This Sunday (10th October), all across the UK, people will be taking part in activities to mark Fragile X Syndrome Awareness Day.

What is Fragile X syndrome?

Taking its name from the unusual way it impacts the X chromosome, Fragile X is a genetic syndrome which can cause a range of developmental problems, including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment. Commonly diagnosed in early childhood as babies start to hit their key milestones such as walking and talking, Fragile X is the most common inherited cause of learning disabilities.

Affecting around 1 in every 3,600 boys and 1 in every 4,000-6,000 girls, the effects of Fragile X syndrome can vary dramatically from person to person, but most will experience lifelong difficulties. This is something that one of our wonderful teachers at Castle School, Louise Washer, understands better than most.

Louise’s son Josh was diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome when he was 20 months old. Now a young man embarking on his further educational journey towards working in hospitality, Louise bravely shared her personal story of living with Fragile X syndrome with colleagues at Castle School to raise awareness of the condition and the upcoming awareness day.

Louise’s story

It was first noted by healthcare professionals that there might be something amiss with Josh’s physical development at his 8 month check-up – he couldn’t sit up unaided or support any weight on his legs. It was also discovered that he had severe glue ear in both ears – a condition which causes the build-up of fluid within the middle part of the ear canal. This can be a physical feature associated with Fragile X. It wasn’t until Josh was 20 months old however that he was formally diagnosed via a blood test.

Symptoms of Fragile X syndrome

Fragile X can manifest itself in a number of different ways and at varying levels of severity. Many of the behavioural traits of individuals with Fragile X are very similar to those on the autistic spectrum – avoidance of eye contact, social withdrawal, communication difficulties and repetitive behaviours. There are however a number of physical traits and behaviours unique to those with a Fragile X syndrome diagnosis.

Physical similarities in children and young people diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome include a long and narrow face, large ears, a prominent jaw and forehead, unusually flexible fingers and very flat feet. These characteristic physical features usually become more apparent with age and affect most males and around half of females with Fragile X.

Unique behaviours and personality traits on the other hand might include periods of anxiety, fidgeting or impulsive actions as well as periods of hyperactivity which can affect speech patterns and the child’s ability to concentrate, which in turn impacts their ability to learn despite Fragile X individuals usually having incredible memories.

Managing Fragile X in school

Taking these unique characteristics into account, at Castle School, we have developed ways of working with children with Fragile X as well as other severe learning difficulties to help them feel secure and relaxed in the classroom.
By minimising the number of distractions in the classroom – limited displays and colours as well as items on desks, and adopting a teaching style which sees staff sitting side-by-side with pupils to limit the need for direct eye-contact, we can maximise pupils’ attention span and help them to feel at ease.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more about Castle School, how we work and our facilities, please get in touch to arrange a visit, or check out our website at www.castle.ncea.org.uk.

For more information about Fragile X syndrome, the Fragile X Society is the charity behind Sunday’s awareness day. Visit www.fragilex.org.uk.

A local mental health charity has helped to make a group of schoolchildren’s dreams come true, bringing their vision for a brand new forest school area to life after vandals destroyed their original site during lockdown.

Staff and service users from Blyth Star Enterprises’ woodwork and horticultural departments have worked tirelessly through the summer holidays to transform part of the playing field at NCEA Warkworth Primary School into a woodland wonderland, ready for the start of the new academic year.

‘Forest school’ is the name given to the outdoor education delivery model used by primary schools across the UK which encourages pupils to engage with the natural world to help them learn personal, social and technical skills. The programme also helps to promote environmental awareness and positive mental health and wellbeing through time spent in the great outdoors.

Having previously used an external site located around one mile away from the school campus, forest school has been part of the curriculum at Warkworth Primary for a number of years. During the second coronavirus lockdown however, the site was targeted by vandals who used the area as a ‘drinking den’ before setting fire to it, leaving the site completely unusable.

The school posted a public appeal on social media about the incident, which is how the partnership with Blyth Star Enterprises was established.

Kevin Alexander, Supervisor at Blyth Star Enterprises’ woodwork department, explained:

“We were deeply saddened by what had occurred at Warkworth Primary’s forest school site. It was just mindless vandalism and we wanted to do something to help put things right for the children.

“This past 18 months has been really tough on our young people, going in and out of lockdown and being unable to see their friends and family and just be normal kids. Playing outside, building dens and things is all part of that, so we were delighted to be able to support with the construction of the new forest school area in the school grounds.”

Working from a hand-drawn plan which was developed in partnership with the pupils themselves, staff and service users from Blyth Star Enterprises visited the school to scope out the project, which would include the build and installation of a seating area around the fire pit, six new craft tables for outdoor woodwork classes, two mud kitchens, a woodland assault course and a number of full height ‘fairy doors’ to create secret entrances to a network of willow tunnels.

Horticultural staff from Blyth Star’s Stakeford Nurseries also agreed to supply and plant over 40 different trees and shrubs to help add to the site’s woodland feel.

Laura Ritson, Headteacher at NCEA Warkworth Primary School, commented:

“We have been absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm, creativity and determination shown by Blyth Star Enterprises toward our forest school project. Every time Kevin and the team came to site, they had a new idea about how we could make the forest school even more magical for the children.

“Promoting positive mental health and wellbeing is central to everything that we do at Warkworth Primary which made working with Blyth Star Enterprises all the more special, knowing that our forest school project was helping to provide real work experience for people living with lifelong mental health conditions and learning disabilities. We really can’t thank them enough for all of their hard work and it’s a perfect example of how our shared community vision ‘strive together as one’ leads everything we do at NCEA Warkworth Primary.”

“We’ve really enjoyed working on the project,” Kevin added.

“The volume of the work and the repetitive nature of some of the elements, such as making sure that all six of the woodwork benches were exactly the same, has challenged our service users and helped them to hone their skills as craftsmen. We really hope the children enjoy their new forest school – we can’t wait to see the finished result!”

Providing living support and meaningful day services which replicate real working environments, Blyth Star Enterprises supports more than 350 people across Northumberland living with severe and enduring mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

For more information about the charity, or to find out more about commissioning a woodwork or gardening project, visit www.blythstar.org.uk.

NCEAT’s primary schools have been recognised in the UK’s top 50 schools for Accelerated Reader usage.

Accelerated Reader is an online platform which supports pupils’ reading skills. When they first start using the platform, pupils complete a STAR reading test which gives them a level based on their reading ability and advises on the books they should be reading. This allows teachers to ensure that pupils are challenged with an appropriate text and develops their reading fluency.

Once they have finished reading their book, they can then complete a comprehension quiz to assess whether they have understood what they have read. This gives teachers valuable information about pupils reading ages and also reading comprehension ability.

Prior to the summer holidays, the primary schools within the Trust had a big push on reading for pleasure, encouraging pupils to read at home with parents and carers. This push has seen pupils carry out over 28,537 Accelerated Reader quizzes online since August – that’s 28,537 books read across Bishop’s, Grace Darling, James Knott, Thomas Bewick and William Leech C of E Primary Schools!

Jack Christophers, Director of Literacy, commented:

“We’re absolutely blown away by what our pupils have achieved through Accelerated Reader. The statistics speak for themselves – our pupils have put in an amazing amount of effort and we’re extremely proud of each and every one of them.”

To find out more about reading in the primary curriculum, visit https://bishops.ncea.org.uk/pupil-hub/reading-corner/

Shocked by the scenes on the news about the ongoing unrest in Afghanistan, pupils at a primary school in Northumberland have taken it upon themselves to lead social action and are looking to encourage others to do the same and carry out ‘acts of love and good works’, which is part of their school vision.

Pupils at NCEA Warkworth C of E Primary School have challenged themselves to fill their school hall with donations for the refugees who have fled Afghanistan and made it safely to the UK, many of whom are now trying to rebuild their lives in the North East of England.

The children came up with the idea after being inspired by the work of one of their teachers, Kimberley Sharp, who runs the popular ‘A Child’s Wish’ Facebook group, which provides clothes, toys and essential items to women and children who have fled from domestic violence.

Having seen photos of the work Kimberley has done in the past to fill her living room at home with gifts and resources for families, the pupils decided they wanted to replicate the effort, but on a bigger scale, to fill their school hall with items which could be donated to charities in Gateshead who are supporting those who have fled conflict in Afghanistan.

Laura Ritson, Headteacher at NCEA Warkworth C of E Primary School, commented:

“This week in collective worship we’ve been exploring our vision # strive together as one (Phillipians 1.27) and reflecting on all of the ‘acts of good works’ we’ve completed over the years.

“When we asked the children what they wanted to do next, they started talking about some of the images they’d seen on the news about Afghanistan over the summer. We discussed what’s been happening in more detail and the pupils unanimously voted that they wanted to help and wanted to inspire others to help too.

“Filling the school hall is no small feat, but our children are so determined, we have no doubt that they’ll do it! We have until 30 September to collect as many items as possible so any support we can get from the local community would be greatly appreciated.”

The charities supporting the refugees are particularly looking for general items such as food, second hand furniture, cleaning products, toiletries and clothes (including school uniform, pyjamas and underwear) suitable for men, women and children of all ages, shapes and sizes. Many small children and babies have also been affected by the crisis in Afghanistan, so items like pushchairs, books and toys are also welcomed.

If you would like to support the appeal, there is a collection point for all items at Warkworth Primary School, 2 Guilden Road, Warkworth, NE65 0TJ. The deadline for donations is Thursday 30 September 2021.

For more information about Warkworth C of E Primary School, visit www.warkworth.ncea.org.uk.

Pupils at Grace Darling C of E Primary School in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Duke’s Secondary School in Ashington have welcomed a very special visitor, The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, Bishop of Berwick.

Formerly the Archdeacon of Northumberland,the Right Reverend Mark Wroe was installed as the Suffragan Bishop of Berwick in January this year – only the second person to have received the title in living memory after the Diocese of Newcastle resurrected the role in 2016 following a 444 year hiatus.

Serving the areas between the Tyne and Tweed rivers, the Bishop’s role is vast and varied. Having been consecrated during the Covid-19 pandemic, this visit has been one of the first opportunities for the Right Rev. Mark to get out to meet some of the children and young people in the South East of the county.

During his visit, the Bishop was treated to a tour of the full Grace Darling C of E Primary School campus, visiting each class in turn to view their displays and find out how they were settling back into school after the summer holidays. He met with the school’s ‘Gardening Gang’ who look after the school’s outdoor spaces and spoke with staff about the school’s involvement in the Thrive programme for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in children.

On arriving at the Duke’s Secondary School campus in the afternoon, the Bishop met with the school’s Principal, Russ Atkinson, and was shown around some of the classrooms where Covid-19 catch up sessions were taking place for students in critical exam years. The day was rounded off with a meeting of school leaders from across Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust (to which Grace Darling C of E Primary School and Duke’s Secondary School are members).

Commenting on his visit, the Right Reverend Mark Wroe, said:

“I’ve been really impressed by what I’ve seen today. The resilience that has been shown by teachers and pupils during what has been an incredibly challenging time for schools is just amazing and it’s great to see how people have come together to support each other. I’d like to thank Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust for having me today and I’ll look forward to visiting again in future.”

Alan Hardie, CEO at Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, added:

“It was wonderful to have Bishop Mark with us today. At NCEAT, we value our close working relationship with the Dioceses of Newcastle and Durham and it is always a pleasure to host members of the clergy at our schools.”

A secondary school in South East Northumberland has been recognised for a second time by the British Council for its outstanding work to integrate international teaching and learning into the curriculum.

Duke’s Secondary School in Ashington has been reaccredited with the International School Award having demonstrated how elements of international education have been embedded into the culture of the school, resulting in pupils having an increased knowledge of other countries, cultures and languages, awareness of key global issues, global citizenship attributes, and an appreciation for cultural diversity.

Assessed against 13 different activities, ranging from taster sessions in Modern Foreign Languages including Mandarin and German, as well as Art, English and Maths-based projects carried out in partnership with schools in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Croatia, Duke’s was praised by assessors for its innovative approach to international awareness, especially during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Elizabeth McNally, International Coordinator at Duke’s Secondary School, commented:

“While the pandemic was and continues to be a challenge for schools, in regard to the activities we had planned to support our international curriculum, the worldwide handling of coronavirus added a new dynamic to our programme and allowed us to adopt new activities which focused more on the promotion of international friendship through shared experience.

“Our pupils found common ground with the students from overseas in their experiences of lockdown and disruption to their schooling. Working closely with our twinned school in Remscheid in Germany in particular, the students formed friendships and wrote to each other, practicing their written and spoken language skills translating messages back and forth.”

James Pearson, fellow International Coordinator at Duke’s, added:

“We decided to create a ‘Gratitude Tree’ in school where we could pin notes about the things we were grateful for during lockdown. The whole school got involved and we also included notes from our European pen pals, written in French and German.”

The assessment also explored how Duke’s has been able to promote understanding of its local community in Ashington to international students and how international culture has also been shared with other schools locally.

Operating as part of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, Duke’s Secondary School naturally partnered with neighbouring Bishop’s C of E Primary School and Castle School – the Trust’s speciality school for pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities, to further the reach of its international curriculum.

The assessor acting on behalf of the International School Award team for the British Council, commented:

“The international dimension is firmly rooted in your school’s curriculum and whole-school ethos. Your links with schools in different countries are providing rich learning experiences for students and staff. Over the course of two academic years (2019-2021) you have carried out a range of international activities which include different subject areas and age ranges. You have introduced extra activities during the Covid pandemic enabling your students to reflect and exchange feelings and thoughts on happiness and gratitude with their partners at Roentgen Gymnasium in Remscheid, promoting international empathy and friendship.

“Your ambassadorial role is well established via your work in introducing an international dimension to transitional activities in your feeder primary schools, as well as supporting progress towards International School Award accreditation. Congratulations to all concerned! We wish you continuing success and enjoyment with your international enterprises.”

Russ Atkinson, Principal at Duke’s Secondary School, added:

“We are delighted to have once again been awarded the International School Award. Promoting understanding of international cultures and supporting all of our pupils to become global citizens who can contribute positively to their local communities is an important part of our ethos here at Duke’s and we’re honoured to have had that commitment recognised once again by the British Council.”

For more information about Duke’s Secondary School, visit www.dukes.ncea.org.uk.

Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust (NCEAT) has celebrated the start of the new academic year with the launch of four new primary schools.

The multi academy trust, which operates across South East Northumberland, has successfully demerged its 1,500 pupil primary academy to create five separate primary schools in their own right, ready for the start of the Autumn term.

The project, which has been completed in close collaboration with the Department for Education, local authorities and the local community, will see the schools become more firmly embedded in the local communities they serve, while continuing to benefit from being a part of a wider academy trust.

Each new school will have its own, simplified admissions system and its own Headteacher. In line with current Government funding allowances, it is expected that the demerger will also bring an additional £250,000 to the schools this academic year to support investment in teaching and learning resources, such as IT equipment and books.

Alan Hardie, Chief Executive Officer at NCEAT, commented:

“At the end of August, we received the final permission needed from the Department for Education (DfE) to split the former Bishop’s Primary School into five separate schools.

“At NCEAT we are dedicated to providing the highest quality learning experiences for our pupils and we felt that this would be best achieved through the creation of a family of primary schools which would sit firmly at the heart of their local communities while retaining all of the benefits of working together as part of our Trust.

“This has been a huge project for NCEAT staff, in consultation with parents and carers, local authorities and members of our community so we’re absolutely delighted that the demerger has gone ahead successfully. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly welcome Grace Darling C of E Primary, James Knott C of E Primary, Thomas Bewick C of E Primary and William Leech C of E Primary into the Trust as new schools.”

The successful demerger has doubled NCEAT’s portfolio of schools in the Northumberland area. The Trust, which was founded in 2009, also comprises Warkworth C of E Primary School, Duke’s Secondary School and Castle School, a speciality school for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

An interactive, multimedia exhibition based on the North East’s experience of coronavirus and what it’s been like for people in our communities to ‘live through history’ is going on tour this summer.

Created by students at Duke’s Secondary School in Ashington (Part of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust), the ‘Pan@NCEA’ project combines elements of the STEM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) as well as Art, Design, Media and Languages to tell the story of the pandemic; the different stages we have experienced and how these experiences have varied from person to person and place to place.

The whole school has been involved in aspects of the project, from taking part in activities during science lessons and tutor time to support the conceptual research, to the physical construction of the exhibition itself.

Comprising three large art installations to visually represent the three scientific stages of the pandemic from its discovery back in December 2019 through to the present day and the rollout of the vaccine, the exhibition also features audio visual elements including sound recordings of students and contacts from around the world, as well as interviews with Duke’s Secondary School’s Principal, Mr Russ Atkinson and Father Laurence Freeman, Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation.

Interactive activities on offer as part of the exhibition include real-life X-Rays to show healthy lungs versus lungs infected by Covid-19, an experiment to demonstrate how the lateral flow test works and the specificity of the vaccine and a very special Covid-19 virus DNA model.

Dr Jodi Harrison, Academic Mentor at Duke’s Secondary School, has led on the project for the students, she said:

“We’re so excited to take our Pan@NCEA project on tour through the summer. Coronavirus has been the single biggest challenge that many of our young people have ever had to face – causing disruption to both their education and their personal development over the past 18 months. While many people simply want to put the pandemic behind them, we felt it was important to really explore the impact of Covid-19 on a scientific, economic and historic level to fully appreciate the gravitas of what we’ve lived through.

“The students threw themselves into the challenge and worked incredibly hard to create something which is truly reflective of not just their own experience of coronavirus, but of the experience of our communities as a collective.

“As word got around about what we were trying to achieve, we were overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from external providers and we’re incredibly grateful to our sponsors Ashington Town Council, YMCA Northumberland, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC Local Section – Newcastle upon Tyne and North East Coast (NuTNEC)) and Newbiggin Maritime Centre.

“Through this network, we have been able to source personal recordings from people living on each continent (except Antarctica!) to give a flavour of what life in lockdown was like on an international scale.”

Dr Neil D. Graham, Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry Local Section (NuTNEC), commented:

“The Newcastle-upon-Tyne and North East Coast Local Section of the Royal Society of Chemistry is always happy to support efforts made by students and teachers to advance their understanding and knowledge in chemistry and it’s real-world applications. This is especially true when efforts are made to share this knowledge with others.”

The grand opening of the exhibition will be taking place over two days starting from Saturday 14 August 2021 at YMCA Northumberland in Ashington, followed by a residency at the Newbiggin Maritime Centre between Tuesday 17 August and Saturday 4 September, and culminating in a very special display at Newcastle Cathedral on Sunday 19 September.

To find out more about the project, visit www.dukes@ncea.org.uk or email pan@ncea.org.uk.