Haltwhistle Academy Newsletter

Early Years - Carrots

Our Early Years children have had amazing success with their carrots this year. They planted the tiny carrot seeds back in the springtime, they watered them, looked after them and watched them grow over the summer. This week we picked them and washed them before deciding how we would like to eat them. First we tried them raw, they were so sweet and very crunchy. Then Mrs Beverly cooked them and we had them with our chicken dinner on Wednesday, they were so delicious some of us even had seconds. Finally at our forest school session on friday we made carrot soup. Everyone enjoyed a bowl of soup before going home. What a fantastic, delicious and warming end to the week. 

Early Years - Squiggle While You Wiggle

We have been creating a collaborative piece of art inspired by Van Gogh our artist this half term. We have been working on large scale mark making, creating circles and spirals. 

Listening walk

Our Nursery and Reception children enjoyed a very calm and relaxing listening walk through our school grounds this week. It was a lovely warm, sunny afternoon as we moved quietly through the trees stopping to listen to and identify the sounds we could hear. We recorded each sound we heard by making a mark on our clipboards. We heard lots of birds, the wind, a tractor engine at the farm, footsteps and voices but the best sound we heard was an echo which made our voices sound like we were standing in the school yard when actually we were sitting in the woods.  

KS1 Geography

Year 1 and 2 got their local area Geography topic off to a good start with a long walk all around Haltwhistle. We used our spotter sheets to find all of the human and physical features of our town thinking about their location campared to school and one another. Once back at school we will use our knowledge to create maps and information about the features of Haltwhistle. Thank you once again to those volunteers who acompanied us on our walk. 

Year 2 Update

We have had a fantastic week of learning in Year 2! In writing, the children have been working hard orally reciting our new model text, Lost and Found, using brilliant actions to help bring the story to life. 

In PE, we tackled Lesson 3 of Fundamentals, where everyone did a wonderful job practicing how to change their pace and direction with great control. Finally, a massive well done to all of Year 2 for an incredible achievement—a 4-week streak of 100% attendance! Keep up the amazing effort, Year 2!

Reading remains a big priority for us, and it is wonderful to see so many boys and girls reading 5 times a week at home to earn their extra playtime reward—they are loving that extra time outdoors each week! 

Urgent E-Scooter and E-Bike safety notice

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

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!

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.