News, STARS, 3 Little Pigs, GNR & Dreamcatchers – from John & the PHS Team Friday 12th September 2025

Hi everyone,

Feels good to be into the term properly now, and it’s been a good week here – a real pleasure to walk around, talk to people, see what’s happening in sessions and to feel things start to move again. It’s great to have some new pupils too, with the promise of a few more to arrive during the year – we currently have 155, so there are spaces for just a few more

There are a lot of lovely stories from classes this week, and a lot of Stars, pictures of children and activities that you may like. There are also some interesting articles, like the one about the Motor Activity Training Program and the new guidance of Relationships, Sex & Health Education. Whatever you’re interested in, hopefully there’s something for you – and if not, please do try Eileen’s blog, or the rest of the school website, or even the rest of the Foundation’s one. There’s a lot of info on things like lunch, attendance, the FoPHS and other school matters too

From our Early Years class – now in its second year – to our large post-16 group, it’s just great to be part of this community of like-minded people trying to work in the best way possible and do what we are here for. Thank you for being part of that and thank you for your on-going support. Hope to see you around at the school this year – I’m looking forward to a great year, and I hope you are too

All the best for a lovely weekend in the….sun…? Maybe. But a good one anyway

John S

😊 from John & the PHS Team 😊

How it works

• 3 Super-Steering Groups deliver our Key Drivers through our curriculum
• The Key Drivers are Communication, Wellbeing and Independence
• The Groups are Literacy, Physical Development & Personal Development

• Literacy

Becky, our Literacy Specialist Lead, leads a team that improve all aspects of literacy, including writing, oracy, reading, phonics, books & the library!

Welcome back!

As you are aware our new school library opened at the end of the summer term. From the moment the ribbon was cut, the students have been exploring the shelves, discovering new books and authors as well as enjoying the range of locations within library to cozy up with a story.  We have added new books to the library, here are a few titles that are on the shelves.

There are many websites that have book lists and recommendation as well links to a range of online books, see below for the links

• Physical Development

Everything that is in the world of Physical Development, including physio, hydro, MOVE, PE, HI, VI, OT and other key areas for us, including Outdoor Learning, the John Muir Award & many other aspects. Steph oversees this!

Motor Activity Training Program

This year, our Engagement classes are excited to be using the Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP) as part of their PE curriculum. MATP is a specialised programme designed to support students with profound and multiple learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and complex support needs. It offers tailored physical activities that help students work on their individual targets in a fun and meaningful way

One of our students, Amelia , is currently focusing on increasing the time she can walk using her walker or walking sling. This week, she’s been actively involved in PE by using her walker to move a ball around the hall, score goals, and knock over cones – turning movement into play and progress. Over the term, Amelia will continue to take part in structured games and activities that help build her mobility, strength, and confidence.

• 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 & similar areas. Jo pulls it all together.

PSHE – New RSHE Guidance

Children are increasingly exposed to harmful content online, including misogynistic attitudes and unhealthy views about relationships.

That’s why schools across England are getting new guidance to help teachers navigate these challenges and support children to develop positive attitudes.

The government has published updated guidance for relationships, sex and health education in schools, with a fresh focus on helping all children identify positive role models and challenge harmful ideas they might encounter online and in real life.

But what do these changes mean for parents and pupils? Here’s what you need to know.

Why has the guidance been updated? 

New research shows just how widespread exposure to misogyny or harmful online content has become. When asked about just the past week, over a third of pupils aged 11-19 had heard comments that made them worry about girls’ safety, and more than half witnessed comments they would describe as misogynistic.

Research also found that over one in five girls aged 7 to 10 had seen inappropriate images online, with the average age for exposure to pornography being 13.

Schools need the right tools to help children understand these challenges and develop healthy attitudes to relationships from an early age.

What will my child learn? 

The approach starts early, with primary school children learning about positive relationships between friends and family.  This builds the foundation for understanding respect and kindness in all relationships whilst making sure kids know how to be safe and recognise what counts as abusive behaviour so they can ask for help if they need it.

In secondary school, all pupils learn about consent, and lessons focus on helping teenagers understand consent as well as kindness and respect as they’re getting ready for more intimate relationships. They will learn to identify positive role models and understand how to challenge harmful attitudes they might encounter online.

How will these topics be taught? 

Teachers will be supported to bring these topics to life in ways that stay with pupils as they leave the classroom – creating safe spaces where children can have meaningful discussions that have lasting impact.

The guidance sets clear safeguards to ensure teaching remains age-appropriate. This means making sure kids don’t get taught things they are too young for, whilst allowing teachers to sensitively and safely respond to topics children have encountered on- or off-line.

Will I know what my child is learning? 

Yes. The guidance makes clear that parents should be able to view all curriculum materials on request. Coffee afternoons are a good opportunity to come in and see resources being used in school, however please don’t hesitate in contacting your class teams otherwise.

This transparency ensures you can stay informed about what your child is learning and have conversations at home to support their understanding

PE with Nathan!

Nathan has started the term off at a great pace already and has set up all the clubs that will be running for now. It’s great to have these clubs so that everyone can find the thing that they really like. Here are some of them for now

This week in PE in Eltba/Lower School the Lunch Club has started and on the following are the clubs running weekly on the following:

Tuesday with Nathan

Eltba/Lower School – Boccia Club 12:30- 1

Wednesday with Nathan

Eltba/Lower School – Football Rounders 12:30-1

*Girls’ wanderers football team 1 – 1:30

Thursday with Nathan

Eltba/Lower School – Basketball 12.30-1

Friday with Nathan

Eltba/Lower School – Fun and Fitness games

Chris’ Stars – what have they been up to?

Let’s hear again from Chris about his wonderful class – just have a look at what they’ve been doing! This is Chris

Our Home, Our World

In our Autumn topic, the story of The Three Little Pigs has sparked our imagination and curiosity for learning. Reading the book inspired us to create a living story map and loved step into the tale ourselves, bringing it to life as we retold the adventure.

The story has also helped us explore emotions in PSHE, thinking about how different characters might feel.

In music, we have experimented with our voices in different ways, especially when pretending to be the scary Big Bad Wolf! In geography, we are learning about our own homes and different kinds of buildings, while in art we have enjoyed experimenting with printing using lots of different materials.

Lauren’s Class!

Lauren has also got a great class this year! Let’s hear from Lauren what they’ve been up to! Then, you want to see pictures of the smoothie making don’t you? I thought you might……read and look on….

The students in my class are exploring different ingredients you can use to make smoothies and milkshakes in their sensory cooking lessons. This week we tasted, smelt and felt apple, lemon, spinach and yogurt. This was VERY messy but lots of fun! Amelie and Lizzie did not like the lemon as you can see in the photo, whereas Vivie did! Alex thought the spinach felt cold and Rupert wanted all the ingredients in his smoothie!

Who knows what we will make next week…!

Therapy Stars of the Week

Love Therapy Stars of the Week – especially when it’s Joshua and Ayaan! Antonia has been working with them so let’s see what they’ve been doing!

The Therapy Stars of the Week are Joshua and Ayaan for working so hard in their Tuesday therapy session

The focus is on developing fine motor skills through engaging in fun craft activities. This week they started making dream catchers. This involved a lot of threading and cutting and following some difficult instructions, all of which they did amazingly!

Next week we will add some more decoration and thread some beads and feathers onto the catchers. The group will also chat about the dreams and hopes they want to catch for the school year ahead so we can plan for some positive experiences!

Well done, guys! Therapy Stars!

Geography Star – Logan!

Russell has a great new class this year – let’s hear what he has alrwady done with them, and Logan in particular!

Everyone in 5RR are delighted with the start to the new school year that Logan has made

In Geography, he was able to search for pictures of objects found in the home and copy them onto a Word document, all without any guidance! Well done, Logan!

Beth’s Class!

Beth’s class is going to be great again this year, and it’s always good to hear from her and about what they are doing – plus they always have great photos!

Pupils in 3BE have already settled in so well to their new classroom and new routines! Here are some photos of us enjoying some of our favourite sessions so far… outdoor learning, music therapy, MOVE, Attention Box and reading. We are all raring to go this year and are already having lots of fun!

Behaviour for Learning (BfL)

Aylisha and Corin have developed the BfL Team and are working on supporting our pupils all the time on the best way to be in all situations. They’ve been joined by Nicola and Nat, Sarah and Andrea this year to make a really important team for the school. Let’s hear from Corin now about what they’ve been doing this week

The BFL team have been participating in a 3-day workshop with our professional partners from NAPPI UK (Non- Abusive Psychological and Physical Intervention), alongside key staff from other services within the Percy Hedley Foundation. Our NAPPI UK trainers have received further upskilling to enable them to provide additional support for our staff teams and pupils

This provided a great opportunity for our NAPPI UK trainers from across the Foundation services to get together and share good practice and develop their skills. The BFL team and NAPPI UK trainers will now begin the process of rolling out this training to the relevant staff in school

If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact the BfL Team

• holland@percyhedley.org.uk
• orr@percyhedley.org.uk

Early Years – The Ducklings!

Well, our Ducklings have entered their second year as a class in the school, and they seem to be going from strength to strength. It’s great to get these updates and pictures. Let’s hear from Kerry and the team about their week…..

Another busy but lovely week in Early Years

We are now starting our morning with a lovely doh disco session to warm up our hands, ready for the day ahead. The children have also enjoyed exploring the “making doh station” –  apologies for the mess they may come home in, as they have all really enjoyed playing with the flour, water and paint!

They’ve been using their fine motor skills to roll and manipulate the dough

Our maths session involved splatting the shaving foam cakes – messy but fun!

We had some great phonics work with Tommy the Train picking up the snake, tiger and the parrot when he visited the zoo

Rebound/soft play has been fun lots of climbing, jumping and swinging

UNICEF Award update with Rebecca

It was awesome to gain the Silver level of this award

Exams were great!

We have had another fantastic set of results including GCSE Maths results, BTEC First Information and Creative Technology at Level 1 & 2, Level 1 & 2 Functional Skills, and Entry Level exams.  All pupils who had conditional offers got their first choice of college and we will continue to work with this years leavers to ensure the same

Thanks to all of the staff involved, its a really stressful time and staff go out of their way to ensure our pupils are comfortable and assured of their abilities throughout

We had some exceptional feedback about our internal marking, thank you to everyone involved in this

Areas where marking standard was not applied correctly

‘None, the marking was exemplary.’

We have a new suite of BTECs for science and PE this year so we look forwards to our first set of results for those.

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!

Preparation for Adulthood with Hannah

PfA is a key part of the School Improvement Plan. Let’s hear below what Hannah & the PfA Team have been working on

(Stolen from Darlington!)

Preparation for Adulthood in Focus

If you are the parent of a student in Post 16, you will have recently received the P16 Life Skills Questionnaire. This survey has been designed by our amazing Post 16 Occupational Therapists, and we invite you to fill it in and return it to school as soon as possible. The information that we gather from this survey is used to inform the planning for our Life Skills curriculum, which is student-led and delivered in twice-weekly transdisciplinary sessions. Knowing about and understanding your priorities for your young person’s development is essential in helping us to develop a really personalised, bespoke offer.  At the end of each module, their work and achievements are celebrated, wherever possible, through AQA unit award accreditation

This year, our modules are focusing on: dressing and laundry; hobbies and interests; making plans, including making appointments; cooking and household skills; budgeting and money management; staying safe in the community, including using public transport. Our Life Skills lessons offer our young people a really good opportunity to develop and practise important aspects of adult life, all supported by teachers, LSAs and Ots, and your support is greatly appreciated

If you would like to speak to someone about something PfA-related, please feel free to contact

• Hannah Fuller – PfA Lead
• Eileen Robinson – Family Liaison Officer
• Louise Finlay – Careers Lead

We look forward to meeting and planning with you over the coming year

And finally…

Eileen and I receive things from time to time from researchers, students & the like who are looking into things to do with our work. We always try to support them. This one is from a researcher very well known to me, so if you at all feel like spending a few minutes on it, then please do. 

AND A HUGE THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS FROM ALL OF US HERE TO EVERYONE WHO HAD ANYTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE FABULOUS GNR – WHAT AN EVENT!

We had some super stars who ran it, including Eileen’s husband and daughter, a massive well done to them!

…..from John & the Team here at PHS

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Our Key Drivers

Communication, Wellbeing, Independence