Annual Report
2023/24
Welcome from the Executive Headteacher
Mike White
Welcome to this year’s edition of our annual report – our third in this format. We hope that it provides all interested stakeholders with an overview of the Federation’s achievements during the 2023/2024 academic year.
It’s been quite a year for the Synergy Schools Federation. On May 20th 2024, we expanded from a 4-school to a 6-school federation. The process of federation is all about governance and this has taken a great deal of work; 3 governing bodies have had to disband and form one new one.
As a result of this work, we’ve been able to welcome the pupils, staff, parents and governors from Aiskew, Leeming Bar Church of England and Hutton Rudby Primary Schools into our Synergy family.
Our leaders and teaching team have worked hard this year to further improve the quality of teaching and learning that children receive on a day-to-day basis. It’s this insistence on high standards that helps children make rapid improvements in their learning. All our teachers have visited classrooms across the federation to evaluate each other’s teaching, identify those great ideas and use them in their own schools. You can read more about this work in this report. The 2023/2024 academic year was a very busy one, with respect to inspection. Hutton Rudby, Brompton-on-Swale CE and Pickhill CE all received visits from Ofsted during the autumn term! In each case, inspectors were really impressed with what they witnessed and each school received a great report. Crakehall CE also received an inspection at the end of the autumn term. They were inspected by the Church of England (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools – SIAMS). This inspection was also very successful. You can read all our inspection reports by visiting the school’s website and locating the ‘Ofsted and SIAMS
As a group of schools, we continue to collaborate and work closely together, ensuring that our best practice is shared across the organisation. I am excited to see what we can achieve in the next 12 months and further into the future.
With best wishes for a positive 2024/2025 academic year.
Mike White Executive Headteacher
Welcome from the Chair of Governors Andrea Offord
It has been another successful year for the Synergy Schools Federation
An academic year always appears to go by in such a flash, but reflecting back it is amazing to see just how much staff and children have managed to pack in to that time. I hope therefore, you enjoy reading this report about all the fantastic achievements of the Federation over the 2023/24 academic year.
As part of school leadership, the governors’ role is to provide strategic direction, hold senior leaders to account and oversee the financial performance of each school to ensure that funds are being well spent. This was certainly put to the test by the Ofsted and the Diocesan inspection teams. During inspections at Brompton-on-Swale, Pickhill and Hutton Rudby and a SIAMS (Church School Inspection) at Crakehall, governors were thoroughly questioned about: educational standards, how we support every child, safeguarding and our vision for the future. The ‘Good’ judgements with comments about outstanding areas of practice and an exceptional SIAMS report are testament to how well our schools are achieving; this is credit to the hard work of everyone involved.
A key focus of governance for us this year has been the development of the Federation from a four to six school family. We are delighted to have welcomed Aiskew, Leeming Bar CE Primary School and Hutton Rudby Primary School to the Federation. This development will undoubtedly further strengthen our capacity to share expertise, widen CPD for staff and provide a broad and exciting education for our pupils.
Across the full governing body and the Local School Committees, we are very fortunate to have members with an extremely wide range of skills and expertise. It amazes me that such busy people are selflessly prepared to volunteer and give up their time to help ensure that we are providing the best education we can for our pupils.
I would like to say a huge thank you to all of them for their continued support and dedication and we look forward to an exciting year as a wider federation.
With best wishes
Andrea Offord Chair of Governors
The Synergy Schools Federation
Vision and Aims
Learn, Grow & Shine Together
We hope that the following explanation exemplifies the vision for our federation and helps to explain the background to our tagline, ‘learn, grow and shine together’.
Learn
At our federation, everyone is a learner from the child who walks into pre-school for the first time to the senior leader who continues to develop their knowledge and understanding of pedagogy, leadership and themselves as a human-being.
The federation and the organisations within the federation provide wonderful opportunities for everyone to learn, develop their own interests and flourish. Our leadership model works across the federation, with senior and curriculum leaders taking responsibility as system leaders.
At the Synergy Schools Federation, we pride ourselves on creating and developing good teachers. We have developed strong partnerships with initial teacher training organisations and these have borne fruit over nearly 2 decades, whereby teachers have been trained, employed, developed further and in many cases, turned into leaders.
Grow
As most of the schools in the Synergy Schools Federation are Church Schools, it is important that our vision is rooted in Christian values.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
Matthew Chapter 13 verses 31-33
The Parable of the Mustard Seed is the root of our Federation vision. The federation has grown like a small seed from September 2018 when staff from Brompton-on-Swale CE Primary School first started working alongside Crakehall CE Primary School to the large organisation that it is now, providing education to 650 school with almost 100 staff and 30 involved in governance. Due to our professionally generous ethos, a wide variety of stakeholders come to rest in our branches to work collaboratively and improve the quality of education for our pupils.
We feel that the federation and its schools provide a safe place for others, be they families, pupils or even staff so they can develop professionally and spiritually and then move on to achieve more.
The continuing professional development offer for staff who work across the federation is central to our vision. It allows staff to shine and in turn improves our pupil outcomes and the experiences that our pupils receive, for example:
Maths Mastery – A mastery specialist, who has been recently promoted into the role of ‘Assistant Maths Hub Lead’, leads maths across the federation. She ensures that maths is taught very well, consistently and by teachers who have strong subject knowledge.
Leadership Development A strategy for leadership development ensures that all National Curriculum subjects are led by subject specialists and their knowledge is imparted regularly to the rest of the staff, developing others’ subject knowledge.
SENDCO – A dedicated and very knowledgeable Federation SENDCO provides expert advice.
Pedagogical Development - for all teachers and teaching assistants is planned carefully by senior leaders to ensure that all teaching staff receive high-quality CPD and are encouraged to take risks with their teaching in a secure and supportive environment.
The federation provides more comprehensive opportunities for pupils’ personal development which would be difficult to achieve working as an individual school, for example:
Synergy Sports Day – All Key Stage 2 pupils compete in an athletics stadium, making use of all-weather track and field equipment.
Residential Visits – All pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 are offered combined residential visits which develop in challenge and opportunity.
Joint Collective Worship – High quality joint collective worship provides regular opportunities for pupils to feel a strong sense of belonging.
The federation encourages school leaders to provide an inspirational, dynamic and exciting vision for the curriculum. Although schools share planning, resources, leadership and work collaboratively, they have their own identity, vision and ensure that the curriculum offer meets their pupils’ needs.
Together
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the word synergy is: "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects."
When considering a name for our federation back in 2018, the governors felt that this encapsulated our work and so the name 'Synergy Schools' was born. Our federation is all about schools working together. We believe that we are stronger together. Just as the Bible describes how a body is stronger when its different parts work together, our individual schools benefit greatly from being an active part of the team. Our federation serves different schools, who in turn serve different communities with different strengths and priorities.
Brompton-on-Swale CE Primary School is an ex-Teaching School. Since March 2012, it has collaborated with numerous schools (currently 51) in the north of North Yorkshire, creating the Swaledale Alliance. Partnerships are built on trust and professional generosity. Schools buy into the Alliance through a service level agreement based on a small per-pupil charge. The Alliance provides a wide range of services centred around initial teacher training, school to school support and continuing professional development for leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and governors. For further information about the Swaledale Alliance, please visit the website www.swaledalealliance.org.
The Synergy Schools Federation
The Governing Body
Our Federation for formed in September 2018, when Brompton-on-Swale CE and Crakehall CE successfully shared senior leadership capacity. In September 2020, it expanded to a 4-school federation after federating with Leeming & Londonderry Community and Pickhill CE Primary Schools. In May 2024, we welcomed Aiskew, Leeming Bar CE and Hutton Rudby Primary Schools into the Synergy family.
The Remit of the Governing Body
The main purpose of the Synergy Schools Governing Body is to:
• Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of our schools and federation.
• Hold leaders to account for educational performance of the schools within the federation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
• Oversee the financial performance of the federation and make sure its money is well spent.
• Seek out the views of stakeholders
Our Governors
The list below provides the name and designation of our current governors. For more information, please visit your school’s website or directly browse www.synergyschools.co.uk.
Mrs. Andrea Offord Co-opted Governor Chair of the Governing Board
Mrs. Jane Parker-Hack Co-opted Governor Vice Chair of the Governing Board
Mrs. Alison Whittaker Co-opted Governor Chair of Hutton Rudby Local School Committee Safeguarding Governor
Mrs. Linda Player Co-opted Governor Chair of Brompton-on-Swale Local School Committee
Mr. Stephen MacKenzie Co-opted Governor Health & Safety Governor
Miss Jane Gibson Co-opted Governor
Mr. Mike White Executive Headteacher
Mrs. Liz Weatherby Foundation Governor
Mrs. Lynne Athey Foundation Governor Chair of Aiskew, Leeming Bar Local School Committee
Mrs. Anna Smith Foundation Governor Chair of Leeming and Pickhill Local School Committee
Mrs. Jess Brudenell Local Authority Governor Chair of Crakehall Local School Committee
Mrs. Emily McAdam Parent Governor Vulnerable Learners’ Governor
Mrs. Frances Bainbridge Parent Governor
Mrs. Natalie Hawes Staff Governor
Local School Committees
There are very few federations across the country of this size and construct and the governing body has formed ‘Local School Committees’ to ensure that each school is sufficiently challenged. These committees have delegated responsibility for some of the governing body’s functions. For more information, please visit the Federation’s or a school’s website.
Aiskew, Leeming Bar Local School Committee
Mrs. Lynne Athey Foundation Governor and Chair of the Committee
Mrs. Bethany Stanley Head of School
Mrs. Alison Watson Associate Staff Member
Mrs. Linda Du Toit Associate Parent Member
Mrs. Sue Richardson Associate Co-opted Member and Safeguarding Member
Miss Jane Gibson Co-opted Governor
Vacancy Associate Co-opted Member
Brompton-on-Swale CE Primary School’s Local School Committee
Mrs. Lynda Player Co-opted Governor and Chair of the Committee Member
Mrs. Jane Parker-Hack Co-opted Governor and Vice Chair of the Committee Member
Mr. Adam Firmin Head of School
Mrs. Liz Weatherby Foundation Governor
Miss Lorna Middleton Associate Staff Member
Mrs. Kellie Wallace Associate Parent Member
Mrs. Melaine Chapman Associate Co-opted Member and Safeguarding Member
Crakehall CE Primary School’s Local School Committee
Mrs. Jess Brudenell Local Authority Governor and Chair of the Committee Member
Mrs. Sam Marino Head of School
Rev. Chris Lawton Associate Foundation Member
Mrs. Emma Scott Paul Associate Staff Member
Mrs. Esther Brown Associate Parent Member
Mrs. Andrea Offord Co-opted Governor and Safeguarding Member
Mrs. Jo Hopper-Holdsworth Associate Co-opted Member
Hutton Rudby CE Primary School’s Local School Committee
Mrs. Alison Whittaker Co-opted Governor, Chair and Safeguarding of the Committee Governor
Mr. Rob Johnson Head of School
Miss Hannah Clark Associate Staff Member
Mrs. Emily McAdam Parent Governor
Mrs. Katie Craddock Co-opted Governor
Mr. Adam Hodge Associate Co-opted Member
Mr. Scott Acklam-Hall Associate Co-opted Member
Leeming and Londonderry Community and Pickhill CE Primary School’s
Mrs. Anna Smith Foundation Governor, Chair and Safeguarding of the Committee Member
Mrs. Nicole Rayner Head of School
Rev. James Gwyn-Thomas Associate Foundation Member
Mrs. Lauren Thompson Associate Staff Member
Mrs. Helen Fawcett Associate Parent Member
Mrs. Frances Bainbridge Associate Co-opted Member
Mrs. Fran Stanyer Associate Co-opted Member
Aiskew, Leeming Bar CE Primary School
Highlights from the 2023/24 academic year:
• In Key Stage 2, children’s learning about the Romans was really brought to life when we went to visit Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum. The pupils loved walking amongst the ruins and imagining the buildings. EYFS and Key Stage 1 had a wonderful time visiting Monk Park Farm. We all had a fantastic experience when a planetarium was brought into school for the day – this really enhanced the children’s learning about space. We have also enjoyed attending a range of sporting events and taking part in the Synergy residentials.
• We have continued to strengthen our curriculum and develop each child’s learning skills through Building Learning Power. We are very proud of how well-developed our pupils’ learning behaviours are and the knowledge they are retaining both within a subject and across the curriculum.
• At Christmas, we worked together as a whole school to put on a successful production of Lights, Camel, Action!
• Following the Diocesan training with our older pupils, we have established a Worship Team who now play a very active role in each collective worship. With minimal adult support, they have even delivered their own collective worship to the whole school.
• After attending Play Leader training, our Y4 pupils really embraced the role of ‘Play Leaders’ and organised some great PE activities for everyone to enjoy at break times.
• We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming Leeming and Londonderry children to join us for our Sports Afternoon which Mr Hodgson kindly organised.
• We have used Sport Funding and money from FOALS (our PTA) to buy lots of loose parts to enhance play at breaktime. In addition to this, we have purchased some bikes which are extremely popular with the whole school!
• We have also been very fortunate in purchasing a new set of iPads and a number of new laptops.
Federation Sports Day
July saw our third Synergy Schools Sports Day with all Key Stage 2 pupils from all 4 schools competing for their houses at Catterick Athletics Stadium. Joseph, one of our Year 5 pupils at Pickhill, reports.
At our federation sports day at Catterick Athletic Stadium, everyone from Key Stage 2 participated in a wide range of sporting activities. We had field events like throwing and jumping (I enjoyed the running long jump events!) and track events too, like the 60m hurdles, 60m and 80m sprints, and a 600m long distance race, to name a few. Medals were awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, and we also earned house points for showing resilience and kindness. All the schools cheered each other on, which was really motivating. Parents came to support us, filling the stands with cheers. The atmosphere was sensational! It was great to see the Green House team win, and I got to speak with children from other schools too. Even though I was nervous at the start line, I knew crossing the finish line would mean hearing the crowd cheering my name, which gave me an enormous sense of pride. The federation sports day is always one of the highlights of my year.
Busy Bees Pre-School
Highlights from the 2023/24 academic year:
• A rebranding of our Busy Bees logo
• Continued delivery of Little Wandle phonics with a focus on developing phonological awareness through using nursery rhymes.
• Ongoing CPD to ensure high quality interactions to support children’s communication and language development.
• Expert guidance from an Early Years Advisor to embed current practice and procedures.
• Lots of opportunities to engage with the whole school community- World Book Day, Science Day, Sports Day and the Easter Labyrinth.
• Being part of our local community singing carols to the local residents, a family craft session and stay and play mornings.
• An engaging and exciting interactive visit from Zoolab where we went on an animal hunt.
• Ongoing 'Mastering the Curriculum' inputs for our older children, to engage and prepare children for moving up to the Foundation Stage.
Brompton Park
Brompton-on-Swale
Richmond
North Yorkshire
DL10 7JW
Having the Courage to Shine
Highlights from the 2023/24 academic year:
• We have introduced our new OPAL playtimes which have enabled the children to have lots more opportunities to play together, as opposed to separate lunchtimes for certain year groups. We look forward to developing this further this year and hopefully creating some exciting new zones.
• Our end of year production of Bugsy Malone was a huge success. The singing, dancing and acting skills were fabulous. A big thank you to the Y6 team for putting this together.
• This year we have gained the platinum sports mark for the very first time! This award can only be achieved when a school has consistently been awarded gold for at least three consecutive academic years. A school then has the opportunity to apply for platinum by submitting evidence of sporting excellence in a number of different categories. We are delighted to achieve platinum which we feel demonstrates Brompton-on-Swale’s continuing commitment and dedication to school sport and PE.
• Early in the academic year OFSTED came to visit us. We were delighted with our very positive report, particularly with our outstanding grading for ‘behaviour and attitudes’ to learning. As all good schools do, we continue to work on our areas for development and hope to continue to improve further.
• The change in practice to our swimming lessons was a huge success and the children benefited greatly from much smaller groups visiting the pool. Already we have noted the improvements in children’s swimming ability- it is such an important life skill. A huge thank you to the PTA for their considerable donation to the cost of transport. It has been incredibly helpful in making swimming lessons much more accessible and better for the children.
• As always, we continue to offer a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities at Brompton-on-Swale for children to enjoy. As many as 16+ across a school week! These clubs vary from sports (football, hockey, netball, dodgeball) to non-sports (dance, STEM, art, choir). This year saw a brand-new opportunity present itself in the form of a puppet workshop organised and led by Jean (from the Open the Book Team). Jean worked with two groups of children and taught them how to use puppets to perform and tell stories linked to Biblical messages and songs of worship. I think we can all agree that the puppet performances were absolutely fantastic!
• As always, we are supported each week by members of the church community who are part of the Open the Book team. These fantastic volunteers attend school every Monday afternoon to act out and tell Bible stories with the children. This is our most popular collective worship and the children love taking part. Reverend Mary will then lead us in reflection of what we have watched and prayers together. A huge thank you to Mary, Lilian, Tony, Elaine, Jean and Joan for their continued support.
Year 4 Camp Outs
July 2024
Due to the wonderful success of last year’s adventure, all our Year 4 pupils took part in an overnight camp out on the school grounds. These fantastic experiences were organised by Mrs. Emma Lerigo (Forest School Leader) and Mrs. Anna Smith (Parent Governor).
Hannah and Thea, two of our Year 4 pupils at Brompton-on-Swale, report.
On Friday, after we had lunch, we came outside and joined together with all of the Year 4’s from our Federation for an outstanding Camp Out experience. We sat around the circle of benches with our teammates. Mrs Lerigo and Mrs Smith explained the rules there was a few but the main one was don’t go in the middle when the fire is lit. We were given vibrant tops of the colour of your team. The colours were: orange, yellow, green, purple, red and blue. We then got changed into our fantastic new tops.
Then, we got to complete the first circuit. There was an inflatable assault course where you race your team mates on it. Soon after, Mrs Lerigo and Mrs Smith set up the exciting task where they put a gummy worm in one can and a cricket/insect in the other and you had to turn around when they muddled them up! If you were lucky, you might get a gummy worm but of not… it was the cricket for you! Incredibly, next we made pizzas and garlic bread. Next, there was orienteering. The map helps you locate the QR codes around the school. Another task was to construct your tents (that was tricky!) Quidditch was exciting and the aim was to get the most balls in the hoops. We finished off the tasks with archery.
Then we sat on the benches with our teams, and we waited to be called to get our delicious tea: jacket potato with a choice of beans, chili or cheese and carrot and cucumber and garlic bread. Yummm!
The Camp Out was a great experience
Hannah
On a Friday, after we had our lunch, we went to the Brompton school field and sat around the campfire. Mrs Lerigo and Mrs Smith gave us our six groups. We had vibrant colours such as purple, green, red, yellow, orange and blue. When we got our tshirts, we all went to get changed. Eventually we go to say hi to our group; we had friends from our class and people from the Federation come to do the amazing campout with us.
Time flew by and we started to have fun on some games we did. At the start, we were given the opportunity to climb a rock wall or quidditch (if it was too windy), archery, cooking based on pizza and garlic bread as well as having the choice of eating a dead cooked cricket or a gummy worm (if you are lucky!), orienteering, which is going around school looking for different orienteering signs, and we also did tent building which was hard and confusing but fun.
In the evening, we had our tea which was jacket potato with choice of beans or chili or cheese. There was also a delicious choice of sides of carrots and cucumber and if you wanted juice, you had a choice of blackcurrant or orange juice (or water if you prefer).
After dinner, we did lots of different games like ‘Get a grip!’ which you have to put your hand in spaghetti, or beans and lots more. We also did ‘water relay’ which means you get drenched! We also did ‘Night light’ where you have to follow a rope to get to the end of an obstacle course, but you get squirted with water (possibly by a teacher!)
The camp out was fabulous and we all really enjoyed it; we would definitely recommend everyone in Class 4 enjoy it next
The Green Crakehall
Bedale
North Yorkshire
DL8 1HP
Growing Together
Highlights from the 2023/24 academic year:
• We are extremely grateful to FOCS, St. Gregory's Church and the local school community for all the donations, fundraising and support to help us improve our outdoor areas! Mr. Mike Stott has done a fantastic job using the donated pallets to create ideas from the wish list, that was created by our children. We now have a large sandpit, re-vamped reading shed, a fantastic bike store with balance bikes, a den building area, art space and a small world/Lego zone. Miss Waters will now be leading on our outdoor provision, supported by Mrs. White and Miss Johnson. Watch this space for further developments.
• Another show stopping performance - this time it was Matilda; it was truly incredible to see every one of our children on stage - watch out the West End!
• 100% of our children represented the school in sports this year, which is quite the achievement and something we aim to do by the end of each academic year. We have gained the gold sports mark again and class 4 had the fantastic opportunity to go to Northumbria University for a career's day. Children enjoyed hearing all about university life, the multiple careers available in sport and spent the afternoon with coaches testing out their impressive facilities.
• We were over the moon to receive such positive praise and feedback from our SIAMs inspection this year. The inspector reported that Crakehall’ s 'strongly embedded Christian vision shapes an ambitious, inspirational curriculum. Strong relationships are deeply rooted in Christian love. The nurturing provision across all aspects of school life creates an inclusive environment. Leaders are inspirational role models for all. They stimulate all adults and pupils through their own positivity and enthusiasm. This has a profound impact on the lives of staff. It inspires confidence and enables all within the community to flourish. Behaviour is exemplary throughout the school.'
• Ensuring a vast range of opportunities for all our children continues to be a top priority. Our pupils have enjoyed residentials, experienced a range of faiths and cultures and enjoyed numerous visits from authors, local police (our year 5 children even became 'mini police') and artists, to name a few.
This year our community stood strong and tighter than ever after Alfie Jack (one of our amazing year 5 children) sadly died from a brain tumour. Alfie quickly became the
Roman Road
Leeming
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL7 9SG
Being the best we can be
Highlights from the 2023/24 academic year:
• It has been fantastic to collaborate more with our friends at Aiskew Leeming Bar. The children have attended joint trips, performed together in church and we lived the joint sports day! We look forward to more collaboration this academic year!
• Our end of year production of The Jungle Book was a huge success. The singing, dancing and acting skills were fabulous and the children looked amazing in their costumes!
• Outdoor learning continues to be a huge strength of our school. It has been fantastic to welcome parents to one of our Forest School sessions to experience learning in the woods.
• We have been developing playtimes so that there are more opportunities for the children to work together, develop fine and gross motor skills and play creatively. Our new zones have been a big hit with the children.
• We have gained the gold sports mark again this year and the children have had numerous opportunities to compete in a range of sporting events.
• It’s been wonderful to enhance our learning with a huge range of extracurricular experiences. From exciting days in school like our STEM days and trips out to Flamingo Land, Murton Park and Newby Hall.
• We have loved celebrating our service pupils through taking part in a variety of events and activities. The whole school dressed in purple for Service Pupils Day, we attended an amazing Armed Forces day and all of the service pupils took part in the Remembrance Service at Ripon Cathedral.
The Peat Rigg Adventure
May 2024
- Y5 Residential Visit
In May, all our Year 5 pupils took part in an wonderfully exciting adventure to Peat Rigg Outdoor Centre, near Pickering. George, one of our Year 5 pupils at Crakehall, reports.
Going to Peat Rigg is the best experience a Year 5 could ever have. At first, I was nervous but as we were going down the drive to Peat Rigg we saw a massive lake. I instantly felt calm after seeing the beautiful setting in which Pete Rigg is situated. Once we arrived at the main building, we were warmly welcomed by the instructors. They told us about all the fun things they had in store. We went into our rooms and made our beds. It was so fun being able to make our own bed and settle into our new home for the next few days.
During our stay at Peat Rigg, we got to try so many different activities, such as canoeing, orienteering, night line, archery and ziplining. We even got to feed the chicken and pigs!
One of the most challenging activities was Jacob’s ladder. As you progressed up the ladder, the gaps got bigger which meant it was more challenging. I found this tricky but with the help of my teammates I got further than I thought I would get.
My most favourite activity was abseiling. Even though this was the one I was most anxious about, I overcame my fear of heights with the help of my teammates and our great instructor
When I was away, I celebrated my 10th birthday. It was strange to be away from home, but all the teachers and instructors made it a very special day.
Peat Rigg was so fun and Year 5 children shouldn t be scared to go because the staff and instructors look after you and you will make memories that will last a lifetime.
Being the best we can be
Our Achievements in the 2023/2024 Academic Year:
• Led by Mrs Thompson and our school council, we have introduced our new OPAL playtimes which have enabled the children to have lots more opportunities to play. Numerous zones have been introduced including den building, digging, the wheelie zone, role play and the balance and bounce zone to name but a few. The fundraising and support from the community has been incredible! The school council organised a fun run and the whole school raised an amazing £970 for resources.
• Our end of year production of The Jungle Book was a huge success. The singing, dancing and acting skills were fabulous and, thanks to a group of wonderful parents, the costumes and set were fantastic too.
• We have gained the gold sports mark again this year and the children have had numerous opportunities to compete in a range of sporting events. We also continue to be a Picture News Advocate School highlighting how we work hard to help the children understand the world in which we live.
• We were delighted with our very positive OFSTED inspection and pleased that the inspectors recognised that “children thrive Pickhill!
• Outdoor learning continues to be a huge strength of our school. It has been fantastic to welcome parents to one of our Forest School sessions to experience learning in the woods.
• It’s been wonderful to enhance our learning with a huge range of extra-curricular experiences. From exciting days in school like our STEM days and trips out to Flamingo Land, Murton Park and Newby Hall.
Pickhill
Thirsk
North Yorkshire
YO7 4JL
The Swaledale Alliance - A Key Partner
The Swaledale Alliance provides Continuing Professional Development, school to school support and early teaching career training to a collaboration of over 50 primary schools across the north of North Yorkshire.
Based at Brompton-on-Swale CE Primary School, the Alliance offers a variety of development programmes in state-of-the-art training and meeting facilities plus there is office space accessible to all partnership schools. Our Executive Officer, Margaret Thompson, runs the Alliance on a day-to-day basis with the support of Mrs Rachael Owen, our Administrator.
As Strategic Lead for the Swaledale Alliance, Mr Mike White chairs the Steering Group – a pro-active group of local headteachers who ensure the work of the Alliance meets the training and development needs of local primary schools.
As a key partner, the Swaledale Alliance is a valuable resource for Federation staff offering ‘on the doorstep’ access to professional development programmes and networking opportunities. The Alliance also works very closely with the Red Kite Teaching School Alliance, a leading provider of Teacher Training and CPD in North Yorkshire and Carmel Teacher Training Partnership, a leading provider of Teacher Training in County Durham and the North East.
During the academic year 2023/24:
• 79 Federation teaching colleagues have attended curriculum networks developing their leadership skills, knowledge and expertise.
• Members of our Federation teaching team have supported Swaledale Alliance programmes, sharing their expertise in subject areas such as ‘Assessment for Learning’ and EYFS.
• Our Head of Schools accessed half-termly Headteacher network groups enabling them to keep up to date with the latest educational agendas and network locally with colleagues.
• Our SENCO, Tamara Hayman, and HLTA, Natalie MacKenzie support the Alliance as skills assessors for the nationally recognised NCFE CACHE Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning. Lucy Weston, GTA with Pickhill CE Primary, successfully completed this Level 3 qualification in July 2024.
Working collaboratively across North Yorkshire and beyond, the Swaledale Alliance offers Federation staff, Governors and leaders access to a wealth of expertise on the doorstep.
The London Visit 2024
May 2024 - Y6 Residential Visit
In May 2024, our Year 6 pupils from all 4 schools across the Federation, embarked on a fantastic experience, visiting our capital city on a 3 day residential visit. Alfie, a Year 6 pupil from Leeming & Londonderry has kindly written an article to share his experiences.
Day 1:
“Alfie! Alfie!” I was woken up too early for my liking but I went downstairs to the sweet scent of peanutbutter on toast. Unlike my plate my bags were packed. It was time . It was finally time to go to London! I had been looking forward to our residential trip for ages. We started walking to school in the dawn breeze, on the way I saw a couple of my year six friends (who were as ready as I was for this trip). We arrived at the school gates to a sea of mixed faces both excitement and
“First stop the Tower of London you will need: a water bottle, a water-proof coat and money if you would like to buy a souvenir”. I couldn’t believe we were finally going on our first activity; it was like a miracle! We were welcomed in by three amanous looking ravens (as black as obsidian), as we were going down the steps we could already see the Crown Jewels laying ahead.in the jewel house. I was an archaeologist looking for ancient artifacts. Going through the high security was incredible to think that this exact tower used to be a prison, a zoo, a building where two boys were murdered. With unsettled stomachs, we finally made our way to the Hard Rock Café. With the menu Infront of me I felt like I had a decision of a lifetime. I made my choice of a legendary burger. Finally, I saw my food being brought over my taste buds leaped with excitement as it was put Infront of me. The meal was too much for me as I felt like I was going to explode!
“Photos are strictly forbidden. This means disable all electronics. Now sit back and enjoy the show!” Half way through a conversation we were suddenly interrupted by a swish! Swish! As we turned around we saw a blood red curtain opening up an experience of a life was hosting the best show I have ever seen! But sadly the time I was hoping would never come, came. The time when the show ended, but all was not ruined because we got to see the room we were staying in.
Day 2
After an early start, we headed to the part that I was mostly looking forward to (Harry Potter Studios). When we went in we were welcomed by the Great Hall where there were hundreds of floating candles exactly as it was in the proper movie. I couldn’t say no to the offer of butter beer, my tastebuds have been thanking me since. As I drank it was just like my heart would always remember this unbelievable experience.
I have never eaten at TGI Friday’s, it was one of the best meals I have ever had! I demolished it in a matter of seconds, so fast in fact I suddenly found myself on the way to Wembley! We saw statues of many English football stars we even took a picture in front of a couple!
Day 3
Getting up the next day felt like I should have been paid a reward for dragging myself out of my cosy bed! Bringing my suitcases down the stairs was exhausting and emotional. I put it under the bus I couldn't believe the time had already come. The time I dreaded! It was time to leave London! Well almost because we made a stop at Buckingham Palace first. (We played an enjoyable game of cricket and watched the guards defend the Palace) and filled our hearts with relived memories. In an instant, we sadly found ourselves back home. Overall this experience was unreal unimaginable, unbelievable, a memory that I will never forget.
Doctors Lane
Hutton Rudby
Yarm
TS15 0EQ
Working Together
Highlights from the 2023/24 academic year:
• Achieving a ‘Good’ from Ofsted in September. The overwhelmingly positive report highlighted the hard work that all members of staff have put into improving our school over the past couple of years.
• Every child has represented the school in a sporting event, from fun-runs and dodgeball to football and rugby, our children have excelled athletically. Some highlights include:
Multiple children winning / medalling at the KS2 Cross Country.
An all HRPS netball final.
Multiple medal winners in gymnastics.
• Sports Week was thoroughly enjoyed by all, especially wheelchair basketball, Quidditch and the ever-popular inflatable assault course!
• From athletes such as Lucy Turner to Roman gladiators, police officers and paramedics, the children have enjoyed meeting a range of inspirational visitors.
• The children have enjoyed some fantastic school visits this year. These trips complemented their learning and provided them with unforgettable experiences:
Some of our children have visited Warhammer World.
Others went stargazing at Hadrian's Wall.
Reception visited Big Sheep Little Cow farm while KS1 visited Flamingo Land Zoo.
Children in Year 4 visited the largest waterfall in the country – High Force!
The PTA have come into their own this year, running very successful discos and the ever-popular Frozen Friday.
Our children have shone on the stage. Upper Key Stage 2 shone, performing Lion King in the Summer Term, Lower Key Stage 2 entertained huge audiences with their take on the story of Robin Hood – Hoodwinked – whilst Reception and Key Stage 1 rang in Christmas with an adorable Nativity in December.
We have further increased our extra-curricular offer, adding performing arts, girls’ football, hockey and art clubs to an already packed extra-curricular schedule.
The whole school has enjoyed using Spelling Shed to improve their spelling, but the duel between Years 4 and 5 has been a sight to behold, ending with Year 4 getting the most points of any class / school IN THE WORLD at the end of term!
Our annual science week was a big success, the children enjoyed a week of visits from all manner of people from the world of science, including some inspirational visits from parents who work in STEM.
• We have enjoyed supporting charities again this year, raising money for Red Nose Day and ‘turning Blue Monday bright’ for the Headlight Project.
Hutton Rudby Primary School — Residentials
Manchester Madness & Bewerley Bonanza
Our Year 6 children have been lucky enough to have two overnight trips away from school! In November, they enjoyed all that Manchester has to offer, whilst in May they experienced a week of outdoor adventures at Bewerley Park.
Manchester saw the class pack an incredible number of activities and visits into 2 days. They started with a visit to LEGO Land before splitting into two groups. A large group, led by resident fish-expert Mr Beckwith, explored the Sea Life Centre and learned about all (sea) creatures great and small. Meanwhile, a small group of boys descended upon a mini-golf course with mini-golf-maestro Mr Johnson. Manchester saw the class pack an incredible number of activities and visits into 2 days. They started with a visit to LEGO Land before splitting into two groups. A large group, led by resident fish-expert Mr Beckwith, explored the Sea Life Centre and learned about all (sea) creatures great and small. Meanwhile, a small group of boys descended upon a mini-golf course with mini-golf-maestro Mr Johnson.
Once the group reconvened, they made their way to Pizza Express where they were complimented on their magnificent behaviour by several members of public. Bowling and free time in the amusement arcades followed before everyone retired, exhausted, to bed.
The following morning started with a tour of Old Trafford where the children got to try on match-worn shirts from the likes of Beckham, Messi, Zidane and Toone!
Making their way through the Manchester rain, the children found themselves at the Imperial War Museum North. Currently featuring a World War 1 & 2 exhibition which linked perfectly with their history topic. This busy day ended with a visit to the Museum of Science and Innovation.
By the time May rolled around, Manchester was a distant memory as the children completed their SATs and headed off on another adventure – outdoor adventures at Bewerley Park.
They explored Brimham Rocks, went on a treasure quest at a local forest and completed a terrifying high-ropes course, where the children climbed a shaky pole in the blustery wind before a death-defying jump to catch hold of a swinging trapeze.
The highlight of Bewerley Park for many is always the water activities. Blayshaw Ghyll and paddleboarding were incredibly popular events this year. The heavens opened on the ghyll scrambling day for one group, allowing the children to take full advantage of the naturally formed slides as they whizzed back to where they started! The day at Blayshaw always ends with the children being challenged to make the leap into a pool of water near the bottom of the ghyll. This particular group watched with glee as Mr Johnson slipped whilst taking his jump and flailed wildly all the way down!
Nothing could dampen the children’s spirits at Bewerley Park, not even a surprise 2am fire alarm on the final night!
Spotlight on Mr. Mike Stott
Handyman for the Synergy Schools Federation
The Federation employs a handyman to fix things, build things and generally improve our school sites.
Mr Mike Stott (or Handyman Mike, to those who know him best!) is one of the most popular members of staff across the whole Federation. Everyone needs ‘a Mike’! His arrival is always met with, “we’re so pleased you’re here!” or “while you’re here, would you mind having a look at…” He’s the bringer of smiles, the solver of problems, the worker of magic.
Mike’s been very busy indeed this year. He has developed a love of pallets! Indeed, there isn’t much Mike Stott can’t make out of a couple of pallets: sand pits, bike sheds, mud kitchens, water walls, to name but a few structures.
Several of the schools in our Federation have been developing the opportunities available for our children at outdoor playtimes. Mike has been instrumental in ensuring that they can access the best possible environment.
On behalf of all the staff and pupils across the Synergy Schools Federation, thanks for all your fantastic work this year Handyman Mike! What a legend!
Hold the Back Page!
Sporting Achievements across the Federation
Aiskew, Leeming Bar Sporting Experiences
We got to experience some different types of sporting events this year. We entered archery, new age kurling, boccia and dodgeball competitions. Some of our KS2 children went to the Play Leader training and then became really effective play leaders at break time - it was like we had additional PE teachers in school!
Brompton-on-Swale—Challenges & Success
It has been another incredibly successful academic year of sport at Brompton-on-Swale. We have attended so many different events and competitions, such as:
• Multi-Skills (Y2)
• Football
• Netball
• Hockey
• Cross Country
• Sports Hall Athletics
• Tennis
• Gymnastics
• Dance
• Cricket
• KS1 Fun Run
We have also taken part in other lesser-known events such as the panathlon, boccia and indoor kurling. In addition to all these wonderful competitions and events, some of our older children attended playground leader training. This enabled them to come back to school and use all their training to support other boys and girls on the playground, helping them to enjoy games during lunchtime activities. There have been many successes in the above competitions- particularly in gymnastics, football, cross country and cricket where medals were won or teams qualified for a level 2 competition. However, it is important to say that this success is simply a byproduct of children enjoying sport together, engaging in after school clubs and (most importantly!) taking part and having fun. Well done everyone!
Crakehall Sporting Highlights
100% of Crakehall children all represented the school in a sporting event.
Sports were enjoyed at Bedale High School.
Class one had a fantastic time at Richmond High School for the annual fun run.
EYFS really enjoyed their fun run challenge.
A team of children, staff and parents took on the Inflatable 5k in memory of year 5 pupil (Alfie Jack).
Part of our careers experience year 5 and 6 enjoyed numerous sporting experiences at Northumbria University.
Well done everyone, you all did incredibly well!
There were too many fantastic sporting events to list in one place at Hutton Rudby last year, both competing within school and against other schools. From wheelchair basketball during Sports Week to kayaking on
house football tournament was an incredibly popular addition to Sports Week. Dozens of children from all four houses competed in KS1, Lower KS2 and Upper KS2 teams. The finals were officiated by a licensed referee and provided some of the most exciting football matches that have ever been played! Our football teams also enjoyed competing against other schools, notably winning a best of 3 series of games against local rivals, Stokesley.
Competing against other schools, Hutton Rudby shone in the cross country. The rain hammered down as all of KS2 descended on Northallerton to run around a big, muddy field. There were many highlights, but the two that will live longest in the memory are our Year 6 Girls Race winner overtaking the secondary school children who were supposed to be showing the way (the way they scrambled to try and catch up was fantastic) and one of our Year 6 boys finishing comfortably in the top ten of his race, despite losing his shoe in the first five meters of the race! What determination!
We have had a great year of sport at Hutton Rudby, and are looking forward to creating even more sporting
Leeming and Londonderry Sporting Achievements
The children have enjoyed a variety of cluster sports events this year including cross country, football, skipping, athletics, play leader training and dodgeball to name but a few. We have joined Pickhill to enjoy a workshop with an inspiring athlete, Erin Ward (a professional footballer). We loved both the Synergy sports day and joining pupils at Aiskew Leeming Bar for a sports day! We were delighted to receive the Gold Sports Mark this year.
The children have been involved in a variety of cluster sports events this year including cross country, football, skipping, athletics, play leader training and dodgeball to name but a few. We have welcomed an inspiring athlete, Erin Ward (a professional footballer) into school. We had a very successful sponsored fun run to raise money for our amazing OPAL playtimes and we loved both the Synergy sports day and our school sports day which was followed by family rounders! We were delighted to
Pickill’s Sporting Success
The Synergy Schools Federation
A: Brompton-on-Swale CE Primary School, Brompton Park, Brompton-on-Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire. DL10 7JW
E: admin@synergyschools.co.uk W: www.synergyschools.co.uk
