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Ms Effie Fenton was appointed as the head teacher of Acklington School and started
her duties at the beginning of the Spring Term 2010.
She joined the school from South Tyneside Education Action Zone,
where she had been working with several schools to raise standards, and
she has led and managed the implementation of successful teaching and
leaning strategies through her work with staff, pupils and parents.
Across her career she has taught throughout the nursery and primary age
range, and she has successfully led an inclusive Language Unit catering
largely for children on the Autistic Spectrum.
She moved to Warkworth in 2005 after teaching for 10 years in London.
She also served for 18 months as the Chair of Governors at Warkworth CE
First School.
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ACKLINGTON C. of E. FIRST SCHOOL
Acklington School was built in 1852 and
opened in 1853, making it one of the oldest schools still in
operation in the county of Northumberland. The first pupil to
register in 1853 was 10 year old Ann Egdele. Since that time,
hundreds of pupils have enjoyed their early education at the
village school and the community is rightly proud of the
excellent reputation of the school and the high standards
achieved. (See "Recent History" section of the Parish Website
for a more information about the history of Acklington School). |
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LATEST
SCHOOL NEWSLETTERS |
Newsletter: Tuesday 21st February 2012.
This week:
I hope you all enjoyed your holiday, welcome back to another busy half
term! Thank you to the dads who helped us move everything out of the
sheds for the concrete base to be laid, as you have seen they are back
in the upright position again!
Acklington CE First School is now lottery funded
Great news!! We are delighted to announce officially that we have been
successful in our application for an Awards for All Grant for £10,000 to
run a community safety project! Our community project will involve
everyone including parents/carers, school age children and senior
citizens and will cover a number of areas: swimming instruction,
watersports, life saving techniques, cycling and road safety, first aid
courses, additional safety courses (railways, fire etc), visits, safety
resources (high visibility vests & torches etc) and funding will cover
all associated costs.
Here is our winning argument for funding, beautifully composed by Mrs
Clerkin-Shone, to whom we owe great thanks for supporting us in leading
on the application:
“It is vitally important young people understand
and respond to risks involved with water, fire, roads and railways.
Acklington is a small village in rural Northumberland, with areas of
open water subject to localised flooding. Being confident in and around
water is a vital life skill which would make all participants safer
around water. We have narrow, fast roads, few footpaths and a number of
children cycle and walk to school, so road and cycle safety is vital. A
railway line carrying high speed inter-city trains runs through the
village and could pose a danger to children.
Village facilities are limited, and this project would greatly
strengthen links between school and the community, improve social
cohesion and provide learning opportunities for the whole community.
Bringing people of all ages together so they can learn from each other,
developing confidence and skills, with school as a focal point, will
develop a community spirit.
Limited public transport makes it difficult for members of our community
to access facilities necessary to obtain the life skills needed to be
safe in water and on land. We feel it is important to hold sessions at
varying times of day enabling access to all members of the local
community.
Developing a community project around vital safety and life skills will
provide interest for everyone; opportunities for interaction between
social groups; the chance to learn new skills, acquire qualifications
and be safe and healthy.”
Our thanks also go to Mrs June Shone for her invaluable
experience and advice.
The project will run from Easter 2012 to Easter 2013, and we will keep
you regularly informed of events.
Coming Up:
Forest School
Forest School (Tuesday afternoon) next week will be the Squirrels group:
Oliver, Gil, Ryan, Aidan, Katy-Ann, Emily. Please remember to bring
appropriate waterproof outdoor clothing.
Stars of the Week!
Class 1 – William for concentrating well when constructing, and
Class 2 – Gil for huge improvements to the length and content of his
writing.
Well done both of you!
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 21st February – Cello lessons continue for Years 3
and 4
Friday 24th February – Additional ball games coaching
commences for years 1-4 (please ensure you have appropriate PE clothing
in school for working outdoors if weather allows)Thursday 1st
March – World Book Day (see below)
Tuesday 6th March – World Spelling Day
Wednesday 7th march – World Maths Day
Friday 9th March – School group photograph
Friday 16th March – Mothers’ Day Event 2pm (details tbc)
Tuesday 20th March – Coquet Dance Showcase 3.30pm-5.30pm
Friday 23rd March – Sport Relief
Friday 30th March – End of Spring term.
Further dates of trips to be advised.
Thank you
Thank you for your donations for St Valentine’s non-uniform day on
Friday 10th February. We raised £27 to be donated to
one of the charities chosen by Canon Brearley, in her memory.
World Book Day
Next Thursday 1st March, children are encouraged to dress up
as their favourite book character and bring the book along to take part
in various book-themed activities for the day.
Thank you,
Ms Fenton
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Newsletter: Tuesday 7th February 2012.
This week:
Reception to Year 4 (and the grown-ups!) loved our trip to Arbeia
yesterday, enjoying the finest weather we could hope for as we explored
the Roman remains and reconstructions. Your children should all be
praised for their good behaviour and enthusiasm throughout the day. The
quote of the day came from Gil: “It’s the best trip of my life!!”
Have a great week off next week and we’ll see you back at school on
Monday 20th February at 8.55am.
Coming Up:
Holiday ideas
An out of this world, new and exciting sci-fi exhibition is opening at
Woodhorn on Saturday 11 February and will run until Monday 3 September.
A truly out-of-this-world experience is guaranteed for all visitors to
INVASION when it opens at the museum on 11 February. Costumes, props and
even robots from favourite TV and sci-fi film blockbusters have been
brought together for this thrilling show. Unearthly beings will shock
and amaze you, monsters mesmerise, space suits scintillate and robots
rivet you to the spot. Featuring in the exhibition will be costumes from
Star Trek: Enterprise, Andromeda, Red Dwarf, Lost in Space and The
Chronicles of Riddick. There will be aliens from Star Wars, X files,
Doctor Who and of course Alien itself. And no sci-fi exhibition would be
complete without a range of robots; check out the machines from Red
Planet Robot, Robocop and ABC amongst others.
Stars
of the Week!
Class 1 – Raegan for settling into Class 1 beautifully, and
Class 2 – Amelia for excellent contributions in Class 2 maths.
Well done both of you!
Forest School
Forest School (Tuesday afternoon) will resume AFTER HALF TERM for the
Owls group: Sonny, Amelia, Mabel, Phoebe, Tyler, Casey. Please remember
to bring appropriate waterproof outdoor clothing.
Helpers needed
We are looking for kind, helpful, strong, willing volunteers to empty
our sheds on Friday afternoon in preparation for work which will
commence during half term. Please inform Mrs Gordon if you can help.
St Valentine’s Day
As a special addition to the calendar of events, we are holding a St
Valentine’s non-uniform day on Friday 10th February (this
Friday). For a donation of £1, children are welcome to wear their own
clothes and we will have some special activities to mark the day. All
money raised will be donated to the charities chosen by Canon Brearley,
in her memory.
Thank you,
Ms Fenton
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Newsletter: Tuesday 31st January 2012.
This week:
The haggis was well received on Wednesday, with lots of clean plates as
usual! There have been a few changes you may have noticed in groupings
for specific teaching of basic skills. We constantly review progress
and provision and make sure children are grouped in the best way to help
their development. If you have any questions please speak to either Ms
Jones or myself, as we are happy to talk about your child’s progress at
any time of the year.
Can I please remind parents and visitors not to park on the zig-zag
yellow lines outside school. Police often monitor parking and can issue
fines.
Please can Year 2 children bring a bottle of water and a healthy snack
tomorrow for the gym festival.
Coming up:
School Uniform
Mrs Gordon will shortly be placing an order with School Trends. If you
would like any particular items, please let her know by Friday morning.
May we remind you to label all uniform as soon as received.
Threadworms
Threadworms are as common, if not more common, than headlice but can
often be difficult to detect. We know of cases of threadworm locally
and it spreads quickly but is easily treated, so we have attached some
information to help you identify and treat where necessary.
Stars of the Week!
Class 1 – Katy-Ann for great all round progress, and Class 2 –Ryan
for improving his organisational skills. Well done both of you!
Forest School
Next week Forest School (Tuesday afternoon) is for the Owls group:
Sonny, Amelia, Mabel, Phoebe, Tyler, Casey. Please remember to bring
appropriate waterproof outdoor clothing. All-weather suits are
available from school priced £10.50 – see ‘School Uniform’ item.
School trip to Arbeia Roman Fort: Monday 6th February
We are very excited about our trip to Arbeia next Monday! The
children will be accompanied by Mr Mason, Ms Fenton, Mrs Carruthers, Ms
Smith and Mrs MacPhee. Please wear uniform as usual but bring a warm
waterproof coat for any work around the outside of the fort. Children
will be supplied with a bottled drink with their packed lunch, but
please bring an empty small backpack to carry lunches. Please come
straight to the hall for 8.55am.
The trip is for reception to Year 4 children, so Year 0 will remain at
school, having fun with Ms Jones from 8.55-12.00 that day. Thank you
for all your contributions towards the cost of transport and the
workshop, we still have a few slips outstanding so if you have not yet
returned the slip below please do so by this Friday. The suggested
amount is £5 per child.
Thank you,
Ms Fenton
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The pupils of Acklington School are often
featured in the local newspapers for their various achievements and
activities. Below are some examples of press coverage they have
received.
PUPILS HELP OPEN
ACKLINGTON FARM SHOP
A farm shop and cafe has opened in Northumberland in a diversification
project.
Cavil Head Farm near Acklington village received over £177,000 through
One North East's Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)
programme to transform redundant buildings on the site as part of a
long-term aim to create a leisure and holiday centre in rural
Northumberland.
The new shop has created 12 jobs and features an on-site butcher,
ice-cream parlour, coffee shop and large children's play area.
Around 30 local businesses are being supported through sale of
locally-grown products.
Pupils from Acklington First School attended the official opening.
The farm was bought by the owners of Warkworth Farm and is a working
tenanted arable site.
Manager Neil Cox said: "We are thrilled to see the farm shop open as we
start to transform it into a small leisure and holiday centre."
Pictured from left with Acklington pupils: Effie Fenton, head teacher of
Acklington First School, Andy Dean of Northumberland County Council, One
North East's Adrian Sherwood and teaching assistant Susan Smith.
The school was featured in the Journal on
25th February 2010. The full article is printed below:
Acklington First School
Children at Acklington First School help each other out to make sure
everyone does well at school. The children help each other to develop
not only in school but also as people, and their increasing maturity is
noticeable as they move through the year groups, working, playing and
making decisions with increasing independence.
Coupled with a supportive environment provided by hard-working teachers
and good community links, the school has had inspection reports that
truly reflect their achievements.
The exciting topics the children cover in the lesson plans is also
combined with interesting trips; for instance, the school has been to
Cumbria and Edinburgh Castle.
There is little the school could improve on but they have managed to
increase the number of staff covering their Early Years provision, and
will now be improving the equipment to enable learning both indoors and
out all year round.
New head Effie Fenton said: "We are a small but perfectly-formed rural
school, with currently 26 children attending, and we are very proud of
our caring, family atmosphere and excellent level of support for the
children. As a church school we are at the centre of the local community
within the parish. Children make very good progress in their learning
and development throughout their time at Acklington."
Name of school:
Acklington CE First School
Headteacher: Ms Effie Fenton
Chairman of governors: Mr William Rowntree
Number of pupils: 22 (plus four year 0s)
Type of school: Voluntary Controlled Church of England
First School
Pictured right: Acklington First School pupils see
how many coins will be needed for the school's copper kilometre
they will be doing for charity fundraising.
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Main findings of most
recent Ofsted report:
"Acklington C of E First School is a good school. Pupils are
well cared for and thrive in a supportive environment that is at
the centre of its community."
"A family atmosphere exists within the school and pupils say
they feel safe and well cared for."
"Pupils become more mature as they move through the school. They
work, play and make decisions with increasing independence."
"Pupils have a very good sense of right and wrong, and older
children ably support younger members of the school community in
developing their moral compass."
"Attendance is outstanding. Pupils say they enjoy being at
school."
"The curriculum is good...and has been developed around themes
that have been chosen to be exciting and relevant to pupils."
How would you describe the school's ethos and values?
From Church Inspection: "The Christian ethos permeates all
aspects of school life and brings positive values and attitudes
to teaching and learning, leading and managing."
The school's aims and values are given priority in ensuring that
all in the school community respects and values each other.
The impact on children is seen through the good quality of their
development as valued and happy individuals and in the good
standards they achieve.
We at Acklington C of E First School believe that every child
deserves to be happy and given the opportunity to have a journey
which values them as individuals in a Christian environment.
We strive to provide the children with a learning environment
that both supports their academic achievements and embraces the
whole child creatively, physically, spiritually and morally. An
environment where the children feel safe, valued and supported,
and of which we are all proud.
What are the school's main strengths?
We are a small but perfectly-formed rural school, with 26
children attending, and we are very proud of our caring, family
atmosphere and excellent level of support for the children. As a
church school we are at the centre of the local community within
the parish.
Children make very good rates of progress in their learning and
development throughout their time at Acklington.
Our creative curriculum, where children learn skills and
knowledge through exciting topics, and take part in a wide
variety of visits to places as far afield as Edinburgh and
Cumbria, is considered a strength by children, parents and
visitors.
What areas are the school trying to improve?
We have already raised the staffing levels in the Early Years
and Key Stage 1 class to ensure an excellent ratio of adults to
children, allowing a very high level of adult support for
thinking, discussion and learning (1:7 in the mornings, 1:9 in
the afternoons). We are now planning to further develop our
Early Years Provision by carefully resourcing and equipping the
area to develop learning through play, indoors and outdoors, all
year round.
There are several new members of staff, including a new
headteacher, and everyone is working together enthusiastically
to constantly improve the experience for children at Acklington.
What extra-curricular activities and out-of-school provision
does the school have?
We offer a variety of sporting activities to the children,
including netball training and tournaments and lunchtime
football club on Fridays. There is a toddler group on site on
Thursday mornings, run by parents, for parents and their little
ones to get together, with a wide variety of activities.
Last term, Class 2 pupils learned how to play the ukulele in a
course of lessons! A menu of out-of-school clubs changes
throughout the year.
There are many activities on offer to our children run by the
Coquet Partnership Extended Services during the holidays. Also,
the village hall in Acklington runs a sports club on Friday
evenings which is well-attended by children from our school and
other schools.
How does the school get involved in the local community?
Parents are incredibly supportive, and run a lot of fundraising
events for the local community to take part in and enjoy.
For example, we are having afternoon tea (rather than a coffee
morning!) on Thursday, March 4 from 1.30pm to 3pm where anyone
can come and enjoy tea and scones.
We are also having another popular "pampered shopper" event on
the evening of Thursday, April 1 in the village hall, where you
can browse a wide variety of stalls from outlets such as the
Body Shop while enjoying a massage, hair consultation or
manicure from salon professionals, and 25% of everything we
raise for the school fund goes to a charity chosen by the
children - this term it is Unicef.
What is the school's proudest achievement(s)?
We have a fantastic website, where you can see photos, videos,
and the latest information about all our proudest achievements
at Acklington.
http://acklingtonfirst.createprimary.net
The children also update an online blog (diary) about our latest
news, which you can navigate to from our website.
Pictured: Acklington First School pupils at Edinburgh Castle
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Staff, governors, parents and pupils from Acklington School were
delighted to win second prize in the recent Journal's "Tokens
For Schools Competition". More than 50 schools in the
region entered the competition, which was run in association
with Barclays Bank.
The winners were those schools listed
below who managed to collect most tokens per pupil. The
prize money for each school is also shown:
1st Linton First Sch £2,500
2nd Acklington First £1,500
3rd Harbottle First £ 500
4th Norham First £
500
Staff at Acklington School intend to spend the prize-money on a
mini oven and kitchen equipment, plus a dishwasher to ensure the
children's water bottles remain hygienic.
Thank you to all Journal readers who supported the school's appeal for tokens. It was a great community
effort! |
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SCHOOL
HOLIDAYS FOR 2011-2012 |
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Holiday or
occasion of closure |
Date on which
school will close |
Date on which
school will reassemble |
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Summer 2011 |
Thursday 21st July 2011 |
Wednesday 7th Sept 2011 |
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Teacher Days
Monday 5th & Tuesday 6th September 2011 |
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Autumn Mid Term 2011 |
Thursday 20th October 2011 |
Monday 31st October 2011 |
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Teacher Day
Friday 21st October 2011 |
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Christmas/New Year 2011/2012 |
Friday 16th December 2011 |
Tuesday 3rd January 2012 |
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Spring Mid Term 2012 |
Friday 10th February 2012 |
Monday 20th February 2012 |
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Teacher Day
Friday 17th February 2012 |
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Easter 2012 |
Friday 30th March 2012 |
Monday 16th April 2012 |
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May Day 2012
Monday 7th May 2012 |
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Summer Mid Term 2012 |
Thursday 31st May 2012 |
Monday 11th June 2012 |
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Teacher Day
Friday 1st June 2012 |
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Summer 2012 |
Friday 20th July 2012 |
Wednesday 5th Sept 2012 |
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Teacher Days Monday
3rd & Tuesday 4th September 2012 |
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TOKENS FOR SCHOOL |
It's time to
help the village school again by collecting various
vouchers and tokens over the coming months.
There was a marvellous response last year and, with your
help, the staff and pupils at Acklington School managed
to exchange their vouchers for much needed equipment in
several subject areas. This year we are
particularly asked to look out for:
Nestle Cereal Box Top Tokens
Sainsbury's Active Kids Vouchers
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Tesco Schools & Clubs Vouchers
Flora Cooking With Schools Tokens
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The school is also collecting unwanted mobile phones and
ink cartridges, as well as used postage stamps.
All the
above items can be popped into the school's black post
box at the school door or dropped off at 4 Churchill
Way, Acklington.
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"We worked with members of
Acklington Art Group to produce the observational drawings of flowers
shown above. We learnt how to use soft pastels and oil pastels to
show the shape, colour and texture of the flowers. Some of us also
used artist's charcoal. We took a lot of care with these pictures
and were very proud to have them framed and in an exhibition. We
would like to thank Liz Newton and Sylvia McClure for their help with
this project."
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OUR
SONG ABOUT THE RIVER COQUET |
"Silver River, River Silver"
has been composed by children in Years 3 and 4 at Acklington and
Warkworth C of E First Schools with the help of students from Coquet
High School. 
| We really enjoy
putting on shows in the village hall for our families and
villagers. These are very well supported and the pupils
always rise to the occasion. The latest show we did took
place on 29th March 2010 and was entitled "The First Kids In
Space". Once again the village hall was packed, as shown
below, and a great time was had by all. |
| Here are our details for
anyone wishing to contact the school: |
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