Autumn 1 2024-2025

Children at Rawmarsh Thorogate School dressed up in yellow to acknowledge World Mental Health Day. They are beginning to understand the importance of mental health and how their personal resilience impacts on it.

Smartphone Free Parent Pact

Increasing numbers of parents are signing the Smartphone Free Parent Pact as a sign of collective support. This 'peer pressure' is aimed at achieving a shift away from under 14s using smartphones.

Parents are encouraged to sign up to the pact.

Headteacher Awards Friday 4th October 2024

Well done to all the pupils that have been nominated:

Y1:

Kayson for trying his best in phonics

Ben for his effort in writing

Y2:

Rafael for always meeting the High Five Promise

Oliver for being a role model and star learner

Y3:

Ivy for persevering all week in all areas

Leo-James for always trying his best

Y4:

Aurora for fantastic effort in class and with homework

Henry for excellent contribution to class discussion and great effort all around

Y5:

Annie for showing great resilience and having a fantastic attitude to learning

Gracie for amazing expression in dance and poetry

Y6:

Darcie - Beau for excellent attitude to learning and great work

Liv for being a fantastic role model and excellent work in all subjects

Pupils sharing Good Work are below:

Year 1 are proud to have received the Taimes Tables Challenge!

The boys football team becoming Champions of Rawmarsh in the Toty Cup - now onto to the round.

Parent Survey 2024

Below is the outcome of the parent survey recently held.

202410 Parent Survey 2024 summary.pdf

Rawmarsh Library in October 2024

Don't miss out.

Headteacher Awards Friday 27th September 2024

Y1:

Betsy for working so hard in our computing lesson

Alex for trying so hard with his handwriting

Y2:

Heidi for always giving 100% effort

Belle for being a role model to others

Y3:

Paisley for always helping others in need

Lincoln for persevering and having a positive attitude

Y4:

Faye for outstanding active listening in class

Isabella for consistently amazing effort in all her learning

Y5:

Amayah for always trying her best approaching every aspect of school with a smile

Ronnie for always contributing to class discussions

Y6:

Darcy for work in Herts for Learning and an increase in confidence

Grace working really hard at all subjects and showing a mature attitude to learning

UK parents join pact to withhold smartphones from children under 14

Online pledge by Smartphone Free Childhood signed by at least one parent at 6,537 schools

An online pledge to withhold smartphones from children until they are at least 14 has been signed by parents at 20% of schools across the UK, according to a campaign group.

A “parent pact” organised by Smartphone Free Childhood has been signed by at least one parent at 6,537 schools, with the signatories representing just under 35,000 children. There are 32,000 schools across the UK, including nurseries and pupil referral units.

The pact states that “acting in the best interests of my child and our community, I will wait until at least the end of year 9 before getting them a smartphone”.

For the remainder of this article, please follow the link.

Pupil survey 2024

We need to continue to give pupils opportunities to express their worries and also to address them. 7 pupils feel they are being bullied and this needs to be minimised further so that no children feel bullied.

We will also focus more on having a positive self-image, as 33 children are concerned about this.

Headteacher Awards Friday 20th September 2024

It was wonderful to join the Friday assembly online today. The Friday assembly is a real celebration of a few of the amazing things happening in school.

Y1:

Lily for persevering when learning ordinal numbers

Oliver for excellent work in phonics

Y2:

Daisy for amazing effort with reading

Harry for superb focus on his learning all week

Y3:

Jack K for outstanding science knowledge on our school trip

William for amazing ideas in Literacy

Y4:

Lillie for excellent Maths and English all week

Ernest for excellent listening and great Maths work

Y5:

Lenny for being a role model showing dedication and hard work

Esme for always smiling, trying her absolute best and being wonderful

Y6:

Ava for excellent effort in all subjects and being a great role model

Dexter for being an amazing role model and fantastic at all subjects

Sarah Elise Swimming for Dementia

Swim for Dementia, from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 Start fundraising for this event

The Story

Elise and myself are making a splash and taking on Swim for Dementia. We aim to swim 10miles over 30 days, hopefully completing our final mile in an open water swim

900,000 people are currently living with dementia across the UK. Until the day we find a cure, Alzheimer's Society is here for everyone affected. Wherever they are, whatever they're going through.

Your donations will keep us going so please hit the Give Now button and donate what you can to help beat dementia. Thank you!

Buying a first mobile phone: best dumb phones and smartphones for kid - Which?

Find out how to control screen time, social media use and internet access with younger children and teenagers

Buying a mobile phone for your child and keeping them safe online is a daunting task for any parent, especially now there's an increasing focus on the impact of social media and use in schools.

The charity Parentkind has called on the Government to put age restrictions on smartphones after it revealed 84% of 2,496 parents surveyed in England believe they are harmful to children, and three in five parents said they would support a smartphone ban for under 16s. That's led to rising interest in 'dumb' phones – basic handsets that allow kids to contact you in emergencies without becoming a distraction. But if your child needs access to the internet, specific apps, or a decent camera, a smartphone with parental controls might be a better option.

We've picked out a range of popular handsets and explain how you can use parental controls to manage access.

Our guide to the best smartphones reveals the models that topped our tests.

Buying a first mobile phone: best dumb phones and smartphones for kids - Which?Find out how to control screen time, social media use and internet access with younger children and teenagers

Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy 2024 & Behaviour for Learning Policy.

We have updated our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024.

We have reviewed our Behaviour for Learning Policy, which has not been amended.

Headteacher Awards 13th September 2024

Well done to the pupils of Thorogate School. It has been a very positive start to the term and the teachers keep saying how hard you are working.

Y1:

Harry for being such a positive member of the class

Hudsyn for putting his all into everything he does

Y2:

Louie for amazing effort all week

Eli for superb effort all week

Y3:

Devon for being a fantastic role model all week

April for being so helpful to her classmates

Y4:

Hannah for excellent effort in all areas all week

Edward for fantastic Maths and English all week

Y5:

Ava for being a role model following high five promise

Year five for showing resilience, perseverance and excellent team work at Kingswood

Y6:

Rosie for having a growth mindset and being an excellent Mathematician

Leo for excellent effort in all subjects and being a great role model

What is your child learning this term - termly overviews

You will have received the termly overviews for your child's class on paper and via Dojo. These are designed so you have an overview of the learning that will take place over the term and give you the opportunity to support that learning with conversations and activities at home.

Please contact your child's class teacher if you would like further information or the opportunity to have a look at their work.

Termly overviews.

KAPLA

Well done to all the children who have taken part in our KAPLA construction day. What they have created has been fun, creative and really challenged their teamwork.

Hooton Lodge - Rotherham Cancer Care

Hooton Lodge Farm are hosting a charity fundraiser event next weekend for Rotherham Cancer Care. I have attached the poster.

Some of the highlights include-

️ 6 x live performers and bands

️ Makers, bakers & craft stalls

️ Rother Radio

️ Face-painting

️ Meet & Greet with Elsa & Spiderman

️ Tombola

️ Food

️ Licensed Bar

️ Ice cream

️ Raffle

& much more…

Children go FREE and an adult ticket costs just £5, with 100% of money raised going direct to the Charity.

Tickets can be purchased online via the attached link- https://www.hootonlodge.co.uk/hootonevents

Rise Dance Company

My name is Claire and I’m the owner of Rise Dance Company Rotherham. We have a few spaces available in our classes and wondered if it would be possible to share our timetable with your parents.

Headteacher Awards Friday 6th Sep 2024

Well done to all the pupils nominated for a Headteacher Award!

Y1:

Jack for an amazing start to Y1

Ruby for putting all her effort into every task given

Y2:

Luna for amazing reading!

Barkley for fantastic ideas for writing!

Y3:

Vinnie for having a positive attitude to learning all week

Shyla for fantastic geography knowledge

Y4:

Sharliz for excellent effort and contribution in class discussions

Luca for being a role model of the High five Promise

Y6:

Tabitha for an excellent attitude to learning and fantastic English work

Grace for being a wonderful role model and brilliant Maths and English

A special mention also has to go to Year 2, who have had 100% attendance this week.

Attendance: term time holidays and other absences.

You should be aware of the changes that are now in force regarding school attendance that were brought in by the previous government. It is not a Thorogate School Policy - it is statutory guidance brought in by the DfE.

The purpose of this blog is to ensure that you are informed when making decisions.

The visual image below from Nottingham City Council helps summarise the current position (sorry if the image is a little blurry).

Welcome to a new school year - our focus for school improvement

At the time of writing this, it is still the middle of August - teachers and pupils are still enjoying their summer break with parents trying to organise work commitments and child care. We are very aware of the competing pressures - time for the pupils to relax and recharge, but for working parents the stresses of providing children with meaningful activities and supervision.

I hope you have all had a wonderful and safe break so far and that the two remaining weeks provide you with rain-free fun.

As always, there are areas of our school that we intend to improve this year. When you return in September you will see that the Reception play area has been improved over the summer and the common areas in the school have been painted. Below is a summary of the key areas we are working on during the 2024 - 2025 year.

Words Matter: right across school we will focus on widening the vocabulary our pupils understand and use, which is a key issue for our pupils in understanding the content of the school curriculum and being effective communicators. This will be supported by a better understanding of SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar). Together, this will raise the quality of writing across the school.
Numbers Count: we have changed how we deliver maths across school. In Reception and Year 1, we are using Number Sense, which has improved the clarity of basic maths concepts for pupils. This is also being used to support older pupils in deepening their understanding before attempting more complex problem-solving. As a school, we have adopted the NCETM resources (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Maths), with Mr Roebuck working towards being a specialist leader of NCETM maths. Again, there is a real focus on vocabulary and pupils explaining maths.
Assessment and Feedback: like other primary schools, we have been adjusting how the assessment of foundation subjects takes place and is recorded. The impact of this will be evaluated this year. The increase in pupils with special educational needs (SEN) across the school also means that we are formalising the entry and exit criteria for support/interventions we provide pupils - Thorogate School has an amazing commitment to SEN pupils, especially through the number of adults supporting pupils in class. How feedback to pupil's work is given is being developed to ensure it leads to improvements in pupil work and we want to continue our commitment to well-being and healthy learning.