Newsletters

GHS Connect #33 Monday 16th June

Mia's notes

Lots of things going on last week so a big thank you to everyone involved in so many activities. Of particular note, I want to thank Kathy and the D of E team who have gone out on their expedition, the Year 7 team and all Year 7 teachers for organising and supporting with Year 7 Parents’ Evening, Dan Oag and the music team for a Saturday rehearsal at the Royal Albert Hall and Dan Jenkinson and Jay for taking Year 12 to an apprenticeship fair.

As we approach the end of exams, I’d also like to say a massive thank you to our exams team, and especially Steve Wilson who has tirelessly picked up a lot of the supervision in i-block with the small groups.

Finally, last week in Connect, I mentioned that we will be holding a small focus group to look at the GHS vision moving forwards and will be looking for a small number of staff to join this and contribute. Staff will need to be from different stages of their careers, and we will have to select accordingly so there is appropriate representation from staff at various career stages. If you are interested in this possibility, please email me at mpye@greenford.ealing.sch.uk to express initial interest by Friday 20th June 2025.

 Mia

The week ahead

Monday
Normal Day

Tuesday
Year Team Meeting/Pastoral time - 3.15pm - 4.30pm

Wednesday
Briefing in the library - 8.15am

Thursday
Normal Day

Friday
Normal Day

Notes
Yr 10 Assessment Week (in class)
Year 12 Mocks Week 1 (Study Leave) 
Yr8 Greenford Read (Wed)

Learning and Teaching - 60 Second Strategy

This week’s 60 second strategy to try: Vocabulary-rich sentence stems.

Sentence stems can scaffold talk. When used consciously, they can also reinforce subject-specific vocabulary while prompting students to use new vocabulary. By practising new language through speech, students are more likely to use it effectively in writing.

The strategy:

• Pre-plan sentence stems with:

         i) Tier 3 vocabulary
         ii) New vocabulary

• Display the sentence stems on the board and highlight vocabulary students are encouraged to use.
• How students choose to complete the sentence demonstrates their depth of understanding.

Some examples:
(Key: tier 3 vocabulary; new vocabulary)

Learn more about this strategy here.

Behaviour Working Party

A huge thank you to colleagues who were contributing towards our new behaviour level as part of our Behaviour Working Party (BWP). As we move towards refining systems, it is imperative that we have a collaborative approach to decision making. Rav and I have been taking feedback from several stakeholders, including HODs, HOYs, the BWP, SLT, our Behaviour LP and students, regarding some of the changes we may implement for next year. We will continue to keep you updated. 

This week the BWP looked at how we categorise incidents and in small groups we explored some of the challenges of this. This task layers the foundations for us to develop new thresholds for interventions and sanctions and therefore develop an environment where behaviour can improve.

We look forward to the next meeting where we will be looking at behaviour point thresholds and sanctions.

Many thanks

Ajay and Rav

Inclusion Updates

Safeguarding Updates

Harmful Content Trends 2024 – Southwest Grid for Learning

The South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) has recently published its Harmful Content Report 2024, commissioned last year. The report reveals a 20.5% year-on-year increase in harmful content cases, with 6,222 reports handled over the past 12 months.
In 86% of cases, harmful content was successfully removed—often within hours—and nearly half were resolved within 24 hours. Notably, 24% of the reports involved children under 18, with a significant number concerning those under 12. The report also highlights that 37% of harmful content was hosted on smaller or less regulated platforms, pointing to a growing risk in these online spaces.
As demand for impartial, trusted support continues to grow, SWGfL is expanding its guidance and service provision to better support those affected.
To explore the full report or learn more about SWGfL’s work, please follow the link below:

Harmful Content Insights and Trends 2024

We are delivering a Social Media Workshop- Tuesday 17th June 2025 for Parents/Guardians of Year 7 and 8 pupils from 3:30pm-4:30pm

SEN Updates- apologies for repeating the messages from last week but want to ensure this is completed.

• Please complete the Google Form Questionnaires sent out by HUD, highlighting the areas that you would like more support and training with.  Your feedback is highly valued.
• Please see below a link of students in Year 10 with exams access arrangements in place and those that have been identified as potentially in need. 
• Please place a tick in the box next to the student's name if you believe them to require arrangements…  Please complete the form using the link below by Monday 16th June
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VucDLgHXP4u9EdYS-SM0XxP_BdgX30eb/edit?gid=1911766100#gid=1911766100

Missing Child Procedures- Following my announcement in briefing please can we ensure the following processes are in place if a student does not arrive to your lesson.

Thank you for your continued support

Gurvinder

Bright Spots

This week's Bright Spots are Dan Jenkinson and Stuart Prentice, nominated by Ajay Balu who says:

Well done to Dan Jenkinson and Stuart Prentice for hosting an incredible burrito cooking lesson! Year 9 enjoyed a hands-on experience, learning the art of creating flavourful burritos from fresh ingredients. Dan and Stuart shared valuable tips on seasoning and ingredient selection, making the class both fun and educational. 

It was also great to listen to how well students were able to articulate the process and the desired outcomes.

If there are any concerns about Equality and Diversity (staff)  at GHS please contact A Johal (DHT)