Message from Mrs Jen Tierney- Primary Principal

As Primary Principal, I am delighted to welcome you to the Primary Phase at Dartmouth Academy, where we care for and educate children from the age of 3 through to 11. We are always pleased to welcome parents and carers who are considering our school and we warmly invite you to come and look around to see our happy, thriving learning environment for yourself.

Everything we do is guided by our shared school values of courage, compassion and ambition. We support children to be confident and courageous learners, to treat others with kindness and respect and to aim high in all that they do. Our goal is for every child to feel safe, valued and excited about learning.

Our curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced from Nursery through to Year 6, ensuring learning builds step by step and meets the needs of all pupils. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum, with a strong focus on early language development and phonics so that children become confident, fluent readers who enjoy books and stories. Teachers know their pupils well and use assessment thoughtfully to support and challenge every child.

We are proud of our excellent Early Years Foundation Stage provision, which provides a warm, nurturing and language-rich start to school life. Children learn through purposeful play and carefully planned experiences, supported by skilled and caring staff who ensure every child feels secure, confident and ready to learn.

Across the Primary Phase, expectations for behaviour and learning are high and classrooms are calm, happy and purposeful. Alongside academic learning, we place great importance on children’s personal development, offering opportunities that help them grow in confidence, independence and responsibility through Education South West’s 11 by 11 Character Education programme.

I work closely with our dedicated staff team to ensure wellbeing, safeguarding and continuous improvement remain at the heart of all that we do. Dartmouth Academy is a place where children are known as individuals and supported to leave us well prepared for the next stage of their education. We would be delighted to welcome you and your child to our Primary Phase.