Kirkleatham Hall School
"Unlocking Potential"
Latest News
This page is used to inform you of our latest news at Kirkleatham Hall School, discuss Apple applications and view our half termly Newsletter
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Acorn Cafe - Open Monday 20th Feb
Mon 20 Feb 2023On Monday 20th February we will be opening our Acorn Cafe from 10.00am until 1.00pm. The cafe will be open to students and their families. A small selection of refreshments will be available. We look forward to welcoming you all.
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Half Term Letter - Feb 2023
Thu 16 Feb 2023Dear Parents/Carers
Following on from my previous letter in relation to prospective strike action that is due to take place, it is looking very likely that the strike day called by the National Educational Union (NEU) for the 28th February is likely to still go ahead unless a resolution is reached.
We will have a number of teachers who will be on strike on these days, but also a number of Teaching Assistants who will be required to stay off to look after their own children as their children’s schools may be closed.
The decision was made by senior leaders, due to there being four planned strike days, to close a quarter of the school on each strike day so that each student only misses one day of schooling as a result of strike action.
The intention, should a resolution not be reached, that the following classes will be closed:
Tuesday February 28th – Jet, Amber, Ruby, Diamond, Pearl
If your child is in one of these classes then they will not be in school on the 28th February.
We will endeavour wherever possible to deliver your child’s usual curriculum on the strike days, however this may not be feasible in all classes and alternative activities may be provided.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you as parents and carers that as a school we have an open door policy. This means that we want to be as open and transparent a school as we can be. We are working hard to ensure that we re-embed all the fantastic activities that allowed you as parents and carers to come into school and share in your child’s learning. In the meantime, I would ask that should you have any worries or concerns, please let us know. It is our job to support our learners as best we can but also to reassure and support our parents and families. I always say “We don’t know what we don’t know”, and unless issues are drawn to our attention then we are unable to answer or potentially resolve any concerns.
If you do have any concerns, please talk to either your child’s class teacher as your first point of contact, or alternatively Lucy Chapman who is our Children’s and Family Welfare Lead. Hopefully, any issues can be resolved at this level but if things are not dealt with to your satisfaction then senior leaders will be happy to make themselves available to support any concerns that you may have.
May I also take this opportunity to wish you a lovely half term break.
Kind regards
Paul McLean
Headteacher
Kirkleatham Hall School
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Strike Action - Update
Mon 30 Jan 202330th January 2023
Dear Parents/Carers
Following on from my previous letter in relation to the strike action that is due to take place, we have discussed how best to deal with this situation.
We will have a number of teachers who will be on strike on these days, but also a number of Teaching Assistants who will be required to stay off to look after their own children as their children’s schools may be closed.
From a school perspective, it is extremely difficult to make decisions on what to do when we are dealing with an unspecified number of staff not being present at school. However, what I do not want to do is wait until the day of the strike and then have to send children home as that will have the biggest detrimental effect on our families.
Instead, we have decided that the fairest and hopefully least damaging way to proceed is to have a partial closure on the strike days. In doing this, it allows us to keep school open for the majority of students on each day and means children that miss a day of school as a result of strike action will hopefully only miss one out of the four days.
For the strike days the following classes will NOT be in school.
Wednesday February 1st – Highcliffe, Carlton, Sutton, Wainstones, Roseberry
Tuesday February 28th – Jet, Amber, Ruby, Diamond, Pearl
Wednesday March 15th – Emerald, Sapphire, Purple, Green
Thursday March 16th – Orange, Blue, Yellow, Rainbow, Nursery
Please bear in mind that this list is only provisional. We will need to be reflective on each strike day as to whether it is safe to maintain the planned number of open classes. This will be dynamically risk assessed on each strike day, however the planned class closures should give us lots of wriggle room should more staff be off than expected.
We will endeavour wherever possible to deliver your child’s usual curriculum on the strike days, however this may not be feasible in all classes and alternative activities may be provided.
Cont/d…..
Please also note there is the prospect that should there be a resolution that not all strike days may go ahead. There is however, the potential for more unions to vote to strike in which case we will have to reflect and adapt our initial plans for what school will look like on the strike days.
Thank you for your continued support
Kind regards
Paul McLean
Paul McLean
Headteacher
Kirkleatham Hall School
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Strike Action - NEU (National Education Union)
Mon 23 Jan 2023Dear Parents/Carers
The NEU (National Education Union) have announced that its ballot of teacher members in England has met the threshold required to commence industrial action.
The NEU has announced national and regional action. The dates that will affect children in the North of England are as follows:
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Tuesday 28th February 2023
Wednesday 15th March 2023
Thursday 16th March 2023
On these days we are very likely to have a number of NEU teaching staff who will be off and potentially some NEU Teaching Assistants.
This situation is made more challenging as we know that some schools may need to close on these days and then our staff may need to provide childcare for their own children.
At this moment in time, we cannot say with any certainty as to whether school will be open or closed on these days. We will endeavour to keep school open if it is safe to do so. I will write to you with further information as soon as I have it.
Yours sincerely
Paul McLean
Headteacher
Kirkleatham Hall School
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School Nurse Strike
Mon 16 Jan 2023Dear Parents/Carers
On Wednesday and Thursday this week there is planned strike action by the Royal College of Nurses. There was a discussion as to whether this would affect the School Nursing Service. This morning we have received confirmation that the strike action will include the School Nursing Service.
The reason we have a School Nurse is that educational staff are not insured or covered to provide lots of the medical interventions that our students require.
We are therefore in the position where by if your child receives any medical intervention that they will be unable to attend school on Wednesday and Thursday. This is either the administering of medication at any point during the school day or any medication that maybe needed to be administered in an emergency situation.
As a school we have fought to ensure that we have a Registered Nurse on site at all times. This is for the safety and wellbeing of our students. I am concerned that if children that usually require medical intervention attend school, that we are giving the message that we can manage without a School Nurse, which I know is not in the best interests of our students.
However, I appreciate the stress this places on you as families and I sincerely apologise for the loss of education and the inconvenience that this causes. If further strike action is planned, I will try to give you as much notice as possible now we are aware that any further strike action will include School Nurses.
Please note, if your child is on residential this week then this will only affect them on the days when they would be in school.
Yours sincerely
Paul McLean
Headteacher
Kirkleatham Hall School
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Winter Illness
Tue 06 Dec 2022Dear Parents/Carers
At present, we have a large number of staff and student absence, with a variety of different causes. However, within these absences we last night had a confirmed case of Scarlet fever within school. The girl was based in Yellow class in our EYFS. Now whilst one case cannot be considered an outbreak it is extremely contagious and can spread quite quickly. The main symptoms are headache, high temperature, a flushed face and a swollen tongue. In general, Scarlet fever itself is not considered high risk and most cases are mild, however occasionally there can be complications. If your child has these symptoms you will need to keep them off school and if they are particularly unwell should seek medical advice.
I would ask that if your child is unwell, that you keep them off school and do so until you feel they are fully recovered. I appreciate that there are a lot of Christmas activities taking place in school that children may not want to miss but preventing the spread of illness must take a higher priority at this moment in time.
For cases of sickness and diarrhoea, a child should remain off for 48 hours after the last time they displayed the symptom. If a child goes home with sickness or diarrhoea, we ask that they stay off the following day but can return the day after providing the sickness or diarrhoea is not ongoing.
Kind regards
Paul McLean
Headteacher
Kirkleatham Hall School
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Land of Iron - SEN Santa Sessions
Thu 24 Nov 2022Land of Iron are offering quiet hour bookable Santa sessions for families who have children with additional needs at Land of Iron at Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum in Skinningrove on the 10 and 11 December.
The special needs slots are between 9am and 10am on both the 10 and 11 December and are bookable by emailing learning@ironstonemuseum.co.uk
Booking slots will be every 10 minutes to begin with.
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Event: A Focus on Autism: Practical Strategies to Support your Child
Wed 02 Nov 2022This November, Witherslack Group are organising a very special parent and carer event which will offer practical advice to families supporting neurodiverse children and young people. Here are the details -
Event: A Focus on Autism: Practical Strategies to Support your Child
Date: Tuesday 15th November
Time: 9.30am – 2pm
Venue: The Wilson Centre, Stockton-On-Tees, TS21 1DD
Presenter: Anne-Marie Harrison, Ideas Afresh Education Ltd
Cost: Free of charge
Over the course of the day presentations will focus on:
· Developing further understanding around your child’s autism profile with a focus on challenges and strengths.
· Identifying behaviours and why they are happening.
· Practical support strategies to develop communication, reduce anxiety, increase wellbeing and happiness.
Please feel free to share details about this event with families you are working with. The link to sign up can be found below.
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Children’s Continence Service - Change of telephone number
Thu 13 Oct 2022From Monday 26th September 2022 the telephone number for the Children’s Continence service has change to 01642 944581
The answer machine will still be available. Office hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4pm. If you are calling out of these hours please leave a message on the answer phone with your child’s name, date of birth and a summary of your message.
Yours sincerely
Children’s Continence Service
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School Closure - Monday 19th September
Mon 19 Sep 2022Dear Parents/Carers
It was with great sadness that we heard of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It has been announced that the Queen’s funeral, which is an opportunity for the country to come together in national unity to remember the Queen and her years of service, will take place on Monday 19th September. The government has declared that this will be a national bank holiday and as such all educational establishments will be shut on this day. School will reopen as usual the next day on Tuesday 20th September.
Thank you for your continued support.
Paul McLean
Headteacher
Kirkleatham Hall School
