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CHOIR TO SING AT METRO CENTRE
The school choir will be performing at the Metro Centre next Tuesday 6th December between 1pm and 3pm singing Christmas songs. They will be raising money for ‘Cancer Research’.
CHRISTMAS PARTIES
Your child’s Christmas parties and activities will take place on the following dates during school time.
KS1 Christmas Party Monday 12th December 1.30pm
Foundation Stage Christmas Party Tuesday 13th December 1pm
Year 5/ 6 Christmas party Wednesday 14th December 1.30pm
Year 3 / 4 Christmas party Thursday 15th December 1.30pm

There will be an opportunity for children to get changed into their party outfits in school on the day of their party. We would be grateful if you could contribute £1 towards the party food on the day (school are providing the food). Thank you to all the parent helpers in our School Parliament for help organising these activities.

15th November 2011

Dear Parents and Carers

Did you know … just registering your child for Free School Meals means that the school gets extra money?

Register now to make sure we don’t miss out

The Government is giving money to schools to help children from lower income families do their very best. This funding is called a ‘Pupil Premium’.

For every child registered at Parkhead Primary it gets £488 this year.

With this money we could increase the opportunities for school visits and activities to stimulate the children’s learning as well as being able to increase our educational resources in school. If you are registered for Free School Meals you could also get reduced cost after school activities and help towards residential visits for your children.

Please register before Christmas to make sure your child and others in their class don’t miss out.

How does it work?

1. First, check if you qualify – it is not just if you are unemployed, so please
look at the list on the next page.

2. Registering is really quick and easy – if you think you qualify, contact Gateshead council on 0191 4333729 who will help you to register.

3. If you want your child to have a free, healthy meal at lunchtime that’s
great – they will get the free meal (saving you more that £350 a year), extra
benefits and the school gets £488 extra.

4. If you don’t want your child to have the school meals they can
continue as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered, the
school still gets £488 extra.

No one will know you have registered and it will not affect any other benefits you are claiming. We have enclosed an application form which you can send direct to the council or you can drop off at school and we will send it off for you if you prefer.

Please talk to us about registering your child today. 0191 433 4014 or 0191 433 4146.

Yours sincerely,

Mandy Wilson
Head of Business and Strategy

Do you qualify?
You can register your child for Free School Meals if you get any of these benefits:
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
• Working Tax Credit 'run-on' - the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

Pupils can also register for Free School Meals if they get any of these benefits themselves. Come and talk to us if you’re not sure.

P M Bailey
Headteacher

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PARKHEAD GOES DOTTY FOR CHILDREN IN NEED

On Friday 18th November, the staff and children at Parkhead Primary School went dotty raising money for Children in Need.

Everybody came to school dressed in as many spots as they could, paying £1 for the privilege. All of the children looked fabulous when we got together for our assembly. In the afternoon, there was a spectacular bring and buy sale, as well as a number of competitions and games.

When asked how she felt about the school being covered in spots, Mrs Bailey said: “It was fantastic! It showed how much the children from Parkhead support Children in Need.”

We are all very grateful to everybody who has helped and supported us. Hopefully, we will have raised over £1000 for Children in Need.

In the event of a strike by public sector unions then school will be affected. However, at this stage I am unable to tell you the extent of the disruption as not all of the unions have made their position clear. It may be that only some year groups in school are affected or it may result in the whole school being closed. I will complete a risk assessment once we have a clearer picture and contact you as soon as possible.

Anti-Bullying Week – Blue Monday
Next week is National Anti-bullying Week and the theme of the week this year is verbal bullying. During Anti-Bullying week the children will have an opportunity to think about the effects verbal bullying can have on the behaviour of others. The aims of the week are:
• to give children the tools to challenge others when they use offensive or hurtful language
• to encourage children to make a conscious effort to speak positively and to compliment others.

As part of the week we will also be focussing on other forms of bullying, its effects and how to deal with it.

On Monday we would like to encourage the children to wear blue to show their support to stamping out bullying in schools and communities. We intend to award prizes to the children who are wearing the most items of blue clothing.

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School Prospectus 2012-2013 (PDF)

Why is it so important to arrive on time?
We would like to remind all of our parents how important it is for your children to attend school regularly and avoid any unnecessary absence in order for them to reach their full potential . During the mornings all children across the school focus on numeracy and literacy and this is an essential part of their learning. Arriving at school late can often mean they miss an important session and it then becomes difficult for them to catch up on some of the essential instructions. Please make an effort to ensure your child arrives promptly at 8.55am each morning.

What does 95% attendance mean?
The government target that we need to reach to be a good school is 95%. So for example if your child is off 9 days during the academic year this would be the equivalent of a 95% attendance, so please try and minimise the time off ill and for holidays. We had a lot of queries from parents last year about holidays and medical appointments unfortunately this does contribute towards the % attendance, so if you did decide to take 2 weeks off to go on holiday during term time this would lower your child's attendance below 95%. If your child has a medical appointment try and get this for the afternoon and they then can get both morning and afternoon marks in the register.

What do I do if my child is absent?
Sickness
If your child is unavoidably ill please remember to telephone school to report the absence before 9.30am. You can telephone the school on 0191 433 4144 and leave a message, or if you prefer you can use our new text service if this is easier. Our text number is 07797885351 It is important that we know your child is absent so we can ensure their safety on site at school as well as supporting you, should you have any problems. If you do not report the absence then we have to record it as unauthorised absence with no reason and if this continues we have to report it to the educational welfare officer who would contact you to discuss further.

Ongoing issues/medical problems
If your child has an ongoing issue or medical problem please make sure you have filled in a health care plan with Mrs Hunter in the office so we are aware of the issues and ensure care at school if needed. If your child has a dentist/doctor/optician appointment you will need to ensure you bring in the appointment card if your child needs to leave school early or late. The school nurses are always available if you need advice and can be contacted on 01914455247.

Please remember persistent or regular absence can only be authorised if medical evidence is provided by a G.P. or Consultant. Failure to provide this evidence may result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised and again a referral to the Education Welfare officer.
Holiday
Wherever possible we ask that you do not take holidays during term time. We do understand that sometimes this is unavoidable. You will need to fill in a holiday form and submit this to the school office. If your child’s attendance is already below 90% this cannot be authorised and will be recorded as unauthorised absence. In most circumstances holidays are authorised to a maximum of ten days but please try and minimise this. Thank you

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Dear Parent/Carer

IMPORTANT - Your child’s Information

I hope you all enjoyed the summer holidays and are back in your routines!
At the start of every academic year we ask that you ensure that we have the latest information about you and your child. It is extremely important that we can contact you in an emergency and we also by law have to inform you about the types of data that the school holds and therefore there is some information attached from the council to explain this.

As a reminder to how we can support you at Parkhead we have included some useful information in this letter about our school’s procedures as well as information about other services that we can direct you to.

Contact Information

It is very important that we have up to date information about you, your child and your family so that in the event of illness, an accident or any emergency we can contact you quickly. You will find enclosed with this letter the information that we currently hold on file for you and your child. Please amend this if there are any changes and return it to the school office. Forms are available on our website or from the school office. The government conducts a census every October and we are asked to collect additional information now such as first language and ethnicity and we ask you return the attached form to school by the end of next week so we can update our records.
From time to time we go out of the school grounds to visit local amenities such as the church and library. The contact information form asks you to sign to say you agree to local walking visits so we do not need to ask your permission for short visits such as these all the time. Please note the children in KS1 and KS2 are visiting the local library in the next few weeks and if you do not want your child to attend please speak to their class teacher.

The School Office

The main contact at the school office is Claire Hunter and Michelle Lane. The office is situated at the front of the Key Stage 2 building. Michelle and Claire can help you with the contact forms, dinner money, school visit information, after school clubs and any general query you may have. School visits are an important part of school life and we do ask for voluntary contributions throughout the year to support some of the exciting trips that we offer to the children. Please remember that this is voluntary and we need your authorisation for your child to go on the visit so it is important that you do return the visit slip promptly with a signature for health and safety reasons.
We have 10 members of staff trained in paediatric first aid so we have plenty of support around the school as well as for visits that your child attends. The designated contact in the school office is Mrs Hunter. Mrs Hunter has been trained in all issues surrounding medical legislation and first aid and is responsible for those around school. To ensure we offer the highest level of care it is important that you fill in the health care plan that is included in this pack to ensure we know about any medical conditions or allergies etc. that your child may have Mrs Hunter is particularly clear about, asthma, diabetes and epilepsy and can discuss any medical issues with you should you wish to. Please remember we will only administer medicines to children when you have signed a consent form so it is imperative you come in to the office and sign a medical form should you wish us to administer new medicines. If your child has to attend a dentist or doctor appointments please ensure that the appointment card is shown to the school office and children must be collected and dropped off by a named adult from the Key Stage 2 office and signed out by them.

School Uniform

Our school uniform is red and either a school jumper or cardigan with the school logo on can be purchased from the school office. Polo shirts are white and can be purchased from school with the logo on or from any other retail shop. School trousers and skirts are grey and we ask children wear sensible shoes (not trainers). Claire and Michelle are responsible for school uniform and they place orders on a Wednesday each week.

School Lunches
Our school lunches are very healthy and meet all the government nutritional guidelines. Every day there is a selection of hot and cold choices including vegetarian choices, sandwiches and baked potatoes. We strongly encourage children to eat school meals and dinner money can be paid weekly, monthly or termly to the school office or to your child’s class teacher. There is an envelope enclosed in this pack and you can pick up envelopes from the school office at any time. School meals are £1.90 a day or £9.50 per week. If you choose to provide your child with a packed lunch we ask that you do not include chocolate bars or fizzy drinks. Our school has passed the healthy schools award and it forms part of our whole school food policy. The school office need to know each term whether your child is taking school meals or packed lunch so the kitchen can plan their menus unfortunately we cannot switch children between the two choices each term due to this. All children in Foundation Stage get piece of fruit and milk under the schools milk and fruit scheme. Please indicate your child’s lunch choice for the term on the tear off slip below.

Extended Services

At Parkhead we offer a range of Breakfast and ‘After school clubs’ which offer a variety of activities with school staff and external coaches available to all children from aged 3 upwards. The clubs operate between 7.45am and 9am every morning and between 3.20pm and 6pm every evening. There is a charging system for the clubs for different times and further information can be obtained from the breakfast club and after school staff. Please make your bookings my speaking to the staff directly or by leaving a message on the 0191 433 5618 option 2.
Children should be dropped off and picked up at clubs and parents are required to sign their children in and out. The club entrance is now at the KS2 hall fire doors adjacent to the cycle shelter off the KS2 yard. There is a bell to gain access. (Exception Tuesday after school club is KS1 hall fire exit doors).

Communication

We are very keen at Parkhead to use ICT wherever possible and we encourage parents to communicate by email and text messaging with us wherever they can. You can ask Claire or Michelle in the office to put you on the mailing list for all school letters and our text messaging service and email if you prefer. We try to put as much information and photos on our school website as we can so please visit us at www.parkheadprimary.org to see the latest news and activities. We do however send letters home regularly and newsletters once a week. There are new notice boards going up on the main fencing outside the school in the next few weeks.

Parking

To ensure we keep the school safe we ask you not to park outside the school when dropping off and picking up children. Winlaton Rugby club offer free parking just around the corner so we encourage you to please use it.

Parent Volunteers

We operate a school parliament and have many parent volunteers who represent the voice of parents alongside the children’s voice. Parent volunteers offer us vital support during seasonal activities and provide excellent fundraising opportunities. We are always looking for parent volunteers particularly to help with our reading schemes. If you are interested please contact myself at any time and I will be able to explain a little more about what is involved.

As always, if you would like to contact me about any issue at all then please do not hesitate to do so.

Yours sincerely
Mandy Wilson
Head of Business and Strategy

Lunch choice for term commencing 12th September 2011

To help us plan appropriately please tick your meal choice for next half term:

Childs Name: __________________ Class: _______

Packed Lunch ______ School Meal ______

Please return to the school office asap.

Privacy Notice - Data Protection Act 1998

We Parkhead Primary are a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act. We collect information from you and may receive information about you from your previous school and the Learning Records Service. We hold this personal data and use it to:

• Support your teaching and learning;

• Monitor and report on your progress;

• Provide appropriate pastoral care, and

• Assess how well your school is doing.

This information includes your contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information and personal characteristics such as your ethnic group, any special educational needs and relevant medical information. If you are enrolling for post 14 qualifications we will be provided with your unique learner number (ULN) by the Learning Records Service and may also obtain from them details of any learning or qualifications you have undertaken.

We will not give information about you to anyone outside the school without your consent unless the law and our rules allow us to.

We are required by law to pass some information about you to the Local Authority and the Department for Education (DfE)

If you want to see a copy of the information about you that we hold and/or share, please contact Mandy Wilson at Parkhead Primary School on 0191 433 4014.

If you require more information about how the Local Authority (LA) and/or DfE store and use your information, then please go to the following websites:

http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Education%20and%20Learning/Schools/plans/dataprotection.aspx

and

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/schooladmin/ims/datamanagement/privacynotices/a0077959/what-the-department-does-with-pupils-and-childrens-data

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/schooladmin/ims/datamanagement/privacynotices/a0064391/who-the-department-passes-pupil-data-to

If you are unable to access these websites we can send you a copy of this information. Please contact the LA or DfE as follows:

• Matt Wadidngton
Principal MIS Officer
Service Improvement
Gateshead Council
Regent Street
Gateshead
NE8 1HH

• Public Communications Unit
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Website: www.education.gov.uk
email: http://www.education.gov.uk/help/contactus
Telephone: 0370 000 2288

In addition for Secondary and Middle deemed Secondary Schools

Once you are aged 13 or over, we are required by law to pass on certain information to providers of youth support services in your area. This is the local authority support service for young people aged 13 to 19 in England. We must provide both your and your parent’s/s’ name(s) and address, and any further information relevant to the support services’ role. However, if you are over 16, you (or your parent(s)) can ask that no information beyond names, address and your date of birth be passed to the support service. Please inform (Insert name of School Administrator) if you wish to opt-out of this arrangement. For more information about young peoples’ services, please go to the Directgov Young People page at www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/index.htm or the LA website shown above.

Welcome back to the start of the new academic year. I hope you all had a lovely summer holiday. It was lovely to welcome the children back to school on Tuesday. They all looked fantastic in their smart uniforms. I would like to thank everyone for supporting us in our new policy regarding uniform, hairstyle and earrings.

During the holidays the school underwent a mini-transformation which included:
• Painting of the KS1 and KS2 hall
• Painting of the classrooms and corridor areas in KS2
• Painting of some internal and external doors
• New carpets in the KS2 corridors and entrance
• New blinds fitted
• New tarmac in the car park
• Painting and refurbishment of ‘In the Jungle’

This has really brightened up and improved the learning environment for the children.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Bedford and Miss Taylor, In the Jungle, who were married in the holiday and are now Mrs Higgins and Mrs Armstrong. I would also like to welcome Mrs Broadfoot who has joined our teaching team and is teaching in Year 5.

As always we have a busy term planned and we will let you know key dates in our next newsletter.

House Captains
The following children have been chosen to represent the house teams:

Baltic: Jackson Knox and Nicole Postlethwaite
Sage: Georgia Smith and Isaac Tarrant
Millenium: Georgia Kelso and Ewan Frazer
Angel: Caitlin Maughan and Matthew O’Regan

School Council
All of the children voted this week to elect two school council members to represent their class, in working with Mrs McDermid to help us drive forward improvements in our school. We very much value the views of the children and the school council is one way in which they have the opportunity to be involved in many aspects of school life and make sure their ‘voice’ is heard and their ideas and contributions are taken into consideration.
The following children will be representing their class:

Y1 M Sophie Blanden
Dan Peart
Y1 Moffat Zoe Hakizimana
Corey Lane
Y2 H Faye Johnstone
Daniel Frazer
Y2T Lucy Donnelly
Sam Newton
Y3 S Stacey Watson
Ben Keenan
Y3 AG Alex Mason
Jack Cummings
Y4M Kira Quinlan
Emile Tarrant
Y4S Layla Nicholson
Matthew Toward
Y5J Courtney Christer
Damien Jackson
Y5B Laine Bennett
Ryan Bolton
Y6 Shackleton Ellen Birdsall
Isaac Tarrant
Y6 Sharpe Kelsie Perkins
Lewis Ritchie

I hope your child has enjoyed their first week back at school and settled into their new class. We are all looking forward to the term ahead and building on the successes we have achieved so far. Through working in partnership with you we can ensure all of our pupils enjoy their time at school and achieve the very best they can.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or matters you would like to discuss.

Yours sincerely,

Paula Bailey

How can my children receive school meals?
Your child, or children, may qualify for free school meals if you are able to meet the following criteria:

You or your partner must have a child or children for whom you receive child benefit who is in full time education, under 19 years of age and who attends a local authority school or sixth form.

You and your partner must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

Income Support
Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (JSA - IB)
Guarantee Pension Credit
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA Income Related)
Child Tax Credit - but not Working Tax Credit - and your income for Tax Credit purposes must be less than £16,190.00 (details are shown on your Tax Credit award notice)
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
If this applies to you, please complete our free school meals application form and return to the address shown.

If you satisfy the requirements for your child / children to receive Free School Meals, and submit the information required over the page, the school(s) that your child / children attend will be informed of this and Free Meals will be available immediately.

Parents can be sure that pupils who receive a free school meal are not singled out in any way.

Important

If you stop receiving one of the qualifying benefits; you stop being responsible for the child/children concerned; or your Tax Credit entitlement changes, you MUST inform the Council Benefit Section immediately.

To make an application for free school meals please select the link on the right of this page for one of our application forms.

Enquiries

Please contact us if you have any queries or require any further information on the right of this page:

Our opening hours: Monday - Thursday 8.00 am - 5.00 pm
Friday 8.00am - 4.30pm

The free school meals application form can be found on this website link:
http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Education%20and%20Learning/Schools/schoolmeals/ForParents/free.aspx

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