A main focus in negotiations was to ensure that we could provide a better structure and consistent level of education for our older children. From September Year 6s from Hope will be bought by minibus to join the Edale Year 6 for morning lessons at Edale with Mrs Winfield, reducing the size of Hope’s oldest class whilst increase the size of Edale’s. This group of eleven children will receive the benefits of a single year group class for their English and maths and our main classroom will once again be full of older children. Focus can therefore be on academic achievement at Key Stage 2 and the important task of preparing these children for progression on to secondary school. Afternoons for the older children will be spent at Hope where all the Year 4, 5 and 6s from both schools will join up for RE, art, sports, history, geography, music and personal health / social education. Mrs Dunne, our current Monday Class 2 teacher will be involved in teaching this class at Hope, so there will be a familiar face for Edale children there.
The details for our Year 3 children are yet to be finalised but it is likely they will remain at Edale each morning, receiving their core education from Mrs Garmeson. Gradually over the autumn term they will spend more afternoons at Hope, joining their counterparts in Hope’s middle class for sports, music and art etc.