Dear Parent/Carer,
I just wanted to write one brief last letter to wish you all the best at the end of the year. We have had a great summer term at Jesmond Park Academy and we have all been inspired by how outstanding our student body have been. Remember, we are now updating our parents via our social media channels on student success stories throughout the year, so please follow these if you can. This last week has seen trips to France, China and an activity day to Kingswood and many of our students have taken advantage of these opportunities. A reminder that the school day ends at 12.15pm on Friday 19th July for all students.
Since my last letter, we have held a very positive Parents’ Forum meeting in which we updated forum members on how the school has developed in the last year. One of the main focuses was the increase in the amount of enrichment and leadership opportunities there has been at the school. However, we also looked at the Uniform recycling scheme, as this project has been driven by the Parents’ Forum who had this scheme as one of their priorities. As you may have seen on our social media sites, we gave away over 500 pieces of free school uniform on Wednesday evening and more will be handed out tonight. A huge success! One of the wider discussion points on the Parents Forum was to try and develop a mechanism for parents to be able to suggest areas for the forum to look at. We will look at this next year, but it is looking like we will have a portal on our VLE in which parents can make suggestions and provide ideas. There are also discussions about a larger open forum that parents will be able to attend and share ideas.
We have already sent information to you explaining the arrangements for next year and you can also find all the information you need on our website homepage. Here, you will be able to find the detailed staggered start programme for the new school year, but I have summarised the key points below for your ease:
Monday 2nd September
Staff Training Day (School closed for students)
Tuesday 3rd September
School open to Year 7 students only (8.25 am)
Wednesday 4th September
School open to Year 7, 8, 11 and 13 (Staggered starts: Year 7 & Year 8 8.25 am, Year 11 10.25 am, Year 13 9.10 am)
Thursday 5th September
School open to all Year Groups 8.25 am start (10.35 am start for Year 12)
Friday 6th September
Normal teaching day for all students
School Uniform
Just to remind parents that our new uniform suppliers are offering a free delivery service on orders over £40 if they are made before the 31st of July. Please see the link below for further information:
https://www.jesmondparkacademy.org.uk/about-the-academy/school-information/school-uniform
As mentioned earlier we launched a very successful preowned uniform scheme this week and a large number of parents came into the school on Wednesday and Thursday to take advantage of this. On each of our Parents Evenings in future, we will have a range of pre-owned uniform available for that particular year group.
School Meals and Financial Support
I wanted to repeat the message on school meals from my previous letter in case it had been missed. From September 2024, all school meals across the Gosforth Group Academies will be provided by Newcastle City Council. As you will already be aware, food prices have been rising for some time now and this has inevitably led to increasing pressure on the cost of providing the school meals service. We have now reached the point where, to meet these increasing costs and to standardise pricing across the Trust, the price of a school meal from 1st September 2024 will be increasing to £2.60. If you feel that you may be eligible for free school meals, then it is really important that you apply. The process is through the Local Authority but the year teams at school can help if you need assistance:
https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/schools-learning-and-childcare/help-school-and-learning-costs/apply-free-school-meals
We do still realise that times are still difficult in terms of the cost of living crisis. Those families who are on free school meals have already been informed how to claim their vouchers over the holiday period. However, it is important to note that Newcastle City Council have stated that this is the last holiday period in which they can afford to provide these vouchers. The UK Government’s Household Support Fund has funded food vouchers for children and young people entitled to free school meals during the school holidays for the last three years. However, that funding comes to an end on 30th September 2024. Newcastle City Council recognise the importance of these vouchers to families but, given the financial pressures facing local authorities, they simply do not have the budget to fund this support.
Newcastle City Council is working with its partners across the city to increase the provision of activities, which provide food where possible, to help alleviate the impact of this on children and families.
Please visit Cost of living support | Newcastle City Council to find details of other support you may be entitled to.
Please visit Best Ever - Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme | Newcastle Support Directory for details of the free Healthy Activities with Food sessions available.
Road Safety on Newton Road/Enforcement Cameras
As many of you know, we have been in talks with the council over the last two years about improving road safety outside of our school and we have recently had additional yellow markings laid down. Please be aware that Newcastle City Council has installed a fixed ANPR enforcement camera to enforce the school keep clear restrictions (yellow Zig Zags) on the highway outside of the school. This is a joint initiative between the school and the city council which aims to tackle persistent inconsiderate parking on the school keep clear restrictions. Vehicles are not permitted to stop on the restrictions for any reason, and doing so impacts on road safety and endangers the safety of children, parents and carers coming to and from the school. Vehicles that stop/park on the school keep clear restrictions in the future may be liable to receive a Penalty Charge Notice, which will be issued to the registered keeper through the post from 3rd September 2024 onwards.
As some schools have several streets surrounding the school, with multiple school keep clear restrictions, I can confirm that the camera will be enforcing the school keep clear restrictions on Newton Road.
All that is left to say is over this summer, we feel it is important that students take a well-earned break and recharge their batteries. I hope you and your family can manage to have an enjoyable and relaxing summer.
Yours faithfully,
STEVE CAMPBELL
PRINCIPAL