Welcome back and Happy New Year! We know 2026 will be a great year in Batley for our Trust family of schools because our brilliant staff team have so many exciting learning activities planned for our young people. 2026 will be a year of high-quality education, inspiring and enriching educational activities which deliver success for all!   Whilst there are so many challenges to face financially within the education sector, issues such as division across the country and the world; and heart-breaking tragedies some people face, we realise at the start of the new year that we can only control the controllables. Rather like the weather, which we cannot change, we also cannot change much of what the world throws at us. However, we can decide how it will affect us and how we will respond.   As the highly acclaimed author Mel Robbins writes; rather like the weather, consider the true nature of the sky. The clouds that once frustrated you can be seen as a larger, ever-changing masterpiece. The storms that once frightened you are now moments of power and beauty, teaching you resilience and strength. The sky's unpredictability is what makes it so magnificent, so endlessly fascinating.    Therefore, consider that the sky will do what it does - clouds will gather, snow may arrive, storms will come, and the sun will shine when it pleases. You can't control it, but you can control how you navigate beneath it. You can carry an umbrella; you can dance in the rain, you can open schools in the snow and deliver great science & geography lessons about why snow falls (and great assemblies all about resilience and how to overcome any obstacle) and you can chase the sun when you need to!   In Batley, we choose to maximise every learning experience we can. We recruit and retain only the very best staff in our teams, because they will deliver the best education for our children. We train our staff well so they could choose to leave, but we treat them well so they choose to stay.   These great staff teams deliver a super education for all our children and give them the very best start in life. We can see this through strong attendance, high academic outcomes, great careers experiences and educational enrichment opportunities that take learning beyond the school gates. We never miss a learning opportunity. Every Day Matters.   We look forward to seeing our young people believe, achieve and succeed in 2026 and beyond and we will support them to do so every step of the way. 

The last school Monday of 2025 is here and we end the year in style with the Field Lane Batley Brilliance event. The new Headteacher, Mr Lorgat outlined his vision for making Field Lane a world class school. The new Assistant Headteacher, Miss Dobson, spoke of the school's fantastic achievements and fully inclusive ethos, where every child succeeds no matter what their background or starting point. Outcomes at Field Lane are exceptional. Inspirational Key Stage 2 learners spoke about the school's STAR values (Strength, Togetherness, Aspiration, Responsibility) and what a great education means to them. Then Key Stage 1 performed their nativity. There was not a dry eye in the house. Field Lane is a fantastic school, and a school at the very heart of the Batley community.    At the end of the Autumn term we would like to thank our whole community for their support for our schools and our learners this year. We are stronger together when we all work collaboratively for the good of our young people to give them the very best start in life.   We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Enjoy the Christmas break and we look forward to 2026 and all that we can achieve together!    Community Makes Us.