Autumn 1 2024-2025
Contents
Headteacher Awards for Friday 25th October 2024
Well done #TeamThorogate. Another fantastic week.
REC
Casey for giving everything 100% effort
Dominic for trying hard to learn all his phonics sounds
Y1:
Herbert for giving 100% effort in phonic
Ada for being a good role model
Y2:
Suzie for a wonderful effort all week
Benson for always giving 100% effort
Y3:
Bobby for always trying his best
Finley for trying really hard in literacy
Y4:
Ivy for great listening and focus
Aurora for excellent effort all week, especially in Maths
Y5:
Elise for excellent progress and effort in all subjects
Lyla for always being a role model and a wonderful example to others
Y6:
Oliver for outstanding effort this week and being an excellent role model
Jaime for a fantastic standard of work in ALL subjects and being an excellent role model
Sharing Good Work and Sewers from Y6
Headteacher Awards for Friday 16th October 2024
Headteacher Awards
Good work
Rotherham Cross country
Attendance
Times table challenge
We seem to be rushing towards 1/2 term! Only one more week to go. Friday assemblies are always wonderful, I am always so proud of our school community.
YR
Sophie for trying hard with her learning
Louie for having the confidence to give things a try
Y1:
Archie for his amazing effort with writing
Calia for her superb work in phonics
Y2:
Thomas for amazing effort to improve his handwriting
Leighton for superb focus in all lessons
Y3:
Tilly for fantastic enquiry skills in History
Alex for always giving 100% effort in all learning
Y4:
Ellis for excellent focus & listening in class
Sophia for excellent effort with all her learning
Y5:
Harry for showing initiative and being creative in his learning
Jake for exhibiting a positive outlook and attitude in the classroom
Y6:
Josh for excellent Maths knowledge and fantastic attitude to learning
Skye for enthusiasm for learning and great effort in everything she does.
Below are the children who shared Good Work
Year 6 were winners of our Times Tables Challenge.
Attenance this week was won by Year 3 - well done.
National Parent survey conducted by Parentkind
Parentkind published the National Parent Survey 2024. This is one of the largest annual parent polls conducted by any organisation and offers an insight into the views of parents across the UK on a wide range of topical issues, including parent views on education and school life.
Headlines from the National Parent Survey 2024
Parents are struggling to make ends meet, with 3.7 million parents telling us they can’t pay their bills and one in five parents telling us they can’t afford the cost of sending their child to school
WFH is being led by parents. Half of working parents now regularly work from home while one in four parents have changed jobs to spend more time with their children
2.4 million parents (22%) from across the UK told us they are unhappy most of the time
Parents are under pressure. One in three parents don’t spend as much time as they would like to helping with schoolwork and fewer than a third of parents have time for a hobby
Children spend an average of 3 hours 20 minutes on electronic devices outside of school on a typical week day in term time, with 1.5 million children spending more time on phones and screens than they do at school
Almost a third of parents are more relaxed about getting their child to school since the pandemic and just three quarters of parents agree that every school day matters
Four million parents are regularly having arguments with their children over homework, while just a quarter of parents think homework is useful. Half of secondary schools don’t give parents enough information on supporting their child’s learning at home
The Safer Phone Bill - are you protecting your child from phone addiction?
We protect them (children) from other addictions, we protect them from smoking, we protect them from drinking ....... we need to consider the impact of smartphones on children - Martin Lewis
A Bill is being introduced in the House of Commons by new Labour MP Josh MacAlister OBE at lunchtime today, meaning that the government will debate how to tackle addictive phone use by children.
It’s called the Safer Phones Bill, and it directly reflects the concerns of the 150,000 parents in this community, whose insights have fed into the drafting of the Bill as we supported Josh and his team to get it off the ground.
The reason we’re so excited is that it marks a significant shift in the debate.
After years of focussing on how to remove harmful content from the internet to make it safe for kids, this Bill moves the policy conversation on to reflect the wider concerns of parents today: that our kids' childhoods are being swallowed up by smartphones. And that these devices (and the apps they are a gateway to) are engineered by the most powerful companies in human history to devour as much of our kids' time as they can, purely in pursuit of profit.
It’s a gigantic waste of the precious childhood years on a global scale and the implications for kids, families and society are profound. To finally see the government legislative agenda turn its spotlight on this is huge.
The Safer Phones Bill is not a silver bullet and it won’t fix anything overnight, but it’s a significant step in the right direction. The way that Josh MacAlister – a former teacher and charity CEO – has brought together disparate organisations, campaigners and cross-party MPs behind this issue is heartening.
Our co-founder Joe was invited to the Newsnight studio to talk about it on Monday evening, and polling published today shows that
70% of adults believe smartphones are causing damage to children and are in favour of legislating for all under-16s to have brick phones with built-in restrictions on addictive apps and social media.
It’s more proof that together we’re powerful – even when we’re up against the biggest companies in human history.
It's not about enforcement or if this is even possible - it's about setting up the convention that parents will not give young children a Smartphone and they know that other parents won't do it either, making this behaviour the norm.
Parent Pact - no Smartphone under 14
Fantastic that Thorogate School has parents who have signed up to the Parent Pact not to give under 14 year old a Smartphone. Lets see if we can move up the South Yorkshire leaderboard of schools whoose parents are signing up to this movement.
Pharmacy First
Totty Cup Sponsors 2024
As a school that always enjoys taking part in the Totty Cup, we also want to acknowledge the sponsors that make it all possible. Below is an email from Chris Brook, who selflessly organises the Totty Cup for all of us to enjoy:
Back in the day, each school would pay an annual fee to enter Don & Dearne Schools competitions (football, matball, rounders etc,). This would cover the cost of the medals and the teachers were expected to referee.
Nowadays, we often try and pay for referees - certainly in the latter stages of our competitions. We now have 5 knockout cups and are looking to introduce an extra girls' cup.
We are delighted to confirm that our costs have been covered for 2024/25 by Circuits Electrical - a Swinton based firm providing a nationwide services to both commercial and domestic customers. Tel 01709 590994
Please consider using Chris Speight's Circuits Electrical if you need any electrical work doing in school.
Our girls cup has been sponsored by ABC Landscaping for the last two years. We have yet to meet with Kevin Silverwood regarding 2024/25. Again, please consider using ABC Landscaping for your school grounds maintenance needs. Tel 07730677420
Headteacher Awards Friday 11th October 2024
Well done to the children who have been nominated this week!
YR
Felicity for going above and beyond with her learning
Cooper for having beautiful manners
Y1:
Melissa for care and presentation of work
Freddie for working hard to control his pencil
Y2:
Freya for always showing a wonderful attitude to learning
Ivy for always giving 100%effort. A real star
Y3:
Farah fr always giving 100% in class
Amelia for fantastic poetry inLiteracy this week
Y4:
Noah for excellent Maths and English projects this week
Penny for excellent effort in all areas, all wwe as usual.
Y5:
Isabelle for showing amazing confidence in our class debate
Isabella for always striving to be the best she can be!
Y6:
Brooke for enthusiasm for learning and being a great role model
Thomas for excellent work in all subjects and great attitude to learning
Celebrating World Mental Health Day
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.

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”.
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?
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.
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.
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.