Week 6 (7-11 October 2024)

Government Curriculum Review

A call for evidence from parents/carers

The new Labour Government’s curriculum and assessment review has launched a call for evidence. The review aims to “address the key problems and hard barriers to achievement”. It will look at Key Stage 5 (Sixth Form) before going all the way to Key Stage 1. In a recently-published terms of reference document, the Government said the review will “seek to refresh the curriculum to ensure it is cutting edge, fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people to support their future life and work. The review will ensure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all our children and young people, and it will ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all at 16-19.”

At Isleworth & Syon, we will continue to build on the hard work of teachers who endeavour to bring their subjects to life with knowledge-rich teaching; this is how students come to love their subjects. Given this, parents/carers should rest assured that we will always deliver a national curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative. 

Parents/carers are asked to give their views on a variety of curriculum-related topics, including assessment pathways, social justice and inclusion, and how to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum. You can find out more – and give your views – via this page.

End of Year 11 – Parent/Carer Feedback

Some comments from families at the end of five years of schooling

Feedback is the lifeblood of any organisation and, as a school, it was very heartening to receive the gratitude and positive recognition from a number of Year 11 parents/carers whose children have progressed through the school. Parent/carer engagement of this nature is genuine and helps school improvement. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the open survey; rather than paraphrasing, we have included some of the comments below.

‘What has been the highlight of your child’s education?’

• “The relationship and support his tutor gave him… I will be forever grateful to him for all the time, support and calls he gave home to keep me updated on [my child’s] good and bad days.”
• “The school identified [my child’s] weaknesses and worked on them, allowing him to excel at his desired pace and achieve the best he could. The school has consistently helped boost his confidence and taught him to be courteous and respectful.”
• “Opportunity to get involved in drama productions – whether acting in performances himself or being exposed to theatre at the many organised trips with the drama department.”

‘Would you like to thank any particular teacher or subject department?’

• “All the teachers throughout the years. Thank you for the dedication and the support.”
• “[His business teacher] for the care and support given to [my child] during his time at I&S. Also, a big thanks… for the support that has been shown by all who have taught him. Thank you all.”
• “[His form tutor] has been the most dedicated and committed form tutor and his… ability to have honest conversations and answer the boys’ questions as a group has been inspirational. He clearly demonstrates respect to the boys in his form and expects it in return.”
• “[To his form tutor] – I cannot express my gratitude to you enough. For keeping a close eye on [my son] at his most vulnerable times. I felt reassured that he would be okay there at school and get through it, with you as his form tutor. Thank you so much.”
• “[His class teacher] reinforced and supported [my son]’s passion for maths. [English teacher] did a phenomenal job to motivate [him]. Un millón de gracias [to Spanish teacher] – how incredible it is that [my child] can have a conversation in Spanish with me.”

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary, for the next two months

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

Progress & Partnership Day

Some final reminders!

A final reminder that next Friday, 18 October, is Progress & Partnership Day (PPD). Normal lessons are suspended and students in Years 7-12, with their parents/carers, will have a ten-minute meeting with a member of staff to discuss progress. Times were emailed to parents/carers of Years 7-12 yesterday (Thursday). A few important notices:

• Students must wear school uniform for the appointment.
• Remote Learning will be sent via email by 8.30am on Friday.
• Please arrive ten minutes before your meeting and register in the hall – do not just go straight to your appointment.

Thank you – we look forward to seeing you.

Student Safety – Fire

Keeping our young people safe

A Home Office study has found that approximately 350 children are injured in accidental fires every year. It is important to educate both students and parents/carers about the importance of fire safety. We recommend this guide from The National College.

_{Photo by monicore on Pexels.com}

Completing our Online Forms

Some guidance for families about our electronic processes

At Isleworth & Syon, we sometimes need to ask parents/carers to give their consent, for all manner of school activities – like trips or events. This is always done electronically. For security, you will be asked for:

a) your child’s form group; and
b) the parent/carer email address.

These details must match what is in our system, so your response comes through to us. If they do not match, you may receive additional chase emails asking you to fill out the form.

Make sure you fill in the form with the email address to which we sent the form. Otherwise, we cannot verify that it is you. Thank you for your support.

Extra-Curricular Spotlight – Music Technology Club

A chance for keen musicians to get technical!

As part of our weekly music production lunchtime clubs, we invited Drew Greer (music producer, YouTuber and producer educator with CDR) to speak with our students who attended the music technology club last Friday (4 October). Drew shared his experiences on working with urban artists such as Headie One, KSI and Burna Boy, producing instrumentals and recording tracks which have gone viral.

He also was promoting the free music producer workshops being run by CDR (and funded by the Arts Council) during October half-term in Hounslow – between 12.00pm and 5.00pm each day. As a school who promotes creative music-making, we encourage our students to to sign up and take part. If you sign up, you do not have to attend every day; you can turn up on any day and engage with the music producers with any element of music-making you would like to explore, create, or produce.

CDR is a company who work with some of the top recording studios and creative music producers in London and the UK. This is a unique opportunity for our students to network as well as learn from some of the top music industry professionals in the UK currently. To sign up or find out more information, please check out this flyer or speak to Mr McKeever in the music department.

Pride of House

A new set of award winners

Our latest Pride of House winners for Adam, Brunel and Shackleton are included below. These 40 students are shining examples of what an Isleworthian should aspire to be – well done to all of them.

Success Stories – Joe Gilmour

Celebrating an all-round Isleworthian

Joe Gilmour (2017-2024)
Lionel Road Primary School
Isleworth & Syon School
University of Manchester

Joe is a perfect example of what makes an Isleworthian. From Year 7, Joe was dedicated to fulfilling his own academic potential. He balanced this with a whole-hearted commitment to wider enrichment activities: rugby, cricket, the Duke of Edinburgh’s programme (Silver and Gold), plus two school productions.

Academically, Joe was a finisher; he got things done. He was well read and highly articulate; he read a lot more non-fiction books and magazines which organically fed into his interest in politics and economics. He had a profound interest in public speaking and wider community issues; indeed, he has said that his school highlights include the Year 9 Ypres history trip and winning the London Debate Mate Cup.

Teachers remember Joe as being highly principled and having strong, tenacious opinions on a vast array of issues. He was a wholly reliable independent learner, someone who thrived in question and answer, oracy related sessions. Such a skills-set aligns closely with his endless love of building discussion in the pursuit of knowledge.

Joe’s choice of A levels was inspired by his own fervent ambition to become a Member of Parliament. An A* and two As have led him to degree at Manchester to read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE).

Safeguarding and Personal Development

Educating students about exploitation

In our PSHE curriculum for Years 9 & 10, we teach about the important issue of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE). Our students learn that they should not accept gifts from strangers due to safety concerns and the potential for exploitation. Strangers may have harmful intentions, using gifts as a way to gain trust or manipulate young people into dangerous situations. Accepting gifts can blur boundaries, making children more vulnerable to coercion or abduction. It is essential for young people to understand the importance of being cautious and to recognise that not all gestures are genuine. We ask parents/carers support the school’s messages and educate their children about the risks associated with accepting gifts from unfamiliar individuals and encourage them to seek help from trusted adults if approached. We hope that this knowledge will protect them and help them to feel confident in handling any potentially threatening approaches.

If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org. A member of staff will be monitoring the account. If there is an emergency call 999 or, for non-urgent matters that require police attention, call 101.

News

Former student hits Broadway – plus some fantastic enrichment visits!

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award

Isleworth & Syon has a proud heritage offering the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, giving students the chance to push themselves out of their comfort zone and hone their teamwork and problem-solving skills.

This week, Silver participants from Year 11 have headed to Swanage for their assessed expedition. They camped for three nights and performed brilliantly. They were excellent ambassadors for themselves and the school! Do take a look at the @IsleworthDofE X (Twitter) account!

Taheen Modak – Broadway Star!

And finally, former student Taheen Modak has just begun a five-month stint performing on the Broadway stage. He is currently playing Benvolio in ‘Romeo and Juliet’, which also stars Rachel Zegler (‘West Side Story’) and Kit Connor (Netflix’s ‘Heartstopper’).

We are absolutely delighted for Taheen, who left school after Year 13 in 2014 to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional actor. After three years at the Bristol Old Vic drama school, Taheen began securing roles in top productions. You may have seen him on television, starring as DS Med Kharim in ITV’s ‘The Bay’ or in ‘Two Weeks to Live’ (Sky), opposite Maisie Williams (‘Game of Thrones’). He has also regularly appeared in the West End, most recently last year in ‘Pygmalion’ at the Old Vic. Just this week, the first episode was released of his new television show, ‘The Hardacres’ (Channel 5), where he is among the main cast. You can catch that on Monday nights during October and November.

Taheen’s story is a great example of how the arts can inspire and invigorate young people. It is fair to say that during Key Stage 3, he was not a model student. At GCSE level, the performing arts team nurtured him, and he discovered a passion for drama that has led him to this point. He is pictured above – left during our school production of ‘The Government Inspector’ (2013) and right after a performance of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ on Broadway. (2024)

We are so proud of Taheen for the hard work and commitment to development that has allowed him to reach this point!