51吃瓜

Hi everyone,

First, here鈥檚 a message from Joel about STEM Week: we鈥檙e having this week commencing听Monday 23rd June 2025. STEM Week is a special event dedicated to celebrating and promoting the love and engagement of Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths. It’s a chance for our students to dive into fascinating topics, conduct experiments, and better their understanding of the incredible world around us. As part of Science Week, each pathway will have the opportunity to visit the Centre for Life and engage within an animals encounter workshop

Cheers Joel. OK, a packed blog this week with a great focus on Healthy Eating and some awesome therapy sessions and trips. We also had a governors meeting this week, with some staff presenting on areas they are doing. Great to have a good group of governors too

It鈥檚 been an awesome week. I鈥檝e just come from the Fathers Day sale, so I hope there are some dads who get nice presents out there! Please do read the Family Liaison and Online safety blogs too, or anything that catches your fancy on the school or Foundation website

I hope the weather holds out for you over the weekend 鈥� have a lovely time and hopefully see you either at the summer fayre or here next week!

All the best!

John S

馃槉 from John & the PHS Team 馃槉

We have 3 Super-Steering Groups which deliver our Key Drivers through our curriculum. The Key Drivers are Communication, Wellbeing and Independence. The Groups are Literacy, Physical Development and Personal Development

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Literacy

Becky, our Literacy Specialist Lead, leads a team that improve all aspects of literacy, including this year a lot of handwriting and oracy (it鈥檚 OK, she鈥檒l be going into explain all of that) as well as reading, phonics, books and all sorts!

NEW LIBRARY UPDATE!

This week’s library update is all about categorising and sorting!

Our lovely new library is currently full of boxes and bags of books, as we organise the book stock that was carefully packed away before the May half term. We’re getting a first idea of how many books we have in the different categories (created based on student feedback), and from there we can check if we have books targeting a range of reading abilities and interests. Where we’re finding we have lots of multiple copies or too many of a similar type we’re putting them to one side, and these will be on offer at the Percy 51吃瓜 School Summer Fayre…. after all this chat of books we couldn’t miss out on having a book stall! The library may be looking very messy right now, but it’s heading in the right direction and very pleasing to get some books on shelves even if they’re not going to stay there just now!

Massive thanks to Philip who is leading this organising process right now and dedicating lots of his time to getting it right!

In slightly library related news but also following on from previous blog posts about a ‘Love of听 Writing’, the library team this week have confirmed plans for a section of the library which will display students’ work – showing how reading inspires us all. This will be used for any student work (writing, artwork, mark making or accounts/photos of activities which have been inspired by a book) and will change regularly, however the library will open with a copy of a short novel written by Harrison, from post-16. ‘A Quest Through Dimensions’ is an action packed 15-chapter story written by Harrison in his free time, and he is already writing a second! Students and staff will get a chance to follow the Captain and his crew through an adventure featuring spaceships, portals, a skeleton army and a lot of mystery. We’re very excited to be able to share your creative writing Harrison and hopefully inspire other students to have a go writing for fun too!

Happy Reading & Happy Writing!

Physical Development

Everything that is fabulous in the world of Physical Development! This includes physio, hydro, MOVE, PE, HI, VI, a lot of OT and all sorts of key areas for us, including all of the Outdoor Learning, John Muir Award and many other aspects. Steph oversees this and will ensure that an aspect is shared in the blog each week.

SOCCER AID & BOYS鈥� SOCCER!

Students at Percy 51吃瓜 have been fully engaged with soccer aid. Students have learnt about soccer aid in assembly and have had the opportunity to take part in designing the football shirt/poster in national competitions. In the week leading up to soccer aid all PE clubs have taken the football theme such as football sensory stories, football panathalon, a football-themed dance club and football club itself. In dance club each student came up with a dance move related to football and we put it together into a routine to Three Lions! Students have also joined in with football sessions in their PE lessons in preparation for the big match on Sunday.

Also 鈥� a huge shout out to the boys鈥� football team who have been attending the Newcastle United Football Foundation community event throughout the year. They returned to school with the league winner鈥檚 trophy for being the strongest team throughout the season. On Wednesday鈥檚 cup day, although unbeaten, they missed the trophy by a single point, finishing second overall. The boys showed great resilience as they reflected on the outcome and demonstrated sportsmanship to the other teams, learning that when things do not go to plan, we can reflect and learn and come out stronger.

Brilliant photos, brilliant stuff!听

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Frame Football

Frame football is a brilliant sport and one of our newest boys is really good at it.

Yes, Dylan in our newest class has been in a tournament recently, scoring 4.5 goals and not conceding any 鈥� and they won the tournament. He can even also play in goal! Well done, Dylan! Frame Football STAR!!!

Personal Development

One of the best things about the school and one of the most important for our pupils, PD covers PSHE, Wellbeing, Careers, Social Moral Spiritual & Cultural, Online Safety, Behaviour and similar areas. Jo pulls it all together. Let鈥檚 see what Jo and the team have in store for us this week! The inspectors really loved all of the PD we do!

HEALTHY EATING

This term, we’ve been learning all about healthy eating, and it’s been a tasty topic! We explored the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, using real-life examples and pictures to help us sort them into the right categories. We discovered that healthy foods help to keep our bodies strong, our minds focused, and our energy levels up. But we also learned that the occasional treat is perfectly okay 鈥� it’s all about balance!

As part of our 鈥楢round the World鈥� theme, we looked at foods from different countries. While learning about Spain, we wrote healthy shopping lists and took a trip to Morrisons to find the ingredients we needed. The highlight was making our very own paella 鈥� a colourful Spanish dish made with rice, vegetables, and a zesty squeeze of lemon. It was fun to prepare and even better to eat!

With the summer sunshine finally here, we also talked about the importance of staying hydrated. Whether we鈥檝e been playing outside or doing some exercise, we now know how important it is to drink plenty of water to keep ourselves feeling cool and healthy.

We鈥檝e really enjoyed learning through tasting, cooking, and exploring 鈥� and we鈥檙e all one step closer to being healthy food champions!

We鈥檙e Growing 鈥� Together! – by 4AH

This term, we鈥檝e been doing more than just focusing on academic learning 鈥� we鈥檝e been growing as individuals, too. Personal Development is about building the skills we need to care for ourselves and others, handle challenges, make positive choices, and feel proud of the people we鈥檙e becoming.

Here鈥檚 something we鈥檝e done recently that helped us on our personal development journey:

VOCA Group / Choice Making group – Finding Our Voices

Each week, groups of us take part in a special communication session called VOCA Group / Choice Group. It鈥檚 more than just a lesson 鈥� it鈥檚 a space where we build confidence, connect with each other, and learn how to express ourselves.

In VOCA Group and Choice Making Group we:

• Greet each other by name, using our communication skills (smiling, signing, singing, waving), using devices (like single switches or VOCA pages) or our voices and movements.
• Make choices about what songs to sing and how we鈥檇 like them to sound 鈥� some of us choose fast versions, silly voices, or extra instruments!
• Take turns, wait patiently, and notice what our friends are doing.
• Show our likes and dislikes, which helps others get to know us better.

Each session ends with us saying 鈥淔inished鈥� using our chosen method of communication 鈥� and by then, everyone has had a turn to shine.

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What We鈥檝e Learned:

From these sessions, we鈥檝e developed lots of important personal skills:

• Confidence in making our own choices.
• Respect for others鈥� ideas and preferences.
• Listening and awareness, as we learn to notice each other more.
• Communication, in all the different ways we express ourselves.

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Moments That Made Us Proud:

One week, we noticed how Amelia used her VOCA to say 鈥渓ike 鈥� Hokey Cokey鈥� without being prompted. It showed she was confident, knew what she wanted, and was ready to lead the group in her own way. Another time, Joseph waited patiently for his turn and then gave a big smile when his song played. These small moments are big steps in personal growth.

What鈥檚 Next?

We鈥檙e going to keep building on these skills 鈥� whether it鈥檚 through new song choices, greeting more friends, or combining more words on our devices. We鈥檙e proud of how far we鈥檝e come, and we鈥檙e excited to keep growing.

Personal development doesn鈥檛 always happen on a worksheet 鈥� sometimes, it happens in music, movement, laughter, and shared moments of understanding.

We鈥檙e learning to connect, to choose, to be seen, and to see each other. And that鈥檚 something worth celebrating.

Andy 鈥� 4AH

Healthy Eating Week

Ours school鈥檚 theme this year has been 鈥淏ack to Basics鈥�. We challenged classes to see if they could eat their 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables and 8 glasses of water!

Wellbeing

Here are Andy and the Wellbeing Team about what鈥檚 happening this year in their brilliant Connect Challenge series! Go Andy!

鈥淐onnect Challenge鈥�

This week our Connect Challenge was all about gratitude; we chose this theme to demonstrate how showing appreciation for the things we are thankful for can help create a positive mindset and enhance wellbeing

A huge thanks to all the classes that participated by sharing examples of what their students are thankful for, and a special shout out to Lizzie’s class for their creative ‘Gratitude’ posters!

We used these examples to make this word cloud, which visually represents the variety of things our students say they value most.听For a closer look, why not drop by the wellbeing room where it鈥檚 on display – and don鈥檛 forget to say 鈥淗i鈥� while you鈥檙e there! 馃槉

Lesson of the Week – Healthy Eating with 2HR!

It鈥檚 important to get the balance right with a healthy lifestyle, and eating is part of that!. Eve and the class have been doing just that! Let鈥檚 hear and see what they鈥檝e been doing!

This week for healthy eating week in 2HR we have been looking at lots of different healthy foods. We have made fruit kebabs, exploring the different tastes and textures of the fruit. We even tried cutting own our fruit up – it was tricky, but we showed resilience and managed to make our own kebabs to enjoy for snack. Yummy!

We then looked through lots of different foods discussing whether they had tried them and liked them or not. Sorting the food into like or dislike. Children took their time looking at each fruit and spoke with an adult about if they liked it or not or even if they had not tried it before.

Therapy Star of the Week!

Love Therapy Star of the Week! Especially when it鈥檚 the gym group! Let鈥檚 hear from Neil who has been doing this with the guys!

Andrew is showing respect for other gym users by cleaning machines after use. Casey is 鈥榩umping iron鈥�, and Charlie is taking a walk in the Costa Brava

The group is also made up of Bobbie and Laiton and Jack who have all applied for gym memberships, completed gym inductions, and been working hard with their exercises.

More Stars of the Week from a Therapy Angle 鈥� this time, Amelie!

Nina has been really impressed with Amelie鈥檚 work this week, and explains just why she is so impressed

Amelie did some lovely work last week exploring the soft play. She has been working on crawling up the ramp with reducing support from an adult to slide down the other side. The soft play is a great medium for Amelie to explore from both a sensory and physical point of view.

听Trip of the Week 鈥� Surfing with Christian鈥檚 Class!

Christian鈥檚 class went surfing this week and here are some lovely pics of Jay, Jackson and Michael!!

Behaviour for Learning (BfL)

Aylisha and Corin have developed the BfL Group and are working on supporting our pupils all the time on the best way to be in all situations

If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact the BfL team

• holland@percyhedley.org.uk
• orr@percyhedley.org.uk

Early Years 鈥� The Ducklings!

Let鈥檚 get the latest update from what鈥檚 been happening down in the fabulous Early Years, hear from Kerry, and also see some lovely pictures which show what sort of a week they鈥檝e had and what they鈥檝e been up to

Another busy week in Early Years!

We have enjoyed exploring this week. We have the seaside both indoors and out, making sandcastles filling and emptying, colouring the sand and painting with it.

In art we made a giant fish and jellyfish, choosing colours and materials to decorate. We finally finished the beehive and it will be returning to its forever home very soon. We will hope to get an update once the occupants have had time to settle in. During sensory cooking we read the story of the Gruffalo and made a messy Gruffalo crumble with lots of different foods using our senses to explore tastes and smells.

We have had some amazing use of our symbol boards this week making choices.

We also met a mermaid in another one of our sensory stories.

And finally鈥︹��it鈥檚 that time of year again鈥︹��..oh yes

鈥�..from John & the Team here at PHS

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Our Key Drivers

Communication, Wellbeing, Independence