Parents & Carers
Welcome Presentation 2026
Click to enlarge images and scroll through the slideshow below, or click here for a .pdf version of the presentation from the welcome evening for families.
Communication Guidance
School Drop Off, Pick Up and Collections Arrangements
Entrance to school – Safety is of paramount importance and as a result we ask you to park safely and legally when dropping off or picking your child up from school. We appreciate that we do not have a car park but please consider walking where possible or using the layby to park and then walk your child to school. Entrance to school is from North Lane, through the pedestrian entrance into the playground.
If your child is coming to school on their bike or scooter can you, please ensure that they get off this once within school grounds and that they walk with it to place it in the bike rack. This it to ensure the safety of all our children, parents and visitors to our school.
The school day – The school day starts at 8.45am, with the pedestrian gate being opened slightly earlier. Children should be supervised upon arrival and wait in the playground for the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 doors to be opened. Familiar adults will be at the door to welcome your child into school. As we have a soft start to the day the children have until 8.50am to enter the school building. If you are running late and the doors are closed, then please make your way to the main entrance where Mrs Butterfield will let you in.
School finishes at 3.20pm. Children in reception, Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be handed over to an adult familiar to the teacher. If someone else is collecting your child, then please notify either the class teacher or the office as soon as possible. Children in Years 5 and 6 may walk home on their own providing you have given consent. Please speak to Mrs Butterfield if you require a consent form. We will not allow children to go to the park to meet parents there.
Children who use the school bus will be met by a teacher and also taken back to the bus at the end of the day by a teacher or staff member.
If you are running late due to unforeseen circumstances, then please ring the school office as soon as possible so that we can take care of your child until you arrive. Please then pick them up from the main entrance.
Playtime is from 10.30 – 10.45am and the children use the playgrounds at the front of school. On some days the children are split into Key Stage 1 and 2 but on some days they can play together. This information is shared with the children each term.
Lunchtime is between 12 and 1pm. Children go into the hall in Year groups and the order varies each half term. All sittings have around 20 minutes to eat their lunch and a 40-minute playtime.
Term Dates and School Opening Hours
Term & Holiday Dates 2026-2027
The following are based on the recommended term dates provided by City of York Council for schools in the City of York area for the academic year 2026-2027 and include the planned training days for 2026-2027.
| Term | School re-opens to pupils | Last day of school for pupils |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 – 1st half term | Tuesday 8th September 2026 | Thursday 22nd October 2026 |
| Autumn 2026 – 2nd half term | Monday 2nd November 2026 | Friday 18th December 2026 |
| Spring 2027 – 1st half term | Tuesday 5th January 2027 | Friday 5th February 2027 |
| Spring 2027 – 2nd half term | Monday 15th February 2027 | Friday 19th March 2027 |
| Summer 2027 – 1st half term | Monday 5th April 2027 | Thursday 27th May 2027 |
| Please note the Bank Holiday on Monday 3rd May 2027 | ||
| Summer 2027 – 2nd half term | Monday 7th June 2027 | Friday 23rd July 2027 |
2026-2027 Training Days and Bank Holiday Closures
- Monday 7th September 2026
- Friday 23rd October 2026
- Monday 4th January 2027
- Monday 3rd May 2027 – Early May Bank Holiday
- Friday 28th May 2027
- Monday 26th July 2027
School holidays and training days for 2026-2027 as a downloadable/printable .pdf: Term Dates 2026-2027
Planned Term & Holiday Dates 2027-2028
The following are based on the recommended term dates provided by City of York Council for schools in the City of York area for the academic year 2027-2028, taking into account the required five training days.
| Term | School re-opens to pupils | Last day of school for pupils |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2027 – 1st half term | Tuesday 7th September 2027 | Friday 22nd October 2026 |
| Autumn 2027 – 2nd half term | Tuesday 2nd November 2026 | Friday 17th December 2026 |
| Spring 2028 – 1st half term | Wednesday 5th January 2028 | Friday 18th February 2028 |
| Spring 2028 – 2nd half term | Tuesday 29th February 2028 | Friday 7th April 2028 |
| Summer 2028 – 1st half term | Monday 24th April 2028 | Friday 26th May 2028 |
| Please note the Bank Holiday on Monday 1st May 2028 | ||
| Summer 2028 – 2nd half term | Tuesday 6th June 2028 | Wednesday 26th July 2028 |
Planned 2027/2028 Training Days & Bank Holiday Closures
- Monday 6th September 2027
- Monday 1st November 2027
- Tuesday 4th January 2027
- Monday 28th February 2028
- Monday 1st May 2028 – Early May Bank Holiday
- Monday 5th June
School holidays and training days for 2027-2028 as a downloadable/printable .pdf: Term Dates 2027-2028
Some schools and academies across the York area may have different arrangements. For information from City of York council about term, holiday and closure dates for all York schools, please click here.
The School Day
- The official start time of the compulsory school day is 8.50am.
- The official end time of the compulsory school day is 3.20pm
- Doors open from 8.45am for a soft start.
- The total time this amounts to in a typical week is 32.5 hours.
School Meals
Welcome to Yorkshire Kitchens
Say hello to Yorkshire Kitchens, serving up fresh, tasty food across Yorkshire Learning Trust’s primary and secondary schools. At Yorkshire Kitchens, fresh, high-quality food comes first.
September menus are now live on meal selector, and families can now make bookings and payment via ParentPay with meals costing £3.20 per day. Click here to read the letter introducing Yorkshire Kitchens.
We are also pleased to announce our new Yorkshire Kitchens landing page is now live on the YLT website at https://www.ylt.org.uk/yorkshire-kitchens. This page includes links to the menus, allergen matrices, and the allergen/dietary request form.
Locally sourced produce
- Using locally sourced ingredients, Yorkshire Kitchens works with trusted suppliers, including bakers, wholesalers, and butchers, so that every meal is made with quality, flavour, and great nutritional value.
- Giving students plenty of choice and something to look forward to every day.
Created with students
- The Yorkshire Kitchens name and logo were created by the people who know our schools best: our students.
- Through a Trust-wide competition, students helped create a brand that celebrates great food, local roots, and our shared Yorkshire identity. The name and logo bring those values to life and reflect the creativity, pride, and community spirit of our schools.
Fresh, nutritious food every day
- Nutritious meals made with locally sourced ingredients.
- Trusted local suppliers deliver quality and freshness every day.
- Menus designed to support healthy growth to aid focus and energy throughout the school day.
- Carefully sourced, high-quality ingredients with great value for money.
- Menus developed using feedback from students across the Trust.
- Menus are updated often, so check back for what’s new.
Ordering a school lunch
For more information, on how to book your child’s meal, please visit: Payer guidance – How to make a meal or event booking – ParentPay Group
Free School Meals and Pupil Premium
- investing in extra resources to support teaching and learning
- employing skilled and trained professionals to work with individual children, like speech therapists or Learning Mentors
- Pupil Premium money must be used to help and support children.
ParentPay
Parents and Carers can pay online for school meals, as well as trips using ParentPay.
School Uniform
Our School Uniform
Our full Uniform Policy can be found on our Policies Page.
Our school uniform is gender neutral. This is to ensure that all children are able to wear the uniform that they are most comfortable and confident in. A gender neutral uniform is equal in cost and is more sustainable as it gives more opportunities for uniform to be reused.
If you have any second hand uniform items that you would like to donate, please contact us.
Uniform may be bought from SchoolShop, Elvington, where items with logos are available. Alternatively, items may also be purchased from high street retailers and supermarkets
Daily Uniform
- Purple sweatshirt or cardigan, ideally with a school logo (not hooded)
- Trousers, skirts, culottes, shorts or pinafore dresses in black/navy/grey, gingham dresses in purple.
- Shirt, blouse or collared t-shirt in white or purple.
- Plain socks, tights and leggings in black/navy/grey.
- Smart shoes or boots in black/navy/grey, practical sandals with ankle straps. Pupils may wear open toed sandals at parent request.*
*Children’s shoes or sandals should be appropriate for school wear ie. suitable for them to run and play safely.
PE Kit
- Plain t-shirt in white.
- Sports shorts, tracksuit bottoms or sports leggings in black/navy/grey with minimal branding.
- Optional sweatshirt or school hoody for cooler weather
- Trainers or plimsolls suitable for indoor and outdoor PE.
- Named bag to keep PE kit in.
- When children are swimming, appropriate swimwear for the session.
Jewellery
- Pupils MUST remove ALL jewellery for PE and sport. Therefore, if new piercings are being considered, parents should ensure they are done at the start of the holidays to allow for the 6-8 week window for healing.
- Pupils will not be able to take part in PE lessons if they cannot remove their jewellery.
- This is in line with NYES Health and Safety Service guidance on playing sport.
- Watches may be worn but not those with recording devices.
Forest School Kit
Forest School sessions happen fortnightly for all year groups across the year, through all seasons.
- Long sleeved top & layers
- Full length bottoms/trousers
- Waterproof outer layers
- Appropriate footwear, e.g. wellies
- Change of clothing for after forest school.
You can order school uniform, including items with the school logo, from SchoolShop in Elvington. Items may also be purchased from high street retailers and supermarkets.
Early Years Foundation Stage at Wheldrake with Thorganby CE Primary School
At Wheldrake with Thorganby Primary School, we want every child to enjoy the best possible start in life. Our aim is to provide the support, encouragement and opportunities that help each child grow, thrive and fulfil their potential. We work closely with parents and carers to enrich learning and strengthen relationships, creating a nurturing and inclusive environment where children flourish academically, socially and emotionally.
We want children to experience the joy of learning through storytelling, creative play, meaningful exploration and warm, responsive relationships. Through purposeful play and thoughtful teaching, we help children develop resilience — encouraging them to keep trying, solve problems and take pride in their achievements.
Kindness and empathy sit at the heart of our practice. We model and promote kind words, caring actions and respect for others, helping children build strong friendships and a deep sense of belonging.
The Reception Team and Class Organisation
Mrs Gunhild Sagaas is our Reception class teacher, who will be supported by a teaching assistant daily. Mrs Sagaas is responsible for all planning, assessment, activities and will be your child’s key worker. She will report to you on your child’s progress at different points throughout the year. Our setting is fully inclusive and we will work with families, our SENDCo and Reception team to ensure we support our pupils as they start their school journey with us.
EYFS Curriculum Intent
At Wheldrake with Thorganby Primary School, our EYFS curriculum is designed to give every child the strongest foundations for learning by building on the nurturing, inclusive ethos at the heart of our vision. We want children to feel secure, valued and confident as they explore, play and learn, and our curriculum is carefully sequenced to help them develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to thrive.
Our curriculum prioritises communication and language, early reading, self regulation and social development, recognising these as essential building blocks for future success. Through purposeful play, high quality interactions and thoughtfully planned learning experiences, children develop curiosity, resilience and the ability to solve problems — reflecting our commitment to helping them keep trying, celebrate achievements and fulfil their potential.
We choose rich stories, meaningful exploration and real life experiences to deepen children’s understanding of the world and strengthen their sense of belonging. Kindness, empathy and respect are woven throughout our curriculum, supporting children to build positive relationships and work collaboratively with others.
We want to provide a joyful, ambitious and inclusive curriculum that nurtures confident learners who feel proud of themselves, connected to others and ready for the next stage of their education.
Learning takes place both indoors and outdoors, and our provision follows the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework, found here: EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers
Four guiding principles shape our practice:
- A unique child
- Positive relationships
- Enabling environments
- Learning and development
These principles underpin everything we do, ensuring that every child is valued, supported and inspired.
The overarching aim of the EYFS is to help pupils achieve their full potential through the three characteristics of effective learning:
- Playing and Exploring
- Active Learning
- Creative and Critical Thinking
There are seven areas of learning and development that shape educational programmes in early years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. The three prime areas underpin the basic building blocks for development. These are:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
These 7 areas are used to plan each child’s learning and all activities will be suited to each child’s unique needs and interests. Children will work towards achieving Early learning Goals within these 7 areas. To see an overview of the ELGs click here: Early Learning Goals on one page.
Topics and Themes
We have developed topics for each term in Reception Class. These topics provide a starting point for our learning, with freedom to follow children’s interests and personalise learning to our setting, cohort and context. Our themes this year are:
Core focus | Additional Focus |
Marvellous Me | Families and people who help us in school |
Let’s celebrate | Light and dark |
People who help us | Animals |
Once upon a time | Easter |
Life in the garden | Mini beasts |
Under the sea adventures | Transition and transport |
Phonics and Early Reading
At Wheldrake with Thorganby, Reception follows Twinkl Phonics scheme and uses phonetically decodable books arranged in progressive book bands for reading.
Daily phonic and reading sessions are taught throughout EYFS using the Twinkl Phonics scheme. To view the programme overview that shows the progression of GPCs and tricky words taught term-by-term in reception, please see here: Twinkl Phonics Level 2-4 Overview
To find out more about what is taught in each Level of Twinkl Phonics, useful terminology your child might use at home and tips for how you can support the children, please see here: Twinkl Phonics Handout for Parents and Carers
Alongside phonics, children enjoy reading practice sessions at least twice per week. These small‑group sessions use fully decodable books matched to each child’s phonics stage. The sessions focus on:
- decoding (sounding out and blending)
- reading with fluency
- understanding what they have read
Children also have a weekly visit to our school library and take home a sharing story to enjoy with family, helping to build a love of stories and reading for pleasure.
Handwriting
We teach handwriting through the Twinkl Phonics programme, following the same progression as our phonics teaching. Children learn to develop good writing posture, a secure and efficient pencil grip, and accurate letter formation using Twinkl’s clear and memorable handwriting mnemonics. Each grapheme is introduced in phonics lessons alongside its formation phrase, helping children build strong motor patterns and confidence as they write.
Handwriting is taught in a carefully sequenced order that mirrors the phonics phases, beginning with pre‑writing patterns, moving through lower‑case letter formation, and later introducing capital letters, digraphs, trigraphs, and words containing these graphemes.
Lessons follow a consistent structure:
- Reviewing prior learning
- Adult modelling using Twinkl’s formation mnemonics
- Multi‑sensory practice such as air writing, tracing and large‑scale patterning
- Guided and independent application
- Precise feedback to secure correct formation in long‑term memory
Mathematics and Numbers
Our school use White Rose Maths and Maths Mastery to support the planning and teaching of maths in all year groups. Lessons are adapted and supplemented depending on the theme and the knowledge of the children. Number work is mainly practical and active, giving children plenty of hands‑on opportunities to explore, investigate and talk about their mathematical thinking. An overview of the White Rose Autumn learning blocks can be found here: Maths Medium Term Plan – Autumn
In addition we also follow the NCETM Mastering Number Programme in EYFS. This develops number sense, builds fluency and flexibility, improves the speed and accuracy of children’s subitising skills and recognition of number bonds, enhances mathematical vocabulary. It fosters mathematical language, oracy skills, and the ability to articulate mathematical relationships using stem sentences. Children are able to use manipulatives to support understanding of number structures. This provides foundational skills and builds confidence in all children.
A Guide to Maths Mastery – WwT Parents
Supporting Maths at Home
Help your child be epic at maths – CBeebies
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/classroom-resources/ey-numberblocks-at-home/
Parents/Carers
Building strong partnerships with families is central to our Early Years ethos. Staff welcome children personally at the door each morning, creating a calm and friendly start to the day. At home time, adults are available to share small successes, pass on important information and maintain open, positive communication with parents. We value your contributions to your child’s learning and encourage you to share any milestones achieved at home with us.
We use Seesaw to share photographs, observations and key moments from children’s learning, and parents can contribute their own comments and experiences through the app. We host Parent Enrichment sessions termly, where you can come into school and spend time with your child in their setting. We will also arrange for a parents’ meeting at the end of September where you can have a look around the learning environment and we will explain how we teach phonics and reading.
To find out more, please do contact us. A useful guide to starting at Reception can be found here: Starting Reception
Wheldrake Pre-School
Based in Wheldrake within Thorganby School, Wheldrake Pre-School is an Ofsted-registered charity.
It offers a warm and welcoming setting, providing nurturing care and high quality education that inspires confidence, curiosity and a life-long love of learning.
The pre-school is a term time only setting offering either full day or morning sessions, and works in partnership with WOoSC to offer wrap around care between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
For session changes, finances and funding please contact Sandra, our Business Manager, on admin@wheldrakeplaygroup.co.uk
For any day to day queries please contact Vicki, our Setting Manager, on settingmanager@wheldrakeplaygroup.co.uk or give us a ring on 07415746466
You can find out more about the setting, including term dates, session times and fees, on the Wheldrake Pre-School website.
Wheldrake Out of School Club
- Breakfast Club operates from 7.30am to 8.45am
- After School Club operates from 3.15pm to 6.00pm
- Holiday Club operates from 8.00am to 6.00om with half days, school days and full day booking possible.
Wraparound care for preschool children is available, working in partnership with Wheldrake Pre-School.
WOoSC can accept childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare payments.
For further information, please contact Karen in 07955 765558.
PTA
E Safety
What can you do?
- Talk to your child about what they’re up to online. Be a part of their online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out what sites they visit and what they love about them, if they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
- Watch age-appropriate films and cartoons about internet safety with your child. The CEOP Education has films, games and advice for children from four all the way to 18.
- Encourage your child to go online and explore! There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
- Keep up-to-date with your child’s development online. Children grow up fast and they will be growing in confidence and learning new skills daily. It’s important that as your child learns more, so do you.
- Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online.
- Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don’t want to see.
- Know what connects to the internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Make sure you’re aware of which devices that your child uses connect to the internet, such as their phone or games console. Also, find out how they are accessing the internet – is it your connection, or a neighbour’s wifi? This will affect whether the safety setting you set are being applied.
Use parental controls on all devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones.
Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child’s online safety, but they are a good start and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly.
CEOP information about parental controls
Guides to setting parental controls from Internet Matters
Further useful resources for parents:
CEOP Education – Information for Parents
Life Online – information for parents and carers from BBC Bitsize
