Games Morning: The Perfect End to Hook Week 🎲

9th January 2026Laura Parsons

What a fantastic way to finish our Hook Week!

This morning we were delighted to welcome so many of our grown-ups into school to join us for a games morning. The children loved sharing their favourite board games, explaining the rules and, most importantly, playing together with friends and family. There was lots of laughter, teamwork and friendly competition – a really joyful atmosphere to end a busy and exciting week.

As well as being great fun, the morning also helped us begin important conversations about togetherness, fairness and belonging. Playing games gave the children opportunities to take turns, listen to others, negotiate rules and support one another – all skills that link beautifully to our new expedition.

Our guiding question for this expedition is:

“Diverse Doncaster – Where do I belong?”

Over the coming weeks, the children will be exploring what makes Doncaster special, the many different people and communities who live here, and how we all belong in our own unique ways. The games morning was a lovely starting point, showing how shared activities can bring people together and help us feel connected.

As the expedition develops, the children will be working towards a final product that celebrates Doncaster, our community and our sense of belonging. We can’t wait to share more details as their ideas and learning grow.

Thank you so much to all the adults who joined us this morning – your support really does make experiences like this extra special. It was the perfect way to round off Hook Week and launch us into an exciting new learning journey together.

Hook Week Vehicle Showcase

9th January 2026Emma Powell

During Hook Week, the children in class were treated to some very special visitors as we kicked off our new expedition titled “We Are on the Move.” To launch our learning in an exciting and memorable way, our school playground was transformed into our very own vehicle showcase!

The children had the fantastic opportunity to get up close with a wide variety of vehicles, each one sparking curiosity, conversation, and lots of excitement. The showcase included a tractor, a camper van, a beautiful vintage car, and even a fire engine. One of the highlights was a police car that was once in operation all the way in America, which the children found especially fascinating as they learned about how vehicles can be used differently around the world.

The children absolutely loved exploring the vehicles, asking questions, and imagining where each one might take them. It was a brilliant hands-on experience that perfectly set the scene for our new expedition and helped bring the theme of movement and travel to life.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Parkhouse, who organised and arranged for many of the vehicles to come into school. His support helped make this experience truly special for the children.

We are so excited to see where our “We Are on the Move” expedition will take us next and can’t wait to continue our learning journey together!

Hook Week Vehicle Showcase

9th January 2026Elouise Chadwick

During Hook Week, the children in class were treated to some very special visitors as we kicked off our new expedition titled “We Are on the Move.” To launch our learning in an exciting and memorable way, our school playground was transformed into our very own vehicle showcase!

The children had the fantastic opportunity to get up close with a wide variety of vehicles, each one sparking curiosity, conversation, and lots of excitement. The showcase included a tractor, a camper van, a beautiful vintage car, and even a fire engine. One of the highlights was a police car that was once in operation all the way in America, which the children found especially fascinating as they learned about how vehicles can be used differently around the world.

The children absolutely loved exploring the vehicles, asking questions, and imagining where each one might take them. It was a brilliant hands-on experience that perfectly set the scene for our new expedition and helped bring the theme of movement and travel to life.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Parkhouse, who organised and arranged for many of the vehicles to come into school. His support helped make this experience truly special for the children.

We are so excited to see where our “We Are on the Move” expedition will take us next and can’t wait to continue our learning journey together!

Sharing our Stories: 09/01/2026

9th January 2026Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful work this week

Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!

To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.

Top of the Blogs

Reception Christmas Performance @ Green Top

Reception Christmas Party Day @ Plover

Mayan Mask @ Carcroft School

Ethics in Action: X30 Admiral take the floor @ XP

NJS Library @ Norton Juniors

Words into Art @ XP East

Weekly Update @ XP Gateshead

An exciting visit from a Game Expert @ Norton Infants

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

An Exciting Visit from a Game Expert

8th January 2026Lauren Gate

This afternoon KS1 had a very exciting visit with a very special expert – a professional game designer and creator – who shared their fascinating world of board games with our students.

During the visit, expanded on their hook week knowledge and the children learned about the materials that go into making a board game, from the colorful cards to the intricate game boards and even the tiny tokens that make playing so much fun. Our guest also explained the step-by-step process of creating a board game, from the initial idea and design to the final product.

It was an inspiring visit that encouraged our students to think creatively, work collaboratively, and see the exciting possibilities in designing and playing games. We are definitely very excited to get stuck in with our product now!!

Becoming Scientists in the Classroom

6th January 2026Claire Goodyer

This week, the classroom has been full of excitement as the children began exploring our new science case study through practical, hands-on learning experiences.

Yesterday, the children worked collaboratively in their groups to make their own batches of play dough. Some mixtures were more successful than others, but every group had plenty of fun experimenting, problem-solving, and learning along the way. Today, we built on this by exploring how we can change the shape of our play dough, transforming it into a variety of different objects by twisting, rolling squashing and stretching.

Alongside this, we have been investigating a range of other materials. The children have really impressed me with how quickly they are picking up and confidently using scientific vocabulary to describe the properties of materials. Words such as hard, smooth, see-through, waterproof, bendy, and rough are already becoming part of their everyday discussions and they have been using these properties to group materials.

It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, teamwork, and growing confidence as young scientists as they explore, experiment, and ask thoughtful questions about the world around them.

Thinking Like Scientists

6th January 2026Laura Parsons

This week, we discovered that for one of our case studies we are going to be scientists — and we wasted no time getting started!

Yesterday, the children took part in a materials carousel, exploring a range of different materials. We focused on developing scientific vocabulary and identifying key properties such as hard, flexible, waterproof and smooth. The children handled each material carefully, talked about what they noticed and began to explain why different materials are suitable for different purposes.

Today, we applied that learning in a more practical way. Working together, the children explored a variety of different games, thinking carefully about what materials they were made from and why those materials had been chosen. There was lots of thoughtful discussion as children justified their ideas using the scientific vocabulary they had been learning.

Class Five don’t know it yet, but all of this research is going to play a really important role in our next expedition — and in shaping our final product. An exciting start to our scientific journey!

Character Traits Top Trumps

6th January 2026Laura Parsons

This week, our class have been busy designing and creating their very own Character Traits Top Trumps cards – and they’ve been a huge hit!

The children began by revisiting the character traits that are important to us as a class, such as kindness, courage, integrity and compassion. We talked about what these traits really mean, what they look like in action, and why they matter both in school and beyond.

Each child then chose traits to feature on their cards, carefully thinking about how strong each one was and justifying their choices. This sparked lots of brilliant discussion, reflection and respectful debate, as children explained why one trait might score higher than another and shared examples from real life.

Once complete, the children enjoyed playing their games together, practising turn-taking, fair play and clear communication – all while celebrating positive character traits. It was lovely to see how proud they were of their creations and how confidently they could talk about the values behind them.

As part of hook week, the cards also included a subtle clue about what our next expedition might be — and the children are already full of theories!

A fantastic mix of creativity, thinking and character development – well done, everyone!

What is our world made of?

5th January 2026Laura Parsons

Today, our Year 2 children launched their new expedition, with an exciting, hands-on science afternoon.

We began with a story called The Little House Made of Everything, which helped children think about the different materials used in buildings and everyday objects. As we explored the house together, children discussed why walls are made from brick, why windows are made from glass, and what might happen if a house was made from just one material.

The children then took part in a Feel and Describe activity, where they explored a range of everyday materials including wood, plastic, metal, glass, rock and card. Using their sense of touch, they described how each material felt, using words such as hard, soft, smooth and rough.

Another activity challenged children to find out whether materials could change shape. They tested materials by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching them, and talked about which materials changed easily and which stayed the same.

One of the highlights was our Build a Job challenge. Children looked at real-life photos of houses, bridges, chairs and windows and decided which material would be best for each job. They shared their ideas confidently, explaining their choices using scientific language and clear reasoning.

To finish the afternoon, children explored their own classroom, identifying objects and naming the materials they were made from. This helped them connect their science learning to the place where they belong every day.

It was a fantastic start to our expedition — full of curiosity, thoughtful talk and hands-on learning. We’re excited to keep building on this as we continue to explore our community and the world around us.

We’re on the Move!

5th January 2026Elouise Chadwick

Classes 1 and 2 have officially begun their exciting new expedition, “We’re on the Move,” and what a fantastic start it has been!

Our very first mission was to become explorers right on our doorstep. The children headed outside to carry out a survey, discovering what we could find passing by our school. Working collaboratively, they carefully observed and recorded the different vehicles they saw along the way.

From cars and vans to buses and bikes, the children were completely immersed in the experience. They took turns counting, discussing, and recording their findings, demonstrating brilliant teamwork and communication skills throughout the activity.

And the best part? The smiles! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much excitement over watching cars pass by. The children’s enthusiasm was infectious, and their curiosity set the perfect tone for our expedition ahead.

We can’t wait to see where “We’re on the Move” takes us next!