Ashton Gate Primary School Newsletter

The KS2 Diversity Champions met for the first time this week! We were joined by Talal Khan, our inclusion consultant, who has been working closely with staff and SLT this year. Children shared why they had put themselves forward for the role — some drawing on their lived experiences, and all expressing a strong desire to be Upstanders in our school. They spoke passionately about wanting to ensure Ashton Gate is inclusive for everyone, regardless of race, religion, gender or ability. It was an inspiring and exciting meeting, and we are incredibly proud of what this group will help us achieve

This term we have been proud to strengthen our work around diversity, inclusion and belonging. Children have taken part in assemblies about being upstanders, learning about protected characteristics, and understanding how to seek support if they need it. We were also delighted to welcome our local PCSO, Matt, who spoke with all KS2 year groups this week about hate crime, shared real life scenarios and about the law.

We are also proud to have introduced Diversity Champions in every KS1 and 2 class, invested in new books celebrating culture and identity, and hold weekly assemblies exploring different countries through music, language and traditions. In Term 4, representatives from SARI will be working with KS2 to share some lived experiences and to deepen children’s understanding about race and inclusion.

As part of our ongoing work around inclusion, belonging and understanding different cultures and faiths within our school community, we are pleased to invite our Muslim children and their families to join us for our first school iftar during Ramadan. We hope in future years to be able to open this up as a whole-school event. 

An iftar is the meal that breaks the fast at sunset. This will be a calm, community-focused evening, giving families and staff the opportunity to come together and share a special time together. 

Date:. Monday 16 March
Time:  5:45pm–7:30pm (approx)
Location: Ashton School Hall

There will be rooms available for prayer, please bring your own prayer mat.

For this first event, numbers will be limited to our Muslim families and we kindly ask for families who wish to attend to complete the Google form using the link below. Please complete by Friday 6th March.

Food and Allergies

To keep everyone safe, families will be asked to bring a vegetarian or halal dish to share, with clear ingredient labelling. We will provide dates and water for breaking the fast.

We are excited to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 5th March at Ashton Gate Primary School! Children are invited to come dressed as a favourite book character or a favourite word — dive into the dictionary, discover some new vocabulary, and get creative with costumes inspired by language.

Mystery Readers Wanted!

We would love to welcome parents, carers and family members to join us as mystery readers and share a story with their child’s class. The only rule… keep it a secret from your child to make it a special surprise! If you would like to take part, please contact your child’s class teacher.

Do You Work with Books?

We are also looking for volunteers who work in the world of books. Are you an author, illustrator, publisher, editor, proofreader or graphic designer? We would love you to come and speak to the children about your job and how books are created.

If you are interested, please get in touch with your child’s class teacher or:

• Kady (EYFS/KS1)
  [email protected]
• Rosie (KS2)
  [email protected]

We can’t wait to celebrate the joy of reading together!

Josh Hicks will be visiting years 3, 4, 5 and 6 on Tuesday 3rd March for a special World Book Day event based around his brand new thrilling school mystery YOU VS The Poison Plot. This fast-paced Choose Your Own Path adventure keeps children actively reading, thinking and problem-solving as their choices lead to different twists and endings. Further information can be found at: https://storysmithbooks.com/joshhicks/ashtongate (please ensure you clearly state your child’s name and class in the order notes). Josh will be able to sign copies of the book on the day of the event. Please place your order by Tuesday 24th February. Storysmith bookshop, who are facilitating this author visit, are also kindly donating a copy of the book for our school library.

This week Year 6 wrote poetry and competed in Poetry Slams, along with pupils from primary schools across the CST. The poets and audience were brilliant, the slam performances were of such high quality and the children made us incredibly proud, we hope they came home bursting with poetic enthusiasm, and maybe shouts of Seaaagullllll! On Wednesday the Slam Champions were an Ashton Gate team, with their poem Dawn of the Livin’ Bin. Congratulations Cerys, Joe, Nell and Zach!

EY & KS1 Parents Evening will take place on Monday 9th March and Wednesday 11th March

KS2 Parents Evening will take place on Tuesday 10th March and Thursday 12th March. Parents Evening for 6K will be Monday 9th March and Thursday 12th March. Parents Evening for 6BH have changed and are as follows: Tuesday 10th March 3.10-5.10pm, Thursday 12th March 3.40-6.00pm, Tuesday 17th March 3.10-4.10pm

Bookings will open via Arbor on 12th February at 7am.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, our Year 2 children took part in the Dance Festival at Ashton Park School. After a term full of hard practice and dedication, their amazing teamwork and togetherness truly shone through in every performance.

Each and every child was outstanding, performing with confidence, energy and big smiles. They represented Ashton Gate Primary School to an exceptionally high standard and showed just how fantastic Ashton Gaters can be.

We are incredibly proud of them all!

Next term, Year 3 will be studying the work of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui and creating artwork inspired by his use of recycled materials. To support this project, we would be very grateful for donations of plastic or foil bottle tops, kitchen or toilet rolls, and egg boxes.

Please could these items be brought into school by the first week of Term 4. Thank you for your support!

There will be displays in the windows at both the Ashton and Upton sites.

Have you got books your child has grown out of? We’d love them!

Did you know that around one million children in the UK don’t own a single book? Having books at home makes a huge difference to children’s love of reading – helping them to relax, use their imagination and grow in confidence as learners.

As part of World Book Week, we’re proud to be supporting the Children’s Book Project. We’re inviting children to bring in any good-quality books they’ve outgrown so they can be passed on to children who have very few books of their own.

If you’re having a clear-out at home, please consider donating any books your child no longer reads. Your donation could help spark a lifelong love of reading for another child.

Books can be dropped off between Monday 23rd February and Friday 27th February. There will be drop off bins at both school sites.

On Saturday 28 February from 11.00am to 4.30pm, Bristol Cathedral is hosting their annual Chorister for the Day event for Year 4 pupils and parents.

The event is an opportunity for musically-inclined children in Year 4 to get a taste of what being a Cathedral Chorister is like, while also giving the parents information on the immense and measurable benefits of chorister education and life. As a probationary chorister they would remain at your primary school until the end of Year 6, joining Bristol Cathedral Choir School in Year 7 and becoming full choristers.

The day includes a singing workshop; a tour of the Cathedral; Q&A sessions with music staff, BCCS, and the choristers themselves; and a fantastic opportunity to join in singing Choral Evensong with the Cathedral Choir. It is free to attend and lunch is included. The booking deadline is Sunday 23 February.

The attached flyer includes further information, and you can book your place on the day here below, or email the Cathedral’s Music & Liturgy Officer, Tim Popple at [email protected].

Ashton Gate Primary School has become a pioneer school for a new national adolescent health study.

Please read the important information attached, which outlines how young people and parents will be involved, including a parent/carer survey and an opportunity to join parent/carer discussion groups.

Bristol City Council introduced the School Streets scheme at Ashton Gate Primary, Upton Road site, on 21^st October 2024. This involved creating a walking and cycling-only zone on a section of Upton Road. 

Vehicles are not permitted to enter the zone for 45 minutes in the morning between 8.15am and 9.00am and 45 minutes in the afternoon between 2.45pm and 3.30pm. Emergency vehicles, Blue Badge holders and residents in the affected section of Upton Road are exempt from these restrictions. 

We are now inviting local residents, parents, teachers and local businesses to share their views by taking part in a short survey.  We would like to understand what you think of the scheme, your perceptions on compliance and safety and the impact it has had on your daily life. 

Your feedback is important to us and, alongside other monitoring data, will help to determine the future of the scheme.  

The survey can be accessed online via the following link from Monday 16^th February:

The survey will close on Monday 23^rd March.  

We are delighted to invite all pupils aged 4–18 to take part in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, one of the UK’s most prestigious art competitions.

Each student may submit one artwork. There is no set theme, giving pupils complete creative freedom. When submitting, participants will be asked to include:

• The title of their artwork
• The size of the piece
• A short piece of text explaining what or why they created the work and what it means to them

The artwork can be made using any material; it can be a painting, sculpture, photograph, installation, video, drawing or a combination.

Selected artworks will be featured in the Royal Academy of Arts online exhibition, with some pieces also being displayed in person at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Artwork can be submitted individually (the school is already registered), and the deadline for submissions is 4th March 2026.

For support or further information, please speak to:

• Mrs Carkeek – EYFS / KS1 Art Lead
• Miss Rivers – KS2 Art Lead

We encourage all young artists to get involved and share their creativity on a national stage!

Bristol Parent Carers have a range of upcoming sessions.

Sessions are designed to be supportive and accessible for parent carers of children and young people with SEND. 

Sessions are delivered by experienced professionals and organisations who understand the realities families face.

Your Neurodiverse Child and Sleep

• Tuesday 10^th February, Online
• 7PM-8PM
• https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/your-neurodiverse-child-and-sleep-tickets-1857804024849?aff=oddtdtcreator

Gaming and SEND: Balance, Benefits and Beyond

• Thursday 12th February, Online
• 6:30PM-8PM
• https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gaming-and-send-balance-benefits-and-beyond-tickets-1857816813099?aff=oddtdtcreator

Developing your Pre-school and Primary aged Child’s Language Skills through every day conversations

• Thursday 26^th February
• St Anne’s House, BS4 4AB
• 10AM-1PM
• Lunch provided
• https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/developing-your-childs-language-skills-through-every-day-conversations-tickets-1864809729099?aff=oddtdtcreator

An Introduction to Makaton

• Tuesday 3^rd March, Online
• 7PM-9PM
• https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-introduction-to-makaton-tickets-1864910620869?aff=oddtdtcreator

Regular school attendance is one of the best ways to help your child succeed. When children come to school every day, they keep up with their learning, build confidence in their skills, and develop good routines that set them up for the future. Every day at school matters—it helps your child stay on track and get the most out of their education.

It is also important to arrive at school on time. If a child arrives late to school every day, their learning begins to suffer. Below is a graph showing how being late to school every day over a school year adds up to lost learning time over one academic year.

Please remember to order your child’s lunch before 10pm on a Wednesday. If your child only has a meal once a week, you will still need to book this.

We are still having a lot of children who do not have a lunch booked with no packed lunch. Please remember the default meal is always salad bar. No other option will be available.

Please remember not to order a school lunch if your child is on a school trip, where a packed lunch is required. If you have already booked a meal for this date, the meal can be cancelled by the payer until 10pm on a Wednesday for the following week. As all food is pre-ordered there will be no refunds issued for non-cancelled meals.

A reminder that we are a nut free school. Please do not send your child to school with snacks/packed lunch with items containing nuts. This includes items such as Pesto, filled crepes and chocolate spread.

We are now on Facebook. Please like our page, we will be using this page to celebrate events and learning moments taking place across the school. We encourage you to invite other parents and family members to join as well, so that too can be part of our vibrant school network. Rest assured, our Facebook page will prioritise the privacy and security of our children. We will follow all the necessary precautions and guidelines to protect identities and ensure a safe online environment.

Studybugs is no longer in use. Please record any illnesses/medical appointments using the Arbor parent portal app. For planned absences please complete the online form on the attendance page of our website.