Blog 26.01.2024

On Monday, we had an exciting whole-class assembly where Mrs Needham took the opportunity to acknowledge the incredible achievements of our students. Certificates were proudly handed out to those students who achieved a remarkable 100% engaged and ambitious attitude to learning during the autumn term.

During the assembly, Mrs Needham also took the time to highlight the importance of the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) targets. This plan enables us to ensure that every student's individual needs are met, allowing them to thrive academically and personally. Additionally, Mrs Needham presented class prizes to those classes who demonstrated outstanding progress towards their Step Targets. The top achieving classes in average Step Target progress were:

Miss Natalia's class
Miss Oakley's Class
Miss Tootill's class
Miss Young's class
Mrs Duffy's class
Vision Hub
Miss Sanderson's class

Seeing our children and young people strive for excellence and displaying a positive attitude to learning is truly inspiring. It reflects the supportive environment fostered within our school community. The hard work and dedication of our teachers and staff help to create an environment where students feel encouraged and motivated to achieve their full potential.

Assembly Photos - 26.1.24

Let’s see what some of the classes have been doing starting with Miss Hulme’s class…

"We have had a fantastic week in Miss Hulme’s class! Unfortunately, Miss Hulme hasn’t been in, so the class have had myself, Miss Lyons, this week and I have really enjoyed being in class; they are such an amazing class, full of fantastic personalities! I look forward to updating Miss Hulme on all the good work the children have been doing and passing on what a credit they are to her.

During our English lessons this term we are focusing on the book Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo. We have created our own magical superheroes and scary monsters. The children have independently produced some excellent stories using their characters, which included lots of amazing adjectives and accurate punctuation - myself and Miss Miah were very impressed!

In Maths we have been practising our times tables and then using this knowledge to solve questions. We have been looking at multiplying two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers. The children found this quite tricky at first but as the week has gone on, I have been blown away by the progress they have made, and it was lovely to see how pleased the children were with themselves. They have created their own times table squares and laminated them so they can use this for support in future lessons.

This week we have tried something new and exciting in our Phonics lessons. We have set up a carrousel system with three different stations, the first is reading a book, the second is playing phonics games on the interactive board and the last is letter formation in flour on the tuff tray. The children have absolutely loved this, especially the flour! It has been nice to see how these activities have increased the confidence of our children when it comes to writing and spelling. We have also been looking at name writing for some of our children, we had a nice activity which involved finding the letters of their names and sticking them in order. The children now have these laminated on their desks so they can refer to them if needed.

In History we have gone back in time to AD 450… and turned into Anglo-Saxons! The children have learnt a range of things about the Anglo-Saxons in the three weeks since returning to school, we have learnt all about how they would make their houses/villages, what animals they would have kept and why. We really enjoyed looking at the Anglo-Saxon helmets, the children then created their own helmets using kitchen foil; they then role played being an Anglo-Saxon warrior wearing their own helmets. We have found out some interesting facts – did you know it would take up to eighteen trees to build one Anglo-Saxon house? And that the houses they built only had one room where they would cook, sleep and eat?

In our Art lesson this week we linked it to History, we had a range of tasks to help us make an Anglo-Saxon village. We used dry spaghetti to make our own Anglo-Saxon houses, the children worked in pairs to glue the spaghetti to card. Also, we decorated cows, horses, pigs and trees as these are things we would find in an Anglo-Saxon village. We are going to put our houses together with the animals and trees and make our own village.

In science this term our topic is sound. This week have looked at pitch, volume and how sound travels; we worked in groups to complete a research task using an iPad to find out their definitions. We then shared our answers and generated a class poster. The children enjoyed practicing different pitches and volumes. Today we incorporated Bucket (Attention Autism) into our lesson, for Stage 1 we had a range of different noisy toys, for Stage 2 we had a xylophone which we poured buttons on to see the different sounds and pitches it makes and finally we made our own cup instruments using buttons and beads. The children and staff had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed it!

The children are impressing myself, Miss Miah and of course Miss Hulme each day with the progress they are making in all areas of school including academically and socially.

They have all settled brilliantly into their class since September and have formed lovely friendships with peers and great relationships with staff. I look forward to seeing what is to come next throughout this Spring term! "

Miss Hulme's Class - 26.1.24

Now to Miss Sanderson’s form…

"This week, as the ice and snow hopefully fade into memory, 11SSN have been making strides in preparing for their upcoming GCSEs. I wanted to take a moment to highlight the incredible progress our students here in 11SSN have made in completing their GCSE work in Maths, English, and Science. We've seen some amazing efforts, and we couldn't be prouder of their achievements!

Not only have our students managed to reach their EHCP step targets, but they've also secured the highest-achieving KS4 scores as shared in Mrs Needham’s assembly. This is a testament to their hard work and dedication, and I want to commend each and every one of them for their exceptional performance. They very much enjoyed the chocolate treat as a reward for all their hard work.

In Maths they have been working hard to understand higher level content that will let them aim for the highest grades available. Factorising complex quadratic equations has never been more fun thanks to the quadratic tiles that help students visualise the process!

In English, the students have been completing past papers in lessons and becoming more comfortable with what they are being asked to do with each question type. 

Science continues to be a favourite lesson thanks to Mr Gold and Miss Bouttell and their tireless efforts to make the subject come alive through frequent practical experiments. Electromagnetic radiation and the visible light spectrum have been topics of research and we have been using infra-red night sights and laser temperature gauges to understand the scientific principles behind them.

In addition to their core subjects, our form have also been focusing on developing their employability skills. They've been completing practice theory and hazard perception tests, equipping themselves with essential knowledge and preparing for future job opportunities. It's fantastic to see them taking charge of their education and actively working towards their career aspirations.

Furthermore, our students have been attending their EHCP meetings in preparation for a smooth transition into higher education. This process ensures they are fully supported as they move towards their next academic endeavours. We are dedicated to providing guidance and assistance to help our learners make informed decisions about their future pathways.

I want to extend a huge congratulations to all our students for their outstanding achievements. Your hard work and determination are truly inspiring! Keep up the great work. "

Miss Sanderson, Miss Cohen and Mr Howles.

Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA Innovating STARs...

Mrs Lerigo’s STAR of the week is Teddy M for exceptional understanding and storytelling in our read write inc lessons.

Mrs Lerigo’s HWA Innovating STAR is Louie for drawing the most beautiful polar and zookeeper in out literacy lesson.

Miss Bramley’s STAR of the week is Harry for doing so well in English and producing some beautiful writing. 

Miss Bramley’s HWA Innovating STAR is Eliora for creating wonderful stories

Miss Pietraszewska’s STAR of the week is Teddy for engaging in lessons and focusing on tasks. Well done Teddy!

Miss Pietraszewska’s HWA Innovating STAR is Roma for innovatively using her iPad, for example, to scan QR codes. Well done Roma!

Miss Oakley’s STAR of the week is Silva for showing increased independence when playing outside.    

Miss Oakley’s HWA Innovating STAR is Basil for being a musical genius, making his own beats and songs.

Miss Bailey’s STAR of the week is Cody for developing his life skills, trying new foods, brushing his teeth and working hard on his communication.

Miss Bailey’s HWA Innovating STAR is Jack Richbell for being innovative in finding different ways to solve a variety of problems.

Mrs Quinn’s STAR of the week is Kai for choosing to play outside this week. Well done Kai!

Mrs Quinn’s HWA Innovating STAR is Riley for showing care and concern for others. Well done Riley!

Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the week is Maya for a wonderful Maths lesson.

Mr Corrigan’s HWA Innovating star is Mysha for showing great engagement and independence in active group activities.

Mr Corrigan’s WOW moments go to Simisola and Lewis. Well done!

Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s STAR of the week is Logan for having an amazing attitude to learning and always being kind and friendly.

Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s HWA Innovating STAR is Cole for his creative ideas when contributing to our class story and trying very hard this week with all your work.

Miss Boothroyd and Miss McDonald’s WOW moments go to Shane and Jason. Well done!

Mrs Davies’ STAR of the week is Arissa for amazing participation in all lessons this week. 

Miss Matthew’s STARs of the week are Eli for settling into his new maths group and for his resilience and hard work and Ebon for his determination this week in getting to the correct answer and for some fantastic contributions to class discussions!

Miss Tootill’s STAR of the week is Billy for having a positive week and having an exceptional attitude towards all of his learning.

Miss Tootill’s HWA Innovating STAR is Lottie for being innovating in her lessons.