The Durham Dales Federation is a federation of small rural primary schools, which was formed in September 2023. Staff from all schools work together to share expertise and to plan and deliver the curriculum. Our subject leaders co-ordinate their subjects across all the schools within our federation, which ensures that we can offer the same high-quality experiences to all pupils in our schools.
The Upper Dales schools of Wearhead and St John’s Chapel work together on a regular basis each week. At the start of the week, each school works in their own building and on Thursdays and Fridays, the schools come together on the St John’s Chapel Primary School site. On Federation days, we take advantage of the opportunities to work in larger groups with other children of the same age, and we often arrange visits and visitors for these days so that everyone can participate.
If you are free this Friday, come along and support these young musicians.
View this PostHamsterley Primary School Despite the cold, Class 1 had fun collecting leaves to put onto 'Spike the Hedgehog's' house before winter. We also made clay hedgehogs
View this PostHamsterley Primary School Well done to all of the star award winners!
View this PostCongratulations to Our Certificate Winners at St John's Chapel & Wearhead! We also had some 'Good to Be Green' certificates for some children have shown super behaviour this week. Keep it up!
View this PostWearhead and St John's Chapel schools Children in Need - Class 1 We came to school in colourful clothes and had a fabulous time completing some Children in Need activities. We particularly enjoyed decorating and eating biscuits!
View this PostHamsterley Primary School The children all had a fantastic day for Children in Need! The children enjoyed doing different Children in Need themed activities and wearing bright colours to show their support. Thank you for all the donations.
View this PostHamsterley Primary School EYFS have done fantastic writing and sound blending. We are so proud of ourselves
View this PostSt John's Chapel & Wearhead Our KS2 pupils had an incredible time during the Stone Age workshop! They explored ancient artefacts, participated in interactive activities, and learned so much about early human history. From handling tools to engaging in role-play, it was a morning full of discovery and fun. A huge thank you to the workshop leader for bringing history to life! #stoneage #historyComeAlive #learningisfun
View this PostCookery Club Fun at Hamsterley Primary School! Tonight in cookery club, Class 1 made some delicious raspberry cheesecake. Well done, everyone! #HamsterleyPrimary #CookeryClub
View this PostHamsterley Primary School What a fantastic day EYFS and KS1 from all schools in our federation have had at Beamish Museum! First we explored the farm, had a ride on the bus and the open topped tram. After, we then had an opportunity to take part in a Victorian lesson in the infant class. All children had to sit in silence and complete a reading, writing and arithmetic lesson. After that we had a little look at The Cooperative toy shop within the Museum town.
View this PostEYFS and KS1 have had a lovely day at Beamish Museum. All schools had the opportunity to explore different parts of the museum before coming together to take part in a Victorian lesson in the infant classroom. The teacher was very strict and she introduced the children to how reading, English and maths would have been taught in Victorian times.
View this PostWearhead Primary School In DT, class 1 have been selecting appropriate tools to prepare food. They then described the food by its appearance, taste and texture.
View this PostSt John's Chapel Primary- Class 1 In Design & Technology, we have started a new topic called 'Chop, Slice and Mash'. We investigated sources of food by sorting food into two groups: plant sources or animal sources. We recorded our groupings in a table.
View this PostSt John's Chapel Primary- Class 1 In our Topic lessons, we have been learning all about the Victorian era. We worked in pairs to decide whether statements about Victorian schools were true or false. We also investigated two first-hand accounts and identified how the point of view of the Victorian teacher differed to the point of view of the Victorian student. We can't wait to learn more about Victorian schools when we visit Beamish Museum!
View this PostHamsterley Primary School Class 2 had a brilliant time this afternoon taking part in a Stone Age workshop! They enjoyed using Stone Age tools, looking at different artefacts, listening to stories and dressing up.
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