28th February2025
Our newsletter aims to keep parents and carers up to date with school news, activities and key information throughout the year.
If you have any feedback on or suggestions for the newsletter, please send your comments via email to newsletter@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk
Don’t forget to visit our website (www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) for more news and information.
Thank you for taking the time to read our news and for your support.
A Marsh Headteacher
Disclaimer: HighfieldsSchoolisnotresponsibleforthequalityofproductsororganisationspublicisedthrougharticlesor advertisementsintheschoolnewsletter.
How would you respond if you got a text from your child to say that the school was in lockdown and a student had a knife? That’s what parents were faced with on Monday when some students texted from classrooms of a local school in lockdown. Within minutes one Facebook user appeared to confirm ‘headteacher and another teacher stabbed’ (see image left). This caused panic and a surge of communications between parents at home and students in classrooms. I can imagine that this, in turn, increased the challenge for staff who were doing their best to keep students calm. One user, apparently a parent, suggested that they had texted their child and told them to walk out of the classroom, break the lockdown and leave the school.
A short time later both the school and the police confirmed that there was no knife or any other weapon, that no member of staff had been harmed and that the incident had been resolved.
I can understand that parents are keen to receive news in the event of an emergency. Schools do not have specialist emergency communication departments and so when there is an incident all resources are directed towards protecting children. In a lockdown, staff are marooned in classrooms or offices and so coordination can be more difficult and capacity reduced. Often, it is only when the incident is fully resolved and all admin staff are available again, that attention can be given to briefing the community. Again, the focus in the first instance is on protecting children.
In the unlikely event that Highfields ever has to deal with a similar emergency I am hoping that a) students will do as they are told and not circulate rumours via mobile phone which panic their family and b) families will trust my leadership enough to let me get on with protecting children and not put me in the position where I have to deal with the effects of social media inspired panic at the same time as managing a potentially hazardous situation.
I feel strongly that I will be able to trust Highfields families if the worst ever happens.
In brighter news Y7 and 8 students got competitive on probably the first sunny day of the year when they clashed in an inter-form netball tournament on Thursday. I loved the atmosphere of friendly rivalry and it felt like spring was on the way at last…
We are Highfields.
A Marsh, Headteahcer
Reminders for the week ahead.. Week A
Monday 3rd March
Year11and13MockExams(Allweek)
Year11,12and13PerformanceExams(AllWeek)
DofEBRONZE(Until4.30pm)
Tuesday 4th March
Year10ParentsEvening
Wednesday 5th March
Netball finals
Thursday 6th March
Voice of Sport Mee ng
Friday 7th March
KS2 Girls Football Fes val
IMPORTANT REMINDER
PLEASEENSURESTUDENTSDO NOTEATINTHELIBRARYAND REMEMBERTHATNUTSAND PRODUCTSCONTAININGNUTS SHOULDNOTBEBROUGHTINTO SCHOOLTOPROECTTHOSEWITH ANUTALLERGY.
The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law is an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals and is based in Cambridge, UK. Our annual Animal Rights Law Essay Competition introduces the topic and field of animal rights law for students in secondary school through to university graduates. This competition aims to encourage students to explore new ideas, consider fascinating possible futures, and discuss thoughtprovoking questions in an original piece of writing that may inspire them to engage further with the topic in the future. This year, we are inviting essays addressing the following title: ‘Is rights of nature a useful framework for giving rights to animals?’ Discuss.
A few quick things to note:
Only one entry is permitted per person.
We welcome essays that are not longer than 1,000 words (including footnotes but excluding bibliography).
The deadline for all submissions is 15th March 2025 and the winner will be announced mid-April 2025.
Entrants must directly address the essay title.
A Winning Commendation and up to two Special Commendations will be sent to the winners in this category, and prizes of £250 will be sent to the winners’ schools.
This is a reminder that the NHS Allied Healthcare Work Experience begins this Sunday 2nd March from 8:30am - 5pm. We strongly encourage students in years 10/S3/NI11 - 13/S6/NI14 considering healthcare to register ahead of this weekend. A strong record of work experience is crucial to all allied health careers. Registra on Link: h ps://alliedhealthmentor.org/product/live-virtual-work-experience-programme/
During the work experience day, students will follow 2 pa ents from their ini al presenta on to recovery. This session will be focused on Recovery and Rehabilita on: Strokes & Opioid Dependence. Students will gain a unique insight into how pa ents interact with a variety of healthcare professionals and what it’s like to work in an NHS mul disciplinary team. It's also a rare occasion for students to hear from our excep onal guest speaker, Melanie Dalby, a seasoned pharmacist with a wealth of knowledge and insights to share.
Throughout the programme, par cipants will gain insights into various careers, including:
- Nursing
- Midwifery
- Paramedicine
- Physiotherapy
- Occupa onal Therapy
- Diete cs
- Radiography
- Prosthe cs and Ortho cs
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Pharmacy
A endees will have the opportunity to interact with healthcare professionals throughout each day. This will empower students to make informed career decisions and demonstrate their commitment to healthcare in their UCAS applica ons.
Once they’ve registered, students will be emailed links to their virtual work experience portals.
Students are awarded a Work Experience Cer ficate for every session they complete. Those who complete the full 6-month programme will be awarded a Highly Commended Reference from the Presidents of Allied Healthcare Mentor. These are fantas c addi ons to their CVs!
Students can register individually at any me throughout the 6-month programme using the link below. We recommend booking early to gain as much out of this programme as possible. Places are £10 a session to cover administra ve and technological costs.
Sign up here: h ps://alliedhealthmentor.org/nhs-healthcare-careers-virtual-work-experience/
The event is planned for 5th April 2025 and there are 4 timeslots to choose from. Attendees need to be 16+ or in Year 11 and are only allowed 1 plus one to come along with them.
Attendees must register via this link: External Events - Shared HR Service Centre
