Welcome
At Orchard Vale Community School we believe that education should be inspiring for all children whatever their age. We encourage children to be confident individuals with a deep love of learning. Our school was built in 1999 as a result of a capital bid to provide a Community Primary School for Whiddon Valley under the LEA of Devon County Council. The school opened on 13th September 1999 with 155 children.
We currently have 330 pupils which includes a 52 place nursery and our Little Seeds provision.
Values
At Orchard Vale, every adult strives to instil a sense of pride in our children where they will leave us with a sense of belonging and can identify with their personal achievements.
We regard our children as resilient, motivated and happy learners with the aim that they leave Orchard Vale with skills for life.
We are proud to celebrate individuality and the uniqueness of all out children and staff. We recognise that children need to feel safe, cared for and nurtured. We are open and honest and welcome participation and cooperation with out whole community.
Our values are:
- Pride
- Resilience
- Individuality
- Developing individuals with safety and care
- Environment based openness and honesty
Our school site
The school site is extremely attractive; the building constructed with red brick, wood from sustainable forests and recycled oak for the windows. Our grounds boast a large grass playing field, a purpose built sensory garden (The Wishful Garden) and an outdoor learning area (Nature's Nook) complete with a fire pit, log cabin (The Wacky Woodshed) and pizza oven. We have an extensive wraparound playground with a gazebo and play activities, a willow area used for EYFS outdoor learning, an outdoor gym and an adventure trail. We also have the Coffee Cabin which is open every Wednesday before and after school, selling hot and cold drinks and a selection of seasonal food items.
We have a bright and welcoming front entrance courtyard with planting designed and maintained by pupils and staff. We have ample space for bicycles within our bike rack which encourage children to cycle and scoot to school. These are safe and secure.
We have 13 classrooms at Orchard Vale and a Nursery and Baby provision. Our large school hall is used for sporting activities, PE sessions and lunchtimes. We also have a fully equipped cookery room and a specialist maths room. Further to this, we have a community room, a fully stocked library filled with age appropriate books and a sensory room.
Every term we offer a wide variety of clubs to suit all our pupils. These are run by our staff and include sporting activities, singing groups and eco clubs. The children also have opportunities to learn new skills through schemes such as Bikeability. We have links with the local secondary schools which offer opportunities for children to mix and participate in a range of different physical activity sessions such as multi skills. We are also lucky enough to link up with other schools within Harbour to offer inter-school competitions such as the Wilcombe Wobbler cross country event.
The Orchard Vale team of teachers, teaching assistants, administrators and kitchen staff aim to create a safe environment in which our pupils can thrive and learn. We like to encourage children to pursue things they are passionate about, such as writing or playing an instrument, and do what we can to help keep this passion alive.
Orchard Vale Community School is a school within The Harbour Schools Partnership (THSP), which comprises of 36 schools.