STAYNOR HALL ACADEMY NEWSLETTER
Friday 16th January 2026
STAYNOR HALL ACADEMY NEWSLETTER
Friday 16th January 2026
Dear Families
We were delighted to host our very first Baby Group session this morning! It was wonderful to welcome 12 babies and their parents into our school community.
Thanks to the hard work of FOSHA, we have created a dedicated, safe space for local parents to socialise while their little ones play. We are incredibly proud to offer this new provision and look forward to seeing it grow.
When: Every other Friday morning (meet at the school main reception) see poster below for dates
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Congratulations to the children in KS2 who took part in the local cross country challenge, I am delighted to share that we were the overall winners! Children across Year 4-6 took part and when all points were collated Staynor Hall has won the most points. Every child was awarded a medal and we have a wonderful certificate for school. We are very proud of all of our children's achievements and it was a pleasure to see the joy on their faces when they returned from the competition this week.
Due to concerns we have, the decision has been made that for the time being we will not be posting messages on X. We are currently exploring other social media platform options and will update you when a decision is made. We hope you understand and support this decision.
Staynor Hall has been selected as one of the organisations Tesco is supporting this time round with their 'Stronger Starts' initiative. This is in Selby Tesco and it is the blue tokens you can post as you leave. All money received from this will go into continuing to develop our outdoor, sensory garden area. We thank you in advance for your support with this and would welcome you spreading the word with friends and family who may shop there.
Have a lovely weekend, kind regards
Mrs Winter
If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of a child in school please contact myself,
Mrs Cowling or Ms Steunou who are the safeguarding leads.
Apple AirTag and tracking children on school trips
it has been brought to our attention both locally and nationally that parents/carers are using devices such as the Apple AirTag to track children on school residentials/trips/visits/outings. Other devices can also include electronic watches that are essentially tracking devices with the capability of sending video footage from the device back to the person tracking i.e. parent. Such devices have the potential to post locations of children’s whereabouts on social media. We are therefore advising schools to include this in the consent slip which parents sign prior to taking part in a trip that such devices will not be allowed under any circumstances and must not be hidden in pockets/bags etc. If any tracking devices are found on pupils they will not be allowed on the trip and will be returned to school.
Apple have released the statement below which can be found on their website:
“AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products”
We are an allergy aware school.
Nuts are prohibited on school site, and should not be put in children's packed lunches or brought in as a playtime snack
Thank you
Please can we ask that your child does not ride their bikes or scooters on the school grounds.
Children are not play on the wooden trim trail before and after school.
Children are not play football on the field and playground before or after school.
As the school continues to grow the playground is getting busier and busier and it is important we keep everyone safe.
We would also like to encourage parents and children to not cross roads where visibility is reduced to ensure that roads are clear before crossing.
January - March - Tesco Stronger Starts. Blue Token Voting.
5th February - No After School Club available.
16th - 20th February - Half Term (School closed to all)
6th March - Teacher Training (School closed to pupils)
27th March - Last day of school
30th March - 10th April - Easter Holidays (Closed to all)
13th April - School reopens
What's Cooking?
I have continued working with Team Nidd this week in celebration of the Chinese New Year which starts on 17th February and ends on 3rd March (15 day celebration). 2026 is the year of the horse, in celebration of fire and energy.
The children enjoyed making Chinese Noodles and ate them in Cook School (using chopsticks). They also enjoyed eating some prawn crackers and learning about some Chinese traditions.
The children were introduced to the EatWell Guide and got the opportunity to independently use measuring spoons. They also looked at a globe and enjoyed finding the UK and China. They also made some beautiful lanterns which they took home.
They have all been amazing and I look forward to working with Team Swale next week.
Mrs Soper
Cook School Lead