Dear Families,

I hope you have had a good week. It was super to see so many Sand Hutton parents this week for Parents’ Evening and I am looking forward to the same at Warthill next week.

A couple of questions came up which I thought I could share answers to in a newsletter so that there is no continued need to try to guess. Pupil numbers for next year are predicted to be relatively similar to this year, across the federation. This is despite a really low national birth rate situation. For this reason, the current structure of our schools will be remaining the same; two classes at Warthill and three at Sand Hutton with additional nursery pupils in each setting. How staff will be deployed in each class hasn’t yet been decided.

The Reading Ambassador roles at Warthill have begun to have an impact. Their next task is to set up the adult swap reading trolley. This is already in pride of place at Sand Hutton and it was fabulous to see adult visitors ‘borrowing’ books when they came for their appointments this week. It was also really pleasing to see the arrival of the buddy stop, paid for by FOWS, ready for the new playleaders. I know how excited you are about your new jobs!

Please see below a reminder for a couple of dates in the near future:

Parent’s Evening at Warthill – Thursday 20th March

Warthill Junior Class trip to Ripon Justice Museum – Tuesday 1st April

Easter Service at Sand Hutton Church – Wednesday 2nd April at 2pm

Easter Service at Warthill Church – Friday 4th April at 9.00am

Both schools finish for the Easter Holiday on Friday 4th April at 2pm

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

With every best wish,

Beverley Pawson

Headteacher

Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated School

Dear Families,

February Half term seems to have come around fast! I hope you are looking forward to some family time. It always feels like the days are getting longer and we can feel the beginnings of Spring.

We have had a busy half term and we are mindful that World Book Day will be upon us almost immediately as we return. As those of you who have been with us over time will know, we find other ways of marking this day than dressing up. We choose ways which encourage children, and families to really think about books and spend time on an activity together. For this reason, Miss Heffernan would like to share this year’s challenge as I know some of you might like to work on this over the holiday.

Dear Families, 

Soon after we return from half term, World Book Day will be upon us. This year it is Thursday 6^th March. In schools, staff and Reading Ambassadors are busy planning lots of fun events and activities which will help to further instil a reading for pleasure for all.  One of these events is a ‘Story Show’. All families are invited to create something for this show which all pupils will be able to view on the day in the hall. We thought many of you may want to do this over half term.

We would like you to use recycled or junk materials you have at home to create something which represents a story. This could be a prop used by a character, a setting that a story takes place in or a model of a character.  These should be brought to schools on the Thursday morning. We encourage pupils to write a short text to explain what they have created and which story it is from too. All children who contribute will receive a little token of our appreciation for helping to make the day enjoyable.

As ever, we look forward to seeing your wonderful creations. 

Miss Heffernan 

Thank you to the PTA at Sand Hutton for organising our ‘Wear What You Love’ day for today. There are some very varied outfit choices in school today.

You should have already received this month’s internet safety update. I hope this continues to be useful and may have arrived at a useful time as we head into a school holiday.

Stay safe over half term and enjoy whatever you have planned.

We look forward to seeing everyone well and rest on Monday 24^th February.

With every best wish,

Beverley Pawson

Headteacher

Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated Schools

Dear Families,

Happy New Year and welcome back to the start of the Spring Term. We all hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas break.

Already busy busy busy on the first week back starting with a mid-week trip to Sheffield Arena for Young Voices 2025! This is an incredibly long day and it is hard work for the children. They were an absolute credit to school and to you. Their behaviour and engagement were outstanding and that made the whole experience so much more fun for everyone. We were fortunate this year to have a position close to the action on the stage and so we really felt part of every single aspect of the action. Those of you who attended as audience members will have had a fabulous evening too. It really is magical and one of those stand out moments that will stay in memories for ever. Thank you for trusting us with your fabulous children. Thank you too to Mrs Roughley for all the planning that goes into the event before this week and to both Mrs Roughley and Mrs Naylor for their hard work on the day.

Just a couple of health and safety updates, that we have focused on in our training this week, to share with you.

The yellow zig zag lines in front of our school are keep clear lines and at Warthill cover the fire access points. Please avoid pulling up on these. There have been complaints about the buses pausing on these at Sand Hutton from a member of the public and therefore I am aware that these are being monitored. In addition, at Sand Hutton, children walk, sometimes unaccompanied, along the street into school. Their route takes them across the entrance/exit to the school car park. Could I politely request that parents don’t pull into the car park or use it to turn around as this adds additional risk to pedestrians, particularly at busy times.

Office hours for both schools differ. Thank you for informing us of changes to arrangements for bus and after school club with as much notice as possible. Please be aware that the office at Warthill may not be manned after 1pm and therefore the phone may not be heard and messages not received if you are calling after this time. Staff do their best but when they are teaching it is not always possible to pick up phone calls.

As part of a recommendation from the LA, we will be practising an invacuation procedure as well as a fire drill with pupils. We will make sure not to scare children but we will be showing them how we would get children off our playgrounds as quickly as possible in an emergency. We have always had a procedure for this, but we haven’t practised it previously with pupils. It involves a slightly different signal and no lining up. The scenario we are given is getting children inside should there be a dangerous dog unleashed. I thought it useful for you to be aware of what this is, should the children mention it at home.

Finally, I am looking forward to taking Warthill and Sand Hutton swimming together for the first time ever this term.

Have a super weekend, whatever you have planned.

With every best wish,

Beverley Pawson

Headteacher

Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated Schools

Dear Families,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

We have made it! The end of term has arrived and I hope that you are all looking forward to a happy festive family time with loved ones.

Thank you for your thoughtful and generous gifts, for the staff room and for individual members of staff. It is extremely kind and definitely appreciated!

So, this week has been busy, as we expected. Warthill delivered their fabulous Nativity twice on Tuesday. We were joined by our lovely ex-pupils. Mrs Madge and Benji also came to enjoy the fun at the evening service too. It was lovely to be able to chat with many of you over refreshments afterwards. The singing, dancing and musicianship were outstanding. Well done everyone!

I must also share the news of Pippa and her trip to the Tower of London to the RSPCA Young Photographer of the Year Awards. She managed to book a beautiful sunshine filled day. We were able to drop into the award ceremony on a live stream and everyone at Sand Hutton cheered as she went up on stage and collected her certificate. Congratulations Pippa! We are all very proud of you!

This week also came with a tinge of sadness as we said goodbye, at Warthill, to Mrs Wilson. She will be greatly missed but we wish her all the very best in her new job and hope that she will visit us and tell us all about it. Mrs Slater will be stepping into her shoes. Knowing the children so well, as she does, this will allow us to have continuity; and of course, Mrs Liston will continue to do her days.

It seems madness to be already thinking ahead to January, but it has to be done! We will be returning on Tuesday 7^th January at the usual time and then it will be almost time for this year’s Young Voices event! For those going to Young Voices, we will leave school just before lunch. As you are aware, the details for those attending have been sent out and if you do have any questions, please contact the Sand Hutton office and ask Mrs Roughley. She knows EVERYTHING!

Over the holidays, please could you have an extra big hunt for any school reading or library books which may be lurking in dark corners. We are missing a few and would really appreciate them returning to our shelves. Many thanks in advance for any you manage to locate.

All that remains is for me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

See you all safe and well in January.

With festive wishes,

Beverley Pawson

Headteacher

Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated Schools