blackwell primary school€¦ · derbyshire county council. five pits partnership blackwell is part...

Blackwell Primary School

Primrose Hill

Blackwell www.blackwellprimary.co.uk DE55 5JG

Blackwell

Primary

School Unlocking Potential, Providing Opportunities,

Achieving Goals


Primrose Hill


Welcome from our Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

Whether you are an existing parent or carer, or you are thinking of

sending your child to Blackwell Primary School, we hope that this

brochure will give you a feel of our school and what goes on there.

We actively encourage children to have a positive attitude and strive to

create a love of learning by providing a wide range of opportunities

within school. We praise and encourage perseverance, resilience and

risk taking and ensure children have the confidence to make mistakes.

We work hard to prepare our children to be happy, successful and

responsible members of society in the future.

Safeguarding and the welfare of our children is a priority and we work

with parents, carers and support agencies in an open and honest

relationship to ensure children who attend Blackwell are well cared for

and protected.

If you are interested in applying for a place at Blackwell Primary School

for your child, do feel free to drop in to meet us. Appointments for

tours of the school are available by calling or emailing our school office.

Rachel Boswell

Headteacher


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Welcome from the Chair of Governors

Dear Parents and Carers,

As a Governing Body, we are dedicated to ensuring the pupils at

Blackwell Primary School receive the best education possible. We are

committed to continually improve the teaching and learning experience

of our children, to ensure the pupils receive a broad, balanced, creative

curriculum. We strive to create an environment where pupils can access

a wide variety of opportunities to help them achieve their full potential.

Governors are expected to attend full governing body meetings termly

and also to participate in one of the committees that feed into the main

governing body. We currently have 2 committees - Resources

Management Committee and Teaching & Learning Committee. The

Governing Body adopt, review and monitor a range of policies that

govern the operation of the school including Health and Safety,

Behaviour, Curriculum, Performance Management and Pay Policy.

All governors are kept fully informed and regular updates and decisions

are reported back to the full governing body. The Governing Body are

very proud of the achievements of the school and believe that along

with the Headteacher, staff, pupils and parents we are “Providing

Opportunities, Achieving Goals, Unlocking Potential”.

Jo Menzies

Chair of Governing Body


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Vision Statement We aim to provide a happy, caring and stimulating experience which enables individuals to develop in an environment where differences are valued.

Unlocking Potential, Providing Opportunities,

Achieving Goals

Our school aims are:

To enable each child to achieve success and gain an appreciation

of learning.

To develop lively, enquiring minds and healthy bodies.

To enable all our children to develop respect for themselves, each

other and the environment.

To develop knowledge, skills and attitudes which encourage

confidence, understanding, independence and co-operation.

To ensure equality of opportunity for all.

To encourage and foster parental support in the education of their

children.

To facilitate the development of the adult community of the school

to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect in which all

individuals are equally valued.


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About Blackwell Primary

Blackwell Primary School, a community school, was opened over 90

years ago and during this time there have been many changes. At one

time children stayed at Blackwell School to finish their education and

some of the children attending now have parents and even

grandparents who were taught here. The main structure and character

of the school has remained the same even though a nursery was added,

cleverly designed into the existing building.

The Nursery was officially opened in January 1992 by Councillor Alan

Tomlinson, the then Chair of Governors at the school. It was adapted

from a small hall, a classroom and play areas, which were completely

altered, decorated and fitted with necessary play equipment, turning it

into a bright and interesting place for the 3+ age groups of the

surrounding villages. In 2007 the Nursery was reorganised into a

Foundation Stage Unit and the accommodation extended to provide

excellent facilities for Early Years provision.

In 2016 the school took over the purpose-built Children’s Centre on the

school site, which is now used as a dedicated area for our nurture

provision, school clubs and the Breakfast and After School clubs.


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There is a multi-purpose hall where the children eat their school dinner

or sandwiches and where assemblies, PE and other activities are held. A

school kitchen was built on site in September 2016 and we have a

dedicated catering supervisor who provides freshly cooked meals daily.

The school itself consists of 4 classrooms, a library, a STEM lab and a

number of nurture and Positive Play spaces. Outside the school there is

a large playground and a sports field.

A sensory garden is located in the school courtyard. There are raised

vegetable beds, three greenhouses, a “secret garden” and pond on the

school field.

School Administration

The school is administered by the Local Authority (LA) which is part of

Derbyshire County Council.

Five Pits Partnership

Blackwell is part of a cluster of schools named the “Five Pits

Partnership”.

As a cluster, we firmly believe that the success of any partnership

depends on maintaining high levels of trust with all partners. We work

with any school within the cluster at risk of falling standards or who are

encountering difficulty to identify appropriate strategies or interventions,

sharing our expertise of having dealt with a similar situation in a

different context.

The ultimate aim will always be to contribute significantly to improving

the outcomes for children through developing the capacity of leadership

within the cluster.


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Staff

Leadership Team

Headteacher Mrs Rachel Boswell

Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENCO

Assistant Headteacher Mrs Gill Gardner Deputy Safeguarding Lead, Y1&2 Teacher, English Lead

Upper Key Stage 2 Teacher Mr Alistair Ward

Y5&6 Teacher, Maths Lead

Office and Administration Team

School Business Manager Mr Stuart White

Senior Business Assistant Mrs Anna Huskinson

School Business Assistant Miss Amy Flint

School Business Assistant Ms Fleur Pickering

Teaching Staff

Foundation Stage Lead Miss Joanne Hatter

Nursery, Reception Teacher, PSHE Lead

Lower Key Stage 2 Teacher Mr Dan Hill

Y3&4 Teacher, Science Lead, Sporting Co-ordinator

HLTA Mrs Deborah Knight

Teaching Assistants Mrs Anna Huskinson

Mr David Williamson

Mrs Jane Simmonds

Mrs Kerry Ottowell

Mrs Mandy Riley

Midday Team Mrs Anna Huskinson

Mrs Louise Tennant

Miss Kelly Gordon

Ms Tanya Sorokin

Miss Jasmin Newton


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Governors

The school has nine governors and a clerk to the governing body.

The governors are responsible for seeing that the school is run

effectively and within the framework set by legislation and LA policies.

They do not take detailed decisions about the day-to-day management

of the school. Specific duties would include setting and monitoring the

budget, and appointing staff.

The headteacher is responsible for organising and managing the school

and its staff, and for taking day-to-day decisions, within the guidelines

set by the governing body.

Currently the governors are:

Mrs Jo Menzies LA Governor - Chair

Mr Colin Fox Community Governor – Vice Chair

Mrs Gill Gardner Staff Governor

Mr Brian George LA Governor

Mr Paul Bunning LA Governor

Mr Ian Newham Community Governor

Mr Owen Chandler Community Governor

Ms Tanya Sorokin Parent Governor

Mrs Rachel Boswell Headteacher

Mrs Diana Riley Clerk to Governors

The chair and vice-chair are elected bi-annually.


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General Information

Absence If your child is ill and unable to come to school, a telephone call, text or

letter is required. Any unexplained absence has to be marked in our

registers as unauthorised, so we do need to know the reason for a child

not attending. Please notify school before the school day to avoid the

need for school to ascertain your child’s whereabouts.

Authorised absences are those that are unavoidable due to illness,

family crisis, or medical appointments which cannot be made outside

school hours. Proof of appointments or doctor’s notes for illness may be

requested.

Permission must be requested at least two weeks in advance for leave of

absence due to exceptional circumstances. Absences will not be granted

retrospectively.

From 1st September 2013, it has been Government policy that children

should not be taken on holiday during term time; any such absences will

be unauthorised absences and will be referred to the Education Welfare

Officer. Parents could then be issued with a fixed penalty notice and/or

court action.

Unexplained or frequent absences will be quickly referred to the

Education Welfare Officer.

If your child falls ill during school time, you will be contacted.


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Bad Weather During adverse weather conditions if it is not possible to open the school

for the day, we will notify you by our text to parents messaging system.

You can also check the school website, Twitter, the LA website and

announcements on local radio stations.

Any decision to close the school during the day will be taken in the

interests of the children’s safety and as a consequence of advice

received concerning road conditions. Staff will remain on the premises

until all children are accounted for. You will be updated by our text

messaging service; so please ensure we have an up to date mobile

number for you.

We aim to remain open if at all possible.

Accidents We do take precautions to prevent accidents occurring but they do

occasionally happen. In the event of minor cuts and bruises, simple First

Aid will be given to your child in school. In the event of more serious

accidents we will always try to contact you. All parents are asked to fill

in a form with contact addresses in case of emergency. If we cannot

contact you we may take your child to hospital.

It is vital that you provide us this information to enable us to act in your

child’s best interests. If you make any changes to the information you

have given us, please notify school immediately.


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Admissions Procedure The school operates a single point entry system with children entering at

the beginning of September. Children who are five on or between 1st

September and 31st August will start school in September. The

maximum annual intake for the school is currently 24 into the reception

group.

The Local Authority operates a co-ordinated admissions scheme.

Essentially the Authority acts as a 'clearing house' for all admissions and

enables parents to express a preference for one, two or three schools

and to place those preferences in rank order. Parents must make their

application on a common application form, to be returned direct to the

LA, preferably online, and give reasons for their preferred schools.

Common application forms will be available from school from the end of

October, and should be returned by the closing date for applications.

Parents will be offered one place only in a Derbyshire school.

Further information about the co-ordinated admissions scheme is

available in the Authority's Parents' Information Booklet - 'An Essential

Guide to Primary Education' and on the Derbyshire County Council

website.

Pre-School Visits Before your child starts school for the first time you will have the

opportunity to visit school to discuss policies, watch classes at work and

meet your child’s new class teacher. You can even stay to lunch with

your child if you wish. If your child attends Foundation Stage they will

already know the people and routines. If not, we will make

arrangements, wherever possible, for them to do so before starting

school.


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Charges & Remissions The Education Reform Act provides a free education for our children

within the limits set by the National Curriculum. Some valuable aspects

of education, however, fall outside such limits and these include

residential and day visits, theatre trips and visitors invited by the school

to provide specialist skills or entertainment.

The Governors and staff wish to see such activities continue, but

acknowledge they can do so only if parents are willing to make voluntary

contributions to cover the cost of their child’s involvement. We would

point out, however, that no child would be excluded if a voluntary

contribution were not made.

There are areas of the curriculum we are allowed, and unfortunately

need, to charge for. If parents wish to receive items made by their

children, they will be asked to pay for materials used (e.g. baking and

sewing).

Data Protection Basic information about pupils is held on our school IT system to assist

with the efficient organisation of the school, and the children’s

educational needs. We take great care to ensure that the information is

kept confidential and is only available to authorised staff. We have

registered with the Information Commissioner details of people who

have access to this information. By law, under the provision of the

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR, 2018), information may

only be disclosed to other persons in accordance with this registration.

Our school privacy policy and other data protection policies are available

on the school website or on request from the school office.


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Child Protection

Parents should be aware that the school is required to take any

reasonable action to ensure the safety of its pupils. In cases where the

school has reason to be concerned that a child may be subject to ill-

treatment, neglect or other forms of abuse, the Headteacher is obliged

to follow the Child Protection procedures as set by the Derbyshire

Safeguarding Board and inform Social Services of the concern.

Equal Opportunities

Blackwell Primary School endorses the Derbyshire County Council Policy

on Equal Opportunities in which every child and adult is respected

regardless of age, disability, race, sex, gender identity, maternity, sexual

orientation and religion/belief.

Complaints The 2002 Education Reform Act provides that where a parent or other

person has a complaint about the school curriculum and related matters,

it should be addressed initially to the head of the school and attempts

should be made to resolve the issue informally at the earliest

opportunity. The full school complaints policy is available on the school

website or on request from the school office.

This formal procedure is very rarely invoked. If you have concerns

about anything to do with your child or about what goes on in school,

please call and discuss it with the Headteacher as soon as possible.


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In-School Clubs and Extra-Curricular Activities

At Blackwell, we offer a range of clubs for our students to widen their

horizons and give them the chance to do fun and educational activities

outside of class.

Our current clubs are:

Tough Tomatoes Gardening Club (KS1/KS2)

A gardening club runs each week on a Tuesday for our pupils. There is

a waiting list for the gardening club - for more details please visit the

school office and see Mr White.

Break time Outdoor Garden Club (Lower KS2)

A break time gardening club run by one of our dedicated parent

volunteers is available for Lower Key Stage 2 pupils. The children have

the chance to help look after plants and the outdoor space, and have

lots of fun in the great outdoors!

Code Club (KS2)

We run a lunchtime Code Club for our Key Stage 2 pupils. At the club,

pupils learn to make their own code using three different coding

languages - Scratch, HTML/CSS and Python. Coding will be such an

important skill in the future, so it's great to be able to offer our pupils a

head start! For more details please see Mrs Knight.

Drumming Club (KS2)

A club for our Key Stage 2 pupils, at Drumming Club we learn the skills

to make our own music using drums, both as individuals and as a group!

For more details see Mr Ley.

Craft Club (KS1/KS2)

We offer a Craft Club for some of students, each week at lunchtime with

Mrs Simmonds. At Craft Club we use all different kinds of materials to

create our very own works of art!


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Recorder Club (KS1)

A weekly club for Key Stage 1 students, run by Mrs Boswell. The

children have the chance to learn basic skills and how to play special

songs with their recorders.

STEM Club (KS1/KS2 - varies)

A twice weekly club run by a dedicated and knowledgeable volunteer,

STEM club focuses on science, technology, engineering and maths in a

fun and interactive way. Please see the office if you would like to join.

Music Tuition (KS1/KS2)

Our students have the opportunity to take part in music tuition run by

an experienced tutor. Options available are guitar and piano tuition - a

number of students are already taking part and enjoying learning to play

music - we are hoping they will perform an assembly for us when they

are confident enough! If you would like to join this club please ask at

the office to register.

Investigate Club (KS1/KS2)

A club run by an external provider, ValleyCids, Investigate explores

religion through crafts, food and activity sheets. There is a separate

permission form for Investigate club – please see the school office or the

school website for a form.

Let's Get Cooking (KS2)

Our very popular Let's Get Cooking club is back! Each half term a group

of pupils will learn how to cook certain dishes and recipes from fresh

ingredients. Please ask Mrs Huskinson for more details. There is a

waiting list for the Let's Get Cooking club, please ask at the office for a

permission slip to be added to the list.


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Our Awards At Blackwell we have worked extremely hard to win and earn a large number of awards – some of those are showcased below! For more details on any of the awards and how you can help us develop in the future, please see the school office. Our awards are also showcased on our school website - http://www.blackwellprimary.co.uk/our-awards.html.

Out of School Clubs

Blackwell Busy Bees, an out of school provider, operates a breakfast and

after school club on the premises.

The After School Club, is open by prior booking after school from 3.30

p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Costs are available on request.

The Breakfast Club is open from 8.00 a.m. until 9.00 a.m. by prior

booking.


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Blackwell Buddies The Blackwell Buddies, our parent PTA, holds various social and fundraising events during the school year. The staff and governors are very grateful to the Blackwell Buddies for the valuable contributions they make, enabling us to maintain a high standard of provision for the children. Details of the events run by the Buddies will be communicated to parents and carers on a regular basis. The Buddies are contactable directly via the school website and their webpage is frequently updated with all the latest news - http://www.blackwellprimary.co.uk/blackwell-buddies.html.

Home-School Agreement

All parents and carers are asked to sign a home-school agreement and

an ICT agreement. These agreements detail the school’s expectation of

our children, the safe use of ICT in school and at home, the school’s

responsibilities in relation to all children and parents’ responsibilities

while their child is at the school.

We hope these agreements will enhance our existing excellent

relationship between home and school.

Homework

Education is seen as a partnership between parents and teachers.

Parents are encouraged to participate in their children’s learning.

Children are set homework in line with government recommendations.

Children are encouraged to take books home to read or share with

adults. Key Stage 2 children are expected to acquire fluency in times


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tables; they are also given weekly spelling lists to learn. Children are

encouraged to find information and bring items of interest into school

for topic work; older children are required to undertake research in

connection with work in class. A leaflet is available from the school office

detailing our homework guidelines.


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The School Day

School begins at 9:00am and children should arrive at school on the

playground between 8:50am and 9:00am. We cannot provide

supervision for children who are on the premises before 8:50am. Please

ensure that your child arrives at school to start the session promptly. All

children are met by staff on the playground. Children arriving after

9:00am will be marked as late in the class register.

The lunch break is from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Morning FS1 (Nursery)

operates between 9:00am and 12:00pm. Lunch is available for all

children, including FS1.

FS1 children should be collected from or brought to the FS door at lunch

time.

There are break times mid-morning for all children and mid-afternoon

for KS1 children.

School closes at 3.30pm. It is parents’ responsibility to make suitable

arrangements for the safe collection of their child. We need to know

what these arrangements are and any subsequent or occasional

changes. All children are handed over by staff in the playground to

parents/carers at the end of the day.

School Meals

Break times Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children receive a free piece of fruit

each day under a Government funded initiative.

A small piece of fresh fruit or a cereal bar may be brought to school for

break time. Please do not send your child with sweets, chocolate or

crisps as the School Nutrition Action Group has agreed a healthy snack

policy.


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We encourage children to drink water throughout the day from our point

of use water filter and cooler. Water bottles may be purchased from the

office for a cost of £2.00.

Lunch School dinners are cooked and served on the premises and are of a high

standard based on menus prepared by the school meals service. All

children, including Foundation Stage children, may have a school lunch.

For your information a menu board is put up outside the school hall.

This works on a three-weekly rota. All children are offered a choice of a

hot meal, jacket potato, salad or sandwiches and they are encouraged

to try things, but no child has to eat anything they dislike. There is

always a choice of juice or water available to drink with the meal. If you

prefer your child may bring a packed lunch.

Children who stay for lunch regularly should pay the whole week in

advance. The current charge for a school meal is £2.10 per day.

Please pay online via the Parent Pay system – details will be given on

enrolment. The school office is unable to accept cash or cheque

payment for school meals.

Application forms for free meals are available from the school office.

Under new Government legislation from September 2014, all KS1

children receive a free school meal as “universal infant free school

meals”. However, please continue to let us know if your child meets the

usual free school meals criteria as these children are still eligible for the

Pupil Premium, which attracts extra funding to the school.

Children having sandwiches eat at the same time as school meal

children and are, therefore, supervised.

During the lunch break the children are supervised by the midday

supervisors and midday play workers.

Please fill in an application if you think you may qualify for free school

meals for your child.


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Medicines

If it is necessary for your child to take medication during school hours,

only sufficient dosage for one day should be sent. Only medicine

prescribed by a medical professional will be administered in school.

Medicines should be in a container clearly marked with the child’s name

and dosage. If your child uses an inhaler, this should be marked with

their name and kept securely with them at all times. Spare, named

inhalers may be left in the office. A parental consent form for the

administration of medicines in school should be completed.

If a child requires long-term medication, please discuss this with the

school office so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

The school health team is made up of the School Nurse and School

Doctor.

The role of the school nurse is to help children to get the full benefit

from their schooling by maintaining high standards of health and

hygiene. Any parent wanting advice on their child’s health can contact

the school nurse or doctor through the school.


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Curriculum

The Early Years Foundation Stage In Foundation 1 (Nursery) and Foundation 2 (Reception) children follow

the Foundation Curriculum. In line with the Development Matters points

and Early Learning Goals children are encouraged to think and talk

about their learning and to develop self-control and independence. They

participate in a range of activities which take account of their interests

and achievements in developing physical, intellectual, emotional and

social abilities.

The approaches to teaching within the Foundation Stage include

recognition of the value of providing first hand experiences, of giving

clear explanations, of appropriate adult intervention and of using play

and talk as a media for learning. There is a secure outdoor Early Years

Foundation Stage playground adjoining the Foundation Stage Unit.

The National Curriculum All children from Y1 to Y6 follow National Curriculum programmes of

study for English, Mathematics, Science, Art & Design, Computing,

Design & Technology, Geography, History, Languages, Music, Physical

Education. The teaching of RE follows the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus

2014 - 2019. A variety of teaching methods are used.

Sports Partnership We are part of the Bolsover District School Sports Partnership with Tibshelf School. Games Skills are developed to enable children to play the team games of football, netball, basketball, boccia, tri-golf, hockey, Kwik Cricket, hard ball cricket and rounders. Matches may be played against other schools


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and other sporting activities are available from time to time in association with local clubs. Athletics Athletics take place in the summer. All the children take part in the School Sports Event. Gymnastics and Dance Gymnastics and Dance lessons are held in the school hall. Swimming KS2 children follow a swimming programme at Alfreton Leisure Centre.

Sport Premium

Sports Premium is an amount of money which the Government has

agreed to allocate to schools. The funding is provided jointly by the

Department for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport and is

being received in instalments each October and April. The funding can

only be spent on the provision of PE and Sport in schools.

At Blackwell Primary School, Mr Hill is the PE and Sport Leader with

responsibility for developing sport and for the effective use of Sport

Premium Funding. Our school already has an excellent reputation for

Sport and PE as we strive to promote healthy and active lifestyles and

aim to provide sporting opportunities for all our pupils. We welcome the

additional funding, which will further enhance our provision and provide

additional opportunities for increased participation.

Further information on the allocation, spending and impact of the Sport

Premium funding is available on the school website.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) & Religious Education

PSHE education is a non-statutory subject. However, we offer a

comprehensive programme of PSHE education and aim to provide the

children with a happy, caring and stimulating environment where they


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are encouraged to think of other people and respect the opinions,

cultures and lifestyles of others. We encourage self-discipline, good

manners and politeness. We pride ourselves on a family atmosphere

where each individual is valued. Children are encouraged to take

responsibility for themselves and their surroundings and to consider the

well-being of others. Opportunities are taken whenever possible to

develop individual self-esteem. We have achieved the Intermediate

Award in Derbyshire’s Anti-Bullying commitment.

A School Council has been established to which children from each year

group can be elected as representatives.

In Religious Education we follow the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus 2014 – 2019 in which children learn about religions and beliefs and learn from religions and beliefs. This includes developing an understanding of not only the Christian faith but also the faith and beliefs of the other major world religions; in KS1 the children study Judaism and Christianity and in KS2 the children study Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. Parents have a statutory right to withdraw their children from certain aspects of religious education. If, for conscientious reasons, parents wish to withdraw their children from religious activities, they should arrange to discuss this with Mrs Boswell.


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Further information

For more information, please feel free to contact the school at any time. Our contact details are: Blackwell Primary School Primrose Hill Blackwell Derbyshire DE55 5JG [email protected] 01773 811281 School can also be contacted via text message by prior arrangement and via the “Contact Us” page and form on our website. Tours for new or prospective parents can be arranged with Mrs Boswell, Headteacher, by contacting us using the details above. All information in this brochure was correct at the time of production, June 2020.

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blackwell primary school€¦ · derbyshire county council. five pits partnership blackwell is part...

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