Inspiring Excellence and Core Values

We encourage children to reach and, in most cases, exceed their full potential; learning from mistakes and becoming resilient, well-rounded individuals. Our dedicated, highly skilled teaching team works together to ensure the best possible outcomes for each child, guided by a comprehensive curriculum that is enriched by their passion and enthusiasm. Teachers foster a culture of self-directed learning, providing the necessary support and expertise to help children excel in assessments, making these an integral part of their educational journey. Through this approach, children come to realise that success in one area of learning can be replicated across others, supported by their understanding of the ‘growth mindset.’ The foundation of our academic success is getting the little things right and as part of this, wellbeing is paramount. If the children are happy then they will achieve and as a result their confidence will grow.

Core values such as respect, independence, curiosity, kindness, fairness, inclusivity, responsibility and charity are nurtured both inside the classroom and beyond. These values are reinforced in all aspects of school life—whether on the sports field, during lunchtime, or on memorable school trips. We celebrate individual and collective achievements, whether in class, in team competitions, or within our school houses. Activities like house challenges, the student-led School Council, presenting at assemblies, and supporting our charities are just a few examples of how we bring these principles to life.

Assessment Cycle

Throughout the year the children are formally assessed to track and monitor their progress. Our assessment coordinator then works alongside our class teachers to put in place suitable interventions in order to ensure rapid progress. Not only do we offer interventions for those who need support, we also offer them for those exceeding in a subject area who need the opportunity to advance even further beyond their years. Twice a year the children from Year 1-6 take part in our GL assessments. These include CAT4, Progress tests in Maths and English as well as the New Group Reading Test (NGRT).

The NGRT is a standardised assessment to measure reading skills of students aged 5-16 years against the national average. Through a variety of exercises, NGRT can assess students’ knowledge of phonics, comprehension, decoding ability, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, deduction and inference skills.

The CAT4 is an assessment of developed abilities in areas known to make a difference to learning and achievement – namely verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) reveals hidden potential by assessing the main types of reasoning ability known to make a difference in learning and achievement, providing you with a rounded profile of the whole child. The Progress Test in Maths (PTM) is an attainment test that reflects current approaches to the assessment of Mathematics. The Progress Test in English (PTE) is an attainment test. It assesses key aspects of English appropriate to the age of the students: phonic knowledge and skills; spelling, punctuation and grammar; and reading comprehension.

At Ashton House School we administer the PTM/E, NGRT twice a year in Autumn and Summer. The CAT4’s are administered once in the Autumn term in order to understand how your child learns and therefore we are able to adapt our teaching to them for the coming year. Our small class sizes allow us to make bespoke planning to suit the needs of all children, no matter their ability. Teachers are continually assessing children and feeding back to parents on a daily basis.