OKEHAMPTON?S primary school, which has raised its performance through a strong commitment to developing its staff has been recognised as an Investor in People. Okehampton Primary and Foundation Unit and its 69 staff have been supported through the Investors in People process by Business Link for Devon and Cornwall. As one of Devon`s largest primary schools with more than 500 pupils aged 5-11 and 52 children of nursery age, the school committed to the Investors in People Standard in October 2003. Working with a Business Link adviser, the school sought to refine its systems of training and development, particularly for newly qualified teachers, teaching assistants and support staff. In its journey towards recognition, Okehampton Primary has achieved tangible benefits in many areas of school life. In recording significant improvements in SATs results in the core subjects of English, maths and science, Okehampton compares favourably with similar schools in Devon. These successes have been underpinned by a strong philosophy of ?continuous improvement? in which all staff have equal access to training. Training in counselling, for example, has enabled eight teaching assistants to work effectively with pupils who require ?one to one? teaching. Teaching assistants also pursue the Certificate of Higher Education which extends their expertise in topics such as special needs and the teaching of maths and literacy. Support staff have been provided with ICT training to enable them to use the school?s computer systems to support teaching and learning. The school has also raised safety standards in the playground by running first aid training for mealtime assistants. Among the newly qualified teachers, Liz Goodfellow has been able to develop her career to become a subject leader in PE, while her colleague Penny Rogers has taken charge of the school?s nursery unit. Deputy headteacher Peter Southcott, who with teaching assistant Gaile Partridge, has led the drive towards recognition, said: ?The Investors in People programme has been of considerable benefit throughout the school. ?We have enjoyed the whole process very much indeed and I would certainly recommend it for others to consider. ?If you use Investors in People to extend the skills of staff, the spin-off is that children?s work improves, and certainly in the past two years, our SATs results have shown steady improvement.? In Devon and Cornwall, Investors in People for all organisations is supported by Business Link for Devon and Cornwall who can be contacted on 0845 6009966.
