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Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children
The Governors and staff of Olchfa are fully committed to adhering to section 175 of the Education Act, 2002, which requires Local Authorities and Governing Bodies of maintained schools and institutions to have arrangements for exercising their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
The Governing Body of Olchfa responds to the objective of keeping children and young people safe by:
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creating and maintaining a safe learning environment for children and young people
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identifying where there are child wellbeing concerns and taking action to address them, where appropriate, in partnership with other agencies
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ensuring that children are listened to if they are expressing concerns
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the development of children’s understanding, awareness and resilience through the curriculum
The Governing Body recognises that achieving this objective requires a system designed to:
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prevent unsuitable people from working with children and young people
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promote safe practice and challenge poor and unsafe practice
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identify incidents in which there are grounds for concern about a child’s welfare, and initiate or take appropriate action to keep them safe
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contribute to effective partnership working between all those involved in providing services for children and young people
Governors and staff in Olchfa will work together with other agencies in order to achieve the above objective.
At Olchfa the health, safety and wellbeing of all children is of paramount importance. Parents send their children to school each day with the expectation that the school will provide a secure environment in which their children can flourish. The Governing Body and school staff, therefore, make every effort to ensure that this expectation becomes a reality. In order to do this, and acknowledging the scope of safeguarding, a wide range of measures and policies have been put in place.
Olchfa recognises the value of early intervention and prevention services in order to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children. We are committed to working collaboratively with families and early intervention services. It is essential that regular communication with families is maintained to identify, as early as possible, when other services may be able to offer support. The Governing Body and school staff will work with families to make appropriate and timely referrals for early intervention services.
The Designated Safeguarding Persons (DSP) in this school are:
Matt Salmon – Deputy Headteacher
Hannah Vincent – Senior Pastoral Guidance Worker
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Monday 1st September 2025
Tuesday 2nd September 2025
Monday 5th January 2026
MONDAY 16th MARCH 2026 - New Qualifications (WJEC)
Friday 17th July 2026
Monday 20th July 2026
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Mobile phones are not permitted and should not be used on the school site. If a pupil brings a mobile phone to school, it should be kept in their school bag. If a pupil needs to contact a parent/carer, they should visit T3 or reception.
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Reporting an absence, pastoral issues, general queries? Please click on the following link for further details - HOW TO CONTACT OLCHFA
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Pre-Loved Uniform/Lost Property
Please ensure ALL items of school uniform are marked with the pupil's name and form. We will ensure misplaced, named items are returned to pupils. We continue to have many unnamed school uniform items. All unnamed lost property will be washed and added to the school's pre-loved school uniform stock. Lost property can be viewed outside the main hall. We will run numerous pre-loved uniform events throughout the year. These events will be advertised to parents/carers. If you are in need of any pre-loved uniform items, please don't hestitate to contact the school.
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A reminder for Summer 2024 Exam Certificates:
Have you collected your Exam Certificates? If not, please contact us via email at olchfa@olchfa.org.uk.
Uncollected Exam certificates are still currently available from 2018.
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A Message from the Pupil Welfare Officer
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I hope you all have a wonderful, restful summer.
Please note the following information for September:
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As you can appreciate, due to the number of pupils in the school, there are procedures in place for pupils to follow if they are unwell. Pupils should not use their mobile phones to call home if unwell. They should visit my office.
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Any donations of uniform would be greatly appreciated.
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Fluenz immunisations will take place during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th December for year groups 7-11.
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If a pupil suffers an injury, please contact the school and ask to speak to me so we can discuss the Risk Assessment that will be required before returning to school.
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Pupils are not encouraged to carry medication around with them. However, pupils can leave the medication with me in the medical room, and we can arrange between us the correct times the pupil will need to attend to take the medication.
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Please encourage pupils to bring a water bottle to school in order to stay hydrated.
Thank you.
Mrs Hopkins, Pupil Welfare Officer
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PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT
Please note this is just a snapshot of pupil achievement. Please visit the school's social media sites to view more achievements.
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Congratulations to Erin In Year 7 who competed in Stoke at the gymnastics British Finals in June representing Wales. Erin came 2nd for floor and 3rd for beam out of 52 British finalists. Her scores helped Wales achieve team champions and take home a gold medal. Well done Erin!
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Congratulations to Ava in year 8 who received a first-place achievement in the recent National Eisteddfod! Ava had to independently prepare her favourite dessert in the baking tent. She created a chocolate brownie, raspberry sorbet, and her own honeycomb, judged by Beca Lyne-Pirkis, a former Great British Bake Off contestant and S4C cookery show host. It was noted that the other finalists were older students; Ava appearing to be the only KS3 finalist. Well done Ava!
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SCHOOL/LEARNING AREA NEWS
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Farewell and Congratulations to Year 11
After completing their exams in June, our Year 11 pupils marked the end of their secondary school journey with a well-deserved celebration at their End of Year Prom, held at the Swansea.com Stadium. It was a joy to see them relax, have fun, and reflect on their achievements after what has been a challenging and demanding year.
Year 11 have been a truly exceptional year group. Throughout both the exam period and their final two years with us, they have shown maturity, determination, and excellent conduct. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them.
We wish them all the very best for results day and for the exciting paths that lie ahead. There is no doubt they have bright futures, and we look forward to hearing about all they go on to accomplish.
Well done, Year 11 — you’ve been outstanding! Mr Thomas
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Our kitchen garden continues to thrive. We have courgettes which we use in stir fries, tomatoes, cucumbers, runner beans. French beans, onions, spring onions, garlic, strawberries, chives. potatoes (used for roasts and potato salad), beetroot, kale, broccoli, and a herb garden. All the produce will be used in the school canteen!
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Science and D&T
Sixteen Year 10 pupils attended the Salters Festival of Chemistry on 17 June at Swansea University. They had a great day, including a lecture on tackling climate change from a leading Chemist in this field; completing practical activities in the state of the art university laboratories; and attending a careers session about future careers in Chemistry.
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At the start of the year, Miss Bolter introduced me to the Young Enterprise competition. Intrigued, I took on a co-teaching role with a group of passionate year 10s. Their business idea and corporate journey has taken my breath away (even getting a pitch-side meeting with Swansea players to sign a display model). Their passion for the competition was astonishing. Creating a flat pack model of Swansea.com Stadium to sell to sports fans, their use of the Welsh language and Welsh culture allowed them to sail through the competition, resulting in them attending the UK final on the 4th of June in Manchester, and coming up with trophies for "Best Trade Stand" and "Most Sustainable"
Miss Bolter and I wish the group all the best for the GCSEs and whatever may come in the future.
Ms A Lewis
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Mathematics and Computing
After their return from AS examinations, some of our A-Level Computer Science & Digital Technology students visited Bletchley Park, the home of World War 2 Code code-breaking.
They had the opportunity to explore the significance of the work that was carried out there, understanding the evolution of early computer systems such as Enigma and Colossus. Students also took part in an interactive workshop, helping to support our curriculum through exploring 'Encryption Past, Present and Future'
 
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On June 27th 2025, Y5 pupils from Hendrefoilan Primary School, Dunvant Primary School and Parklands Primary School, joined us for a Maths Fun Challenge workshop. Pupils enjoyed working collaboratively to solve problems and competing in a fast problem solving relay. Lots of surprises, connections and interesting discussions!
 
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Health and Wellbeing
Our U13 and U15 girls athletics teams won the Afan Nedd Schools competition. They now go on to represent Afan Nedd Schools in the National Finals in Brecon. In the finals, Year 7 and 8 girls came 2nd overall and Year 9 and 10 girls came 3rd. Well done!
Katirel Udoh also broke another high jump record by clearing 1.72m
Y9 boys won the Swansea Schools Football Championship beating Gwyr 4-1 in the final.
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Congratulations to our first ever Olchfa Wheelchair Basketball Team who finished 4th in the NBA Wheelchair Basketball Competition at Aberystwyth University. The pupils did really well and just missed out on a bronze medal in the 3rd/4th playoff match. A huge congratulations to Charlie Knaggs who won the MVP award! Further congratulations to our year 7 and 8 girls' basketball teams, who represented Olchfa at the girls NBA tournament at Aberystwyth University. All the students showed resilience, comradery and incredible team work on and off the court. They were always the first to congratulate and cheer for other teams. As always, a very proud Mrs Ruggieri. Congratulations to Zaria who won the coaches' player award, Bella, who won player of the tournament and Tochi, who was awarded most improved player.
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Humanities

iExplore Enterprise
Year 9 students have been working hard in iExplore Enterprise to create a product and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, including Mr Kennedy. Our winning team Printimals (Jace, Eben, Ollie, Tom and Joseph) created collectable 3D printed toys. Well done boys!
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Geography Fieldwork - Year 10s and Year 12s
Our Year 10 and Year 12 Geographers have been busy collecting valuable data for their NEA investigations during recent fieldwork days.
Year 10 explored inequality along a transect from Rhossili to Swansea city centre, observing the rural-urban continuum in action. Meanwhile, Year 12 visited Oxwich to investigate changes in vegetation and sand dunes with increasing distance from the strand line—looking for evidence of psammosere succession.
Both days were blessed with beautiful weather—perfect conditions for hands-on Geography in the field!

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Contact Information
General Queries - olchfa@olchfa.org.uk/01792 534300
Social Media:
Facebook - Olchfa School
Twitter - @Olchfaschool
Instagram - @olchfaschool
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