Our school policy in relation to birthday treats coming into school is that this will no longer be permitted. The reason for this change is the concern we have had for a while regarding:
We always celebrate children's birthdays in school with a certificate, rubber prize and the decoration of the child's table at lunchtime; we will leave further celebrations to home.
Edible homework will not be shared in school.
Each class has an elected local charity that they learn about and fundraise for at different times in the school year. See the Class pages for more details.
Decorating the Christmas Tree Assembly – this is the first event to welcome the Christmas season. All of the children from the Nursery to Year 6 hang decorations on the main tree in the hall, whilst Christmas songs, stories and poems are presented. Parents are welcome to see the finished tree after school.
Christmas Lunch – a special lunch for the whole school, the children sit in class groups in the specially decorated hall and enjoy a typical traditional Christmas Day menu. The office team send out details on how to order beforehand so that every child can have a special Christmas meal if they would like to.
Nursery 1/Nursery 2 Classes Singalong - Parents are invited to come and join a sing along of nursery rhymes and Christmas songs in the classroom. There is one Singalong per class and children (and their parents) who do not normally attend at that time are welcome to come in earlier on the day to enjoy the festivities.
Nativity Performances - Reception to Year 2 perform the full nativity story for parents to watch in the school hall, one in a morning and one in an afternoon to be able to accommodate all the visitors.
Carols by Candlelight – a special service when the festival of Christmas is celebrated at St Peter’s Church. The children sing a selection of carols and traditional songs. All parents are encouraged and welcome to attend.
Christmas Jumper Day - We all wear Christmas jumpers or clothes to school on this day with optional donation to the Save the Children charity. In the final week of the term the children are permitted to wear extra accessories to school, including socks, tights, hair bands, nail varnish or Christmas jumpers.
Year 4 prepare a retelling of the Christian Easter story for the school. The event takes place at Holy Angels Church, all parents are welcome to attend.
A celebration to express our care and share with the community. Year 3 prepare and perform a special assembly and invite their parents to a tea party which they have prepared and cooked. The whole school brings in items for charity that the children create and send to those less fortunate.
A non-uniform day when children can wear clothes of the theme or come in school uniform; this is often a way to raise money for different charities or to promote our fundraising events.
If at any point you have a concern then please raise them with the Class Teacher or Senior Staff member as soon as possible, do not wait until Parents’ Evening to raise a matter, the sooner it is sorted the better. If you want to book a meeting then please contact the school or email the teacher.
Nursery 1 and 2 – Sing along in class to celebrate Christmas, for parents to attend.
Reception to Year 2 Nativity. All parents are welcome to attend
Year 3 – Harvest Tea Party, exclusively for Y3 parents
Year 4 – Easter Assembly. All parents are welcome to attend Holy Angels church for the performance.
Year 5 – Concert in the summer term, all parents are welcome to attend.
Year 6 – End of Year Show. All parents are welcome to attend.
The children are photographed as individuals and with school aged siblings in the Autumn term and in a whole class group in the Summer Term. Parents are shown a proof copy from which they decide if they want to buy their own copy.
Children are photographed for learning and promotion purposes, parents choose to sign this agreement for this each year.
Photographs are used to celebrate, support and assess learning; and promote the School. All photos are securely stored and shared in agreement with parents’ wishes and in ways that do not identify personal information about the child. Parents are permitted to photograph their child at events but if another child is in the image it cannot be shared without the expressed permission of the parent. Parental consent for children to be photographed or recorded is obtained when a child starts at Ash Grange. Parents/Carers may change their consent options at any time by completing a new form from the office. At the start of events/shows, the audience will be reminded about recorded images being used for personal use only.
School staff take photographs as appropriate to record, support or celebrate work, activities and achievements. Photographs are taken and stored on school ipads, laptops and computing equipment.
In the Spring term there is a brief report (YR-6)/learning journey update (Nursery) for each child so parents are aware of their child’s progress, effort and achievement as compared with peers nationally. In the Summer Term there is a more detailed report exploring progress and achievements over the whole year and in comparison to their peers nationally. Year 1 phonics results, Year 2 and 6 SATS are published with the summer report.
Whilst children are in Year 3 or 4 they have an overnight stay event here at Ash Grange, where they enjoy activities, a special meal and lots of fun; and a little sleep!
Whilst children are in Year 5 or 6 they experience 3 days away to an outdoor centre, which provides curriculum experiences in many areas including Geography, Science and outdoor PE activities, with lots of fun.
The children have one overnight stay and one residential opportunity in Key Stage 2.
Government assessments to identify children’s progress at the end of each key stage in Year 2 and Year 6, which is compared to all children nationally.
Year 2 the SATs are used as part of the Teacher’s assessment of the child.
Year 6 this is a formal invigilated process, involving tests in Reading, Writing and Maths with Teacher Assessments in Writing.
All children are prepared in age appropriate ways for these key assessments.
There are SATs talks (dates on the calendar) for parents to find out about the purpose and procedures prior to these tests.
All classes have assessments at the end of the autumn term, mid-year in February and end of the year in July to assess progress and achievements.
In addition, Year 1 have a national phonics assessment in June.
Visitors and visits are organised each half term to enrich the curriculum. Each class has a range of trips in the local area and further afield. Voluntary contributions are asked of all families without which the trips cannot take place.
A special celebration assembly to say goodbye to the current Year 6. There is seating provided for all parents of Year 6 children to attend.