Dear Parents,

Welcome to Loddiswell School.

We believe that we have a happy, caring
school where every effort is made to provide the best possible education for your children.

In this booklet we have tried to include all
the information that you will need, and I
hope that you will find the answers to your
most important questions.

Please pop in to school or give us a ring if
you would like to know anything else, or if
you and your child would like to visit the
school.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Judith Holden
Headteacher

Welcome to Loddiswell Primary School. We are a small primary school with a keen and highly professional staff, supported by enthusiastic and caring governors and parents. We exist to serve the educational needs of each child in the village and surrounding area. We can only succeed if we work in partnership with parents.

The school received an OFSTED inspection in March 2004 for which we received a very favourable report.

We are...
Head Teacher Mrs Judith Holden
Teaching Staff
Class 1 Mrs Tara Letham/Mrs Tamara Mortimer
Class 2 and Mrs Judith Holden
Class 3 Mr. David Watson/Mrs Sadie Medway Music Mrs Hilary Hudson
Classroom Assistants Mrs Sue Slaughter
Miss Katie Hine
Mrs Joanna Acourt
Mrs Eeles Willetts
Mrs. Josie Mackenzie
Mrs Bevery Lywood
Administrator Mrs Jane Hosegood
Kitchen Assistant Mrs Wendy Staddon
Caretaker, Crossing Patrol Mrs Diane Hine
Meal-time Assistants Mrs Diane Hine
Cleaner Mrs Val Garland
School Governors
The Governors are responsible for the overall direction and development of the school. They work extremely hard for the benefit of the children in the school. Full Governor Meetings are held twice each term and The Annual Report to Parents is given in the Autumn Term each year. The Governing Body consists of elected members, or nominees, of Devon County Council, South Hams District Council and the representatives of parents and teaching staff. The present membership of the Governing Body from September 2003 is as follows:

Mr Robert Van Es Local Authority Chairman
Mrs Nicky Wadey Parent Governor
Mr John Hornsby Co-opted Governor
Mr Paul Harvey Local Authority
Vacancy Minor Authority
Mr David Watson Teacher Governor
Mrs Dianne Hine Non Teaching Governor
Mr Roger Skane. Co-opted Governor
Dr Karen Ballantine Parent Governor
Mr Malcolm Montague Parent Governor Vice Chair
Mrs Judith Holden Headteacher
Mrs Jo Acourt Clerk to Governors

Other useful addresses:
Director of Education, Arts and Libraries
South Devon Divisional Office
County Hall
EXETER EX2 4QG Telephone 01392 382000

'The best for each child.
The best from each child'.

SPECIFIC AIMS

· To stimulate an interest in, and love of, learning with each child, working towards their full potential.

· To engender a personal expectation of good working habits and responsibility for quality, meeting the demands of the National Curriculum.

· To ensure that the curriculum is as balanced and rich as possible, stimulating sporting, aesthetic, spiritual, artistic and creative development for each child.

· To engender a sense of pride in personal achievement, in the school, and in Loddiswell, equipping each child with confidence and self-esteem, upon which to build individual achievement through life.

· To equip each child with a clear moral framework from within which to view the world, encouraging consideration of the contributions of others and developing an understanding of the importance of individual differences.

· To provide a safe, welcoming and stimulating environment, with shared ownership between staff, governors, parents and children and to provide a clear and consistent expectation of acceptable behaviour.

· To forge a partnership with parents and families, encouraging wider links with the local community and building successful links with the pre-school and secondary phases of each child's life.

Loddiswell Primary School has three classrooms, a craft/small teaching area, a multi-purpose hall, a library, a field, garden, playground, kiln and office accommodation. We are very fortunate indeed in having a rich variety of good quality resources, but we are actively seeking relocation and a new school building with joint accommodation for pre-school, on our school field.

Starting or transferring school is a serious matter for most children and parents. We are keen to make this time happy and successful for everyone and have a clear policy on admitting children to the school. This is supported by a full programme of induction. We are happy for children and their families to visit us at almost any time - you won't really know what the school is like until you have spent a little time with us.

Our admissions policy is in line with that of Devon's policy in that children are admitted to the school either at the start of the academic year in September or in January. The children are admitted on the basis of their age. Those with fifth birthdays between 1st September and 28th February are admitted at the start of the Autumn Term. Those with fifth birthdays between 1st March and 31st August are admitted in January. All children are offered a full programme of visits beforehand. We strive to provide an individual and carefully planned programme and environment for all children.

School numbers fluctuate, but there are usually about eighty children on roll in September each year. Age group numbers vary from year to year. As a consequence there are mixed age classes in the school and it is sometimes necessary to adjust class numbers by moving small groups of children to the next class or retaining them in their classes to achieve a balanced school. We aim to teach children in class sizes as small as possible.

Pupils from outside the area can be admitted provided there are still places available after all pupils from within the area have been allocated a place and the total number of pupils of statutory age at the school will not exceed our given limit.

If spare places are available, priority will be given to parents who will have a child already attending the school at the time of admission, then distance and circumstances of the journey to school will be taken into account. Extenuating medical and social circumstances may also be considered. In all these cases transport arrangements and costs are the responsibility of the parents.

You should check at the school if you are in doubt as to which is your local school and should note that the definitive area map is available at the Area Education Office for inspection.