Castle Hill Blog, 17.12.2021

Christmas Jumper and non-uniform days

Monday is our Christmas jumper and non-uniform day and Tuesday will also be a non-uniform day, so effectively it’s a 'buy one get one free' for a donation of £2. Money raised will be split between Save the Children and our own School Fund, the latter is used to subsidise our rewards activities and trips.

Covid testing

It seems highly likely that the Covid situation, nationally and locally, will worsen over the Christmas break. With this in mind we’d appreciate you giving your child a lateral flow test the evening before their return to school on Thursday 6^th January. In line with government guidance, we’ll also be testing those students whose parents have given consent in school on January 6^th.

TV Stars!!!

BBC Newsround got in touch with us last week to ask if any of our Year 7 students could record a Covid related question to put to the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van Tam ('him off the press conferences!'). We, of course, said yes and the Newsround team came in to record last Friday and the item was broadcast yesterday. You can view it here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/59639040

Well done to Katelyn, Amir, Kaitlyn and Auryn who can be seen asking excellent questions. Oreoluwa and Ozarie were also filmed, but unfortunately Newsround couldn't include everyone's questions.

Keeping your child safe when they’re out an about

We’ve been asked by Stockport’s Safeguarding Team to share the following message with parents, carers and young people about steps young people can take to keep safe when out and about.

Protecting younger children

Statistics show that crime against young children by strangers is rare. Even so, there are steps you can take to help to protect your child:

tell your child to avoid talking to people they don't know, unless you are with them to say it is ok.
make sure your child knows never to walk away with people they don’t know/know well
plan safe routes with your child- busy and well-lit spaces are best
make sure your child understands that they should always tell you if a someone they don’t know approaches them, and never to keep this secret
if your child is travelling alone, tell them to sit near other families on the train or bus and near the driver if possible
if your child gets lost, they should ask for help from a police officer, another grown-up with children or someone working at a nearby shop
have your children learn their address and an appropriate telephone number by heart

Keeping teenagers safe

Here are some things that teenagers can do to keep safe when out and about:

stay alert, and keep personal media devices turned off, so they can hear what's going on around them-earphones can be distracting and limit awareness of surroundings
stick to busy, well-lit roads, and avoid short cuts
if your child thinks someone is following them, they should cross the road or go to a place with lots of people around, like a bus stop or shop
when travelling by bus, your child should try to use bus stops on busy roads, sit near to others and near the driver when possible
if someone tries to take something from your child, tell them never to fight
tell them to keep mobile phones and other valuables out of sight
if your child has to use a lift – tell them to try to use them with friends, and not to feel worried about getting out if they are uncomfortable about someone else being in there
encourage your child to speak up if they are being bullied or feel they might be in danger

Check list for young people

Think - before you go out
Where are you going?
How are you getting there?
Who are you going with?
Who needs to know?
Take only the money you need and keep it in a safe place.
How are you getting home?
Is your mobile charged and have you got credit?
Keep your mobile handy but out of sight
Keep valuables such as devices, jewellery and items of expensive clothing out of sight
Who will you contact in an emergency?

The NSPCC have produced this guide to help parents and carers decide if their child is ready to travel alone and stay home alone:

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/leaflets/home-or-out-alone-guide .

Please report incidents of concern to the police via 101 or to use the GMP chat facility. In emergencies always use 999.

Happy Christmas

It's been a long but very rewarding term. When I've dropped in to lessons over the past few weeks, its been great seeing students fully engaged and enjoying their learning. This can only happen when the staff team is working together and putting 100% effort into all that they do. I'm proud to say that this is definitely the case at Castle Hill. Both students and staff deserve the very happiest of Christmases.

On that note I'd like to wish all students, parents, carers, staff and friends of Castle Hill a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2022.