Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been great this week to see lots of children increasing in confidence and to see a number of them showing kindness to other people around school. This week a number of pupils have made progress in their communication, including using more words and signs and extending the range of adults they will talk to. I really enjoyed seeing a number of our pupils clearly expressing their emotions in a sensory massage session where a number of them used various methods of communication to express they wanted ‘more’! Others have been able to express their emotions better including expressing if they are worried about something or what has made them feel cross. One pupil was able to clearly explain using the Zones of Regulation that they felt they were no longer in the red zone but not yet in the green. These are such important skills because it means they can seek help and use communication rather than behaviour to tell an adult what they need. In English pupils have made progress with their phonics, and in their writing including one pupil writing the names of important adults and another spelling the word ‘dinosaur’. Many pupils are making progress in their physical development, walking with greater confidence and walking further. One of our older pupils walked from her bus to class for the first time. Some pupils who have found it hard to access using transport have been able to do this too. It has been great to see many pupils enjoying and engaging with maths including some working hard to develop their counting skills be that to three or to over 100. In the Engineers hub some fantastic junk model rockets have been created and it has been lovely to see the pride the children have had in their creations. I was also privileged to have been given a delicious cupcake by a pupil whose excitement that he had found me to give me my cake made my week!
Did you know that 30 children go to hospital every day with a hot drink burn? Something as common as a tea or coffee can have devastating effects and leave a burn injury for life. Moreover, the scars are not just physical, they are psychological too and can present life-long challenges for the individual and their families. Babies and toddlers have much thinner skin than adults which means that a hot drink can cause a serious burn, even 30 minutes after you made it! Childrens’ skin will burn at lower temperatures than adults.
Wednesday 12 October was National Burn Awareness Day. Lots of information and reminders can be found at the Children’s Burns Trust.
- Keep hot drinks out of reach of young children
- Never carry a hot drink whilst carrying a baby
- Never pass a hot drink over the heads of young children
- Place hot drinks at the back of the kitchen surface
- Don’t place a hot drink on a cloth that hangs down over the edge of the table so that a small child can reach and pull it down
- Make a SafeTea zone: a safe place for hot drinks in your home, where your family and visitors can keep hot drinks out of reach of small children
- Avoid drinking hot drinks around small children
- Always remind visitors to your home to ‘Keep hot drinks out of reach of young children’
First aid for burns is: COOL, CALL, COVER
Help should be called for any burn larger than a 50p coin.
In addition to hot drinks, the other common causes of burns and scalds at home come from saucepans, kettle cords, hobs, hotplates, microwaves, radiators, hair straighteners, curling tongs, heaters, fires, irons and bath water.
Attendance Focus
We all appreciate how important school attendance is and each week we award the class from each hub with the best attendance a certificate. The class also get to take care of the attendance teddy for a week. For last week, the classes with the best attendance were;
Explorers hub – Llama class
Investigators hub – Gecko class
Engineers hub – Koala class
Most improved attendance – Hippo class
Classes with 100% this week – Llamas, Geckos and Polar Bears
Free School Meals October 2022 Half Term
Following additional funding from the Government’s Household Support Fund, West Sussex County Council has announced that families with means-tested free school meal eligible children will be entitled to a voucher for each free school meal child during the upcoming October half term, as well as the Christmas break period and the February 2023 half term. Eligible families in West Sussex will be entitled to a £15.00 voucher for child for the October half term, with values for the Christmas and February breaks to be confirmed nearer the time.
In a change from before, Evouchers (Wonde) will facilitate the scheme, rather than Edenred.
Vouchers will be issued week commencing 17th October and in most cases, will be sent out via email.
Warm Space Hub
Our local Parish in partnership with Mothers Union are excited to be launching a Warm Space Hub on a Tuesday from 4pm – 8.30pm starting on Tuesday 18 October 2022. It will run weekly though until 28 March during term time and will tie in with the clocks going back in October and forward in March!
Much has been said about the fuel crisis and energy costs that families will face as the weather gets colder and we move into winter. Financial hardship is very real for many as the cost-of-living soars and it is with this in mind that the Warm Space Hub wants to reach out to families that maybe feeling the ‘pinch.’
It will be based out of the Old Palace, Glebe Road, Worthing, BN14 7PF and will be open to families with children aged 0 to age 10/11 (year 6). Children will be given a free hot meal and a drink and parents will be offered tea/coffee, soup and bread (free). It will also offer children and families the opportunity to socialise. There will not be internet access but there will be activities to keep children entertained and there will be a TV and DVD! This is not a child care provision, and children must be accompanied by an adult but it somewhere warm and safe that families can access once a week.
There is no cost and families do not have to commit to going every week. The venue is able to hold a considerable number of people, however, it would be really helpful if you could indicate whether this is something you may like to avail yourself of as this will enable the Warm Space Hub to plan. Please let Kaarina know if you are interested either by email (kdougherty@palatineschool.org), phone or in person; if you are interested, it would help to know how many adults and how many children from your family would potentially attend and whether you would do this weekly or occasionally.
Family Liaison & Special School Nurse drop-in
Our Family Liaison Officer and Special School Nurse will be holding a drop-in/ Q&A session on Tuesday 18 October from 9.30am – 11am at school. Maybe you have some questions about sleep, continence or diet; if you have any questions that you would like to ask, then please let Kaarina know that you will be coming along by emailing kdougherty@palatineschool.org
Very best wishes,
Catriona