Hodnet Primary School is situated in the village community of Hodnet.
Set in extensive grounds, our school is housed in an attractive building built in 1986 but which has been extended to accommodate the growing numbers of pupils. We benefit from the Hodnet bypass, which makes the immediate environment of the school safer and quieter.
Our building is bright and spacious. We have a large assembly hall which is fully equipped for PE, seven classrooms, intervention areas, two library areas and a new learning zone multipurpose room which forms part of a new extension which opened in September 2019. We are very lucky to have an on-site kitchen producing wonderfully nutritious meals and an amazing team of kitchen staff who listen to our children, putting them first; as a result we have a high take up of school meals.
Each well-equipped classroom has its own cloakroom, interactive digital teaching screens and set of iPads or laptops. We have separate infant and junior toilets. Our Reggio Emilia inspired reception classroom promotes independence and enjoyment through its natural themes and self-selection activities. It has access to its own outdoor learning environment, including a garden and playground within a fenced area.
Each of our classrooms have direct access to the extensive playground, play and gym equipment, garden areas, running track and sports fields. The outdoor environment is used well by all classes throughout school. A Forest Schools area has been established over a number of years and is widely used. We have a fire pit area and a seating area to cosy up with a warm drink or have campfire chats. The extensive area allows for specific outdoor learning zones including mud kitchen, music area and many more. The Forest School fairies who live amongst out trees provide learning challenges to capture the imaginations of our youngest learners. We are also very lucky to have developed our own allotment area which until recently included chickens; here we enjoy outdoor lessons and extra-curricular opportunities.
We have an outdoor learning classroom equipped with a chalk blackboard, which is used as part of Forest Schools, or to simply take inside learning, outdoors! We also have a storytelling chair and seating area for classes to enjoy their class books at storytime or to utilise the outdoor space for outdoor learning.
A separate classroom and garden area is leased to the local community playgroup, Hodnet Pre-School. We have a close liaison with the team working there to ensure a smooth transition to our reception class.