Letter to Parents and Carers: Pathway Planning Day: Wednesday 18 November 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to invite you to our upcoming Learning Pathway events. The Trust has reintroduced Learning Pathway Days, which were a key part of the original, highly successful Outwood Grange Academies Trust school improvement model.

These events reflect our commitment to working in partnership with families to ensure that every student flourishes. Please note the following key dates:

At Outwood Academy Shafton, we believe every student deserves a tailored support package. While traditional parents' evenings focus on subject-specific feedback, Learning Pathway Days allow us to look beyond attainment and consider the whole child.

During these days, we review progress, attendance, wellbeing, personal development, achievements, and aspirations together.

Our aim is to strengthen our partnership with you, celebrate success, identify opportunities for further development and agree on clear next steps. Your child’s Personal Development Mentor will lead on bringing information from across the academy to develop a shared understanding of your child.

Meetings will take place between 12:00pm and 6:45pm with your child’s Personal Development Mentor. These discussions are tailored to each year group, focusing on key milestones such as settling into Year 7, reading progress, Year 9 options, or Year 11 exams and Post-16 plans.

Alongside your mentor meeting, we will offer a range of information opportunities to further support students and families:

SEND & Support Plan Reviews: Opportunities to review and update personalised support plans with specialist inclusion staff.

Students will only attend school for their scheduled meeting.

Students will study from home and there will be set learning activities to access via Google Classroom on this day. This allows us to offer appointments into the late afternoon and early evening while working within staff hours.

If your family experiences technology or internet connectivity barriers, please contact your relevant Learning Manager in the academy so we can arrange suitable support to be sent home.

We strongly encourage every family to make every effort to attend their scheduled meeting. We want to move beyond individual conversations about subject grades and ensure that every family has a dedicated opportunity to discuss their child’s wider experience, celebrate achievements and plan for the future.

Your insight as a parent or carer is invaluable. By working together, we can identify barriers early, strengthen support where it is needed and ensure that every student has a clear pathway towards success, including their future education, employment and training destinations.

Further information about the appointment booking system and how to arrange your meeting will be shared with you shortly.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and for being part of our Shafton family. We look

forward to welcoming you to the academy for this important day and working together to help every student become the very best version of themselves.

Yours faithfully,