51视频

This week we have Becky talking about Non-Fiction November 鈥� sounds good!

We can’t believe we’re in November already, though the dark nights are hard to ignore! You may remember the last few years we have celebrated ‘Non Fiction November’, as part of our aim to foster a love of reading across our school. In previous years we have collected staff and student ‘favourite facts’, created fact files to share across school and were lucky enough to add a wide variety of beautiful and interesting non-fiction books to our school library (many of which were swiftly rehomed in class libraries or book nooks outside when students found particular favourites!)

Non-fiction texts may be seen by some as less interesting or engaging than exciting mystery or adventure stories, and whilst we do very much love a good story, non-fiction texts are actually really popular with many of our students

Research by the National Literacy Trust comparing children who do and don’t read non-fiction found that:

• Twice as many children and young people who read non-fiction said they read to learn more about the causes they care about
• In addition, twice as many non-fiction readers said they read to relax , that reading makes them feel better and that they read to feel connected to the world

All good things to aim for, I’m sure you’ll agree! (if you want to read the report in full get it)听

The theme for this year’s celebration of all things is ‘Why Don鈥檛 You?鈥�, which aims to stimulate discussion about hobbies and leisure activities and to encourage children and young people to try something new. This fits perfectly with our focus on oracy (speaking and listening skills) too so we’ll be taking some time to explore this more听25th-29th November听– our week to celebrate Non Fiction (a month seems a bit greedy in our very busy school!)

We’ll send more information closer to the time but for now we’d welcome students to consider their favourite non-fiction texts, and also a favourite hobby or leisure activity they could encourage others to try! If families are keen to explore some new non-fiction books at home or at libraries there’s some fab recommendations听,听or have a browse of听听using your child or young person’s log in as there are a LOT of fab titles there too

Happy Reading!听

Becky

This week, Richard is telling us about Bikeability!

The bikes are back! After being serviced over the October holidays, students have been practising their cycling skills this week. Some students have started their bikeability scheme learning how to ride a bike, well done to all those involved especially those who had never been on a bike before!

Fabulous pictures of some of our guys on their bikes!

This week, another great load of stuff and a huge amount of activities from Jo and the team! Have a look!

PSHE

The topic this half term is 鈥淪elf-Care, Support and Safety鈥� throughout the school. Please see below for what your child or young person will be learning about

• KS2 鈥� 鈥淭rust鈥�
• KS3 鈥� 鈥淔eeling Unwell鈥�
• KS4 鈥� 鈥淓mergency Situations鈥�
• P16 鈥� 鈥淕ambling鈥�

The statutory age-appropriate curriculum will be delivered at your child or young person鈥檚 assessed developmental stage through use of the PSHE Association SEND Framework outcomes. I will be attending coffee afternoons to share the curriculum and resources, please come along and have a chat! In the meantime if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me j.ferguson@percyhedley.org.uk .

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Anti-Bullying Week

Odd Socks Day marks the start of Anti-Bullying Week and is taking place on Tuesday 12th November. It is supported by cBeebies presenter & ABA patron Andy Day and his band ‘Andy and the Odd Socks’.

What is Odd Socks Day?

Most importantly, Odd Socks Day is designed to be fun! It鈥檚 an opportunity to encourage people听to express themselves and celebrate their individuality and what makes us all unique!

There is no pressure to wear the latest fashion or to buy expensive costumes.听 All you听have to do to take part is wear odd socks to your school, at work of at home, it couldn鈥檛 be simpler!听 Odd Socks day will take place on the first day of Anti-Bullying Week each year听to help raise awareness of bullying.听We would like to invite participants听to make a 拢1 donation – or any donation you think appropriate – to support the Anti-Bullying Alliance in听continuing to听coordinate听the week every year.

You do not have to raise money to take part – the most important thing is the message of Odd Socks Day – and any money raised for ABA is a bonus!

In 2023 over 5 million children, 1,000s of parents, 100s of workplaces and lots of celebrities and influencers got involved. In previous years we’ve had Ant and Dec, Emma Willis, Brian May, Craig David, Sir Mo Farah and Annamarie donning their odd socks! Don’t miss out highlighting the important issue of bullying in such a fun way.

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Bonfire Night

This week in 4OW, we held a discussion about the importance of Guy Fawkes Night and its origin. We watched a video highlighting the key figures involved with the Gunpowder Plot and students discussed how we celebrate the event today. Students showcased their creativity by drawing the things they love the most about Guy Fawkes Night.

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World Vegan Day

The students in Post 16 DT options have been making some delicious dips this week. The students enjoyed creating and sampling the dips

Super stuff from everyone involved in PD there

Lesson of the Week 鈥� Poppies from Kayleigh鈥檚 class!

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This is lovely 鈥� lovely to do, see and taste! Let鈥檚 hear from Kayleigh about what her guys have been doing

Poppy Biscuits!

3BE have been making Poppy biscuits as part of Remembrance Day. They explored different textures by using their senses to express preferences

Occupational therapy plays a vital role in health, social care and society. We enable people to have fulfilling lives at home, at work, at school 鈥� and everywhere else 鈥� through meaningful occupations. We enable people to manage their health and care needs and to do the occupations that they want, need and like to do. Occupational therapists consider all aspects of an individual and their environments and work with them to create a plan to reach their goals.

In school this week we launched our new notice board with posters providing information on the key activities that take place in school and how Occupational Therapists supports these.听 Some of the areas we covered included access to learning, technology, equipment and posture, eating and drinking, play, community access and sensory regulation.

This week鈥檚 connect challenge focused on boosting self-esteem and promoting positivity. By encouraging staff and pupils to give and receive compliments, we have created a ripple of kindness.听

It has been great hearing about the experiences of staff and students, as many have embraced the challenge this week. The impact of a simple compliment cannot be overstated; it has the power to uplift someone鈥檚 spirits, brighten their day, and remind them of their worth.听

Next week’s challenge is听“Connect with the community”.听This could involve helping in the community, organizing a litter pick or meeting some of our neighbours – I’m sure you will all get your creative juices flowing for this one. Thank you all for your commitment to spreading positivity and making a difference in each other’s lives!

Feel free to send any photos or comments to Andy at听a.dawson@percyhedley.org.uk听Let鈥檚 keep the fun going!

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

Pumpkin Carving

Before half term, 6LA and 6LWC went on a trip to Brockbushes Farm as part of their life skills session. Everyone was getting into the Halloween spirit by picking their very own pumpkin to take home and carve! The students had to look around and find the best pumpkin they could find and ensure that they washed it down and measured it at the till to price it correctly. The students had to use their communication and money management skills and go through this process independently. All of the students had a lovely time, and it was great to see them having chats amongst themselves and mixing with peers they don鈥檛 usually on a daily basis!

Some great activities and pictures there from Natalie!

And as well as that a very nice message that Natalie has passed on relating to our work with The People鈥檚 Kitchen from our Harvest Festival and food donations

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Just a little (actually, HUGE) thank you鈥�

Thank you to each and every person who made donations and supported us with our Harvest Festival collection this year, as you could see from our last blog, we smashed it! We have received a message from The People鈥檚 Kitchen to thank us, we should be really proud of this and what we have managed to achieve. 馃憦馃憦馃憦馃憦

Preparation for Adulthood 鈥� Parent/Carer Forum

Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) can seem quite a daunting prospect, and it鈥檚 an important topic both nationally, locally and for our students and their families.听 It can be overwhelming to think about how to begin exploring the options for your child when they leave 51视频 School.听 There are so many aspects of PfA to think about:听 Independent Living; Work and Education; Community Inclusion; Remaining Healthy.听 Each of these areas require careful thought when planning for transition from school into the next destination, wherever that may be. 听In the summer term, we asked parents and carers to complete a survey to gather information about how we could support this planning process.听 The responses showed that many of you welcomed the opportunity to meet with other families and the PfA team at school to find out more and also to contribute to the development of a Parent/Carer PfA Toolkit.听 We are inviting parents of students from Y7 to Post 16 to join us for our first Parent/Carer forum on Tuesday, 12^th听November at 1.45pm.听 This is a hybrid meeting 鈥� you can come into school or join online 鈥� and is, initially, a chance to talk about any anxieties you may have about your child鈥檚 future, share experiences and knowledge, and contribute to our conversation about next steps. 听Here are some useful links that may help you begin planning for your child鈥檚 future

We have been busy developing our Post 16 Life Skills curriculum offer and our occupational therapists have devised a survey to pinpoint which skills you would like your child to practise to improve their independence and wellbeing.听 Our aim is to empower our students to try new activities and experiences, develop their skills and reflect on their own achievements. 听Supporting our students to practise the skills needed to carry out tasks of daily living is hugely important in their journey to a successful and autonomous adult life. Please take the time to fill out this survey as accurately as possible and return to school.听 This will help us to plan the right kind of activities to support these needs

Welcome back to a new term in Early Years. This will be a term full of celebrations. This week we started with Bonfire Night. On Monday in our outdoor session we collected sticks to make our own little bonfires. On the creative table we made some very pretty fireworks using glitter and glue. We printed fireworks with paint and created some using the glittery dough we made. Our sensory story this week was about Guy Fawkes. The children loved the bang made by the party popper, and feeling scarves wafting around representing the flames. The fireworks made by the sensory spinner were amazing to watch and finally the children enjoyed using the interactive floor to set off their own fireworks. The children have also been working on their independent skills by preparing their own breakfast, pouring their own cereal and milk, along with buttering their own crackers. Well done to all

Philip will be a very popular choice 鈥� let鈥檚 hear from Emily and then see a few photos!

This week Phillip completed his first therapy focused community visit, with a trip to Greggs alongside peer Jay. Phillip successfully placed his order for a drink and enjoyed the opportunity to practise his wheelchair driving skills. Well done for representing 51视频 so well when out and about Philip!听

The Fabulous Philip and Jay! Well done, guys!

As part of the work of the Safeguarding Team we work closely with several other teams within school to ensure the safety of our pupils and staff.听 Recently the Online Safety Team and the Safeguarding Team have been working with our central IT department to ensure that our filtering and monitoring systems are up to date and compliant with the needs of the school, the pupils and the government legislation.

As part of this work we have designed a ‘Guidelines for Filtering and Monitoring’ document for the school to support parents, governors and staff to understand the process and the way that it is managed in school.

This document has been delivered to all staff to ensure that they have the knowledge of how our pupils and staff are kept safe in the area of online safety, and has been added to our website.听 The teams have also provided training for all staff in this area and have visited assemblies to talk to the pupils about the systems and how they are used to keep them safe.

The document can be viewed on our website

Everyone and anyone is always very welcome and actively encouraged to contact Aylisha at 听aylisha.holland@percyhedley.org.uk or Rebecca at R.Fletcher@percyhedley.org.uk or any of the DSL Team

And you can click over to the Online Safety blog for any more info. It鈥檚 about online harassment this week 鈥� so yet again, a hugely current and serious issue that many young people and parents want to know about. Have a read of what Jole has to say about it

Please do tell us what you feel would be helpful in the Online Safety blog , and Lizzie and Joel will look into it

Please familiarise yourself with the Absence Reporting procedure in particular. This is the process that we follow daily for any same day or planned absences.

Any questions please feel free to reach out to the Attendance Officer 鈥� Kelly Richardson on听Kelly.richardson@percyhedley.org.uk鈥�

Thanks for your support and partnership in this area

We鈥檝e updated our Parent/Carer Code of Conduct for this year, which is also on the website. The link is below.听

Most schools have these now, so please do have a read 鈥� they aren鈥檛 used very often. Thanks for your support with it in general terms and in the vast vast majority of times and cases

A huge thank you to all of them for their time, commitment and support, with projects, ideas and all sorts. Great to have you guys on board, you鈥檙e an important part of the school

Why don鈥檛 you join them! The Fabulous Friends are always looking for volunteers for events!听 If you can offer any support, please contact Eileen at听e.robinson@percyhedley.org.uk

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

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

ENGAGEMENT!

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Jackson!

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Resilience

Jackson has been working really hard on his independence targets. He has been practising eating with a spoon and he is now doing this not only with us at school, but at home as well, as this fabulous photo of Jackson enjoying some ice cream shows. Well done Jackson! STAR!!!

Ice-cream STAR!!!

ELTBA!

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Josh!

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Resilience!

Josh from 2LL is the ELBTA Star of the Week for being so resilient in outdoor learning and using tools to make his reindeer using wood and twigs. Well done, Josh, what a complete STAR!!!

KS4!

Resilience

James R for coping well with some changes on the last week before half term and even looking forward to going out. STAR!!!

Robyn T for all her hard work planning our Halloween Enterprise party. STAR!!!

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Teamwork

Shaye M for being so helpful in PE when a teacher wasn鈥檛 there, supporting the LSAs, he thoroughly enjoyed this! STAR!!!

Jess and Delaney for holding doors open at end of the day. In PE they helped another student in their group! STAR!!!

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Respect

Dan Gi for respecting his friends鈥� differences. STAR!!!

POST-16!

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Some great ones this week!

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Resilience

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Logan C for working so hard on his handwriting.听 Beautiful work. STAR!

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Riley for transitioning from sitting to standing during Physio. Very well done. STAR!

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Rosie for coping so well while stuck in the floods in Valencia.听Muy bien hecho! ESTRELLA!

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Shannon for independently producing some excellent DT work.听Brilliant STAR!

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Teamwork

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Sid for contributing so well in the class discussion.听Excellent STAR!

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Tatjana for doing some wonderful role play in Therapy.听 She was an excellent cashier.听Fantastic STAR!

Occupational Therapy Week 2024

Let鈥檚 celebrate our brilliant school OTs this week!

Here are the signs

Please ask if you would like any more sign vocabulary

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Also please let Julie know in advance of any special events which would be good to highlight with 鈥榮igns of the week鈥�

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Keep signing everyone!

鈥�..from John & the Team here at PHS