Reception had a super time last week on their Walking Bus Investigation. Setting out for a fact-finding walk along East Dale Road, morning and afternoon, for two days, allowed the children to observe the changing seasonal light, collect data on traffic (in preparation for Road Safety Week), explore shapes in the environment and connect up all the elements of their learning from the week.

The children have been investigating the ‘importance of light’ across a range of subjects, from Diwali to electronic circuits, space exploration to Bonfire Night and the Gunpowder Plot.

The walk also gave pupils a glimpse of the changing weather, as distant rain showers brought out a striking rainbow for the children to study. Armed with clipboards, the children returned to school this week with data to collate and findings to report.

Well done, Reception! We look forward to the return of the Walking Bus in the summer term, when the sun is shining and the wind is a little less chilly in temperature!

Hunsley Primary, East Yorkshire’s first free school, has welcomed excited pupils for the very first time on 8th September as it delivers a stimulating and engaging learning experience through its enquiry-based approach to teaching.

Hunsley Primary, which is part of the multi-academy Hunsley Trust, will encourage children to learn through discovery and exploration to develop new skills, knowledge and understanding as part of its scientific, enquiry-based approach to teaching.

The opening of this primary school is a significant step for the Trust, which has reaped the rewards of its innovative teaching ethos through South Hunsley School and Sixth Form College – one of the highest achieving state
schools in the country.

Mrs Samantha Timson from Hotham decided to send her son William, 4, because of the close links to South Hunsley:

“We decided to send William to Hunsley Primary after seeing adverts about its opening. For us, the fact that Hunsley Primary is connected with South Hunsley, a school that has a good reputation locally, is something that we felt would really benefit William. We were really keen about the opportunity to get involved with his primary school from the very beginning and all the communication we have had with Hunsley Primary has made us feel that it is very local. We have felt very involved and a part of its development and feel very much that it’s focussed on children.

“The opportunity to be involved with your primary school from the beginning doesn’t come along very often and we are excited to have the chance to grow and develop with the school. We are enthusiastic and looking forward to the school opening and William is very comfortable about joining Hunsley Primary. He is happy and confident about learning on the South Hunsley site as he has had so much interaction with the Hunsley team and has come up to the school quite a lot already. For us Hunsley Primary is not about the building but the people in it. It is the right school for William and we feel he will be really happy at there and he’ll get an all-round education with great opportunities.”

Lucy Hudson, Hunsley Primary’s headteacher, said: “Our open days last year showed us how excited the children are about coming to Hunsley Primary – this is testament to our exciting and engaging approach to learning which will not only teach them everything they need to know to excel through their school life, but will also provide them with experiences within the classroom which will develop vital skills to help them throughout their life.

“The success of this teaching model has been seen through South Hunsley School and Sixth Form College, which is excelling in many subjects and boasts some of the best exam results in the region and is ranked as one of the best state schools in the UK for sport.

“We have carefully selected a team which matches our vision for the primary school and they are raring to go. Every school day will be an exciting and engaging one for the schoolchildren, which will inspire and motivate them to want to be excited to come to school.”

The school, which will provide 210 places for children, will allow pupils to take part in hands-on scientific learning activities which are rarely seen in a primary setting and have access to the most up to date wireless technologies to help them generate a lifelong love of learning, enquiry and discovery. The curriculum, which will have science and maths at the core of its learning, will even encourage children to learn a foreign language from a young age.

Parents and their children have already experienced the school’s exciting approach to teaching after attending open days over the last year, which featured a visit from Bridlington Animal Park to teach the pupils about owls and meerkats.

Mrs Tanya Riseam, mum to Aaron, 4, who will be joining Hunsley Primary said:

“We decided on Hunsley Primary for Aaron as it’s a brand new school and will have brand new technology. The teachers we have met have been really inspiring and the way the open days have been arranged has been second to none – it has filled us with great deal of confidence and will know Hunsley Primary will be right for Aaron’s learning and development.

“Aaron is definitely ready and eager to learn but I’m not sure I’m ready for him starting school! I will cry on his first day – my last baby growing up and starting school. He is really excited about joining Hunsley Primary and is prepared for school – but I don’t think I am!”

Chris Abbott, Hunsley Trust Executive Principal, said:

“The opening of Hunsley Primary ensures we now have a school structure in place which will give children the same high standards of teaching throughout their entire school life.

“Not only will this ensure that children will learn to the high standards of teaching we implement within every Hunsley Trust school, it will also ensure that the transition from primary school to secondary school and sixth form will be smooth for them thanks to their familiarity with our approach to teaching. This ensures the children will be able to ease into school life right from day one through to the completion of their A Levels at 18 and they will maximise their potential as much as they can.

“The opening of Hunsley Primary is a significant step for the children of East Yorkshire and we are excited to get started.”

As the end of the school year approaches, we have reflected on the year and produced a summary of highlights across all areas of the Hunsley Trust and South Hunsley School. Please find attached a copy of the Reflections 2014 – 15.

Reflections_2014-15_July_15

Parents and families wishing to find out more about applying to Hunsley Primary are invited to drop in from 2pm onwards on Tuesday 30 June to chat to our Reception Team and to our Open Day on Saturday 19 September 2015 from 1-4pm.

As we look forward to opening our doors in September 2015, we are already receiving contact from families preparing for the up-and-coming primary school application round in October, as well as interest from families keen to find out how the new school is developing in time for opening.

There is no need to book an appointment; feel free to drop in during the afternoons to meet our teachers and support staff, take part with your child in some of our hands-on learning activities and talk to the team who will be providing wraparound care – Building Bricks @ Hunsley Primary.

Part of the outstanding Hunsley Trust, the team behind South Hunsley School and Sixth Form College, Hunsley Primary is already building a reputation as an exciting, forward-thinking school. We specialise in a personalised, child-centred curriculum with an emphasis on investigation, enquiry, maths and science.

For further information about Hunsley Primary, please contact Lucy Hudson, Head of Hunsley Primary, on lucy.hudson@hunsleyprimary.org.uk. Follow us too on Twitter at @HunsleyPrimary.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Our Reception team has enjoyed a range of pre-school and home visits over the last two weeks and we have more visits arranged for the weeks to come – thank you to parents/carers and pre-school settings for the warm welcome you have given us. Getting to know our children has been a pleasure as well as an essential part of the process to ensure we deliver highly personalised learning experiences for each and every child in the school.

Since our Launch Event, we have also had interest in the school from parents/carers looking to apply for places in 2016 and 2017. It has been great to talk with our future pupils and their families.

Work continues apace on our building and we are excited to be working with the Hunsley Trust Estates Director and Unico to design engaging outdoor learning areas and make the very most of the natural spaces we have around the primary school for our outdoor curriculum.

On the evening of Wednesday 1 July, from 4.30pm onwards, there will be an optional opportunity for parents of our Reception children to book an appointment to see the Head of Hunsley Primary, Lucy Hudson, to discuss any specific needs or questions you might have. Appointments can be made by emailing enquiries@hunsleyprimary.org.uk.

On this evening there will also be a chance to order additional items of uniform, should you wish to. If you are unable to make this date but still wish to speak in person, please contact the school to arrange an alternative appointment, or if you have a query which can be answered by telephone, please do not hesitate to drop us a line on 01482 631208.

Don’t forget you can follow our progress on Twitter (@HunsleyPrimary).

We would like to give a warm welcome to Mrs Louise Hitchin, who will be joining our Hunsley Primary team from September 2015 as the school administrator and receptionist.

Mrs Hitchin has several years’ experience of working within a school environment and has excellent customer service and administrative skills. Mrs Hitchin joined Hunsley Trust in March 2014 as a Corporate Service Assistant, working in the main school reception, dealing daily with parental enquiries, both telephone and face-to-face, and a variety of school administrative work. Mrs Hitchin will be the first point of contact for any parents contacting the school, both in person, via telephone or email.

We are delighted to confirm Mrs Hitchin’s appointment and look forward to welcoming her to the team from September 2015.

Hunsley Primary is very proud to announce our forthcoming collaboration with Gaia Technologies, the company chosen to deliver our school’s exciting educational ICT plan.

With a proven track record of working alongside the Department for Education in other free schools to create fantastic digital learning experiences, Gaia has been listed in the top 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain, 2015, which is a landmark report that identifies the UK’s most exciting businesses.

Gaia Technologies is a market leader, specialising in innovative 3D learning experiences. In line with the Hunsley Primary vision for outstanding teaching and learning, Gaia understands that interactive resources can be used in exciting ways to support the teaching and learning taking place in and beyond school. Well –chosen ICT can really boost a child’s achievement, especially when combined with a range of other inspiring and personalised teaching strategies, such as the physical and social development children experience in outdoor learning, creative play and hands on group investigation.

Gaia Technologies are clear on the contribution their equipment and systems can make to teaching and learning, especially in forward-thinking and innovative schools:

‘The right school can transform a child’s life and help them achieve things they may never have imagined.’

‘Free Schools have the independence to deliver the curriculum of their choice and adopt the latest technologies and innovative solutions to enhance and improve pupils’ learning experiences.’

Our Reception class will each have access to a brand new tablet on a one-to-one ratio. Through ICT solutions such as mobile wireless learning; home access for parents and children; touch screen classroom technologies; screen mirroring so children can display work from their own tablet to the big screen, and 3D virtual learning experiences, Hunsley Primary will encourage pupils to be actively involved in their own learning and inspired by independent investigations as they progress through the school.

Please click here to visit Gaia Technologies website for further information and read the story behind their technology.

We look forward to working closely with Gaia Technologies as Hunsley Primary opens in September and beyond.

Hunsley Primary is very excited to announce that the team at Building Bricks, Swanland, will be providing wraparound care for our Reception children on the Hunsley Primary site. Building Bricks is an established local provider of Early Years care, consistently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted because of the highly effective strategies they use to promote children’s learning and development.

Our parents will be able to make arrangements for the specialist care of their children very shortly. ‘Building Bricks @ Hunsley Primary’ will offer onsite provision of before and after school in our building, extending the care and development our children experience in school, and meaning that the children remain in a safe, familiar place for their wraparound care. Building Bricks staff are well known for their extremely effective partnerships with parents, which result in parents feeling happy and confident to leave their children in the setting. They also implement highly effective strategies to prepare children for their transition into school, so Building Bricks will be very adept at supporting and nurturing our children in their first year of school and beyond.

We are particularly happy that the partnership between the two providers, Building Bricks and Hunsley Primary, will mean continuous, Early Years specialist provision and close staff liaison will mean a seamless experience for children. Parents will find out more about our provision on the 3 June, but if you would like to put your name down for wraparound care now, please let us know by emailing lucy.hudson@hunsleyprimary.org.uk

Following the appointment of Miss Rachel Hudson to the full time Reception Teacher post at Hunsley Primary, we are delighted to let you know that Mrs Julie Nunn, a highly experienced Reception Teacher, will also be joining us in September on a part time basis. Mrs Nunn currently teaches in the Foundation stage at Molescroft, an outstanding primary school in Beverley.

Julie will work alongside Rachel to provide personalised learning, care and support for our pupils. Rachel and Julie will also have with them Mrs Liz Russell delivering Maths input each morning. Mrs Sue Colepio will also be introducing pupils to languages from a very early age in a fun and playful way. Mrs Colepio is now working for Hunsley Trust, having previously worked across Swanland Primary and South Hunsley School for the past few years.
The teaching team will be led by Mrs Lucy Hudson, who along with Mrs Janet Huscroft, our Consultant Head Teacher, will oversee the primary on a day to day basis. Miss Chris Abbott, the Executive Principal of Hunsley Trust, National Leader in Education and Associate Ofsted Inspector, will be overseeing the support services required by the school, e.g. premises, catering and finance, and will work with Lucy and Janet to ensure the best education for the Hunsley Primary pupils.

Our support staff team, who will be working every day in the primary, will soon be in place. Mrs Sue Mutter, our new Nursery Nurse, will be joined by two Teaching Assistants and an Administrator. We are confident that the depth of expertise this team possesses will ensure that every Hunsley pupil receives the highest level of care and attention to give them the best possible start.

It has been an absolute pleasure, over the last two weeks, to start to get to know the parents and children who will be joining Hunsley Primary in September. We have been in daily contact with families through our updates, meetings and conversations and we are looking forward to our families meeting each other at our launch event on 3 June 2015 at 1.45pm.

Parents applying for Hunsley Primary have found themselves in a unique situation this year. As a free school opening for the first time, Hunsley Primary was not part of the co-ordinated admission scheme and, therefore, our families were allocated places at two schools. The DfE advised that we follow this route to ensure that parents had choice and flexibility, a key concept of the free school programme and parents are equally entitled to both offers in this unique situation.

We had up to 30 places to offer to our reception class and we are delighted that two thirds of our parents have already confirmed that they will be joining Hunsley Primary in September. A further 5 families have said they want to find out a bit more before making their final decision.

We have worked with the Local Authority to support parents to respond within the deadline set by the co-ordinated admissions scheme; however, we fully understand that some parents require longer than two weeks to make a decision, having been given the opportunity to choose between two schools. Hunsley Primary has been happy to offer parents flexibility and understands that deciding which school to send their child to is a very important decision, especially when schools are offering different educational experiences.

We are excited about Hunsley Primary opening in September and we are looking forward to meeting parents at our event on 3 June 2015. Parents and children are at the heart of our processes and we are happy to offer any further support and information families need over the coming weeks.

Since 2013, Lucy Hudson and the Hunsley Trust team have worked very closely with Janet Huscroft in her capacity as Consultant Primary Headteacher and educational adviser. Throughout our development process, Janet has shared her considerable expertise as a Local Leader of Education in an outstanding primary, Hook C of E School, Goole, to ensure that Hunsley Primary pupils make the best possible progress from the very outset.

We have been inspired by the work taking place at Hook, which is recognised nationally as an outstanding and innovative school, well known for its unique curriculum design, assessment procedures and pupil-centred approach to teaching.
Passionate about delivering the very best curriculum to make sure all children succeed, Janet has been asked to present to a variety of audiences at conferences both nationally and internationally, such as those organised by Ofsted, the Department for Education, the Local Authority, the National College for Teaching and Leadership, The Institute of Education and British International Schools in Spain, Ibiza and Majorca. She also worked closely with Sir Jim Rose on a review of the Primary Curriculum and contributed to national curriculum writing groups.

We have been very pleased to have worked so closely with Janet for the last two years and look forward to continuing the relationship as we move forward as a school.

We would like to give warm welcome to Mrs Sue Mutter who will be joining our Hunsley Primary team on Monday 27th April, to help us prepare in our countdown to opening in September. Mrs Mutter will also be part of the team carrying out transition visits during the course of the summer.

We are extremely pleased that Mrs Mutter will be supporting the development and learning of our Reception class at Hunsley Primary and to have the benefit of her 12 years of experience and expertise in Early Years and primary settings.

‘I try to ensure all my planned activities are stimulating and challenging. I understand the need to cater for all different learning styles; planning for children with different learning abilities enables children to investigate topics in greater depth. Adopting a cross-curricular approach can be beneficial in an Early Years environment.’

Having worked most recently as a Nursery Nurse at Welton Primary School, supporting children across two busy Reception classes, Mrs Mutter has also spent significant time in Portugal delivering and supporting learning in the Foundation Stage of an International school, the Oporto British School. Her work with children learning English as a foreign language and teaching early phonics and numeracy has been a particular highlight. Mrs Mutter also enjoys helping children to experiment as they play, creating learning by discovery – she is looking forward to establishing an exciting outdoor learning space here at Hunsley Primary’s temporary home, making the very most of the various natural spaces we are lucky to have.

‘I am truly aware of how important these Early Years are in a child’s development. Children should be able to enjoy their learning and have many opportunities to consolidate and use what they already know to learn much more.’
Mrs Mutter will work closely with our Reception Teacher, Rachel Hudson, and other key colleagues, such as our maths and science specialists and teaching assistants, to plan, deliver, observe and assess each week’s provision, ensuring Hunsley Primary children have a stimulating and enabling environment and feel safe, cared for and engaged. She will work with children on a one-to-one, whole class or small group basis, supporting each child with their own individual, unique interests and needs. Mrs Mutter will also be on hand to help with school events, educational visits and extracurricular activities.

‘As an experienced Nursery Nurse Practitioner, I feel I have the right approach with a positive attitude, to help create an enriching, innovative environment where children can reach their full potential.’

We are very excited to announce an international collaborative maths project is set to take place with our Hunsley Primary Reception class this year. Little Big Maths Consultant, Cherri Mosely, will help Hunsley Primary staff in their delivery of an imaginative, playful and, therefore, highly efficient and motivating maths teaching approach for Early Years children.

Let’s Visit Numberland helps all children build a solid, positive bridge to the formal language of maths. Its methods give children a thorough, well-structured understanding of all aspects of the number, quantity and shape in the Early Years framework, helping children build on their own natural mathematical understanding through imaginative play, as well as develop social and creative skills too. The approach was developed in Germany by academics and is used in Early Years settings all over the world. It is designed from a child’s perspective: How do they see the world? What can they build on? How do they think as mathematicians from a very young age?
Let’s Visit Numberland

It is thanks to Liz Russell, Hunsley Trust’s Maths primary transition teacher and Specialist Leader in Education and her extensive work for the Maths Association and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Maths (NCETM), that Cherri Mosely has offered to work with Hunsley Primary to introduce Let’s Visit Numberland to our children. Read more about Liz.

We feel very privileged to be working with Cherri Mosely. Cherri has written a wide variety of mathematics resources for primary teachers. She is also an author for various online publishers. This has included writing early years and primary problems for ‘nrich’ and being a member of the author team for the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) Primary magazine and Early Years magazine, for which she was also editor. Cherri is currently an advisor to leading educational publishers, Rising Stars. She is an Accredited Numicon Consultant and a Professional Development Lead for NCETM. She is also an Accredited Online Trainer for Pearsons. Hunsley Primary will also be developing children’s maths skills through the use of Numicon.

We are particularly excited that Numberland co-creator and international maths research academic, Barbara Schindelhauer, will also be involved in the project with Cherri and Liz, taking a keen interest in how we will use Numberland at Hunsley Primary to engage and excite our pupils to be happy, confident learners of early maths.
What have teachers said about Numberland?

‘Numberland fits in beautifully with the Early Years Curriculum. It is exploratory, learning through play, based on role play, allows children to develop their personal, social and emotional skills and “hands on”’

‘Getting children to love maths is something I know lots of schools find difficult but this type of scheme is ideal for making maths fun!’

Our first Reception class is a very special cohort for us and they will certainly receive some unique opportunities and advantages over the coming years.

Over the next few weeks, there will be a number of events for you and your child to take part in and much ongoing activity, especially on site here at South Hunsley. Our carpark will be transformed over May half term to ensure there is dedicated parking for our primary parents ready for September and we look forward to seeing the building contractors arriving in May, ready to transform our existing building and surrounding outdoor spaces into a bespoke Reception provision for our children. You shall be there from the very beginning, watching the transformation unfold, before your child takes up their place in our brand new school.

We are holding our Hunsley Primary launch event at 1.45pm until 3.00pm on the afternoon of Wednesday 3rd June, where parents and children will have a chance to visit the site, see the refurbishment taking place and even have an opportunity to taste the meals our children will be enjoying in their Reception class! You will be able to meet other families starting with us in September and register with our wraparound care provider to ensure your days are planned out well in advance. Our staff will be there to have further transition conversations which begin next week and you’ll even get to sample the food our pupils will be enjoying at Hunsley Primary!

We are now selecting our brand new technologies ready for Hunsley Primary to open in September. Tablets, robots, wireless provision and touch-screen teaching and learning resources are just some of the exciting devices our children will have access to from the very start of their learning journey with us. Hunsley Primary is to be equipped with this exciting technology from the very outset, each child having their own tablet for early maths, literacy and science, as well as creative and discovery applications.

As always, I am here to discuss any questions or suggestions you have, so please do not hesitate to contact me, either by phone or by email.

Once again, I look forward to welcoming your child to our school and also to the Hunsley Trust and the exciting learning journey ahead of them.

As the new project development plan for Brough South is released, clearly showing the position of our permanent school building, the Department for Education has confirmed that they will be directly funding and driving the completion of our permanent site, having taken over leadership of the development programme on behalf of Hunsley Primary. A design team has been appointed by the Department and the team has already accessed the Brough South site to begin work on planning for the new school.

We have full planning permission granted for Hunsley Primary to be based in the fully refurbished former Youth Centre building on the South Hunsley campus. Contractors have been appointed and are ready to start on the conversion in early May. All work will be finished by August ready for the September opening.

Click here to view the Brough South Site Plan

Families in Brough and across the local area are getting set to join Hunsley Primary, after receiving their offer of a place at the school on 16th April 2015. 30 places were available for the first reception class at the school, which will open on the South Hunsley School site in September 2015, and the school allocated all places on the national primary offer day.

Excitement is building amongst families and South Hunsley’s staff and students as the opening day for the new school draws nearer. Lucy Hudson, Head of Hunsley Primary has been delighted by the response from parents to the opening of the new school.

“I have been thrilled by the positive response from parents applying for places at Hunsley Primary and their enthusiasm for our vision for the school. The families I have met are really excited that Hunsley Primary is so closely connected to South Hunsley and they are really pleased that we have planned to open with only one reception class so their child can get a lot of individual and personal attention and will have access to older children through our local academy partnership with Swanland School and our special relationship with South Hunsley.”

South Hunsley’s secondary staff with primary training will be regular visitors, supporting the primary pupils specifically on developing scientific and mathematical skills. South Hunsley’s sixth form students are also really keen to work with the primary and sixth form students are already signing up as supportive maths and reading volunteers as part of their community contribution work. This includes Tom Ashbridge and Beatrice Wood who will be in sixth form next year and are interested in passing on their Maths expertise to Hunsley Primary pupils.

Tom said: “I can remember being a primary pupil myself. I was at Swanland Primary and we always had people coming into school to help with our learning. It feels right that I can pay something back and help younger pupils myself now. I really love Maths and it would be great to show primary children how interesting Maths can be.”

Beatrice said: “I would like a career in medicine when I’m older because I want to help people. Having a Maths qualifications will be really important to make sure I can achieve this. Maths is a really fascinating subject which helps you to think logically and develop problem solving skills and it would be great to volunteer at Hunsley Primary. It means I get to help people and pass on my passion for Maths at the same time!”

Chris Abbott, Executive Principal at Hunsley Trust has also made a commitment that Hunsley Primary’s pupils will have access to some of East Yorkshire’s very best primary leaders in education, with collaborative working arrangements established with two local Ofsted Outstanding primary schools – Swanland Primary School and Hook Primary School.

“We have promised our parents that opening Hunsley Primary with just one reception class really will be a win win situation for the pupils. We realise it is very important to parents that their children have access to older role models and parents seem to agree that we have created a good blend that offers their children a gentler transition from pre-school to school. Hunsley Primary pupils will get plenty of dedicated time alone as a reception class in their own distinct, separate and safe reception-only school building, as well as, taking part in organised activities with older primary pupils from partner schools thanks to the unique arrangements we have put in place.”

Chris Huscroft, executive headteacher at Swanland Primary School, said: “I am really looking forward to working collaboratively with Hunsley Primary and the Hunsley Trust leadership team to help them successfully launch a new local primary. We’ll be working very closely together in Hunsley Primary’s early days to establish a partnership that will involve teachers and children working together across the schools.

“Swanland School already works closely with South Hunsley School and we are delighted to be able to extend this arrangement to Hunsley Primary, a school that shares our values for high standards in education. We’ll work in a long term partnership with the new school to continue to maximise local opportunities to deliver an outstanding education for the children and families living in the Swanland and Brough areas.”

Parents planning to send their children to Hunsley Primary are now seeing the vision become a reality, after the first teachers have been appointed. Following the recent announcment of the appointment of the Head Teacher, Lucy Hudson, plans are now really beginning to pick up pace ahead of the school opening for reception pupils in September 2015, with Rachel Hudson appointed as the reception teacher and Sue Mutter as the school’s nursery nurse.

The appointments come on the back of the Department for Education being very positive about the development of Hunsley Primary and schools minister Lord Nash signing off the funding agreement for the school.

Sue Mutter, nursery nurse, said: “I get a lot of satisfaction from helping children to develop as independent learners and encouraging them to become curious about the world around them. My nursery nurse experience is well matched to Hunsley Primary’s approach to child-led learning and I am looking forward to getting started at the school. I am really keen to support with planning lessons to ensure the right resources and educational goals are in place for children to learn, discover, explore and be challenged at school so they can excel and have a really enjoyable time at school.”

Hunsley Primary will be based on the same site as South Hunsley in Melton for the first year, while its state-of-the-art new home on the £200m Brough South development is built featuring a unique science discovery centre. The school will move into its new home on Brough South in September 2016.

Rachel Hudson, reception teacher, has a clear brief to provide an outstanding level of education in an environment where children can reach their potential and thrive. She said: “I am very excited to be appointed as the reception teacher at Hunsley Primary. It is a wonderful opportunity for both the staff and children to start a new journey together. “I am very proud to be part of the opening team who will build the foundations of what I know will be an outstanding school. I have already started preparations for the school opening in September and I am very much looking forward to meeting the new reception children in their current nurseries. We are going to be very privileged to have a new school with brand new and up to date resources and technologies which will offer the children unique and exciting learning opportunities.

“I specialise in early years education and I am confident that myself, Sue and Lucy can deliver an outstanding level of teaching and create an environment where children can be engaged, inspired and enjoy learning. I am very much looking forward to September and the future of Hunsley Primary.”

Lucy Hudson added: “I have been overwhelmed by the positive response from parents applying for places at Hunsley Primary and it has been such a pleasure to meet all of the children and talk to them about their interests and ideas when it comes to starting school. The appointment of Sue and Rachel reinforces the fact that the vision for Hunsley Primary is now a reality and I am confident that our new staff team offers the best possible mix of skills and expertise to provide children with the very best start in school life with us.”

Chris Abbott, Executive Principal of South Hunsley School which heads up Hunsley Trust, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the strong endorsement we have received from the Department for Education in relation to Hunsley Primary. They have been incredibly supportive in terms of working with us to ensure the school gets off to the best possible start when it opens in September 2015, as well as working closely with us to ensure our new building is ready in time for September 2016.”

The vision for Hunsley Primary is to excel in science and maths, but with a broad and balanced curriculum, with an objective of helping children to become lively, enquiring individuals with creative minds as well as being happy at school. With a national priority to improve science and maths skills, the school’s opening couldn’t be more timely.

The statutory consultation period for Hunsley Primary closed on Monday 2nd February 2015. The consultation process took place over 8 weeks and the consultation report has now been released.

Two phases of statutory consultation were organised: Phase 1, the main phase, presenting the plans, policies and the vision of the Trust for the primary school; and Phase 2, extending the consultation to incorporate the Reception-only model in the proposals and enable all stakeholders concerned to voice their responses and to be able to offer feedback to the revised plans. Plans were revised as a direct result of feedback received during Phase 1 of the consultation.

You can read more in the full consultation report.

Thank you to everyone who has responded during our consultation period. Your response to our plans has been very positive and there has been wide spread support for Hunsley Primary from all stakeholders. The purpose of consultation is for the DfE to collect and consider feedback and suggestions from all stakeholders on our proposals for Hunsley Primary.

Our consultation included the proposal to open with both a Reception and Year 1 class. This was in response to the original housing release plans on the new Brough South development. The first phase of housing was due for release in early 2015 with new families anticipated in the area as early as Summer 2015. As the Brough South development is now facing a delay, a question has been raised by as to the necessity for Hunsley Primary to open with a Year 1 class in September 2015.

Following discussions with the DfE and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, it seems appropriate to consider revising our plans and open in September 2015 with one class to cater for reception aged children who are starting school for the first time. East Riding of Yorkshire Council has also expressed support for this Reception only model.

The DfE has asked us to extend our consultation period to give all stakeholders the opportunity to comment on this amendment to our proposed plans for Hunsley Primary. This extended consultation period will close on Monday 2nd February 2015.

Children and parents had a great time at the Hunsley Primary Open Morning on Saturday 20 September. Families were given a sneak preview of what school life will be like at the event which was organised to give an insight into the style of teaching that will be adopted when the school opens in September 2015.

The first event saw children meeting owls and meerkats from Bridlington Animal Park, as part of the interactive learning session which allowed them to take part in an engaging learning journey aimed at showing how Hunsley Primary will help them become lively, enquiring individuals with creative, problem solving minds. The first open day focused on introducing parents and pupils to one of the school’s themes, with the first one being called “The World of Owls”. Those who missed the first event, can attend the next open day on Saturday, November 8 between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

Find out below what families thought of the Hunsley Primary Event:

Dawn and Lee Roberts, of Elloughton, brought their daughter Matylda, aged 3, along to the first open day. Mrs Roberts said: “We were really impressed with the open day for Hunsley Primary. There was a really good range of activities taking place on the day, which gave us an insight into the approach the school is going to take towards learning.

“I thought all the teachers were very well informed about how the school is going to be run and it was a really a good insight into what the various options are for primary education in this area.”

Katie and Jon Page, of Brough, also visited the open day with their son Jack, aged 3, and said: “We are really hoping to send Jack to Hunsley Primary when it opens next September. We have been watching the plans for the school develop in recent months and the open day has confirmed our expectations of what the school is going to be like.

“It was a great opportunity to meet some of the staff involved in setting the school up and to ask questions about enrolment. Jack really enjoyed the open day as well, there was so much to do and experience on the day.”

Everyone will have a chance to put forward their views about Hunsley Primary during our consultation process but we want to go further than that. We are looking to create a forum of Hunsley Primary Ambassadors; people who we can go to to discuss our plans in detail, people who will help us shape Hunsley Primary to be of most benefit for the Brough community, people who will carry on and work with us after Hunsley Primary has opened.

Whether you’re a parent, grandparent or just live in the local community, we would welcome your input. Please get in touch and let us know if you are interested in being an Ambassador. You can get in touch via our contact form or ring South Hunsley School on (01482) 631208 and leave your details.

We are delighted to confirm that the Department for Education has today given us the approval to open Hunsley Primary and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families who have offered their support and expressed an interest in joining our new school. Our move into the pre-opening phase for Hunsley Primary has only been made possible because of the community support we received.

We are now at the start of a new and exciting journey as we start to turn Hunsley Primary into a reality and start to recruit our first intake of students for September 2015. We will be organising a series of Open Events in the Autumn term to give you a chance to see for yourselves what learning will be like for children at our school and we hope to get back out into the community again to speak to as many parents as possible.

We’ll keep you updated as we progress our plans and we hope to see you at one of our events.

Read our press release to find out more