Family Information and PTA News 9th September 2022
Welcome back to the 2022-23 academic year and a special one to those joining us for the first time. It has been lovely seeing the children back, although this week ended rather sadly with the death of Queen Elizabeth 2nd; may she rest in peace.
I am your full time Family Liaison Officer and my role is to offer support and signposting on non class-related matters. This includes, but is not limited to: Benefits, Activites, Information on Social Care, Preparation for Adulthood and Carer support. I also communicate with families via text, email, Facebook, phone, TEAMS or in person. I am part of the Parent Voice group at school, and I want to represent the wider parent/carer group. For those who don’t know already, my son aged 24 attended Percy Hedley School and I approach my job with my experience as a parent at the heart of all I do. From a previous life (or so it seems) as a nurse, a volunteer with the National Autistic Society and former Parent Carer Forum representative I have experience which enhances my role. I will, or have been in contact with our new families by the time this goes to press.
Each week you will receive text reminders on our weekly blog/updates:
- School news, shared by John and the school team
- Family Information and PTA updates; includes signposting to all manner of non school activities, groups, training, support groups which I compile.
The whole school blog is often used to share important information as are texts and emails.
Coffee morning
On Thursday 29th September I will be hosting a social coffee morning with a little PTA business thrown in from 09.30-11.00. Class teams won’t be attending; this is to enable our parents/carers to meet each other, share experiences and tips and to meet with me. A letter will be sent out next week but for now save the date
Free School Meals.
Every child/young person attending Percy Hedley School is provided with a free school meal when they attend school. This is because it forms part of the offer, therapy, life skills etc.
North Tyneside Council has provided vouchers to cover the school holidays for some families and have confirmed this will continue until March 2023 for the categories below:
- Children in Key Stage 1 (Reception/Year 1)
- Those in receipt of income support, for which evidence is required.
If you believe your child is entitled to these vouchers, and have not previously received them please contact me.
Vulnerable Student Bursary/Discretionary Student Bursary. 16-19 years
If your child/young person was born between the following dates: 31 August 2003 and 1 September 2006 they may be eligible for the above. These funds are provided to support the ongoing education of young people. Last year, these funds helped towards the cost of a residential trip for many Post 16 students. If this goes ahead this year, the cost is likely to increase.
- Vulnerable Student Bursary: for those on a low income (Universal Credit/Income Support)
- Discretionary Student Bursary where household income is less than £40,000
Evidence will be required for both.
Forms will be sent out and it is important that you check eligibility and return these to us. You will be asked to assign part towards the residential trip if this goes ahead. Please contact me for further information.
E-Safety
We have lots of information on the E-Safety section of the school website on this really important subject. For those able to access the internet I really can’t stress enough the importance of being a step ahead to protect your children/young people. If you have concerns or want further information specific to your child/young person please contact their class teacher.
You will find more information on the school website under the heading “Parents and families”, selecting “E-Safety” from the drop down menu. the link is here
New information added this week is on the here.
Uniforms:
Uniforms are not mandatory at Percy Hedley School. We currently use 2 providers for those who wish to purchase and the links are below.
A new approach to area SEND inspections
Summary
You will find full information on the government site on the link below.
A new approach to area SEND inspections – GOV.UK
The Big Summer Survey: from The Children’s Commissioner (England)
This survey is open until 30th September and seeks the views of as many as possible, including children.
GNR 2022 update: From the Great Run website:
“We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family. In light of this sad news, the Junior and Mini Great North Run has been postponed.
This decision has been made as a mark of respect. We do not feel it’s possible to deliver the kind of event experience that children and their families would expect and still ensure it is an appropriate tribute to the life of the Queen.
We are actively looking at alternative dates to stage the Junior and Mini Great North Run in the coming weeks.”
PA Training
Do you, or are you in the process of employ/ing a Personal Assistant (PA) for your child/young person? You may be interested in free training offered by Disability North.
“After a short summer break, I am now back with a further PA Training date to take place at Disability North on 28th September, 9.30am to 4.30pm.
If you haven’t already been on the training, it would be great if you could join me, as I know you will get a lot from it and have a thoroughly enjoyable day. To find out more, please watch this very short film. here
To book onto the course, please use the Eventbrite link here
Supporting parents of children with anxiety: Free online workshop
I have been asked to share with our families. This online workshop will be delivered via zoom by Shona Chambers from Contact-for families of disabled children. It will be held on Tuesday 20th September from 10:00-12:00
PTA
For those families new to school, let me introduce you to the PTA. This was set up in 2013. We, as with ALL PTA’s nationally fund-raise to enhance the learning environment and experience for students. We also are a vessel for communication for non class-related issues with school. There is more information and you will find minutes of previous AGM’s and the roles of our committee on the PTA section of the school website. This can be found under the “Parents and Families” section, subheading “PTA”. The link is here
The PTA depends on families and staff for its success. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 29th September from 09.30-11.00 in school. This will be combined with a social coffee morning, with the aim of welcoming new members and sharing how the PTA makes a difference to your children. We want to hear your suggestions, so please join us
PTA100 Club
We run a 100 club, which raises funds for the PTA. The funds raised from these draws covers our annual memberships including: Parentkind (keeps us legal), Educational membership of The National Trust and annual school membership of The Tim Lamb Centre.
The cost for the year is £12; we do monthly draws in 2 batches with 50% of the takings given out in prizes and 50% retained by the PTA. So, if we sold 100 numbers the winner would receive £50 and the PTA would raises £600 over the year. It’s achievable as we have well over 100 students in school. The form can be found below. If you would like further information, please contact me
100 Club Annual Subscriber agreement 2022-23
Percy Hedley School PTA group.
We have a closed facebook group for parents and staff of Percy Hedley School. On the page we share school information, any blogs sent to parents, photos, information on activities etc and we invite you to share photos of your children/young people. We also ask that you do not share photos of children other than your own from the page.
The link to join is here
I sincerely hope that your child/young person’s first week has gone as well as possible and I look forward to working with you over the coming months
My contact details:
Eileen Robinson: Family Liaison Officer
Telephone: 0191 216 1811 Text: 3260