Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Citizen's advice coming soon!

We are excited to share that we will be offering Citizen's Advice appointments in school after half term.  This will give our children and families access to the widest range of services and specialist advice to ensure families are accessing all the support available.  You will be able to access support by:

1. Making an appointment with a Citizen's Advice Advisor for a confidential discussion to review your individual situation and the services on offer for you or  

2. Through the Northumberland Frontline website which signposts the range of services available - you can request a call back from this website.  

Further details and booking information will be shared after half term.

Readers Theatre

Year 3/4 have been exceptional performers during Readers Theatre. They analysed a piece of text from our class book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Using their detective skills they were able to work out how the author wanted the book to be read by looking at the words chosen and the punctuation used for clues. Then they perform the piece of text back to their classmates adding actions and varying their voice, by changing pitch and tone and adding impact by adjusting the volume. It was extremely entertaining to watch and everyone got some great feedback from their classmates. Well done! 

Y5/6 history time travel experience

Year 5 and 6 children were immersed in sound, transporting them to another time in history! They become the main character in a story: meeting people, discovering places and solving problems, on an educational adventure.

War is declared by Germany  and the children are evacuated from the city to Lady Amelia’s manor in the countryside. After digging for victory, they returned to London – but the Blitz occured. When their shelter was destroyed, they had to take cover in an Anderson Shelter and use their survival skills to ensure that they returned safely to their families. 

In this Experience, the children learnt about:

The evacuation of city children to the countryside during World War 2

Dig for Victory and how life changed during the war (e.g. rationing)

The Blitz, blackouts and air raid shelters

Historical figures such as Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill

This was thoroughly enjoyed by all children and staff!

Chinese New Year

Bramble class have enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year. We have learnt about the special traditions families take part in at this time of year. We found out that red was a very important colour that brought good luck to families. We then ate Chinese food, some of us were a little unsure but we all tried it and surprised ourselves. We enjoyed crunchy prawn crackers and crispy spring rolls. We then made a delicious stir fry, we had to crush the garlic using a pestle and mortar. We cooked noodles and added them to delicious vegetables. We had a lovely morning celebrating the year of the dragon. Kung Hei Fat Choi to all our friends. 

STEM Roadshow!

KS2 were amazed by our STEM Roadshow experience. We learnt all about the early history of space exploration through to modern day space tourism and all the experimentation and mistakes scientists made along the way. We were wowed by live demonstrations of rockets and fire balls as well as learning about how gravitational force works. 

World Book Day 7th March 2024

We'll be "cosying up with a book" on 7th March for World Book day.  Children can come into school in warm pyjamas or onesie's (please remeber outdoor shoes and coats too) and we will be enjoying booked themed activities in every class.  We are asking for a donation of £1 which will go towards replacing damaged and lost books from our library.

Haltwhistle Family Hub - courses for Spring

Skillsbuilder - building our skills for life

Skills builder at home

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 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.

Understanding Free School Meals and Pupil Premium

Eligibility for free school meals - Means tested all year groups - nursery to Y6

If you are eligible for this type of free school meals your child will also benefit from additional funding in school to support their learning for the next 6 years.  To apply for Free School Meals, please complete this application form or contact the school office.  

The government has made amendments to the eligibility criteria since April 2018. This is to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit.

PLEASE NOTE: Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit

• Provided you have an annual net income of no more than £7,400

• This is assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods

• Income Support

• Income-based Job Seekers Allowance

• Income related Employment and Support Allowance

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• The guarantee element of Pension Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190

• Working Tax Credit run on

• Paid four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

Universal 'Infant' free school meals

• All pupils in reception, year one, and year two are entitled to a free meal, without having to apply for this option, however if you meet the requirements listed above we would urge you to claim as the school receives an additional fund each year for a minimum of six years.  In addition your child will receive free milk. 

Pupil Premium

Pupil premium is an additional fund that the school receives depending on criteria.  

• Pupils in year groups reception to year 6 recorded as free school meals (see above) 

• Looked-after children (LAC) defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority 

• Children who have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, or child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order) 

• Pupils in year groups reception to year 11 recorded as Ever 6 service child or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence 

Please inform the school office if your child is eligible for Pupil Premium.

Before and After School club bookings

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, Bethan Allsop, Vicki Ridley, Robyn Brockman, Shirley Phillips

Please speak to a member of this team if you are concerned about the safety of a child.