Dear Parents and Carers,

As we are at the end of the Autumn1, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the achievements and joy we’ve shared at Danebury School over the last eight weeks. This term has been filled with energy, learning, and community spirit. From the excitement of welcoming our wonderful Year 7 pupils in September, to the enthusiasm of our Year 10s and11s spending time at Further Education Colleges and Universities to consider the next stages of their education, it has been a pleasure to see our school community thrive socially and academically.

Learning and Achievement

Our pupils have shown tremendous enthusiasm and resilience in their learning. Across all year groups, we’ve seen fantastic progress. It's a highlight of my day popping into lessons to look at engagement levels and learning, I've been so impressed by pupils’ attitudes to learning in the main. We’ve have also enjoyed a wide range of enrichment activities, including trips, sporting fixtures, workshops, and themed days that have brought learning to life. Thank you to all staff who have worked tirelessly to make these experiences memorable.

Celebrating Our Community

This term, we’ve placed a strong focus on kindness, excellence, and inclusion. Our school values have been evident in the way pupils support one another, celebrate differences, and contribute positively to our school environment. We will continue to zoom in on excellence next half term.

Attendance:

Attendance has been a key focus this half term, and we’re pleased to see strong improvements — even exceeding national averages on some days! We remain committed to working closely with students and families to support and celebrate good attendance throughout the year. Every day in school makes a difference. As we head into the break, we encourage everyone to rest, recuperate, and recharge — ready to make next term even better. Please continue to work with us to help these improvements continue. Congratulations go to our pupils who have maintained excellent attendance levels, to those who've made huge improvements in their attendance this year and especially those accessing the Flexible Learning Centre.

Safeguarding:

We’re incredibly proud of the way we safeguard our students at Danebury. Our recent safeguarding visit was extremely positive and highlighted the strong emphasis we place on keeping children safe. Most importantly, our students consistently report feeling safe here — and that’s the measure that matters most.

Our autumn safeguarding data has revealed some clear trends, which we’ll be addressing next half term to ensure continued safety and wellbeing across the school.

If you need to contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) during the holidays, please don’t hesitate to reach out. She will be periodically checking emails and will respond where needed.

Behaviour & Attitudes:

Behaviour across the school has been positive in the main this half term. The vast majority of students are wearing their uniforms with pride, and those who were initially testing boundaries with jewellery and makeup have responded positively and are now working well with us.

Our behaviour data has remained consistently high, with a positive-to-negative ratio fluctuating between 95–97%. Internal exclusions have decreased significantly compared to this time last year and the year before, and we’ve seen a reduction in pupils avoiding learning by unnecessary frequent visits to the toilet or the pastoral team, something we’ll continue to monitor closely next half term.

A special mention goes to Year 7, who have been exemplary, maintaining a 100% positive behaviour ratio throughout the entire half term. The strength of our culture is a testament to the shared values and high expectations we hold together as a school community.

Looking Ahead

Year 11s will begin their Mock Exams mid-November, Years 7-10 will sit their end of term assessments soon after. Once the assessments have been marked and moderated, we will invite parents and carers in for a 'showcase' drop-in session. In recent parent and carer surveys you said you'd like to be kept better informed about your children's progress. We hope this drop-in session will address this, pupils will gather all their assessment books/folder and talk you through them, celebrating the parts they're most proud of.

Thank You

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful PTA who work so hard organising events to raise money which is ploughed back into our school to improve outcomes for all. The KS3 Halloween Disco this week was a great example of their brilliance; it was a great night and lots of fun was had by all. As parents and carers your involvement in school life – whether through attending events, supporting learning at home, or simply encouraging your child each day makes a real difference, we really enjoy working in partnership with you.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday 4th November 2025, have a good break.

Warmest wishes,
Mrs N Goodridge