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Welcome from our Principal, Mr Hacker

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Dear parents and carers

First and foremost, a huge well done to our Class of 2026, who have now completed their GCSE's and enjoyed a special Leavers' Assembly this week. What a great celebration of the last five years and I hope that they all enjoyed the experience and know how much we'll miss them. We look forward to giving them one final send off this evening at the Leavers' Prom to bring a final close to their time with us. We're all rooting for great success for each of them when the results come in later in the summer.

Uniform update

Last week we shared a survey with you regarding footwear from September and I can share that 91% of respondents suggested that we integrate plain black leather (or leather effect) trainers as a shoe option. We will therefore be amending the uniform policy to reflect this. To be clear, this will be for the flat, plain black (no colour or mesh e.g. running/fashion) shoe style only. The usual rules and sanctions will apply for anything outside of policy. We will provide further examples on our website of what will and will not be acceptable in the coming weeks.

I also want to clarify that when trousers are introduced for all in September, they must NOT be skinny fit, gym wear/Lycra type material. 

Social Media Ban and Phones Free School

You will have seen in the media this week that the UK is to introduce a social media ban for children under 16 in 'early 2027'. I think parents, carers and all staff working in schools will largely welcome these steps and we all await the details of how this will be implemented in practical terms. In the meantime, we have included some helpful information here which explains the current situation. 

We are still progressing plans to implement phone pouches from September and I'd like to thank those parents who attended the forum or have submitted queries regarding the plan. We will continue to update you as we approach the summer break.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend in the warmer weather, on which note I would urge you all to emphasise the water safety advice we have previously shared, which can be found on the RNLI website here

Matt Hacker

 

View our website

Noticeboard

Who to contact at Walkden

Please see the linked document for who to contact at Co-op Academy Walkden.

Communications

Please note the academy will be closed over the Easter break and all emails will be responded to on our return.

Attendance information

Pupils can see privately what band they currently sit in.  This helps pupils and parents to have a clear visual for attendance expectations. This also helps pupils set achievable short term targets to move into a higher band, and helps us to celebrate this when they do.

For more information about the attendance process and expectations, please see below.

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To report your child as absent, please use ONE of the available options below.

  • You can call our Academy to report absence 0161 8501625 (Option 1).
  • You can now use the 'log absence' function on your Arbor app. You can find this by going to Dashboard - Menu (three lines) - Attendance - Log Absence.

Please NO NOT use the in-app message function to report absence, as this will not be recorded.

For any pre-planned absences or appointments, please email our Attendance Team.

walk-attendance@coopacademies.co.uk and include an attached appointment card or letter as evidence of the reason for the planned absence.

Whichever method you choose to use, please do this each day that your child is absent from school before 8.30am.

As a helpful reminder, we wanted to share the below information that is useful to know when it comes to attendance.

The school bell is at 8.25am and students are expected to be in lessons ready to be registered by 8.30am.

Students who arrive late between 8.30am and 8.50am will be given a late mark; however, this does not affect their overall attendance percentage.

Students who arrive after 9am will be given a U code (unauthorised absence) on their register which equates to a half a day of absence, this does affect their overall attendance percentage.

The day is split into two halves with a morning attendance mark and an afternoon attendance mark, students must receive both marks to be registered in school for the full day.

Please note that medical appointments and authorised absences are marked differently and to authorise one of these absences or to make us aware of any exceptional circumstances please email our attendance team with prior notice where possible walk-attendance@coopacademies.co.uk

Thank you as always for your support.

Parent Pay guidance - Lunch payments

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We wanted to share a couple of reminders and options regarding your ParentPay account for breakfast/lunch payments.

If your child purchases meals at Co-op Academy Walkden, please ensure funds are topped up via ParentPay in advance of the week ahead. If a pupils has zero funds, our kitchen staff will ask them to go to Student Services for a note which enables them to get lunch and prompts us to contact you to request payment is made. Ideally we would prefer not to send a pupil away for this note so please ensure funds are topped up, you can ofcourse contact us if you need support with this. ParentPay has the function to set yourself an alert for when funds are getting low, if you would like this reminder please follow the process below

  • - Log into your ParentPay Account
  • - Click the three lines at the top left of the screen
  • - Communications
  • - Alert settings
  • - Balance alerts
  • - Set threshold per student
  • - Tick email (email is free to use / text messages can be set up, however there is a charge for this)
  • - Save

All students are offered a free bagel with spread during breakfast service, which runs between 8am - 8.25am.

Other breakfast items are also available to purchase during this time as well as during morning break at 10.30am.

Breakfast items range from 29p - 99p per item.

At lunchtime, students can purchase a meal deal which consists of a main meal and a dessert for £2.20

Please see our menus here

We encourage students to bring a refillable bottle as there are water fountains positioned in each zone of the academy. If your child would prefer bottled water, these can be purchased for 85p.

We believe that £5 is the most any student should need to spend on food/drinks throughout the day, which is why all students' daily spend is capped and will not let them spend more than £5 a day at school. If you would like this cap to be increased, then please let us know via this link Any changes can take up to three days to show on the catering system.

If your child is entitled to free school meals, they can have a free bagel at breakfast like all other students and then, when they put their PIN number in at the till for lunch, they can order a main meal and dessert (meal deal).

ParentPay log in details are sent via email to one parent/carer for each child at the beginning of each school year. If you have forgotten your password, you can select 'forgotten password'. If you believe you do not have an account set up for your child or if you have any queries about ParentPay and lunch payments, then please let us know via the same form here.

All students require their catering PIN number at the till when getting breakfast and lunch. If your child is entitled to Free School Meals, they still need to use their PIN number to get the meal. 

 

What's on at Walkden

Club/activity Where and when
Chess  Every break and lunch outside G9
Homework club Every Monday lunchtime with Mrs Davis - D1
Space Club Every Tuesday 3-4pm with Dr Gardner - D8
British Sign Language Every Tuesday 3-4pm with Mrs sayer - G3
Expressive Arts Club Every Wednesday 3-4pm with Miss Wharton - Drama Studio
Darts Every Tuesday and Weds lunchtime - Multi-Use

See below for all of our extra-curricular clubs

Extra-curricular Timetable 

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Government changes to Free School Meal Entitlement

From the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, all children from
households in receipt of Universal Credit will be entitled to a free school
meal.
The change means that all households receiving Universal Credit, above the current £7,400 income cap, will now qualify for this support.
Families will be able to check eligibility via a dedicated website. This is currently being set up and we will forward the link as soon as it is available and share any more information that we receive.

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Co-op Academy Wallkden Promotional Video

Earlier this year, we invited our Academies Trust photographer Anna in to take some professional shots and video footage for our website. As well as getting some great photographs that you will see popping up on our social media, website and marketing materials, Anna also created a wonderful short video of our school day including some interviews with our wonderful pupils and staff. You can find the below video on our Transitions page and we will proudly be sharing this video with prospective parents and pupils during the transitions windor in Autumn. 

Thank you to all of the pupils who took part in creating this video. 

Promo Video

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Official Social Media Accounts

Quick Reminder: Please note that Co-op Academy Walkden only uses Facebook and Instagram for social media updates.

We do not have accounts on TikTok, X (Twitter), or any other platforms.

Please be vigilant when following accounts that are using our name but are not managed by us. 

Follow our official pages to stay connected by using the links below.

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Class of 2026, we are ready for you! Enjoy your prom night!
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Co-op Academy Walkden View Post
Class of 2026, we are ready for you! Enjoy your prom night!
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Student Services Request

If your child has an inhaler that they carry with them, please can you add a sticker with their name or initials on. Sadly we have multiple inhalers handed in daily where they have been dropped or fallen out of pockets and it is difficult to find their owner with no name. If you do not have a sticker, you can write their initials on the canister itself. 

Important upcoming dates

Year 10 Work Experience Week
All Day
from 22 Jun until 26 Jun
22
June
Transition Evening for incoming Year 7 Parents/Carers - Time TBC
All Day
22
June
Transition Days for incoming Year 7s
All Day
from 25 Jun until 26 Jun
25
June
End of Summer Term
All Day
17
July

Latest stories

01 May 2026
Being Walkden Newsletter
Read our Being Walkden Newsletter here 
Read more
30 Apr 2026
Walkden Wire 30th April 2026 Edition
This is our pupil lead Walkden Wire page, dedicated to connecting the community with our academy. Here you will find our Co-op Values in action!
Read more
11 Mar 2026
Attendance & Punctuality Update March 2026
Please see below letter from Mr Hacker regarding punctuality.
Read more
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