Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter
Nurture, believe, inspire, achieve
Safer Internet Day
On Tuesday, we celebrated Safer Internet Day, a global event promoting safe and responsible use of technology. Throughout the day, students took part in activities and discussions about online safety, cyberbullying, and protecting personal information. They explored ways to make the internet a safer and kinder place for everyone. Parents were also encouraged to continue these conversations at home. It was a fantastic opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of staying safe online.
For more tips and resources, visit www.saferinternet.org.uk.
Ballet Cymru Workshops – A Fantastic Experience!
Ballet Cymru Workshops – A Fantastic Experience!
This week, we were delighted to welcome Ballet Cymru to school for an inspiring series of ballet workshops with our KS2 children. The sessions introduced students to the elegance and discipline of ballet, allowing them to explore movement, creativity, and storytelling through dance. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning new skills and gaining an appreciation for the art of ballet. A huge thank you to Ballet Cymru for bringing such a wonderful opportunity to our school!
We look forward to more exciting workshops in the future.
National Career Week
National Career Week is approaching, and we are excited to support our students’ career-related learning. This week will provide an opportunity for children to explore different career paths, learn about various industries, and gain valuable insights into the world of work. We would love for parents and carers to get involved by sharing their career experiences with the children. If you are willing to speak to a class about your career journey and provide inspiration, please let us know. Your involvement will make a real difference in broadening their horizons.
Dates for your dairy!
Friday 21st February - SCHOOL CLOSED FOR PUPILS
24th February - 28th February - SCHOOL CLOSED (HALF TERM)
Monday 3rd March - CHILDREN RETURN
Green Fingers needed!
We’re excited to begin sprucing up our woodland area to make it a vibrant, safe, and engaging space for our children to enjoy! To bring this vision to life, we need your help.
If you can spare some time, we’d love for you to join us in sorting and tidying the area. Tasks may include:
Clearing overgrown plants
Removing debris
Helping to set up new features
Your support will make a huge difference, and we’d love to see as many of you there as possible. Together, we can create a space the children will adore!
Details will be sent out very soon.
Thank you so much for your continued support!
We LOVE Reading!
We kindly encourage you to spend at least 15 minutes each day reading with your child at home. This small daily habit can make a big difference in building their confidence, improving literacy skills, and fostering a lifelong love of reading.
Sharing stories, exploring books, or even taking turns reading aloud can be a wonderful bonding experience that supports their learning and growth.
Thank you for your support in helping your child thrive!
Attendance - Afternoon Tea
Pupils who are in school everyday for a week (100% attendance) are entered into a hat and chosen by random. 2 lucky winners from Years 1-6 are chosen to enjoy a hot chocolate and a biscuit or two!
Who will it be next week?
School driveway
Please could we remind parents that the school driveway can be used at the following times only:
To drop off for breakfast club (before 8.20am)
To collect from after school care (after 3.45pm)
The drive is closed to vehicles from 8.20 - 9am and 3pm - 3.45pm to ensure the safety of the young children walking to and from school. Only school taxi's and drivers with a blue badge can use the driveway during these times and must observe the 5mph limit.
Thank you for your support.
Citizen's Advice
Barry Sobey is our friendly advisor from Citizen's Advice. He is able to provide confidential support on a wide range of issues, will complete forms with our families and ensure that you are receiving all the support available to meet your families needs.
Barry is in school for a full day every 3 weeks. Please contact our office or family team to make an appointment.
Social Media & Mental Health
Children's Health
The NHS 0-19 Growing Healthy team have launched an app to support children, young people and their families. The app is available to everyone and includes information on local services available to you.
Users can learn through interactive features and directly give feedback about services. There is a live chat function offering direct access to a school nurse and a health visitor Monday-Friday 9-5pm.
Discuss with a nurse about how to support your child(ren)'s emotional and mental health needs.
Healthier Together App
The NHS Healthier Together app has been designed to allow you to access care for your child much more easily. If your child is unwell and needs to be seen by a healthcare professional, instead of having to call your GP surgery, your surgery may offer you the option to use the app to directly inform them about your child’s symptoms. They will then contact you to decide what needs to be done. And if you are seeking help when your GP surgery is shut, it will direct you to NHS 111. Lots of other parents have already downloaded it and have found it extremely useful.
Our School Parent App
Please find information regarding our parent app 'ScholarPack Parents'. Please download the app from the app store as shown in this video.
You should have received your unique code to activate the app via email. MyEd is no longer be accessible.
Once logged in please ensure that notifications are enabled to recieve any updates.
Our fantastic office staff will be able to support with this if you have any problems.
Haltwhistle Family Hub
Haltwhistle Family Hub, Park Avenue, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, Haltwhistle, United Kingdom
Phone: 01434 321761
Email: HaltwhistleFamilyHub@northumberland.gov.uk
Attendance Matters - important changes coming
Every second in school counts, as missing school, whether by being late or taking unnecessary days off, creates more new learning gaps which need to be addressed. The best way you can support your child to recover from the lost school time of recent years is to ensure they are in school and ready to learn every day.
We are always available to support with attendance. Please come to the office and someone will be happy to help.
We want every child's attendance to be good or better. This means 96%+
Please check your child's attendance (see our app) against the class and national data. School staff are able to offer support if your child's attendance is of concern.
Please do not take your child out of school during term time as it disrupts your child’s learning and you risk financial penalties. Any term time leave of absence must be applied for more than 2 weeks before the date of leave and can only be authorised by the Headteacher in the case of EXCEPTIONAL circumstances. Please could we urge parents to book holidays during the 13 weeks of annual school holidays which are available each year. In line with our attendance policy, we are required to refer all qualifying absences due to holidays during term time to the Education Welfare Officer at Northumberland County Council.
If leave has not been authorised and your child is out of school then you may receive a minimum fine of £60 per child, per parent. If the time out of school makes your child’s attendance drop below 90% then they are known as persistently absent under the governments attendance definitions. This means that you may face prosecution through the courts.
Please help us to help your child catch up by ensuring they are in school and ready to learn every day.
Pupil illness - Please note that in line with the new attendance guidance, we need a clear reason for absence for the school register. If your child is 'poorly' their absence is registered as unauthorised until a reason is provided. Please contact the school office as soon as possible so that the illness reason can be authorised.
Under the new government policy, if one parent takes their child on an unauthorised term time holiday, both parents with parental responsibility could be subject to a fine issued by Northumberland County Council. This includes when parents are separated.
Before and After School club bookings
Please click here to book a place in breakfast club. Please note that bookings must be made at least 48 hours in advance to ensure we have adequate staffing available. Please speak to a member of our office team if you need to make a short notice booking 01434 320467.
Please click here to book a place in after school care. Please note that bookings must be made at least 48 hours in advance to ensure we have adequate staffing available. Please speak to a member of our office team if you need to make a short notice booking 01434 320467.
Calendar of Events - Please scroll to see all dates
If reading this on your phone, please turn your phone sideways to be able to scroll through our planned dates. You can also add our calendar to your own phone calendar to be sure you don't miss a date.
School Games Gold
Skills Builder Silver
Great North Early Years Stronger Practice Hub
Lead School
Reading for Pleasure Award
Ruth Miskin Award
Our school designated safeguarding leads are Susie Drake, Alex Wood, Vicki Ridley, Robyn Brockman - Crow and Shirley Phillips
Everyone is responsible for safeguarding children. Please speak to a member of this team if you are concerned about the safety of a child.