Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Looking Ahead: Transition Day Success! 🚀

We had a fantastic time this week as all of our children spent some valuable time with their new teachers for next year! It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get to know each other, chat about the exciting things to come, and explore the classrooms and school areas they will be using in September.

To make the day even better, the children also enjoyed some extra playtime together. There was a brilliant buzz around the school, and we are so proud of how maturely and enthusiastically the children welcomed their upcoming transitions!

WISE Performs: Our Irish Dancers Shine! ☘️✨

We are incredibly proud of our fantastic Irish Dancers who took part in the WISE Performs event recently! They hit the stage to perform in front of a completely packed audience, sharing the spotlight with some wonderful performers from other trust schools.

They did absolutely amazingly well, showcasing their hard work, rhythm, and confidence. It was a spectacular showcase and we all had a truly brilliant time cheering them on. Huge congratulations to all of our dancers!

Early Years News

Our Nursery and Reception children put all their gardening skills to the test on Friday. Weeding, watering and picking the peas that we planted in the spring. Our sunflowers are blooming beautifully and attracting lots of bees and insects and our carrots are growing well and will be our next vegetables to harvest. After all the gardening jobs were done and we had washed the pea pods and our hands it was time to taste them. There is nothing more delicious than freshly picked pea pods full of plump green peas. 

Year 5 are busy counting down to the Carnival! As part of an exciting project, they have worked closely with local businesses and the Chamber of Trade to design and create their very own enterprise stalls. They have been hard at work building their stalls and creating advertisements. Please come down to the carnival to support their business ventures, and if you are able to offer a helping hand, please let us know. We hope to see you there!

Our Year 5 and 6 children had a fantastic morning out last week as they travelled to Haydon Bridge High School to take part in a wide range of exciting sporting activities.

Making the journey extra special, the children travelled together by train! They represented our school brilliantly throughout the morning, showing wonderful sportsmanship, teamwork, and enthusiasm. We are incredibly proud of how well they conducted themselves. Well done, everyone!

A Special Visit: Exploring the Lindisfarne Gospels! 📜✨

Key Stage 1’s Fantastic Adventure at the Stephenson Museum! 🚂☀️

Key Stage 1 had a truly fantastic (and slightly warm!) visit to the Stephenson Steam Railway museum last week. The children were amazed to explore the workshop and see all the incredible engines up close—including Killingworth Billy, one of George Stephenson's original locomotives!

The history of the Stephenson family really came to life during an interactive story session, which involved lots of us wearing some rather silly hats! Later in the day, the children enjoyed exploring the woodlands and got creative painting some beautiful dragonflies they spotted by the pond. It was a wonderful day out packed with history, nature, and art!

Year 1’s Green Thumbs! 🌿🌱

🏆 Sports Day Timings 🏆

We are looking forward to a fantastic Sports Day! To help you plan your day, here are the timings for each key stage:

KS1 (Y1 & Y2) - 9:15 am – 10:45 am

UKS2 (Y5 & Y6) - 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

LKS2 (Y3 & Y4) - 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Please make sure children have their water bottles, hats, and sun cream applied if the weather is warm. We can't wait to see you there to cheer them on!

🏆 We’ve Achieved the School Games Mark Award!

Attendance

As we head into the final stretch, we have started our very own Attendance race. Keep an eye on the class with the best attendance as...POINTS MEAN PRIZES!

🚨 Urgent Road Safety Notice: Park Avenue & Central Drive

We need to bring an urgent and serious safety matter to your attention. Over recent weeks, a group of children has been spotted playing football directly on the road junction at Park Avenue and Central Drive before the school day begins.

While this area is a 20 mph zone, playing in the middle of a live junction puts our children in immediate danger.

Why this is so hazardous:

• Blind Spots: This specific junction makes it very difficult for drivers turning the corners to see pedestrians.

• Stopping Distance: Even at 20 mph, it takes a vehicle at least 12 metres to come to a complete stop. If a child darts out unexpectedly to chase a football, a driver will have almost no time to react.

• The Highway Code: As a reminder, pedestrians should never use the road carriageway unnecessarily.

We are deeply concerned that a serious accident will happen if this behaviour continues.

How you can help:

• Parents & Carers: Please speak with your children urgently about the dangers of playing near traffic. Remind them of basic road safety and ensure they know to head straight onto school grounds or use nearby parks instead of public roads.

• Students: We want you to arrive at school safely every single day. Please keep the football games off the streets and save them for the school yard or the park where it is safe to play.

Thank you for your immediate cooperation in keeping our school community safe.

Be Connected - Mental Health support for your family

Girls Support - Ages 9-15

Internet Safety - What is age appropriate?

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

Car Safety

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, 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.