News
Parentkind offers a curated series of free webinars designed to empower parents and carers with knowledge on education, child development, and well-being that can be accessed here. The 2026 schedule includes interactive sessions on Zoom. Note that these sessions are not recorded for later viewing to encourage live participation. Upcoming topics in 2026 include:
- An Introduction to Autism.
- Socialising in Reception: Guidance on helping children navigate friendships and independence in primary school.
- Parenting Styles that Shape Children’s Future: Explores how different styles impact emotional well-being and boundary setting.
- Coping Tools for Your Child’s Big Emotions: Practical strategies for managing emotional moments through mindfulness.
- Keeping Your Child Safe Online: A behavioural approach to digital resilience for primary-aged children.
- Helping Your Child Develop a Love of Reading: Tips for making reading an enjoyable part of family life.
- From Meltdowns to Mindfulness
Also, Autism and Us is a programme offered to parents and carers of children and young people who are currently on the neurodiversity assessment pathway, as well as to families of those who have received an autism diagnosis. It is delivered by members of the Inclusion and Learning Service at Devon County Council and more information can be found here
For information about a netball camp at half term see here and for entering your child in a triathlon aimed at children of all abilities aged 7-13 please see here
Have a great weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Welcome back and a happy new year to you all. We hope you had a really enjoyable Christmas.
Congratulations to those pupils who have achieved 100% attendance for the autumn term. A postcard recognising this was sent home with those children on the last day of the autumn term. Across the school a total of 56 postcards were sent home. Let’s see if we can have more this term! Please see here for December’s attendance newsletter.
For details of holiday rugby camps for all abilities please see here and here.
Please remember to park and drive responsibly on the streets around school and that Kingsley Avenue is a private road and parking is not permitted there. Thank you.
Have a lovely weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all of the children and staff
As always, the last week before we break up for Christmas is full of fun and excitement and this week has been no exception!
Last week it was Key Stage 1 and our Foundation Stage Unit children putting on their Christmas celebrations for you. This week it was the turn of our Key Stage 2 children to share with you a performance of the origins of Silent Night at St Mary’s church and such a lovely way to end the term as we break up for Christmas. A huge thank you to everybody who has been involved in the organisation of all the Christmas celebrations, including the school Christmas Fair last week, the Christmas discos a couple of weeks ago and the school Christmas lunch on Wednesday. You are all very much appreciated.
Not content with organising last week’s school fair, Our PTFA crewed the Bideford Round Table Santa’s sleigh around Northam last night clocking up around 25,000 steps each and raising over £1000 for local causes. For our PTFA newsletter please see here.
Thank you for all your support this term and we would all like to wish you a very merry Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you back in the New Year on Monday 5th January.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
This week it was our Foundation Stage nativity and Key Stage 1 nativity performances and what a show they put on…and to a packed all each time!. They were great and thank you for your support.
There is a public consultation underway regarding the future of many Devon libraries. The proposed new hours for Appledore Library reduces the opening hours to just 6 per week, with only 3 hours during school hours. This impacts the visits to the library for Appledore pupils as well as the wider community. You have an opportunity to have your say via this link to the consultation can be found here and takes about 10 minutes.
Dates for the diary
- Christmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Christmas dinner for pupils and wear your Christmas jumper day Wednesday 17th December
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Please ensure you are parking responsibly on the roads around school and not on the private road Kingsley Avenue. If you require a parking permit for the Oden Road car park, please contact the school.
- Have a super weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Thank you to FOAS (Friends of Appledore School) for organising the discos last week that were a success and for your support. Lots of imaginative Christmas costumes were on display.
The sound of Christmas is heard throughout the school and beyond, from rehearsals in school to the choir travelling to sing to members of community. Please read Around the Classes to find out more. And if you get a chance, please come and take a look at our Christmas hoops in the main corridor.
Please see here for details about our Christmas Fair.
Dates for the diary
- Turtles and Dolphins nativity, 2pm, Tuesday 9th December @2pm
- Years 1& 2 nativity performances are 2pm Wednesday 10th December and 9.30am Thursday 11th December
- Christmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Christmas dinner for pupils and wear your Christmas jumper day Wednesday 17th December
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Please ensure you are parking responsibly on the roads around school and not on the private road Kingsley Avenue. If you require a parking permit for the Oden Road car park, please contact the school.
- Have a good weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Christmas has arrived in school with the sound of festive singing and nativity rehearsals now in full swing. Please check below for their details and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
Please read Around the Classes to find out what has been happening in each class this week.
Dates for the diary
- Turtles and Dolphins nativity, 2pm, Tuesday 9th December @2pm
- Years 1& 2 nativity performances are 2pm Wednesday 10th December and 9.30am Thursday 11th December
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Christmas dinner for pupils and wear your Christmas jumper day Wednesday 17th December
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Have a good weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
School Christmas raffle tickets are selling well and the prize list is growing! See here for more information and if you need more tickets please contact us.
Thank you for considering our neighbours by remembering Kingsley Avenue is a private road and there is no permission to park on it. Please contact us if you would like a parking permit for Oden Road car park.
Thank you for your donations to Children in Need and food at harvest. We raised £256 for Children in Need and delivered the harvest donations to a local homeless charity that was very grateful.
Dates for the diary
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Turtles and Dolphins nativity, 2pm, Tuesday 9th December @2pm
- Years 1& 2 nativity performances are 2pm Wednesday 10th December and 9.30am Thursday 11th December
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Have a good weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
The school Christmas raffle is gaining momentum and the current total (and rising) is over £800 worth of vouchers and prizes from local businesses! See here for more information and your child should have brought home some raffle tickets earlier this week. If they didn’t, or you want more tickets, please contact us.
Please remember Kingsley Avenue is a private road and there is no permission to park on it. Please contact us if you would like a parking permit for Oden Road car park.
If money is especially tight and you are worried about buying presents for your children this Christmas, please contact elizabeth.phillips@appledoreprimary.co.uk (our learning mentor) regarding requesting support from a local charity that can provide wrapped presents and a hamper of Christmas treats. Please be reassured of our confidentiality over this.
Dates for the diary
- Individual school photos and sphotos with siblings at school will be on Thursday 20th November. Siblings who are not at the school can come in from 8-9am to have sibling photos taken.
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Years 1& 2 nativity performances are 2pm Wednesday 10th December and 9.30am Thursday 11th December
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Welcome back everybody and we hope you had a good half term.
Individual school photos will be on Thursday 20th November. Siblings who are not at the school can come in from 8-9am to have sibling photos taken. Siblings who attend the school will have a photo taken together during the day. The door by the school hall will be open and photos will take place in the Harbour room- follow the signs!
The school Christmas raffle is gaining momentum and the current total (and rising) is over £800 worth of vouchers and prizes from local businesses! See here for more information and your child should have brought home some raffle tickets today. If they didn’t, or you want more tickets, please contact us.
We have recently partnered with the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) for schools in Torridge who work for Children and Family Health Devon, part of the NHS. They are an award-winning early
intervention service for children and young people, supporting schools to raise awareness of Mental Health, reduce stigma around asking for support, and providing families with targeted
support at an earlier stage of mental health difficulty. They have started support our school and will be starting to take referrals for either 1:1 or small group interventions to
address mild to moderate mental health needs such as anxiety or low mood. To understand more about us they would love to hear your views on what is already going well in your school with regard to
mental health awareness, provision and support and what you would like to see more of and have therefore created a 5-minute survey for you to complete. Please see here for more information and here for the link to the survey.
Our parent association is on the lookout for a few more parents and carers to join their committee! It’s a great way to get involved, meet other families, and help make a difference at school. No big commitment — just bring your ideas and enthusiasm! Come along to their next PTA meeting on Monday 10th November 7:30 in the school art room to see what it’s all about. They would love to have you on board and tea/coffee and cake will be provided!
This Christmas, Procoaching is running their holiday activity and food programme at West Croft Primary School again, including festive arts and crafts, sports, and various activities with a hot lunch for the children. Ages 5-14 years. There is a charge for programme and it is free of charge for children on benefit related free school meals and in care. For more information see here
If money is especially tight and you are worried about buying presents for your children this Christmas, please contact elizabeth.phillips@appledoreprimary.co.uk (our learning mentor) regarding requesting support from a local charity that can provide wrapped presents and a hamper of Christmas treats. Please be reassured of our confidentiality over this.
Dates for the diary
- Parent Association committee meeting Monday 10th November at 7.30pm in the art studio
- Children in Need – wear spots and/or stripes to school – Friday 14th November. Donations are optional, but if you do want to donate please note that we are not permitted to bank coins of less than a pound.
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Day trips and residential trips have been part of this week in school and please read on to find out what has been happening in an around all the classes.
Friends of Appledore School (FOAS) hosted their AGM last week and hope to recruit helpers. Last year the events they organised brought in over £5000 profit that all went to very good causes for the benefit of the children. Please consider offering your support to them, because without more helpers this support is not guaranteed. To read their AGM minutes please see here and to contact them to see if you can help please contact admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk and we will forward your details to FOAS.
Dates for the diary
- Cake Sale after school on Friday 24th October. Cake donations on the morning of the sale please.
- Half term Appledore Library activities include a stop frame animation workshop and a Shaun the Sheep trail
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend and don’t forget next week is half term!
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
More harvest festivities this week (last week years 3-6, this week years 1&2 and next week Turtles and Dolphins) and a really good set of performances at a local cross country event. Well done everybody and please read on to find out what has been happening in each year group.
Dates for the diary
- Turtles and Dolphins harvest festival will take place on Tuesday 2st October at 2.30pm in our school hall
- Cake Sale after school on Friday 24th October. Cake donations on the morning of the sale please.
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
A lovely busy week that included trips and much, much more, so please read our Around the Classes section to find out.
We have been made aware of the following information regarding the series Spy Dogs/Pups and Spy Cat books written by Andrew Cope. These books contain a link to a website which contains highly pornographic content. The book asks children to explore the website to find more about the characters in the book. It appears the website identified (on the back or inside page) has now been compromised and takes users to a pornographic website with no age verification.
For our September attendance newsletter please see here.
Dates for the diary
- Year 1 and 2 Harvest festival will take place on Thursday 16th October at 2;30pm
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
For details of half term and December football holiday camps, please see here and here. And for those children who play instruments who want to play with other musicians, please see here.
St Mary’s Church, Appledore, have a family service on Sunday at 3pm where you can take your pets. Now that does sound interesting!
Dates for the diary
- Harvest festival years 3-6, 2pm 8th October, St Mary’s Church (please see around the classes section for more details)
- Year 1 and 2 Harvest festival will take place on Thursday 16th October at 2;30pm
- Xmas disco Friday 28th November Reception 7 Years 1&2 @5-6pm and Years 3-6 @6.30-7.30pm
- Xmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
At this time of year we require school permissions from you to be reconfirmed please. To do this in the MyChildAtSchool app, please see Parental Consent section. Please note it is very important this this completed each year.
The entry window for Rotary Youth Competitions 2025-2026 has opened and the categories are; Young Artist; Young Photographer; Young Writer; Young Environmentalist; Young Musician and Young Chef. There is also a Junior Youth Speaks competition. For more information see here and for entry forms, coordinated by Bideford Rotary Club, contact bidefordrotary@gmail.com
Further to the email sent out about the annual nasal flu vaccination, available for all children from reception to Year 6, please be aware NHS nurses will be in school to administering the vaccination for in school on Thursday 13th November 2025 to those who have been given consent for. If you want your child to be vaccinated and have not already completed the consent form it is available here along with information about the vaccination. Please note that consent is required by midday Tuesday 11th November 2025. Even if you don’t want your child to have the vaccine please complete the form but tick ‘no’ for consent, so we know you do not want your child to have the vaccine and haven’t just missed the email.
Dates for the diary
- Friends of Appledore School meeting at 7pm, October 2nd at the school and all are very welcome to attend.
- Harvest festival years 3-6, 2pm 8th October, St Mary’s Church (please see around the classes section for more details)
- Year 1 and 2 Harvest festival will take place on Thursday 16th October at 2;30pm.
- Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
