Dear Parents
I hope that you found the content of the Safety in the Community PIAG useful last night. If you were not able to attend this, please find below the videos shared. Please do contact us if there are areas that you would like specifically covered in PIAGs which could be either age/year related or more general.
Please can I ask that parents only drive on to the school site, beyond the drop-off zone, at the beginning and end of the day by prior arrangement or if they have an appointment with a member of staff. This is to maintain the safety of our whole community.
I hope that you enjoy the numerous reports below and thank you for your support of our young people now that the weather is improving enabling the extra-curricular activities to increase both in and outside of school.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Behaviour Reporting on Arbor Parent Portal
From this afternoon, the Arbor parent portal has been updated and will now allow parents access to an overview of all behaviour recorded on Arbor. Staff use Arbor to record incidents of negative behaviour as well as Achievement, Citizenship and Effort rewards (ACEs). Parents have previously been able to see the positive records but will now be able to see summaries of all incidents logged.
More information about how we record incidents of behaviour is available in our Positive Behaviour Policy on the website but, in summary, Category 1 (C1) behaviours are for low level incidents such as chatter in class or not completing homework and are usually dealt with through a conversation with the pupil or possibly a break or lunchtime detention. Category 2 (C2) behaviours are for more serious incidents and usually result in an after school detention, for which you will continue to receive written notification as normal. Category 3 (C3) behaviour are for the most serious incidents and you will be contacted by Learning Mangers or members of the Leadership Team to discuss these should they occur.
C1 behaviours result in -1 behaviour points, C2s result in -2 points and C3s result in -3 points. You should be able to see the overall points total of positives minus negatives. We hope this will enable parents to be better informed about their children’s behaviour at school.
If you have any queries or questions then please contact the year office who will be able to help.
James Woollin – Deputy Headteacher
Young Carers
Hardenhuish School is proud to launch a support group for Young Carers. We recognise the valuable work from some of our pupils as Young Carers who might support family members who may have physical or mental illnesses, disabilities or misuse of substances such as alcohol or drugs. One of our Year 11 pupils, Ellie-May is our Young Carers ambassador and has highlighted the valuable work done by this group of pupils and the importance of the recognition of the work they do at home on top of the pressures of normal schoolwork.
Ellie-May wrote this incredibly insightful and inspirational piece to help raise awareness:
“A young carer is a young person who cares for a person who has any type of physical or mental illness, physical or mental disability or misuses substances such as alcohol or drugs.
As a young carer myself I feel that not many people know what a young carer is as it’s not really spoken about. It’s not taught in schools, meaning not many know how to help support us; we don’t have much support from anyone to help us find balance, give us space to enjoy being young and support us into adulthood so they can pursue our dreams outside of caring.
Young carers should be spoken about more because most of us are overlooked because we are expected to do the same as any normal child at school, whereas, when we go home, we have the pressure of caring for the person and keeping on top of schoolwork.
Since Covid, young carers have spoken up more about their own mental health. Since the pandemic one third of young carers reported having a mental health problem due to not being able to escape the reality of caring.
Whilst for the people we care for have that support of being able to go somewhere to open up and off load their worries and problems however, those of us who care for them don’t really have anything like that which I personally think should be put in place.”
As a response we have set up DROP IN SESSIONS on Thursday lunchtimes with Mrs Bush. Young carers are invited to bring their lunch, a friend and have the opportunity to discuss any issues which might be concerning them.
We also have an INFORMATION BOARD in L Centre.
DATE FOR DIARY: YOUNG CARERS ACTION DAY TUESDAY 14 MARCH. Activities are being planned for L Centre Foyer at lunchtime.
I Can and I Am Charity Visit
Following an inspirational talk by founder James Shone at the Mental Health PIAG last term, we have been fortunate to welcome the charity back to Hardenhuish over the last few weeks. Years 7,8,9,10 and 12 all received a talk from James about ways to increase their self-belief which was positively received. The Year 8s and some year 9s were also lucky enough to have a go at some workshops on the charities custom made double decker bus! These workshops involved pupils making pizza, feeling a sense of achievement for making something. Pupils then completed a work shop in the upstairs of the bus where they reflected on their strengths and qualities to help inflate their balloons of self-belief. Everyone who I have spoken to has been extremely complimentary about their experience and we would like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff at I Can and I Am.
Here are a few things our pupils had to say:
“I really enjoyed making pizza and the calm, respectful environment. I also liked that all the staff were super kind and sweet”
“It helped me learn more about me and my friends”
“It helped my confidence and you can be yourself”
“He told us very good things about how to inflate our balloon”
“I got to see how much my friends think of me”
“It helped me to think what I need to change”
“I feel much better about myself and my emotions”
Children’s Mental Health Week
Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week. We will be sharing some advice, guidance and activities with pupils through SMHW.
Sports News
Wiltshire Schools Cross-country Championships 2023
Congratulations to all of the Hardenhuish runners who competed in the Wiltshire Cross-country Championships on Saturday 21 January at Sheldon/Hardenhuish.
Qualification for this competition was as a result of finishing in the top 10 of the previous round which was the North Wiltshire Championships in November.
The weather on Saturday 21st was bitterly cold and visibility was reduced to 30m, this made the course even more challenging than normal. As always the Huish runners showed incredible resilience throughout their races.
The results were as follows:
Minor Girls
Sophie Phelps 4th
Kaitlin Cummings 35th
Junior Boys
Tobi Loughlin 1st
Dan Phelps 4th
William Howe 16th
Junior Girls
Louisa Niker 8th
Inter Girls
Amelia Chalk 15th
Inter Boys
Joshua Bailey 21st
Selby Archer 24th
Senior Boys
Henri Cotineau 9th
Senior Girls
Jasmine Kennedy 11th
Lauren Coward 12th
Congratulations to all of the Huish runners and a special mention to all those who finished in the top ten as they have been selected to represent Wiltshire in the South West Championships, and some have also been selected for the English School Finals.
Well done to all runners and we wish those runners who are competing in the next round the best of luck.
Mrs Place
ESFA Knockout Cup Competition Round 16
U15 Hardenhuish 1- 4 Eggbuckland Community School
The U15 squads amazing ESFA cup run has come to an end for this year, going one round better than last year which is positive for girls football at Hardenhuish.
This was a tough game where our girls worked very hard from start to finish. We quite quickly took the lead from a free kick from Erin and a lovely controlled finish by Emily. The girls were pressing hard but a free kick given away for a handball gave Eggbuckland their chance to equalise which they did. At 1-1 we soaked up a lot of pressure and Lily made some fine saves in goal to keep the score level; but as we looked towards half time Eggbuckland scored 3 very quick goals which knocked our confidence and flow. After a long stoppage for an injury and a quick change in formation the girls came back out in the 2nd half and were the better team, but just couldn’t find a goal that was desperately needed to put the pressure on. Fran provided plenty of support to Angelina and Emily in defence and played many balls forward; Martha, Katie, Ottie and Caitlin worked tirelessly throughout the game and ensured that we kept pressing. Claire made lots of runs with support from Holly and was unlucky not to score on a number of occasions – they had all the ball but just could not find the net. Overall it was a positive 2nd half and the girls did not stop trying.
They were unlucky this time, but it has been a fantastic cup run and I looking forward to our next season as U16s.
Laura Davidge-Lumber
Sports Leaders
Over the last few weeks we have welcomed 250 primary pupils to Hardenhuish to take part in 2 multi skills events. In order for these events to take place our Year 8 Sports Ambassadors and Year 9 Sports Leaders have been tasked with leading different stations for the young children. Each of our leaders have done an excellent job and were fantastic role models. Their enthusiasm and positive attitudes allowed each of the visiting pupils to have great fun, and I am so impressed with how they have conducted themselves.
U12 Wiltshire Cup Match v Kingdown
Despite the constant frost, the match against Kingdown was able to go ahead and our team excitedly set off to Warminster! This is only their third match of the season but it is fantastic to see they are already starting to bond as a team.
Hardenhuish dominated from the outset and played a very attacking game. Whenever the ball did come into our half the defensive line swiftly sent it back up, making some excellent decisions on where to pass the ball. The linking through midfield was superb and our strikers hungry to score! By half time we were 4-0 up and rejigged the formation to see some different combinations in the second half. Once again, the ball was regularly at our end and the girls added another 3 goals to their total resulting in a well-deserved 7-0 victory to Hardenhuish.
Year 7 Badminton Success
Caleb Lai recently achieved Bronze for the boys single and Silver for the boys doubles at the Mid Wilts U14 Badminton tournament. Congratulations Caleb on this achievement.
Imogen Drew recently competed in the Hatfield U15 Badminton England tournament, taking home Gold in the mixed doubles and Silver in the girls doubles.
Congratulations on this achievement Imogen.
Hardenhuish Year 7 football teams Vs Abbeyfield
Firstly, it has been fantastic to see so many players eager to represent the school. This enthusiasm reflected through having a grand total of 27 pupils set off to play their first away fixture of the season. Hardenhuish were very eager to impress after having previous games postponed due to poor pitch conditions. Both Hardenhuish teams played exceptionally well and displayed great sportsmanship. Team Harden fought hard and began to pull ahead with a 5-4 victory when an unfortunate last kick of the game caused Abbeyfield to equalise resulting in a 5-5 draw. Team Huish brought home victory with a modest 4-3 win with a few star performances. Next week both teams face Sheldon School and hope to bring home another victory.