Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter
Nurture, believe, inspire, achieve
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Attendance Week!
Attendance Week!
What a brilliant Attendance Week we’ve had! Thank you to everyone for your support in helping us celebrate the importance of coming to school every day.
The children had great fun taking part in activities and challenges throughout the week, while continuing to show fantastic effort and enthusiasm in their learning. It was wonderful to see the excitement and pride as classes worked together to achieve their best attendance.
Well done to all of our pupils – we are so proud of your hard work and commitment! Let’s keep up the momentum and aim for even more excellent attendance in the weeks ahead.
Attendance Week .mp4School Parliament News
School Parliament News
We were delighted to welcome members of Northumberland County Council to school recently, following a letter we sent to our local councillor about safety in the area around school.
During their visit, we discussed some important issues, including cars parking on pavements near school, which makes it difficult for children and families to walk safely, and the lack of safe crossings nearby. Together, we explored how we can make our community safer for everyone.
The council team shared some excellent resources, which we have already introduced to the children to help them stay safe when walking around the local area. We will also be sharing further resources with families soon, so that together we can continue to make Haltwhistle a safe place for all.
We were very pleased to welcome our local MP, Joe Morris, to Haltwhistle Academy this week. During his visit, Mr Morris met with pupils and staff to hear about the great things happening in school and to learn more about the issues that matter to our community.
As part of his visit, we spoke with him about the safety of the roads around school. The children explained some of the challenges they face, including cars parking on pavements and the lack of safe crossing points. We also updated him on the support we have already received from Northumberland County Council, who have shared useful resources with us to help keep our children safe in the community.
The children really enjoyed asking Mr Morris questions about his role as a Member of Parliament and how he can help to represent their voices. It was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to see how both local and national government work together to support our town.
We thank Mr Morris for taking the time to visit us and look forward to continuing this important connection.
Fantastic Football News!
Fantastic Football News!
We are delighted to share that Eva has been selected, following successful trials, to represent the district with the South & West Northumberland Schools FA.
She will be part of the Under 11’s squad, who are now preparing for this season’s matches in the Northumberland/Durham Tyne and Wear League competition.
This is a wonderful achievement, and we are incredibly proud of Eva for her dedication and hard work. We wish her every success as she takes on this exciting opportunity!
Super Scientists!
Super Scientists!
As part of their electricity topic in science, Year 4 have been exploring whether a bulb will light when we add different components to a circuit. They created a range of circuits with different combinations to see if their bulb would light up. They then needed to explain why their circuits would or would not work use scientific vocabulary.
Our School Skills
Our School Skills
We are proud to be part of the Skills Builder programme, which helps children develop eight essential skills they will use throughout their lives: Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Adapting, Planning, Leadership, and Teamwork. These are our 'School Skills'.
Pupils focus on practising these skills in lessons, assemblies, and activities around school. The aim is to help them not only succeed in their learning now but also prepare for the future.
💡 How you can help at home:
Ask your child about which School Skill they have been working on
Look for opportunities at home where they can practise—this could be teamwork when cooking together, problem solving in a game, or showing leadership in organising a family activity.
Celebrate when you notice them using these skills!
By working together—school and home—we can give children the confidence and tools they need for lifelong success.
We LOVE Reading!
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!
Citizen's Advice
Citizen's Advice
Facing challenges with finances, housing, or family issues? Citizens Advice
Northumberland provides free, impartial, and confidential advice tailored to the needs of
families in our community. Our team of experts can help with:
● Navigating benefits and financial challenges
● Advising on energy tariffs and debt
● Resolving housing and tenancy issues
● Understanding employment rights
● Addressing family and relationship concerns
Contact us at 01670 618029 (24hr voicemail), email
community@citizensadvicenorthumberland.org.uk, or visit our
website: http://www.citizensadvicenorthumberland.org.uk .
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.
The Citizen's Advice team are also available at Haltwhistle Library on Monday 10:30am – 12:30pm (2nd and 4th Monday of each month)
Internet Safety & Mental Health
Internet Safety & Mental Health
Children's 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
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
Our School Parent App
Please find information regarding our parent app 'Arbor Parent Portal'. Please download the app from the app store as shown in this video.
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
Haltwhistle Family Hub, Park Avenue, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, Haltwhistle, United Kingdom
Phone: 01434 321761
Email: HaltwhistleFamilyHub@northumberland.gov.uk
Attendance Matters
Attendance Matters
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.
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
Before and After School club bookings
Places at breakfast club and after school club can be booked and paid for on your Arbor app. 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
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.
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