December 2016 www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk

Newsletter

Diary Dates

JANUARY 3

rd Spring Term begins

11th Year 11 PPE Results

and Parents’ Evening 4.30-7.00 pm 17

th Parent Panel 7.00 pm in

M1 FEBRUARY 2

nd Year 8 Parents’ Evening

4.30-7.00 pm 10

th Friends Auction of

Promises and Quiz 7.00 pm 13

th Year 10 Bredon Work Experience begins

17th Half Term Ends

27th Term Begins

27th Year 10 Malvern Work

Experience begins MARCH 8

th—10

th School Production

14th—16

th Year 11 Second PPEs

23rd

Year 12/13 Parents’ Evening 4.30-7.30pm 28

th Year 11 Parents’ Evening

4.30-7.30pm 29

th Easter Chocolate Bingo, 7pm

May I thank all students and staff for their efforts this term. I hope that you have a peaceful start to 2017. Clive Corbett

A Happy Christmas and a

peaceful New Year to everyone

Senior Citizens’ Coffee Morning

Around 120 local senior citizens recently attended the annual coffee morning. They were given food, drink and gifts, as well as singing carols and chatting with students. Students and staff also performed musical items for the visitors.

Photographs by Aidan McIntosh

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Christmas Card Designs

Pictured: Emma Bugg, Skye King, Carmen Pascolutti, Ryan McArthur, Edwin Batchelor and Anton Grove

Three successful carol services were held at Pershore Abbey on 14th and 15th December. Five candles, decorated by Caroline Barrett, were lit during the service:

Hope for the future;

Peace—to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme;

Joy—for Pershore High School and the community;

Love for humanity;

Jesus Christ—for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.

Carol Service at Pershore Abbey

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Pershore High School students were asked, as part of their Humanities curriculum, to create models of a sustainable home that included a range of features. There were a

Year 8 students pictured are: Verity Hodge, Alfie Brown and Dominik Lee

Sustainable Home Designs

Year 11 Pershore High School student, Vianne Furey, was recently featured as a soloist in Suite for The Fallen Soldier, a community concert commemorating the fallen of World War I, featuring a new choral suite composed by Phil Mountford and poetry by local poet Kathy Gee. The performance took place on the 11th and 12th of November and was also featured on BBC Midlands today.

Vianne Furey soloist The Pershore High School Young Enterprise team, Raw Aspirations were recognised as the top team at a South Worcestershire event recently held in Worcester Cathedral. Their product is an oak sharing platter board with glass bowls. Other team mem-bers are: Lewis Webster, Matt Pope, Greg Phillips, Tim Coleman, Jon Hall, Beth Southcott, Tahlia Sears, Harriet Christopher, Becky Jennings, Charlotte Jennings, Conor Hooper, Erin Williams, Danny Powell, Eloise Preece and Charlie Fox.

The Young Enterprise Team

David Hughlock presented a cheque to Smile Train, in memory of his wife Bronwen, who died in August. Over £2,600 was raised to remember Bronwen. Brian Carson (Pershore Rotary Club), Luke Ventura (Pershore High School), and

Smile Train Charity Donation

lot of excellent houses, of all different shapes and sizes, and we were very impressed with the hard work that the students had put into making them.

Pictured are team members Harry Hamer, Will Bugg and Josh Massey.

Matthew Jackson (E. Hill and Son, funeral directors) were also in attendance, along with a number of friends of Bronwen and David. Wills Dawson (President of the school’s Interact Club) and Bethany Ireland (Deputy Youth Mayor) are pictured either side of David.

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Children In Need

Friday 18th November we raised…..

Non uniform – raised £1016.96

Magellan – £332.40 Armstrong - £330.28 Kingsley - £327.28 Hampton Centre - £22.00 LT - £5.00

Bronze Coin Challenge raised £266.38

Armstrong - £105.90 Kingsley - £90.54 Magellan - £69.94

Pershore High School has recently been awarded the British Council’s prestigious International School Award for a rec-

ord sixth time in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom. PHS is one of a small number of schools

nationally to have received the award this many times dating back to the inception of the award in 1999.

The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that do outstanding work in international education, such as

through links with partner schools overseas. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British

Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to live and work as global

citizens.

Pershore High School international work includes long standing partnerships with schools in France, Germany, Finland,

Sweden, Zambia and China. In addition to the opportunities to travel and experience life in these varied cultures there

are a wide range of activities that take place in school so that the whole school community can benefit from our interna-

tional links. These include African workshops, environmental projects with China and live Skype lessons with Sweden.

Our motto for the school is "locally engaged, globally connected"

John Rolfe, from the British Council, said: ‘The school’s fantastic international work has rightfully earned it this prestigious award.

The International School Award is a great chance for schools to demonstrate the important work they’re doing to bring the world

into their classrooms. Adding an international dimension to children’s education ensures that they are truly global citizens and

helps prepare them for successful future careers in an increasingly global economy.’

The award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus and Pakistan as part of the

British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme. Around 5,000 International School

Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began

in 1999.

The International School Award encourages and supports schools to develop:

An international ethos embedded throughout the school

A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work

Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools

Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects

Year-round international activity Involvement of the wider community

To interview the school or for images, please contact Simon Kemp at the school on

sk@pershore.worcs.sch.uk or 01386 552471

For more information about the International School Award, please contact our team

at schools@britishcouncil.org

British Council International School

Award (ISA) success for Pershore

High School

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Following on from the World Rescue Lifesaving competition in September this year, Pershore High School student, Amy Weston (aged 15 from Flyford Flavell) returned to the Pieter Van Den Hoogenband National Swimming Pool in Eindhoven, Holland to compete as part of the GB Performance Squad for the Orange Cup. It is the first time that Amy has represented the GB Performance team on the international stage and competed against swimmers from the national teams of Italy, Germany, Holland, Canada and South Africa. Amy took part in the 200m obstacle swim,

Amy Weston represents GB in Holland

50m manikin carry, 100m manikin tow with fins, 100m rescue medley and 200m super lifesaver in the 15-18 year olds, achieving a personal best in the latter two. She was also part of the GB Junior Girls relay team. Amy said: “It was a very proud moment for me and it is great meeting people from around the world who have the passion for lifesaving that I do”.

The First XV continued their undefeated run, when they played local rivals Prince Henry’s High School. Despite, missing several key players the team played some excellent running rugby. Josh Massey opened the scoring powering over from a crash ball set up by the forwards. Nat Magginis then stamped his dominance on the game by scoring a hat trick of tries. The agile Max Smith showed great speed to score and take the team in to half time 29 – 12 up. The opposition were rattled, resorting to field 15 against our hardworking 13 to even out matters, however, Will Bugg and Hans worked to ensure that we had an even match in the second half. During the second half the majority of the game play was in our own 22. The team held up two potential tries and limited Prince Henry’s attacking options by slowing down the ball at every opportunity. It was a veracious encounter, and hard to believe the likes of Tom Hicks, had

never played before, as he had an amazing game. The pressure got too much, and PHHS pulled themselves back in to the game to bring the score back to 29 – 22. With seconds to go, with Pershore two men in the bin, the team managed to run the final phases down, to earn a very hard earned victory.

1st

XV Rugby Team victory vs PHHS

Pershore High School students competed at the English Schools Swimming Association Team Championships held on Saturday 19th November 2016 at London Aquatic Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Facing fierce opposition from a number of specialist swim schools including Millfield and Harrow, the PHS swim squad performed amazingly. 175 teams entered the Freestyle event with the team qualifying for the finals in 21st place with a time of 1:53.50. The team clocked in a creditable 1:55.41 coming 25th which is a great improvement on the qualifying time, as it was swam in a 50m pool. For the Medley event 173 teams entered with the team qualifying for the finals in 18th place with a time of 2:06.38 (again only 10 seconds behind the specialist swimming schools). In the finals the team clocked in a

time of 2:07.89 coming 21st and as per the freestyle, this would convert to a similar if not faster time than their entry time. The Squad would like to thank the Friends of Pershore High School, who generously funded the team kit for the Championship, along with Steve Vizard from Pershore Swimming Club who helped to transport the pupils and their parents to the event. For many of the swimmers, it was their first

time to visit, let alone compete at the

London Aquatic Centre, and an experience

that will stay with them for years to come.

If you would like to get involved in

swimming feel free to contact Pershore

Swimming club details can be found on

their website http://www.pershoresc.co.uk/

Swim Squad make a splash at London Aquatic

Left—right: George Crech, Chris Vizard, Patrick Heeks, Josh Sharrett and Will Clarke

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Student-led research includes ‘Learning Ambassadors’

In this workshop, leaders and students from Pershore High School, a 12-18 academy, demonstrated the ways in which student ‘Learning Ambassadors’ have contributed to school improvement, as well as directly evaluating teaching and learning.

The basic approach is for a learning ambassador (LA) to go into other lessons and subsequently give the teacher their immediate, direct and confidential feedback. The 36 LAs (16 girls and 20 boys) are given specific training on their role by community interest company Schools of Tomorrow,whose joint MD Malcolm Groves also contributed to this workshop.

The LAs’ observations take place once every half term. Typical questions addressed by the LAs include: did the students understand? What was the quality of feedback in the lesson? How would you describe the atmosphere in the class? What proportion of activities was undertaken by students and what by the teacher? What was the balance of male and female verbal contributions?

Not performance management From the start, it was made clear to everyone involved that the programme relies on trust and respect on both sides. After some initial anxieties, both LAs and teachers now value this process. The teacher union representatives involved were also concerned, headteacher Clive Corbett admitted, “Until we made it absolutely clear that this was not some sort of backdoor performance management. It’s not about blame.”

More than 30 teachers, representing all departments, now take part. Neil Harding, head of Technology and learning ambassador lead, explained that next year a different member of each department will take part.

Comments from students included: “It’s interesting to see the teacher’s reaction to observations given from a different perspective”; “teachers now make lessons more innovative and fun”; “the programme has made teachers more flexible in the way they teach”; and “it’s improving our education.”

“Good feedback from students” And from teachers: “I wasn’t sure about it at first, but now the learning ambassador system is absorbed into everything we do. It’s part of our processes”; “The ambassadors are very observant and give good feedback”; “It has turned out to be very useful to get the students’ point of view. If we had only the teachers’, we might be getting the wrong end of the stick.”

LA Emmie Bewley emphasised that their role was not to criticise, but “to feedback what we have seen… At first I was worried about it, but it’s a conversation, not formal, and I quickly became more confident.” Fellow LA Hugh Jeavons noted that the programme has gained further impetus since Ofsted has been placing more emphasis in students being involved in their own learning.

Head Clive Corbett explained that this programme stemmed from the leadership team’s concern to ensure that throughout the school teach-ing and learning should focus not only on achievement but also on wellbeing, preparation for adult/ working life, and engagement with fami-ly and community (in line with Schools of Tomorrow’s vision).

All students can raise questions To this end, Emmie Bewley added, the student researchers asked all students in Years 8/9, via questionnaires, whether they thought there was enough challenge in lessons, and how challenge could be increased.

A major result of the programme, Emmie believed, was a change in students’ attitudes: they now perceive that they own their own learning, and are in partnership with the teachers to improve learning.

The school leaders have become confident in the value of this work. “We assessed how valid the youngsters’ observations were,” said Clive Corbett, “and now we use them in school improvement planning.” Generalised reports on the LAs’ findings are shared with the management team, and the governing body. “We’re still learning through this process, and I think it’s enormously important to what we do.”

Neil Harding and Schools of Tomorrow are now also working with a number of other schools on learning ambassador programmes.

For more information please use this hyperlink: http://www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk/information/learning/ …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… An extract of a letter received from Peter Chambers, Publications Editor, SSAT Dear Mr Corbett I enjoyed your and your students’ lively presentation to the SSAT national conference last week and think many delegates and readers will benefit from its messages.

Hugh Jeavons and Emmie Bewley

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FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS:

Pershore High School considers the well-being and protection of students to be of highest priority.

We would be grateful if parents and visitors could

remember to always sign in at Reception when visiting school, even when needing to meet a member of a

House team. It is particularly important that this is done even if you may be bringing in a forgotten lunch box or

piece of equipment.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES:

Please leave at least one additional contact name and telephone number with the relevant House office

in case you are not available.

ON-LINE SUPPORT AVAILABLE:

There are many issues that may (or may not) arise during the teenage years.

On the website you will find a booklet under the ‘Parents’ section titled ‘The Teenage Years’ that

contains information on some of the issues and links to a number of websites that offer support.

www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk

If you are concerned that your child is anxious or worried and you don’t know how to help you might find

the following website of use:

www.minded.org.uk/families

If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will endeavour to support you to resolve the situation as soon as possible. HOUSE TEAMS - Armstrong House – ArmstrongCentre@pershore.worcs.sch.uk

Kingsley House

KingsleyCentre@pershore.worcs.sch.uk

Magellan House MagellanCentre@pershore.worcs.sch.uk DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD – Sandy Poulton – sp@pershore.worcs.sch.uk

Child Sexual Exploitation

The exploitation of students is a national concern with recent cases in Oxford and Rochdale being widely reported. To understand more about how to keep your children safe there is an e-learning package which is available free of charge to all parents.

The resource assists parents by helping them to:

▪ know more about child sexual exploitation ▪ know the signs and indicators of when a child might be being exploited

▪ appreciate the impact child sexual exploitation can have on families ▪ know what to do if you suspect a child might be at risk of this abuse

The link is: http://www.paceuk.info/the-problem/keep-them-safe/

ISSUE IN FOCUS: STRESS

If your child is stressed – they’re not alone. It is pretty common in teenagers and learning to recognise the signs and developing coping strategies are important life skills.

What is stress? Stress is the way your body responds to challenges and gets you ready to face them. It gets you ready for action. When you feel you can cope with these challenges, stress gives you the motivation to get things done. Problems arise when the stress is greater than the ability to cope. What might you notice if your child is stressed? Changes in your child’s behaviour/emotions/physical symptoms eg.

♦ sleeping too much or too little; ♦ eating less/eating more; ♦ having less energy than usual; ♦ becoming aggressive; ♦ having emotional ‘ups and downs’ for no obvious

reason.

– there is no one symptom: every child is different!

How to help them? There is no magic bullet, but recommendations include:

♦ Talk to them and listen to them; ♦ Spend time with them, doing things that you all like. ♦ Encourage a healthy lifestyle: ♦ A physical activity – helps the body relax; ♦ A good sleep routine – remove all electronic

devices from their room (easier said than done!); ♦ Eat good food – plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean

meat and whole grains; ♦ Let them relax and unwind.

Further support can be found at: http://minded.e-lfh.org.uk/families/index.html

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MEDICATION

Pain killers (e.g. aspirin or paracetamol, including ‘junior’ forms such as Calpol) must never be administered to pupils, even at the request of parents. They can mask symptoms in the event of injury and it is possible to inadvertently administer too large a dose if a pupil had already taken some without the knowledge of the school (e.g. before leaving home).

Random Acts Midlands

Our new dedicated website for Random Acts Midlands is now live. Please check out our new show reel which is embedded on the homepage.

http://www.randomactsmidlands.org/

What is Random Acts ?

Firstly, you don’t have to be a filmmaker – although you might be – which is also fine. We are looking for young artists with a fabulous, bold, creative idea across all art-forms. If we love your idea for a short arts film (under 3 mins long) then we will give you help, support, advice and a budget to get your film made – the films will then be submitted to Channel 4 for potential broadcast on their on-line platform and TV strand.

You can apply individually or as a group – whatever works for you.

Extra help for students

Students who wish to access independent, confidential help with personal and health issues can do so through outside agencies visiting the school.

School Nurse Service

Liz Allan, the school nurse, is now in on Mondays. To make an appointment, see main Reception/Tutor/House Team. Appointments will run from 11.00am–1.20pm in the Interview Room.

Time 4 U

Time 4 U offers a drop-in service in the Sports Pavilion, on Thursdays as follows:

Years 12/13: 12.30—1.20pm. Years 9–11 ; lunchtime.

This service is confidential and independent and offers advice on a range of issues such as relationship advice, stress, bullying and sexual health.

More information can be found on the Time4U website h p://www.playinitsafe.co.uk/findaservice/service_ me4u.html

The system will link to ParentPay where you will be able to credit your child’s account at your convenience and to also see what they have purchased from the dining room. Your child will be able to check their credit limit at the tills and at further machines which will be installed in and around the school. From September, the staff in the dining room will not be able to accept cash from students.

This will provide a number of very significant benefits including:

• Parents being able to monitor purchases within the school canteen • Reduction in opportunities for bullying as there is nothing that can be stolen for use by another student • Reduction in the need for cash handling • Students do not have to remember to bring a card • Reduction in queuing time

For more information please contact the Finance Office on 01386 552471 or email finance@pershore.worcs.sch.uk

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Friends of PHS 100+ Club

£60 £40 £20 £10 TO BE WON EACH MONTH

Join our successful 100+Club for just £2.00 per month and help the friends with their fund-raising. Money raised helps all departments within the school including The Hampton Centre.

The winning numbers are announced via the School Newsletter and are also published on the school website (www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk

Thank you Sara Stanton, 100+Club Promotions Officer

Friends of PHS

100 CLUBWINNERS

November

1st Pirie Warsop No: 19 2nd Haynes No: 88 3rd Cant No: 204 4th Kenwright No: 6

ePraise is generously sponsored by the

Friends of Pershore High School

Ron Davis, Vice President of Pershore Rotary Club, is pictured with winners of the local Rotary Photographic competition. Pershore High Schools students, left to right, are: Imogen Sutch - 2nd Place Senior Category Jake Spencer -1st Place Senior Category Merrin Dewson - 1st place Intermediate Category Emily Folkard - 3rd Place Senior Category

Pershore Rotary Club

Photographic Competition

An appeal from Inkberrow School Council Any unwanted Lego bricks, please let Mr Corbett have them in January.

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Privacy Notice: Information about pupils in schools, alternative provision, pupil referral units and children in early year's settings

Data Protection Act 1998: How we use pupil information We collect and hold personal information relating to our pupils and may also receive information about them from their previous school, local authority and/or the Department for Education (DfE). We use this personal data to:

support our pupils’ learning

monitor and report on their progress

provide appropriate pastoral care; and

assess the quality of our services

support a young person in their transition to a post-16 provider of education or training.

This information will include their contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information, any exclusion information, where they go after they leave us and personal characteristics such as their ethnic group, any special educational needs they may have as well as relevant medical information. For pupils enrolling for post 14 qualifications, the Learning Records Service will give us the unique learner number (ULN) and may also give us details about your learning or qualifications. Once our pupils reach the age of 13, the law requires us to pass on certain information to Worcestershire County Council who have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds. We may also share certain personal data relating to children aged 16 and over with post-16 education and training providers in order to secure appropriate services for them. A parent/guardian can request that only their child’s name, address and date of birth be passed to Worcestershire County Council by informing Alison Nice, amn@pershore.worcs.sch.uk or 01386 552471 ext 230. This right is transferred to the child once he/she reaches the age 16. For more information about services for young people, please go to our local authority website http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/. We will not give information about our pupils to anyone without your consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so. If you want to receive a copy of the information about your son/daughter that we hold, please contact: Alison Nice, amn@pershore.worcs.sch.uk or 01386 552471 ext 230. We are required, by law, to pass some information about our pupils to the Department for Education (DfE). This information will, in turn, then be made available for use by the LA. DfE may also share pupil level personal data that we supply to them, with third parties. This will only take place where legislation allows it to do so and it is in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Decisions on whether DfE releases this personal data to third parties are subject to a robust approval process and are based on a detailed assessment of who is requesting the data, the purpose for which it is required, the level and sensitivity of data requested and the arrangements in place to store and handle the data. To be granted access to pupil level data, requestors must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of data, security arrangements and retention and use of the data. For more information on how this sharing process works, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-pupil-database-apply-for-a-data-extract For information on which third party organisations (and for which project) pupil level data has been provided to, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-requests-received If you need more information about how our local authority and/or DfE collect and use your information, please visit: our local authority at http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/ and search for privacy notice; or the DfE website at https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data

If you are unable to access these websites we can send you a copy of this information. Please contact the LA or DfE as follows: Performance Development Team Worcestershire County Council Children's Services, County Hall, WR5 2YA Email: dprice@worcestershire.gov.uk Telephone: 01905 728848

Public Communications Unit Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT website: www.education.gov.uk email: http://www.education.gov.uk/help/contactus Telephone: 0370 000 2288

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School Attendance

Government guidelines regarding attendance have recently changed. These changes mean that any student with less than 90% attendance will be classed as a Persistent Absentee. High attendance gives a student the best chance of being successful, helps students make better progress and helps to achieve better results. A high level of attendance also allows students to take advantage of all the opportunities available in school including after school clubs, catch up sessions and school trips. Pupils with high attendance also benefit from developing better social and friendship skills. Attendance of 90% would mean a student missing the equivalent of half a day a week. This adds up to four weeks out of a school year and

half a year of schooling over five years. Pershore High School’s attendance procedure has been updated to reflect the new attendance criteria. If your child’s attendance drops below 93% you can expect to receive a letter to advise you of the level of attendance. If the student’s attendance does not significantly improve you can then expect to receive a letter advising that your child is now designated as a Persistent Absentee. You may then be asked to provide medical evidence to support future absences. Pupils with significant attendance concerns can be formally referred to the Education Welfare Support Service who can offer advice and support in relation to attendance issues.

Problems or concerns relating to student’s attendance may always be sympathetically discussed with the House Team or Mrs Budding, Head of Student Achievement.

Term Time Holiday

A holiday in term is an absence and there is no legal entitlement to term time absence for a holiday. Absence from school for the purpose of a holiday will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances by the Headteacher. A request for absence must be made in advance and you should be aware that any holidays taken in term time without school’s agreement can lead of a fine of £60 per parent.

10 days holiday in Year 10 means a pupil cannot achieve more than 94.7% attendance in that year and means they are well on the way to losing a GCSE.