Family Information and FOPHS News Friday 22nd September 2023

Thursday 28^th September 14-15.00. Post 16 MacMillan coffee afternoon.

Saturday 30^th November: 10-14.00 Autumn Fayre.

This week’s Online Safety Blog is about catfishing, you can find the link to it below:

If you want to see all of our online safety information, the link to it can be found on the school website under the heading “Parent and carers area”, then “online safety” from the dropdown menu. Or find it below:

I have already shared the link to Contact – for families of disabled children which is a fantastic source of information.

Here’s the link again, in case you missed it:

Toby Henderson Trust

The Toby Henderson Trust (TTHT) is an independently funded charity supporting autistic children, young people and adults, their families, and carers in the North East of England.

We provide relevant, appropriate, and accessible support for autistic young people from two years into adulthood, whilst also empowering parents, families, and carers by sharing knowledge, experience and understanding.  We acknowledge that yours or your child’s situation is unique, and we encourage you to contact us to discuss how we can offer individual support.

Their main base is in Bedlington, but they also have an Autism hub in South Tyneside for residents of that area.

Special Needs Jungle

Parent led information, resources and informed opinion about children and young people aged 0-25. There is a wealth of information from experts in the Special Needs field.

 National Trust: Free Autumn One day pass

Thanks to the staff member who alerted me to this offer:

“Visit a National Trust place free of charge this autumn. Each free visit ticket is single use and available to for up to for two adults and up to three children, or one adult and up to four children at a participating place we care for. Valid from 18 September until 20 October 2023. One ticket per household per order.”

It is subject to availability, so if it’s of interest do book early.

The National Trust does support those with disabilities to access, including a free companion pass for those who need it. You will find more information on the individual sites and on the link below:

The following are links I regularly share and update and are targeted at families of new starters. They are also, I trust a reminder to other families 😊

The Tim Lamb Centre:

The Tim Lamb Centre offers specialist activity and leisure facilities for disabled children/ young people and their families.  Our Centre is open to families with a child/ young person at any stage of their diagnostic journey and whatever their additional needs.

Our facilities include a soft play area with adjoining cafe, a well-equipped sensory room, large multi-purpose hall with indoor trampolines, a toddler playroom, teenage/ games room and a computer suite.  We also have a large fully enclosed outdoor playground, (with high fencing) which includes a range of inclusive play and sensory equipment.

The building is fully wheelchair accessible, and we have a disabled toilet that includes a full-size changing bed and ceiling hoist facility.

Based within the Rising Sun Country Park in Benton, they have weekly groups and activities and holiday sessions too.

The Alan Shearer Centre:

Activity Centre

Our Alan Shearer Activity Centre is a specialist recreational, sensory, and social centre for disabled people of all ages and caters to a wide spectrum of need. Funded entirely by The Alan Shearer Foundation, all of our activities are completely free of charge for disabled children and adults, their families, friends, schools and groups.

Our Activity Centre is specifically designed for people with a disability and has a range of specialist equipment including overhead tracking and hoists, to give full access to all areas for those with limited mobility.

It is located in West Denton, less than 5 minutes’ drive from the junction of the A1 with the A69/West Road

The Alan Shearer Centre
West Denton Close
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE15 7LU

To use our facilities, you must first become a member. Membership is free and you can join simply by downloading and completing our application form. If you prefer, you can request a membership form by ringing the centre or collect one from our staff at reception.

A recent upgrade to their outside play area looks lovely. If accessible to you, it is worth a trip. They also have a hydrotherapy pool, but I am often told trying to book this is very difficult.

Booking is essential, please call our friendly team on 0191 267 8118 and they will assist with any questions you have.

Smile through Sport

We are a North-East based disability sport charity.

SMILE Through Sport was founded by Paralympian Stephen Miller MBE to create increased awareness, opportunity, and enjoyment in disability sport throughout the Northeast of England.

We provide a range of services for organisations, individuals, and families.

Please email us at info@smilethroughsport.com

Some of you may have been aware of, or your children may have attended Boccia sessions which used to be held in our Sports Hall on Mondays after school. This has moved to Cramlington, and you’ll find details on the calendar.

The sessions are intended to bring families together to participate in sport and are not drop off sessions. Children/young people can attend if booked with Personal Assistants.

For those new to school, there is more information on the FoPHS link on the school website. This has been recently updated by Hannah, our Vice Chair. The link is here:

The current committee is:

Chair: Donna Jones (parent)

Vice Chair: Hannah Fuller (staff)

Treasurer: Ros Holden (parent)

Secretary: Tracy Smithson (staff)

Family Liaison: Eileen Robinson (staff)

Fundraising link: Trish Boynton (staff)

We also endeavour to involve the Student Council once this is up and running. The partnership between school and parents/carers through FoPHS. To this end, we really want to encourage more parents to join us. We hold half termly meetings which you will be able to join online or in person and this list is below. Feel free to speak with me if you’d like more information.

Autumn Fayre

Thank you for your generosity with donations for the fayre. Chocolate is probably what we need most of now as it has always been a very popular stall. I promise not to eat it unless I win! We have had some lovely raffle prizes donated, a £50 lifestyle voucher, Champagne, Pamper hamper, Boots gift set, fruit hamper and lots more.

We will have lots of independent craft stalls, so it’s a great time to start the “December” shopping (I’m not using the seasonal term in September). We have children’s fairground rides, an ice cream van, Indian street food, the Community Police, Blood bikes, Smile through Sport and food, glorious food. Our fabulous catering team will prepare hot dogs, bacon and sausage buns, fruit and cheese scones, shortbread and we will have Gregg’s bakes too. We will have a “December” themed photo booth, where you can pay as you feel for a digital image to use as you see fit. Framed photo, Seasonal gifts, the possibilities are endless. Please tell your family and friends and let’s make this even better than last years.

IQ Cards:

We will be running this fund-raiser again this year. Now, I promised not to use the seasonal word, but needs must so here goes. Your child will be designing a Christmas/Seasonal themed card over the next week. A copy will be sent home and if you would like to order, please return your order and payment no later than Friday 6^th October. These are reasonably priced and from past year’s parents/carers have told me that they like sharing these with family and friends.

FoPHS 100 Club.

Last week I sent forms home and all I can say, at this point is “wow, what a great start”! 30 numbers taken, many more promises. I am a glass half full person and am confident that we will reach, perhaps even pass the 100. If you missed it, there’s a coy below. They will be available at the Autumn Fayre. With half the takings supporting FoPHS, we have covered the cost of memberships already.

Just Giving page:

We have a FoPHS just giving page, for anyone who wishes to support us. Here is the poster with the QR code:

Facebook page:

This is a closed group for family and friends of Percy Hedley School, where you can share news and updates about school life. It is not for external professionals who may be working with families. To join, you need to answer the question stating your link with school.

Please note: this group is for sharing news and updates about school life and is not intended to discuss any issues around individual students, and as such all comments are moderated. If you have a particular issue or concern, please contact school directly on 0191 216 1811.