News, STARS, Poppies and Odd Socks, from John & the PHS Team! Friday 22nd November 2024

Hi everyone,

Well, the first question: why are some of the students wearing odd socks this week? Scroll down and read if you want to find out, or if you do know, to read about it!

You’ll find that it’s just another of the ways that we do all we can to celebrate things that are happening elsewhere in the country and sometimes the world. For me, that’s an essential element of inclusion – that our pupils are talking about, enjoying, celebrating and experiencing what everyone else is. So this week we’ve had Remembrance Day and Anti-Bullying Week for example, and these are good examples of our attempts to be inclusive and to prepare our guys as much as we can for adulthood and the world

There’s lots below – some amazing physiotherapy to read about, Early Years, Stars, Makaton with Julie, the Connect Challenge and a few other bits of news too. We’ve also has a busy week with a Governors Meeting, which was very good, and thanks to all for coming, a visit by Newcastle LA, and by the phonics people, which Becky talks about below – as well as everything else. But all visits are good and useful, and it’s better to be busy with good things

I hope you have a warm and lovely weekend. It feels a bit like Christmas has come early! Please do enjoy Eileen and Joel’s blogs this week, and the rest of the school and company’s website if you want to catch up or see what’s going on

All the best and thanks as ever for your support in our endeavours

John S

😊 from John & the PHS Team 😊

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’s OK, she’ll be going into explain all of that) as well as reading, phonics, books and all sorts!

This week Becky’s telling us about phonics!

It’s been a busy week for the Literacy Team as we had a visit from Tara Dodson, the author of Essential Letters & Sounds (our phonics programme). It was fantastic to be able to host her visit, and show her how we’re using ELS. A huge thank you to all the fab students who welcomed us into their phonics session and showed her what we do! ELS is used in so many other schools now, and has grown significantly since we came onboard, so it was great to share our journey with her

Staying on ELS, another huge thank you to the parents who completed a feedback form about their ELS Home Activity Pack they received in the summer term. We always want to know what worked for you and what didn’t, so we can make it better in the future – responses have been really positive so far but we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to reply! If your child or young person follows ELS but you didn’t request a home activity pack last term (or perhaps are new to Percy Hedley!) please get in touch

Finally, our students next week will have the opportunity to enter a competition running to celebrate Non-Fiction November organised by the Federation of Children’s Books Groups, by encouraging others to try one of their hobbies or interests! This could be anything the child or young person enjoys, so if possible have a chat at home and see what they will choose!

Happy Reading (and chatting!)

Becky Finn

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

This week, we have a fascinating and informative piece from Steph herself, which certainly had me transfixed and taught me a lot. Enjoy

Physical Development: Respiratory Health

We often share the progress our children are making with their physical development in relation to their motor skills, muscles and joints, however it’s also important to recognise the importance of maintaining good respiratory health. Children and young people with for example cerebral palsy, often face chest health problems such as noisy breathing, a rattly chest, a weak cough, or difficulty clearing phlegm which make them prone to chest infections, particularly during these winter months!

What is the respiratory system? It is the organs and structures in our body that allow us to breathe. It includes our lungs, nose, mouth and the tubelike structures (airways) that connect them. We also have muscles and blood vessels that support our respiratory system, and our ribs also protect it.

Children and young people with complex disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy have an increased risk of developing respiratory problems. This unfortunately can result in lengthy hospital admissions for some of our pupils and impacts on the quality of life for both the child and their families.

Poor positioning and postural management can impact respiratory health. In school we aim to minimise these risks by ensuring pupils have access to regular and varied postural positions. This not only promotes optimal muscle length and muscle tone (preventing secondary musculoskeletal effects) but enables our pupils to ventilate their lungs appropriately. Equipment such as standing frames, corner seats and Acheeva beds are used daily to optimise pupils’ posture and improve respiratory function by maximising lung and chest movements. Where appropriate, Physiotherapists also support with manual techniques to support the mobilisation of secretions.

The benefits of exercise for improving respiratory function and fitness are well known. Exercise causes deep breathing, and deep breathing helps shift secretions from the airways. Exercise particularly helps to clear smaller airways that cannot be cleared with coughing. In school physiotherapists utilise rebound therapy as one form of treatment to support pupils who are struggling with their respiratory health as it can be effective in secretion management. It also improves cardiorespiratory health by increasing the pupils heart rate, breathing rate and volume of breath.

There is currently a UK wide study inviting children and young people with cerebral palsy, their parent/carers, and professionals in health and school, to share their views on chest health. The aim is to develop and agree ways to assess chest health in children and young people with cerebral palsy. Findings from this research will then help clinicians, children and families to regularly monitor and evaluate changes in chest health, prompting timely treatment decisions and support proactive clinical care. If you would like to participate in this study, please read the leaflet and scan the QR code below.

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’s see what Jo and the team have in store for us this week – quite a lot as usual I think!

Remembrance Day

The LSTE department had a special Remembrance Day assembly on Monday. We had a 2-minute reflection, explored sensory poppies and listened to a beautiful piece of music which helped us to be calm, quiet and reflective

Anti Bullying Week & Odd Socks Day

Last week we took part in Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day, which is a fun and light-hearted event that encourages people to embrace individuality and celebrate differences. On this day, students were encouraged to wear mismatched socks as a symbol of uniqueness and to promote acceptance of diversity. Odd Socks Day is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about important social issues, including bullying and prejudice

UK Parliament Week

What is UK Parliament Week?

UK Parliament Week (UKPW) is an annual event, spreading the word about what Parliament is, what it does and how you can get involved. It’s a great way to find out new things about UK Parliament or be reminded of things you might’ve forgotten! This week we completed a jigsaw and a “pass it on” card game to give us a better understanding of what it looks like and what happens in there.

We have our very own student council in school which students can go to if there is anything they would like to campaign about, whether that’s in school or the issues in the local area!

Also Personal Development AND Lesson of the Week – Road Safety with Lizzie!

Road Safety Week

We have been looking at road safety in 2LL this week! We started by sharing what we already know about being safe on the roads. The class had some very sensible ideas! We then made our own road on the playground using chalk and we practised safe crossing. We finished by completing a true or false quiz about road safety. We are all very impressed by how sensible the students were and how they demonstrated their understanding by telling the adults how to safely cross the road. Well done 2LL! 😊

Here’s what our students said about road safety week

I -“Remember your seatbelt needs to be on!”

H – “Green man means go”.

A -“Hold hands when crossing the road!

S – “Don’t walk too close to the road”

SMJ – “You must look both ways”

R – “You need to wait when the light is red”

T – “If people are blind, they can put their hand under and feel the buzzer for when it’s safe to cross.”

J – “You need to stop at red”

Wellbeing!

Let’s get the latest from Andy on this great project to start off this half term.

Happy Friday everyone! From Andy…

This week’s Connect Challenge was to “Connect with your body”. This could involve something like exercising, mindful breathing, or yoga – anything that involves moving your body and feeling at one with it. Connecting with our bodies can expand self-awareness, provide a feeling of calm and improve control of our emotions

It’s been great hearing about your experiences, as you’ve challenged yourselves to connecting this week

Next week’s challenge is “Positive noticing “. – This can be noticing positive things about yourself, others, the environment or our school. Good luck everyone

Please send any photos or comments to Andy at a.dawson@percyhedley.org.uk Let’s keep the fun going!

Behaviour for Learning (BfL)

Behaviour for Learning (BfL) is a new team, overlapping sometimes with Safeguarding and Mental Health. BfL is an approach to understanding and developing children’s 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. The BfL approach is consistent with our values and compatible with systems such as PBS and NAPPI

Preparation for Adulthood – PfA with Hannah

PfA is a priority for us this year and a really exciting way to think about our students’ futures. Hannah is leading on it and has shared her thoughts above!

Welcome to Early Years!

How have the ducklings been doing? Kerry will give us an update. Let’s hear from her and see some of the great pictures that they always send in….

Following on from national Nursery Rhyme Week, this week we have focus on the 5-current bun rhyme. We had sensory baking session where some of us made current buns with doh, we used the interactive floor mat to make a cake. With the icy/snowy weather we explored the snow and ice. The dinosaurs were left out overnight to freeze and we became explorers trying to free them from the ice with hammers and other tools

A cold but fun week in ducklings.

Great stuff! And a new duckling will be joining the class next week!

School Lunches

Our new Winter menus are now online:

Can I take this also take this opportunity to mention 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 before meals are taken

Please also note that from 6th January 2025, the cost of a two-course school meal will increase to £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’t hesitate to contact the school office

…..from John & the Team here at PHS

*******

Our Key Drivers:

Communication, Wellbeing, Independence