A real highlight is how many of our students are so polite and courteous, holding doors open for one another, asking staff how they are and generally being a delight to be around. And this absolutely includes our new joiners in Year 7 and 12 who have slotted in so well to the Greenshaw ways of caring for others. 

For any doubting families, I can confirm to you that spending each day with nearly two thousand teenagers has been an absolute pleasure this week. We do recognise individuals (as you will read below) but the last week and a half have shown just how great our entire school community can be.

Students of the week

At the end of each week, I speak with our Heads of Year and ask them to identify our Students of the Week. Sometimes these nominations are for single acts of kindness, hard work or excellence. On other occasions, these nominations are for continuing efforts of long-standing perseverance. We announce their names in this letter on a Friday, and then I meet them in person on a Monday afternoon. 

I am really looking forward to meeting our very first stars of the week (listed below) and look forward to hearing about what they have achieved in our first week and a half back at school. Well done to all listed here.

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Sixth Form
tbc	Alyssa W	Nathan L	Aleya	Adeep	Tosin, Andrew, Kayaan-Zia

A change to reporting absences

Attendance at school has been superb this week, and we hope that student absences remain very unusual. However, in the case of genuine illness, please ensure that we are informed. Very high attendance is essential for student success, as well as being a vital safeguarding matter, as we must always know where every student is during the school day. 

Due to unforeseen issues with the MCAS app’s ‘reporting absences’ function, we have temporarily disabled it. Please instead use our new online absence form, which is now the method for reporting your child’s absence. The form can be accessed via the quick link at the top of our website (pictured left) or on the Attendance page, and we recommend bookmarking it for future use. 

While the form is the most efficient option, you can also report absences by calling our 24-hour attendance line on 020 8715 1001 or emailing attendance@greenshaw.co.uk.

Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Funding

There is some important and positive news about Free School Meals and a proposed change in government policy that has the potential to affect many of our families. Please see the letter attached below for further information.

Safeguarding at Greenshaw

I would like to introduce Mrs Wallace, our Deputy Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead to our new families, and, of course, all of our existing families. 

Mrs Wallace is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) here at Greenshaw.  We also have a team of Deputy DSLs and a Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, as well as an Online Safety Lead. We also have a team of PSHE teachers who teach all students about safeguarding. We will try to keep you up to date regarding local issues and any support available, and you’ll find lots of helpful information on our Greenshaw High School website under the ‘care and support’ tab.  

Support for parents and carers

At Greenshaw, we also work closely with our local Education Wellbeing Service, which offers excellent webinars and workshops to help support parents with their child's wellbeing and mental health. You can sign up to their free webinars here. This term, they cover topics such as mental health, school avoidance, teen sleep, screen time and online safety, and healthy habits for teenagers with Autism.  Parents and carers speak really positively about the support they get from the EWP service, so please think about signing up.

Events next week

We are looking forward to meeting a variety of families next week. On Tuesday afternoon at 4:30pm, Miss Moran (our SENCO) has invited some of you in to meet up. On Thursday at 5:30pm, Miss Larkin (our Director of Sixth Form) will be talking to all Year 12 families about the shape of their next two years, including key dates and information about how to be successful in the Greenshaw Sixth Form.

After a week of heavy rain and damp travel home for many of our students and staff, I wish you all a restful weekend.

Mr N House, Headteacher