NEPI Participants

  • As a Heritage School, Chillingham Road is a place where families have congregated for generations and where deep networks have been established and nourished.

    We understand our duty to nurture and empower the next generation. As a diverse learning community, we value an inclusive and equitable approach to learning. Our vision is to develop the whole child by nourishing the foundations of learning whilst celebrating all that life offers to ignite curiosity and inspire creativity.

    Our curriculum supports, challenges and engages all learners by  harnessing our unique and rich geographical, historical, social, technological and cultural context.

    Our Chillizens can start in Playgroup from when they are 2. Our SEND systems are supportive and robust and our extended school provision offers further enrichment for your child.

  • Cragside Primary School is a vibrant community school situated a couple of miles out of the centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne. We provide a happy and secure learning environment for all members of the school community. Supportive, caring and respectful relationships form the golden thread which runs throughout the school. 

    We currently have 415 children on roll out of a possible 420. The local area is distinctive for its social, cultural and economic diversity. The children come from a wide range of family units and we celebrate this diversity and difference whilst highlighting and recognising commonalities. 

    We think carefully about how to ensure each member of the community feels valued and welcome, and that any individual needs are anticipated and met. We empower children to be individuals who are articulate, who have opinions and who care about the world and want to make a difference. Respect and appreciation for each other are strong.

  • Greenhaugh Primary School is a very small, friendly primary school in a beautiful location within Northumberland National Park. Our small size is our super power!  It means that we are able to really get to know our families and to nurture our children as they develop as learners and as people. Our local area is celebrated in the work that we do in school, but we also ensure that our children have opportunities to experience and celebrate diversity that they may not encounter in their day to day lives.

     We want learning to be inspiring, challenging, engaging and fun. We call ourselves the Green Team and our children follow the Greenhaugh Code- working towards becoming resilient, confident, ambitious, kind, independent, curious, respectful and unique team players.

  • Hotspur is a large primary school in Heaton. Our school draws children and families from wonderfully diverse backgrounds making it a truly comprehensive learning environment. We are passionate about providing a broad and balanced curriculum that ensures children do their very best in core skills such as reading, writing and maths.

    Hotspur Primary School enjoys a fantastic location in the Ouseburn Valley and on the edge of the City Centre. This presents many opportunities for making our curriculum relevant, stimulating, challenging and enjoyable. We have strong and developing links with many individuals and organisations in our community which help our children to understand the history of our area and look forward to the future.

    Teaching through creativity is central to our educational approach at Hotspur. We are proud to offer a wide range of cultural experiences alongside a comprehensive personal development programme. We have high aspirations for our children and believe that teaching through the arts helps to unlock children’s potential, building their confidence, character and resilience.

  • Shilbottle Primary School is a small rural school located between Alnwick and Warkworth near the Northumberland coast.  Our motto is ‘fun, friendship and respect’ and we truly believe that a child’s time spent in primary school should both equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to become good citizens of the future and leave them with lots of fond memories to look back upon. 

    Currently our roll is 67 children aged between 4 and 11 being taught in mixed age classes.  This is an ever-changing picture as only a few years ago we had 161 children on roll but falling birth rate has meant we have needed to change our curriculum offer every year.  We are hoping the new housing estate, currently under construction, will see our numbers increase again in the future.  We are predominantly white British with children attending from a mixed economic background.

    As a school in the heart of the community we have worked hard to ensure other groups within the village work collaboratively to support and nurture our children.  We work closely with the Friendly Frogs Nursery team to give the children the best possible start to their learning journey.  Our work with the Shilbottle Forum and St James Church to develop the children’s appreciation and respect for others.  We have recently established Britain’s furthest north Nature Park alongside the RHS to ensure our children are aware of the importance of caring for the environment and their future responsibilities.

  • Sele First School is situated in the heart of Hexham surrounded by the beautiful Sele Park and the historic buildings of Hexham Abbey.

    We aim to provide an exciting, motivating and high quality education for every child through effective organisation, committed knowledgeable staff, challenging expectations and high standards. Our school has a very strong community spirit.

Words from the NEPI team:

  • We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with new partners and grateful of the time afforded to hear from educational experts who may elicit reflection and inspire development.

    Ben Wassall, Head Teacher, Chillingham Road Primary School

  • We are excited to be part of the North East Primary Innovators! We are confident that this pioneering collaboration will build a dynamic network of schools dedicated to ensuring that every child in their care has the opportunity to thrive.

    Rebecca Jackson, Head Teacher, Cragside Primary School 

  • Our staff are excited to be part of NEPI. We are keen to continue the work that we have already begun on developing creativity across our curriculum and we relish the opportunity to share ideas with other schools and to be challenged in our thinking and in our ways of doing things. We want to provide the very best for our children and staff and we hope NEPI will be an important part of that process.

    Clare Crow, Head Teacher, Greenhaugh Primary School

  • We are incredibly proud to be part of the NEPI network. We believe it is essential to collaborate and partner with like-minded schools who are passionate to innovate and provide ranging experiences for their children and benefit from sharing best practice across the network.

    Kevin McVittie, Head Teacher, Hotspur Primary School

  • At Shilbottle Primary School our team are always eager to work with ours to ensure our curriculum offer is the best it can be.  We have been fortunate to collaborate with some of the members in previous projects and feel we have a shared ethos and vision for all our schools. We aim to develop a whole school culture of improvement through research and sharing ideas for both the children and the staff and feel our participation and contributions towards the development of the NEPI will form a key part of our continued improvement.

    Gary Parnaby, Head teacher at Shilbottle Primary School