CARE values series, week 2 of 4
This week's Student Broadcast: Aspiration
Our CARE focus this week has been Aspiration: aim high, work hard, improve your future. We started the week with a broadcast from the Principal that every student watched in form time.
Press play to watch it here. It is around eight minutes long and worth watching at home, because it sets out what we mean by aspiration and what we expect of every student this year. Ask your child what they took from it.
Year 6 families: you are invited
Year 6 Open Evening
Come and see Cliff Park for yourself: tour the academy with our students, meet the teachers, try out lessons in every subject and hear from the Principal about what makes us different. No need to book, just turn up.
If you know a family with a child in Year 6, please pass this on.
Visit www.cliffparkoa.co.uk
New floor, new windows, new spaces
A few of the changes students have found on their return. The Sports Hall floor has been completely replaced and the sports centre redecorated, so PE lessons and clubs are back in a space that looks and plays like new. Across the main block, new windows mean warmer, quieter classrooms this winter. Solar panels on the roof are now helping to power the academy.
Thank you to the site team and contractors who worked through the holiday to have it all ready for the first day.
The year ahead
Our priorities for 2026/27
Staff came back a day early for our opening INSET day, where we looked hard at last summer's results and agreed what matters most this year. Here is the same picture, shared with you. Results are moving in the right direction: Attainment 8 rose for the third year running, and the proportion of students achieving grade 4 or above in both English and Maths is up nearly eight points in two years. This year we close the gap to national. Four things will get us there, in order.
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1
Attendance is our achievement strategy
Last summer's results told one story more clearly than any other: students who attended 95% or more did as well as students anywhere in the country with the same starting point. Students at 90 to 95% finished about half a grade lower in every subject, on the same lessons with the same teachers. Our whole-school target this year is 92%, and for every individual student the aim is 95% or better. More on this below.
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2
Grade 4 to grade 5, especially in Maths
One in six of last year's Year 11 got a grade 5 in English but not in Maths. Those students could already work at that level. This year every department is sharpening how it checks understanding and closes misconceptions before they cost a grade, with Maths the first focus.
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3
The same high standard in every classroom
Every lesson at Cliff Park follows the same four-part structure: retrieval, new learning, independent practice, review. This year the focus inside that structure is on two things: checking that every student has understood before moving on, and stretching our strongest students from September, not March. Your child should expect mini whiteboards, cold calling and no opting out.
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4
Praise first, one behaviour pathway
We have simplified our behaviour system into a single, predictable pathway that is the same in every classroom, and it starts with recognition: CARE Tokens and positive points for students who go above what is expected. Everything is now recorded in Arbor, which replaces Class Charts. That means you can see your child's praise and any concerns in the Arbor app, which is one more reason to download it (see below).
One thread runs through all of it: notice early, act early, together. That includes you. If something is getting in the way of your child's attendance, learning or behaviour, tell us in September, not in March.
The Behaviour Pathway: choices, support, fresh starts
Every year group has now been taken through our Behaviour Pathway for 2026/27. It is the same for every student and the same in every classroom, and it starts with praise.
Meet the standard and you are praised. Go beyond it and a member of staff names the CARE value you showed and awards a CARE Token, worth 10 CARE points. Tokens are logged in Arbor and posted in the value boxes around school; when a box hits its target, the whole school unlocks a shared reward.
If behaviour slips, the steps are clear. Steps 1 to 3 happen in the lesson: a calm verbal warning, then a same-day lunchtime detention, then a next-day placement if it continues. Most situations stop there. Steps 4 to 6 add a subject report and, if needed, removal from the lesson to Red Remove with a call home. Steps 7 to 12 bring in structured support, personalised plans and, only as a last resort, the formal stages. Serious incidents such as fighting, discriminatory language or refusing to hand over a phone are dealt with straight away and enter the pathway higher up.
You can always reset. At every step the message to students is the same: pause, listen, reset, get back to learning. Improve your choices and you move back towards praise from any point.
The twelve steps are shown below, with the narration students heard in assembly. It is worth a couple of minutes at home so that you and your child are hearing the same message.
The twelve steps at a glance
This is the narration students heard in assembly. At every step: improve your choices and return towards praise.
The new morning routine
Every day now starts the same way for every student. Form tutors are in position from 8.30am and students line up with their form in the yard. A short countdown at 8.33am brings everyone to silence, tutors check uniform and phone pouches, and the day begins with a three-minute morning address before students walk in single file to their form room or assembly.
It is calm, it is quick, and it means every student starts period 1 already meeting the standard. Gates close at 8.30am. Please make sure your child is on site before then; arrivals after 8.30am are logged as late.
Form tutors: the adult who notices
Your child's form tutor sees them before period 1 every day, and this year we are asking tutors to do one thing above all else: notice. The slipped attendance, the missing equipment, the changed mood, days before any report picks it up.
Every tutor has been asked to have a genuine one-to-one conversation with every student in their form this term, especially the quiet ones in the middle. If you have a concern about your child, their form tutor is the first person to contact: enquiries@cliffparkoa.co.uk or 01493 661504.
Year 10: GCSE courses begin
Year 10 students have started their GCSE programmes of study this week, including their first lessons in the option subjects they chose last year.
This is the start of a two year journey and the habits formed now matter: being in every lesson, keeping up with Beyond the Classroom work, and asking for help early. Please talk to your child about the subjects they have chosen and what they want to get out of them.
Year 11: Period 6 has started
Year 11 students have begun their Period 6 intervention sessions in Maths, English and Science, and attendance in the first week has been strong. Well done to every student who has turned up and got straight to work.
Last year's Year 11 started the year at 89% attendance and finished at 81.5%. Every one of this year's Year 11 has been told the same thing we are telling you: the students who did best in August were the ones who were in the building. Period 6 is where grades are won. Please support your child to attend every session they are timetabled for.
Attendance and achievement
Every day counts: what last summer's results tell us
Attendance and GCSE results, Cliff Park 2026
What a percentage really means across a school year
Based on a 190 day school year and five lessons a day. Our whole-school target is 92%; the aim for every student is 95% or above.
We want to be straight with you about attendance, because the link with achievement is the clearest thing in last summer's results.
We compared every GCSE entry from our 2026 Year 11 with students nationally who had the same starting point. Students who attended 95% or more held their own against the country. Students who attended between 90% and 95%, which is one student in six, finished about half a grade lower in every subject they sat. Below 90%, it was closer to three quarters of a grade in every subject. Same lessons, same teachers, same exams.
Last year's Year 11 finished the year at 81.5% attendance, missing almost one day in five, and it cost them. That is the single biggest thing we are determined to change for this year's Year 11.
Ten days off across a year sounds small but it is fifty lessons. Our whole-school target this year is 92%, and for your child the number to aim for is 95% or above. Here is how you can help:
- Aim for every day. 95% still means nearly two weeks off across the year, so treat it as a floor, not a target
- Book appointments outside school hours wherever you can, and send your child in before or after
- If your child is unwell, ring the attendance line before 8.30am on 01493 661504, option 1
- If something is making it hard for your child to come in, tell us early. Anxiety, friendships, transport: we can help with all of them, but only if we know
- Talk about school positively at home. Students notice how we talk about it
Where to get help
- Attendance line Report an absence before 8.30am 01493 661504, option 1
- Your child's form tutor First point of contact if attendance is becoming difficult enquiries@cliffparkoa.co.uk
- Principal drop-in Every Wednesday, no appointment needed 8.50 to 9.30am at reception
Allergy safety
Benedict's Law: keeping students with allergies safe
From this September, every school in England must meet new allergy safety requirements known as Benedict's Law, named after Benedict Blythe, a five year old who died after an allergic reaction at school. The law requires every school to have a whole-school allergy policy, spare adrenaline pens on site, an individual care plan for every student with a serious allergy, and allergy and anaphylaxis training for all staff.
Every member of staff at Cliff Park has now been trained to recognise anaphylaxis and to administer adrenaline. Spare adrenaline pens are held on site. Over the coming days we will be working with students in every year group to raise awareness of allergies and anaphylaxis: what a reaction looks like, how to help a friend, and why we take it seriously.
Here is how you can help:
- If your child has an allergy of any kind, make sure we know, even if it seems mild. Update it through Arbor or by contacting the front office
- If your child has been prescribed an adrenaline pen, they must carry it in school every day, in date, and we need a spare in the medical room
- Check that the care plan we hold is current. If your child's allergy has changed, tell us and we will update it
- Talk to your child about allergies at home, especially about not sharing food with friends who have them
Where to get help
- Front office Update allergy information or ask about care plans 01493 661504, option 2
- Anaphylaxis UK Advice for families on allergies and Benedict's Law anaphylaxis.org.uk
- Allergy UK helpline Support for families living with allergy 01322 619898
Get the Arbor app
Arbor is how we communicate with parents and carers: attendance, messages, reports, trips and payments all come through it, and from this year so do CARE Tokens, praise and any behaviour concerns. If you have not yet set it up on your phone, please do so this week.
- Scan the code below with your phone camera, or search for Arbor in the App Store or Google Play, and install the app
- Open the app and search for Cliff Park Ormiston Academy
- Log in with the email address you have registered with the school
- First time? Tap First time logging in to set a password. A link will be emailed to you
If the email address we hold for you is out of date, or you cannot get in, contact reception on 01493 661504, option 2, or email enquiries@cliffparkoa.co.uk and we will sort it.
Reminders for the first weeks
Gates close at 8.30am. Students arriving after 8.30am will be logged as late. If your child travels by bus, please make sure they use a service that arrives before 8.30am so they are in the line-up on time.
Parking and pick-up. Please do not drive into the school car park at the end of the day. At 3.00pm it is full of students on foot and on bikes, and cars moving through it put them at risk. If you are collecting by car, please park courteously on Kennedy Avenue, away from the gates and residents' driveways, and let your child walk to you. Thank you for helping to keep the end of the day safe.
Uniform. Blazers on at all times in the academy unless a member of staff says otherwise. Hoodies are not uniform and will be confiscated.
Main reception. Open 8.00am to 4.00pm Monday to Thursday and 8.00am to 3.30pm on Friday. 01493 661504, option 2.
Principal drop-in. Parents and carers are welcome to drop into reception between 8.50 and 9.30am every Wednesday to meet me or a member of the Senior Team. No appointment needed.
Dates for the term
Key dates for parents and carers for the rest of the Autumn term. Trips and events for specific year groups will come with a letter nearer the time.
| September | |
|---|---|
| Wed 16th | Year 6 WOW Day (1 of 2) |
| Fri 18th | Year 7 and Year 11 photographs |
| Tue 22nd | Trip: Sizewell B nuclear power station (Year 11) |
| Thu 24th | Year 6 WOW Day (2 of 2) |
| Mon 28th | Trip: Hunters Yard Sailing (all week) |
| Tue 29th | Trip: Houses of Parliament (Years 8 and 9) |
| October | |
|---|---|
| Thu 1st | Year 6 Open EveningParents and carers welcome |
| Thu 8th | Year 11 Parents' Evening (pre-mock information)Parents and carers welcome |
| Fri 9th | External drama production (Years 8 to 10) |
| Wed 14th | Flu vaccinations (Years 7 to 9) |
| Thu 15th | Trip: DofE navigation walk (Years 9 and 10) |
| Tue 20th | Flu vaccinations (Years 10 and 11) |
| Thu 22nd | Year 7 Settling In EveningParents and carers welcome |
| Fri 23rd | Last day before half term |
| November | |
|---|---|
| Mon 2nd | Return from half term |
| Mon 2nd | Year 11 mock exams begin (window runs through November) |
| Tue 17th | A Cliff Park Christmas: matinee performance |
| Thu 26th | Careers Fair and Presentation EveningParents and carers welcome |
| December | |
|---|---|
| Tue 1st | Flu vaccinations mop-up (all year groups) |
| Mon 7th | Trip: Houses of Parliament (Years 8 and 9) |
| Thu 17th | Reports sent home |
| Fri 18th | Last day of autumn term |
Local support for families
Services in Great Yarmouth and across Norfolk that families tell us they find useful. If you are not sure where to start, ask us and we will point you in the right direction.
Health
Just One Norfolk
Health advice, sleep, emotional wellbeing and parenting support for Norfolk families, run by NHS children's services.
0300 300 0123
justonenorfolk.nhs.ukWellbeing
Kooth
Free, safe and anonymous online counselling and support for young people in Norfolk.
kooth.comFamily support
Norfolk Community Directory
Search for local groups, activities, childcare and support services near you.
communitydirectory.norfolk.gov.ukWorried about a child
NSPCC Helpline
Free advice for any adult worried about a child's safety or wellbeing.
0808 800 5000
nspcc.org.uk
Who to contactUseful contacts
Not sure who to speak to? Your child's form tutor is always a good first call. For anything urgent, ring the front office on 01493 661504. Tap a name to email.
Front office and attendance
| Contact | For | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Front office | General enquiries, messages for staff | 01493 661504 (option 2), cpoaenquiries@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Attendance line | Report an absence before 8.30am | 01493 661504 (option 1), cpoaattendance@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms L Ross | Attendance Manager | lross@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
Heads of Year
| Year group | Head of Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Mr D Dudley | ddudley@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 8 | Mr E Phillips | ephillips@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 9 | Mr R Callaby | rcallaby@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 10 | Mr M Warnes | mwarnes@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 11 | Mr M Harris | mharris@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
Safeguarding and support
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Ms S Huggins | Safeguarding Manager | shuggins@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms D Giles | SEMH Support Worker | dgiles@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms A Waters | Vice Principal and SENDCO | awaters@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms K Todd | PA to SENDCO, SSU Manager | ktodd@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms J Slack | Director of Behaviour and Student Care | jslack@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
Senior leadership team
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Mr H French | Principal | hfrench@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms J Spurgeon | PA to the Principal | jspurgeon@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms J Bunting | Vice Principal, Quality of Education | jbunting@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms A Waters | Vice Principal, SENDCO | awaters@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms A Dudley | Assistant Principal, Teaching and Learning | adudley@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms R Sewell | Assistant Principal, Student Development | rsewell@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms K Milner | Assistant Principal, Raising Attainment | kmilner@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Mr S Sorrento | Director of Curriculum, Data and Exams | ssorrento@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
Form tutors
Your child's form tutor sees them every morning and is the first person to contact about day-to-day matters.