Welcome!
"Sending my child to this school was the best decision I've ever made. The staff really understand him and it's the first time he's trusted adults other than me."
Welcome to our Parent & Carer Zone. On this page you will find additional information about our school, our Parent Teacher Association, upcoming events and a host of other issues. Importantly, we also use this page to share information about e-Safety, health and well-being and other important information from our partners. We want this page to be jointly owned with you, so please let us know if there is anything you would like see here.
Parent Ambassador
If you are a new parent and would like to speak to someone about the school, ask to speak to Laura, our parent ambassador. Laura knows the school extremely well, has completed Thrive training and is one of the founding members of Friends of Joseph Norton. Laura is happy to talk to you about her own experience and answer any questions you might have. To get in touch with Laura, or for more information about anything contained in these posts, please contact the school.
PARENT CARER MEETING ROOMS
We are very fortunate to have an off-site premises that can be used for meetings and social events. The full address is; Nortonthorpe Mill, Wakefield Rd, Scissett, Huddersfield HD8 9LA. If you would like to hire the space for your own event, please get in touch with Ruth. Please note that these rooms are based on the first floor of the Mills and have a blue sign on the door. If you are unable to use the stairs, please let us know in advance so we can make alternative arrangements.
9th November 2018
Safeguarding Update
It has been brought to our attention by a number of parents that the website ‘wish’ appears to be an easy site for young people to purchase inappropriate objects, such as, pocket knives and smoking contraband. ‘Wish’ will accept children’s bank cards as payment and will not check the age of the buyer. Please be aware and monitor your child’s phone if they have this app.
15th October 2018
JNA Babies
We’d like to send a huge congratulations to Kate on the birth of baby Charlotte and Darryl on the birth of baby Rae. The new arrivals will be popping in to visit at one or our upcoming Friends of JNA meetings.
Welcome to 2018-2019
A very warm welcome back to school from the whole Pastoral Team. As most of you will know, Kate is currently on maternity leave so there have been a number of role changes this year. I will be covering Kate’s role as Pastoral Manager and will be the Designated Safeguarding Leader for the school. Ruth will be our Partnerships Manager and will meeting with our community hub and Joy will continue to work closely with Friends of Joseph Norton. If you need any information about the school and would normally speak to Kate, please feel free to phone the school office and they will point you in the direction of the right person/ I look forward to seeing you all soon!
Darryl.
5th July 2018
FRIENDS OF JOSEPH NORTON MINUTES
Thank you again for attending the meeting, for those of you unable to attend please find the minutes below.
Monday 2nd July
Games CONSOLES
As we approach the Summer Holidays, we appreciate that children and young people take a lot of entertaining. This being said we want to make sure you are fully aware of the technology they may wish to use and some dangers that may come with online use. Attached are some guides for parents on games consoles should you wish to use them:
Wednesday 23rd May
SNAPCHAT
The poster on the right gives further information to support you in keeping your children safe online, specifically with regards to SnapChat. The poster highlights what parents need to know and gives some top tips.
Monday 30th April
LGBTQ Update
Please see attached the LGBTQ Allies newsletter, which is shared from the Government Equalities Office for the Anti-HBT Bullying project. The newsletter includes information about all their Positive Identities services, not just the Anti-Homophobic, Biphobic and Transphobic (HBT) Bullying project.
Thursday 1st February
Friends of Joseph Norton
Thanks once again to all the parents who have given up their time to support Friends of Joseph Norton. It has now run for a whole year and I'm sure you will agree, has been a big success!! Below are the minutes from the latest meeting. Please note, all parents/carers, family members and members of the community are welcome to attend the meetings. The next one will be 24th May 1pm at our meeting rooms at Nortonthorpe Mills.
March 2018
Safeguarding Alert
Please be aware that Police have issued a warning to all parents about popular children’s app Roblox after flagging up concerns about naked characters and inappropriate behaviour in the game. Many pupils have online friends that their parents were unaware of.
Children have stated that they had received in-game messages from strangers and they hadn’t told their parents. Children have said they had seen naked characters walking around the game and doing "very adult things”.
Police have urged parents to check their child’s Roblox account and look to see if they have friends that they do not know. Roblox has more than 30million players worldwide and allows users aged between the ages of eight and 12 to 'explore virtual worlds' in what looks like a Lego game.
30th January 2018
Family Thrive
Our second Family Thrive course started earlier this month. The course helps parents and carers think about how our brains develop, how to be a behaviour detective and how to cope with bumps in the road. It's serious stuff; but, as you can see from the photos below, we have a great time!
10th January 2018
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you've had a lovely Christmas Holiday.
As always we try and keep our parents in the loop regarding safeguarding issues. Below is the latest newsletter with information around Anti-homophobic behaviour for your reference.
12th December 2017
Electronic Toy Safety Notice.
Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? This Christmas there will be more tech toys than ever before, and many of them will use bluetooth or wifi to link to apps and the wider internet. Some of these toys will have cameras and microphones recording the environment and the child's play. The Information Commissioner recently published an article looking at the risks of using smart toys and it is well-worth sharing it with parents.
Which? Magazine have also surveyed many connected toys and found that, without appropriate safety features, they can also pose a big risk to your child’s safety. The Which video below shows just how easy it is for anyone to take over the voice control of a popular connected toy, and speak directly to children. Which? found that it is easy enough for almost anyone to do, not only skilled hackers.
Please ensure you you thoroughly check any new devices your children get for Christmas this year to ensure all the settings are set to high privacy in order to keep them safe online. Thanks.
Consultation
Come and have your say!
Kirklees Local authority are asking for Parent/Carer views via a consultation. Please share your thoughts via the link to let them know what more they can do as an authority to support your children at JNA.
There are drop in sessions that you can attend to ask questions and share your thoughts - please see the flyer below for the dates/times.
The pastoral team will be making calls over the next couple of weeks to help get your views captured!
Safeguarding alert
48-Hour Missing Challenge
A new challenge appears to be circulating recently on a number of social media platforms that young people frequently use. This is known as the “48 Hour Challenge” and involves youngsters joining in challenges to go missing for 48 hours. The implication for parents, carers and schools would clearly be considerable. The UK Safer Internet Centre have posted information on their website and is summarised here:
The so called "48 hour missing challenge" appears to have arisen following recent reports of young people going missing.
The UK Safer Internet Centre is not currently aware of any evidence to directly link such disappearances with an online challenge.
When such stories arise it taps into parents' fears, causing a ripple effect. This can prompt intrigue among young people that may have the adverse effect of leading them into exploring the very harmful behaviours that we are trying to protect them from.
One of the key issues raised over online challenges is that of peer pressure. Young people can sometimes be drawn into online challenges because it is what all their friends are doing and saying no can seem like a very hard thing to do.
We would advise parents and carers to have an open and honest conversation<https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers/have-conversation> with their children. Ask your children about what they're seeing online and be prepared to talk about some difficult topics around negative influences online.
There are also tools that some parents my find helpful in managing their children's online use - for more information, please visit www.saferinternet.org.uk<http://www.saferinternet.org.uk>
Friday 15th November
Anti-bullying Week
What a fabulous week staff and children have had promoting kindness and differences throughout school as part of anti-bullying week which was all topped off with a celebration for Children in Need. Staff and pupils came to school dressed in items of clothing beginning with JN or A in order to raise money. The children also sold buns around school so we will keep you posted on how much money was raised :)
Key stage two have developed a 'guardian angel' persona each and they have been working on displaying acts of kindness anonymously for other people to guess which angel completed which task - there was so much kindness around that it was very tricky to detect which angel did what!
Key stage three had an odd socks day to promote differences as well as designing anti-bullying posters to display around school. They also planned stories to share messages of kindness and completed activities throughout the week focusing on how to be friends towards one and other.
Key stage four have continued to model kindness throughout school through their mentoring scheme. One of the mentors has worked extra hard this anti-bullying week working with KS2 around friendships and kindness.
Once again the children have done us proud - catch the photos from throughout the week on twitter!
Tuesday 7th November
Letter to Parents
Please find below a new letter to parents that will be sent home this week.
Friday 3rd November
Dates for your diary!
Community Hub Online Safety Event on Wednesday 8th November down at Scissett Middle School 6-8pm.
Children in need non-uniform day Friday 17th November - don't forget to send a £1 in for charity.
Parents Christmas Coffee morning Friday 15th December - Raffle tickets will be on sale along with free drinks and mince pies!
If you need anymore information on our upcoming events then please contact your pastoral leader or Kate Gaunt.
Friday 20th October
Friends of Joseph Norton Academy!
A massive thank you to the parents and staff who attended our Friends of JNA down at the Mills. It was great to see the staff dressed up for the occasion! The dates for the next two meetings were set, a review of the Summer BBQ was discussed and ideas for future events were raised.
Please find the minutes below. All are welcome to join us for the next meeting!
Monday 11th September
Welcome Back!
We hope you have all had a lovely summer break and are looking forward to your child's school year ahead. We have got events planned throughout the year for the pupils, along with parent/carer events that we look forward to seeing you at.
Attached is the flyer to our first Coffee Afternoon which is this Friday - 15th September. It will be held at our new meeting rooms (see above) at 1pm. We look forward to seeing you all there and finding out about your summers.
Friday 21st July
Our end of year BBQ takes place this Friday from 11:00-13:00. Tickets are £2 and can be purchased in advance from the school office. Members of Friends of Joseph Norton Academy will be there to answer any questions about their new group. We hope to see you there!
Friday 7th July
JNA Leavers
We said an emotional goodbye to our year 11s last Friday and wished them all the best in their new adventures at college. It was lovely to receive this thank you card this week.
To help parents get to grips with changes to examinations, below is some information for parents/carers regarding recent changes.
The DfE have launched a new GCSE webpage which provides information for students, parents, employers and those who work in education. It explains:
Why the GCSEs are changing
When they are changing
Why the grading scale is changing and how the new grades align with the A* to G scale
The difference between a ‘standard’ and a ‘strong’ pass
What this means for students, schools, parents, employers and others who work in education.
You can access the new webpage here: https://newgcses.campaign.gov.uk/
The new webpage links to GCSE factsheets for parents and for employers, further and higher education providers:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-new-grading-scale-factsheets
We hope you find these resources useful!
Friday 30th June 2017
FoJNA Meeting
Another successful Friends of Joseph Norton meeting was held on Friday. Thank you to Catherine, Laura and Sarah for attending on behalf of the parents and George for representing the Governing Body. We have developed a questionnaire to share with you all at the upcoming Family BBQ (21st July -Tickets on sale now!) to ensure we can gather as much input from parents/carers as possible, even if you are unable to attend the meetings.
Attached are the minutes and a copy of the questionnaire. The next meeting will be 20th October 2017 1pm here at JNA - all welcome!
Tuesday 27th June 2017
SnapMaps
Last week SnapChat, used regularly by many children and young people, launched a new feature. SnapMaps allows users to see the location of their contacts. This feature allows others to accurately pinpoint where you are. Remember a child sharing their location can be a very risky thing to do. There are three possible privacy settings on SnapChat:
Ghost mode, where only you can see your position;
My Friends mode, where any contact can see your location; and
Select Friends mode, just those who you choose can see you
ChildNet have posted a thorough explanation of SnapMaps and how to ensure users stay safe. This is an extremely popular app with young people and it is worth sharing with both your pupils and parents.
Further detail can be found at: Introducing SnapMaps (ChildNet).
Friday 28th April 2017
Parent Lunch
Testing our new school dinners!
Parent Lunch
Today we held our parent lunch and group 6 made a chicken dinner followed by Eton mess for us all to taste test. The food went down a treat and group 6 were very proud to serve us what they had lovingly made! Stephen, our catering manager, joined us for the food and explained to parents how the pupils are going to cook our lunches in-house from September.!
Paul, Laura and Sarah commented:
"This is a brilliant idea, great training for the boys"
"My child is enjoying the cooking lessons"
"I am happy that this is what the pupils will get served for dinner"
"My child would never have tried this at home, but will at school"
"It is good that the children get a say into choosing what they like to eat"
Thursday 27th April 2017
Our latest letter to parents can be accessed below:
In this letter it explains that we are currently developing a Parent Partnership Policy. We would welcome your feedback on the first draft, which can be accessed by clicking here.
Monday 24th April 2017
Dates for your diaries
Welcome back! We hope you've all had a good Easter Break and are raring to go with the exciting events we have planned for the Summer Term.
Firstly, this Friday (29th April) is our parent lunch 11:30am-1pm. This is your opportunity to taste an example of what the children make for the whole school dinners in their catering lessons, as well as a chance to have your say on our new 'Parent Partnership Policy'. There are only 10 tickets so please sign up quickly through calling the office.
On Monday 8th May 3:30pm we have our monthly Joseph Norton Academy Tour for any new prospective parents who wish to look around our site. Please call the office to book a place on this.
Our next Friends of Joseph Norton Academy meeting is Friday 30th June 1pm. All friends of the school welcome - parents/carers/grandparents/community members/governors. We will be discussing plans for the end of year family BBQ as well as future fund raising events. If you have any ideas or comments but are unable to make the meeting then please call school and ask for Kate Gaunt to pass these on.
Finally, on Friday 21st July (last day of term) 11am-1pm we are having our Family BBQ and rewards event.
FRIDAY 31sT MARCH 2017
E-safety Update
Following advice from the local authority we wanted to draw parents' attention to a dangerous game that is becoming more popular amongst young people across the world.
The Blue Whale game targets vulnerable and impressionable children and young people and has been reported to be extremely dangerous. Please be aware and keep your ears open for young people discussing or playing on this.
As always it is vitally important that we monitor our young people online and this worrying report emphasises the need to know what our pupils are using the internet to do at all times. Having open and honest discussions with your children and learning about what they are interested online is the safest way to try and keep them internet safe.
If you have any concerns or would like further advice or support then please contact school and speak to a member of the Pastoral Team.
Wednesday 29th March 2017
E-safety Update
Ever wanted a straight forward guide to the Apps that young people are using? Then see below for an overview of what each current App does and the features it displays. Apps are becoming ever more popular as technology advances and it is important that we keep updated with what young people are using the internet for in order to keep them safe.
If you have any concerns regarding what your child is using Apps for, or require further information, then please contact school and ask to speak to our Online Safety Lead - Kate Gaunt.
Thursday 23rd January 2017
Parent Update
The minutes from our latest PTA meeting can be found by clicking here.
Wednesday 25th January 2017
E-safety Update
A recent incident that has been reported in the local press has highlighted a number of safeguarding issues about smartphone ‘apps’ including Live.ly, ooVoo, and music.ly amongst others. These apps should only be able to access contacts on the user’s phones, but it appears that quite quickly unknown individuals are able to join group chats. As a consequence, these apps are not safe for children to use.
Please check that your children are not using these apps on their devices and remove them if necessary.
Friday 13th January 2017
Advisory note from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
‘We would like to remind parents and carers to always read and follow the instructions carefully when using chemical insecticide products, typically sold in chemists, to treat head lice. This is because these treatments contain flammable elements. You should not therefore use hair dryers, or any other ignition source such as matches, lighters and candles near anyone during the treatment process whilst the product is being used. This advisory note follows a recent incident in West Yorkshire in which a child’s hair was accidentally set alight during treatment resulting in the child sustaining serious injuries.’
Claire Talbert
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
Friday 9th December 2016
It's almost Christmas
Thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas coffee morning. It was great to see so many of you. Congratulations to our raffle prize winners!
