Parent/Carers Hub

​Open Days/Evenings

If you are interested in sending your child to Exbourne Primary School, we will be holding an open day/evening. Please contact the office to find out more information.
TERM DATES

Spring 2023

Non Pupil Day
3rd January  (staff attend)
Term
4th January – 17th February
Half Term Break
13th  February – ​17th February inclusive
Term
20th February – 31st March
Easter Holiday
3rd April – ​14th April

Summer 2023

Term
17th April – 27th May
May Bank Holiday
1st May
Half Term Break
30th May – 2nd June inclusive
Term
5th June – 21st July
Summer Holiday
22nd July onwards
Non Pupil Days
Monday 24th July
Tuesday 25th July
Wednesday 26th July
Thursday 27th July
SCHOOL MEALS

​School Lunch Time

Our children all sit together in our school hall to eat lunch. School meals are available every day and are cooked in the kitchen at Okehampton College. There is always a choice of meals including a vegetarian option, baked potato or sandwich. The kitchen staff at Okehampton College are allergen aware and are happy to provide allergy information on request. All children in Foundation and Key Stage 1 are eligible for free school meals. 

​If you prefer to send your child with a packed lunch please be aware that we are a NUT FREE school due to severe allergies amongst our children.

​Break Time

To encourage healthy eating, all of our children enjoy fruit during our morning break. Reception and Key Stage 1 children benefit from the Government’s Free Fruit and Veg Policy whilst Key Stage 2 children bring in a piece of fruit from home. 

​All under five’s are entitled to free milk each day if their parents have registered them on the Cool Milk website www.coolmilk.com. More info on Cool Milk here. After the child’s fifth birthday parents may choose to pay for their child to continue to receive milk on a daily basis. ​
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FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Eligibility Criteria for Free School Meals

Section 512 of the Education Act 1996, as amended, places a duty on maintained schools, academies and free schools to provide free school meals to pupils of all ages that meet the criteria.
​

Who is eligible for free school meals?

​Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:
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  • Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guarantee element of Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

How to apply

​Apply through the Devon Citizens Portal. This is the quickest and easiest way to apply and will result in you getting an instant decision. Alternatively, call the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019.
PFA

Exbourne Primary School's Parent and Friends Association

A very active Parents and Friends Association exists and the committee meets regularly to organise events. The committee is elected at an Annual General Meeting. The aim of the Association is to raise funds to improve the facilities and resources for our children. Funds raised by the Association have provided a wide range of expensive equipment and minor improvements. Over the years the PFA has provided iPads, Poddely, paid for coaches for trips and new tablets. 
​
New parents are warmly invited to join our meetings and the activities organised by the Parents and Friends Association. A board is displayed on the gate to remind parents about meetings and events. ​
​

​PFA Facebook page

Exbourne PFA run a closed group on Facebook to keep in touch with our members. If you are a parent or friend of the school and would like to join the group, do join below...
PARENT FORUM
​Our termly Parent Forum is part of our inclusive and democratic approach to our school community. We aim to encourage more parents/ carers to get involved in school life. They are informal groups where parents can raise issues, be consulted on school policy and give their views.
All parents/ carers are welcome at our Parent Forum meetings. If you attend, you have
  • a right to advice and information about your child's education at the school
  • the opportunity to be more involved with what the school is doing
  • the opportunity, along with all the other parents, to have your views represented

​If you would like to know more about our next parent forum, please ask at the school office. Minutes of past meetings are available on our news page under 'Letters to parents/carers'.
​
VOLUNTEERING
​We welcome volunteers from the community to our school and hope that you will enjoy the enrichment that working with children can bring.  However, all volunteers must undergo a strict recruitment process in a similar way to staff recruitment.

A completed application form is required; all volunteers will be required to submit appropriate information to acquire a DBS certificate, which may include a copy of their passport, driving licence and two other forms of identification which may be bank statements, utility bills or other governmental letters/statements, which cannot be more than 3 months old.
​
Volunteers must adhere to all the policies and procedures applying to the primary school environment and therefore you should be prepared for some training and a great deal of reading. If successful, the volunteer will be required to undertake a short interview with the school Principal and furthermore an induction process regarding our safeguarding procedures.
E-SAFETY
​Being online is an integral part of children and young people’s lives and of their education. The internet and online technology provides new opportunities for learning and growth, but it can also expose them to new types of risks.
E-safety forms a fundamental part of Exbourne’s safeguarding and child protection measures. Keeping children safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online. Online safety is a core aspect of our school curriculum. Your help at home is also needed to prevent children accessing inappropriate material at home by way of filters and parental controls.

In school, all new pupils are asked to sign an acceptable ICT working agreement where children take responsibility for their online actions.
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The Dartmoor Multi-Academy Trust have a comprehensive ICT policy which addresses technical firewalls and other professional measures to keep children safe, but at Highampton School we also feel it is important that the children themselves learn to keep themselves safe online.

The School Acceptable ICT Working Agreement is below:

Help for Parents

Please note that no search engine is ever 100% safe but below provides some links to some “safer” search engines:

Research searching ​
Image searching ​

​Websites for More Information

CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the abuse and exploitation of children in the real and ‘e’ world. Often it is referred to as an online 999. By clicking on the button, young people and parents can get advice on a range of issues such as viruses, hacking and dealing with bullying online.
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Vodafone have produced a Digital Parenting Magazine which informs parents about the various technologies children are accessing today. There is information on Facebook settings, Xbox360 settings, Blackberry controls, jargon busting and many more 'How to Guides'. Well worth a read!
The “Thinkuknow” website is brought to you by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre.
Here you will find information and resources to help you support your child to have a happy and safe online experience.
SCHOOL CLUBS

Autumn 2021 - Term 1

Club/Staff
Day/Time  
Available to
Value
Value
Value
Music Club 
​Mrs F Willis 
Monday 
​3.30 – 4.15pm
starting 16.01.23 
Class 2 & 3 children 
Art Club
​Miss Weber
Monday
​3.30 – 4.00pm
starting 10.01.23 
Whole school
Sewing  Club
​Mrs S Bonnett 
Thursday
​3.30 – 4.15pm
starting 12.01.23 
Class 2 & 3
  • After school clubs run from 3.30pm-4.15pm.
  • Please sign up for clubs on School Gateway ASAP at the start of term.
  • Clubs are offered on a voluntary basis usually by staff and volunteers. 
  • Any misbehaviour will not be tolerated.
ABSENCE AND ATTENDANCE
Children must attend school from 9am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Student Illness

If a child is ill or unable to attend school for any reason, parents/guardians (only those with parental responsibility) must contact the school by telephoning or emailing before 9am and advise of the reason for their child’s absence (ie cough/cold/vomiting).

Parents/guardians must advise the school on the first and every day of absence due to illness.
​
In the case of vomiting or diarrohea, all children must remain off school for 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrohea, even though they may appear recovered.
​

Holidays/Absence Including Medical Appointments

If a parent/guardian wishes to organise a planned period of absence for medical reasons such as a hospital appointment or for social reasons such as a family holiday during term time, they must apply to the School Principal using form S2 which can be collected from the school office or downloaded below. Any letter or communication from the medical facility should be attached to the form. The Principal will consider the request and grant authorisation or not accordingly. Parents will be provided with a copy of the Principal’s decision.
THE SCHOOL DAY
  • ​7.50am Breakfast club opens
  • 8.50am Parents are welcome to leave children at school
  • 9.00am Morning registration 
  • 9.10am Lessons
  • 10.40am Break
  • 11.00am Lessons
  • 12.30pm Lunch break
  • 1.30pm Afternoon registration followed by lessons
  • 3.00pm Worship
  • 3.30pm Home time
  • 3.30pm After school clubs until 4.30pm
PARENTAL CONSENT
​Where a school activity is considered an integral part of learning, such as classroom activities then parental consent is considered as given.
​
Parental consent is required for certain activities and such consent will be requested either at the beginning of your child’s learning journey with the school or at the beginning of the club.

Examples of these consents include but are not limited to:
  • To change your child's details if necessary
  • Use personal photograph/image
  • Provide emergency medical treatment including first aid
  • Transport your child by staff/volunteers
  • Take your child on local visits (usually by foot)
  • Provide your child with a milk drink each day
  • The use of certain computer programmes for home learning eg Teams/Dojo
 
If parents withhold their initial consent and subsequently change their mind, then a simple email to our admin office indicating your consent in writing is all that is required.
UNIFORM

Uniform Expectations

We believe that being smartly dressed helps pupils arrive at school ready to learn. 

Exbourne C of E Primary Uniform is available online from:

  • Uniform: is a red logo school sweatshirt or fleece with a white polo t-shirt, grey or black trousers/ school shorts/ skirt or pinafore. In the summer, girls can wear a red gingham dress. We insist on white/ black school socks/ tights and sensible black school shoes.
  • PE kit: a red logo t-shirt with plain dark shorts/ tracksuit bottoms/leggings. School jumpers can be worn in colder weather.

​Children should not wear nail polish or make–up and jewellery is limited to stud earrings and a watch.
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ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES
​Under the DMAT Policy, our School is unable to administer any medicine to a child that has not been prescribed by their doctor. 

If a child requires a non-prescribed medicine such as Calpol, the child must be capable of taking the medicine themselves, but the medicine itself will require to be kept in a secure location away from other children whilst in school.
​
In order to administer any medicine, the 2-page Medicine Administration Form must be completed in advance by the parent. You can collect this from the school office or print it out below.
If a child requires an asthma inhaler, ideally one should be given into the safe keeping of the teacher for the required period and another kept at home.  It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure the inhaler is taken home and taken back to school (if appropriate) or it is replaced when low or empty and that it has not exceeded its expiry date.
​
SCHOOL GATEWAY

Communications and Payment Gateway

The school aims to be a ‘cashless’ organisation and we therefore use an App gateway system run by a company called Schoolcomms for parents to pay for:
​
  • School Meals
  • Clubs
  • Trips

The App system also allows parents to provide consent for trips/clubs etc and there is a useful communication hub for the school and parents to send each other emails/texts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will emails get to me and what will they look like? 
The School’s Name will be in the ‘from’ box and the system will use your own email address and mobile phone number to correctly identify you.  If you change either of these, please let the school know at once.

Will I get any advertising spam?
No, you contact details are not shared with anyone except the school office.

Can I reply to emails or texts? 
​No, you should contact the school office by phone on 01837 851205 or by email: admin@exbourneprimary.org.uk
VALUES CHAMPIONS
INFORMATION COMING SOON...
USEFUL LINKS
If you are a parent/carer, we hope you will find the following web links below useful:
 
Governance Link
Dartmoor Federation Primaries Academy Committee - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk)
 
Dartmoor MAT Vacancies
Vacancies - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk)
 
Dartmoor MAT Feedback and Complaints
feedback - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk)
 
Dartmoor MAT Annual Accounts
 Annual Reports and Accounts - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk)
 
Dartmoor MAT Trustees & Governance
Governance structure - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk)
 
Devon County Council Admissions
School admissions - Education and Families (devon.gov.uk)
 
DFE PE and Sports Premium
PE and sport premium for primary schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
 
Devon County Council SEN
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Local Offer and vision - Education and Families (devon.gov.uk)

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Interim Principal | Martin Evely
Exbourne C of E Primary School,
Exbourne, Okehampton,
Devon EX20 3SQ

Tel: 01837 851205
Interim Principal | Martin Evely
Exbourne C of E Primary School,
Exbourne,
​Okehampton,
Devon EX20 3SQ​
Tel: 01837 851205
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