Oldway Primary School

Caring for your Child

At Oldway, it is central to our beliefs that academic, creative and social excellence is only attainable when we feel secure, happy and valued. It is therefore our priority that all our pupils are supported and nurtured throughout their time with us.
The relationship your child builds with their class teacher is a special one, and he or she will be the pupil’s first port of call with any worries, problems or exciting news they may have. Within our school, though, there is also a Pastoral Team - adults whose main responsibility is the wellbeing of our pupils and who have ‘time to listen’. A School Council and monitor team – children who have been selected by their peers and the staff, help our school’s continuous development. After all, they are the people who know most about it!
With an active lifestyle constantly encouraged, there is inevitably the odd scrape or bang, and fully trained first aid staff are always closely on hand.

Effective Education for all Pupils

Even in a school as large as ours, every one of our children is unique and different! Every pupil has a personal set of talents and abilities, and faces a unique set of challenges and difficulties. It is our aim to provide an inclusive learning environment to support all our children, including those children with Special Educational Needs, those children exhibiting exceptional abilities and talents, and those children going through times of induction, transition, transfer and individual need.
Consequently, we have both a Special Needs Co-ordinator and a teacher in charge of Gifted and Talented children. These members of staff ensure that appropriate access to the curriculum is made available for all children, in consultation with our teaching staff and learning support team. The school implements the full SEN Code of Practice.
Additional help your child might receive whilst at Oldway might include:
• A focused program of study designed to meet their individual needs (an IEP).
• Extra opportunities made available to develop a particular gift or talent.
• Extra adult support, either individually or in a small group.
• The opportunity to work within a group of children with similar abilities on a regular basis.
• Increased opportunities to learn through visual, aural and kinesthetic media.

Learning and Teaching

Oldway Primary School provides a rich, varied and creative curriculum and aims to combine excellence in teaching with enjoyment of learning.

Nursery and Reception classes in the Foundation Stage follow a curriculum organized into six areas of learning:

The National Curriculum applies to pupils of compulsory school age and is taught from Year 1. It consists of core subjects: English, Mathematics, Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as Religious Education.
Foundation subjects including Geography, History, Art, Design Technology, Music and PE are also taught on a regular basis. As part of our school philosophy, we run a program of Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) which includes Sex Education and Drugs Education. Parents may withdraw their children from Sex Education if they wish. In addition, children are given the opportunity to learn a Modern Foreign Language.

It is our policy to entitle every member of our school to equal opportunities in accessing the full curriculum. Religious Education is taught in accordance with the Torbay and Devon Agreed Syllabus. Parents may, if they wish, write to the Headteacher to request that their children be wholly or partly excused from attendance at our regular collective worship or religious education.

As children progress through the school, they are encouraged to supplement their learning with work done at home. Initially, this will take the form of regular reading at home and, by Year 6, will include regular homework in literacy and maths, spellings to learn and occasional more in-depth research projects.
Parents are kept informed about their child’s schoolwork through termly Parents’ Evenings and regular bulletins outlining curriculum coverage.

Healthy Lifestyle - Fit for Learning

As a Healthy School, Oldway strongly encourages leading a healthy lifestyle. We enjoy much success in sport and are able to offer all our children opportunities for swimming tuition which far exceed average primary provision. The hard play area and extensive playing fields allow all pupils to engage in an active lifestyle. We promote fitness for learning, embracing initiatives that provide fruit for our youngest children and allow our older pupils to have regular access to drinking water. Our newly developed play areas and gardens are specifically designed for different age groups and activities, to cater for the full range of needs.

The Learning Environment

The recent completion of a superb £2.5 million building project means that the school boasts facilities for learning that are second to none. We are fortunate enough to have a large site in Paignton, right next to Oldway gardens, which encompasses playing fields, an indoor swimming pool, an enclosed safe-play area, an early-years activity garden, an outside classroom and several playgrounds. The new buildings themselves include purpose built accommodation for our foundation stage pupils, community rooms (including a second ICT suite), and administration facilities, as well as six new junior classrooms. All this, combined with our existing facilities and the state-of-the-art interactive whiteboards in every classroom, means that Oldway Primary School really is a school for the new millennium.
Oldway is proud of its high quality achievements in the arts, and pupils’ art work can be seen displayed throughout the school. Pupils have access to specialist art and music rooms, as well as a hall which is equipped for both physical activity and creative performance. Oldway enjoys a reputation for excellent drama productions, and our dance and music groups often perform in public.

A Learning Community

With approximately 700 children on roll and about 85 staff, Oldway is a pretty sizeable community in its own right. The school is organised into Key Stages - Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. There are 3 classes in each Year group plus a Nursery, making 22 classes in all!
Being such a big school means we are fortunate to have a fantastic range of facilities. We are keen to extend these to benefit our pupils and the wider community as fully as possible.
Our recent partnership with Sure Start means that we are able to offer educational opportunities for everyone from new babies to adult learners, in areas as diverse as learning to swim and learning to surf (the net!).
Other partnerships with Torquay Boys’ Grammar School, Torquay Grammar School for Girls, Churston Grammar School and Paignton Community College, enhance our provision of Modern Foreign Languages, humanities and sport.

Oldway is a Training School. This means that we are committed to sharing the good practice and experience of our staff with those looking to join the teaching profession, and as a result, our pupils and staff benefit from the enthusiasm and creativity of some of the best up and coming teachers of tomorrow. We are pleased to be associated with the University of Exeter’s Initial Teacher Training Programme – indeed, several of our current staff first came to Oldway as Exeter trainees!

Parents play a crucial role in the education of their children and we consider parents to be partners in learning. Research shows that children do better when there is a close working relationship between home and school and when parents show a keen interest in their children’s learning. You can support your child’s learning in many ways, including joining the PTA - all parents are welcome!

Extra-Curricular Clubs and Visits

We are also pleased to offer a wide range of extra curricular activities, including football, performing arts, tag rugby, drumming, cricket, sewing, athletics, dance, ICT, chess, recorders and art. We are hoping to be able to burn the candle at both ends soon with the imminent introduction of a breakfast club!
As well as regular weekly clubs and activities, there are a whole host of other opportunities available to members of the Oldway community. Each year there are residential visits organised for years 5 and 6, artistic and dramatic performances, sporting events, Summer and Christmas Fairs, and ‘one-off’ events organised by our hard-working Parents and Teachers Association. Children also benefit from a range of cultural experiences through visits to theatres, art galleries, museums and places of interest as well as working with visiting story-tellers, artists, writers and performers.

Celebrating Achievement

Nurturing children towards positive self-worth and self-confidence as learners is crucial in their development as mature members of our school community. Part of this development can be encouraged though celebrating the many achievements children make. Rewards take the form of certificates and ‘marbles in the jar’ for effort and attainment across the whole range of school activity.
When the marble jar is full, the class is entitled to a Class Treat – enjoyed by all. Certificates are presented to the children in Praise Assembly on a weekly basis. Additional certificates are awarded for good behaviour and co-operative play at lunchtimes, and for those children who have eaten most healthily in their class that week.

Compliments and Complaints

Your child’s class teacher can usually deal with any queries or worries about the curriculum or other aspects of school life, quickly. If you are not satisfied with the outcome you can take the matter up with the Deputy Head or Headteacher who will involve the persons necessary to resolve the situation. If the need arises, complaints in writing will be brought to the attention of the Governing Body as described in our Complaints Policy. If you feel particularly pleased with an aspect of school please make your feelings known and pass on thanks and compliments to the staff concerned.