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Hi everyone

Just wanted to start by sharing a message from an ex-parent, who asked us to put this in the blog today. Her daughter Charlotte left us a few years ago:

鈥淛ust wanted to say that Charlotte is coming to the end of her 2nd year at Newcastle College and her expected grades are 3 Distinctions and a Merit. She has now been accepted on to her Level 4 & 5 Animation course commencing in September, which will eventually lead to her obtaining her degree.

鈥淛ust wanted to let you know how proud of her I am, and how grateful I am of all the support she has had to reach this incredibly milestone.鈥�

It鈥檚 lovely to hear about ex-pupils and how they are doing. If you have any news, please do let me know! And it鈥檚 a great message about what you can achieve in life!

Hope you enjoy the blog this week 鈥� it鈥檚 a great one with some great lessons and some important other stuff too. Don鈥檛 forget Eileen鈥檚 Family Liaison one and Lizzie鈥檚 Online Safety too, or the rest of the school or even company websites

All the best for a lovely May weekend

John S

馃槉 from John & the PHS Team 馃槉

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

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Literacy

Becky, our Literacy Specialist Lead, leads a team that improve all aspects of literacy, including this year a lot of handwriting and oracy (it鈥檚 OK, she鈥檒l be going into explain all of that) as well as reading, phonics, books and all sorts!

The Smeds & The Smoos

Last week in the blog we saw students from the LSTE pathway experiencing their social story about the Beach, which is their focus this term. This week we’re finding out more about how students in ELTBA experience their story. Helen’s class are using their book to link learning throughout the school week – but let’s hear from her!

Our class story is ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’. In English, students have identified, sorted the main characters in the story and answered comprehension questions. Students have also enjoyed discussing key topic words, identifying the first sound and cue, number of claps and answering questions about the key words.

In Science, students have enjoyed making playdough using flour, water, salt and food colouring. They have manipulated the shape of the playdough by ‘pulling’, ‘pushing’ , ‘squeezing’ and ‘stretching’. From, this, we made ‘Bill’ and ‘Janet’, the main characters in the story!

In Art, students discussed ‘space’ and things we would see in space. Students have made their own aliens and planets so far!

In Maths, students have enjoyed warm up activities linked to counting space objects.

Archie was VERY PROUD of his playdough model of Janet and Bill from ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’! He made the playdough in the previous Science lesson. This week, he then followed step by step instructions, ‘pulling’, ‘pushing’, rolling’, ‘squeezing’ and ‘stretching’ the playdough to make the characters

Well done, Archie!!

Last week in the blog we also mentioned the planning that is going on behind the scenes for our new library. We are at the stage of working out how we will organise books in our new library, as we’ve decided to change things up.

This week throughout school students and staff have been asked to think about going to an unfamiliar library, what sort of books would they be looking for? How would they finish this sentence听‘Where are the books about……?’听

We’ll use this information to help us work out the categories we will split books up into. Some of the answers so far have included: space, war, sports, wizards and witches, dragons, animals, anime, cars…… all sounds very exciting! The idea is that if books are organised by topics or themes, then students are more likely to find books and that interest them, and more likely to keep reading. Family members are very welcome to have this conversation at home too, and pass on any ideas to class teams. We know that this is a bit abstract for many of our students so team have been providing visual options and support around this, however as you are the experts in your child or young person, your ideas are also welcome!

Happy Thinking & Happy Reading!

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

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SPORTS COACHING

In PE we had sports leaders鈥� visitors from Dame Allen school coaching a lesson around different sports skills in a carousel format

there was a range of basketball, handball, football and more

The students all participated and had a lot of fun.

Matthew is having a lot of fun!

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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鈥檚 see what Jo and the team have in store for us this week! The inspectors really loved all of the PD we do!

School Values

2HL have been working on mutual respect and teamwork during social communication sessions. The students have enjoyed playing games in the sun with the scrunchie and parachute, working on turn taking skills, identifying their peers and communicating preferences.

Respecting Animals

4RR/Robins have been to Whitehouse Farm and thought about the care of animals

SMSC

World Bee Day

In celebration of World Bee Day the early years Ducklings have kindly been gifted a bee hive, which we have been asked to decorate and return. This will then be turned into a lovely home for bees. The children have enjoyed exploring and decorating the beehive thinking carefully about the different colours they want to use to decorate it. Following on from this we will be exploring a range of activities linked to the theme 鈥榮ave the bees鈥� as part of our continuous provision.

Human Rights

Pupils looked at the bill of human rights this morning and focused on the right to social service. They discussed the different aspects this covered including home, education, health and in particular mental health. We discussed their access to wellbeing services in school and pupils mentioned services they could access at home including CYPS. Pupils went on to create a poster showcasing things that support their mental health.

A fantastic range of important and fun work in Personal development 鈥� well done all!

Wellbeing

Here are Andy and the Wellbeing Team about what鈥檚 happening this year in their brilliant Connect Challenge series! Go Andy!

Rights & Belonging

This week we celebrated Mental Health Awareness Week with a focus on “Rights and Belonging”! Our students took part in a range of activities, learning about the importance of their rights and responsibilities while promoting a sense of community

On Thursday鈥檚 resilience day, classes crafted their own Class Charter, showcasing their shared values and commitments. These were proudly displayed outside classrooms as a reminder of the rights every child holds and the responsibilities that come with them

The emphasis on 鈥楤elonging鈥� from the resilience framework allowed our students to shine even brighter. Our young people took the opportunity to invite friends from different classes to join in on activities, leading to some positive cross-department interactions around school

Understanding children鈥檚 rights and building a culture of belonging is essential for promoting good mental health. When children feel respected and valued, they thrive academically and socially, so let’s continue to champion these rights and create an inclusive environment where every student feels they truly belong!

Therapy Star of the Week

Teddy has been fantastic in power wheelchair driving this week. He has listened to instructions well and taken on new rules such as concentrating on a task. This week, Teddy beat his time completing an agility course weaving in and out of cones, collecting footballs and throwing these into the goal!! Well done Teddy!!!听THERAPY STAR!!!!!!!!!

Lesson of the Week! 鈥� Chris with our newest class!

What a great class this newest one we have is. Let鈥檚 hear from one of their teachers, Chris, about some great science they鈥檝e been doing, and see a few pictures too!

2RM/CT Keep things moving, while investigating forces and movement

The inquisitive minds of the 2RM/CT class have been thoroughly engaged in exploring the fascinating world of forces, particularly focusing on the topic of 鈥楬ow Things Move鈥�. Their investigations have provided them with a practical understanding of the concepts of pushes and pulls, which are fundamental to the movement of objects.

To kick off their science studies, the students enjoyed reading the delightful book 鈥極scar and the Cricket鈥�. This engaging narrative not only entertained them but also served as a springboard for discussions on how the story relates to the principles of forces. The ball in the story piqued their curiosity, prompting them to consider the various factors that affect movement.

The first hands-on investigation involved an exciting experiment where students constructed ramps to observe how changes in height could influence the distance travelled by toy cars. By adjusting the height of their ramps and measuring the distance the cars rolled, the students were introduced to the scientific method of hypothesising, testing, and drawing conclusions based on their observations.

As their investigations progressed, a fascinating question emerged: Why did the ball from 鈥極scar and the Cricket鈥� not travel as far on grass? This inquiry led the pupils to delve deeper into the concept of friction. The students were keen to uncover the factors that influence how different surfaces affect movement.

In the following week, their curiosity culminated in a second investigation where the pupils rolled cars down their ramps on to various surfaces, including pavement, grass, and turf. The results of this experiment were both enlightening and affirming, as the pupils recorded their findings meticulously in a table format. Many students were delighted to share their discoveries, with one insightful learner explaining that cars moved more effectively on pavements due to reduced friction.

Another enthusiastic pupil noted, 鈥淭he grass is too rough,鈥� illustrating a keen understanding of how surface texture impacts movement. These rich discussions not only fostered collaboration but also encouraged critical thinking among the students as they explored the underlying scientific principles.

In our final week of investigating friction 2RM/CT enjoyed delving deeper into their knowledge by testing a variety of materials to determine their suitability for an air hockey table. With excitement bubbling over, they experimented with options such as stone, plastic, and several others, all in the name of scientific discovery.

As they put their current knowledge of friction into practice, it became evident that smoother surfaces made for better gameplay. The hands-on tests revealed that the rougher materials created more friction, which hampered the slick motion essential for a thrilling air hockey experience. The laughter and teamwork showed just how much fun learning can be when exploring real-world applications of scientific principles. Overall, it was a delightful and educational experience that allowed these young minds to uncover the secrets of friction in a practical way!

What a great class, and what a great topic to learn! Well done all!

More Great Lessons, with Helen! Space Stories!

Helen has a lovely class, and is sharing with us this week some of the work and activities linked to topic they are studying, that Becky talked about last week in the literacy part of the blog, Space Stories. This sounds great 鈥� let鈥檚 a have a listen and then see some pictures!

Our class story is ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’. In English, students have identified, sorted the main characters in the story and answered comprehension questions. Students have also enjoyed discussing key topic words, identifying the first sound and cue, number of claps and answering questions about the key words.

In Science, students have enjoyed making playdough using flour, water, salt and food colouring. They have manipulated the shape of the playdough by ‘pulling’, ‘pushing鈥�, ‘squeezing’ and ‘stretching’. From, this, we made ‘Bill’ and ‘Janet’, the main characters in the story!

In Art, students discussed ‘space’ and things we would see in space. Students have made their own aliens and planets so far!

In Maths, students have enjoyed warm up activities linked to counting space objects.

What a fabulous topic! Great stuff from the whole class there!

Another Great Lesson! 4CH Ice Cream!!!

So many great lessons at the minute. And summery ones too! Beth has been making ice cream with her class 鈥� let鈥檚 hear how they got on! And then click on the link and see how to make the good stuff

As part of Resilience Day some pupils in 4CH chose to join 3BE in our sensory cookery session.

We made ice cream.

We explored all the fruits then chose our favourite. We had strawberries, oranges, lemon, apple and banana. We mixed all of the ingredients, practised counting spoonfuls of sugar and then shook the bags as hard as we could. Some of us had a little taste of our ice cream and some of us chose to explore the temperature and texture. We all had a wonderful session and it was lovely to see our friends from other classes!

If you want to make ice cream at home, here is the recipe. It鈥檚 really easy and you only need ice, salt, cream, sugar, fruit and zip lock bags.听

Trip of the Week! With Hannah!

This class go on great trips! And who doesn鈥檛 love Rising Sun? I know I do! Let鈥檚 hear from Hannah about what happened

Class 6HF took advantage of the nice weather and enjoyed a trip to the Rising Sun Country Park

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, we thought it would be great to get out in nature and do some forest-bathing and the country park is ideal for this.

We enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of nature and, after a short stroll, found ourselves at the bird of prey sanctuary.听We were allowed to get up close to some of the beautiful birds, including Hercules, the Little Owl and Coco, the Boobook Owl.

We wended our way back to the caf茅 where we enjoyed our lunch, before heading back to school

The Rising Sun Country Park is also home to the Tim Lamb Centre, which has a range of activities and areas suitable for our children and young people,听 There is also a new Changing Places toilet available for public use, making this a really accessible place to go for a family day out.

Another Great Two Trips this Week!

Laurie has been busy, with a couple of trips this week 鈥� to North Shields to the brilliant ferry, and a DT trip to Gateshead. Both look great. Let鈥檚 heart from Laurie and see Patrick鈥檚 super photograph!

On Wednesday, 6LA enjoyed a lovely visit to South Shields. We took the North Shields Ferry across the Tyne to South Shields and enjoyed a walk along the beach in the sun. Some staff and pupils had never been on the ferry, and it was loved by all. It was a great day which ended with everyone eating a well-earned ice-cream

And now the DT Trip to the Angel of the North!

On Thursday, 4RR enjoyed a visit to the Angel of the North. As part of their DT topic, structures, pupils have been looking at famous structures in the North East. We learnt that the steel statue was made in three parts (the body and wings) and brought to the site where it was constructed. Pupils were amazed to learn it was the height of four double decker buses! Some pupils took their own photographs of the statue. Well done Patrick for a lovely photo! PICTURE STAR!!!

Behaviour for Learning (BfL)

Aylisha and Corin have developed the BfL Group and are working on supporting our pupils all the time on the best way to be in all situations. Here鈥檚 Aylisha now

This week here in school we have delivered NAPPI training to our staff, the plan for next week is to deliver another NAPPI session for our staff which allows us to ensure that our staff are fully trained and remain in date with their NAPPI training.

We are planning to expand the BfL team by appointing new members which is exciting.

Our BfL team will be going through additional training from September with Sunderland College.听 Again, this is really exciting as we plan to enhance and develop our knowledge and skills to best support our pupils and staff.

If anyone has any queries or would like more information about this, please feel free to get in touch with the BFL team

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

Early Years 鈥� The Ducklings!

Let鈥檚 get the latest update from what鈥檚 been happening down in the fabulous Early Years, hear from Kerry, and then see some lovely pictures which show what sort of a week they鈥檝e had and what they鈥檝e been up to

Early Years have had a fun week this week!

We have enjoyed exploring the sand, making sandcastles and shapes in it

We have continued with our theme of amazing animals, making footprints in the paint with the zoo animals

Our phonics activities this week have been based on the sounds animals make, and our book walking in the jungle

Sensory cooking this week was lots of fun and very tasty – the animals crunched through shredded wheat, chocolate hoops and oats. The children were given the opportunity to explore and experiment independently with water in the trays

Maths activities this week have included colour sorting, number recognition and counting

Water play has been popular this week, washing the babies and playing with the boats. The children used the symbol boards to identify the body parts they needed to complete Mr Potato Head

Finally we have embraced the core value of teamwork this week, helping each other, on the swing turn taking and during attention group

What a busy week for The Ducklings! Marvellous stuff!

UNICEF Award update with Rebecca

Since we gained the Bronze level of this award, Rebecca & the teams have been working on the next level

We particularly like this scheme because it puts the voice of the child at its centre. Let鈥檚 hear what they鈥檙e up to with this exciting project. Here鈥檚 Rebecca

This week we have been thinking about the UN Rights of the Child within our classes, and we have been deciding which rights we would like to learn about in more detail as part of our Resilience Day.

Pupils have been working together on a class charter to design what they will be doing for the rest of the school year, culminating in our This is Me! Festival at the end of the summer term.

Next week I hope to be able to bring you some photos of the work that we have been doing and show you some of the amazing ideas our pupils have been working on.

Here鈥檚 the poster that our pupils have been using to think about their rights, have a little look and see if any surprise you!

Exams with Kat!

Lots of exams and arrangements going on at the minute, and Kat sorts all of this out for us. Let鈥檚 hear the news!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Lots of work has gone into the set up and registration process of all examinations taking place this academic year

We have just completed and submitted work for the Entry Level Certificate Qualifications students completed 鈥� Results will be available in August.

We have also started examinations for the summer series for Functional Skills Maths and English and GCSEs and we are very busy with examination days in our school.

So much hard work has gone into the preparation to get to this time of year, and we would like to wish all students the very best of luck.

In the next few weeks students who sat exams this season will bring home an information letter regarding how to contact the exams team on results day, which includes a consent form that should be completed to allow us to pass on results details to parents/guardians 鈥� as ultimately the results belong to the students.

There are lovely things happening around all those exams in school in this half term and next, so there is a lot to look forward to

Thanks Kat!

And finally鈥︹��it鈥檚 that time of year again鈥︹��..oh yes鈥�

鈥�..from John & the Team here at PHS

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Our Key Drivers

Communication, Wellbeing, Independence