Letter to Parents and Carers: January 2026 New School Day
Mon 08 Dec 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
I write to you as our school community continues to make preparations for our new school day in January 2025.
This is a really exciting time for us and our students as we introduce a dedicated, substantial Personal Development (PD) programme as part of our PD lesson, which is designed to provide your child with essential life skills, broaden their horizons, and offer targeted academic support outside of their core subject lessons.
We are also putting in plans to support students during the new extended break time by offering a variety of different socialisation opportunities to help students to develop their social skills, interact effectively with peers and adults, develop revision opportunities, foster positive relationships, and cooperate consistently well with others. Throughout the week during breaktimes, students will have access to bookable technology, games, careers advice, sports, reading intervention and oracy.
As part of our new school day students will attend lessons as soon as they arrive at school heading immediately to period one. Lesson one and two will offer an extended period of uninterrupted learning. For this reason it is vital that students arrive at the doors for 8:20 as they will now move directly to their first timetabled curriculum lesson.
Year group doors will close immediately at 8:28 every morning allowing 2 minutes for any final students to make their way to lessons.
Our school day will be as follows:
We are confident that this next step at Outwood Academy Shafton will bring new possibilities. Our immediate focus with the new timetable is to ensure students are engaged in uninterrupted learning as quickly as possible. This new structure is designed to maximise learning time, support Personal Development (PD) growth and enhance socialisation, building on the already calm, engaged, and purposeful climate for learning.
We ask for your vital support by ensuring your child arrives every morning in full uniform and with all necessary equipment. Punctuality is more crucial than ever, as any delays now result in missed curriculum time and could cause students to fall behind their peers. We are proud of this enriched offer for our students.
Yours faithfully,
Alison McQueen