19 July 2017

Dear parent/carer

It’s been another exceptionally busy school year and I can’t believe that the end is already upon us. Our 14-19 years’ provision at the Belper site has seen some improvements since its opening in September 2016 and parents/carers were able to see this for themselves during a positive transitions open morning in June. We really enjoyed meeting you all and hope your visit was beneficial too! Our residential provision was judged ‘outstanding in all areas’ for the fourth consecutive year by Ofsted during their inspection in January 2017. We’re exceptionally proud of the residential team for all their hard work and the high standards they set – well done everyone and thank you!

The combined sports’ day and summer fayre was extremely well attended by parents, carers and family members and the weather was good for us too! It was great to see the students having such a good time. Thank you to those of you who joined us for our 20th anniversary celebration/leavers prom. Everyone seemed to have a good time and it was great to see so many parents, students and staff, past and present, attend the event. Thank you for all your comments/feedback on our Facebook page. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

Please enjoy reading the rest of our newsletter and have a fantastic summer break! Best wishes, Julian Scholefield Headteacher New Students The new pupils who joined us this year have all settled well into our school. Currently, a further 14 new pupils will start with us in September 2017, but this is likely to rise over the summer break. Goodbye to our Leavers It is sad to say goodbye to the students who are leaving us at the end of term: Ethan Barlow Patrick Dembinski Jack Francis Paige Foss Savannah Hammick Daima Kulaya Zachary Mellor Afam Lefevre Kyle Murray Joseph Sheffield Robert Simpson-Shaw Leah Thomson Grace Smith Richie Tranter Braydon Swann Christopher Tivey We wish you all well and every success at your new school, college or provision.

News from Around the School Rainbows Class one have been studying the farm this summer term. We have been learning about goats, sheep, chickens, cows, horses, and tractors. The children have been enjoying imaginative play with animal masks and costumes, small world play with the farm yards, and messy sensory farm activities. We have been out into the community to see sheep in the fields and horses.

Class one enjoyed lots of baking for the school fayre and raised money for our end of year trip out to the splash pad and picnic.

Class 3 We have had an amazing summer term! We have based our work on plants and animals and the children have enjoyed books such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Noah’s Ark. In Science we have been busy growing our very own runner beans!

Horse-riding has been a huge success! It has been a lot of fun and the pupils have gained confidence to ride out along the designated trails. We have also enjoyed swimming, walking to the stables, POD games and a day out canoeing at Cromford. Well done for a great team effort!

We are looking forward to going to Blue Bell Farm for our end of term outing.

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful summer holiday!

Class 4 Class 4 enjoyed a trip to Cleethorpes beach, they made some great sandcastles and ate some chips. In class they are now enjoying the beach theme, reading a story about their trip to the beach and creating beach art work.

Class 5 This year class 5 have explored a variety of different topics including keeping healthy, travel and transport, plants and animals and people who help us. We have used different stories to explore these topics further and especially enjoyed ‘There’s a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea’, ‘The Journey Home from Grandpas’ and ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. We have also used sensory activities to further English and Maths skills including finding letters and words in jelly, making marking in flour and shaving foam, finding objects and numbers in ice and finding symbols and objects in shredded paper. Class 5 have enjoyed a variety of trips out in the community, swimming sessions have been the favourite, with horse riding, trips to the park, walks in the woods and purchasing snacks all coming a close second. The Hub (Classes 6 & 7) The Hub enjoyed taking part in Roald Dahl day, dressing up as characters from his books, learning about his life, and of course reading stories that that he had written. In science, at the end of the topic on forces, they applied what they had learnt and created their own marble run; to make the marble go as slow as it could! This term we have been studying the Victorians and enjoyed a visit to Belper North Mill to see what life was like for children working in the Victorian Mill.

Class 9 Class 9 have had a very busy year enjoying activities such as horse riding, school performances and gardening. We have become master chefs as part of our enterprise project and have baked and cooked delicious foods and raised a huge pot of money to spend on things like our very own class trampoline! We have learned all about plants and animals, how to stay healthy and transport and travel. As part of our cooking and theme days we have experienced different types of music and instruments and have tasted food from around the world. We have especially enjoyed Science experiments, making predictions and watching different materials change and sometimes explode! In Topic we have learned about different habitats, how things change over time and how to use a timeline. We have been creative in Art & Design and have completed fun projects linked to big events during the year. We have also spoiled our parents and carers with gifts we have created throughout the year. This year has been fun and everyone in Class 9 has made good progress. All the staff in Class 9 would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holidays! Class 10 Throughout this academic year, class 10 took part in lots of different activities both inside and outside of school. From crafting lutes, sumbala’s and pipits out of wood and bamboo in music to creating their very own Holbrook underground station and Roman shields in history. In our science lessons we have done various different experiments including chemical reactions with cola, Mentos, vinegar and baking soda as well as the effects of flooding and explosions. We have travelled around the world in 80 days with Mr Fogg and made our own paper-mâché globe identifying the countries we visited on our travels, as well as making and tasting all their different cuisine. We have visited Gulliver’s Kingdom, the cinema, mosques, churches, Ripley hospital, Ilkeston fire station and used public transport for a trip into Belper. We have had a fun filled year working hard and making lots of memories. Have a lovely summer from class 10 students and staff.

Class 11 Class 11 have enjoyed a very busy and exciting Summer Term. The students have accessed both horse riding and canoeing, enjoying lovely weather. As part of the ‘Looking after Plants’ topic, we have planted and grown sunflowers with great success. The students helped to water and care for the plants every day. They have been looked after so well, that some grew taller than the students and staff! In English, we have enjoyed listening to stories about farms and animals, and have loved exploring our sensory farm room. The students have spent lots of time outside, using the swings and trampolines, and have shared equipment with each other. Class 11 would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holidays, and hopefully lots of sunshine to enjoy!

Class 12

This term has seen Class 12 take part in various activities as well as working really hard in the classroom. The class have worked hard in the garden, planting various vegetables in the poly-tunnel and outside in the raised beds. The vegetables are now ready for harvesting and we are looking forward to digging up potatoes and onions and collecting courgettes, peppers and lettuces. We had a successful half term of swimming at Heanor Leisure Centre, which the students thoroughly enjoyed. We also had a visit to the Silk Mill in Derby, which is displaying a "weeping window" of poppy sculptures. This inspired our class to try to reproduce the effect in the classroom, which turned into a stimulating project which all of the students participated in.

Class 13 This term three of the students in class 13 have been supported in their transition to the ‘big school’ at the Belper site. Exciting, but nerve racking changes for both students and parents! In the opposite direction class 13 have welcomed Maria, a teacher from the Belper site into class. Maria is enjoying teaching the students on Thursdays and Fridays. Plants and animals has been the main topic for study this term. The students have worked hard and produced some fantastic work. This has included cooking with plants, art and design work, planting flowers and plenty of descriptive, comparative and creative writing based on real and fictional plants and animals. Thanks to all the students and staff of class 13 for making this a great year.

Class 15 Another busy term has flown by and it’s hard to believe that we are going to be saying goodbye to Paige and Daima – good luck to you both! Class 15 have had a fun-filled and hardworking term; completing all of our OCR’s ready to get our certificates and qualifications. We have continued our work placements at Matlock Farm and Jaxx’s as well as keeping fit and enjoying yoga, zumba, ballet and swimming. We have been to Conkers, had a great sports day, bowling, tramlining, been enjoying Derby library and the treasure trail at Matlock Bath. On top of all this, we have produced some lovely artwork, which was shown off at the Belper site open day. In the last two weeks we are looking forward to our leaving trip to Splash Landings and who can forget the Prom?! Class 18 Class 18 have been very busy this year. They have taken part in a number of trips and activities out and about in the community. We have recently been to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, trampolining, swimming, Butterley Railway Museum and the library. Students have made great progress this year and really enjoyed having the opportunity to visit all these different places. The have also enjoyed spending time together in school cooking, doing art, being in the sensory room and watching movies.

Residential It’s been another busy term in residential! Both Oak and Acorn units have enjoyed end of term trips to Skegness, Tamworth Snowdome and Clip & Climb. We've had fantastic experiences at all three places and look forward to visiting again in the future.

We have been working towards the silver Modeshift award, making smoothies with a machine powered by a bike and visiting Shobnall Leisure Complex to use their bike track. This has been an exciting experience for all staff and students. We would like thank Rob Bounds, senior transport officer from the sustainable travel team at Derbyshire County Council, for his continued support. It's a sad time of year for the residential team as six of our students will finish their placements. We are very proud of all that the students have achieved in residential and wish them well in their new beginnings! We would also like to welcome the six new students who will be joining residential in September and look forward to getting to know you. We would like to wish all staff and students a fantastic summer holidays, fingers crossed for sunshine!! From the residential team!

Other News from Around the School This term the students have enjoyed wider-curricular themed days in the form of 'China Day' and 'British Values Day'. On China day, we explored Chinese writing, read about famous landmarks in China, created Chinese art pieces and even tried a range of foods, which was kindly supplied by Mr Lee and Mrs Liu. During our day on British Values, we focused on what makes Britain great and explored the work of the armed forces, the role of the Queen and her family, multiculturalism in Britain today and held a British tea party with scones and jam! Children across the school enjoyed learning through creative tasks, practical based opportunities and sensory exploration. We are very much looking forward to providing our children with more of these opportunities in the next academic year!

ParentMail The introduction of ParentMail, our new home-school communication system, is working well and many of you have registered your email and mobile telephone numbers. From September 2017 we will be rolling out further services via ParentMail including a dinner money, school trips and snack money payment system and parent meetings will also be arranged through a new booking system; we therefore urge you to register if you haven’t already done so in order for you to be able to access the systems. There's a school branded mobile app, which you can download from your phone's app store! Please don't miss out; further information is available from the school office. Facebook Page & Website I know a number of parents and carers already follow us on our Facebook page. From September 2017, we hope to use Facebook more as another way of keeping you up-to-date of what’s happening in and around school on a daily basis. by visiting https://www.facebook.com/holbrookautism/. Like and share our page with friends and family too. The website is regularly updated with useful information for supporting parents/carers. The address is http://www.holbrookautism.derbyshire.sch.uk/. Are You Interested in Becoming a School Governor? We are looking for individuals to join our governing body from September 2017. We have vacancies for parent and co-opted governor positions. For further information or to register your interest, please contact Lauren Brewster (Clerk to Governors) at school on 01332 880208. Please ask family, friends and neighbours – thank you.

Donations The students and staff at Holbrook School for Autism would like to extend their appreciation to everyone who has donated to the school during the academic year. Our thanks go to:

NHS Supply Chain who donated £200 in addition to equipment from Toys ‘R’ Us including bikes and trikes

Kai Smith’s parents who raised and donated £120 from their wedding – congratulations to you both!

Jake Mountains family who donated £500 for sensory equipment

Spondon Cricket Club who donated £500 from the charity cricket match & £177 from the sale of raffle tickets

John Scott who donated £1,240

Tony King of Ilkeston Golf Club who donated £236 towards sensory resources for our new sensory room

Peter Nightingale (Ryan’s former taxi driver) who donated £250, which purchased selection boxes for the students at Christmas and were presented by Santa

Logan Easom’s mum who donated a trampoline

Malin Ingle’s mum who raised a staggering amount of £8,800 from the Autism Awareness Ball held on 1st April. A variety of tricycles and go-karts are being purchased from some the proceeds.

Academic Year 2017/18 Term & Holiday Dates for 2017/18 & Dates for Your Diaries School re-opens to all pupils on Thursday 7th September 2017 at both the Holbrook and Belper sites. Attached is a copy of the term & holiday dates, including INSET days for your information together with dates for your diaries for 2017/18. We’ve also attached a schedule of events that are happening in school next academic year so you can put them in your diaries. The schedule will be updated as and when any additional dates are added. Further information will be provided nearer the time. There will also be a copy on the school website and reminders will be put on our Facebook page too!

TERM & HOLIDAY DATES FOR 2017/2018

Term

First day for pupils

Last day for pupils

Autumn 1 Thursday 7th September Friday 20th October

Autumn 2 Monday 30th October Tuesday 19th December

Spring 3 Wednesday 3rd January Friday 16th February

Spring 4 Monday 26th February Friday 23rd March

Summer 5 Monday 9th April

Friday 25th May

Summer 6 Tuesday 5th June Friday 20th July

INSET Days:

Monday 4th September 2017

Tuesday 5th September 2017

Wednesday 6th September 2017

Tuesday 2nd January 2018

Monday 4th June 2018

Bank Holidays:

Monday 26th & Tuesday 27th December 2017 (Christmas Day & Boxing Day)

Monday 1st January 2018 (New Year’s Day)

Friday 30th March 2018 (Good Friday)

Monday 2nd April 2018 (Easter Monday)

Monday 7th May 2018 (May Day)

Monday 28th May 2018 (Spring Bank Holiday)

Monday 27th August 2018 (Summer Bank Holiday)

Date Time Event Location

4th September All day INSET day Whole school

5th September All day INSET day Whole school

6th September All day INSET day Whole school

13th September All day Roald Dahl day Whole school

22nd September All day Superhero day Whole school

29th September Morning Macmillan coffee morning Holbrook site

4th October TBC IEP meetings Whole school

5th October TBC IEP meetings Whole school

13th October TBC Harvest festival Holbrook site

10th November Morning Remembrance morning Whole school

17th November TBC Samaritans’ Operation Child Whole school

5th December Morning Christmas production Holbrook site

6th December Morning Christmas production Holbrook site

8th December All day Panto / Christmas around the world

Whole school

13th December Lunch Christmas dinner day Whole school

15th December Morning Christmas fayre Holbrook site

2nd January All day INSET day Whole school

12th January All day Italy day Whole school

24th January TBC IEP meetings Whole school

25th January TBC IEP meetings Whole school

1st March All day World Book Day Whole school

9th March Morning Spring fayre Holbrook site

16th March All day Chinese New Year day Whole school

19th March All week Sports Relief week Whole school

9th April All week Autism Awareness week Whole school

Date Time Event Location

20th April All day Equality Day Whole school

9th May TBC IEP meetings Whole school

10th May TBC IEP meetings Whole school

14th May All week SATs week Holbrook site

4th June All day INSET day Whole school

11th June Phonics Screening Holbrook site

15th June Morning Belper site open morning Belper site

22nd June All day Summer fayre & sports day Holbrook site

29th June All day Armed Forces day Whole school

3rd July All day USA day Whole school

11th July TBC Parent consultation meetings Whole school

12th July TBC Parent consultation meetings Whole school

18th July All day Leavers’ Prom Holbrook site