Principal’s Message for Week A, wb 3rd November 2025
Welcome Back to Autumn 2 2025 at MEA Central: Proving What’s Possible Together
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to Autumn 2, a half term full of energy, opportunity and focus. As the nights draw in, our school becomes an even more important place of community, warmth and purpose. We’re looking forward to the weeks ahead, when our students will take part in everything from Charity Week and Identity Day to big academic milestones like Big Tests and Mock Exams. Please see our calendar overview attached.
We had a brilliant first 8-weeks, and the school’s areas of impact and achievements include:
Achieving The Parent Partnership Award,
‘The school fosters a celebratory environment.’
‘During the current academic year, MEA Central has delivered a broad range of parent engagement events, including coffee mornings, transition events, parents’ evenings, targeted year group sessions, and most notably, a community Iftar celebration.’
‘A robust communication framework is in place, supported by a clearly defined communication policy and guide.’
‘The school has clearly made great efforts to acknowledge and develop their existing communication methods with parents and families. Staff work hard to ensure flexibility and transparency in their roles and responsibilities.’
Orientation Week and our Year 7 Welcome Evening, where our newest students settled brilliantly into secondary life.
Year 10 Work Experience Coffee Morning and Year 11 College Application Events, which supported pupils to plan ambitious next steps for their future education and careers.
Raising Attainment Meetings for our Year 11s and the launch of Revision Month, helping every student understand what excellence looks like and how to achieve it.
Big Tests and Reflect Weeks across Years 8–11, ensuring teachers have precise information to adapt teaching and close gaps.
A vibrant Black History Month and Performing Arts Showcase, celebrating identity, creativity and belonging.
Our first Parent View Ofsted Coffee Mornings, where families shared invaluable feedback that helps us continue to improve.
Autumn 2
This half term, our work across the school continues to centre on three key priorities that shape every decision and every classroom:
1. Ambitious Learning for All
We’re continuing to stretch every learner through a challenging, inclusive curriculum. Teachers are focusing on how they sequence knowledge, check understanding, and adapt lessons so that every student - whatever their starting point - makes exceptional progress.
2. Language, Literacy and Character
We’re continuing to invest in reading, vocabulary and oracy because language unlocks learning. Our goal is that every student speaks and writes with confidence, and that our personal development curriculum, including leadership, enrichment and participation, builds the resilience and equality that last a lifetime for your child.
3. Culture of Inclusion and High Expectations
We remain relentless about calm routines, kindness, and belonging. Attendance, wellbeing and behaviour are part of our curriculum - we teach them, we model them, and we celebrate when our young people get it right.
These priorities will support our vision of A Fantastic Future for All and preparing our scholars not only to succeed in exams, but to thrive as citizens and contributors in the wider world.
A Note on Ofsted
You’ll be pleased to know that MEA Central may be welcoming Ofsted inspectors for an inspection under the new national framework this half term. We’ve actually volunteered for this visit because we’re proud of what we’ve achieved together and ready to share it.
Over the past year, we’ve had fantastic external feedback from a range of visitors, including trust reviews, local partners and national networks, all confirming the strength of our teaching, inclusion and culture. This inspection is the next step in that story, a chance to show, with confidence, how far we’ve come and how strong our community has become.
It’s also an opportunity to show others what our families and students already know: that MEA Central is a calm, caring and ambitious place to learn. A positive inspection will reflect the hard work of our students, the dedication of our staff and the consistent support of you, our parents and carers.
A strong outcome helps build our reputation across the city, opening doors for our young people and strengthening their future pathways to college, apprenticeships and beyond. Above all, it’s a moment to celebrate what we’ve built together and the future we’re shaping: a fantastic one for all!
Strong Start to Autumn 2: Uniform and being prepared
We are looking forward to welcoming students back on Monday 3rd November – the gates are open from 8.30am, students are required to be on school site by 8.35am - Line up starts promptly at 8.37am and students are late after 8.40am.
As always, we expect students to have perfect uniform. We often spend time within the first few days of a term dealing with issues that can generally be avoided by referring to our parent handbook and the section around uniform and equipment. As a quick reminder:
Trainers are not permitted school footwear. School footwear should be black leather shoes. If there are exemptions for medical reasons, we will request that this information and evidence is shared with us to ensure our medical needs register is up to date.
Hooded tops and sports branded jumpers are not permitted in school. They are not school uniform items. For safeguarding reasons, we must be very quickly able to identify people in the building. This is why these items are not allowed. It is also why we request that coats are not worn inside the building.
Piercings are not permitted in school. We will request that they are removed and not worn. Please avoid getting these done in term time or outside of the summer holidays.
Every student must have a school bag, with their basic equipment for the day in, including a reading book.
Mobile phones are not allowed to be used on school grounds, at any time of the day. If they are brought to school, they should be switched off and not seen or heard, and if they are they will be confiscated for one week. Because of your partnership and support with implementing this policy, mobile phones are not a distraction in classrooms - this is not the case in many schools! Later in the newsletter, Mr Grimes, Designated Safeguarding Lead has provided some more information on mobile phones.
We also would like to remind parents that as a healthy school that if students bring a snack to enjoy at breaktime it should be a small personal sized snack. Share size or multipacks are not permitted, along with high sugar items, fizzy drinks or energy drinks. Students should bring a refillable bottle to use at the water fountains.
Year 9 Parents’ Evening
The Year 9 Parents’ Evening is on Tuesday the 4th of November 3.15pm-6pm. You can book appointments through the Arbor app. We look forward to welcoming our parents and carers once again!
Work Experience
This is a polite reminder that the deadline for your child to find a Work Experience placement is Friday 7th November. Please scan the QR code to give consent for your child to go on Work Experience. If your child does not find a placement, your child will be expected to attend school and engage in the careers workshops we will organise.
Managing Teen use of Social media – A message from the Safeguarding Team
There has been an increase in out of school issues related to social media. We teach your children how to be kind inside school, outside school and online through our curriculum. We cannot be soley responsible for their conduct online at evenings and weekends. At the end of the last half term there was an issue within the community, which stemmed from children across all year groups using social media inappropriately – with many parents being unaware that they are being used at all. This incident (along with many others) took up a large amount of time to investigate and resolve with multi agency partners such as the police and children’s services. If you allow your child to have a smart phone, or device which allows them to communicate with others such as a tablet, iPad or console then the NSPCC recommend the following:
Review safety, wellbeing and privacy settings
Help children stay safe online by turning off location sharing and setting accounts to private. Use privacy controls to limit who can send friend requests, send message or comment on posts. Support their wellbeing by helping them block or report harmful content, set app time limits, and have regular conversations about what they see and experience online.
Apps are accessed aged appropriately (a quick reminder):
16+ - Whats App
13+ Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, X, Snapchat
While most platforms require users to be 13+, some features, like live streaming or messaging, may still be unsuitable. Always review what’s available and decide what’s appropriate for your child
Talk openly about social media
Have regular conversations with your child about what they’re doing online. Ask who they’re talking to, what apps or games they’re using, and how different experiences make them feel.
Talk about what to do if something worries or upsets them and remind them that they can always come to you for help. These conversations help children feel supported and more confident in recognising and reporting anything unsafe.
Encourage safe and thoughtful sharing
Have regular conversations with your child about what they’re doing online. Ask who they’re talking to, what apps or games they’re using, and how different experiences make them feel.
Talk about what to do if something worries or upsets them and remind them that they can always come to you for help. These conversations help children feel supported and more confident in recognising and reporting anything unsafe.
Support positive online experiences
Help children question what they see online and focus on positive body image. Encourage them to understand that their worth isn’t measured by likes or followers, but by who they are offline.
Visit our website here for more support: Online Safety - MEA Central
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Head of Year Messages |
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Year 7 – Ms. S Bryan What an incredible first eight weeks it has been! Our Year 7 pupils have made a fantastic start to life at MEA Central and are now well and truly part of the MEA Central family. They have settled into routines, built friendships, and shown great enthusiasm for learning. We are so proud of the positive energy they bring to school each day. As previously shared with parents at the welcome evening, now that we know Year 7’s better, we have regrouped students. Year 7 have been given a new timetable today which is on pink paper. A huge thank you to all our parents and carers for your ongoing support in making this such a smooth and successful transition. Your partnership has been invaluable in helping our pupils feel confident and ready to thrive. We ended this half term with a Rewards Assembly, celebrating the hard work and achievements of our pupils. Certificates were awarded for effort, progress, and embodying our school values. A special congratulations to Tawhid, who received the Head of Year Award, and to Erina, who received the Pastoral Manager Award. Well done to everyone who was recognised for their outstanding contributions and attitude this half term. What a brilliant way to finish! As we look ahead to the next half term, there’s lots to be excited about:
A reminder that the Project Central task (creating a mask) is due on Tuesday 4th November. We can’t wait to see the creativity and effort that pupils put into their work! We wish all our Year 7 pupils and their families a restful and enjoyable half term break – you’ve truly earned it. We look forward to welcoming everyone back, refreshed and ready for another brilliant half term at MEA Central.
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Year 8 – Ms. C Gates
Year 8 have completed a fantastic Revision Week and have shown such dedication to their lessons. All scholars have received revision materials from their subjects to support them in preparing for Big Test 1 Week, which begins straight after the break. These resources are also available on Central Online, so please encourage your child to revise over the holidays to feel confident and prepared.
We also held a wonderful Celebration Assembly this week to recognise achievements from across the half term—well done to 8Heaney for the best attendance, Adam Shaif for receiving the Head of Year Award, and Zara Hassnain for the Pastoral Manager Award. A reminder about this half term’s Project Central, where students will be creating sea life models using recycled materials. I can’t wait to see the creativity and imagination they bring to this challenge. I hope everyone has a restful and well-deserved break, ready to return refreshed for a brilliant start to Autumn 2.
Ms Gates
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Year 9 – Mx Umpierrez What a great last week of Autumn 1 for all our Year 9 students! As I’ve said before, we could not do what we do without your support as parents and carers, and we are extremely grateful for you always ensuring your child achieves a fantastic future once they leave MEA Central.
This week your child should have received their progress report and completed their reflection sheet during two form time sessions. Your child will come home with these safely placed in an envelope, so please ensure they remember to hand them to you and encourage them to discuss their reflections on their own next steps to success at home. If your child was off during these two form time sessions, Wednesday and Thursday, and you would like to see your child’s report, please do let me know via email on d.umpierrez@meacentral.org.uk
During our half term break, I want to advise all of Year 9 to practice some of the self-care and wellbeing routines we have learned during assemblies this half term, just so we return to school in November recharged and ready to keep on learning. Autumn 1 has been a challenging half term for illnesses, so it is crucial that moving through the rest of the year, the focus should be on attending school daily.
As you all know, we have our Parents Evening event on the 4th of November, and we would like to see all of you attending and meeting your child’s teachers, Year 9 Pastoral Team and Senior Leadership Team. As a reminder, you can book meetings with specific classroom teachers using the Arbor app, although these are not essential for you to be able to attend. Teachers will have time throughout the evening to speak to you; just pop by their tables and ask if they’re available to talk. If you have any questions about how to book these meetings, please contact the main school reception on 0161 499 2736 or in person.
From next half term, we will shift to focus on the preparation of Year 9 to Key Stage 4 and we will be working closely with Mrs Adson, Assistant Vice Principal, who has expertise in taking year groups through Year 9 and getting Key Stage 4 ready.
I wanted to finish this week’s message with a big celebration on those students who, during our Rewards Assembly on Tuesday, received the CAP Champion, Head of Year and Pastoral Manager Awards:
Lola (9Sissay – 82 CAPs) Moeez (9Rumi – 74 CAPs) Aleks (9Duffy – 70 CAPs) Jemima (9Sissay – 60 CAPs) Safah (9Sissay – 58 CAPs) Lhavel (9Rumi – Head of Year Award) Minnie (9Duffy – Pastoral Manager Award)
These students have gone above and beyond this half term and are showing how much they care about their futures in everything they do in school. We are so proud of them!
Hope you all have a wonderful half-term break.
Mx D Umpierrez and Mx A Eastwood
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Year 10 – Mr C Blackburn As we reach the end of the half term, I want to take a moment to reflect on what has been a truly outstanding start to Year 10's Key Stage 4 journey. The commitment, focus and maturity shown by the year group have been exceptional, and it has been a pleasure to see them grow as scholars. This week, we celebrated their achievements in our Reward Assembly, which was filled with positivity and pride. It was fantastic to recognise so many students for their hard work and dedication. A special congratulations goes to our Form Tutor Award winners:
We also celebrated two exceptional students with the Head of Year Award:
And a huge well done to Salwa Imran, who received the Pastoral Manager Award for her outstanding contribution to school life. Over the past few weeks, students have been working hard to build strong Scholarly Habits, which have now been assessed. These grades were shared alongside GCSE predicted grades at our recent Parents Evening, which was a huge success. Thank you so much to everyone who attended, it was wonderful to share so many proud moments with you. Looking ahead, work experience is a key focus. Please ensure you have completed the consent form using the QR code provided in the letter your child received. Half term is the perfect time for students to source placements, and this must be completed by 7 November. A huge well done to those who have already secured theirs. We are also encouraging students to continue with independent learning, especially using their red books for revision and recall. This will help improve their Scholarly Habits grades and have a direct impact on their progress. Students should aim to turn all grade 2s into 1s, and all grade 3s into 2s, small changes can lead to big results. Next half term, the year group will be focusing on strengthening their independent learning and completing more pages of red book retrieval. We also want to encourage all scholars to take part in enrichment clubs and broaden their experiences outside the classroom. These opportunities help build confidence, teamwork and a well-rounded school experience. We hope you all have a great half term. Thank you again for your ongoing support, we look forward to the rest of the year with great ambition and excitement for what our scholars will achieve. Warm regards
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Year 11 – Mr J Roper
Congratulations Y11 on a fantastic first term!
We have had many highlights which include; a fantastic Geography field visit to Formby, House Oracy with excellent Y11 participation, excellent attendance to Period 6 (this will change after half term to Maths), the continuation of exceptional application and hard work in Option classes with coursework and pupils staying after-school to make improvements and remaining really high with our percentage attendance as a year group.
Over the half term the pupils have been given all the essential tools to help them with their revision in preparation for their Y11 Progress Exams (commencing Monday 3/11/25). Alongside revision materials that have been distributed within class the pupils can also access their MEA Central Online Y11 page for more. Over the half term holidays pupils will be continuing with their college applications - if they require any help with personal statements, they can send these or queries around the application phase top the following email address:
Finally, can I wish you all a fantastic half term holiday and on behalf of myself and Ms Renshaw thank both parents and pupils for all their fantastic effort in making a great start to their Y11 journey.