News, STARS, Prom, Leavers, MOVE Sports Day & Have a Great Summer – from John & the PHS Team in a bumper edition of the blog!

NEW LIBRARY UPDATE!

This week we had some of the ‘firsts’ of the new library – getting to see it being used and the ideas coming to life is very exciting!

First up we have our ‘post box’ in use! Students and staff are welcome to share their ideas, book recommendations and suggestions for the library – by completing a little card and posting it. Posting seems to make it much more official (and fun!) and just an email or a note 🙂

This week’s requests included more Peppa Pig books, more Fortnite books, a Knock Knock joke book and the story of Aladdin- all of which we were able to get ordered with the last of the library budget and will be in the library ready for September.

We also started putting our student librarians to work, here’s Olly from 3TW helping Steph to put out some other new books that didn’t quite make it here in time for the opening, and testing out one of the reading spaces. Big thanks Olly!

Speaking of 3TW we really do need to mention the whole of Terry’s class team, but particularly Terry and Stan for the mammoth effort they put into helping us get the books labelled in time for the library to open. There were a LOT of fiddly stickers to deal with but they just cracked on through box after box. Thank you!

Finally, just a reminder that your local library will be running a Summer Reading Challenge, but you can also join in online here: https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ you can get certificates when joining online but physical rewards/ prizes for joining in at your library! If your child or young person does take part we’d love to hear about it in September.

Have a lovely summer & happy reading!

Summer Reading Challenge

1. Sign up Click ‘Join now’ to create your account. 2. Read books Set your own goal and read anything you like. Add your books to your profile, with a review! 3. Earn digital rewards Unlock special online badges and a certificate when you reach your Challenge goal!* *Physical rewards like medals are only available when taking part at select libraries.

Story MOVErs: Sports Day

Last week, we held our Story MOVErs event as part of National MOVE Day — a fantastic, fun-filled day that combined stories, literacy, and movement. It was a brilliant way to bring together a range of activities linked to sportsmanship, teamwork, competition, pride, winning, losing, and taking part. The event linked beautifully with well-loved books like Ready, Steady, Mo! and The Tortoise and the Hare.

The day began with a MOVE-themed warm-up session inspired by Ready, Steady, Mo!. Later in the morning, students headed to the sports hall for a variety of activities catering to different abilities. These included a mix of sports tasks like football challenges, throwing games, and a fan-and-cup knockdown, alongside literacy-based activities such as matching letters and mark-making on water mats and tablets. There was truly something for everyone!

In the afternoon, excitement peaked with a big team relay race across the sports hall. Around four teams took part, with participants passing a baton along a line that included wheelchair users, standing frames, children on mats, and those using walkers — all making their way to the finish line. It was a joy to watch, and the feedback was fantastic. Every participant received a medal at the end of the race, and they wore them with well-deserved pride.

The celebrations continued on Thursday and Friday, with more MOVE and Sports Day events for students in, ELTBA and Appropriate Accreditation pathways. Activities included throwing, kicking, boccia, scavenger hunts to find sporting words, and matching pictures to words — seamlessly blending movement with literacy.

We also teamed up with the literacy team to celebrate the opening of the new library. This gave students a wonderful opportunity to MOVE independently or with support — walking, using walkers, or navigating their way to the library, choosing their own books and enjoying the new space.

It’s been a fantastic few days, packed with activity, fun, and teamwork. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it, and we hope you did too!

Thank you, from the MOVE team, Literacy Team and Sports Academy Team

Wellbeing & Resilience

This week in 2HL we were so excited for our end of year trip to The Alan Shearer Centre which unfortunately was cancelled, as the bus was broken 🙁! The class showed resilience and remained determined to have the best day so as part of their morning routine discussed different things they could do. Amelie chose to go on the sensory swing, William chose to visit the new library to share a book with his friends, whilst Vivie and Lysbeth wanted to chill on the big bean bag and watch a movie with the sensory lights on. We had a great day!

4CHhad a wonderful first visit to the new school library. We all loved it and thought that it was a very quiet and calm place to go and share a story with our friends. We will be going back there quite a lot!

Responsive Curriculum

To help us better manage some arising situations, 3HB had a session about friendship. We drew around a member of staff and then picked different question to discuss.

Staff were very impressed by the students’ thoughtful responses:

Is it okay for someone to have more than one friend?

Can someone disagree with a friend?

What can someone do if they feel upset by a friend?

How might someone make a new friend?

SMSC

Mandela Day

4KR watched a little video about the story of Nelson Mandela. They talked about how important he was in helping with the changes after apartheid. The described his character as being peaceful and forgiving.

Reflecting on the school year

Hi everyone! To wrap up the school year, the final Connect Challenge provided opportunities to reflect on our highs and lows and recognise the challenges we’ve faced and overcome. Staff and students have shared their thoughts, highlighting personal achievements alongside collective achievements, such as our outstanding Ofsted results.

A nice reflection came from one of our Post 16 students who talked about their pride in overcoming personal hurdles this year. Speaking about leaving Percy Hedley for pastures new, they shared, “I feel ready now, I never thought I would, but I do.” While another reflected on the hard work they’d put into sitting their exams this summer! Whatever challenges you have faced, big or small, we offer you all a huge “well done!”.

Throughout the year, our Connect series encouraged us to think about our sense of belonging, work on self-discovery, and build resilience through activities centred around nature, literature, food and music and by building connections with each another.

As we head into the summer holidays, it’s important to remember the importance of our mental health and wellbeing, so take this time to recharge, engage in activities that you enjoy, see your friends if you can, and stay active – and don’t hesitate to reach out to friends and family or mental health professionals if you need to. Links to mental health support can be found here.

Thanks for taking part throughout the year and here’s to a restful summer! To those returning in September, “see you soon” and to those of you moving on we say, “good luck and goodbye for now”.

Here’s a look back at some of our connect challenge highlights!

Over the 2 weeks students went to the Tyne Amateur Rowing Club where famous Geordie rower Harry Clasper, a celebrated rower and boat builder, used to row

He is renowned for his rowing achievements and his innovative contributions to boat design. Clasper, along with his brothers, achieved significant victories, including the “World Championship” title in 1845

Our students had a great opportunity to learn and experience rowing in the River Tyne located in Newburn; the weather was just right for both occasions.

Really proud of the students, they demonstrated a lot of resilience by overcoming some fears of getting on a boat and being in the water

Here are a few pictures from the visit

Hang on! – More Sport with Nathan!

Throughout the Summer term as part of PE we took several students to South Shields beach to experience Surfing.

What an amazing experience the students had being on the beach in the sunshine with the sound of the bird, waves, people having fun on the beach, building sandcastles and just enjoying time with family and more, all these different experiencing happening by our students seeing it all happening while enjoying being on the sea surfing the waves

6LA enjoyed an end of year class visit to The Riddle Room and Sambuca in Forest Hall. Pupils were post-apocalyptic scientist working to stop a zombie virus.  They had to search for clues and decipher puzzles to unlock the cure. We all had a great time and ended the day with lunch at Sambuca

As part of their last Forest School session of the year 2LL asked for some water fun. They were provided with some buckets, cups, old meds syringes and what ever else they could find around the Outdoor Learning area and decided to use these items to help us cool down on a warm day.

They worked on their teamwork, communication and resilience to work out the best way to collect the water, discuss who was involved in the game and bravery around getting wet or choosing a different activity.

As you can see from the pictures….the best fun was had by all

Special thanks to Heather from our Early Years Department who came dressed for the part 🙂

So we have come to the final day of term and the last day of our first year of Early Years. What a year it has been…

In September we started with a class of 4 and over the year we have grown to a class of 7. All children have been amazing and have grown so much in this last year. We have done lots of exploring, learning and just having fun

We have also had an award winner this term! Aimee was awarded the Debbie Short Communication  Award. She now uses a range of strategies such as symbols, Makaton signs and PECS to communicate her wants and needs along with supporting her to access educational tasks

We hope everyone has an amazing summer holiday and see you all in September for the next step of our adventure, starting with Marvellous Me

Well done to the fabulous Ducklings! What an amazing addition to the school they have been. Congratulations to all of them! Roll on next year!

This week we had our visit from UNICEF to complete our visit to see if we met the criteria for the Silver Rights Aware Award for the Rights Respecting School. Kathy our advisor met with staff, governors and students, and looked at our evidence of the work we have done this year to be a Rights Respecting School

A huge thank-you goes out to Santi, Rosie, Jack, Kayden, and Casey for their work speaking to Kathy and talking about the work we have been doing at school to ensure that their rights are being met. They really impressed Kathy with their knowledge, their understanding of their rights and their empathy around the rights of others who may not be able to have their rights met

We were thrilled that at the end of the visit we were awarded with our Silver Award, and look forward to getting our report to see what our actions are to begin to work towards our Gold Award and further embedding the work around rights into our school culture and ethos

A huge thank-you to all of the staff in school who have been involved in working with our students this year, to develop their awareness of their rights and the rights of other children around the world

Well done to everyone who has sat any kinds of exams of any kind! It’s great that some people do, according to their own plans, and that we’re able to help our students with a variety of different awards & accreditations. Well done all!

We were delighted to welcome parents and carers to our recent Preparation for Adulthood Parent Carer Forum. It was fantastic to catch up with so many families, both in person and online, to share ideas and experiences of some of the issues around decision-making as adulthood approaches. We talked about the Mental Capacity Act, Deputyship, Lasting Power of Attorney and what these might mean for your child and family. It was a great opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues, and the PfA Team were able to signpost to many different sources of information.  Parents and carers fed back that it had given them food for thought, and that it had been beneficial to talk to other parents going through similar experiences

This particular event was open to parents of students in Year 7 and above.  We will be organising a new calendar of events for next year to help you support your children and young people, so please keep your eyes peeled for these when the school calendar is updated.  You can also find out lots of information about PfA on our new website pages which you can find here:  Parent and Carers Resource Area – Percy Hedley School

Follow the link to take a look:  Preparing for Adulthood Resources – Percy Hedley School 

People seem to really enjoy the special menu days! Have a look at some pictures from the latest one for American Independence – maybe not the healthiest, but very popular and tasty all the same. Thanks to from Susan and the team!

Hopefully you can find the menus here:  School Meals – Percy Hedley School

In terms of ipay accounts: 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. Thank you for your understanding and continued support in helping us to provide good quality and nutritious meals for our children

If you have any questions or need support with your iPay account, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office

Aylisha is our Safeguarding Officer, Rebecca is the DSL. Tracy and Corin round out a great DSL Team, with others involved too in many aspects

Ahead of the summer holidays we want our parents and carers to feel supported.  Please see information below of agencies who may be able to offer support around the following:

Water Safety

If the weather is nice the beach is often the place to be.  With so many wonderful beaches here in the North East it is important that our children are aware of the Water Safety Code.  It is the fundamental spine of all water safety education.

Whenever you are around water:

STOP and THINK, take time to assess your surroundings.  Look for dangers and always research local signs and advice.

STAY TOGETHER, when around water always go with friends and family.  Swim at a lifeguarded venue.

In an emergency:

CALL 999, ask for the Fire and Rescue Service when inland and the Coastguard if at the coast.  Don’t enter the water to rescue.

FLOAT, fall in or become tired- stay calm, float on your back and call for help.  Throw something that floats to somebody that has fallen in.

For further information visit:

The Water Safety Code (rlss.org.uk)

Water Safety Advice And Tips – Know The Risks (rnli.org)

Domestic Abuse

Domestic Abuse can happen to anyone.  Children are now classed as victims of Domestic Abuse whether they have witnessed it or not.

For further support and advice visit:

Home (myharbour.org.uk)

ManKind Initiative – Supporting Male Victims of Domestic Abuse

Home – Women’s Aid (womensaid.org.uk)

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:

NHS 111

To get urgent mental health advice from the NHS, call 111 and select the mental health option. 111 will tell you where you can get help. They may also be able to put you through to a trained mental health professional over the phone.

111 can support anyone who is feeling unsafe, distressed or worried about their mental health. They can also give information and advice about what to do if you’re worried about someone else.

If you would rather get help online, you can use 111 online.

Opening times:

24/7

111

YoungMinds-YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds

Has a wealth of resources on their website, as well as providing dedicated crisis services.  The YoungMinds Crisis Messenger provides free crisis support every day of the week, at any time or day or night.

SHOUT- Shout: the UK’s free, confidential and 24/7 mental health text service for crisis support | Shout 85258 (giveusashout.org)  Shout provides free, 24/7 text support for young people across the UK experiencing a mental health crisis.

All texts are answered by trained volunteers, with support from experienced clinical supervisors.

Texts are free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus.

Texts can be anonymous, but if the volunteer believes you are at immediate risk of harm, they may share your details with people who can provide support.

Opening times:

24/7

Papyrus- Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org)  Offers confidential advice and support if you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, and information about how to make a safety plan.

Its helpline service – HOPELINE247 – is available to anybody under the age of 35 experiencing suicidal thoughts, or for anyone concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide.

Opening times:

24/7 every day of the year

The helpline HOPELine247 is available on 0800 068 4141

Childline- Report Remove | Childline  If you’re under 19 you can confidentially call, chat online or email about any problem big or small.

Can provide a BSL interpreter if you are deaf or hearing-impaired.

Hosts online message boards where you can share your experiences, have fun and get support from other young people in similar situations.

Opening times:

24/7

0800 11 11

Samaritans- Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen  Whatever you’re going through, you can contact the Samaritans for support. N.B. This is a listening service and does not offer advice or intervention.

Opening times:

24/7

116123

jo@samaritans.org

E-Safety

Following training around the new updates to the KCSIE for next academic year, we thought it was important to let you know about some of the important work going on in school around this.

As the summer holidays are long, we find that many of our pupils spend more time on devices and the internet.

When working with our pupils we will next year be focusing on the following areas to ensure both their safety and their understanding of the world as they are seeing it online and in the media.

We will be working with them to understand and recognise:

Conspiracy Theories: These are proposed explanations of historical, current or speculative events in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of people – the conspirators – acting in secret.  This is especially important with the current political world, and cases such as the Epstein Case and the P Diddy case which are affecting many of the social media platforms.

Misinformation: This is incorrect, misleading information, or false information that stems from error or mistakes

Disinformation: Misinformation which has been spread deliberately.  This can lead to our children believing that things are true as people that they idolise or look up to area saying them.  Areas such as false news and click bait fall into these areas.

If you are concerned about any of these areas the graphic below can help you to look at the content and work with your children to ensure that they are only believing and sharing information which is accurate and from reliable sources.

online safety section of our school website Online Safety – Percy Hedley School

Other agencies available for support are:

• Police, call 999 in the case of an emergency or 111 for non-emergencies.
• Children’s Services (social services) contact the front door at your local authority to report a concern about a child.

Finally, should you need any support during the summer holidays our safeguarding team will be available.  Please contact Aylisha.Holland@percyhedley.org.uk or R.Fletcher@percyhedley.org.uk

Have a great summer from the Safeguarding team

Here is the final Online Safety blog for the academic year! I’ve just done a general holidays advice/support and contact details (such as CEOP, NSPCC etc) for parents

This is now on the website – Online Safety blogs – Percy Hedley School

Please do tell us what you feel would be helpful in the Online Safety blog, and Lizzie and Joel will look into it. We know what a priority this is for many of you

Attendance – Percy Hedley School

As this academic year comes to a close, I would like to draw your attention to the revised school attendance policy. This policy has been developed in conjunction with school governors, parent governors and the school attendance team. This policy is the process and procedure which is followed daily in any absence scenario. Please do familiarise yourself with the policy, in particular the reporting of an absence and the contacting school section. If you do have any queries please do reach out via phone or email, I am always happy to discuss anything attendance related – kelly.richardson@percyhedley.org.uk

This is also from Kelly

We are always looking at new and innovative ways to build our relationship and make contacting us as easy as possible. There’s an email address to allow you to notify us of absences in the morning (before 9:30) via email instead of phone if you prefer

The email address is PHSattendance@percyhedley.org.uk.

We will update the student’s class teacher of this absence also. As always if you do have any queries absence related, please do feel free to reach out for a quick chat

Any questions please feel free to contact Kelly

Thanks for your support and partnership in this area

Our Parent/Carer Code of Conduct is on the website here: Parent and Carers Area – Percy Hedley School. Most schools have these now, so please do have a read – they aren’t used very often. Thanks for your support with it – both in general terms and in the vast majority of times and cases that arise every day

A huge thank you to all of the FoPHS for their time, commitment & support, with projects, ideas and all sorts. Great to have you guys on board, you’re such an important part of the school. Here’s Hannah!

The Friends of Percy Hedley (FoPHS) would like to thank the school community for all of your support this year.  Your support has meant that we have been able to contribute to lots of exciting, enriching opportunities in school.  All of the money we raise goes directly to the students, and every single child and young person benefits from it.  We welcome you to join us in the next academic year to help us in continuing to support our students.  Until then, follow the link to find out more about the work we do.  Thanks, and have a wonderful summer break! 

Support Friends of Percy Hedley School at the Great North Run – Percy Hedley Foundation

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

From Tracy and the LPPA team. Contact t.smithson@percyhedley.org.uk

That reflect our School Values!

ENGAGEMENT

Benjamin!

Teamwork!

We’re proud to celebrate Benjamin as our Star of the Pathway! He showed outstanding teamwork during prom preparations and throughout the final week of school. His positive attitude and team spirit truly made a difference. Well done, Benjamin! STAR!!!

ELTBA!

Our ELBTA stars of the week are all of the children in ELBTA who have shown resilence in changes and great communicating during transition day and the challenges new classes bring

ELTBA pupils – transition STARS!!!

KS4

What a great KS4 we have, especially……

Resilience

Owen D for being such a joy this last week!

Kayden D for trying something new when rowing, despite being a little worried!

Two mega-STARS!!!

POST-16!

P16 have been very resilient this week

Resilience

Aidan worked very calmly and quietly in RE.He independently cut out his own pictures. Great work!!

Riley has been fantastic and just got on with things. Wonderful!

The whole of 6KG have had a wonderful year. Excellent!!

Also, Robyn G, Shannon D, Casey B, Francis G-W, Santiago C-B and Kasey McD for a fantastic year of Career and Work experience. All worked exceptionally well and received fantastic feedback from employers. Well done to you all!

End of term signs: start, finish, school, summer, holiday, sun

Some useful signs for the last week of term and the holidays!

Here is my video:

https://youtu.be/zgzIUM2anBw

Here are Singing Hands singing about a summer holiday!

https://youtu.be/rj5zY7Lovm8?si=HILQnyG42EySEF-M

Here are the signs: