We will be welcoming 2 Ofsted Inspectors to our Academy on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th June.

Staff and children to dress up with a garden theme with a donation of £1 which will go towards our Silver Learning Outside the Classroom Award.

When teachers take learning outdoors they report some powerful impacts: Children’s behaviour improves, whole classes are excited to learn, and individuals who feel inhibited by the curriculum often thrive in an outdoor environment. When adults think back to their own happiest memories of childhood, they frequently recall the joy of playing outdoors. Play is not only central to children’s enjoyment of childhood, but teaches critical life skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and creativity.

Building on the success of the 2017 campaign, our aim is to get as many children as possible playing and learning outside in 2018 on Thursday 24th May. For some schools, this will be an opportunity to try learning outside the classroom for the first time. For teachers who regularly take students outdoors, the day will be a celebration of what they are doing already and a chance to inspire other schools to get involved. For everyone, Outdoor Classroom Day will act as a catalyst for more time outdoors every day

Hazel Leys Academy has successfully achieved our Career Mark. We are the third in the country and the first in the Trust to achieve this award. Career Mark is validated by ‘The Quality in Careers Standard Board’ (QiCS). Career Mark Primary is that part of Career Mark dedicated to supporting, developing and accrediting primary schools who wish to deliver a high quality careers and work related learning experience to their pupils. All pupils in secondary education will participate in careers and work related learning activities, so offering an introduction to careers in primary schools provides pupils with a valuable introduction to this important area of their personal development and academic education.

Primary Career Mark has 4 standards:

• Impact Measures how the school sets school and pupil targets for careers education and how it measures the achievement of them.

• Management Measures the effectiveness of your systems for planning, managing and integrating CEIAG

• Curriculum Measures how effectively your curriculum supports the development of learners’ knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes

• Staff Measures how the school allocates, trains and measures the competence of staff delivering the programme.

The Academy Council is launching their first fundraising activity on Wednesday 25th April - a sunflower competition. The children will be selling three sunflower seeds with instructions on how to look after them. Each pack will cost £1. The child who grows the tallest sunflower will be awarded a prize.            All money received will be used to fund our work towards the Learning Outside the Classroom Bronze Award. Looking forward to seeing our tallest flower.