News, Messages & Stars from John & the PHS Team Friday 16th June 2023

Hi all, Happy Friday!

Well, it’s been warm here this week, and as you can see from some of the stories, there have been trips to the beach & elsewhere, and ways to keep cool. There’s also been a lot of sport and physical activity, which we also like to see: rounders, pilates, powerchair football – lots of good things. It was great to see those of you who were able to come to the Coffee & Catch-up so thanks for that, and we hope you can get something out of the Consultation Sessions that will be coming up later in the term too

Enjoy the blog, and please also have a look at Eileen’s blog too. Oh, and don’t forget Fathers Day on Sunday. Julie remembered it with the Makaton, as you’ll see in its usual spot towards the end. Otherwise, enjoy the stars and the news. All the best for another weekend of sun, and I hope that’s your thing! A lot of STARS!!! this week!

Take care!

😊 from John & the PHS Team 😊

Trip of the Week – South Shields with the Albatrosses!

Those lovely Albatrosses visited the lovely South Shields this week and had both a great time and did a lot of work. Here’s Lauren to tell us about it

On Friday we visited South Shields to experience the amusements! Joseph did some amazing MOVE, transferring himself onto the different games. Louis used his VOCA to communicate which games he liked and didn’t like. Jack thought it was extremely funny to ‘whack a mole’ with Trish! We managed to win enough tickets to win a slinky, a bracelet and a bouncy ball! The day was finished perfectly with fish and chips for lunch, followed by an ice cream at the beach!

Sounds awesome! These guys seem to go on some pretty great trips! And fortunately for me, they took some pictures too…..let’s enjoy them…..

People-who-were-very-sensibly-keeping-cool of the Week – Hannah’s Pufflings!

Hannah has been having a lovely time of it down with the Pufflings

Alex and John Joseph enjoyed water play together and had a lovely peer interaction! They both took turns in splashing each other to cool down on this very hot day, it was so much fun!

Lovely stuff there – it has been warm, mind, especially in the afternoons! You don’t want to complain but you do have to do things to stay cool sometimes!

Lesson of the Week – Sensory Stories with The Puffins!

Beth and her team have been doing some great things with sensory stories, something we use a lot in the school. Let’s hear from Beth now

Some pupils in The Puffins have been enjoying a sensory story about the beach this half term; we even repeated it on the trampoline. We explored lots of things you might find at the beach – sun hats, seagulls, suncream, the sea and shells. The ‘sea’ was a firm favourite!

Another fine trip!

We’re Going on a Nature Hunt! From Jo!

4AJ have made some visits to the local area recently to look for birds, insects, trees and flowers. Students made their own tables to collect data which will then be used to create a PowerPoint within Computing lessons. The class were so enthusiastic to be out and about and loved hunting for wildlife.

Special shout out to Matthew Mills who saved a bee while we were out!

This Is Me Festival – Save the Date!

Save the date – Friday 7^th July.

Our annual This Is Me festival will take place in a few weeks’ time

Tickets will go on sale for students next week for £1, more information to follow. The team have worked hard to further diversify the event, with activities representing many of the protected characteristics. Check back here next week to see the line up…..

 Friends of PHS – FoPHS!

If you would like to support the FoPHS, please come along to the next meeting on Tuesday, 20^th June 9.30 – 11am.  If you can’t come along in person, there is an option to join the meeting online. Also, the Friends are always looking for volunteers for events!  If you can offer any support, please contact Eileen at e.robinson@percyhedley.org.uk

Go FoPHS!

Attendance

This is the letter that I sent out last week about attendance, by post and blogged out here. I’m just trying to make sure that everybody’s seen it. We’ve also amended the draft policy on the website. Thanks for your co-operation with it all

Requests for leave of absence during term time

As you may be aware, amendments to The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 make it clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances, and that Headteachers should determine the number of days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. Some circumstances are of course exceptional, and we are happy to support these in whichever way we can.

Thank you for working with us on this matter; the attendance situation at our school has slightly improved but we need to continue to try and address some areas of concern moving forwards.

We are currently receiving a significant number of holiday requests that do not fit the definition of exceptional circumstances; these will continue to be unauthorised going forward, as they have been recently. However, despite the fact that these requests not being authorised, we are still seeing a significant number of pupils being taken out of school.

Exceptional circumstances are, for example, weddings, family graduations, significant one-off events, bereavements, religious observances, some forces leave, respite on occasions, or unexpected family crises – for just a day or two. Leave is at the Headteacher’s discretion.

We want our students to maximise the time that they are in school to best prepare them for their next steps and adulthood. We also have a duty to support the placements of students in school in relation to our agreements with local authorities who support their places here.  We know that pupils make more progress when they are in school and it is therefore important that they attend whenever they possibly can.

The government document, ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’, to which our policy refers, has been in place since September 2022. This guidance is very clear about persistent and severe absence, and the routes available to schools to address concerns, including legal intervention.

Because of this I’m letting you know that from September 2023 we will seriously consider using more means available to us than we are using now for unauthorised holidays in term time. Up until now, in conjunction with the local authority, we have mainly been using supportive methods. However, if the situation persists then we will consider, in certain cases everything, up to and including fines and further legal action, as per the national guidance.

I appreciate this letter may cause concern amongst some of you and may require you to reconsider plans moving forward.  We have tried to be sensitive to the needs of the families of our students and have taken a gradual approach to this issue. I have referred to it many times and written about it here in the school blog.

We are committed to improving attendance to ensure that more of our students make the best possible progress. As I said at the start, thank you for the support of an overwhelming number of you – it means a great deal – and I do appreciate how difficult this issue is for some. I hope we can continue to work together constructively on this for everyone’s benefit

Stars of the Week!

That reflect our School Values!

ELTBA STAR!!! of the Week

Teamwork

The ELTBA star of the week goes to … Joe from Starlings. Joe worked extremely hard in outdoor learning this week! He showed amazing teamwork and communication skills to take the lead and problem solve. Joe had to navigate his peers in order for them to climb through the rubber bands, he gave excellent directions and was very supportive! This is fantastic Well done Joe!!! What a STAR!!!!! Loving this one!

ENGAGEMENT STAR!!! of the Week!

Resilience!

Our star of the Pathway is… Masie from Puffins!
Masie has been a superstar, as usual, but this week she has worked extremely hard and shown fantastic resilience when standing! Well done Masie, 100% STAR!!!

KS4 STARS OF THE WEEK

 Teamwork

Charlie showed fantastic teamwork skills out on the yard, he included Nikhit in a game of football, it was really great to see

Resilience

Aoife – for breaking down barriers and spending time out in the community with her class

Oliver – found the confidence to verbally ask for his sweets in the shop at Beamish

Nikhit – for working towards his targets in his MOVE sessions

Laiton – who has worked so well with the therapy team, and is working really hard in his hydrotherapy sessions#

Respect

Alex – for being respectful when a member of their staff team was at risk, and offering support

 POST-16 STARS OF THE WEEK

Some excellent ones here, including two Graces!

 Respect

 Two Graces!

Grace, for being so kind and thoughtful to her peers

 And Grace or overcoming her nervousness and having a fantastic work experience at Northumberland Zoo

Teamwork

 Harrison for being so kind and patient teaching his peers how to make friendship bracelets

 Resilience, Teamwork and Resilience! All three!

Jensen for communicating beautifully with his soon to be new staff from Hedleys College

 THERAPY STAR OF THE WEEK!!!!!

 Love having a Therapy STAR of the Week – especially when it’s one like this!!!!

George has been doing some amazing work with his VOCA in his communication group. He has been able to use an Alexa to request his favourite songs, he has been able to choose which activities he would like to do and who he would like to work with. He has even been able to talk to new people in the corridor! We are really proud of you George!”

PE & Sport – Physical Development!

Some Sports Stars now!

We are now coming to the end of the Wanderers events and rounders is always a favourite. Six schools took part, with everyone playing each other. The weather was lovely, and everyone had a great time. Our students came in joint first place with Park View School. The last event is next week Athletics at Monkton Stadium in Jarrow

More PE & Sport – Physical Development!

Now, you know we always have to have some Physical Development, like sport, in here? Well, there are some very cool things happening. I know a lot of you like the powerchair stuff – what a great sport – so have a look at these pics from David

Newcastle United Foundation run Powerchair Football sessions for some of our students.
Nikhit commented, “Powerchair Football is good because it is competitive”

Pilates! And Circuits! With some great pics!

 Rock Ptarmigans have enjoyed regular sessions of Pilates and Circuits over the past year. These sessions help to improve the students’ motor skills, strength and coordination as well as offering opportunities to relax and unwind. All things which are highly beneficial for their resilience.

Harrison stated, “I find these sessions relaxing.”

Our Second Prom!

We are drawing ever closer to the Prom!

Our second prom, following last year’s inaugural one, will be a combined celebration of our 70^th birthday celebrations as well as celebrating our leavers and achievers. It will be a great night, and anyone who attended last year’s Prom will agree how much fun the students had!

 Any questions please contact Rebecca at r.fletcher@percyhedley.org.uk

Makaton Signs of the Week

Ah, there’s a lovely one from Julie this week – well, I think so anyway, as you may see from the topic! I do love though how these are always topical!

Fathers’ Day, 18^th June

Happy, Father/Dad, day, card, gift

Here is the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wlel98q8XYMuViZfhslfmZs2EDMF38as/view?usp=sharing

Coffee & Catch-ups

 Thanks to all who came to these! See you at the Consultation Sessions!

  Jo writes, regarding these from a PSHE perspective…..

 It was lovely catching up with parents at coffee afternoons to discuss PSHE topics. We found it extremely helpful to hear about individual circumstances which has allowed for us to make reasonable to adjustments and ensure students are accessing the curriculum in a way that is most beneficial for them. Please email me if you have further questions about the PSHE curriculum: j.ferguson@percyhedley.org.uk

And finally…..

Here are a couple of Physiotherapy STARS working on their targets.

Kara helping with her arm stretches and keeping her head in the middle and Charlie throwing a ball on the trampoline

All the very best to all of you at home, from all of us here at the school – we’re pushing on now with the second half of the school year, with the weather getting a bit better as well, and hopefully seeing you here some time at Consultation Evenings, Coffee & Catch-up afternoons, or other funky events

Respect…Teamwork…Resilience

from John & the Team here at PHS