Phonics

Have a look at our Phonics page.

Reading

Reading is an everyday skill and is at the heart of our Ash Green Curriculum. Reading together at home is one of the easiest and most important ways in which you can help your child to become confident and fluent. As you share books, you are helping to improve your child’s reading skills – showing them just how important reading is! We have a range of diverse books to support your child’s reading in school and this will enable your child to experience a range of authors and book genres, including fiction and non-fiction.

Our ethos for reading is:

• To encourage all children to enjoy reading and see it as a pleasurable leisure activity – not a chore!
• To provide children with the skills necessary to read a range of text types for pleasure and for information.
• To encourage children to be competent and confident readers, children need to have access to a range of reading experiences.

All of our children have access to a paper based reading diary. This diary is a form of home school communication and enables us to monitor the amount of times a child reads at home & at school. It is school policy and a weekly expectation that all children read 4 times a week at home to an adult or older sibling. Teachers track and monitor this throughout the week to ensure that all children are receiving the opportunities to read broadly and widely, both inside and outside of school. Any child who does not meet this weekly reading expectation is offered the opportunity to read to an adult in school in order to keep up, this approach is part of our high expectations of ‘every child a reader’. In Key Stage 1, Reading Heroes provide reading opportunities both inside school and outside on the playground. These children are our reading ambassadors and play an integral part in driving reading standards.

Have a look at Ash Green’s virtual library.

To further support your child’s reading at home, take a look at some of the ‘reading for pleasure’ booklets that can help your child find their own magic in reading:

Nursery Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Reception Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Year 1 Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Year 2 Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Year 3 Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Year 4 Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Year 5 Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Year 6 Reading for Pleasure Reading Log

Spelling

At Ash Green, at the start of each term, children will bring home an overview of the Spellings they will be learning each term. We encourage these Spellings to be practised at home to help with consolidating learning. Within class, children each have their own Spelling book to record spelling opportunities and to ‘show off’ their spelling strategies. Spellings are dictated and taught in school at least 3 times a week.

Maths

We are always keen for parents to support in their child’s learning of Mathematics and are happy to provide any assistance that could help with this. Whether it be details of mathematical methods, support with basic skills, extra application, etc. Please ask your child’s teacher if you need some help.

We have invested in “Times Tables Rock Stars”, an online programme to support in learning Times Tables. Your child has been given a username and password and has been allocated times tables by their class teacher (at their level). You can challenge yourself, your friend, your eacher or another class! Your teacher is able to monitor progress, both as a class and individually and your child will also able to see their own improvements and progress. To gain access go to the website: www.ttrockstars.com Your child will have personal log-in details.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button  Hit the Button is an interactive maths game with quick fire questions on number bonds, times tables, doubling and halving, multiples, division facts and square numbers. The games which are against the clock challenge and develop a child’s mental maths skills.

We use an online payment system called Arbor for cashless payments for dinner money, educational visits and other supplies and services.

Please ask at the School office for more details.

Uniform Expectations

Uniform Policy

Uniform Assistance

Ash Green Primary Academy holds a small supply of good‑quality, second‑hand school uniform items, which are available to families upon request. If you would like to access these items, please contact the school office, who will be happy to help. Families are also encouraged to donate any uniform items that their children have outgrown so they can be passed on to support others within our school community.

If your family requires additional assistance or support with school uniform at any time, please speak to a member of the school office team. We are always here to help.

We actively encourage good attendance through a range of incentives. Each week, the class with the highest attendance receives recognition to celebrate excellent attendance across the school.

We operate a first‑day response system: if a child is absent and we have not been informed, our office team will contact parents or carers to establish the reason for the absence. This helps us ensure children are safe and accounted for.

Where a child’s attendance begins to cause concern, we monitor this closely. If attendance does not improve, parents will be contacted and invited to meet with a member of staff to discuss how we can work together to support better attendance. If concerns continue despite support, the matter may be referred to the Education Welfare Officer for further guidance.

Good attendance is essential for children’s learning, wellbeing and long‑term success, and we are committed to working in partnership with families to achieve this.

Attendance Policy

Term time absence 

Holidays in term time can not be authorised. Permission for term time absence will only be authorised if there is exceptional circumstances. A request form must be submitted to the Headteacher via the school office with full details of the exceptional reasons why a child needs to be absent from school. The Headteacher will respond to all requests.

Click here to download a copy of the term time absence request form.

Celebrating Strong Attendance

Attendance at Ash Green is strong because children feel they belong.

We know that children attend well when they feel safe, valued, happy and inspired. Our excellent attendance reflects the nurturing culture, strong relationships and sense of community we build every day.

Our Shared Commitment

Attendance is everyone’s responsibility. We work closely with pupils, families, staff and external partners to ensure every child is supported to attend regularly and thrive.

How We Promote and Secure Strong Attendance

A Warm Welcome Every Day

• Daily staff presence on school gates to welcome pupils and families
• Warm, welcoming classrooms and predictable, calm starts to the day
• Positive role-modelling by staff and consistent routines across the school

Strong Relationships with Families

• Clear attendance expectations shared with families from admission
• Attendance discussions built into parent meetings and reviews
• Office Manager makes daily contact with families of children who are absent
• Home visits offered to support individual children and families
• Home–School Link Worker provides personalised support to families

Nurture, Inclusion and Wellbeing

• Sensory Room and Nurture Room used to support individual needs
• Soft starts to the school day where needed
• Earlier start times offered to support smooth transitions into school
• A strong focus on emotional wellbeing so children feel happy to attend

High Expectations and Effective Practice

• Attendance is a standing agenda item in weekly staff meetings
• Regular attendance data analysis to identify patterns, remove barriers and celebrate success
• Individualised support planned quickly where concerns are identified

Celebrating Success

• Attendance celebrated weekly in the school newsletter
• Feel Good Friday time promotes positive attendance at the end of the week
• Friday Star Assemblies celebrate excellent attendance and commitment

Working with Partners

• Strong partnership with the Education Welfare Service, offering expertise and support
• Collaborative working with parents and the wider community

Supporting Transitions

• Strong transition work between key stages

Strong Attendance Compared to Similar Schools

External data confirms the strength of attendance at Ash Green Primary Academy when compared to similar schools.

• Overall attendance: 96.9% – ranked 4th out of 21 similar schools
• Median attendance of similar schools: 96.3%
• Persistent absence: 2.7% – also ranked 4th out of 21 schools
• Median persistent absence of similar schools: 5.4%

This means:

• Our pupils attend more regularly than those in the majority of similar schools
• Persistent absence is less than half the rate seen in comparable settings

These outcomes reflect our consistent focus on early support, strong relationships, inclusive practice and high expectations, rather than punitive approaches.

Because when children feel they belong, they want to be in school.

Ash Green Primary Academy – nurturing attendance through care, community and high expectations.

Home-School Link Worker

What is Early Help?

Early Help Pathway

Stoke-on-Trent Family Hub: Early Help

Remote Education