Latest news is now shared via our Head Teacher blog which is published in the Parents section of the website. Please also visit our Twitter feed for a window into our curriculum offer and to see the purposeful and memorable learning experiences in each year group. Our Twitter feed can be accessed on the Home page of our website or by clicking on the Twitter icon in the top left corner of this page.

Please find below an archive of the news stories that we published before we started to use Twitter.

• Phased Return to School Letter

  Thu 14 May 2020

  Dear Parents and Carers

  Potential School Reopening

  Following the government’s announcement on Sunday, we are writing to update you with regards to the potential reopening of schools, as we all deal with the challenging circumstances of this pandemic and the impact that it is having on us all.

  Our preference is of course for all of our schools to find a way of opening again to our pupils, but our first priority must be that this is safe and manageable so that you (and staff) can have confidence in our planning and approach. We are currently discussing ways forward and will be guided by further information from the Department of Education, Newcastle Local Authority and the Unions.

  We understand that the current uncertainties may be causing some anxiety and that many of you may not wish for your child to return at this time. Some may be shielding, deemed as vulnerable or feel that their child is safer at home. In the following few months, parents will be best placed to make this decision and the government have advised that there will be no legal or monitoring processes for attendance. Your school will be sending out a short parent survey to capture your current thinking.

  Moving forward, there are a number of vital factors to be taken into consideration. As an example, we must consider how much of our school buildings can be cleaned to the standards required and therefore how many areas and classrooms we can safely open. This in addition to other health and safety risk factors will limit the numbers of pupils we can have in school at any one time.

  We will therefore be proceeding with caution. The ambition is to reopen from June however this must be a phased approach. Schools will be very different to what they were before the lockdown and children will need to be supported to understand this. We may have to offer part-time hours to smaller groups of children and staggered start and finishing times - we will do our best!

  It is most likely that this will begin with our oldest pupils in Year 6 over a gradual period of time. We will then be able to discuss if and how we are able to invite our younger children back to school by regular review of the risk assessments. I urge the parents of Nursery, Reception and Year 1 children not to expect that they will be returning in June and not until it is safe to do so.

  Home learning will carry on as usual for year groups and children asked to stay at home.

  Please also note that from the 1st June our schools will still be open to our most vulnerable children and those of key workers. Current Local Authority guidelines states that it is unlikely that any other pupils will be returning to schools on this date.

  We will continue to keep you updated as best we can on developments and information we receive as and when they happen. In the meantime we thank you for your continued support, patience and understanding.

  Yours faithfully,

   

  Julie Stuart, Headteacher Throckley Primary School

  Mark Outterside, Headteacher Westerhope Primary School

  Craig Heeley, Headteacher Lemington Riverside Primary School

  Suzanne Richardson, Headteacher Milecastle Primary School

  Wendy Leeming, Headteacher Waverley Primary School

  Mick MingStones, Headteacher West Denton Primary School

  Louise Thompson, Headteacher Simonside Primary School

  Stuart Pickup, Headteacher Newburn Manor Primary School

  Liz Simpson, Headteacher Knop Law Primary School

• Special Message for Year 6

  Wed 13 May 2020

  This week marks what would have been SATs Week for our outstanding Year 6 children. Even though these assessments don’t show how funny, caring, athletic, creative and thoughtful you all are, we know how much effort and hard work you had put into these and so we wanted to celebrate your dedication and successes! We’re so incredibly proud of your determination and progress this year; you truly are all incredible. We hope you enjoy the poem we have written as you are the inspiration! Miss you lots, the Year 6 Team x

   

  A special message for our lovely Year 6 children:

  Months of hard work have been and gone,
  My oh my how much you’ve shone,
  These last few months have been a roller coaster ride,
  But your continued dedication fills us with pride.

  And now these tests will no longer be happening,
  Some will be sad but most will be clapping,
  Remember these tests don’t show who you really are,
  Or convey those tough journeys where you’ve travelled so far.

  These tests don’t show how much you smile,
  Or the football tricks you can perform in style,
  Your hilarious humour and incredible wit,
  Or acts of kindness which show your true spirit.

  Our classrooms are missing the amazing Year 6,
  We miss watching you build your future, brick by brick,
  Our days may be quieter without your catchy dances,
  We admit we’ve tried to copy them but received some funny glances.

  We are very lucky teachers who could not be prouder,
  That line needs reading again but this time much LOUDER,
  Our dazzling stars continue to sparkle and shine brightly,
  But for now stay safe and cuddle your loved ones tightly.

• Mrs Stuart Reads Her Favourite Story

  Mon 04 May 2020

   

   

  https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=BxU2A2WXS0qos11GMRb1hA&prompt_id=prompt.d7b5abd1-b578-44d0-b0f9-5e4e248c01c4

• Newsletter from Mrs Stuart, 1st May 2020

  Fri 01 May 2020

  Dear Parent,

  I hope you are all safe and well and managing to spend some quality time together as a family amidst these unprecedented times. I know how challenging this period is for many of our families and, as a school, we want to ensure we are offering as much support as possible to those who need it. I, therefore, would like to outline our role and what we are offering to our families during these unprecedented times.

   

  What is the role of school during this time?

  The role of schools nationwide has considerably changed, albeit on a temporary basis: we offer childcare to support parents who are key workers. This is to ensure that those people whose roles are critical in the response to Covid-19 can go to work knowing that their child is safe and looked after.

   

  How can I best support my child?

  We understand that many parents and carers wish to support their child with learning; social media is awash with parents’ suggestions and achievements when it comes to home schooling. We want to make it clear that the single most important thing you can do during this global crisis is to provide a calm, happy home for your child. Be there for them when they are anxious, worried or upset. Be aware of conversations you may be having about the ongoing situation which may not be suitable for children’s ears. Read with your child as much as you can – find joy in sharing a story!

   

  How much work should my child be completing?

  As a school, we have no expectation of work that must be completed during this time; the wellbeing of you and your child is the most important thing. However, if you wish to support your child in more formal learning tasks, we are providing weekly English and maths activities that complement the half termly projects we have uploaded on to our website. These weekly tasks are uploaded each Monday morning onto the Home Learning and Support section of our school website and also onto our new home-school platform, Seesaw.

  If you would like to complete the activities with your child, we would be delighted to see their work if you wish to upload it via Seesaw. However, there is no expectation for you to do this so feel free to choose the activities you think they would most benefit from and complete them at your own pace, in your own way.

  We have asked class teachers to review comments and questions received via Seesaw twice a week, therefore it may be a day or two before you receive a response. Class teachers will respond by either ‘liking’ the post or with a brief comment. It has been wonderful for staff to make this connection with the children in their class and we have all been so impressed with what children have been working on – from beautiful rainbow pictures, to home baking, to long division – lots of you have been very busy!

   

  What if my family has limited access to technology and the internet?

  We understand that some families may not have access to a laptop or shared tablet and this can make home learning tricky for those who would like their child to access online content. As stated above, there is no expectation for any work to be uploaded to Seesaw for teachers to review. If your child can view tasks via any device, it would be absolutely fine for work to then be completed on paper, or in the exercise books sent home a few weeks ago. Remember, simple things like writing a daily diary, or helping you to calculate costs for weekly shopping are excellent ways to keep children’s minds active while practising basic literacy and numeracy skills.

  Please continue to do what is right for you and your child; every family’s circumstances are different and we know that you will be doing all you can to ensure your child is happy and content during their time away from school.

  Please tell your child to look out for a story that I will be sharing with them next week.  It’s my favourite!  Can they guess what it is?

  Take care and stay safe!

  Mrs Julie Stuart

• RSE Policy for Consultation

  Thu 30 Apr 2020

  Dear Parents/Carers,

  In light of upcoming changes to requirements for Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), we have been consulting with parents/carers, pupils and staff on how we can make sure that our updated RSE curriculum meets the new requirements as well as the needs of our pupils.

   

  We’ve worked hard to make sure that our new curriculum reflects:

   

  • Our pupils’ age and maturity levels, as well as their cultural and religious backgrounds
  • The values of our school community
  • Every pupil’s learning needs
  • What pupils need to know to be healthy and safe in school, in their personal relationships and in the wider world

  
  We have now updated our RSE policy to include our proposed new curriculum. You can find a copy of our new draft policy in the link below.
  
  We would welcome your feedback on the policy and parents/carers can submit their feedback by emailing our admin address:  admin@throckleyprim.newcastle.sch.uk

   

  The deadline for responding to the consultation is Friday 29^th May 2020.

  Yours sincerely,

  Julia Brown, Deputy Head Teacher and Emma Liddle, RSE Curriculum Leader

• Newsletter from Mrs Stuart, 24th April 2020

  Fri 24 Apr 2020

  Dear Parents,

  Home-School Communication

  We hope your children have enjoyed making a start on the summer term project work set by their class teacher. We would love to see and hear about what children have been working on and so I am pleased to announce that next week we are launching a home-school communication tool, Seesaw for Years 1-6.  The Early Years will continue to use Tapestry as their home-school communication tool.  

  The web-based programme allows parents and supervised children to upload their work, pictures and messages which will then be viewed by their class teacher. It is a fantastic way for us to keep in touch and to see all of the wonderful work that children have been creating.

  While there is no expectation that you log into Seesaw regularly, we would encourage you to take a look and try to upload some work or even just say hello! We know you will each be doing your utmost to support your child in a way which is best for them and your family during these unprecedented times.

  We are mindful of the fact that children are missing a significant amount of learning time in school therefore, as of next Monday, we will be uploading weekly English and maths activities set by your child’s class teacher. These will be uploaded to both Seesaw, Tapestry and our school website.

  While there is no expectation for all of the activities to be completed, we would be delighted if your child could do as much as they can. Teachers will be contactable through Seesaw if you or your child have any questions at all.

  You will receive an email by the middle of next week which will contain your login information and there is a Seesaw guidance video available in the latest news section of our website. We can’t wait to hear from you!

  Online Access Survey from Newcastle Local Authority 

  “Do you need help getting your children equipped to learn online at home?”  If the answer is yes, Newcastle City Council wants to hear from you.

  The council is conducting a citywide survey to find out which families do not have computer equipment or internet access to enable their children to go online at home to do their school work.  Families in this situation are being offered help in getting the equipment they need.  To find out more and complete a simple form visit https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/public-health-wellbeing-and-leisure/public-health-services/coronavirus-covid-19/school-and

  If you need help to access the form or to fill it in you can call the council’s support team on 0191 277 4500 between 9am and 2.30pm, Monday to Friday.

  The survey must be completed before it closes at 2.30pm on Friday 1 May.

  Twitter

  As well as the launch of Seesaw, we are delighted to this week also be joining the world of Twitter! We will be regularly uploading useful content, so please do follow us @throckleyprim. Our first tweets are quite special; we hope you like them. For those who do not have access to Twitter, please take a look at the video message from staff on the school website.

  Take care,

  Mrs Stuart, Head Teacher 

• Accessing Seesaw Home Learning Platform

  Wed 22 Apr 2020

  Accessing Seesaw Home Learning Platform

  A big well done and thank you to all our children and families, who are continuing to work hard and support home learning during these unprecedented times. 

  Key Stage 1 and 2 children have been receiving activity packs over the last few weeks and we would love for you to share all your wonderful learning with us! You will be receiving an email over the next few days with a unique ‘text code’ which will allow your child to access Seesaw via the app or online. This is very similar to Tapestry that our families with younger children can access. This step by step video guide below has details on how to access, log in and respond to activities set by class teachers through Seesaw. We are really looking forward to seeing your fantastic work and hope you keep safe and happy!

• Summer Home Learning Activities

  Fri 17 Apr 2020

  All home learning activities are now in a special folder on the website.  Please click on the category called 'HOME LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND SUPPORT' in the green section at the top of this home page.

• Home Learning Activities and Support

  Wed 01 Apr 2020

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  
  Due to the school closures, we have prepared some documents and links to support you with remote learning.  We do acknowledge the fact that children might well be ill and not able to study, however we would like to support children’s on-going learning using digital technology and online platforms. The guidance in the documents and links below for home learning gives a range of activities that the children can access whilst at home.  In addition to the information, specific year group activities are also available. 

   

  Where possible, encouraging daily learning is beneficial however there is no set amount of work to complete.  This will be dependent upon the individual child but we would encourage as much reading for pleasure as possible.  Please note that some of these platforms provide daily, guided lessons which will support parents with providing the learning at home.

   

  If your child is unable to access online learning, please use the work that was sent home with them during the last week of school.

  Thank you for your continued patience and support.

  Yours sincerely,

  Julie Stuart

  Head Teacher

• 27th March Letter from Mrs Stuart

  Fri 27 Mar 2020

  Dear Parents and Children

   

  I thought I would write to check in with you all and give you an update on this week.

   

  Myself and all of the staff and governors want to send you all our very best wishes and hope you are all keeping safe and well.

   

  It has been a very eerie week in school with so few children and very sad to walk around the building, looking into empty classrooms and listening to the 'sound of silence'.  We miss you all very much!

   

  I just want to give you some further information on home learning:

   

  There is no expectation on how much work should be done each day or each week.  Every family's circumstances will be different and it is important we all try to remain as calm and happy as possible.  For some, that might mean enjoying doing daily activities from school but for others, they might prefer to do a few pieces weekly instead.  There is no right or wrong way but the main thing to prioritise is reading so, as much as possible, try to get your child reading books at home or from our online links.

   

  I have seen a lot of videos on social media (some of which are very amusing!) of parents all over the country, teaching their children and helping them to complete work.  Whilst it is great for parents to help support their child's continued education at home, please do not put any pressure on yourself or expectations of how much you should be doing.  Encouraging your child to complete some of the set activities each week and sharing a story or book is more than enough.  The last thing we want is for parents to feel any additional pressures or worries at this time.  

   

  To that end, the staff are currently putting together  an Easter newsletter for each year group with fun activities for you to choose and complete at your leisure.  Again, this is optional but might just give some ideas to keep your children busy and entertained.  We will put this up on our website later next week.

   

  As soon as I have any further information to update you with then I will be in contact but, in the meantime, I have had no further messages than you have about school closures and how long they will last.  All I can say is that I hope we can all be back to school again very soon, filling our building with lots of children and lots of noise (I never thought I would say that!)

   

  Take care of yourselves and your loved ones!

   

  Mrs Stuart