Ofsted, Celebrations, Thanks and New Year Changes
As we head into the Christmas holiday we reflect on the winter term and the year ahead.
Winter term
From progress in climbing, running our 'Norman Conquest' and 'Creative Cultures' curriculum themes, achievements in core subjects and working through an Ofsted inspection, it has been a busy and eventful term.
Our trip to the slavery museum was great, students commented on how much they got out of it. We have many more theme trips in the year ahead. We hope students are looking forward to them.
Ofset Report
The Ofsted report from our recent inspection has now been published. Hope Corner School has been rated as 'Good' in all areas. The report is extremely positive and we are so pleased that the hard work by the whole Hope Corner School community is evident. The team set out to make a range of imprevements over the past 2 years and they have worked tirelessley to make this happen.
We want to say a special thank you to students and parents who spoke with the inspectors. Your input is a key part of the inspection and your views are also reflected in the report. If you would like to read the report you can do so here: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50235355
Key dates
Theme curriculum trip to Runcorn Castle on Tuesday 19th December
School Christmas dinner on Wednesday 20th December.
As an end of year reward we are heading out on a bowling trip on Thursday 21st December. We're sure the competition will be fierce for the highest score.
Last day of term finishing at 12:30pm Friday 22nd December.
Return to school Thursday 4th January.
Flu Vaccination
Due to a number of student illnesses the flu vacccination session at school has been cancelled. However if you want your child to have the flu vaccination, the school immunisation team has informed me that there are clinics being run until 20th December. To book an appointment for this call the immunisation team as soon as possible on 0151 495 5066.
Attendance
The most essential key to progress in education will always be attendance. We receive feedback about how hard we work to support students to access education and we are grateful to all parents who work with us in this area.
We ask that you continue to highlight the importance of attendance to your children and contact the school everyday your child will not be attending. As always you can call us and leave a message or email the school.
Staff Leavers
Rebekah and Becca will both be leaving us on the final day of term. Both are nearing their due dates and we are so excited for them to welcome their newborns. We pray for both of you that your newborns will arrive safely and healthy, and that you will completely enjoy your time with your new additions.
New Head Teacher
Over the past year I have been immensely proud to work as the Acting Head of Hope Corner School. We have a fantastic team who have all worked above and beyond for our students and families. For me this was always a temporary position and I am thrilled to say Sharon Beddow will be joining us as the new Head Teacher from January.
Having already spent some planning time with Sharon I know she will be bringing a wealth of experience and passion to the school. Sharon will be working hard to continue the improvement of the school and raise our profile. She is very much looking forward to getting to know our students and their families.
Safeguarding and Online Safety
In each newsletter we will share any updates we feel parents should be aware of. Here we have an update to WhatsApp - Locked Chats.
Did you know that you can hide conversations and lock them away in WhatsApp? This was a feature introduced in May 2023 and was easy to spot (if you knew how), but WhatsApp have updated the feature which makes it much more difficult to find.
In the original update you had to swipe down in the 'Chats' window to see locked chats, then input a code, fingerprint or Face ID to unlock. However, this meant that other people (parents, teachers, partners) would be able to see that you have got locked chats, even if you can't see the content. WhatsApp have just updated this (being rolled out worldwide from the beginning of December) and locked chats can now only be viewed by entering a secret code into the search bar, meaning that you will not be able to tell if there are any locked chats without knowing the code.
It is important to have open conversation with your children, talk about their use of apps and how they are protecting themselves. Of course teenagers want to have privacy but open conversation can support their understanding of balancing this against parents' role in keeping them safe.
Merry Christmas
We hope you will have a wonderful Christmas Holiday with your families and are able to rest and recharge for the new term. See you all in the new year.
Matt Finch - Acting Head Teacher