Lapford Community Primary School is situated between the towns of Crediton and Barnstaple in North Devon. It is a small school and nursery for children aged 2-11 years, in a warm and friendly rural village with strong community links. Lapford is a parish and traditional rural village in the heart of the Devonshire countryside, overlooking the River Yeo.  The village features a playing field with two play areas, football pitch and fenced playground.  There is also a request-stop railway station on the Tarka Line, which runs between Exeter and Barnstaple.

Lapford joined Chulmleigh Academy Trust in January 2012. We are proud to be part of the Chulmleigh Academy Trust, which provides a supportive network; sharing good practice with subject leads working across all three schools. This includes joint staff meetings and opportunities for continuous professional development for staff, as well as centralised support for: personnel; estates management; finance; health and safety; IT; governance; safeguarding and SEND. There is also a Primary Administrator who coordinates the work of  the three Heads of School, ensuring time to focus on teaching and learning.  School meals are prepared at the College site and delivered on a daily basis.

We currently have 50 Pupils on roll, with a planned admission number of 15 per year group. Our free school meals percentage is 36%, which is above the national average.

The parents, staff and children are extremely proud of Lapford School and this is reflected in the strong support from the thriving ‘Friends of Lapford School’, volunteers and members of the community. Our pupils are highly valued, not only because of the very high expectations they have of themselves and their learning, but equally for the polite, well-mannered, caring attitudes they have towards their peers and staff.

As a school we encourage children to engage fully in their learning through exciting, well taught, innovative lessons and experiences. The staff consists of a team of excellent teachers and teaching assistants, plus a number of volunteers, all of whom take the education and well-being of the children very seriously. Our children feel safe and secure knowing there is always someone to talk to. In addition, we have teachers from other Academy schools bringing specialisms through their teaching within the Academy (such as visiting music and P.E. specialists), who contribute to the development and training of the staff.

The pupils participate fully in all aspects of school life, including arranging community events; taking ownership of their learning and pushing themselves on to higher levels and helping each other enjoy and feel comfortable in their school life. We encourage them to be independent learners, taking responsibility for their learning in a motivated way. We believe that happy children learn best and take every opportunity possible to motivate and enthuse our pupils in their learning journey.

Working for us

As well as creating an environment in which our pupils thrive, we pride ourselves on supporting staff to achieve their highest potential, in warm and friendly environment. 

If you're searching for your next post, why not contact us now? You'll be working at a great school and be part of a friendly, helpful team. We're always interested to hear from enthusiastic, committed individuals - please send us your CV - telling us what sort of role you're looking for. We'll then know you're interested in working here when a future vacancy occurs.  Send your CV to personnel@chulmleigh.devon.sch.uk.