News, STARS, Christmas Fayre, MOVE and festivities from John & the PHS Team!
Our School Values: Respect, Teamwork & Resilience
20.12.24
6AR had a Christmas photoshoot on Jumper Day! Can you find a familiar face?
听Friday 20th December 2024
Hi everyone
It鈥檚 been a lovely week in school, and so good to see so many of you in for various things, like the Christmas Fayre, or the ELTBA sessions. Thank you so much for going out of your way to come and share some time with us 鈥� they are always the nicest times
I do hope that your son or daughter has had a nice time this week. There have been trips out, the Christingle, Christmas Dinner, funny outfits worn 鈥� and there鈥檚 still been time for some sporting things too! And lots of reading and books! And MOVE has been amazing
The school is nice on most days, but at tome like this it鈥檚 at its best I feel, and for everyone to come together as they do is just lovely
Have a lovely few weeks. We鈥欌�� be here to welcome your children back on the 7th, as we have a very busy Training Day on the Monday, and we鈥檒l be looking forward to them coming back in the day after, on the Tuesday. Thanks for your support in this partnership that we can a school. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the very best for everything you want in 2025
John S
馃槉 from John & the PHS Team 馃槉
We have 3 Super-Steering Groups which deliver our Key Drivers through our curriculum. The Key Drivers are Communication, Wellbeing and Independence. The Groups are Literacy, Physical Development and Personal Development
Literacy
Becky, our Literacy Lead, leads a team that improve all aspects of literacy, including this year a lot of handwriting and oracy (it鈥檚 OK, she鈥檒l be going into explain all of that) as well as reading, phonics, books and all sorts!
Becky is tracking our lovely Festive literary end to the term!
We鈥檝e had a lovely festive end to the term this week with all students enjoying some winter or Christmas themed reading time. We celebrate 鈥樷�橨olabokaflod鈥� each year inspired by an Icelandic tradition of gifting and sharing books on Christmas Eve, often snuggled with a hot drink. 鈥楯olabokaflod鈥� roughly translated means 鈥楥hristmas Book Flood鈥� which is what we aim for at PHS! This looks different in different pathways, but throughout the school it was a chance to slow down and听explore some of the lovely books听about this special season!
This year we invited family of ELTBA students into school to join us, which was really special for all involved. We ran event in the hall for those students who had an adult joining them, and back in classrooms teams created the same festive vibes for students whose families weren鈥檛 able to join this time. Many mince pies were eaten, many cups of hot chocolate were drunk and there were plenty of laughs as students enjoyed the themed books and made their own bookmark!
Thanks to the friends and family who joined us, if you weren鈥檛 able to join you can get an idea of the fun through these photos!
Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!听
Physical Development
Everything that is fabulous in the world of Physical Development! This includes physio, hydro, MOVE, PE, HI, VI, a lot of OT and all sorts of key areas for us, including all of the Outdoor Learning, John Muir Award and many other aspects. Steph oversees this and will ensure that an aspect is shared in the blog each week
MOVE-ing in a Winter Wonderland was last week, and we wanted to show you more!!! The guys have more updates!
MOVE-ing in a Winter Wonderland
It鈥檚 that time of year where the whole school come together to enjoy lots of Christmas festivities! MOVE-ing in a Winter Wonderland was better than ever, incorporating lots of different activities for all pupils. They followed a MOVE map around the school to different Christmas-themed rooms with activities and thoroughly enjoyed activating a switch to turn the snow machine on! The children were able to activate switches to turn on Christmas lights and then get 鈥榖lown away鈥� by activating a fan on with snow bubbles blowing towards them!
The first room was located in the 鈥榬eindeers stables鈥� (Pilates suite!), where children were required to pin the red nose on the reindeer and sweep up their hay. They then transitioned into the sports hall where the 鈥榗andy cane forest鈥� was located. Pupils were asked to sort the different coloured baubles into baskets and walked or self-propelled around the candy canes! They then navigated their way into the 鈥榮wirly whirly snowstorm鈥� in the Hellens Sensory suite where activities were based around snow and the cold weather 鈥榖rrrrr!鈥� Here they built snowmen, turned on the bubble fan and explored sensory objects underneath a gazebo. The next stop was the 鈥榙ecoration station鈥� where they mobilised, hopped or jumped around the outline of a Christmas tree that was on the floor, they also got to decorate a picture of a Christmas tree. Lastly, the pupils ended up in the physio room 鈥楽anta鈥檚 mailroom鈥� where they were able to post their letter to Santa; writing their name on the naughty or nice list!
We love all the MOVE events, but especially a Festive MOVE! The pupils feedback was fantastic鈥�.
鈥榠ts my favourite鈥�
鈥榳oahh this is amazing鈥�
鈥業 love throwing snowballs鈥�
We鈥檒l show more pictures after Christmas!
Personal Development
One of the best things about the school and one of the most important for our pupils, PD covers PSHE, Wellbeing, Careers, Social Moral Spiritual & Cultural, Online Safety, Behaviour and similar areas. Jo pulls it all together. Let鈥檚 see what Jo and the team have in store for us this week! The inspectors really loved all of the PD we do!
There has been a lot to do with PD recently, and Jo has listed a few of them here 鈥� but there are loads more throughout the blog!
SMSC/British Values/Citizenship and RE
3BE have loved the build up to Christmas! We have met Santa, made baubles and nutcracker chimes and snow men cake pops and snowball bites. We made a piece of art which the adults laminated to make a 2025 calendar for our family. We also loved exploring Christmas lights, and this inspired some of our Christmas cards 鈥� we took photos of the lights using a long exposure and as we moved, we created light trails! We enjoyed reviewing our photos, and you can see them lower down the blog!
Christingle
All students enjoyed a trip to the St John鈥檚 Church on Monday to participate in the Christingle service. Students took along their oranges and enjoyed joining in with the Reverand Moon鈥檚 sign supported version of the Nativity Story.
Christmas Lunch
The kitchen crew did a fantastic job of serving the whole school Christmas lunch on Tuesday!
Wellbeing
Let鈥檚 hear from Andy and the Wellbeing Team about the latest in their Connect Challenge series
Our final connect challenge of the term was all about connecting with ourselves as we invited you to “treat yourself” this week.
It’s been a very busy, and slightly different week, with lots of festive activities taking place around our school, and this has opened up many opportunities for staff and pupils to indulge and treat themselves.
Let’s take a look at what you’ve been up to!
Shoutouts go to Harriet’s class who were spotted enjoying a McDonald’s on Wednesday afternoon. They’re loving it!
Mr Runnacles鈥� class have been treating themselves to a bit of TLC, they watched a Christmas film and shared a box of Celebrations – it looks like Patrick has them in safe hands here!
Meanwhile, Rahme’s class snuggled up in blankets for a movie session! Here’s Preston and Sinead getting comfy and opening an early Christmas present from Teddy!
A BIG shoutout and thank you must go to our lovely catering team for a wonderful Christmas dinner this week. They took some time to treat each other to secret Santa gifts on Thursday morning – lovely stuff, ladies (and those roast potatoes were cracking!).
Finally, the Wellbeing Team recognises that for some, Christmastime can be a tricky time. Whether you approach it with excitement or quiet reflection, remember to听connect听with yourself and do what feels right for you. All the best everyone – we’ll see you in 2025
Behaviour for Learning (BfL)
Behaviour for Learning (BfL) is a new team, and their work overlaps at times with Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Mental Health. BfL is an approach to understanding & developing children鈥檚 behaviour that focuses on their relationship with their self, others and the curriculum, and promotes readiness for education. The BfL team support staff and pupils.听The BfL approach is consistent with our values and compatible with systems such as PBS and NAPPI, that we also use
Therapy Star of the Week! Love Therapy Star of the Week 鈥� especially when it鈥檚 Olivia!
Olivia was a fantastic team captain in 3TW鈥檚 Winter听 Quiz this week. She demonstrated excellent communication skills when supporting her team to contribute and share their ideas. Olivia showed great determination and confidence in her interactions. She was over the moon when her team won the prize at the end of the quiz. Well done Olivia! 馃槉
Trip of the Week!
Hannah with her class!
Would you like to see some pictures of Hannah鈥檚 class in Newcastle? Thought so鈥njoy! Obviously the first one is the best one!!!!!!!
2HL loved their Christmas trip yesterday! We went to see Fenwick window, the markets and all of the pretty Christmas lights around Newcastle City Centre. We had such a festive day and finished off with a lovely lunch at a cafe in the Grainger market.
Trip of the Week 2!
Beth鈥檚 class have also been out on a trip! Let鈥檚 see her lovely pictures and hear a bit about it! Some of these pictures are terrific!
3BE have loved the build up to Christmas! We have met Santa, made baubles and nutcracker chimes and snowmen cake pops and snowball bites. We made a piece of art which the adults laminated to make a 2025 calendar for our family. We also loved exploring Christmas lights, and this inspired some of our Christmas cards 鈥� we took photos of the lights using a long exposure and as we moved, we created light trails! We enjoyed reviewing our photos!
Another lovely trip with Richard
6LWC/RD and 6LA visited the Christmas markets this week
Students in the classes were treated to a hot chocolate in the Tipi, visited the Christmas stalls and had the opportunity to choose where they went for lunch. Subway and McDonalds being the most popular choices! Well done to all the students who confidently communicated their preferences on the day
They had a great time!
Nice one, you post-16 guys. Hey, let鈥檚 get some healthy eating in sometimes though!!! 馃槉 馃槉 馃槉
Sporting News of the Week! Let鈥檚 hear from Nathan!
Over November and December 91首发 has had 鈥淏etter on Bikes鈥� visit over the weeks to help our children to develop their cycling skills.
Students has made improvements and gain confidence cycling, here is Lucas and Bradon on following
More sporting News of the Week 鈥� Maths 鈥� eh? 鈥� with Richard!
In Maths, as we worked in teams on our Christmas codebreaker activity. Casey, Michael, Shannon, Logan and Andrew all worked on different sports tasks with maths questions to help Patch the Elf rescue the reindeers trapped in the barn and save Christmas. The team had a great time completing the task to break the code
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Preparation for Adulthood 鈥� PfA with Hannah
PfA is a priority for us this year and a really exciting way to think about our students鈥� futures. Hannah is leading on it.
School Lunches
Our new Winter menus are now online:听听School Meals – 91首发 School
In terms of ipay accounts and the increase in costs
Unless your child is in receipt of Free School Meals or Bursary, you should ensure your iPay account is topped up听before meals are taken
Please also note that from听6th January 2025, the cost of a two-course school meal will increase to听拢2.75. Thank you for your understanding and continued support in helping us to provide good quality and nutritious meals for our children and young people
If you have any questions or need support with your iPay account, please don鈥檛 hesitate to contact the school office
Safeguarding Updates 鈥� this week, Safeguarding at Christmas
Aylisha is our Safeguarding Officer, Rebecca is the DSL, and Tracy, Corin round out a great DSL Team, with Carla as well; other colleagues look at other aspects too. They give us updates in the blogs and elsewhere, which cover a range of topics 鈥� some of them pretty heavy sometimes! Here鈥檚 Aylisha with some Christmas messages
As we approach the Christmas holidays our aim this week is to share information of agencies who may be able to offer support for our parents/carers and young people during this time.
Domestic Abuse
Domestic Abuse can happen to anyone.听 Children are now classed as victims of Domestic Abuse whether they have witnessed it or not.听听
How to make a silent 999 call
If you’re in danger, call 999 and try to speak to the operator if you can, even by whispering. You may also be asked to cough or tap the keys on your phone to answer questions.听
Call听999听from a mobile
If you don’t speak or answer questions, press 55 or tap when prompted and your call will be transferred to the police.听 听The police will usually be able to find your location.听 If you don’t press 55 or respond, your call could be ended.
Call听999听from a landline
If you don’t speak or answer questions and the operator can only hear background noise, they’ll transfer your call to the police.听
If you replace the handset, the landline may remain connected for 45 seconds in case you pick it up again.
Calling 999 from a landline automatically gives the police information about your location.
For further support and advice visit around Domestic Abuse please visit the below websites:
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Mental Health
Mental health is a subject that many of us find difficult to discuss, primarily because of fear of saying the wrong thing and making matters worse.
Please see a list of resources available below:
驰辞耻苍驳惭颈苍诲蝉-鈥�听
Has a wealth of resources on their website, as well as providing dedicated crisis services.鈥� The YoungMinds Crisis Messenger provides free crisis support every day of the week, at any time or day or night.鈥� You just need to text YM to 85258.鈥� All texts are answered by trained volunteers with support from experienced clinical supervisors.鈥��
SHOUT -鈥�鈥痯rovides free, confidential, 24/7 text message support in the UK for anyone who is struggling to cope and anyone in crisis.鈥� You can: text SHOUT to 85258 and the service is free on all major mobile networks.鈥� You’ll then be connected to a volunteer for an anonymous conversation by text message.鈥� This is not an NHS service.鈥� It’s a free, confidential service available 24/7 run by a charity called Mental Health Innovations.鈥��
笔补辫测谤耻蝉-鈥�鈥疨apyrus (Prevention of Young Suicide) provides advice and support for young people who feel like they want to take their own life, all advice is confidential.鈥� The helpline HOPELineUK is available on 0800 068 41 41 text available on 07786209687.鈥�
The Mix-鈥�鈥疶he Mix provides a free confidential telephone helpline and online service that aims to find young people the best help, whatever the problem.鈥� Can be contacted via telephone on 0808 808 4994 for free, lines are open 11am-11pm every day.鈥� Can also be accessed online.鈥��
颁丑颈濒诲濒颈苍别-鈥�鈥疌hildline provides a confidential telephone counselling service for any child with a problem.鈥� It comforts, advises and protects.鈥� Telephone number is 0800 1111.鈥� Is also free and can have an online chat with a counsellor via their website.鈥��
厂补尘补谤颈迟补苍蝉-鈥�鈥疭amaritans are an organisation that you can ring at any time day or night.鈥� They’ll help you and listen to how you’re feeling.鈥� Contact number 116 123.鈥��
E-Safety
We know that children are likely to have an increased amount of screen time on their electronic devices over the Christmas holidays.听 If our parents/carers need further information regarding parental controls etc please the online safety section of our school website听Online Safety – 91首发 School
Other agencies available for support are:
- Police, call 999 in the case of an emergency or 111 for non-emergencies.
- Children鈥檚 Services (social services) contact the front door at your local authority to report a concern about a child.
Should you need any support during the Christmas holidays a member of our safeguarding team will be available.
Please contact听Aylisha.Holland@percyhedley.org.uk
Everyone and anyone is always very welcome and actively encouraged to contact Aylisha at 听aylisha.holland@percyhedley.org.uk or Rebecca at R.Fletcher@percyhedley.org.uk or any of the DSL Team
Online Safety 鈥� this week, Getting New Devices!
A very suitable one for this time of the year 鈥� getting new devices!
There are many exciting times through the year where young people receive gifts. The festive season is an exciting time, especially when new devices are part of the gifts! Whether it鈥檚 a smartphone, tablet, or gaming console, making sure these devices are set up safely is important. Here are some tips to help you and your family stay safe online鈥μ�
/percy-hedley-school/weekly-newsletter/online-safety-blogs/#story-1
Please do tell us what you feel would be helpful in the Online Safety blog, and Lizzie and Joel will look into it
Attendance Matters!
Thank you for your support with attendance, that most crucial area. Kelly is our Attendance Officer.
Please do take a look at the latest version of the school鈥檚 Attendance Policy. The policy can be found here – 听Percy-Hedley-School-Attendance-Policy-v2-.pdf (percyhedley.org.uk). Please familiarise yourself with the Absence Reporting procedure in particular. This is the process that we follow daily for any same day or planned absences
I also wanted to share some exciting news for all you people that love planning ahead. Our school calendar for the next academic year is now available online. As we pass through the winter months our thoughts turn to booking our well-deserved holidays. Please look to plan ahead and schedule those exciting family moments together around the set school holidays avoiding any unauthorised periods of absence
Please be aware that as attendance was an area highlighted at our most recent Ofsted inspection. It鈥檚 discussed at our School Governors meetings where it has been suggested that it would be appropriate to notify the local authority of any unauthorised absences.
Any questions please feel free to contact the Attendance Officer 鈥� Kelly Richardson on听Kelly.richardson@percyhedley.org.uk鈥�
Thanks for your support and partnership in this area
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Updated Code of Conduct
We鈥檝e updated our Parent/Carer Code of Conduct for this year, which is also on the website here:听Parent and Carers Area – 91首发 School. Most schools have these now, so please do have a read 鈥� they aren鈥檛 used very often. Thanks for your support with it in general terms and in the vast majority of times and cases
Friends of PHS 鈥� the FoPHS!
A huge thank you to all of them for their time, commitment and support, with projects, ideas and all sorts. Great to have you guys on board, you鈥檙e an important part of the school.
Why don鈥檛 you join them! The Fabulous Friends are always looking for volunteers for events!听 If you can offer any support, please contact Eileen at听e.robinson@percyhedley.org.uk
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Exams Info, from Kat! Let鈥檚 hear from her!
Hello
The special time of Christmas and some relaxing time is upon us. You all deserve the break after the busy term. Thank you all for your hard work! We have had Functional Skills English exams last week just before the break 鈥� results will be available in the new year. Best of luck to all!
When we come back in January, we will collate all entries for the summer GCSE and equivalent qualifications to submit for entry by the deadline in February 鈥� taking into consideration all access arrangements the individual student requires. Some forms might come home to be signed if they are still required e.g. data consent forms to be able to apply for an access arrangement e.g. 25% extra time
Have a wonderful time! Festive wishes, Kat
Leading Parent Partnership Award (LPPA) - with Tracy and the Team!
Please get in touch with Tracy via the email below and she will be happy to respond to any queries, suggestions about the LPPA and other issues for parents
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From Tracy and the LPPA team. Contact t.smithson@percyhedley.org.uk
Stars of the Week
ENGAGEMENT!
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Jay!
Teamwork!
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For helping with the register every morning and letting the teacher know who was here every day!!!!!
What a STAR!!! And a great picture!!!
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ELTBA!
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Resilience!
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Our ELBTA stars of the week are all of 2LL for showing resilience during therapy sessions making origami 鈥渋t was very tricky but we kept practising and we did it!鈥� Origami STARS!!!
KS4
What a great KS4 we have!!!
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Resilience
Bradan S for being on time every day last week!听
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Teamwork
Dan Gr and Cam for their teamwork at the beach!听
Josh and Evan for building a bridge teamwork!听
Nikhit for helping in outdoor learning!听
Jayden for being so helpful in therapy group enterprise project!听
Joshua W for being so good at serving coffees in therapy group enterprise project!听
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Respect听听
Lucas A for being thoughtful and holding doors open!听
4OW for their interesting views in Science discussion!听
Ellie B for looking after other students!
POST-16!
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Teamwork
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Casey and Andrew for working so well together and demonstrating very competent first aid skills.听Well done!!
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Kacey for completing her first season in ladies鈥� football. Fantastic!!
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Resilience
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Shannon for getting the bus back from the Christmas market. She was very nervous and worried but worked through her fear and smashed it.听Very well done.听听
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Robyn, Santi and Owen for completing a fantastic term of work experience.听 Robyn was at St Oswalds, Santi at Disability North and Owen at Tyne and Wear Museums.听Amazing!!
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Christian for fantastic work in music.听 He designed a CD.听Great work!!
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Sid for participating fully in the trip to the Christmas market.听Very well done!
Makaton Signs of the Week with Julie!
Every Sunday Julie prepares a message for the whole school on Makaton signs that are current and relevant to the time of year. I generally reproduce them here so those at home can do the same thing if you want to and if it works for you 鈥� or just for you to learn a few signs each week. Hope it works for you!
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Happy Christmas video wishes from Therapy 5 (this one is worth a watch听馃槉)
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Makaton with Lucinda鈥檚 lovely Christmas jumper video is here if you missed it last week
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A HUGE thank you to everyone who has put in time and effort to learn and use new Makaton signs this year. I see more and more people around school signing confidently and fluently听馃槉
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Keep on signing!
Wishing you all a very peaceful Christmas
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Happy Christmas signing!
Please ask if you need any help at all
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Keep signing!
We鈥檙e so lucky to have the team that we do, and the way the physios and others put on these events is simply stunning. Thanks to all involved 鈥� the children were amazing at it all and enjoyed it! 馃槉 馃槉 馃槉
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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥�..from John & the Team here at PHS