Headteacher's Letters
Monday, 20th May
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Ofsted Report
We have not had an inspection since January 2013, and we have been working hard to ensure the school is at least good.
We are so thrilled with just how positive the report reads and I wanted to thank all the parents who filled in the parent views on the Ofsted website or came into school to talk to the inspectors. They were clear we are easily a good school and commended us for trying to ‘get it right’ for every child. There was praise for our ‘interventions’ or family support team for ‘going over and above’ in their support for families. They felt Hilltop was a good place to be for our students and they are well supported to make good progress. I feel so proud of our achievements as a school and this is confirmation of the progress we have made and will continue to make.
I would like to thank our staff, parents and carers along with our fantastic learners who work so hard to learn new things daily. Please remember, if you personally have any worries or concerns or even just disagree with this report, do come and talk things through with me.
Departure Of Staff
We are sorry to be saying goodbye to Andrea Slack who has been carrying out Numeracy interventions for our students for 24 years. Janet Fells who is superbly skilled with young students with complex needs retires this summer after 29 successful years with the school. Lastly, Robert Mulvey who has been at the school for 8 years will be taking on a headship from September in another school. We will be sorry to see them all go and we wish them well.
We are also saying goodbye to two teachers. Alex Stark who has been with us a couple of years will finish at the end of May to start working at Landmarks with students who are post 19. Jenny Stafford-Curtis has also secured a post nearer her home in Sheffield. We wish all of our ‘leavers’ well.
I would invite you all to a proud assembly on our last day on Friday 26th July both to say goodbye and celebrate our year at school.
We would also like to shut the school as a ‘one off’ early on that Friday to say a thanks to all the staff for our successful Ofsted and to say goodbye to them. We would like transport to begin collecting pupils from 2pm so they would be home early on the last day. Please can you let us know if this is particularly difficult for you?
School Dinners
We have met with Riverside Catering who make our school dinners and they have agreed to provide Halal and Quorn sausages at least once a week as an alternative for our pupils who are Halal or vegetarian. We have started to trial this in some classes. We look carefully at the menu options for the week and try to ensure each child with a vegetarian or halal has a range of foods that they enjoy. If you want more information do contact myself or Jayne Spalding.
We are also in negotiation with Riverside Catering who need to put up the cost of school meals for September 2019 for all special schools in Rotherham but we are unsure as yet of the exact costs. As soon as we have confirmed the exact costs I will let you know.
New Teachers for September 2019
We have appointed Claire Rose as the new Deputy Headteacher for the school from September 2019. It was a very thorough and challenging process which confirmed she was the best candidate. We are so pleased both for Claire and the school.
We have appointed 3 new ‘external’ teachers
Claire Saddington who has already done a lot of work with us on Shakespeare projects over the last few years and knows some of our children well. Katie Wademan and Amy Coxhill who are both external candidates have both accepted permanent part time teaching posts.
Bev Cotterill and Vicky Proctor have been appointed as part time permanent members of staff and Ellie Hill continues with us 4 days a week next year.
6th Form and EYFS (Early Years)
Just to confirm that, as usual, we will be closing our EYFS provision (Yellow class and Blossom at Redwood) and our 6th Form classes on Friday 19th July. This gives us time and opportunity to carry out our statutory training and to prepare for our next school year. If it causes you significant difficulties, please contact myself or Jayne Spalding to discuss this.
David Burdett
Headteacher
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Ofsted Report
We have not had an inspection since January 2013, and we have been working hard to ensure the school is at least good.
We are so thrilled with just how positive the report reads and I wanted to thank all the parents who filled in the parent views on the Ofsted website or came into school to talk to the inspectors. They were clear we are easily a good school and commended us for trying to ‘get it right’ for every child. There was praise for our ‘interventions’ or family support team for ‘going over and above’ in their support for families. They felt Hilltop was a good place to be for our students and they are well supported to make good progress. I feel so proud of our achievements as a school and this is confirmation of the progress we have made and will continue to make.
I would like to thank our staff, parents and carers along with our fantastic learners who work so hard to learn new things daily. Please remember, if you personally have any worries or concerns or even just disagree with this report, do come and talk things through with me.
Departure Of Staff
We are sorry to be saying goodbye to Andrea Slack who has been carrying out Numeracy interventions for our students for 24 years. Janet Fells who is superbly skilled with young students with complex needs retires this summer after 29 successful years with the school. Lastly, Robert Mulvey who has been at the school for 8 years will be taking on a headship from September in another school. We will be sorry to see them all go and we wish them well.
We are also saying goodbye to two teachers. Alex Stark who has been with us a couple of years will finish at the end of May to start working at Landmarks with students who are post 19. Jenny Stafford-Curtis has also secured a post nearer her home in Sheffield. We wish all of our ‘leavers’ well.
I would invite you all to a proud assembly on our last day on Friday 26th July both to say goodbye and celebrate our year at school.
We would also like to shut the school as a ‘one off’ early on that Friday to say a thanks to all the staff for our successful Ofsted and to say goodbye to them. We would like transport to begin collecting pupils from 2pm so they would be home early on the last day. Please can you let us know if this is particularly difficult for you?
School Dinners
We have met with Riverside Catering who make our school dinners and they have agreed to provide Halal and Quorn sausages at least once a week as an alternative for our pupils who are Halal or vegetarian. We have started to trial this in some classes. We look carefully at the menu options for the week and try to ensure each child with a vegetarian or halal has a range of foods that they enjoy. If you want more information do contact myself or Jayne Spalding.
We are also in negotiation with Riverside Catering who need to put up the cost of school meals for September 2019 for all special schools in Rotherham but we are unsure as yet of the exact costs. As soon as we have confirmed the exact costs I will let you know.
New Teachers for September 2019
We have appointed Claire Rose as the new Deputy Headteacher for the school from September 2019. It was a very thorough and challenging process which confirmed she was the best candidate. We are so pleased both for Claire and the school.
We have appointed 3 new ‘external’ teachers
Claire Saddington who has already done a lot of work with us on Shakespeare projects over the last few years and knows some of our children well. Katie Wademan and Amy Coxhill who are both external candidates have both accepted permanent part time teaching posts.
Bev Cotterill and Vicky Proctor have been appointed as part time permanent members of staff and Ellie Hill continues with us 4 days a week next year.
6th Form and EYFS (Early Years)
Just to confirm that, as usual, we will be closing our EYFS provision (Yellow class and Blossom at Redwood) and our 6th Form classes on Friday 19th July. This gives us time and opportunity to carry out our statutory training and to prepare for our next school year. If it causes you significant difficulties, please contact myself or Jayne Spalding to discuss this.
David Burdett
Headteacher
| Headteachers Letter 20.5.19.pdf |
Monday, 8th April
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Hilltop Fundraising Show
This event was organised by Tracy Haigh and helped by Karen Hornung. It was a fantastic night and they managed to raise a fantastic more than £800 toward school funds. This will go toward the new playground equipment for our most complex students.
Parent Governor
Just to let you know Rachael Tordraighen has become a parent governor and attended her first meeting last Friday.
Thanks for joining us. If you have anything you wish passing onto governors you can contact Rachael or Sandra Rossado
who are both parent governors.
Calvert Trust Residential
This year, as ever it was a great success with students taking part in a range of ‘brave’ activities.
Transport issues
We are aware that the rule around transport escorts coming to family’s doorstep and escorting their child to the bus/taxi is being enforced by all transport staff. We know this is having a significant impact on many families and their child.
It is important that your child is safe at all times. You have been asked to be responsible for getting your child to and from the bus/taxi. If you are finding this difficult or you have any medical condition which may impact on this please contact transport r&e-passengertransport@rotherham.gov.uk text on 07860 018829 or phone 01709 334325.
If you need more help contact school.
Parents questionnaire
In January we sent out a parental questionnaire to get a feel for how we are doing and highlight any issues. You had some concerns around us spending on the building rather than on staff in classrooms. For us this is a difficult balance as the majority of the costs in a school are on staff. We have had a huge amount of work done through the
‘condition improvement fund’ (CIF) which Nexus have secured from central government to ensure the school is safe and secure. We have had a new roof last year which included additional insulation. As part of this we used our school budget to create a new library area in the school. More recently all of our boilers have been replaced with a more efficient system. Both of these have reduced our energy costs which we can spend directly on our students.
You also had some concerns around the information being ‘patchy’ in home/school diaries. We are creating a draft ‘tick’ format for new diaries which we will trial in some classes and see if this works better than what we have at present.
As ever if you have any concerns talk to your key worker or class teacher. If you feel the need to contact me please do so.
World Book Day
It was great so see so many student s and staff dressed up and ready for our day of stories, fun and shared experiences of books. Please have a look on the website as we have shared some photos.
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Hilltop Fundraising Show
This event was organised by Tracy Haigh and helped by Karen Hornung. It was a fantastic night and they managed to raise a fantastic more than £800 toward school funds. This will go toward the new playground equipment for our most complex students.
Parent Governor
Just to let you know Rachael Tordraighen has become a parent governor and attended her first meeting last Friday.
Thanks for joining us. If you have anything you wish passing onto governors you can contact Rachael or Sandra Rossado
who are both parent governors.
Calvert Trust Residential
This year, as ever it was a great success with students taking part in a range of ‘brave’ activities.
Transport issues
We are aware that the rule around transport escorts coming to family’s doorstep and escorting their child to the bus/taxi is being enforced by all transport staff. We know this is having a significant impact on many families and their child.
It is important that your child is safe at all times. You have been asked to be responsible for getting your child to and from the bus/taxi. If you are finding this difficult or you have any medical condition which may impact on this please contact transport r&e-passengertransport@rotherham.gov.uk text on 07860 018829 or phone 01709 334325.
If you need more help contact school.
Parents questionnaire
In January we sent out a parental questionnaire to get a feel for how we are doing and highlight any issues. You had some concerns around us spending on the building rather than on staff in classrooms. For us this is a difficult balance as the majority of the costs in a school are on staff. We have had a huge amount of work done through the
‘condition improvement fund’ (CIF) which Nexus have secured from central government to ensure the school is safe and secure. We have had a new roof last year which included additional insulation. As part of this we used our school budget to create a new library area in the school. More recently all of our boilers have been replaced with a more efficient system. Both of these have reduced our energy costs which we can spend directly on our students.
You also had some concerns around the information being ‘patchy’ in home/school diaries. We are creating a draft ‘tick’ format for new diaries which we will trial in some classes and see if this works better than what we have at present.
As ever if you have any concerns talk to your key worker or class teacher. If you feel the need to contact me please do so.
World Book Day
It was great so see so many student s and staff dressed up and ready for our day of stories, fun and shared experiences of books. Please have a look on the website as we have shared some photos.
Dates for your diary
Scholastic Book Fair - Mon - Fri 8th - 12th April
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Tues 9th April, 10am Do come and chat with other parents
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30pm Tue 9th April. Let the office know
Lower School Disco Wed 10th April 3.30- 5pm - £3
Proud Assembly - 2:15pm Friday 12th April. Do come along
EIS Sports Day - Wed 1st May
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30pm Mon 13th May. Let the office know
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Wed 15th May. (Time/venue to be confirmed)
Proud Assembly - 2:15pm Friday 24th May. Do come along
Scholastic Book Fair - Mon - Fri 8th - 12th April
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Tues 9th April, 10am Do come and chat with other parents
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30pm Tue 9th April. Let the office know
Lower School Disco Wed 10th April 3.30- 5pm - £3
Proud Assembly - 2:15pm Friday 12th April. Do come along
EIS Sports Day - Wed 1st May
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30pm Mon 13th May. Let the office know
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Wed 15th May. (Time/venue to be confirmed)
Proud Assembly - 2:15pm Friday 24th May. Do come along
David Burdett
Headteacher
Headteacher
| Headteachers Letter 8.4.19.pdf |
Tuesday, 12th March
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
End of an Era – Vic Harrop ceases to be Parent Ambassador and Facebook lead!
As many of you know Vic is the parent of three past pupils of the school and has worked tirelessly for so many years doing a whole range of things to support the school and its young people. Vic has also been crucial to the success of S Factor over the years and has helped so many of our young people as a vocal coach. She has run the parent Facebook page for some time now and has supported lots of parents in meetings, filling out forms and being a great source of advice. She has had to give up this role and has passed it subtly and skilfully (or part of it) to Becky Earp. We all do thank her for her tremendous work in and out of the school. We hope we are able to say goodbye in the Proud Assembly Friday 12th April.
Hilltop Fundraising Show
This event is organised by Tracy Haigh and takes place on Saturday 6th April evening at Denaby Main Institute.
There will be a show, raffle and all money raised will go toward school funds. If you could provide any prizes for a raffle it would be great or if you want any tickets just contact the office.
Playground equipment grant
We applied in the summer for a grant toward playground equipment for our most complex students. We have been given a grant of £25,000 toward a wheelchair friendly swing, roundabout and other play equipment. These are all very expensive pieces of equipment which we could not have possibly afforded in our budget. We have also had some donations from parents toward these and we hope to come up with a detailed plan and have them installed during the summer holidays.
Parent Governor
We have a vacancy for a parent governor at school and would welcome a new parent governor or two to the team. If you are interested in having a voice and shaping the future of the school please consider being a parent governor. In practical terms we have nine meetings a year, which at the moment are on a Friday morning. We also encourage governors to get involved in an aspect of the school life and provide scrutiny and challenge in an area of interest to them. If you are considering this just drop me an email or ring up school. It would be good to have more parents involved.
Calvert Trust Residential
This week many of our 6th Form students go to Calvert Trust in the Lake District and always have a great time. It involves adventurous activities and a great deal of independence. This is something we have done for many years and the team work hard to ensure this works so well. Let’s hope for decent weather for them.
Inset Day Friday 22nd March
Just a reminder school is closed for students for the training day next Friday.
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
End of an Era – Vic Harrop ceases to be Parent Ambassador and Facebook lead!
As many of you know Vic is the parent of three past pupils of the school and has worked tirelessly for so many years doing a whole range of things to support the school and its young people. Vic has also been crucial to the success of S Factor over the years and has helped so many of our young people as a vocal coach. She has run the parent Facebook page for some time now and has supported lots of parents in meetings, filling out forms and being a great source of advice. She has had to give up this role and has passed it subtly and skilfully (or part of it) to Becky Earp. We all do thank her for her tremendous work in and out of the school. We hope we are able to say goodbye in the Proud Assembly Friday 12th April.
Hilltop Fundraising Show
This event is organised by Tracy Haigh and takes place on Saturday 6th April evening at Denaby Main Institute.
There will be a show, raffle and all money raised will go toward school funds. If you could provide any prizes for a raffle it would be great or if you want any tickets just contact the office.
Playground equipment grant
We applied in the summer for a grant toward playground equipment for our most complex students. We have been given a grant of £25,000 toward a wheelchair friendly swing, roundabout and other play equipment. These are all very expensive pieces of equipment which we could not have possibly afforded in our budget. We have also had some donations from parents toward these and we hope to come up with a detailed plan and have them installed during the summer holidays.
Parent Governor
We have a vacancy for a parent governor at school and would welcome a new parent governor or two to the team. If you are interested in having a voice and shaping the future of the school please consider being a parent governor. In practical terms we have nine meetings a year, which at the moment are on a Friday morning. We also encourage governors to get involved in an aspect of the school life and provide scrutiny and challenge in an area of interest to them. If you are considering this just drop me an email or ring up school. It would be good to have more parents involved.
Calvert Trust Residential
This week many of our 6th Form students go to Calvert Trust in the Lake District and always have a great time. It involves adventurous activities and a great deal of independence. This is something we have done for many years and the team work hard to ensure this works so well. Let’s hope for decent weather for them.
Inset Day Friday 22nd March
Just a reminder school is closed for students for the training day next Friday.
Dates for your diary
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Tues 12th March - 6pm Do come and chat with other parents
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30 Wed 19th March. Let the office know
Inset Day Fri 22nd March - School closed to pupils
Proud Assembly 2:15pm Fri 15th March. Do come along
Lower School Disco Wed 10th April 3.30- 5pm - £3
Fundraising Evening Show Sat 6th April (Time to be confirmed) Denaby Main
Proud Assembly - 2:15pm Friday 12th April. Do come along
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Tues 9th April. (Time/venue to be confirmed)
Sports Day - Wed 1st May
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Tues 12th March - 6pm Do come and chat with other parents
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30 Wed 19th March. Let the office know
Inset Day Fri 22nd March - School closed to pupils
Proud Assembly 2:15pm Fri 15th March. Do come along
Lower School Disco Wed 10th April 3.30- 5pm - £3
Fundraising Evening Show Sat 6th April (Time to be confirmed) Denaby Main
Proud Assembly - 2:15pm Friday 12th April. Do come along
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents Tues 9th April. (Time/venue to be confirmed)
Sports Day - Wed 1st May
David Burdett
Headteacher
Headteacher
| Headteachers Letter 13.3.19.pdf |
Thursday, 10th January 2019
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Happy New Year to you all.
I do hope Christmas and the New Year was a good holiday for all of you. It has been good to see our children
and young people back in school and ready to learn again this year.
Departure of Chris Hodgkinson
Chris Hodgkinson has chosen to resign her role as Upper School Deputy at Hilltop and is seeking out new ventures. She has worked tirelessly for so many of our pupils for 20 years and has been a key part in shaping
the rich offer for post 16 students. We all wish her well for her future and the exciting opportunities she will be undertaking.
Rob Mulvey will take on the role of Deputy Head across the school and will be supporting Post 16, careers, enterprise and transitions for our post 19 students this year along with the wider SLT.
Staffing
We had a number of individuals on supply in school in the autumn term who have not returned in January 2019.
The school has been in the process of reviewing its budget following some unplanned changes to income and expenditure which left us spending more on staffing in the autumn term than we could afford. It is therefore our responsibility to live within our means and we have taken steps to ensure we finish the school year with a positive budget. Any change in staffing can often create concern for families but I am certain we have a safe and effective staffing ratio in school and we will continue to do all we can to receive fair funding from the local authority to meet our children’s needs. The Trust is continuing to provide as much support as we need at this time.
Our Futures Night
We would encourage you to get involved and attend this very useful meeting on Thursday 7th February between 5pm and 8pm in the hall. It will be a drop in and informal chat session. There will be a number of providers and services present to give advice. It has been really useful in the past and I would encourage you to come along if you have an older student for some good advice and support post Hilltop.
Upper School Disco
Sadly, after many successful years the upper school disco has had to change. In the light of a recent safeguarding audit it has been highlighted that a disco which involves children and adults is unadvisable. For the students currently in upper school a disco/social event will still be offered on a termly basis. If parents of past pupils wish to run a social event for their adult sons and daughters who no longer attend Hilltop school then the buildings and facilities are available for hire
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Happy New Year to you all.
I do hope Christmas and the New Year was a good holiday for all of you. It has been good to see our children
and young people back in school and ready to learn again this year.
Departure of Chris Hodgkinson
Chris Hodgkinson has chosen to resign her role as Upper School Deputy at Hilltop and is seeking out new ventures. She has worked tirelessly for so many of our pupils for 20 years and has been a key part in shaping
the rich offer for post 16 students. We all wish her well for her future and the exciting opportunities she will be undertaking.
Rob Mulvey will take on the role of Deputy Head across the school and will be supporting Post 16, careers, enterprise and transitions for our post 19 students this year along with the wider SLT.
Staffing
We had a number of individuals on supply in school in the autumn term who have not returned in January 2019.
The school has been in the process of reviewing its budget following some unplanned changes to income and expenditure which left us spending more on staffing in the autumn term than we could afford. It is therefore our responsibility to live within our means and we have taken steps to ensure we finish the school year with a positive budget. Any change in staffing can often create concern for families but I am certain we have a safe and effective staffing ratio in school and we will continue to do all we can to receive fair funding from the local authority to meet our children’s needs. The Trust is continuing to provide as much support as we need at this time.
Our Futures Night
We would encourage you to get involved and attend this very useful meeting on Thursday 7th February between 5pm and 8pm in the hall. It will be a drop in and informal chat session. There will be a number of providers and services present to give advice. It has been really useful in the past and I would encourage you to come along if you have an older student for some good advice and support post Hilltop.
Upper School Disco
Sadly, after many successful years the upper school disco has had to change. In the light of a recent safeguarding audit it has been highlighted that a disco which involves children and adults is unadvisable. For the students currently in upper school a disco/social event will still be offered on a termly basis. If parents of past pupils wish to run a social event for their adult sons and daughters who no longer attend Hilltop school then the buildings and facilities are available for hire
Dates for your diary
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents 10am Wed 16th Jan. Do come and chat with other parents
Open day for prospective parents - 10am and 1:30 Wed 16th Jan. Let the office know
Proud Assembly 2:30 Fri 25th Jan. Do come along
Our Futures Night - 5-8 Thurs 7th Feb. Informal drop in full of information for older learners and their parents
‘Chinwag’ informal chat - Meet up for parents 10am Tues 12th Feb. Do come and chat with other parents
Open day for prospective parents Thurs 28th Feb. 10am & 1:30 walk round school. Let office know
Proud Assembly - 2:15 Friday 15th Feb. Do come along
David Burdett
Headteacher
Headteacher
| Headteacher's Letter 10.1.19.pdf |
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