St Helens is a member of the Alumnis Multi Academy Trust which is the admissions authority, responsible for the admissions policies and decisions on applications for admission. We have an admissions policy for each academic year. They are written to comply with the School Admissions Code and School Admissions Appeals Code. We take part in the co-ordinated admissions schemes of Devon County Council.
Come and visit us
If you are interested in your child attending our school, you are welcome to come in and visit us. You can arrange a visit on 01237 475276 or by emailing sthelens.sch@alumnismat.org. The Headteacher will be able to discuss admission with you.
Applying to come here
Once you decide you would like a place in Reception or at any other time after this, you must make a formal application. You can do this by applying to the Local Authority and not directly to the school. A fresh application must be made for children who are attending our Nursery. Applications for nursery places are made directly to the school. Please see further information on our Nursery page.
For the Normal Round intake into school, children are offered places to start in Reception at the beginning of the September term after their fourth birthday. Children who are admitted to a vacancy at any time after this point are called 'In-Year' Admissions.
The Local Authority
Devon County Council publishes information about admissions and its own policies to support the admissions application and appeals process. This is at www.devon.gov.uk/admissions
Applications can be made online at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonlineor by using the forms available at http://devon.cc/applicationforms
The appeals process is detailed at www.devon.gov.uk/school-appeals
For questions about your child joining the school or just about the admissions process in general, please don’t hesitate to contact the school directly or contact Devon School Admissions Service on 0345 155 1019 or by email to admissions@devon.gov.uk.
Our Admissions Policies
You can find our admissions policies below - we review the school policy annually and may make changes if we feel this would be in the best interests of the school and our community.
Each academic year has its own policy document, with details about how to apply for a place in school from the start of Reception through to Year 6.
We believe that in order for a pupil to fully benefit from their education, good attendance is crucial. It is the policy of our school to celebrate achievement and full attendance is a critical factor to a productive and successful school career.
Lateness
A child is late if they arrive after 09:00. If your child is absent from school for any reason it is vital that you contact the school office by 09:15. Failure to contact the school may result in the absence being classed as ‘unauthorised’. A child who continually arrives late after the registration period has closed is classed as an unauthorised absence.
Attendance
In September 2013, an amendment to the Education (Pupil Registration)(England) Regulations 2006 came in to force and greater clarity was introduced to the issue of schools authorising absence requests. In addition on 19 August 2024, an amendment to the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force and set out a new National Framework for issuing penalty notices. These changes reinforced the Government’s view that every minute of every school day is vital and that pupils should only be granted authorised absences by the school in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
A family holiday is not normally considered by the Government to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and therefore will not be authorised by this school.
I must take this opportunity to remind you, that should you choose to take your child out of school without the authorisation of the school, then Parental Responsibility Measures could be instigated. This could mean receiving any of the following;
- A Penalty Notice
- A summons to the Magistrate Court which could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment for up to 3 months.
Schools are required to notify the Local Authority if a pupil has a number of unauthorised absences. Unauthorised absences can be acquired when;
1) Leave has been requested, but the circumstances are such that the school is unable to authorise the leave and it is taken anyway.
2) Leave is not requested and/or the school has grounds to believe that the child has been taken out of school for an avoidable reason (example – a family holiday). Only the Head teacher can authorise an absence. This year there have been occasions when schools have been notified that the pupil is sick, but the school later discovers and reasonably believes that the reason given for the absence is not genuine.
3) A child continually arrives late after the registration period has closed.
This school will be notifying the Local Authority in all of the circumstances listed above.
Should a Penalty Notice be issued as a result of unauthorised absence then one notice will be issued to each parent/carer for each child involved. In addition to natural parents and any person with parental responsibility, any person considered to have day to day care and control of a young person is deemed to be a parent in matters relating to education and school nonattendance (s576 Education Act 1996).
From 19th August 2024, following changes to secondary legislation, the amount charged in a penalty notice was increased.
The first penalty notice issued will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
The second penalty notice issued will be charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. If a Penalty Notice goes unpaid after 28 days, then court proceedings will be initiated.
We understand the disappointment that the refusal of a leave request may cause and we apologise, but as you can appreciate this policy represents the school's responsibility and commitment towards providing your child’s education and supporting their future life opportunities. We hope you will support us by ensuring that your son/daughter obtains the maximum benefit from their time at school by attending punctually for the 190 days each year that the law requires (unless prevented from doing so by unavoidable circumstances).
Thank you for your anticipated support in this matter.
Schools within the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust provide free education for boys and girls of all abilities. However, the Board of Directors reserve the right to charge in the following circumstances:
Where a parent wishes a child to learn a musical instrument
Where a trip is proposed which is not a compulsory part of the curriculum, parents will be invited to make a contribution to cover the costs involved. This will be on the understanding that if there is insufficient support the proposed trip will not take place.
School meals and optional activities outside of the school day (such as wrap around - if available) must be paid in advance.
Click HERE to view our Charging & Remissions Policy
Concerns should first be raised with either the class teacher and then the headteacher.
If the issue remains unresolved, the next step is to make a formal complaint.
If you are unhappy or have concerns about the School or a person associated with the School then you may wish to make a complaint, in the first instance complaints should be addressed to
Contact details:
E-mail: sthelens.sch@alumnismat.org
Telephone: 01237 475276
If your complaint is about the Headteacher then contact the Director of Education Chief Executive Officer via the Clerk
Email: trustclerk@alumnismat.org
Telephone: 01237 879382
We want our curriculum to represent the rich breadth of humanity’s creativity and achievements. Throughout our curriculum we celebrate equality and diversity and the significant contributions of a wide range of people from a wide range of backgrounds. Our curriculum aims to prepare children to thrive in a culturally and ethnically diverse modern Britain and develop a respect and appreciation of others.
EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) ensures fair treatment and opportunity for all. It aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination on the basis of an individual or group of individual's protected characteristics.
Fundamentally, Equality and Diversity are about acknowledging that everybody has a right to fair and equal treatment, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or any other characteristic.
Alumnis Schools are fully committed to doing everything we can to provide a curriculum that is equitable in offer and diverse in representation.
We aim to...
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation
- Ensure equality of opportunity and foster good relationships
- Actively teach children to identify and challenge discrimination
- Actively teach children how to be authentic allies
The protected characteristics are not just something we reference in our policies and curriculum, rather they are the basis of our advocacy.
The nine protected characteristics (Equalities Act 2010).
- Sex
- Race
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexual orientation
- Gender reassignment
- Pregnancy or maternity
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Age
For further information please see the link to our policy.
Click HERE to review our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the public right of access to information produced in the course of the Trust's work.
There are exemptions to this right. In particular, data about living, identifiable people ('personal data') continues to be covered by the Data Protection Act and is not generally publicly available except to the "subject" of the data - that is, the person whom the data is about.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust has developed a Freedom of Information Scheme which lists all the documents which the Trust will make public as a matter of routine.
If the information you are looking for is not available on our Freedom of Information Scheme which can be found further down the page, you can make a request for the information you require in writing, please make sure you read our charging policy for information about the costs you may be liable for.
For the email address for the DPO please go to our contact us page.
The Local Schools Committee for Combe Martin, St Helens and Woolacombe Schools
Known as “Coastal”; Combe Martin, St Helens and Woolacombe schools are all members of the Alumnis Multi Academy Trust and collectively form one Local Schools Committee (LSC). A Local Schools Committee is a sub-committee of the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust Board of Directors. The Board delegate functions to the LSC, in particular, the LSC is key in providing the Board with stakeholder voice. Members are appointed by the Board, Parents and Staff.
The LSC plays a crucial role in enriching community relationships and communication, contributing to the collective effectiveness of schools and Alumnis MAT as a whole. The aim is to support, inform, advise and challenge provision; working together, empowering excellence and improving outcomes for all children. Working with the Head Teacher, Executive Team and Trust Board, the LSC is a local voice and a link with local communities and churches (church schools) as well as being advocates for all schools within our School Trust. For our Church of England schools, the LSCs will also ensure that the school’s Christian distinctiveness is recognised.
The LSC are responsible for:
- Approving policies: Agree on policies for the school, such as those relating to Healthy Eating.
- Overseeing the school: Supporting the implementation of the school's improvement plan and working as the voice for the Directors.
- Building relationships: Working with head teachers to establish and maintain relationships with the local community
- Ensuring effective use of resources: Monitoring the use of resources for SEND and Pupil Premium
- Implementing safeguarding policy: Monitoring the effective implementation of safeguarding policy and procedures
The Chair of our Coastal LSC is Sharon Beckwith and can be contacted via the schools.
If you would like to contact the LSC on any matter please email: trustclerk@alumnismat.org
Trust Details, Scheme of Delegation and LSC Members found here
Download HERE
This link will take you to the government School Data Dashboard which provides a snapshot of the School’s Performance at the most recent Key Stage 2 Statutory assessments which are taken at the end of Year 6.
If the number of children who sat their End of KS2 assessments was lower than 6, results are not published by the government to protect individual privacy.
https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/145769/st-helen's-church-of-england-school/primary
Click HERE to view St Helens Performance Data
PE and Sport at St. Helen's
At St. Helen's we value the importance of regular physical activity and provide a range of sports and activities for our children because we understand how these activities enrich a child's physical, emotional and social well-being.
Within our curriculum, we provide children with opportunities to take part in outdoor learning activities. These enable the children to learn in a different context, to enjoy physical activities outside, explore 'risk' in a safe and supportive environment, and develop the skills of teamwork, resilience and perseverance which are necessary to achieve personal success.
We recognise that these qualities are essential in order to live a happy and fulfilling life, and can be further developed through our comprehensive PE provision. During their time at St. Helen's, children in the Foundation Stage work with the 'Leap into Life' programme to develop muscle control, motor skills and accuracy. Once these skills have been mastered the children progress to a comprehensive programme of sporting activities including orienteering, invasion games, gymnastics, net and wall games, striking and fielding games and athletics. We place great importance on inclusion for all children, regardless of gender, background, SEN or physical disability.
With our beautiful location in a rural, coastal location we feel that is imperative that children leave St. Helen's having gained the life skill of being able to swim. We focus on ensuring that every child learns to swim while in Year 4 through two terms of swimming lessons at Torridge Pool.
We enjoy promoting 'Healthy Living' through a focus on healthy eating, healthy minds, nutrition, and the importance of exercise and fitness.
We have carefully planned our programme of residential trips to offer children experiences which challenge and inspire personal improvement through fun and stimulating activities appropriate to their stage of development.
Our semi-rural location does mean that the cost of transporting children to and from sporting events and active curriculum activities held off-site can be a barrier. To overcome this, the school has been successful in obtaining grants from local charities to subsidise coach transport and continues to work collaboratively with other schools, where appropriate, to ensure that the best value is achieved for all children.
For Alumnis Multi Academy Trust policies (including those listed)
- Attendance
- Anti-Bullying
- Charging and Remissions
- Child Health Need who cannot attend school
- Complaints
- Curriculum Teaching and Learning Assessment
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Exclusion
- Handwriting
- Health and Safety
- Healthy Eating
- Intimate Care
- Jewellery
- Managing Allegations
- Online Safety
- Pupil Premium
- Relationships – PSHE
- SEND
- Supporting Medical Conditions
- Uniform
- Whistleblowing
Please Click HERE
Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the Trust and its Schools use any personal data about its students. We, the Alumnis Multi Academy Trust, comply with this right by providing Privacy Notices to parents/carers and students, as appropriate, where we are processing their personal data.
The Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust is the Data Controller for the purposes of data protection law and therefore will determine the purposes for which personal data is processed (the ‘why’ and the ‘how’). Your School and authorised 3rd parties, e.g.School Money, process and ‘use’ data on behalf of the Trust and are therefore Data Processors.
We collect and use personal data about the pupils who attend our schools, in order to provide an outstanding education. This personal data includes identifiers such as name, address and contact details of parents/carers, characteristics such as ethnic group, nationality and language, attendance information, test results, medical conditions, and special educational needs information.
This data is used for a variety of reasons, including:
Support student learning.
Protect student welfare.
Monitor and report on student progress.
Contact students and parent/carers when we need to.
Provide appropriate pastoral care.
Assess the quality of the services we provide.
Administer admissions waiting lists.
The Trust and its Schools will ensure that all personal data is processed fairly and lawfully, is accurate, is kept secure and is retained for no longer than is necessary. We do not share personal information about our students with any third party without consent, unless the law and our policies allow us to do so. For example we are required to pass on some data to the Department of Education (DfE).
To see our Privacy notices to learn how we collect, use, protect and share the personal information about our pupils please see our Trust downloads page
If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned the Privacy Notice(s), please contact the Trust's Data Protection Officer (DPO), details below:
Data Protection Officer
Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust
Studio N, Caddsdown Business Support Centre
Clovelly Road, Bideford
Devon, EX39 3BE
Email: dpo@alumnismat.org
Tel: 01237 879382
Our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement is available HERE
Alumnis Multi Academy Trust recognises our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils and expects all staff, board members, and volunteers to share this commitment. We recognise that all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or SEND have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse. We endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued. We are alert to the signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation and follow our procedures to ensure that children receive effective support, protection, and justice. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us, children are aware of the adults they can talk to if they have a concern. When there are concerns for a child’s welfare, we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies. We will ensure concerns are discussed with parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that by doing so would be contrary to the child’s welfare. Our Child Protection and Safeguarding policy underpins and guides our safeguarding procedures and protocols
All of our pupils are assessed as individuals and their unique needs are planned for at St. Helen’s Church of England School.
St. Helen’s Church of England School believes everyone has the right to be educated and to be part of our school community. We are committed to the promotion of equality and diversity. In so doing, we realise the valuable contribution, that all members of the school community make to our school.
In recent years approximately 15% of children within our school have been deemed to have a special educational need or disability of one kind or another. Children have a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty, which requires additional or specific provision to be put in place for them
The curriculum and learning environment
Every child at St Helen’s Church of England School will access high quality teaching which takes account of pupil’s differing needs. We are proud of our creative curriculum throughout the school which allows children to learn in a variety of ways, become independent learners, thrive in areas of strength and gain confidence in areas they need to develop. Where appropriate, the curriculum will be adapted and reasonable adjustments will be made to meet the range of special educational needs and disabilities in our school. Where children are in need of additional support, this will be provided within the classroom setting to allow for full inclusion. It may also be given through small group sessions in addition to their usual classroom provision. Teachers will provide a tailored and personalised approach in line with a child’s EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) and/or My Plan. As a school we will endeavour to secure the special educational provision required by the child.
Additional support may include:
~ Differentiated tasks
~ Support in a small group
~ Personalised learning programmes
~ Adapted resources for learning
School trips are an important part of a child’s education and we make every effort to provide these opportunities to every child in our school. Where necessary we will seek the support of parents or other appropriate adults to support children with SEND to take a full and active part in school trips, as well as extra-curricular activities. Arrangements will be made to ensure all children can fully contribute to every aspect of school life.
Trips to look forward to may include
Theatre visits Dartmoor St. George’s Activity Centre
The Big Sheep Beach visits / Cliff walks Science days
Accessibility of our school
As a relatively newly built school, we are blessed with an accessible building. Our school has no stairs into the school building and is set on one level throughout, we have large doorways accessible by wheelchairs. We have a large changing and toilet facility as well as an accessible parking bay. Should any additional equipment or services be required, the SENDCo and Headteacher work together to ensure this is put in place. Our outdoor area is largely accessible to people with a range of special educational needs and disabilities.
At St. Helen’s we have a high proportion of pupils who are hearing impaired. These children have access to high quality Soundfield systems and radio aids to ensure they can access all the learning. Adults receive training to support these pupils.
Disability is not always visible and this is certainly true for our pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or those with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH).
St. Helen’s provides a calm, consistent environment where these pupils are nurtured through situations that may cause them to become dyregulated. Pupils have access to safe calming areas where they can regulate and then return to their classroom when they are ready.
Supporting the overall well-being of children with SEND
Happy confident children is our goal for all our pupils.
Children’s emotional well-being is vital to great learning in the classroom. All staff at our school work hard to support the well-being of every child. Within each classroom we have a ‘reflective area’ where children can have a moment to themselves, to reflect, pray, share concerns and worries with their peers or members of staff. We also ensure we develop caring and honest relationships with all children and ensure there are opportunities for children to talk to adults for support. Our staff are available every day to support parents in helping their children at school. The SENDCo will, where appropriate, share information with staff to ensure an holistic approach for children and parents.
Children in Care
At St. Helen’s Children in Care (CiC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC) often need additional emotional support. 'Looked after children' or 'children in care' are children under 18 years of age who do not live with their parents or family. Many have suffered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) or Trauma. The staff at St. Helen’s give these pupils extensive support and guidance.
The SENDCo is the Children in Care lead teacher and coordinates data and support for Children in Care, working closely with social services and foster families.
Social Emotional and Mental Health Issues can include:
~ Forming and maintaining relationships
~ Bereavement trauma
~ Attitudes to attainment
~ Attendance
~ Self-esteem
~ Life outside school
All students at St. Helen’s can access:
~ Quality first teaching (with appropriate differentiation and support)
~ Assessment for identification of significant needs
~ Character Education
~ Whole school policy for behaviour and relationships
~ Transition support into new classes or settings
~ Anti-bullying policy
~ Dedicated and caring staff who ensure all children feel 'known and loved'
Support for targeted groups or individuals may include:
~ Transition support
~ Intervention groups
~ In-class support
~ Mentoring
~ Bereavement support
~ Outside agency support (e.g. Educational Psychologist, 0-25 Team, CAMHS)
Extra support for Children in Care …
~ Reducing Exclusion in Devon Schools Team – REDS
The role of parents and carers is vital and we seek to support the partnership between school and home. Parents are encouraged to become involved in their child’s learning in a variety of ways, including:
- Learning at home
- Meeting with the class teacher about targets and progress
- Meeting with the SENDCo if appropriate
- Attendance at, and contributions to, review meetings
- Volunteering to support on school trips
External Agencies
Working in partnership with other agencies is very important for our pupils with SEND. Many agencies work in our school to provide support for the pupils and give additional guidance to the staff. The SENDCo will make referrals following consultations with parents.
Agencies regularly working with St. Helen’s include:
~ Deaf Advisory Teacher
~ Educational Psychologist
~ School Nurse
~ Speech and Language Team
~ Early Years Portage advisors
~ CAMHS
~ Early Help advisor
Local Offer within Devon
St Helen's Church of England School is committed to ensuring all children have the best possible start to life. Some children may need additional support through their education. To support schools and parents in Devon, the County Council provide a ‘Local Offer’ which can be found via the link below. The Local Offer website provides information and access to a range of services for children and young people between the ages of 0-25 years.
Devon’s SEND Local Offer is the education, health and social care services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from birth to 25.
Who can I contact for further information?
Headteacher: Mrs Rebecca Northcott
SENDCo: Mrs C. Dickinson
SEND Information Report – St Helen’s Church of England School 2024-25- Google Docs