Okehampton Primary School & Foundation Unit

Okehampton Primary is situated in a traditional market town surrounded by the beautiful National Park of Dartmoor. Over recent years the town has expanded and is seen as a popular place to live, being within easy travelling distance of both Exeter and Plymouth.

Our purpose-built school was opened in 1991 on a six-acre site and the building provides an extremely attractive learning environment. The original 17 classrooms were built around two central shared areas and we are fortunate to have a purpose-built drama/music room, a separate PE hall and nursery.

Our school is committed to creating a happy and safe environment that enables the whole school community to achieve their potential. We consider that everyone enriches the life of the school and is special.

• To create a happy, secure and caring school where high standards of learning, behaviour, and discipline are expected.
• To ensure our children acquire the knowledge and skills that enable them to become independent, successful, caring and responsible citizens in a multi-cultural and fast changing world.
• To encourage all members of the school community to feel valued and give them a sense of self worth whatever their needs and abilities.

The curriculum at Okehampton Primary is designed to be child-centred where consideration is given to what the children know, are interested in and can do, as well as what they can usefully learn next.

Children are viewed as individuals, each with their own characteristics and learning needs. Okehampton Primary attempts to honour the uniqueness of every child while recognizing that each individual is a member of a community, needing to learn how to help others and to use help from others as well as working individually.

Our central concern in planning the curriculum is to support the school's broad educational aims and to meet the identified needs of the children through its formal programme of lessons and extra-curricular activities.

We firmly believe that the primary curriculum should be based on the reality of the child. The early years of children's education are vital and it is important that we should create firm foundations in their knowledge and understanding of basic concepts and provide them with the skills to learn, and to continue to learn in a rapidly changing world.

A key principle upon which we base our school's curriculum is that it should be planned to provide increased opportunities for using and practicing skills. Teaching approaches used within the school should therefore Continue to recognize the developmental characteristics of children, so that active learning, based on first hand experience, will enhance interest, involvement and sense of value, and at the same time provide a context upon which to base abstract ideas and generalizations.