from 4:00-7:00 pm Thursday 11th January. You will have already received an invitation to book appointments with teachers, the booking window closes midday Sunday 7th January.

This Progress Evening is an ideal opportunity to discuss how to support your child/ren in the run up to the second round of mock examinations.

Intervention Program

The regularly scheduled Power Hour interventions for English Maths and Science continue from next week from 3:15-4:00. Parents/carers of students who have been newly invited to these sessions as a result of their performance in the mock examinations will have already received an email from Mr Fox. Please ensure your child/ren attend these sessions to support the academy in raising student achievement. Regular attendance in interventions is proven by research to improve outcomes by up to 1 full GCSE grade.

The message to students in Year 11 remains that whilst the final GCSE examinations are getting closer, there are still 15 weeks for students to engage in class time, revision and intervention sessions and to make huge strides towards hitting or exceeding their targets.

Workshops for targeted students and parents will be announced later this half term, and we will be inviting selected students to attend additional intervention sessions run by Booster Club during half term, Saturdays in March and during the Easter break. Again information will be sent home to those students who we feel will get the maximum benefit from these sessions, so watch this space

Mr Fox

MTA Newsletter - Issue 4 - 15/12/23

Friday 15th December 2023

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website.

Awards Assemblies

This week we have been celebrating those students who have demonstrated our 4 key drivers of Ambition, Pride, Resilience and Respect as well as recognising students for their achievements in reading, their community contribution, academic progress, enrichment and demonstrating the Maltings Way. 

We came together on the final day to celebrate with some wonderful student performances, and prize draws for attendance and the ‘Golden Ticket’. 

Well done to all those that were recognised, details of which are in our newsletter. 

Returning after the Christmas holidays 

Students return to the academy on Thursday 4th January at 8:25am. 

Year 11 mock interviews

We are seeking volunteers from business to support us with our year 11 mock interviews that take place on the morning of the 17th January.  If you would like to offer your time to support our year 11’s it will be extremely beneficial for them to develop these skills, and receive feedback.  Please contact Julie Joiner on jjoiner@maltingsacademy.org

Year 10 update

Mr Fox will be taking over as interim Head of Year for Year 10 until our new Head of Year joins us at Easter. 

As always, your child’s tutor remains your key contact, but do not hesitate to contact Mr Fox on tfox@maltingsacademy.org should you need to. 

Lunchtime clubs/Enrichment

After Christmas we will be setting up a LEGO lunchtime club. If you have any LEGO laying around that you no longer use and would be happy to donate to the school please can you drop it off at the main reception or send it in with your son/daughter. Thank you very much.

We hope that you enjoy Christmas, and look forward to seeing you in the New Year. 

MTA Newsletter - Issue 4 - 15/12/23

Friday 8th December 2023

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website.

The Winter Concert

This week we were treated to a fantastic evening of musical performance in the Winter Concert.  It was wonderful to see so many families joining us for the event, we were extremely proud of the students on the night, and will share our highlights in the next edition of the newsletter.  A big thank you to all those that supported us on the night.  

Last day arrangements 

A reminder to parents/carers that next Friday (15th December), students will be leaving site at 1:35pm to begin the Christmas break. 

Celebrating achievements in the final week of term

As we end the Autumn term, we will be taking time across the week to recognise student’s achievements. Our Awards Assemblies will take place every morning, starting with Year 7 on Monday, through to Year 11 on Friday. On the final day of term we will come together to celebrate with musical performances from staff and students and draw the winners of our ‘Golden Ticket’ prizes.  

Uniform

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child has the correct uniform for school.  Hoodies and non-uniform jumpers should not be worn in the Academy. 

Our new student handbook is now available on the website under the ‘Academy Life’ section, where you will be able to find all details relating to uniform and equipment.  

Assembly focus

This Sunday (December 10th 2023) see’s the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During assembly time this week the students have been exploring the history of human rights and where in the world human rights infringements are still occuring. Mr Fox left the students with 3 key actions that they could undertake in order to do their bit to protect human rights.

Lunchtime Clubs/Enrichment

After Christmas we will be setting up a LEGO lunchtime club. If you have any LEGO laying around that you no longer use and would be happy to donate to the school please can you drop it off at the main reception or send it in with your son/daughter. Thank you very much.

Friday 1st December 2023

Please refer to our newsletter for all key Academy updates. This is sent to you on email and also can be accessed via the website.

Raising Achievement

Having submitted the results of the 1st round of Year 11 mock examinations to AET we are now in a position to release the marks to the students. Monday 4th December (Period 5) will see us host a ‘mock results event’ where students in Year 11 will receive a brief assembly from Mr Fox outlining the lessons learnt by both the students and the Academy after the first round of mocks, and how students can progress at pace in the run up to the next round of mock exams in January/February. They will then receive an envelope containing the grade achieved in all examinations sat in much the same format as they will next summer for the real examinations.

After school Power Hour intervention sessions have been taking place in core subjects since the start of term, and these sessions have now been expanded to include EBacc and open subjects. Students whose teachers have selected them to attend these additional interventions will have these on their Arbor timetable now.

The next opportunity to formally meet with teaching staff is the Year 11 Progress Evening which will take place in person at the Academy on January 11th 2024. Details on how to book your appointments will follow soon.

Awards Assemblies 

This week staff have been submitting nominations for our end of term awards assemblies, where we will be recognising individual students for their community contribution, commitment to enrichment, reading, academic progress, attendance and commitment to our Maltings Way values of Ambition, Pride, Resilience and Respect. 

Awards assemblies will take place during the last week of term, and we look forward to sharing outcomes of these with you in the newsletter. 

The Golden Ticket box is getting full!  

The draw for our Golden Ticket prize winners will take place in the end of term celebration assemblies which will happen on the last day of term - remember students have to be ‘in it to win it!’  

Assemblies this week

Assembly has been on the theme of slavery led by Mrs Brinkley as tomorrow December 2nd is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Students have dealt very well with these ideas and have approached Mrs Brinkley afterwards with interesting reflections and mature questions. They have been asked to look at the modern slavery statements of their favourite brands, especially at this time of year where lots of shopping is happening! 

Friday 24th November 2023

We have had another successful week on recruitment and we look forward to updating you on this as we move forward.

We continue to work hard on embedding ‘The Maltings Way’ and thank you for your ongoing support with this.  For more information regarding this, please see details of the upcoming parent workshop. 

We have a number of events as we move towards Christmas and we look forward to seeing you at these. Last night the Key Stage 4 Music GCSE students put on a wonderful musical showcase, congratulations to all of them and to Mr Tovey for his organisation and direction. 

We have continued this week with the registering of students for our new biometric restaurant payment system. An updated letter has been sent out to parents/carers giving a bit more detail about the way that data is handled and processed within the Academy.

Any parents who have not yet consented for their child to take part can still register via the Arbor app, and we will be running a number of catch up sessions for students who have missed their tutor group registration slot. The biometric cashless payment system will be running simultaneously with the student card payment system.

Golden Tickets and Awards Assemblies 

As we head into the 4th week of Golden Tickets, it’s great to see the box in student reception filling up with completed tickets for the draw. 

Next week staff will be submitting nominations for our end of term awards assemblies, where we will be recognising individual students for their community contribution, commitment to enrichment, reading, academic progress, attendance and commitment to our Maltings Way values of Ambition, Pride, Resilience and Respect.  

Awards assemblies will take place during the last week of term, and we look forward to sharing outcomes of these with you in the newsletter. 

Uniform

Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child has the correct uniform for school.  Hoodies and non-uniform jumpers should not be worn in the Academy. 

Our new student handbook is now available on the website under the ‘Academy Life’ section, where you will be able to find all details relating to uniform and equipment.  

Punctuality

Just a reminder to families and pupils that children need to be on-site by 08:25.

Please continue to support good punctuality to school by helping to ensure that children are on-site by this point.

Friday 17th November 2023

There’s been sporting success to celebrate this week with the Year 7 football team winning their cup game and progressing to the next round and the Year 9 football team being victorious against Burnt Mill Academy. 

Year 11 have been very dedicated to their final week of in class stop the clock mock exams. Teachers are busy marking and moderating the papers and results will be shared in a special ‘mock’ exam results afternoon on the 4th of December. 

Malt-Sings continues on Wednesday lunchtime, led by the Drama department with students and staff meeting in the auditorium to sing, this is open to everyone. There’s an increasing amount of evidence that singing releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine – the ‘happy’ chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel good about yourself. Scientists believe that’s one of the reasons why people report being on a high during choir sessions and continuing to feel positive, uplifted and motivated afterwards. The music department is also running a student band, choir and a whole range of other opportunities to raise musical skills, release endorphins and enhance well being across the academy. 

SLT had the pleasure of looking through all the entries for the House Name competition. The effort and creativity on show was phenomenal with a range of well researched presentations produced and even one entry hand painted onto a T’Shirt. 

Please have a look at the third edition of the newsletter.

Friday 3rd November 2023

This week at Maltings has been very productive.

This week we welcome our new Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning, Mrs Brinkley, our Head of Business, Mrs Akoto and our Pastoral Lead for Year 10 Mrs Coombs.

You will be aware that further to our initial Ofsted inspection visit on the 19th and 20th September, our Lead Inspector came in to gather some additional evidence on Tuesday 31st October, just for the day.  We will share with you the report as it becomes available.

We are fully immersed in Year 11 mock exams, Food Technology assessments and continuing our important work of embedding the Maltings Way. 

We held our first Parent/Carer Workshop yesterday evening and thank you to those parents that attended. We have already received some lovely emails regarding the sessions and we hope the ones to follow are just as useful. Please keep an eye on your emails for the next session at the end of November. 

You should have received an email today regarding ‘Every Child, Every Day’. We are asking you to take part in a survey to help us understand your views of your child's school.  This survey should be filled in using the online form if possible. As you will be aware, your child’s school is part of a national network of schools, Academies Enterprise Trust. All parents across the trust are being asked to complete this survey.

Across all our schools, attendance is a real priority. We believe that education matters for every child, and no child should go unnoticed. This is why we've launched our "Every Child, Every Day" campaign. Research shows that students who attend school regularly are more likely to do well in their exams, and being in school is an important part of your child’s social and emotional development. It also helps keep them safe.

But, we know that not all our children come to school everyday. Through this survey, we'd like to hear your thoughts and attitudes about attendance. We want to understand why your child wants to come to school, and what the barriers to attending might be. 

Please look out for our second edition Newsletter which will be posted on the website today.

Year 11 Mock Examinations

This week has seen the 1st week of our Year 11 mock examinations. The vast majority of students in Year 11 should be praised for the way they have conducted themselves during both the examination lineups and the examinations themselves.

The process for lining up and entering the examination room will continue in the same manner for next week.

Power Hour interventions

Power Hour after school intervention sessions for Year 11 are continuing throughout the mock examination window. 

Parents and carers of all students who have been selected to participate in the after school interventions in English, Maths and Science have been sent a reminder email prior to half term.

Starting Tuesday 7th November all students who attend a session will have a praise email sent home, and all students who miss a session will have a reminder email sent home.

Academic research highlights that regular weekly attendance at intervention sessions can help improve students attainment in GCSE subjects by a whole grade.

As an Academy we welcome the ongoing support from parents and carers in ensuring that students regularly attend the intervention sessions to which they have been invited.

Friday 13th October 2023

It has been a very busy half term at Maltings and we have been working hard on ensuring consistency in all we do through developing ‘The Maltings Way’. 

Our students have been engaged in lots of different and exciting activities over the last few weeks and again, we look forward to sharing all those updates with you in the second edition of our newsletter on Friday 3rd November. Thank you to all the parents who have taken the time to share positive messages with us in this first half term. Please keep doing so as we share these with staff every Friday morning!

Year 11 Mock Examinations

When we return from the half term break we will be starting 2 weeks of mock examinations for Year 11. The timetable for this has already been shared with students.

The mock examination process is invaluable in helping students prepare for the summer exam season, not just in terms of examination technique, but also familiarity with the process of lining up and sitting in the hall to undertake papers under strict JQC examination conditions.

The raising achievement team will be reviewing the outcomes of these examinations to help us refine our offer of targeted intervention for key students within the year group.

Your teachers will have already been undertaking revision activities and directing students towards subject specific resources, so please make the most of the next 2 weeks when you aren’t in school to undertake some structured revision (see last weeks newsletter for some key hints and tips on effective revision).

Power Hour intervention sessions

Our Power Hour intervention sessions for English, Maths and Science have been taking place over this half term, with students gaining some excellent support with key concepts and examination techniques.

After half term the raising achievement team will be reviewing the list of students invited to these sessions to ensure we are targeting those who will benefit most from the additional time with their teachers.

A reminder that students who have been invited to attend Power Hour intervention sessions after school will have these visible on their Arbor profile and at each session a register is taken. We will be automatically emailing home if students miss one of these sessions so please support the Academy by encouraging your child to attend the sessions to which they have been invited.

CMXSC October Half Term Active Camp - Witham https://www.cmxsc.co.uk/witham-active-camp 

Friday 6th October

Thank you to all the parents who attended the information evening on Tuesday this week. It was great to see so many parents and carers attend and to see so much support for the school.

I am pleased to let you all know that we are building a partnership with the Family Learning Team (who were also in attendance at the information evening). Their details can be found on our website in the area shared above and we hope that you are able to take advantage of this free support.

We are continuing to build our ‘Parent Support’ page on our website - please go to Academy Life > Parents > Parent support. More information will be added over the coming weeks and we hope you find this page helpful.

You will receive today the first edition of our new look Maltings newsletter and you can also find this on the website under ‘Latest News’.

Year 11 Progress Evening

It was a pleasure to welcome so many Year 11 parents/carers and students into Maltings Academy on Thursday night for our first face to face Progress Evening in many years.

The evening was a great success, and has opened a year of face to face meetings and opportunities for parents and carers to have detailed informative discussions with staff about how their children are progressing.

There were some lovely comments on the night from both parents and staff members about how nice it was to return to a traditional style of evening. 

“I just wanted to say how great I thought the year 11 parents' evening was last night.

It was so nice being face to face again and actually getting to meet and speak in person to my son’s teachers.

I was a little concerned that the five minute slots may not work very well but it ran really smoothly and we didn’t feel rushed at all.

All the teachers I spoke to were brilliant both new and old (in terms of time at the school, not age!) and I genuinely got the feeling that each and every one of them cared about my son, his education and the school.

 I was really impressed with all the new members of staff who really seem to have hit the ground running and it is amazing to think they have only been at the school a few weeks.  I felt there was a really positive vibe in the school last night which was lovely to feel.

I really hope you keep parents evenings ‘face to face’ from now on as personally I really prefer it and in a way it made me feel more connected to the school and my son’s education.

You have some fantastic staff at the school and I would really appreciate it if you could pass on my thanks to all concerned.”

(Year 11 parent)

Year 11 GCSE History Trip to the Battlefields of Ypres (28th to 29th September)

Last week, a group of 41 Year 11 GCSE History students took part in the resurrected WW1 Battlefields Trip to Northern France and Belgium. It was a poignant experience for all concerned on a whistlestop tour of the key locations along the Western Front including Hill 60, The Essex Farm cemetery, Tyne Cot and the Passchendaele Memorial Museum. The group stayed overnight in Ypres and were able to attend the sombre and moving Last Post service at The Menin Gate to remember the lives of those individuals who gave their lives on the Battlefields in Flanders Fields

Friday 29 September 2023

As we end our third week of the autumn term, we would like to say thank you to all our parents and carers for your continued support. There has been a significant reduction this week regarding students who are late to school and lessons. We are creating a great school every day by paying attention to detail and through being consistent in our expectations.

We had our Year 7 ‘Meet the Tutor’ event last night which was well attended. Our feedback forms indicate that this was welcomed by parents overall and we look forward to seeing more parents over the course of this year.

Expectations

Uniform

As the weather starts to get colder, please remind your son/daughter that hoodies/non-uniform jumpers should not be worn to school.In the event of poor weather we recommend a warm/waterproof coat, this coat can be any colour.  

Entering and exiting the building

As part of the student voice work we have been discussing congestion in the corridors and movement around the building.  From Monday 2 October we will be making changes to how students enter and exit the building. 

Students will now use the large double gates that are between the sports hall and the carpark leading into the playground.

Any students arriving late between 8.30am and 8.45am should also enter through these gates, where they will be recorded as late for school. Student’s arriving beyond this time should sign in at our main reception. Students should be on the school site for 8.25am ready to go to their Tutor at 8.30am.  

Planners 

All students were provided with a Maltings Academy planner at the start of the academic year which is part of their essential equipment.  Student planners should be used to record homework, and can also be used for any home school communication. There is a space for parents/carers to sign planners at the end of the week, please do ask your son/daughter about any homework that has been set.

Replacement planners can be purchased via parent pay at a cost of £3.50.  

Reminders

Arbor - Parent App & Portal

For information and guidance on using Arbor please refer to our website Academy Life,Parents: https://www.maltingsacademy.org/academy-life/parents/parent-app-portal

You are able to update your contact details via the Parent App & Portal.

Homework & Revision

As you know we use Google Classroom as an online homework tool. All information and guides can be found on our website under Academy Life, Parents: https://www.maltingsacademy.org/academy-life/homework-revision

Your child sets their own password which only they can get reset via their Tutor or Head of Year.

Friday 22nd September 2023

As we started our second full week at Maltings, you will know that we received the call from Ofsted. They have spent two full days with us at Maltings this week and we enjoyed sharing with them our progress as a school. When we have the finalised report we will be sharing this with you. 

You will also know that we had our Year 11 Parent Information Evening yesterday which was well attended by parents and students. It gave us the opportunity to map out the strategies and interventions that are in place across this academic year in order to support our students and prepare them for their exams in May 2024.

Expectations

Uniform

As per the reminder last week, Blazers are to be worn from now on. Please ensure your son/daughter has the correct tie on. No blue/red ties should be worn. Our tie is silver and red as per the guidance last year. 

Being on time for school

It is vital that your son/daughter arrives at school on time. Students should be on site by 8.25am. Any students that arrive at 8.30am are classed as late. We understand that sometimes public transport can be an issue. We will contact you directly for any lateness and thank you in advance for your support with this. 

Mobile phones

Maltings is a mobile phone free zone for our students to support them in their learning, this includes the use of earpods or any similar devices. As per our policy, please ensure that you remind your son/daughter that their phones should be off and in their bag (not pocket). If a student is seen with their mobile phone out - it will be confiscated and parents will be contacted to collect the phone. Please can we ask that if you need to contact your child, you use the normal channels of contacting the school directly. 

Recruitment

As mentioned in our communication to you last week, we continue working on filling the small number of staff vacancies we have. Reassuringly we continue to have a lot of interest in these posts already and interviews will be taking place across September and October. We will continue to update you throughout the term.

Friday 15th September 2023

It has been a great first week back at Maltings Academy and we are working hard to embed ‘The Maltings Way’ in all we do. We know we have work to do in order to improve at pace and we have already had some great feedback from students and staff since the start of term:

Student feedback:

“Thank you for the assembly, I loved it, it was so clear”

“Thanks for helping me today”

“ The teachers have been kind and helpful”

“This has been the best two days ever!”

“ The school feels so different and so much better already. I didn’t know it could feel like this - it’s great”

Staff feedback:

“There is a real difference in the school - it’s calm and positive”

“This is my first year at Maltings and I am really enjoying teaching”

“ I really like the focus on routines and consistency in every classroom; it’s helping me in mine”

Open Event - Year 5 and 6

Last night Maltings was packed with excited parents and students. Over 700 families attended. Prospective students experienced a range of activities which the parents seemed to enjoy too. Our Student Leaders and helpers were on hand to signpost and answer any questions. It was a brilliant event and we look forward to working with our Year 5 and 6 community moving forward. We had 99.9% satisfaction on our feedback forms and here are some quotes from them:

“I loved science and drama. The flapjacks in the kitchen were amazing and the teachers are so kind and helpful” (Year 6)

“I enjoyed meeting everyone and can’t wait to come to Maltings next year!” (Year 6)

“ I was unsure about what to expect, but tonight has filled me with confidence about my daughter starting her next year!” (Year 6 Parent)

“Student leaders were lovely and so polite” (Year 6 Parent)

“ Good speech by the Executive Principal, honest with a clear plan. Great to see the classrooms in action. Lovely to speak to all the students” (Year 6 Parent)

Recruitment

As mentioned in our communication to you last week, we continue to work on filling the small number of staff vacancies we have, two of these, in art and business, were  unforeseen at the end of term and over the summer break. We have plans in place to ensure there is consistency in these lessons and will have permanent staff in place as soon as we can. Reassuringly we have had and continue to have a lot of interest in these posts already. We will continue to update you throughout the term.

Raising Achievement

As part of our start to the new academic year we will be starting 3 weeks of NGRT Reading tests for all year groups, and baseline tests in English and Maths for years 7-9. These tests will start on Monday 18th September and run until Thursday 5th October.

Year 11 Power Hour

On Thursday 21st September we are going to be launching our Power Hour after school intervention strategy with Year 11 students and parents. As an Academy we have been working hard on ensuring that the timetable for this is as effective as possible to enable Year 11 students to have regular access to high quality after school intervention activities.

As regular attendance at intervention sessions will give students in Year 11 an additional 20+ hours of time with their teachers, which is proven by research to improve attainment by a grade at GCSE on average, we look forward to attendance being high (this will of course be supported by rewards for those with exceptional attendance!)

Year 7 Meet the Tutors

Our first opportunity for parents/carers of students in Year 7 to attend the school and meet their form tutor for an informal chat about how they are settling in is coming up on Thursday 28th September. 

Please see the letter home (dated 15th September) for more details about how to register your attendance.

Expectations

Uniform

Blazers are to be worn from next Monday 18th September. Please ensure your son/daughter has the correct tie on. No blue/red ties should be worn. Our tie is silver and red as per the guidance last year.

Being on time for school

It is vital that your son/daughter arrives at school on time. Any students that arrive at 8.30am are classed as late. We understand that sometimes public transport can be an issue. We will contact you directly for any lateness and thank you in advance for your support with this.

Mobile phones

Maltings is a mobile phone free zone for our students to support them in their learning. As per our policy, please ensure that you remind your son/daughter that their phones should be off and in their bag (not pocket). If a student is seen with their mobile phone out - it will be confiscated and parents will be contacted to collect the phone. Please can we ask that if you need to contact your child, you use the normal channels of contacting the school directly.

• End of Term Letter - Easter 2024

• Year 11 Plan for the Summer Term

• Easter Early Closure 28th March 2024

• ACL Online Family Learning 

• Year 9 Options Presentation for Parents

• Year 9 KS4 Options Booklet - 01/03/24

• Review of Lesson Passes February 2024

• Year 9 Options Evening 2024 02/02/24

• Year 11 Compulsory Attendance Letter 25/01/24

• Parent Letter Updates & Notices 13/12/23

• Head of Year 7 Update 05/12/23

• Ofsted Report Letter to Parents 04/12/23

• Early Closure Letter December 2023

• Parent/Carer Information Evening 11th December 2023

• Biometrics System for Restaurant Payments 22/11/23

• School Uniform Update November 2023

• Book Fair 2023

• Parents Invite Music Winter Concert 2023

• Half Term Witham Active Camp October 2023

• Half Term Chelmsford Active Camp October 2023

• Letter to parents 06/10/23

• Year 7 Meet the Tutors  15/09/23

• Updates for New Academic Year 2023/24  07/09/23

• Learning Resource Centre  08/09/23

• Years 8-11 First Day Arrangements for September 2023

• Year 7 First Day Arrangements for September 2023