Newsletter 13.06.2025

Dear Parents & Carers,

Good morning, I hope this letter finds you all well and that you have all had a good week.

Proposed Changes to the Times of the School Day

As from September I am proposing some slight changes to the school day with our start and finish times changing from 09.00 and 15.20 to the new times of 08.50 and 14.30. The reasons for this are as follows:

• Increased lessons across the week
• Creation of a sixth lesson to increase curriculum development within KS4
• Better length of lessons to suit the needs of the students
• Earlier finish time to support travel arrangements for students that live a considerable distance away
• Creation of more training time for staff

The reason I am bringing this to your attention is that I would like to know how parents feel about the changes and be able to raise any concerns or questions you may have before we commit these changes to each Local Authority.

Should you have any questions or concerns I would appreciate your feedback so that I can take these into account before making my final decision. Please send these to:

admin@armleygrangeschool.co.uk

Red Hot Chilli Steppers – Supporting Wellbeing, One Step at a Time.

Here at Armley Grange, we’re proud to run theRed-Hot Chili Steppers Walking Club, a daily walking group led by our clinical team and supported by our educational staff from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. This initiative offers a supportive and inclusive space for students who may feel isolated or anxious during lunchtime, providing a healthy and engaging alternative to traditional lunchtime activities.

The club encourages physical activity, emotional wellbeing, and social connection, helping students return to class feeling more relaxed, focused, and positive. As an added incentive, students earn Chili Badges for every 50 walks they complete, these can be proudly displayed on their walking caps! Bonus badges are also awarded to keep things fun and motivating.

With thoughtful planning, strong safety measures, and ongoing evaluation, the clinical team feel that Walking Club is making a meaningful, lasting impact on the mental and physical health of our students here at Armley Grange School.

The Gardening Club

The clinical team have also been running a gardening group on Wednesday afternoons since the start of last half term. This has now become so popular that we are having to split the group into two afternoon sessions, one for primary school pupils and one for secondary pupils. We have a great skill mix with some of our pupils enjoying more gross motor activities such as digging, raking etc. and others preferring the fine motor aspects such as decorating plant pots and planting seeds. Watering plants with the hose is popular with everyone!

So far, we have planted vegetable seedlings, kindly donated by parent Claire Johnson, which have grown extremely quickly over the last few weeks of rain. We are planning to use the harvest in school lunches. We have also transplanted gooseberry bushes and raspberry canes, prepared the soil and sown grass seed, and sown herb and chilli and wildflower seeds. Furthermore, we are taking part in a competition across Leeds SEND schools to grow the tallest sunflower with voucher prizes to be won.

In common with all group sessions, the gardening group provides opportunities for pupils to interact and communicate with one another, share resources, and assist each other. The groups include pupils from different classes so we are hoping that some new friendships will be made. Many of our pupils prefer being outside and so their reduced feelings of anxiety in the garden environment can help them to take risks with trying new things.

Term Dates for the Academic Year 25/26

Finally, I just wanted to remind parents that the new term dates have been uploaded to the school website for parents to view.  Important Information – Armley Grange

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Best wishes,

James