Inclusion Corner Newsletter – Issue 11
In this half term’s Inclusion Corner Newsletter:
- Important staffing updates
- SEND Spotlight – Neurodiversity Celebration Week
- Travel Training and Transport
Inclusion Corner Newsletter – Issue 3
In this half term’s Inclusion Corner Newsletter:
- Celebrating SEND at AHS
- SEND Spotlight – Dyslexia
- Post 16 and Post 18 options
Coronavirus: information and advice
SCHOOL IS OPEN
We want to continue to reassure parents and carers that school is open as normal. We are monitoring the situation and are following guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and the Department for Education.
Latest advice
We expect all children to attend school if they are well and do not have the symptoms below:
- a high temperature
- a new continuous cough
However, if a child is well but a family member in the same household has these symptoms, following the government’s new guidelines, the entire household must stay at home for 14 days. Please contact school in the usual way if your child is unwell or will not be attending school due to one or more family members who are displaying symptoms.
If your child is currently off school either with symptoms themselves or because a family member in the same household does, they must not return to school until 14 days have passed since the first person started with symptoms.
For guidance on self-isolation, please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Pre-existing or long-term health conditions
If your child or someone in the household suffers from a pre-existing or long-term medical condition which makes them more vulnerable, we recommend that you contact your GP or health care professional for advice and update school as appropriate.
Preventing the spread of infection
There are simple steps that you can take to protect yourself, your family and others:
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub available to buy in most supermarkets and community pharmacies.
- ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’. Catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue ensuring the nose and mouth are fully covered to prevent any spray escaping. Dispose of the tissue as soon as possible in the bin and wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand rub to kill any germs.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home and work environment.
Supporting our Students and Families
‘You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.’ 1 Peter 2:5
In our school community we are all living stones’, each one uniquely gifted. At Archbishop Holgate’s we support every student on their unique journey through life. Below are links to the different types of support on offer:
External Support
The following websites are really helpful resources for students and parents/carers:
The Yor-OK website is designed to support parents, carers, children, young people and anyone who works with children, young people and families. If you are not sure where to find information or answers to your questions contact York Family Information Service on 01904 554444; TEXT ONLY 07786202241 or email fis@york.gov.uk and an Information Officer will try and help you.
York’s Local Offer provides families, professionals, children and young people with Special Educational Needs, information regarding education, post 16 options health services, SEN guidance, parent and carer support, ideas for activities and events in York, money advice and information on Education, Health and Care Plans. The site aims to be easy to use and useful for anybody who is involved with Special Educational Needs.
York Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) provides information, advice and support to:
- parents
- carers
- children
- young people (up to the age of 25)
They provide free special educational needs and disabilities support:
- over the telephone
- during home visits
- through SEN and disability support meetings
Are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online?
Make a report to one of CEOP’s Child Protection Advisors
Recommended Reads
Recommended Reads
Our school library is well stocked with a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. All students in Year 7 have completed a library induction lesson with our librarian to ensure that they understand how to use the library and associated resources effectively. We actively encourage students to check out books regularly, whether this be from the school library or one of the excellent libraries in the city.
You can also find PDFs of recommended reads for Year 7-10 on this page. The BBC also has some good suggestions: BCC 100 Novels that Shaped Our World
Just because your child is now a secondary school pupil, doesn’t mean they no longer like to be read to. In fact, there is research to suggest the opposite.
How can I help my child become a better reader?
As with anything, performance improves with practice. Encourage your child to read at home – this can be independently; reading with someone or having someone read to them. Audiobooks are a great tool to use too. We appreciate that many students love reading at home but some will definitely benefit from some gentle persuasion!
Here are 5 top tips to encourage your child to read:
- Encourage your child to read and highlight the benefits of reading.
- reading choice: Give children lots of opportunities to read different things in their own time – it doesn’t just have to be books.
- Read together: This might be everyone reading the same book together, or reading different things at the same time.
- Visit the local library: Ask for recommendations and remember that libraries also offer brilliant online materials, including audiobooks and eBooks to borrow.
- Engage your child in reading in a way that suits them: You know your child best and you’ll know the best times for your child to read. If they have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) then short, creative activities may be the way to get them most interested. If English is an additional language, encourage reading in a child’s first language, as well as in English.
Book of the Month
We love reading at AHS and therefore, each month, our wonderful librarians will be recommending a ‘Book of the Month’ for Year 7, KS3 and KS4. We have copies of these in our libraries so students can pop along at break or lunch if they’d like to borrow one. They will also be available at the Merit Mart.
Wider reading recommendations:
A Well-Considered Curriculum
A Well-Considered Curriculum
The curriculum at Archbishop Holgate’s School has been designed to ensure that subject-specific skills and knowledge are carefully mapped and sequenced across the Key Stages, with all aspects of the National Curriculum covered.
All students have the opportunity to engage with a broad and rich curriculum in Years 7, 8, and 9, all of which align with the National Curriculum. In Key Stage 4, pupils develop examination skills and gain a deeper understanding of their chosen GCSE subjects. The Key Stage 4 suite of qualifications is robust and rigorous, equipping all pupils well for their future learning.
Curriculum enrichment and personal development
Personal development is key to the whole school curriculum intent. Opportunities for character development exist at all stages in the school. Some examples include:
- Cross curricular enrichment days
- Employer involvement
- Subject visits – domestic and international
- Guest speakers
- Careers week
- Competitive essay competitions (RE, History and Politics)
- National competitions (Griffins nest, tenner challenge etc.)
- STEM events
- ISSP masterclasses, summer school, summer debates, lectures, Latin and Astronomy
- Mental health champions
- Young leaders
- Cultural opportunity projects
Curriculum Design
Curriculum Design
The National Curriculum has been used as a starting point for the construction of the whole school curriculum. The National Curriculum provides the benchmark and leaders have crafted a curriculum that far exceeds it in breadth and ambition, we are particularly proud of their subject linked extra-curricular.
All subject leaders have identified and mapped the key skills within their subject discipline to ensure progression across the medium and long term curricular. Opportunities for extra-curricular activities in subject areas are identified in the department intent documentation and ensure that engagement with a subject extends beyond the classroom.
The whole school curriculum has been constructed to facilitate the development and mastery of key skills that underpin higher order concepts within future teaching and learning. Alongside this, lessons to aid curriculum enrichment and opportunity to address cultural gaps due to social disadvantage are mapped into the curriculum, leaving us with an exceptionally rich, varied and dynamic curriculum offer.
We are proud that we have constructed a curriculum that prioritises personal development alongside academic development.
Curriculum Intent
All students have the opportunity to develop an understanding of a broad and rich curriculum. Students joining Year 7 start their academic journey through studying 14 different subjects which starts to cover aspects of the National Curriculum.
Curriculum Intent
All students continue their broad and rich curriculum through deepening their understanding of the 14 subjects studied. Students will build on and develop the key skills within each subject area as sequenced by subject leaders. Within this year students will cover all aspects of the National Curriculum.
Curriculum Intent
The final year of Key Stage 3 also facilitates the development and mastery of key skills that underpin higher order concepts within future KS4 teaching alongside personal development, curriculum enrichment and opportunity to address cultural gaps due to social disadvantage. Students will study x12 subjects within this academic year and they will also complete pathway choices for Key Stage 4.
Curriculum Intent
The KS4 journey begins for students as formal GCSE teaching starts and study skills are fostered through a robust programme of study. All students will study a minimum of x9 full GCSE qualifications, with the more able studying more. Curricular is planned with the intention of developing robust disciplinary knowledge and facilitating an appreciation of the demands and rewards of academic rigour.
Curriculum Intent
The KS4 journey continues for students as they continue their GCSE studies in the lead up to the summer GCSE examination period. A full study skills programme is delivered to students to ensure that they are fully prepared and successful in their examinations. Pastoral and academic intervention is offered to ensure that students are successful in securing their intended progression routes.
Weekly curriculum time allocations
| Subject | Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art | 1 | 1 | 1* | – | – |
| Design and Technology | 1 | 1 | 1* | – | – |
| English | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| MFL | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Food Technology | 1 | 0 | 1* | – | – |
| Textiles | 0 | 1 | 1* | – | – |
| History | 2 | 2 | 1* | – | – |
| Geography | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| ICT | 1 | 1 | 1* | 0 | 0 |
| Maths | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Music | 1 | 1 | 1* | – | – |
| Core PE | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| RE | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| PSHCE | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Science | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Option 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 2 |
| Option 2 | – | – | – | 3 | 2 |
| Option 3 | – | – | – | 3 | 2 |
| Character | – | – | – | – | – |
| Intervention | – | – | – | – | 1 |