“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” W.B Yeats (Poet)

 

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Global Citizens

Global citizenship education is a form of civic learning that involves students' active participation in projects that address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature.  Global Citizens’ club at Blackawton helps to develop and instil a life-long learning perspective on the following:

• awareness of the wider world and a sense of their own roles as world citizens

• a respect and value for diversity

• an understanding of how the world works

• social injustice, and in line with the UNCRC (Rights of the Child), a desire to do something about this. 

• how to participate in the community at a range of levels, from local to global

• how to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place

• how to take responsibility for their own actions and encourage others to do the same through education

• a feeling of ethical responsibility to others around the globe.

 

Pupils at Blackawton enjoy the opportunity to become Global Citizens at Year 6, where they feel they can plan, do and review their projects in a focused group. 

 

Our Community Spirit awards are also given to any pupils from across the school years who endeavour to make a difference somehow.

 

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Children University

2022 sees the launch of our work with Children's University.  The Children’s University is a national initiative.  At Blackawton Primary, we feel privileged to be working so closely with them to enable and encourage our pupils to become involved in the widest variety of opportunities.  Their website offers a wealth of information regarding the different learning lectures and activities our pupils can attend throughout the programme.  Our pupils have access to an online portal where they can earn stickers and badges for each enrichment activity they attend.  They also receive a passport to keep hold of and remind them of their achievements.  Regular graduation ceremonies during our assemblies in school will enable us to celebrate all of the learning and fun taking place.

 

https://www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/activity-search

 

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Residential Offer

At Blackawton, we firmly believe that residential trips are of utmost importance in the development of our pupils. They lead to improved relationships, development of important skills, improved achievement and progress and a greater sense of belonging.  Your child will have new opportunities for success, new ways of learning and will be challenged to reach their full potential. 

 

Whilst we appreciate that the experience of staying overnight in an unfamiliar place on a residential trip can be challenging for some, it offers a wealth of value in terms of enrichment.  Pupils soon learn to adapt to their new learning environments and become immersed in a variety of highly supported and purposeful activities. As well as coexisting with their peers, they learn so much about themselves as individuals and have the opportunity to break down barriers, team-build and work more collaboratively whilst increasing their social skills and communication.  We believe that pupils leave a residential feeling more confident and resilient having achieved both personal and team goals.  This is why, at Blackawton, we offer residential visits to our pupils whilst they are in Year 4, 5 and 6.  Each trip is different and is tailored to be age-appropriate.

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Sports Clubs

Multi-sports club runs through most of the academic year, giving our pupils the opportunity to further their sporting knowledge and skills within the provision available at our school.  We enjoy the use of a playground, school hall, extensive school field and a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA), chosen to suit the activity and weather.

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Rights Respecting Schools

Gold: Rights Respecting is the highest level of the Award and is granted to schools that have fully embedded the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into their ethos and curriculum.  The rights are part of everyday life and learning at Blackawton, which is why we are proud to have received the highest level of the Award. 

Click here for more information on Rights Respecting School

 

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Devon Wildlife Trust Partnership

More information to follow

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Countryside Stewardship Education Initiative

Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 will be taking part in the Washwalk Farm Project.  The children will experience 20 visits across the year in their Forest School sessions.

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Washwalk Farm welcomes small groups of primary aged children to experience life on the farm. The project aims to highlight the connection between the management choices of this small rural farm and the abundant local wildlife. Children are encouraged to engage with the day to day running of the farm and to explore the choices the farm makes that affect vital elements including the water system, soil health and carbon cycle. The effects this has on the natural world can be seen through engaging with the many species that thrive here, from identifying birdsong and conducting species surveys to calculating the carbon sequestration of the woodland, planting trees and exploring life in the stream. Children will spend valuable time surrounded by nature learning to understanding the connection between good farming practice and the rich local habitat while immersing themselves in the many joys that the natural world has to offer.

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Outdoor Learning

Every week, all pupils at Blackawton have the opportunity to take part in an Outdoor Learning session.  These sessions are integral to everything we believe in outdoor learning contributes so much to our ethos.  We believe pupils have the right to learn about their environment and the world around them.  They learn a huge variety of skills in these sessions which vary from lighting fires, to carving wood and shaping willow.  There is a great deal of planning which goes into ensuring our pupils learn how to take healthy risks when using tools.  Links to our DT curriculum are strong, with opportunities planned in to design, make, evaluate and build on their technical knowledge.  Cooking and nutrition are also a major part of the learning which takes place.  Links to the science curriculum – Living things and their habitats – is huge as pupils learn to nurture nature by, for example, creating habitats for local wildlife and classifying plants and animals.

 

Click here for more information on DT and Science curriculum

Click here for more information on Forest School

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Music Clubs

Music club runs weekly throughout most of the school year and offers our pupils the opportunity to explore their musical talents in addition to the music curriculum.  We are proud to say that our music club pupils perform to the whole school during assemblies, accompany singing practice with their instrumental skills and are a firm fixture at most events we hold at Blackawton such as our Candlelit Christmas Concert, Spring Concert and end-of-year Leavers’ Performance.

 

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Dart Music Festival

Each year, pupils from Blackawton Primary attend the Dart Music Festival to enjoy the street-based performances, the constant buzz of enjoyment and the varying genres of music to suit all tastes.

 

https://www.dartmusicfestival.co.uk/

 

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Peripatetic Music

A plethora of lessons are available through a variety of peripatetic music teachers who visit our school weekly to enhance our music provision.  We currently have pupils learning the violin, piano, guitar and drums.  If your child is interested in learning a musical instrument and you would like more information, please contact the school office.

 

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Dartmouth Food Festival

Every year, we feel privileged to be able to attend this wonderful local event.  Our pupils are invited to cook, taste and learn about the food they eat, how it is produced and where it comes from.  We only make a brief visit, but the event itself runs for 4 days every October.  Visit the website to find out more.

 

https://www.dartmouthfoodfestival.com/

 

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Visits and visitors

At Blackawton, we are always seeking opportunities to enrich our core and substantive knowledge with a variety of relevant day trips such as a visit to Kent’s Cavern to learn about the prehistoric Stone Age or the Eden Centre in relation to plants, the environment or Fair Trade.  For our mental health and well-being, we also enjoy anything from a local ‘welly-walk’ around the village to a summer beach day and surfing lesson.

 

We also actively encourage visitors into our school.  We have a wealth of skills and expertise amongst our parents and people within our local community, who we enjoy welcoming in to enrich our pupils’ learning surrounding their topics.  We also enjoy regularly timetabled performances from companies such as Theatre Alibi. 

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