Keep up-to-date with what's been going on at Highgate Hill House School! Headteacher updateHello all, I hope that you are all enjoying the half term break, and have something exciting planned to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee! Just a gentle reminder that Monday 6th June is a non pupil day, so we look forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Tuesday 7th June. As we approach the final half term of the 21/22 academic year, I encourage you to take a look at the support and activities that are available to families in Devon and Cornwall. We know that the summer holidays can be a challenging time for parents and carers, with a change in routine. Six weeks can feel like a very long time! Please do make use of the 'HHHS Family' closed Facebook group to arrange meet ups, share tips and ideas and ask for help and guidance from your fellow members. Last of all, if you don't already, please do take a look at the school social media pages to see what we've been up to. Some fantastic photos of recent activities and outings! As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss anything. Warm wishes, Gina Wagland Headteacher Sensory processing issues in schoolHave you read our latest blog article yet? We've discussed sensory processing issues in school, and what we as a school (and parents/carers) can do to help. Please click the button below to find out more. Chair updateHello everyone, As I haven’t been able to visit the school as much as I would like since September because of the Covid pandemic and high numbers of cases, I thought that it would be worthwhile me outlining for you all the work that has still been going on with governance, electronically via Microsoft Teams and e-mails and through phone calls, to assure you that, even though I may not have been visible in the school, it has been business as usual this academic year. We receive a weekly report from Gina Wagland the Headteacher every Friday, detailing pupils and attendance; outlining staff recruitment, new starters and leavers; curriculum plans and teaching and learning; pupil progress (both academic and progress with targets for improvement in behaviour); therapy; the work of the Senior Leadership Team and progress with school projects and improvements, such as ICT or Estates and of course Health and Safety matters. We have a Teams meeting or phone call the following week to discuss any issues that have been raised. Keeping children safe and safeguarding are always key items and I also attend the weekly safeguarding meeting run by Gina and Steve Badham, our Safeguarding and Wellbeing Manager, via Microsoft Teams. In addition we have termly Local Advisory Board Meetings, where we have standard item agendas. This year we have also been having meetings specifically about pupil progress, compliance, and always being ready for an inspection, with Gina preparing a self-assessment of our own performance and a school development and improvement plan to continuously improve the school Now that we are ‘living with Covid’, I am going to visit the school after half term. It is always a pleasure for me to see the pupils engaged in and enjoying learning and observe the staff doing a great job of teaching pupils and keeping everyone safe and I look forward to meeting new staff, whom I have not had the chance to see before. I hope you all enjoy the half term break and the Platinum Jubilee celebrations! Kind regards, Dr Julie Smith Chair of the Board Have you seen our updated prospectus?Our updated prospectus is now available to view online (also available to download on our website), so please feel free to take a look and share the link with friends, family members and colleagues that you think may be interested. Safeguarding contactsThe nominated Safeguarding/Child Protection Director is Julie Smith. Julie can be contacted on 07713255531, via email at chair@hhhschool.co.uk or by post at the school address: Highgate Hill House School, Whitstone, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6TJ The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Steve Badham. Steve can be contacted on 07918184502 or via email at steve.badham@hhhschool.co.uk. The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) is Gina Wagland. Gina can be contacted on 07780777698 or via email at headteacher@hhhschool.co.uk. 2021/22 and 22/23 term datesOur 22/23 term dates have now been added, so you can view our term dates for this year and next by clicking on the button below. |