INCLUSION 2020

Westbury Academy, through the Nottingham Sports Partnership, to provide inclusive youth sport opportunities through festivals.

Hundreds of young people from Nottinghamshire will have the chance to take part in inclusive sports activities in the run up to the 2020 Paralympic Games.

Westbury Academy is working with children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust, which is leading a consortium of organisations commissioned by the Department for Education, to increase opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to enjoy Physical Education, school sport and physical activity.

The new programme, Inclusion 2020, will see pupils of all abilities experience a variety of sports and get the opportunity to compete. They will be supported by a team of Youth Sport Trust athlete mentors including ParalympicsGB swimmer Kate Grey.

Westbury Academy is one of 50 Lead Inclusion Schools – hubs of expertise on inclusive PE and sport – which is championing inclusive PE in its local area. As well as staging festivals, the school will be responsible for training staff and sharing best practice with other schools to improve the provision of PE, school sport and physical activity for young people with SEND.  This includes Social, emotional and mental health needs as well as physical disability.

Joe Drew, who is in charge of the YST Lead Inclusion project and based at Westbury Academy said “this is a fantastic opportunity to promote the Paralympic Games.  Our ultimate aim is to inspire the next generation to love sport so the more opportunities we can provide the better chance we have to create positive habits that will last a lifetime”.

Inclusion 2020 will aim to reach tens of thousands of pupils, 2,800 schools and train 6,000 teachers and coaches ahead of the 2020 Games. The consortium of organisations led by the Youth Sport Trust includes Activity Alliance, the British Paralympic Association, Nasen (National Association of Special Educational Needs) and Swim England.

Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive Ali Oliver said:

“Schools have come a long way in improving the provision of sport and play for young disabled people, but we know there is still more we can do.

“Taking part in fun and inclusive sport and play unlocks so many other life benefits. It improves well being, increases confidence and helps build relationships and a sense of belonging. It can help forge friendships and foster inclusive and respectful environments within schools. 

“Ahead of Tokyo 2020, we want to build excitement and inspire children and young people. Inclusion 2020 offers a fantastic opportunity to work with schools, teachers and parents to ensure that having special educational needs or a disability is no barrier when it comes to benefiting from high-quality PE, sport and physical activity.”

Minister for Children and Families Nadhim Zahawi said:

“With excitement already building for Tokyo 2020, we are delighted to be funding this project which is a great opportunity to make sure all pupils can enjoy the benefits of staying active – let’s hope it may even inspire some future Olympic and Paralympic stars.

“We want every child – including those with special educational needs and disabilities – to have the opportunity to find a sport they love, and this funding will build on the £320 million we are providing through the PE and Sport Premium to help primary schools encourage all of their pupils to lead active lives.”

For more information about the project please contact Joe Drew

J.Drew [@] westbury.nottingham.sch.uk

About the Youth Sport Trust:

The Youth Sport Trust is a children’s charity working to ensure every child enjoys the life-changing benefits that come from play and sport. It has more than 20 years expertise in pioneering new ways of using sport to improve children’s well being and give them a brighter future.

The charity works with more than 20,000 schools across the UK and operates on a local, national and global level. It harnesses the power of sport, physical activity and PE to build life skills, connections between people and support networks which increase life chances through greater attainment, improved well being and healthier lifestyles. www.youthsporttrust.org 

Twitter: @YouthSportTrust 

Facebook: YouthSportTrust 

Instagram: @youthsporttrust

LinkedIn: Youth Sport Trust

Autism Friendly Family Fun

BUILD, CREATE, PLAY, READ, ENJOY!

Nottingham City Libraries are offering autism friendly sessions designed especially for children with autism and their families. Get involved with lots of activities such as playing with Lego, crafts and stories.
You can do as little or as much as you like in a relaxed and supportive environment.

Locations and Dates:

St Ann’s Valley Library on the first Saturday of the month:

  • 2 February
  • 2 March
  • 6 April

Strelley Library the last Saturday of the month:

  • 26 January
  • 23 February
  • 30 March

For more information contact: St Ann’s Valley Library on 8839700
or Strelley Library on 0115 9152880

Autism Friendly Sessions Poster (pdf)

New Build Opening Ceremony

Westbury officially opened its new £4m expansion on 2nd October – increasing its provision from 45 permanent places to 120 places.

Work started earlier in the summer to get the buildings ready for the new academic year with new classrooms, offices and recreation facilities for KS2 and 3.

A special ribbon-cutting ceremony and plaque-unveiling was held at Westbury with Cllr Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Education and Skills in Nottingham, to mark the official opening.

Marcus Wells, Principal of Westbury Academy, said: “Our school continues to make a difference to our pupils and I am very proud to see the recognition that we are receiving for this through the commitment of the council in funding this development. We’re really excited by this expansion at Westbury and the opportunity it gives to pupils in Nottingham City. Increasing capacity from 45 permanent places to 120 places means more parents can access this specialist provision.”

Councillor Khan added: “When we started out on this expansion programme, it was essential to make sure that top-class facilities are made available to all pupils in Nottingham, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

“As well as extending current special schools, we are working to introduce further specialist provision within mainstream schools in the City to support those parents who want more options available to them.”

Welcome back from Mr Wells

I am glad to say that after all of the waiting and the turmoil that it has caused, the new building for the school is complete and the school and its grounds look really nice with the whole site finished. The school is now one that the staff and pupils can be proud of and far better reflects their efforts and attempts to improve themselves both academically and socially.

Pupils continue to make good progress whilst at Westbury as a whole. This year the commitment in the exams from the Year 11 was fantastic with all of them working for as long as they possibly could for each and every paper. A sterling effort despite the new changes to the exam system. The pressures of actual exams continue to be a significant issue for our pupils and is an issue that we intend to focus on with even greater intensity this year in the hope that our pupils are fully prepared.

Slowly but surely we are increasing our numbers from 80 to 120 over the coming years. This year will be the first time that we have had a two-form entry for all of Key stage 3 and 4, with the exception at the moment of Year 8. This has enabled us to stream the pupils, for the first time, in individual subjects so that each pupil’s learning can be maximised to an even greater extent than previously. It will be interesting to see the impact from this over the next few years.

Nothing reminds me more of how important we are as a school for our pupils than when an ex pupil ‘drops in’ and thanks us for what we have done in supporting them both academically and emotionally so that they can now function as a positive member of society who actively contributes to it. Sometimes it takes a while for our pupils to mature and ‘sort’ themselves out – but until that point in time the education we have given them, both in its widest sense and the qualifications that they have earned, gives them the basic foundations that they need in life to succeed.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions about Westbury or the Raleigh Learning Trust.

© Copyright - Westbury School - 2019

Website by LE1 Internet Marketing