I started this week on a three-day residential trip to Herd Farm with Year Four, Miss Knight Francis, Miss Connell and Miss Warren. I have to say it was three days of absolute joy, only made better by the delicious food we consumed! The children's behaviour was exemplary, as we expected, but what really blew us away was how resilient the children were, how determined and self-motivated. Each one of them impressed not just us, but the instructors with how much they pushed themselves out of their comfort zones! It was incredible! We have lots of photographic evidence, so that the children can share their pride with their families. Climbing the high ropes course, taking the plunge on the big swing or giving all trust to their peers to be led blindfolded through the woods! For many, as children who started school during the pandemic, they had only limited experience of sleeping away from their families. With this in mind, they did unbelievably well! What an achievement. Of course, we had lots of mischief, fun and giggles and if Baqar ever tells me the woodpecker joke again, he has to do 50 burgees! We made a deal!

Also, this week we have been celebrating neuro-diversity week across the whole school, with each class learning about what this means. Over this year, we have worked closely with STARS, the local authority autism team, to ensure that our school environment and teaching strongly supports pupils who are neuro-diverse. At Westroyd we are local pioneers in how inclusive we are, especially supporting pupils who are neurodiverse.  Miss Johnston and I set this a target for ourselves this year and, supported by some very talented teaching assistants, we are leading the way for other schools! This fits perfectly with our whole school approach, in that nothing gets in the way of us learning at Westroyd, we have no barriers or excuses, and we can all be whoever we want to be and be self-assured and proud of ourselves! 

Finally, on Friday, Miss Martin organised the Great Westoryd Red Nose Bake Off, with our very own challenging critical judge, Mr Clough, and the delightful Miss Connell! A big shout-out to all the parents and pupils who made such an effort to enter so many cakes. It was superb fun, and we raised almost £400 for Comic Relief by the end of the day on Friday!