Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Welcome back!

Welcome back to a brand-new school year at Haltwhistle Primary Academy! It has been wonderful to see our corridors and classrooms filled with happy faces once again. The children have settled in brilliantly and have already made such a vibrant, positive start to the term.

Our New Breakfast Club Provision

We are delighted to see how popular our new breakfast club provision has been with the children! As a reminder, we offer both paid early-start options and a free morning provision for all pupils from Reception to Year 6:

• Early Start Breakfast Club (Paid):

  • Nursery: 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM

  • Reception to Year 6: 7:45 AM – 8:15 AM

• DfE Free Breakfast Club (8:15 AM – 8:45 AM):

  • Full Breakfast (8:15 AM – 8:30 AM): Served in the hall for Reception through Year 6. Children can enjoy cereal, toast, yoghurts, and fruit, alongside indoor activities and yard play.

  • Grab & Go Bagels (8:30 AM – 8:45 AM): Available during classroom soft start as staff greet families at the gate.

Important Communication Update

Please note that, due to safeguarding and online privacy reasons, we have reduced our activity on social media. To ensure you do not miss any important updates, celebrations, or upcoming events, please make sure to check our weekly school newsletter, which will serve as our primary platform for all school news and announcements.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school community such a fantastic place to learn and grow. We look forward to working alongside you for a happy and successful year ahead!

Older children and phone useage

We have noticed several older pupils taking a long time to walk to school - and stopping along their route - due to watching media on smartphones. Unfortunately, this distraction means some children are arriving late and missing out on our morning breakfast provision, in addition to creating potential road safety concerns.

To help ensure pupils arrive safely, on time, and ready to learn, we recommend considering a basic mobile phone (calls and texts only) rather than a smartphone for independent walkers. This keeps them contactable with you without the distraction of internet media along their journey. Thank you for your support!

• All families have been sent a copy of our acceptable use policy via our app

• Parents of Y4-6 pupils please be aware that we have also sent a phone use letter via our app

School responsibilities and democracy in action

During the first week of term, we always take the time to allocate important pupil responsibilities across the school. In our assembly this week, we reminded the children about the meaning of democracy and why everyone's voice matters.

We linked this important value to the children's nominations for our pupil leadership roles. It has been wonderful to see so many pupils enthusiastically putting themselves forward for positions such as the class responsibilities, school council, sports leaders, attendance ambassadors, eco-warriors, librarians, and childhood pledge ambassadors.

Finally, our Year 6 children recorded their nominations to become members of the school parliament. These chosen representatives will have the exciting opportunity to join children from our other WISE schools, working together collaboratively on larger projects throughout the year. We look forward to seeing our pupil leaders in action!  Congratulations to Liam and Millie, our nominated member of parliament this year!

Year 1 Forest school - Autumnal changes

Year 2 - A super positive start!

Our Year 2 children have made a fantastic, positive start over these first few days, settling into their new routines with wonderful enthusiasm. In PE, we have started our two new topics. In Athletics, the children began by exploring run-and-jump combinations to learn how to generate maximum force for distance, while our Fundamentals lessons started with dynamic balance and footwork, helping the children master static balance on one leg and controlled landings. 

In Science, we launched our new Light and Dark topic with a hands-on practical activity; using a torch as the Sun and a tennis ball to represent the Earth, the children shone light on one side of the spinning ball to clearly visualize how our planet’s rotation creates the cycle of day and night in a darkened room. 

We also spent a fantastic afternoon in the forest, where the children worked in teams to build cosy shelters and dens for their toy animals which they absolutely loved!

Year 3 - New class circle time

Year 3 enjoyed a circle time on their first day back. They all shared one of their favorite memories from the summer holidays!  

Holidays in Term Time

Inspiring Futures: Careers, Choices & Community

This section will highlight how we are supporting children to develop their aspirations by learning about the world of work and the many career pathways available to them. It will share information about visiting speakers who talk to pupils about their jobs, opportunities for parents and carers to come into school to discuss their own careers, and activities that help children understand how their skills and interests can shape future choices. Together, these experiences aim to inspire ambition, broaden horizons, and help pupils see the link between education and future opportunities.

We warmly invite parents and carers to get involved by sharing their own career experiences with our pupils. Whether through a short talk, a classroom visit, or answering children’s questions about your job or career pathway, your involvement can make a real difference in inspiring and broadening our pupils’ understanding of future opportunities. If you are interested in taking part, please get in touch with the school — we would love to hear from you and welcome you into our learning community.

Our School Skills

Citizen's Advice

Children's Health 

Healthier Together App

Haltwhistle Family Hub

Safety Comes First

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

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

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.  

Our school designated safeguarding leads are Susie Drake, Julie Phazey, 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.