Welcome to Ermington School

Ermington School is in a semi-rural location, whilst drawing from all social and economic groups and backgrounds.

We work collaboratively to provide an excellent education for the children in our local area, preserving the best traditions of a village primary school while taking advantage of new opportunities together. We believe school should be a safe, academically challenging, supportive, and fun place for children, working with parents and carers to give them the best start in their educational and personal journeys. Furthermore, we are also a host school and train our own School Direct Students and have student teachers from the University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marjon University.

Having a broad curriculum, one that challenges and supports learning and knowledge acquisition, is crucial to giving everyone an opportunity to shine. We are proud of the residential and out-of-classroom opportunities that we provide our children and the commitment that our staff make to provide for them, whilst recognising that we can’t and shouldn’t rest on our laurels.

The 21-22 academic year has seen school life begin to return to normal after the disruption of the pandemic, and we have focussed on providing that broad curriculum teaching whilst recognising that some children have had gaps. They have been supported in that catch-up journey through quality first teaching and some individual and group support.

More recently, at the start of January 2022, we have become part of WestCountry Schools Trust (WeST) and we are looking forward to all the opportunities that this will provide us.

WeST holds a firm belief in giving each child every opportunity to learn and succeed in all that they do. Whilst it is a family of schools who share common values and beliefs, all its schools are unique and hold their own identity. By working collectively, sharing what works well and jointly developing best practice, they are stronger together and can provide the very best education for our children in our geographical area.

Research/Erasmus projects

At the end of July 2017, we became a University Practice Partnership school through the University of Plymouth. Plymouth Institute of Education works with us in collaborative partnerships to promote social justice, develop pedagogy and enhance learners’ experiences.

We have demonstrated that we value research and the possibilities of professional development and personal fulfilment that it brings. It keeps staff engaged and informed and benefits every child in the school.

We have recently finished a three-year Erasmus + project -Maths for The Million (Maths for my world).

‘Maths for my world’ articulated the meaning of mathematics for pupils and aimed to make mathematics purposeful and accessible to all in today’s world. However, whilst it encompassed elements of the current vogue for maths mastery, it was so much more than this. This project aimed to provide an innovative approach to the development of the teaching of mathematics. It supported and enhanced existing good practice in the area and essentially helped teachers’ skills, confidence, and competence to teach.

More specifically, concerning maths teaching and learning, we have consistently demonstrated high attainment and progress. However, we are especially keen to further evolve our practice to ensure children are competent, independent mathematicians who get absolute pleasure and enjoyment from maths. We want to provide opportunities to experience real-life maths, where links are made to the real world.

Previous Erasmus projects have included a European Robo21c project, and children get the opportunity to develop their coding and robotics skills progressively through the year groups. In addition, we are regular entrants to the First Lego League, which inspires the development and love of all things STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). We are regular winners of regional awards, where the children compete against other schools, up to secondary sixth-form students.

We have now finished our last ever Erasmus project. This Erasmus+ project aimed to create an innovative, non-hierarchical space for sustainable, collaborative transnational working that responds to the needs and interests of educators in early years settings, schools, and universities. Ermington School led the development in teacher career trajectory case studies. This examines ways in which teacher recruitment, retention and promotion are facilitated/mediated by HEI/school/setting collaboration in each of the participating nations.