OKEHAMPTON Primary School had something to celebrate this week when six of its staff received certificates for good work and long service at County Hall in Exeter.
Kitchen assistants Margaret MacDonald and Sue Yelland and husband and wife team Di and Ted Turner, who are cleaner and caretaker at the school, were all presented with awards for ten years service.
In the same week classrooms assistants Isabel Stepto, Sue Soby and Gaile Partridge received their 'Specialist Teacher Assistants' (STA) awards from Tony Smith, Devon County Council's Director of Education, Arts and Libraries.
Headteacher Brian Cunningham said: 'We appreciate all the recipients have done for the school over many years. Without their commitment the school would be a poorer place — not just in terms of their job but the other ways they join in with the work in the school such as sporting events, jumble sales and summer fairs.'
Mr Cunningham said last year Devon County Council was able to secure Government funding to intensively train classroom assistants for the STA award which developed their skills to support children's learning. He said that he had seen the trainees 'blossom'.
'These are now very skilled people who are more able to support our work in the school,' he added. ' Unfortunately the funding is not there this year for other schools to feel the benefit.
'The staff had to do examinations and presentations and work closely with the teaching staff — they all rose to the occasion and did very well,' said Mr Cunningham.
'These are the first staff to achieve the STA award at the school and I really hope it will be run again because we really do value the input from our learning support assistants.'