Ambleside Primary School

About Us

About Ambleside

Welcome to Ambleside Academy. We are a school community with a great ethos and heart: determined to be the very best we can be.

Ambleside is much larger than the average-sized primary school. It is a three form entry school with up to 700 pupils on role including a nursery which can cater for 68 places in both morning and afternoon sessions. The school population is diverse and our pupils represent a range of ethnic and faith groups.

Our pupils and staff are polite and hardworking, kind and reflective. We encourage and help each other, and believe that every day is a fresh day with multiple opportunities to shine. Our building is bright and spacious with great spaces for outdoor and indoor learning. We foster a secure and caring environment, where children are listened to and pupils take the lead.

We have a culture of high expectations, and our fantastic children respond daily to challenges to be knowledgeable, creative and brave. They are encouraged to learn and grow as individuals: through curriculum provision which is underpinned by our school values of ambition, curiosity, empathy, respect, resilience, confidence and kindness.

We have great ambition for our school: a belief in the potential of our amazing pupils and staff, and so focus hard on improvement.

Ambleside Academy is part of the Raleigh Learning Trust, which is small and unique and committed to enabling all its pupils to develop the confidence, resilience and resourcefulness required to succeed as citizens in the communities of their future.

If you think this is the school for you, please contact our school office for details of the Admissions process.

Daily Timetable

Below is the schools daily timetable.
8:00am – 8:30am Breakfast Club admission
8:30am – 11:30am Nursery AM
8:45am Classroom doors open
8:50am Registration
10:30am KS1 (15 minute) Break Time
10:45am KS2 (15 minute) Break Time
11:45am – 01:00pm Lunchtime
12:30pm – 3:30pm Nursery PM
01:10pm – 01:25pm Monday KS2 Assembly
01:30pm – 01:45 Monday KS1 Assembly
03:00 – 03:15pm End of day
4:00pm Pick up for KS1 After-School Clubs
4:15pm Pick up for KS2 After-School Clubs

School Timings

Following the legal statutory requirements, there are slight differences within the school day at Foundation Stage, Key Stage one and two are follows:

Nursery Aged Children (Foundation One) 15 hours
Foundation Two & Key Stage One 21 hours for pupils aged 5-7 years
Key Stage Two 23 ½ hours for pupils aged 8 – 11 years
Please note: The above table does not include breaks, registration or acts of collective worship.

Nursery

8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Morning Session
12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Afternoon Session

Foundation Two

8:40 a.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Key Stage One & Two

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. arival – 3:00 – 3:15 p.m. collection

A Message from the Children

“I love to be at Ambleside Academy – it’s the best school I’ve ever been to. This is because the children are really kind and fun to play with. The teachers are really nice and helpful and they listen to us. In lessons we are learning to find out about things, like about the rainforest, from books and the virtual reality experience. For reading, we have little characters like Literal Lion, Authorial Aardvark, and the Inferring Ibex, and they help us with what we need to do, like picking out answers or making a sensible guess about how someone might feel. Maths is quite hard, like subtracting fractions but it’s my best lesson!

We have all different kind of trips like going to Cadbury’s World when we were reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory, and some people might go on a residential trip like going camping at Colwick. I would welcome you to the school – I think you’ll like it.”

Charlie (Year 4 Frog Class)

School Mission Statement

Mission Statement
Our goal is to help all our pupils learn to be:

Empathetic
To be respectful, caring and kind towards other, embracing all differences.

Curious
To be inquisitive explorers of the world around us and not be afraid to take risks.

Respectful
To speak and behave in a way that shows consideration for the feelings, wishes and rights of others.

Ambitious
To believe with hard work and determination we can achieve our dreams.

Confident
To have belief in ourselves and our abilities.

Resilient
To be determined to succeed and persevere when faced with a challenge.

School Council

School council is an opportunity for children to be able to express their views about school and the wider community. We value and encourage children to share their views on a range of different subjects.

Meet the Staff

Senior Leadership Team
Nursery
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Additional Staff
Designated Safeguarding and Child Protection
Office Staff
Midday Supervisors and Kitchen Staff
Site Management

Governors

The Raleigh Learning Trust was established in April 2017. Ambleside Primary School joined the Raleigh Learning Trust on 1st February 2018. The Trust Board maintains strategic and statutory responsibility for Raleigh Learning Trust academies and services.

There are three Local Governing body cluster groups within the trust who oversee the running of the academies on behalf of the trust board. These include, Mainstream Primary Cluster, Special Educational Needs Cluster and the Alternative Provision Cluster. Governors form a crucial part of an academy’s success, offering peer support and challenge to leadership teams.

Mainstream Primary Cluster Body Contact details;

Mr David Knight, Chairperson
Raleigh Learning Trust
c/o Ambleside Academy
Minver Crescent
Aspley
Nottingham
NG8 5PN

0115 8550103

For more Information regarding Governance Structures please visit the Raleigh Learning Trust Website.

Information regarding the composition of the local governing cluster bodies can be found below:
Raleigh Learning Trust Local Governance Information

Statutory information, including financial information, regarding the Raleigh Learning Trust can be accessed here:
RLT Statutory Information

Key Information

Attendance

Regular school attendance – why it’s so important

Going to school regularly is important to your child’s future.

Good attendance shows potential employers that your child is reliable. Children who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime or become a victim of crime.

It might sound OK to say your child attends school 90% of the time. However, this effectively means they are missing half a day of school per week. Over one year, this equates to a child missing 4 weeks of school. During the course of their education, half a year of schooling would be lost.

If your child only attends 80% of the time, they are missing one day of school per week – eight weeks per year. During the course of their education, one whole year of schooling would be lost.

We are here to help you and if you are having difficulties getting your child into school please contact the school and we will do what we can to support you.

We aim for 100% attendance and punctuality for every child from reception to year 6 with each child achieving at least 95.6%

To help support your child in achieving full attendance try to ensure that you avoid making appointments for your son or daughter during school time. No matter the reason for your child being absent from school unless it is an educational visit, trip or activity or they are being educated off site all time off counts as an absence and will affect their overall percentage and learning.

Holidays during term time:

Ambleside works alongside with the Local Authority and do not grant permission for holidays during term time unless the circumstances are deemed exceptional. We have an obligation to take appropriate action in line with government legislation to request penalty notices for each parent who we believe has taken their child or children out of school during term time.
Penalty notices are £60 per parent per child so this could result in a cost of £360 for a two parent family with 3 children should you choose to take them on holiday outside of the designated school holidays often meaning that a cheap holiday can become very expensive overnight. Penalty notices increase in cost if they are not paid within 28 days.

School attendance and absence: By law, all children of compulsory school age (five to 16) must receive a suitable full-time education. Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly.

A child registered at a school can legally miss school only in very limited circumstances. These include:

https://vacances-scolaires.com

Admissions

Ambleside Primary School Admissions Authority

As Ambleside is now an academy and no longer maintained by the Local Authority, the governing body is the admissions authority and adheres to the DfE Schools Admissions Code. We are still working in Partnership with the Local Authority Admission team and have taken on board their best practice. Please read our Determined Admission Arrangements for more detailed information on this.

The school day and year

Ambleside Primary School meets the purpose to educate our pupils for 380 half day sessions which equates to 190 days in each school academic year. The law requires our school day to be divided into two main sessions with a lunch break in between. In addition to the 190 days, school staff attend a further five days INSET training for professional development. INSET days are published in the September Newsletter each year with a termly reminder.

Legal Measures to ensure school attendance

Parents of compulsory school age which is aged 5 – 11 at Ambleside Primary have a legal duty to ensure their children receive a suitable education by regular attendance at school. For attendance to be at least Good it needs to be 95%+

Inclusion

Supporting pupils with special educational needs

At Ambleside Primary School we uphold an inclusive admissions policy which is built on a whole community approach to special needs where staff, governors, parents and support services work together as a team co-operating, collaborating, and co-ordinating in all that they do so that it produces the best possible education for all children.

Please read about the Nest to learn more about it and how it helps are pupils to learn.

What are special educational needs?

The school considers the four following areas to be areas where difficulties may occur and these categories are also defined in the SEND Code of Practice 2014.

How are Special Needs identified?

Pupils with special educational needs are identified as early as possible from various sources: pre-school settings, teacher assessment, parental concern, Individual Literacy assessment, National Curriculum assessments (SATs), reading tests (NFER) and previous school records/reports. It can also be identified by observations carried out by the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator or someone from the LA support services. This information then forms the basis for planning a differentiated programme to meet a recognised need.

In the identification of Special Needs school follow a Graduated response to which there are three stages

Pupil aware – If a pupil is causing concern due to lack of progress a discussion will be held about possible causes, this will include seeking the views of the parents and an appropriate set of actions will be devised. This may include being part of an intervention group following a specifically tailored programme of work over a set period of time. This would usually involve a daily session with a Teaching assistant. After this period of intervention progress will be assessed. If it is decided that further assessment required due to lack of progress, it is at this point school will start to consider if there is an area of difficulty that comes under the four areas of Special needs.
SEN support – If a pupil has a recognised need within one or more of the four areas outlined in the Code of Practice then an individually tailored support programme will be put in place. Parents will be made aware of what this provision will be and will also be involved in reviewing what happens next throughout the time it is in place.
EHC plan – If a pupil has had significant amount of individualised support for a sustained period of time and there are still concerns over progress from school or from parents then a request for a statutory assessment can be made. This request requires all professionals and parents to provide information which goes towards a decision if the pupil’s needs are sufficient enough for a plan to be required. If it is then a plan is put together and once in place the pupil is able to attend a special school if that is the parent’s wishes.

If a child has Special Educational Needs, what should happen next?

As early as possible, the individual needs of all pupils is identified and the appropriate provision is made. This may include:

What happens at SEN support

A pupil who is at SEN support will receive support across the day and the week. This support will be timetabled and the support will be in place for at times of greatest need. This support maybe shared support or one to one.

At Ambleside Primary School, all children who are SEN support will have a SEN plan. A SEN plan has several targets which the child is working towards. The child is supported by teacher and their teaching assistant in achieving these. A SEN plan also outlines how much one to one support a child receives and what times of the day this happens. A SEN plan is to be reviewed at least every term. A SEN plan is to be discussed with parents and the child (if appropriate) when drawn up and at review meetings. If a child is moving from School Aware to SEN support then a SEN plan will be written and this will include new targets, new strategies and any specialist assessments from those involved.

Every half term the SEN plan will be revised by the class teacher, the TA who works with the pupil where they will review the strategies tried, the targets set and if any progress has been made. From this review, decisions will be made as to next actions. There will also be a Review meeting once a term where parents and if appropriate other professionals will be invited to discuss progress and next steps.

Who do I contact if I do not think my child’s needs are being met?

Raising a concern

The first thing you should do is raise your concern with your child’s teacher. They will discuss the concern with you and then share your concerns with the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.

Then your child’s teacher and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator will discuss strategies already used with child and possible alternatives.

These discussions will then be feedback to the parents at the earliest possibly moment where the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, the child’s teacher and parents hopefully agree what interventions are needed whether it is no additional action is required, or the kind of interventions outlined for School Aware or those required for SEN support.

Should however you are unable to agree with what the school are proposing then there is a comprehensive Complaints Procedure drawn up by NCC:

The Co-ordination of Special Educational Needs at Ambleside Primary School

The school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator Mrs Jackson.

What is a Statutory assessment or Education, Health and Care Plan?

A statutory assessment is where a written request is made by the child’s parents or the school to the LA to formally identify the child’s needs. To have a Statutory assessment the child will have a level of need which is of significant cause for concern. Statutory assessments involves the LA considering all of the evidence by working co-operatively with parents, the child’s school and as appropriate, other agencies, in deciding whether a statutory assessment is necessary.

If the LA decides that the degree of the pupil’s learning difficulty and the nature of the provision necessary to meet the child’s special educational needs are such that it requires the LA to issue a plan outlining the SEN provision then there are two main courses of action. Firstly the parents may choose to keep their child in mainstream education. The child will be supported by HLN and the plan outlines the provision to be provided. Secondly the child’s parents may wish to send their child to a Special school which specialise in children with a significant level of need.

A child cannot attend a special school without a plan and which provision whether it is mainstream or not will be discussed and decided upon at a meeting after the statement has been issued. All plans must be reviewed at least annually with the parents, the pupil, the LA the school and professionals involved.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is important to everyone at Ambleside and we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We are very grateful for having some excellently trained and dedicated safeguarding leads, who are:

Ms Bromley – Head Teacher
Miss Boulton – DSL
Miss Johnson – DSL
Miss Walters – DSL
Bev Murray – Raleigh Learning Trust Safeguarding Lead

Calendar

School Term Dates

Autumn Term 1

Thursday 2nd September – Friday 15th October
INSET Day Tuesday 31st August
INSET Day Wednesday 1st September

Autumn Term 2

Monday 1st November – Friday 17th December

Spring Term 1

Tuesday 4th January – Thursday 10th February
INSET Day Friday 11th February

Spring Term 2

Monday 21st February – Friday 1st April

Summer Term 1

Tuesday 19th April – Friday 27th May
Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May

Summer Term 2

Monday 6th June – Wednesday 27th July
INSET Day Thursday 30th June
INSET Day Friday 1st July

OFSTED Report and Performance Tables

Ambleside Primary School joined the Raleigh Learning Trust on 1st February 2018.

To view previous inspection reports and information about the school before it became part of a Multi-Academy Trust please click here.

SATS Results Ambleside Academy

Uniform

We reflect our high expectations in the pride we take in our school uniform, and the feeling of belonging it supports at Ambleside Academy.

We expect our children and adults to be smart at all times. Staff should dress smartly, and pupils should wear school uniform. If a child is not in uniform the class teacher will remind the child and ask parents and pupil for reasons.

Our uniform has been kept simple to avoid unnecessary expense. All uniform items with the ‘Dream Believe Shine’ school logo are available to purchase locally or online.

All other items are readily available from the high street and supermarkets – if you have difficulty obtaining any item, please let us know.

We expect all pupils to follow the dress code below:

Red sweater or cardigan or fleece;

White or red polo shirt;

Grey or black trousers, skirt, pinafore dress, or shorts;

Red and white gingham dress;

Black footwear which is safe and comfortable for learning and playing –indoors and outdoors.

All pupils must have a P.E. KIT to change into for P.E. lessons

School Meals

Lunchtime at Ambleside Primary School

Free School Meals

To find out if you are eligible for free school meals please click here for more information.

To download an application form please click here.

If your child is in the nursery, please click here.

Universal Free School Meals

From September 2014, the government announced that all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be able to have a free school meal at lunchtime. This offer does not depend on your household income or whether you receive any benefits – every child in these classes is eligible to take up the offer. For more information please speak to the main school office.

School dinners are prepared on-site using quality, wholesome produce and offer good value for £2.15 per day (£10.75 per week). If you pay for your child’s meals, please pay using Parentpay.

School Improvement Priorities

There are 4 key areas of focus for the year:

  1. Recovery from lost learning in English and maths
  2. Secure and consistent curriculum implementation
  3. Character development
  4. Improving attendance
    The priorities for the school this year are to continue to improve outcomes for all pupils through ensuring that:

EAL

What is EAL?

The School Census asks schools to record pupil’s ‘first’ language defined as follows:

“…If a child was exposed to more than one language (which may include English) during early development the language other than English should be recorded, irrespective of the child’s proficiency in English.” DCSF (2006). Pupil Language Data: guidance for local authorities on schools’ collection of data on pupils languages

What’s the difference between ‘first’ language and ‘home’ language?

First language is the language that the child is first introduced to by the parent.

Home language is the language that is more frequently used at home i.e Urdu, English, Polish etc.

We have found that children who’s parents/carers use English at home are able to access English within school much more proficiently.

RE and Worship

Religious Education enables children to investigate and reflect on some of the most fundamental questions asked by people. At Ambleside Primary School we develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths, and we address fundamental questions concerning, for example, the meaning of life and the existence of a divine spirit. We enable children to develop a sound knowledge not only of Christianity but also of other world religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children within our school. Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding. We help the children learn from religions as well as about religions.

Collective Worship is a time when the whole school, or groups within the school meet together in order to consider and reflect on common concerns, issues and interests. It offers all pupils an opportunity to worship through engaging in relevant, meaningful experiences and provides opportunities for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Assemblies take place every day and follow up work is carried out in class to explore themes of assemblies in more depth.

Curriculum

Home Learning

Please find below the home learning packs for our pupils to learn at home.

Please see our Remote Learning Statment here: Remote Learning Statement Ambleside Academy 2020/21

Class 19 Home Learning

Please see the home learning resources for class 19 below.
Maths
Writing
Reading


Class 9 Home Learning

Please see the home learning resources for class 9 below.
Maths
Please see some extra maths challenges for our class 9 students to have a go at here: Extra Maths Challenge!
Phonics
Reading
Literacy
PE with Mr Edwards
Mr Edwards has created some PE challenges for you to complete at home please see them below.






Reception

Cosmic Yoga Squish The Fish
I Spy
T T 127 Seaside Word Mats Ver 1
The Rectange Song
The Hexagon Song
The Circle Song
Sea Creature Drawing
Make Your Own Seaside

Pack 1

Doubles And Halves Game
Checklist
The Triangle Song
The Pentagon Song
The Gruffalo Summer Holiday Story
Seaside Cut Out
Rainbow Pencil Tracing
Decorate Your Sand Castle
T T 11094 Under The Sea Rhyming Words Activity Sheet Ver 1
The Square Song
The Octagon Song
The Gruffalo Literacy Workbook
Sea Creature PE Actions
Maths Workbook
3D Shape Hunt
Sphere Rhyme
Rainbow Fish Story And Retell With Puppets
Magic Shell
I Spy And Add To 20
Cube Rhyme

Pack 2

Transition Rainbow
Sea Creatures Junk Box Model
Rainbow Fish Sharing Activity
Floating And Sinking
All About Me Literacy Booklet
Spreading My Wings Activities
Sea Creatures Cutting Activity
Printing Scales
Cuboid Rhyme

Year 1

Pack 1
Pack 2
Pack 3
Pack 4

Year 2

Pack 1
Pack 2
Pack 3
Pack 4
Pack 5

Year 3

Pack 1
Pack 2
Pack 3
Pack 4

Year 4

Home Learning Pack Year 4 Pack 1
Home Learning Pack Year 4 Pack 2
Home Learning Pack Year 4 Pack 3
Home Learning Pack Year 4 Pack 4
Home Learning Pack Year 4 Pack 5

Year 5

Year 5 Home Learning Pack Pack 1
Year 5 Home Learning Pack Pack 2
Year 5 Home Learning Pack Pack 3
Year 5 Home Learning Pack Pack 4
Year 5 Home Learning Pack Pack 5

Year 6

Year 6 Home Learning Pack Pack 1
Year 6 Home Learning Pack Pack 2
Year 6 Home Learning Pack Pack 3
Year 6 Home Learning Pack Pack 4
Year 6 Home Learning Pack Pack 5

Progression of Skills

Long term plans and Progression of skills

Please see below our long term plans and progression of skills documents for both Year groups and Subjects.

Year Groups
Nursery:
Long Term Plan Nursery

Foundation:
Long Term Plan EYFS
Ambleside EYFS Statutory Curriculum 2021
EYFS Changes To The Curriculum

Year 1:
Year 1 Long Term Plan

Year 2:
Year 2 Long Term Plan

Year 3:
Year 3 Long Term Plan

Year 4:
Year 4 Long Term Plan year 4

Year 5:
Year 5 Long Term Plan

Year 6:
Year 6 Long Term Plan

Subjects

Art & Design
Progression Of Skills Art And Design
Computing
Progression Of Skills Computing
Music
Progression Of Skills Music
PHSE
Progression Of Skills PSHE
Progression Of Skills DT
Geography
Progression Of Skills Geography
Science
Progression Of Skills Science
Progression Of Skills PE
PE Timetable Summer 2
RE
Progression Of Skills RE
History
Progression Of Skills History

Writing

Year 1 Expectations in Writing
Year 2 Expectations in Writing
Year 3 Expectations in Writing
Year 4 Expectations in Writing
Year 5 Expectations in Writing
Year 6 Expectations in Writing

Reading

Ambleside Phonics

Please see below our first online phonics video presented by Mrs Shepard. In this video we cover the AI sounds.

Ambleside Primary School is a Reading School

Our Ambleside Reading Characters
At our academy we think that it is paramount to equip our children with the key reading skills that they will need to make super progress in reading. To try to help the children learn these we have invented a character that is amazing at doing each skill to help the children remember, use and be able to talk about the reading skills that each focused character is skilful at.
Below are our reading characters.

Synthetic Phonics
The primary approach to teaching pupils to read at Ambleside Primary school is through the systematic teaching of synthetic phonics. The ‘Letters and Sounds’ six-phase programme is used as a time-bonded, structured programme which introduces pupils to phonemes and graphemes in specific order within the context of a language-rich curriculum. Effective teaching using ‘Letters and Sounds’ enables pupils to see the relationship between reading and spelling from an early stage, such that the teaching of one reinforces understanding of the other. Decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) are treated as reversible processes.

Initial teaching of the programme is rooted within widely accepted best practice for the Early Years Foundation Stage in which pupils’ speaking and listening skills are prioritised. At Ambleside we believe that the more words the pupils know and understand, the better equipped they are to succeed in reading and learning overall.
The six-phase structure of ‘Letters and Sounds’ provides a useful map from which to plan pupils’ progress, the pace of which is guided by assessments of pupils’ developing knowledge and skills. Pupils are ability-grouped within classes for daily phonics sessions to ensure they are taught at an appropriate pitch. Teachers assess pupils regularly and where pupils are judged to have fallen off trajectory, rapid intervention (through additional small group teaching sessions) ensues, to help them catch up with their peers. The aim is that by the end of Year 1 the teaching of phonics should be substantially complete, with word structures and patterns learnt during Year 2, and securing teaching and learning in spelling continuing throughout Key Stage 2.

Pupils’ phonics ability is tested at the end of Year 1, using the statutory Phonics Screening Check. Pupils who do not reach the threshold receive intervention and are tested again at the end of Year 2. Results are reported to parents.

Enjoying Books
At Ambleside Primary School we aim to foster a love of books and of reading. We value books and reading so both have a high priority. Pupils encounter books through shared, guided and independent reading, through weekly class library sessions, through reading research within foundation subject areas and through general reading to gather information both at school and at home. Pupils read in groups, on their own, with teachers and teaching assistants, with families, with buddies and with Reading Volunteers.

We choose not to limit pupils to following a single reading scheme but recognise the importance of pupils applying their developing reading skills through reading books which are appropriately pitched. Teachers therefore help pupils select books which are appropriate for their reading ability using the ‘Book Bands’ system which is applied to books in school. ‘Book Banding’ is a method of grading the reading level of a book. The bands enable the books to be graded from the simplest texts suitable for very early readers through to texts for fluent readers. Each band is given a colour and the appropriate coloured label is stuck to the book. A range of reading scheme books, picture story books and non-fiction books from different publishers can thus be graded so pupils can select from a wide range according to their interest, knowing that the book will not be too easy or too hard due to its colour sticker. Early readers will practise their blending skills using phonetically decodeable texts selected by their teacher and also enjoy picture story books which they have selected from the school library.

Pupils in all year groups regularly hear stories read aloud and we try to ensure we keep up to date with the best quality children’s texts. Authors visit school regularly, sharing their skills and enthusiasm and helping Ambleside pupils see the processes involved in creating books.
Teachers share their love of books with pupils through talking to each other and to pupils about what they are reading themselves and through taking every opportunity to express and promote the importance of reading in their lives. We agree that you can’t teach reading for pleasure, you have to share it.
You can find great resources for reading at the Oxford Owl Website – here you can read from the screen or have a story read to you!

Ambleside Primary School is a Reading School
Our Ambleside Reading Characters
At our academy we think that it is paramount to equip our children with the key reading skills that they will need to make super progress in reading. To try to help the children learn these we have invented a character that is amazing at doing each skill to help the children remember, use and be able to talk about the reading skills that each focused character is skilful at.
Below are our reading characters.











In our school we teach reading every day. We believe that children should be introduced to a skill (through use of our reading characters) and that staff should follow a clear teaching sequence of Revisit, Teach, Practise, Apply within each reading session.

The text chosen should be pitched at the correct reading ability level for the children within the class and should include common exception words that groups of children need to know next in order to make next steps of progress.

Our teachers use texts that are exciting and engaging and are topic related linked to the topic theme that they are teaching. We believe that sessions should be clearly differentiated and that adults should be used to deliver skills that are suited to individual pupil needs in reading.

Our Approach to improving the quality of Teaching, Learning and Assessment within phonics at Ambleside Academy
The Phenomenal Phonics Programme

At our Academy we follow the Phenomenal Phonics Programme. This is our own programme which follows a synthetic, systematic approach explicitly teaching the correspondence between letters and sounds to segment for spelling and blend for reading.

Whilst Phenomenal Phonics follow the phases set out below, our bespoke approach is driven by high quality assessment half termly which informs next steps of learning to ensure that our children demonstrate good progress in the number of sounds that they know and words that they can read.

Our Approach

At Ambleside Academy we believe that all children should become competent and confident readers and that early readers are entitled to daily rigorous phonics sessions which are comprehensive, systematic and have a clear and consistent structure. At our Academy we teach a synthetic phonics approach to reading, where children learn to decode (read) and encode (spell) printed words quickly and fluently by blending and segmenting letter sounds. Our teaching and learning approach at Ambleside with regards to phonics is simple, fun and effective which means that our children are targetedmat the sounds that they need next in order to make progress. We do ensure that links are made to the National Curriculum expectations in terms of the letter and sounds that children are expected to cover.

We support the children’s application of phonics to their reading by using both Phonics reading books and ‘Oxford Reading Tree’ phonics readers in school and to send home, until children are able to read with fluency and apply their knowledge of all the letter/sound patterns taught. Children who are just beginning to learn the letter/sound correspondences are learning at the same time to tell stories using books which do not have words to begin with. This is crucial in the development of spoken language and vocabulary. It is a necessary stepping stone towards becoming an accomplished reader and writer.

Our vision for teaching early reading at Ambleside Academy and the environment

We believe that the environment at Ambleside should be rich in letters, sound, logos and familiar print of which our children experience in daily life and in the local environment. The children should be able to recognise the letters within their name. They should be engaged in effective learning whereby they partake in listening games, shared reading and use of postboxes to encourage them to identify familiar letters in familiar words and sounds that they hear. It is our belief that children should be engaged in skywriting, exploration of exciting and stimulating contexts for reading words with purposes for learning.

In Foundation 2 the children in our school engage in formal phonics sessions whereby children are taught to segment and blend words and apply their learning for reading decodable and tricky words. The ultimate aim being for children to achieve fluent word recognition. We use robot talk to help our children improve their segmenting and blending skills, whilst having fun.

How often phonics is taught at our Academy

At our Academy we teach two phonics sessions daily to maximise the number of words that the children can read within a day. Our children that need to make accelerated progress will also complete intervention on an afternoon to further maximise the number of sounds that they know.

In places in school where additional support is required, adults will be used to boost children in addition to their usual phonics sessions, on a morning and get them using really fun, practical and hands on equipment.

How do we increase the number of sounds that the children know and can read within words?

At our academy we follow a clear and consistent approach to ensure that children make good progress in phonics. At the start of each academic year we baseline our children using the most current screening test for phonics. This gives a baseline to show the number of words that a child can segment and blend for reading. This phonics screening check is then used to inform the next steps of learning and sounds that individual children need to know next to ensure that they make more progress and increase the number of sounds that they know. Children are exposed to mock screening tests on a half termly basis and these tests inform the next phonics group that a child needs to be in as well as the intervention group that the child needs to be in to make next steps of progress, informing adults of the next group of sounds that they need to learn next to make further progress.

When does the phonics screening test formally take place?

At the end of the academic year (In June) the children in Year 1 undertake the National Phonics Screening Check, which is on a pass or fail basis. This test includes 40 words for the children to read, 20 are real and 20 are pseudo words (not real). 32 is the expected pass rate for this test. If children do not pass their year 1 phonics screen in year 1, they will need to retake this in year 2 and they will need to try and ensure that they pass.

What is the structure of a phonics session at Ambleside Academy?

Revisit

This is the most crucial stage in the phonics session that keeps the children revisiting sounds that they have previously covered but need to be able to use and apply at word level to help them remember and apply the reading of sounds that they have learned previously within phonics throughout the year.

Teach

This is where the new sound is introduced. The children will be encouraged to skywrite (reinforcing correct formation of handwriting) segmenting and blending to use robot when reading at word level.

Practise

See if the children can read the new words with them and segment and blend with support.

Apply

Children to read a range of words on their own and a sentence, including words within a sentence for reading/ writing.

Engaging Parents
Our families support pupils by reading with or to them each day, either after or before school, and signing their reading diaries. They are informed about pupils’ reading levels and of course attend Parents’ Evenings and school events to find out about the reading curriculum.

The Oxford Owl website is linked to our school website so that a range of texts can be accessed to read on line at all times.

When classes have studied a key text as an extended literacy unit, our parents have surpassed themselves with the creative homework projects which they have completed with their children! For example, large models of the ‘Peggy Sue’ were constructed during the Year 6 work on Kensuke’s Kingdom and not only were costumes created for Year 4’s ‘I Was a Rat!’ day but also 100 family members turned up to watch their performance.

Parents supported the Year 5 team in the Question of Sport, inter-school quiz previously mentioned and this year we plan to build on this by hosting a ‘Dads and Lads’ quiz night which has reading research as its theme and celebrates parents and children enjoying reading together.

We know that we can do more to inform parents about and involve parents in reading for pleasure, so we use termly stakeholder surveys to stay updated on parents’ views and always aim for improvement in the way in which we respond.

Moving Forward
With greater involvement of parents high on the list, and inviting pupils to be ‘Reading Champions’ who promote reading , we know that to become an outstanding reading school we must do all of the above and more.

We await with bated breath the results of Year 3’s ‘Text Factor’ as another opportunity for pupils to make decisions about the reading materials which we select for school and will continue to elicit the views of pupils in shaping our reading provision and strengthening our schools’ reading culture.

Raising pupils’ attainment in reading is a priority for every member of the school staff as is developing a love of reading. In the knowledge that excellence and enjoyment are reciprocal processes, we strive to enhance and support children’s reading, so Ambleside pupils love to read because they can read.

Maths

Please see our Maths curriculum for Years 1 to 6 below.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6

OUR ADDRESS
Ambleside Primary School
Minver Crescent
Nottingham
NG8 5PN

CONTACT US
0115 900 3610
admin@ambleside.nottingham.sch.uk

Ambleside Primary School is an exempt charity and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales number 8246275. It has a registered office at Minver Crescent, Aspley, Nottingham, NG8 5PN