THE Upper Wharfedale Primary Federation hosted workshops at Grassington Primary School for parents of the four schools to learn more about supporting their children with the maths and English curriculums.

North Yorkshire County Council’s educational adviser for Maths, Julie Pattison, and Heather Russell for English, each led workshops on the latest curriculums for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils.

Besides highlighting the expectations in SAT tests, there was an emphasis on the positive ways that parents can support their children at home, not just by helping with homework but also reading together and incorporating fun games into everyday life.

From understanding the split diagraph to superfast solutions to maths problems, parents attempted to tackle aspects of their children’s curriculum for themselves, gaining greater understanding of the breadth and depth of current teaching and learning.

As some of the methods and practices are very different from how parents were taught, everyone who attended found the evening invaluable in being able to provide the best support for their children from Reception to Year 6.

Co-headteacher of UWPF, Mrs Chris Boxall, and members of Grassington PTA helped with providing childcare at the school, so parents could attend the workshops.

Mrs Boxall said, “Having four schools in our Federation provides great opportunities for valuable joint events like this, which help pupils and parents get the most from our schools.

"All the parents I spoke to were incredibly positive about the workshops and many were quite surprised how much our youngsters really take in their stride!”

The Upper Wharfedale Primary Federation (UWPF) comprises Burnsall, Cracoe and Rylstone C of E, Grassington C of E and Kettlewelll, all rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

In the latest Ofsted, at Burnsall Primary School, UWPF was specifically commended for the way staff from all four schools work closely together and support one another with curriculum development and assessments and having cross federation leaders in Maths, Literacy and other curriculum subjects.

In terms of the wider educational experience for pupils, the Ofsted report also pointed to the obvious benefits of joint learning events between the four schools of the Federation, which enable the pupils to access new experiences and make new friends.