Latest news with #HoughtonleSpring
The Independent
09-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Children in tears over school prom ban for lack of attendance and homework
A school has been accused of unfairly banning children from their prom in a 'carrot and stick' approach over class attendance that has reportedly left dozens unable to go. Kepier Academy in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, told students last year that if they failed to hit attendance targets for each term they would not be eligible for the leavers' party in June. The criteria was 96 per cent attendance from September to January, 97 per cent from February to mid-March and 100 per cent from mid-March to April. It also included requirements on behaviour and homework. The school, run by the Eden Learning Trust, is the latest to stop pupils attending proms due to absence from school, with leaders across the country attempting to tackle the issue. Latest figures show there was a 7.1 per cent absence rate across schools in England in 2023/24 - much higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 4.7 per cent in 2018/19. And despite support for Kepier Academy's approach by the Association of School and College Leaders, some parents have reacted with anger. The BBC report at least 30 teenagers have been told they cannot attend the prom on 26 June. Some have even attempted to set up an alternative event to allow the children to celebrate the end-of-school moment - but a lack of interest has seen the idea dropped. One mother told The Independent her son was ruled out from the prom earlier in the school year because of the 'really strict' criteria. She said: 'Sometime poor attendance can't be helped. In my son's case he's actually under a consultant at the hospital and was undergoing tests and missing school due to sickness. 'Once he was punished [told he cannot go to the prom] for that his behaviour just became worse as he thought there was no point.' Another mother told the BBC that her daughter had been banned from going because she had difficulty keeping up with homework after struggling with mental health. She said: "My daughter came home from school crying her eyes out feeling she wasn't worthy. It broke her heart.' Another parent said: 'I think it's disgraceful with... children who want to go to prom and can't.' The measure to improve school attendance has been used by schools across the country for years. Earlier this month, education secretary Bridget Phillipson called on headteachers to take responsibility on improving school attendance. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'We support school leaders in the actions they take to promote good attendance. 'There is strong and consistent evidence that poor attendance leads to lost learning and has a clear negative impact on academic achievement and long-term outcomes. 'Schools are required to promote regular attendance through accountability measures and statutory duties, and they work incredibly hard to do so. We would like to see more support from the government through the provision of more attendance officers to work with families to remove barriers to regular attendance.'
BBC News
09-06-2025
- BBC News
Houghton-le-Spring carer strangled woman he was meant to help
A carer who strangled a woman he was supposed to be looking after has been jailed for two Straughan's victim feared she would die during the minute-long attack at her home in Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland, Newcastle Crown Court David Gordon said the attack on a vulnerable person in October was "awful" and "frightening".Straughan, 60, of Sunrise Lane in Houghton-Le-Spring, admitted intentional strangulation, making threats to kill and assault by beating. He had been a carer for the woman for about three years during which time he had been abusive towards her, prosecutor Kate Barnes 19 October, he erupted with anger when she asked him to get her dog from the garden, the court pressed his hands round her neck and squeezed for up to a minute causing her to start to black out, Ms Barnes said. Shaken and frightened The woman was able to poke him in the eye causing him to stop, but he then poured a can of drink over hear head, the court was attack ended when the woman was able to phone her mother for help, Ms Barnes his police interview, Straughan, who had a history of violent offences, said he attacked the woman after becoming frustrated with being her a statement read to the court, the woman said she was "scared I would die" during the attack and was left feeling shaken and Gordon said it was not a surprise the woman felt that way after the "awful" and "frightening incident".A restraining order banning Straughan from contacting the woman, going to her address or making any reference to her on social media was also made to last for 10 years. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Houghton-le-Spring Kepier Academy criticised over prom tickets
Parents have criticised the way a school has allocated prom tickets, saying it is "cruel" and puts extra pressure on pupils at Kepier Academy, in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, have not been invited to the school prom because their attendance is too low or they have fallen behind with their parents say health issues or struggles with school work have not been taken into school is part of the Eden Learning Trust which has been approached for a comment. One parent, who asked not to be named, said: "I understand if they are really badly behaved, but half of these kids are not badly behaved."It's because they've struggled to manage their homework or they've struggled with school life."I think they [the school] are a disgrace."It's just cruel." Schools commonly have rules for proms which make admittance conditional on meeting set levels of attendance or standards of event is due to take place on 26 June with at least 30 teenagers not permitted to attend, the BBC said it was "disgraceful" as they had also not been able to go to a leavers' assembly at primary school because of the Covid-19 pandemic. One mother said her daughter was well-behaved and had good attendance but had difficulty keeping up with homework after struggling with her mental health and was now feeling "isolated" and "left out"."My daughter came home from school crying her eyes out feeling she wasn't worthy," she said."It broke her heart."A class chart penalised students too harshly, sometimes taking away points for forgetting a pen or a ruler, she added. "The kids have been on yo-yos all the way through because they knew they had to get these behavioural points to get to proms," she said."This has been extra pressure on top of the children." Other students were stopped from going to the prom because of low attendance, which their parents said was due to health parent, Miss Peterson, who asked for her first name not to be used, said her daughter missed out on a ticket after her attendance dropped when she was unwell."I think it's disgraceful with all the other children who want to go to prom and can't," she said."These are the kids who didn't have leavers' assemblies at primary school because of Covid and now the school's taken away the prom from them." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Houghton heart donation recipient calls for change in rules
A woman who was the first baby to have a heart transplant in the UK says families should not be able to overturn a loved one's decision to donate their donations have almost tripled from 255 in 2020/21 to 680 in 2023/24, according to official figures, leading to an estimated 2,040 "missed opportunities" last Davidson-Olley, from Houghton-le-Spring, who had transplant surgery at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital in 1987, said lives were continuing to be Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said families were "always involved" in donation and they might have "important information" which was vital in understanding whether organs were safe for donation. Last year, families refusing donation gave reasons including not knowing what the patient wanted, feeling the donation process took too long, not wanting any further surgery to the body, or it was against religious and cultural research carried out by Bangor University found some families did not understand the soft opt-out laws, introduced in England in 2020, where patients are presumed to have given consent for donation unless they specifically opted out of the organ donation register. "The knock-on impact is lives won't be saved, it's as simple as that. Organs need to be used here, not in heaven," Ms Davidson-Olley, now 38, said."The figures [for organ donations] are extremely low, and we need to boost that up and we need public help to do that."Ms Davidson-Olley praised the NHS, but said the sole decision to remain opted-in to the Organ Donation Register should be honoured, where appropriate. According to the NHS, for every one donor, an average of three organs can be transplanted, potentially saving additional lives."You're giving a life, you're giving a gift, look at me 38 years post-transplant - I love my life and I couldn't be thankful enough to what I've been given," Ms Davidson-Olley said."Have the conversation [with your family] and share your wishes." Figures from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 showed that 140 families overruled a patient's "opt-in decision". A further 540 families did not support "deemed consent", where there is no expressed decision and so the patient is assumed to support organ all those cases, no donation went ahead. Terry Archbold previously told the BBC he and his partner were split over organ donation after their daughter Isabel was his partner Cheryl agreed, Mr Archbold said he had initially refused organ donation as he had never given the subject consideration, and a "protective instinct kicked in" that "didn't want anyone to touch her".However, it was only after having a discussion he said he realised they would be "hopefully saving other parents from experiencing the same feelings we had". Families consulted A spokesperson for NHSBT said families were often aware of a patient's "medical, travel and social history" and which was "vital to understanding" whether their organs were "safe to transplant", or had more recent information than a decision recorded on the donor said while families were expected to support a patient's decision to donate, the circumstances in which a person died were "often very sudden and traumatic", and said it was encouraging people to be clear with family members about their wishes."Families are far more likely to support donation when they already know it was what their relative wanted," the spokesperson said."Almost 90% of people honoured their family members decision last year when they had either registered their decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register or had spoken with their family about wanting to be an organ donor."The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it was encouraging everybody to "register their decision" which "only takes two minutes and could save up to nine lives".A spokesperson added the DHSC was making it "as easy as possible" for those to record their preference on the register. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Houghton's listed Kepier Hall set for renovation
A "cherished" heritage building is set for renovation after plans were given the green City Council's planning department has approved proposals to replace some of the non-historic windows at Kepier Hall, off Church Street, in building is Grade II* listed and according to Historic England has parts that date back to the 16th was a school until the 1920s before becoming a church hall and is currently used by community groups and as accommodation. A small number of historic timber windows had been retained in the oldest parts of the building, but the majority had been replaced with poor quality replicas, many as part of 2008 restoration, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.A design and access statement said the works would ensure Kepier Hall remained a "valuable and cherished asset to the local community for generations to come".According to a planning application form, which was submitted to the council in April, development works started in late-2024 but had not been council's conservation department noted the listed building was "highly significant" and had been extended in the 1980s to provide a community hall, which has been managed by the Kepier Trust "for many years". Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
