Coming back to school has coincided with a really cold spell of weather, but I have been very impressed with how well pupils have come back after the break. Even with the frost, and scatterings of snow, this has been a very smooth return.

Asking for feedback

I am very proud of many aspects of our work as a school. We have brilliant students who are courteous and do their best, with staff who work very hard to give a great educational experience to our young people.

However, I am always keen that our school continues to develop. We review our work as a group of staff, and regularly speak with pupils through surveys and the various committees of the School Council. So now it’s the turn of parents and carers, who are also very important.

If you have time over the weekend, I would really appreciate it if you could complete a short survey, linked here. It asks for honest feedback in a simple way, and hopefully is something that you can find time to complete. Thank you in advance for your help.

Why does Mr House keep talking about attendance?

Here are some of the key things that nearly all schools in England are thinking about at the moment.

• Rates of school attendance for young people across the country have not returned to their ‘normal’ levels since the Covid pandemic ended.

• Learning is made up of lots of one hour lessons, and then lots of days. Being in more of these lessons makes learning easier, and enables students to understand more.

• Socialising is good for our health and wellbeing. Generally, whether being at work for grown ups or in school for children, moving about and socially interacting with other people is a very good thing.

How is attendance at Greenshaw overall?

Attendance for each year group at our school – Year 7 to Year 13 – is better than the national figures for students of the same age nationally. This is also true when you compare our attendance with London schools, where attendance is higher than nationally. So we are doing well, as a school and a group of families. Thank you for this. At the same time, I always want all of our young people in school, developing confidence with their learning and enhancing their social skills. 

What are the areas for improvement?

There is an issue with absence on Fridays for a small group of our students. Overall, our weakest day for attendance is the last day of the week. That is why we have introduced ‘Fun Friday’ through January to see if a little edge of extrinsic motivation can keep our attendance across the week high.

Each lower school year group will have 30 tickets, given out at random to students in school, for a different pop up stall on each Friday of January. Students have asked for things like a ‘pick and mix’ stall, doughnuts and pizza. If a small chocolate bar or a free piece of pizza gets all of our children into school, I am absolutely fine with that. The extra learning they will gain, as well as extended social interaction with their friends, is the most important thing for us as a school.

At the end of January we will compare how our Friday attendance is doing compared to last term, and I will share these results with students and families in this letter. Watch this space!

Extra-curricular clubs 

Participating in clubs enables students to develop new skills, enhance self-confidence, build meaningful friendships, explore interests, and cultivate leadership qualities. And of course, they can only take part if they are in school on these days!

Each term our extra-curricular clubs offer is growing, getting bigger and better than ever. We now have 54 clubs running each week, supported by 45 amazing members of staff. It’s been great to see students showing up regularly and really getting stuck in. Here are a couple of updates:

1. We have brand-new clubs this term, including touch typing, Year 7 and 8 Christian Union and a Dungeons and Dragons club for Years 7 to 10. 

2. Our clubs are available before school, during lunchtimes, and after school. Please look at the timetable on the school website here. 

3. Students can sign-up to clubs through their Frog account by clicking on the 'Clubs' button on the Frog home page.

Students of the week

This has been a very smooth start back this week, with students settling in very straightforwardly. Congratulations to these students who, in particular, have made a stellar start to 2026. Well done to each for their combination of hard work, community spirit and great social contributions.

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	6th Form
Daood	Harry O	Chloe B	Hayden L	Fariha	Skye/Iva

Wishing you all restful, and hopefully warm, weekends.

Mr N House, Headteacher