Welcome

About Us

Blackpool Church of England Primary School is situated on the very edge of Dartmoor National Park.  It is surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain.  It is a mixed primary school for children between the ages of 4 and 11 years and marries the best aspects of a large Primary with an idyllic rural setting.

We make the most of our unique position by linking it to our curriculum design, so that the children learn to value and appreciate their locality.

We were the first school in Devon to enter into a federation,  the First Federation, with another school. Blackpool School is now part of the First Federation Trust, a multi academy trust of primary schools across Devon. One combined set of leaders and governors guide all schools. [To see other schools that are in the Trust, please see the First Federation website:http://www.firstfederation.org].

At Blackpool School, there are two Foundation Stage classes, three KS1 classes and six KS2 classes. All children are allocated a School House and we are very proud of our family feel, when pupils from every age group meet for House Assemblies and other events such as Sports Day.

The school was first opened in 1879 and this original Victorian building forms part of the much-enlarged main school.  We have two school halls that can be used for many aspects of the Primary Curriculum and by the wider community. The Liverton Scouting Group and St Micheals church toddler group use our site, and we often host sporting events for our local learning community. 

We also have two large playgrounds, a school field, a school garden, an orchard and a woodland conservation area, as well as an outdoor area for Early Years provision in the foundation stage, which all provide a wonderful outdoor learning environment.

The library is located at the heart of the school and is run by parent volunteers and Class librarians. This is a well-resourced and well-used resource which supports our commitment to placing reading as a priority for learning across the school.

We have excellent links with the local church and the children look forward to Reverend David visiting the school weekly to lead an assembly. We also have a Christian Library run by other members of the local church community. The school meet daily for collective worship and celebrations and we have a very active Ethos Committee.

Recognising its historic foundation, the school will preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles and practices of the Church of England and in partnership with the Church and the Parish and the Diocese. The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experiences it offers to all its pupils. As a church school we embed our Christian values into everyday learning and foster a respect for other people and their beliefs.

Each Unit has a set of portable lap-tops to ensure our pupils have an excellent level of access to IT resources, which are used to support many areas of learning across our curriculum.

Our school kitchen has recently been awarded a Soil Association Gold Standard Award, and look to source many items from local organic sources. The children have an excellent choice of lunches and healthy snacks, including a help-yourself salad bar.

We have a Breakfast and Afterschool Club, and can offer wrap-around care from 7:30am until 6pm.

FABS (Friends and Associates of Blackpool School), our PTA, are a very active group of parents who organise a range of fundraising events throughout the year, such as a Country Fayre and Bonfire night. We are very fortunate that our families support these events so well, and monies raising has funded projects such as the building of a new hall, laptops and theatre trips for the children.

We have an open-door policy, and we actively encourage parents to work in partnership with the school. We are currently very fortunate to have parents who lead clubs, listen to readers, run the library, accompany school trips and help at events. We also invite parents to work alongside pupils on theme days and join us for lunch, which provides a valuable link between school and home.

There are a wide range of extra-curricular clubs ranging from sports clubs to art, mindfulness, IT, reading and chess. We also offer a range of enrichment opportunities, for example ‘be a farmer for a day’, forest schools and journalism.

Children in year 4 and 6 attend residentials where we have lots of fun learning to work together in team building activities.

Our talented staff team and excellent facilities ensure a smooth transition for your child joining our school and we look forward to making your child’s primary education a very special and memorable time.

Please see our Vision, Aims and Values and Curriculum tabs on the school website, to learn more about the experiences that we aim to provide for all pupils during their time at Blackpool.

We welcome you to our school so that you can see for yourself how we learn together. Please call the school office, 01626 821316, to arrange a time to visit. We will be delighted to share our school with you.

Tania Cox

Head of School

‘This is an outstanding school. The excellent focus on individual learning ensures that pupils’ achievement is outstanding by the time they leave the school.’ Ofsted Inspection 2012

‘Christian values enable them to become successful learners. Staff model these values which are then reflected in the rich relationships children establish. The buddy system is a good example of this, where older children nurture younger peers, who greatly appreciate this and talk how their role models influence their ideas.’ SIAMS Inspection 2017