Ashley C of E Primary School

 

 Headteacher's Message!

Dear Parents/Carers, 

I cannot believe that this is the last newsletter of 2023!

What a treat we had this week from the children, performing their nativities, Christmas shows and Carol Concerts. The children were a delight and I was so proud of each of them, as I am sure you were. Once again thank you to the staff for all of the hard work that was put into making them so successful.

Yesterday the children meet Father Christmas in his grotto, and had their Christmas lunch served by the leadership team and office staff and finishing the day off with a Christmas party. Thank you to the kitchen staff for smiling and serving dinners, and to everyone who helped organise this. It is a privilege to share this special time in the children's lives with them.

As this is my last newsletter to you all this term,  I hope that, whatever you are doing over the coming holidays, you are able to pause and relax and enjoy time as a family.

We are looking forward to seeing you back here on Thursday 4^th January 2024!

Mrs Ratcliff

 Staffing Update - 

Mrs Rayner is back from maternity leave and will be teaching Y1 - Dragonfly class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mrs Spencer Thursday and Friday.

Miss Wood is back helping out in After School Club. You may see her around when she helps on a ad-hoc basis.

Mr Attenborough will be leaving us at the end of January '24. He has secured a successful promotion as  cricket coach at Kingston Grammar School - We wish him all the best! 

School Admissions September 2024

 A quick reminder for those parents who haven’t made their application for Reception places, for September 2024 yet. You have until 15th January 2024 to make your applications. Final tour … January 2024 at 9am.

DRAFT 2025/6 Admissions Policy Consultation

The Good Shepherd Trust is the Admissions Authority for Ashley Church of England Primary School, Ashley Road, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 1HX

The Trust is consulting on a proposed change to the 2025/6 admissions policy for Ashley Church of England Primary School and would like to hear your views. The Trust has a statutory duty to consult on admissions arrangements if we intend to make a change.

The consultation period will run from the 14^th December 2023 – 25^th January 2024 at 5pm.

Information about the consultation will be provided on the Trust www.goodshepherdtrust.org.uk/1043/admissions  and school websites during the consultation period.

What is the proposed change?

The proposed change to the policy is:

Removal of the following criterion:

5. An applicant who lives a distance (see ‘Tie-breaker’ definition) of no further than 500 metres from the school AND who can demonstrate eligibility for Pupil Premium (see note 3). A maximum of 10 places will be available for this category

Comments are not being sought on any other area of the policy.

Rationale and potential impact

We are considering the above change because pupil premium cannot be assigned to a pupil until they have started school, therefore it is very difficult to apply this criterion effectively. In addition, we have not admitted any pupil under this criterion in the past three years:

Year	2021	2022	2023
Number of pupils admitted under criterion 5	0	0	0
Total number of pupils admitted out of 90	90	90	90

 The Trust are, therefore, confident that there will be no impact on admissions for 2025/26.

How can I respond to the consultation?

If you would like to submit a response to the consultation, please email Mr Paul Kennedy on: admissions@goodshepherdtrust.org.uk or write to: Mr Paul Kennedy, The Good Shepherd Trust, Academies Office, Larch Avenue, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1JY. 

Please ensure that your response is entitled: 2025/6 Admissions Policy Consultation.

You are able to submit a free text response.

However, the Trust Board would find it helpful if you could include your name and the name of the school to which you are submitting a response. Also, if you are able to indicate whether you will be affected by the proposed change and if so, in what way.

Further details on the admissions consultation process can be found in the School Admissions Code: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1001050/School_admissions_code_2021.pdf

What happens next?

Please note that you will not receive an individual response to your submission and no changes to the proposed policies will be made during the consultation period. After the consultation has closed, all responses will be collated and presented to the Trust Board during the first half term of the spring term 2024. The Board will then decide whether to proceed with the proposed change as well as determining the admission arrangements for all other Trust schools for which no changes are proposed. Once determined the final admission arrangements for all schools will be placed on the websites of the individual schools and sent to the Local Authority and Diocese.

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In the meantime, or during the consultation process, if you have any queries over the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.

With thanks and kind regards,

Paul Kennedy

ashley 2025 admission policy draft.pdf

ashley 2025 church sif draft.pdf

ashley 2025 staff sif draft.pdf

The Past Fortnight - 

On Tuesday 12^th and Wednesday 13^th December, Year 2-6 enjoyed paused for the day to reflect on advent. The days started with a Christmas Service at St Mary’s Church followed by advent activities. After watching an animation of the nativity Story, children had an opportunity to explore how our Ashley values of Care, Courage and Curiosity are demonstrated by the key characters. Their thoughts and comments were captured creatively through various activities, the final piece being a stain glass window of the Christmas star.

 - Mrs. Nawaz 

Christmas Card Competition Winner – Elyssia G (Y5)

Huge congratulations to Elyssia who was the winning entry to design the front cover of the Christmas card for our local MP Dominic Raab. Mr Rabb came to school 15th December to surprise our winner and the runner ups of the competition. Our runners up received a certificate also presented by Mr Raab. Congratulations once again to all.

Each class has been busy decorating their classroom door for a whole school competition. The classes are voting and the winner will be declared in Wednesday's Book Prize assembly and we can't wait as competition is fierce!

 - Mrs Athersuch 

Congratulations to all of our Book, Art and Sports Prize winners. It is a very special moment celebrating winners from each class and sharing their achievements this term. 

- Mrs Rayner 

 Reminder...Online School Meals from 4th Jan

This is a reminder that you will need to order your child’s meal online via scopay from January 2024. This is now live and you can go on to your Scopay account and pre order your child’s meals. You can now order meals to be taken from 4^th January 2024 up to the end of term on 28^th March 2024. You will be able to see a daily menu to enable you to make your meal choice.

Meals must be ordered at least a week in advance.  You will need to book and pay for your child’s meal in advance (paid meals for Year 3 – 6) and you must therefore have a credit on your account. Please can any outstanding balances be settled as soon as possible.

Please note that children’s meals in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 must also be booked online.

If you do not have a Scopay account, please ensure you contact the school office as soon as possible to receive a letter on how to create an account.

 Online Safety- 

setting up apps.pdf

12 social media online safety tips 1 .pdf

new devices 2023.pdf

The Gardening Diaries December- 

the gardening diaries december 23.pdf

12 Days Wild | The Wildlife Trusts Take part in The Wildlife Trusts' 12 Days of Wild Christmas! We're encouraging everyone to spend 12 Days Wild this year, and get outdoors during the festive period. Sign up and we'll give you lots of advice and tips to help you to take part. www.wildlifetrusts.org

Panto Time..........

A final reminder that there are just a few tickets remaining for this year's amazing St Mary's and St John's Youth Fellowship pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk. Tickets, which include a free hot or soft drink at the interval, are just £5 per person. To book please email yfpanto23@gmail.com or contact Zoe Byrne on 07950 932623. 

 Performances will be at St Mary's Church Hall in Walton on:

 Thursday 28th December 2023 at 4pm

Friday 29th December 2023 at 6pm

Saturday 30th December 2023 at 2pm

Saturday 30th December 2023 at 7pm