Dear Parents/Carers

What a busy week. As you will be aware we had Ofsted visiting us and I am delighted to say it went really well.

I am incredibly proud of our school community. While I am not permitted to share the outcome of the inspection at this stage, I can say with complete confidence that we are pleased and I feel the inspectors saw an amazing school that knows itself, works tirelessly for its young people, and remains focused on doing the very best every single day.

I do however want to be open in saying that this was the most intense inspection experience I have encountered in all my years as a senior leader and Headteacher. Despite being incredibly well-prepared and highly organised, the process was challenging and, at times, even tested me personally and I consider myself a strong and resilient person, who is committed and dedicated to ensuring every young person in my care receives an excellent education.

As you are aware it is a completely new framework and the bar has been raised. We are never afraid of challenge and embrace that, but I feel consideration needs to be given to the process and I will feed all that back professionally.

Our young people were quite simply outstanding. They conducted themselves with maturity, kindness, and confidence, and were a real credit to you, their families, and to the school. Staff were superb throughout—professional, committed, and unwavering in their care and dedication to our students. I could not be prouder of them.

Inspections can feel intrusive and demanding, and I understand why in terms of the QA process of education, but as a positive they also give us the opportunity to reflect on everything that makes our school special. This week reaffirmed just how strong our community is and how fortunate we are to work with such remarkable young people and families.

I would also like to say a huge thank you for your overwhelmingly supportive and positive responses to the Ofsted surveys. This has been incredibly humbling and has reinforced what we already know — that we are very much the Boteler Family.

While we may not get everything right 100% of the time, that never stops us from trying our very best. I always want to work with you, and I genuinely value your advice and guidance. Your partnership and trust mean a great deal to me and to the school.

May I also ask a small favour? If you have contacted me over the past week, I would really appreciate a little more time to work through the hundreds of emails I have received. I promise I will get back to you and respond fully to anything you have raised — I am just a little behind at the moment.

This week has also brought so many successes, particularly in sport, mock examinations, STEM events and through our Careers Fair, and this really sums up everything we strive for. Everything we do is about our young people — they are always our priority. We will reflect carefully on areas we can improve, but we will also take time to celebrate the many positives that were shared about our truly amazing school.

I will share with you the full report card as soon as I am able, but it may be a few weeks yet as it has to go through a QA process. That is why I can not share the judgements at this stage.

Thank you personally for your continued support. I remain absolutely committed to doing my very best for the children, the staff, yourselves, and our wonderful community.

I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Beverley Scott-Herron

Headteacher

 

 

Final Week of Half Term 3 – Every Day Matters

As we move into the final week of Half Term 3, we would like to remind parents and carers that we are in school and learning right up to the final day. There is still a great deal of important learning to take place and attendance every day really does matter.

Even one strong week of attendance can make a significant difference, particularly for students who are close to key attendance thresholds. This final week offers a valuable opportunity to improve overall attendance figures.

For our Year 11 students, attendance and punctuality are especially important. Colleges regularly ask about both in reference requests and for students currently below the 90% threshold, this week could be crucial in moving out of the category of persistent absenteeism and demonstrating readiness for the next stage of education.

Our whole-school attendance target is 96%, and many students are already meeting or exceeding this — with some continuing to proudly maintain 100% attendance. We are grateful for the strong support from families in helping students attend regularly and arrive on time.

Let’s work together to finish Half Term 3 positively, ensuring every student makes the most of the learning opportunities right up to the end of term.

 

Years 9 Immunisations – Tetanus, Diphtheria & Polio (Td/IPV) and Meningitis ACWY

Please click on the following link to view a letter and consent form from the Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral School Age Immunisation Service, regarding the upcoming Year 9 Tetanus, Diphtheria & Polio (Td/IPV) and Meningitis ACWY Immunisations. These vaccinations will take place in school on Wednesday 25/03/26.

https://tinyurl.com/bhpps3vx 

If you have any questions, please contact the Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral School Age Immunisation Service.

 

 

Careers learning Journey

How To Get Better Work Experience Opportunities…

 

Careers Fair

We welcomed 22 employers, colleges and universities into school this week for our Annual Careers Fair. All students attended the fair to gain understanding about their post 16 pathways. They used their essential skills when speaking with the companies and came away with various ideas about their future. We would like to thank everyone who supported the event and for the amazing feedback you gave our young people.

 

Year 9 – Next week

Year 9 will be receiving a workshop from Higher Horizons regarding their GCSES and helping them to start to think about their option choices. Higher horizons work with schools to develop students knowledge regarding universities.

On Thursday a selected number of Year 9 will be going to United utilities to take part in a Work Experience day.

 

Myerscough College

 

Warrington Youth Zone are running Girls Only Football sessions. Click here for more details: Girls only football sessions at WYZ.

 

 

Year 9 Parents’ Evening and the Power of Parental Engagement 

We look forward to welcoming parents and carers to our upcoming Year 9 Parents’ Evening on Monday 9th February, from 15:30–19:00. 

This is a crucial point in the school journey for Year 9 students as they begin preparing for Key Stage 4 and make important decisions about their option choices. The evening provides an opportunity to discuss progress, strengths, and next steps with subject teachers, helping families to make informed choices and support students confidently as they move forward. 

 

Why Parental Engagement Matters 

Research from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) consistently shows that effective parental engagement has a positive impact on pupil outcomes, particularly when it focuses on learning rather than solely on behaviour or attendance. 

Some key EEF-backed strategies that make the biggest difference include: 

• Regular, meaningful conversations about learning 
  Talking with your child about what they are learning, what they find challenging, and what they enjoy helps reinforce understanding and motivation. 

• Supporting routines at home 
  Establishing clear routines for homework, revision, sleep, and organisation supports independence and readiness to learn. 

• Encouraging high aspirations 
  Communicating positive expectations and encouraging effort helps students develop resilience and confidence. 

• Working in partnership with school 
  Attending events such as Parents’ Evenings and forums strengthens communication between home and school, ensuring consistent messages and support. 

• Focusing on progress, not just grades 
  Discussing feedback, targets, and strategies for improvement helps students understand how to move forward effectively. 

 We strongly encourage all Year 9 parents and carers to attend the Parents’ Evening and take advantage of this opportunity to support your child at an important transition point. 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership. 

 

 

 

 

 

Co-regulation: advice for coping with our children’s – and our own – big emotions

Being a parent can be an incredibly rewarding experience. But it can also be challenging. When we’re focused on nurturing and supporting our children, we can overlook the importance of our own mental health as parents. But the two are very much intertwined. And that’s where co-regulation comes into it.

 

What is co-regulation?

Put simply, co-regulation means responding to someone else’s emotional state. When a child is experiencing big emotions – for example, frustration, anger, what we used to call a ‘meltdown’ – the parent or carer can help by remaining calm themselves and through this calmness, help the child to come down from their heightened emotional state.

It’s easier said than done. In the heat of the moment, it’s not always easy to stay calm, especially if it’s not something we have practiced much before. We can get caught up in the child’s big emotions which can lead to us feeling that emotion too, whether that’s anger, frustration or a mixture of the two. Parent and child can both calm down, or parent and child can both become agitated and stressed.

Co-regulation works both ways. It’s not just the child’s emotions that influence the parent. If the parent is feeling stressed or angry, the child can pick up on this and adopt the same emotional state. So it’s important for parents to understand that their emotional states can and do impact their children. 

How to practice co-regulation?

1. Breathe.

When we get stressed or upset (dysregulated) it’s not just something that happens in the brain. Our physical bodies are affected too as our heartbeat speeds up, our muscles tense and our breathing becomes shallow. Taking deep breaths tells us we are safe and brings us back down.

2. Repeat some simple lines to yourself.

Saying simple statements to ourselves like “We’re safe,” can help bring us back into the moment and stop emotions spiralling.

Practising these techniques makes it easier to remember in the moment, but regulating ourselves in stressful moments is a skill that takes practice.  Sometime snapping or being short tempered is normal. It’s okay and doesn’t mean you have failed.
 

Rupture and repair

Another helpful framework is the concept of rupture and repair, which recognises that we all get things wrong at times. 

When you feel you have reacted to your child or their emotions rather than co-regulating, it’s worth acknowledging this and putting it into words for your child. “I lost my temper there, I’m sorry.” It’s a good lesson to show our children that no one is expected to be perfect, we all make mistakes at times and we can take action to make things right. We are all human and it’s ok to get things wrong.
 

 

 

Art Department

Warrington & Vale Royal College’s Young Artist of the Year Award is back! It is open to all students in Year 10 and Year 11, and we strongly encourage our Art students to enter! Please see Mrs Guttridge for more information. 

 

Spring Spectacular

Spring Spectacular has officially begun! Rehearsals are already under way for our next dance show. It is not too late to sign up. Rehearsals are a Tuesday and Thursday lunch and Thursday after school. See Mrs Hughes, Mrs Graham or Miss Wright in these rehearsals to sign up. You can be a part of our group pieces or create your own.

 

 

Encounter Youth and Westy Youth are back!

All high-school age young people are welcome. E-mail our school youth worker kwellens@boteler.org.uk if you have any questions, or feel free just to turn up!