Parent Pay

Exciting news! Hasting Hill Academy is transitioning to a convenient cashless payment system using ParentPay. This secure browser-based platform will allow you to easily pay for your child's dinner money, school trips, breakfast club, and other items online. We believe this will make managing school payments much simpler for you. While we implement this new system, we will continue to accept cash. However, from June 2nd, all payments will be cashless. Your ParentPay login details have been included in a letter sent home. For those who prefer, cash or card payments can also be made at any local PayPoint shop using a barcode available from the school.

Year 6 sats

Get ready for SATs week, starting Monday, May 12th! Your child's presence in school every day that week is vital. We'll be opening our doors at 8:15 am Monday through to Thursday, offering a calm start to the day where children can connect with their friends, enjoy a delicious pre-ordered breakfast (the menu looks great!), and have a final opportunity to ask questions and review.

Here's how you can continue to support them:

• Help us ensure they are in school on time, every day.

• Take some time to listen to them read and chat about what they've read.

• Please ensure they complete the homework packs they brought home after Easter.

• A good night's sleep is crucial, so please help them maintain a consistent bedtime.

Remember, these amazing Year 6 students have put in so much effort and are ready to shine! Good luck to them all!

Phonics assessment 

On the 9th June our Year 1 children will begin their phonic screening assessment. This is nothing to worry about the children have been learning their sounds all year and are tested regularly. 

The phonics screening check is taken individually by all children in Year 1. It is a nationally required assessment which takes place in June.

It is designed to give teachers and parents information on how your child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill.

We will post the parent presentation which will help you support your child at home and give you more information.

Community Week

Get ready for a week of community spirit across all Wise Academies schools! Every year group is planning a unique activity to support our neighbours in Thorney Close, and your child's teacher will share the exciting details with you closer to the date.

To bring our week of togetherness to a joyful close, we'd love for you to join us on our school field on Monday, June 16th (2pm). Keep your fingers crossed for sunshine! Bring along your blankets, chairs, and a picnic to share. We'll have music playing, bouncy castles for the children, and refreshments available to purchase. Those parents who can't make it due to work commitments can send another family member or they can enjoy it with their teachers. It will be a wonderful opportunity to connect as a whole school community. Look out for more information coming soon! 

Parent Questionnaire

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete our recent parent questionnaires. Your valuable feedback is crucial as we continually strive to make our school the best it can be for all our children.

We were delighted to see many positive outcomes and encouraging comments in your responses. We've also noted some specific items related to Special Educational Needs, which we will be addressing in the coming weeks.

Addressing Concerns: Bullying and Communication

We recognise that bullying was highlighted as an area of concern. To ensure we are addressing this effectively, we would greatly appreciate further feedback from you regarding any specific incidents you feel may not have been handled appropriately and how our approach can be improved.

Similarly, a number of parents indicated that they had raised a concern that was not dealt with to their satisfaction. We sincerely welcome your feedback on these instances so we can learn and improve our processes.

Help Us Improve:

If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our communication and handling of concerns in the future, please take a moment to share your thoughts via the anonymous link below. If you would like a member of staff to contact you directly to discuss a specific issue, please feel free to leave your name.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHr-vbUFHkg4CUmEV5ks8zQw_BOTtP4dFIU7U8z2XODqbXzg/viewform?usp=sharing

Your partnership is invaluable, and we are committed to working together to ensure a positive and supportive environment for every child.

Reading

We're writing to you today because we want to work even more closely with you to help all our children at Hasting Hill become confident and enthusiastic readers. We've noticed that, unfortunately, our recent reading results aren't as strong as we'd like them to be.

We all know how incredibly important reading is. It unlocks so many opportunities for our children, not just in school but throughout their lives. Reading helps them learn, understand the world around them, and develop vital skills.

We dedicate time to reading in school, but children need to read with an adult 1-1 and daily.  We have also made the decision not to send home traditional homework, as we truly believe that prioritising reading at home can make the biggest difference.

We've observed that many children aren't taking books home, and even fewer are bringing them back to school regularly. To help your child make progress and develop a love of reading, it's crucial they have a book with them to read. Unfortunately, many children are also leaving their book bags at home, which means we can't listen to them read in school.

Therefore, we're asking for your support with a simple but very effective task: please listen to your child read for just 10 minutes every night.

To help us track this, your child has a reading record book. After listening to them read, please could you sign and date their reading record each day. We will be checking these records in school.

We want to make sure every child gets the opportunity to read. If a child hasn't been read with at home, they will have a short 5-minute slot during their break time to catch up on their reading in school.

We are particularly concerned about many of our Key Stage 2 pupils. We've noticed that they are not reading enough, which is impacting their ability to read for longer periods and understand what they've read. Their Accelerated Reader levels are not where they should be, and the number of books read and the pass rates are among the lowest in our trust.

For our children at Hasting Hill to become better readers and achieve their full potential, we really need your support in making reading a consistent part of their daily routine at home.

Thank you for your understanding and partnership in helping your child flourish.

PE Uniform

We are excited to announce that we are now offering a NEW PE uniform for pupils! This includes branded hoodies, joggers, and leggings, which will be available to order online starting tomorrow. Currently, the hoodie is ready to order, and the leggings and joggers will follow soon.

Please note: The PE uniform is entirely optional. Pupils are still welcome to wear the current PE dress code:

A plain black hoodie (or school jumper)

A white T-shirt

Plain black joggers or leggings

We decided to offer this option after receiving requests from many children for school-branded hoodies. The new PE uniform looks smart, and we’re delighted to give families the option to purchase it if they wish.

If you’re interested, click https://studentuniform.co.uk/hhps106/ to browse and place your order.

Please note that tracksuits or non-uniform sportswear in different colours are not permitted as part of our school uniform. We kindly ask that all children adhere to the uniform policy to maintain consistency and a sense of belonging.