Dear Families,
Welcome back if you are returning and a huge welcome to all families who are new to us this term.
We are so pleased you have decided to join our federation of schools.
I hope that you all enjoyed a good summer break despite the weather and we are all thrilled to have
all our children, happy, healthy and enthusiastic, together once again.
I have a few dates to share with you straight away and these might take a little navigating as similar
events will be running on separate dates depending on the school your child attends.
We will be holding our Flying Start meetings again this year. This will allow you to visit your child’s
learning space, ask any adults questions and get a general feel for school especially if you are a new
family. These will not be timetabled but you can drop into the classes in your own setting within a
given time frame. At Sand Hutton these classrooms will be open for you from 2:15pm on
Wednesday 13th September. At Warthill the classrooms will be open at 9am on Monday 18th
September.
We would like to add a Morning of Sport to the first Sharing assembly of the year this year. The idea
is to welcome you to sharing and celebration assembly at 9am and then join families and children on
the field for team sports. At Warthill this will take place on Friday 15th September and at Sand
Hutton on Friday 29th September. The Friday between is the Friday that Year 5 and 6 children will be
enjoying Robinwood.
I am also opening the schools to visitors on the morning of Saturday 16th September as a way of
promoting our school to families for future pupils. You may see leaflets related to this in public
places in the local area.
We would like to welcome Miss Barber to the federation team this term and also welcome a trainee
teacher, Mr Jacques to the Junior Class at Warthill. We will be supporting other trainee teachers in
our schools at other points throughout the year. I know that you will make them very welcome.
Finally, as we head into a new academic year, it is the time to share some of our school priorities
with you. Mrs Darling is leading staff through a re-structure of our phonics programme. The parents’
phonics meetings will reflect this. These will be held on the 28th and 29th of September, one in each
school with details to follow separately. A more fixed curriculum programme has been created over
the last six months and this will be carefully monitored by subject leaders throughout the year. We
hope that children will retain even more of their learning and make links with prior learning. Finally,
an even stronger culture of staying safe online will form part of expectations in school. This will
extend to supporting families with staying safe online in an ever changing landscape, both on the
internet and through social media.
You should receive more specific information in the coming days related to your child’s learning
through your Flying Start meetings and letters/leaflets from class teachers and so I will simply wish
you a warm and sunny weekend.
With every best wish,
Beverley Pawson
Headteacher
Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated School
