Busines Name

The Lord Lawson Cluster is made up of the following schools:

· Lord Lawson of Beamish Community School
· Barley Mow Primary School
· Birtley East Community Primary School
· Kibblesworth Primary School
· Portobello Primary School
· Ravensworth Terrace Primary School

The Extended Services Co-ordinator for the Lord Lawson Cluster is Rachel Martin. Rachel is responsible for co-ordinating activities and services throughout each school in the Lord Lawson Cluster to ensure that each element of the Extended Services Core Offer is being met within the Cluster. Rachel can be contacted for any queries regarding Extended Services in the Lord Lawson Cluster. Rachel's contact details are:

Rachel Martin
Lord Lawson of Beamish School
Birtley Lane
Birtley
Chester-Le-Steet
DH3 2LP
(0191) 433 4026
rmartin2@lordlawson.org.uk

Activities in the cluster include; gardening clubs, hockey matches, swimming galas, school productions, and dance festivals and trips to places such as Beamish Museum and the Sunderland Winter Gardens and Museum to name but a few.

Other events include sporting activities including tennis, cricket, rounders and softball. Alongside this are activities from dance workshops, drama clubs, art clubs, musical events and lessons.

We are working with other organisations and providers in the Birtley and Kibblesworth area with lots of new sessions and continued activities.

Watch this space and for other links please see the Lord Lawson Extended Services section of the website up and coming soon.

See website address: www.lordlawson.org.uk

There are a large number of activities put of for the children, families and the community througout and after the school day and some events during the holidays. The childcare is provided within the schools and private providers such as the Mulberry Bush, Montesorri and Bumble Bees catering for 0-3 learning through play.

Many areas within family and parent learning include school nurse, home/school development officer, opening evenings, SATS sessions, music and movement, coffee mornings and book fairs.

Three Children's Centres, Four churches in Birtley and one in Kibblesworth as well as the Millennium Centre. Alongside this is the Village Hall in Barley Mow and the local leisure centre and pool.

Some schools having weekly news sheets, laptops available for the children throughout the day and at home during weekends and the holidays.

The is what some of the students had to say about the activities in their cluster:

Netball
A good team building sport, coach is committed to out team.

Basketball
All Ages can play it's not just for boys, girls play aswell

Tag Rugby

Getting involved in a contact sport, good to be with piers and friends

Athletics

Really fun, taking part in everything, you can try your best and no one judges you

Football

Enjoys it, against other especially the competitive style of the sport

Yr 7 Street Cheer

I like street cheer because i can get fit and be with my mates

Yr 7 Netball and Street Cheer

I like to do a lot of different things because i can meet new people and be with my friends.

Yr7 Trampolinig

I like being taught different moves and that the teachers cared about our safety

Singposting to different community access points such as Kibblesworth Millennium Centre, Birtley Leisure Centre, Birtley Children's Centre, High Fell Children's Centre, Chowdene Children's Centre and Barley Mow Village Hall.

Signposting: Children's Centres

Chowdene Children's Centre
Wavely Road
Harlow Green
NE9 7TU
0191 4335050
Email: chowdenecc@gateshead.gov.uk
Website: www.gatesheadearlyyears.org/

Birtley Children's Centre
Barley Mow
Pembroke Avenue, Birtley
DH3 2DJ
0191 4335000
Email: birtleycc@gateshead.gov.uk
Website: www.gatehseadearlyyears.org

High Fell Children's Centre
Fell Dyke Primary School
Wrekenton
NE9 7AA
0191 4334109
Email: highfellcc@gateshead.gov.uk
Website: www.gatesheadearlyyears.org

Millennium Centre:
Kibblesworth Village Millennium Centre
Grange Terrace
Kibblesworth
Gateshead
Tyne and Wear
England
NE11 OXN
Tel: 0191 41193
Email: kvmcoffice@ukonline.co.uk

An allocation of funding to the Lord Lawson Cluster Group was used to provide each school in the cluster with a large LCD screen television to display information to the public, pupils and staff with regards to the extended services and activities available at each school within the cluster and other providers in the area.

The cluster identified the need to link service providers and schools together to provide a one-stop-shop for pupils, their families and the wider community to sign-post them to information as to whats available in the area. Consultation with school staff, parents and carers supported this project and the screens are now up and running in each school.

As a phase 2 children centre, Birtley Children Centre is the first in Gateshead to offer extended services for children, young people and their families 0 – 19 years. Co-ordinating a menu of Children Centre and Extended Schools ‘Core’ activities and services that meet the needs of all children and young people.

A summer of consultation with parents, children and young people has enabled Children Centre staff to develop a timetable of activities for the under 5’s.

As a Children Centre, Birtley will also offer ‘Full day Care’ for children 0-5years, on target to begin March 2008.

Birtley School Cluster is continuing to develop and offer services, current projects include:

Communication Advice and Information, all schools within the Birtely Cluster now offer information about their school by plasma screens, in partnership with Gateshead Early Years and Children Centre’s, future plan are to develop the level of information offered to include that of activities, services, advice and information from all sectors of the community eg: libraries, voluntary organisations.

Volunteer Programmes, Children Centres and Birtley School Clusters are in the early stages of developing volunteer opportunities for parents / carers and young people in a range of activities including:
Children Centre activities
School projects, involving neighbourhood management and wardens, the play unit, police, schools and colleges.

Parenting Support, extended services are to include the co-ordination of a full range of parenting support offered throughout Birtley and Kibblesworth. Ensuring that support is appropriate to the needs of individual families a range or universal, targeted and specialist support will be available, including:

Chatterkids – Speech and Language Support
Family Learning
Speak Easy – Sexual Health advice
Triple P – Positive Parenting Programme 1 – 19years
Family Nurturing
Mellow Parenting

An audit of current activities offered within Birtley Cluster Schools and within the community will highlight any gaps in services offered and future developments made accordingly to ensure a full complement of services and activities are co-ordinated for all children, young people 0-19years and their families.

Target Youth Support Path Finder (TYSP) pilot began summer 2006, covering a geographical area of Birtley, Barley Mow and Kibblesworth in conjunction with the Training Development Agency (TDA) the programme aimed to provide earlier identification, support and intervention to meet the needs of children and young people aged 8 – 17 years on a multi agency basis. To ensure change both a strategic and operational level the TYSP targeted multi agency working at a practitioner and manager level.

Now more than 12 months on, major changes have been achieved in the Birtley, Barley Mow and Kibblesworth area including:

· More that 50 people from a range of agencies are working together to ensure better outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.

· Management and practitioners have accessed Common Assessment Framework training at an appropriate level to ensure a holistic family support plan and appropriate services are offered.

· A Multi Agency Group of practitioners (MAG) meet on a regular basis to develop and review family support plans, making further referrals and appropriate next steps where necessary.

· On a strategic level, a South Area Panel (S.A.P) of managers meet on a regular basis, working in partnership to unblock any problems as identified by MAG members.

Successful outcomes highlighted from the TYSP project are recognised in future plans in the Birtley, Barley Mow and Kibblesworth area. With the current development of the phase 2 Birtley and Chowdene Children Centre’s it is future plans include the involvement of practitioners working with families from ante natal care, incorporating the ‘Family Support’ element of Children Centre core offer. Thus ensuring a Swift and Easy Referral procedure for all children, young people and their families.

The Barley Mow Cookery Club is as popular as ever and the Year 6 children look forward to their turn every week. They do not only learn about cookery but about health, safety and hygiene and also the nutritional value of some of the food.

To read more click on the link below:

Download file Barley Mow Cookery Club

Lord Lawson of Beamish Comprehensive School and Barley Mow Primary School have taken part in the Bike-It project. Bike It is a national Sustrans led project, which aims to increase cycling in schools. There are many benefits of the project including increased physical activity of the children, reduction in local traffic congestion and a decrease in pollution and carbon emissions.

The Bike-It project focuses on running a number of events and activities including:

 Bike rides
 Bike ride breakfasts
 Bike maintenance classes
 Dr. Bike sessions
 Cycle coaching and cycle safety
 Classroom activities including geography, environment, health and growth and history
 PE activities
 Assemblies
 Dressing bike up
 Virtual bike race around the world
 Bike trails and displays with 3 x world champion
 National art competitions

The impact of Bike-It in Gateshead for 2008/2009 shows:

 11.9% of children cycle to school everyday compared to the national average of 1%
 A further 24.2% of children in the area cycle to school at least once per week

For more information contact Gateshead Bike-It Officer:

Alan Barlow
(0191) 261 6160
Alan.barlow@sustrans.org.uk

To read more on the Bike-It project click on the link below:

Download file Bike-It

The Lord Lawson Cluster wants to know what YOU THINK, whether it be what services or activities you would like to see taking place in the cluster, comments on the Lord Lawson Cluster Web page or any comments in general about the Lord Lawson Cluster PLEASE TELL US!!!!!!!!

All you have to do to feedback what you want is to go to the homepage and post your comments by leaving your leave your age, school that you attend and area that you live in and of course WHAT YOU THINK!!!!