Year 6 pupils had a lesson in Tiverton’s history last week, as they visited the town’s Royal British Legion.

The children were fascinated by stories of local World War 2 veteran, George Attwood, who gave insights into life in Tiverton before and after the war took place, as well as during the war while he was based in London. They also met a descendant of Private Sage, whose story they were already familiar, having been a part of the 100 year commemoration held in October.

As well as hearing stories about the history of the war, the children explored the town’s War Memorial Room, and listened to poems written about the war.

Some comments from the children on their visit were: “I enjoyed looking at the names on the memorial boards and I found my family’s name.”

“We looked at pictures of the legion when it was the Angel Hotel, and I enjoyed hearing George’s stories.”

“My favourite fact was that General Eisenhower came to Tiverton to visit the American troops who were stationed here. I can’t believe he went and visited the soldiers, who were staying in Mrs Budden’s Nan’s house!”

Heathcoat Primary School is extending its wrap around care by offering an after school club to complement the already popular breakfast club.

After school club runs every weekday until 6pm, and provides parents with an alternative option for childcare. The club offers children the chance to get involved in a range of activities, including arts and crafts, outdoor sports and play, as well as the opportunity for older children to get help with homework and school learning.

Discussing the new club, Head of School Demelza Higginson said: “We understand that care options before and after school are sometimes a necessity for parents, so we are very pleased to be able to extend our services to provide options for any need.

“Each child gets a nutritious snack to keep them going to dinner time, and we ensure that a range of activities are available so that they can enjoy some fun and play after a busy day of learning.”

We also offer breakfast club to pupils, and holiday club to both pupils and non-pupils, with a range of different options for parents who need child care. These new care services mean that we have been able to extend our nursery provision over 48 weeks, from 7.45am to 6pm.

Our reception pupils have been busy preparing for the school’s open days this month, by creating leaflets and organising tours of the school.

The open days are for prospective children and their parents or carers to come and see the school in action, and the children have been keen to play their part in welcoming new pupils.

Reception class have been helping to create a leaflet containing information on the school and what new children can expect when they arrive. The leaflets will also include pictures and comments from current pupils, and will be handed out by the children.

Visitors will also be invited on a tour of the school, led by the current reception pupils, and will be encouraged to join in on activities taking place in the classroom throughout the morning.

Head of School Demelza Higginson, said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming prospective new children to Heathcoat Primary, and wanted our current pupils to get involved with the process as much as possible.

“We think it’s important for visitors to get a feel of the school from the children’s perspectives, and the leaflets and tours will provide a platform for this. Our reception pupils have also had brilliant fun creating the leaflet, and seeing it come to life ready for the open days.”

We will be holding our open days on Wednesday 8 November between 1.30pm-2.30pm and Friday 10 November between 10am-11am. Anyone interested in attending should call the school on 01884 252445.

Eating breakfast during maths class isn’t your average morning routine, but that is what some parents did at one of our ‘learning breakfasts’ earlier this month.

The morning event was created as a way to involve parents with their child’s education and to demonstrate how learning activities done in class could also be used at home.

A number of parents with children in Reception to Year 6 attended the series of breakfasts, which focused on maths. Parents spent 45 minutes working on a range of activities with their child, understanding the different ways of learning and seeing what their children were learning in lessons.

Head of School Demelza Higginson, said: “Our learning breakfasts are a brilliant opportunity for parents to not only engage with their child’s learning, but to also understand the different methods of teaching and how they can use those at home too.

“A child’s education doesn’t stop as soon as they leave at the end of the day, so it’s really important for parents to understand what their children are learning at school and how they can continue that learning process at home.

“We had some great feedback from attending parents this time, and we’re looking forward to holding our next one.”

One parent who attended the session said: “Thanks so much for the opportunity to see what my child is learning. Very useful and some good ideas for resources at home.”

We were saying #HelloYellow for World Mental Health Day on Tuesday 10th October, supporting the campaign to highlight children and young people’s
mental health.

The children all donned something yellow for the day and explored how fictional characters could represent different emotions. The charity Young Minds states that on average 3 children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health condition. The #HelloYellow campaign aims to show young people that they are not alone when it comes to mental health.