Welcome to Okehampton Primary School and hope your association with the school will be a long and enjoyable one. Okehampton Primary School is a successful school where children are at the heart of all we do. As such we commit to achieving the highest possible academic standards alongside the development of children as confident, caring and responsible citizens.
At Okehampton we firmly believe that a key factor in helping children develop and achieve lies in the relationship between home and school. Parents are always welcome in school and we work hard to ensure there are as many opportunities as possible for parents/cares to work with us. Parents are welcome to meet with teachers both formally and informally: we aim to keep parents informed through our weekly newsletter (Fridays) and regularly consult with parents for their view on various school issues.
The team of staff very much look forward to working with you and your family over the coming years.
Request for Paper Copies
We hope that you find these links and information useful, if you have any questions, please get in touch. If you would like a free paper version of any items you see on our website, please contact the school office:
Telephone: 01837 52866
Term Dates
You can find our full list of term dates for 2021/2022 on the page link below
Parking in and around School
Most schools’ do not allow any parking within the school grounds. Due to the nature of our site we do allow parents who are Blue Disability Badge holders for either themselves or their child, to park for a short period at the beginning and end of each day to collect children under certain circumstances. Please call into the school office if you would us to consider a request for access onto the school grounds.
All other parents must however, not drive onto school premises. We must ensure the safety of our children and it is therefore necessary for us to restrict the amount of vehicular access to the school grounds when the children are entering and leaving the premises. We would also ask that you do not park on the road approaching the school gates or the mini roundabout. These are public roads and are often patrolled by Civil Enforcement Officers and the Police, who will issue tickets if the correct Highway Code is not followed by motorists.
In order to help parents with parking we have permit arrangements with both the Council for parking in Waitrose car park and Okehampton Rugby for parking in their car park. For permits for the Waitrose car park, parents need to apply through the school office and these are free. For the Rugby Club parents need to apply directly to the Rugby Club and there is an annual fee.
We would of course promote that as many children as possible should walk to school as the fresh air and exercise on a daily basis gives huge health benefits, helps reduce carbon footprint and is free!
Should you require vehicular access at anytime to collect a sick child, please use the intercom located at the school gate and they will be opened for you. Please ensure that you drive with the utmost care as children may be around the grounds during a play time or PE session and our nursery children could be leaving or entering the grounds
Attendance
Please follow the page link for all the information you need on Attendance at Okehampton Primary School.
Pupil Behaviour
Our rationale behind our positive pupil behaviour and anti-bullying policy is to provide a consistency of approach and practice to the care, well-being and control of pupils. The policy sets our a behavioural framework for all members of the school community.
You can view the whole policy by following the page link:
Mobile Phone Use at School
At school we are aware of some of the safety related to our ‘modern’ society and that some parents allow their children to carry a mobile phone for after school arrangement. However, the school has a duty of care to ensure that the school’s learning is in no way interrupted and that safety of all is paramount. Please follow the page link to download and complete the Mobile Phone Use consent form.
Emergency School Lockdown Procedures
Our school is committed to the safety and education of all our pupils and our priority is to keep the children safe at all times. We also want to clearly communicate with parents about safety issues when they arise. An Emergency School Lockdown Procedure is a response to an internal or external incident, which could be a threat to the safety of staff and children in the school. The following document, sets out the details of what this procedure might incur at our school.
Home/School Communication
Early Years and Key Stage 1 Contact Books
Children in Reception class are given a small blue contact book. This book is for parents to note any day to day information about your child that you wish the class teacher to be aware of. Some examples used in the contact books include “My child is going to have tea at a friend’s house tonight” or “My child has had bad dreams in the night and so may be a little tired today.” Please use this book as often as you wish so that you can keep staff informed of any issues or events at home. We ask you to hand the book directly to a staff member every morning whenever you have made an entry and then staff will respond to your comments that day.
Friday Open Mornings
Once the children have settled into school, we invite all parents and carers into school every Friday morning from 8.45am - 9am. This is our regular open morning, where parents and carers are invited into class to see your child’s Learning Journey, displays in the classroom and photographs of the activities the children have been participating in over the week. Open Mornings are a lovely time to share your child’s learning with them and allow the children an opportunity to show their parents what they are proud of doing in school.
Parent/Carer Forums
At Okehampton Primary School, we hold regular Parent / Carer Forum meetings where any parent or carer is invited to come and express their views on a range of issues within the school. We welcome as many viewpoints from parents as possible and so hope that you will be able to attend some of these meetings in the future. Meetings are held in a relaxed informal setting with tea, coffee and biscuits provided! We also try to provide a crèche facility for those who wish to attend with pre-school children. Please ensure that you let the school office know in advance if you would require this facility, to ensure we can accommodate everybody.
Parent Mail
This is a free service which allows the school to send you a variety of information and messages, via email and SMS. We currently send out our weekly Newsletter and PTFA events information. Details on any school closure during adverse weather is particularly helpful for parents and carers. School is able to keep in touch with parents only if contact details up to date! Please get in contact if you need further assistance.
School Trips
We know children really enjoy school trips and it is often when some of the best learning happens. Memories are created that can last a lifetime. Learning from direct experiences is fun and inspiring for children and teachers alike.
We like to do lots of trips in all year groups , whether out and about locally or further afield. We do realise however that the costs can mount up for parents. For this reason we limit the amount requested voluntarily from parents during one year to £25 maximum for each children from EYFS to Year 5. During Year 6 there are two short residential trips. Staff are encouraged to find the best value for money when planning trips . The amount parents contribute does not pay for staff to attend the trip or compensate for parents who do not contribute.
You can find the relevant consent forms by following the page link below:
ParentView Ofsted
Please follow the page link for more information on how you can tell Ofsted what you think of your child's school.