As part of our National Year of Reading celebrations we are excited to be welcoming Ruby, our new therapy dog, into school after half-term. Ruby and her owner, Helen, will be with us in the Library during Period 5 every other Thursday, where selected Year 7 pupils will have the chance to read to Ruby.
Research demonstrates that animal-assisted therapy can have a really positive impact on communication, emotional wellbeing, and engagement. Therapy dogs used as reading partners in schools often help pupils to feel less self-conscious when reading aloud, with some studies noting improvements in confidence and fluency.
Last week Art students from years 11, 12 and 13 travelled by coach to Cambridge to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum and Art Gallery. All these groups are at pivotal moments in their courses: starting either their Personal Investigation or their Externally Set Assignments.
This trip allowed them the opportunity to engage with a huge variety of art and artefacts from different times, places and cultures.
A significant number of marks are awarded in their course for how effectively they connect with the wider world of art.
The students worked in groups and were able to, over the course of the morning and early afternoon, record their observations in the form of drawings, photographs and note-making.
All the students conducted themselves brilliantly. A staff member in the gift shop at the museum spoke with one of our teachers to single out how polite and respectful our students were.
If you have any stories and/or photos that you would like to share, please contact us at pupilservices@sweynepark.com
Freya P has successfully retained her place in the Essex County Hockey squad following this year’s competitive trials.
Freya will be playing in the Under-17 team, she has an exciting opportunity to continue developing and making her mark at county level.
Her re-selection also sees her continue progressing within England Hockey’s Talent Pathway. The performance pyramid that supports players on their journey towards national squads representation for Great Britain at Olympic level.
This year, Freya will proudly represent Essex at the National Finals in Nottingham in 2026 — a fantastic achievement and a testament to her hard work, dedication and commitment to the sport.
Click here to see the menu.
The Healthy Schools team are conducting research to better understand children and young people’s habits when it comes to hydration. As part of this work, we are keen to identify the challenges parents face when encouraging water consumption with children.
Their objective is to develop a resource campaign that supports both parents and schools.
We want to encourage parents to help their children adopt water-only habits before they begin school.
Last year, 4,850 young people aged 11–25 took part in the Essex Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) survey. They shared their views on relationships and sexual health, the support they would like, and how they prefer to access information.
In response, the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Group has taken — and is continuing to take — action based on what young people told us. These actions are summarised in a set of “You Said, We Did” documents, created for different age groups:
Each cument highlights how feedback from young people is being used to improve information, education and support.
The Essex Sexual Health Service will also be sharing highlights of how the system has responded to young people’s feedback on their social media channels:
