Page 14 - Ad Astra Trust Newsletter 2025

West View Primary

This year, we have aligned our own school values to those of Ad Astra Academy Trust. To help bring these
values to life, our pupil Reading Ambassadors helped us to select core texts, which have been introduced
and shared within our weekly assemblies.

We celebrate those pupils seen embodying these values each week, using our Trust value postcards:

At West View Primary School, we know that we are ‘better together’ and we are delighted to see our ‘Togetherness’
and inclusion praised and celebrated within our recent Inclusion Quality Mark report. Having previously been a Centre
of Excellence, it has been a real testament to the hard work and commitment of our staff, children, families and wider
community that we have now been recognised as an Inclusion Quality Mark Flagship School. Some particular highlights
from our report are shown below:
‘ The leaders of West View Primary School embody their vision of inclusion. They are proactive in making
certain that their strategic vision goes beyond a hope or dream.’
‘ Governors and Trust leads echo this commitment and are strong advocates of the work at West View.
They are proud of the strong inclusive provision at the school.’
‘ The behaviour of pupils is excellent. Children are happy and engaged in their lessons. They enjoy coming
to school and talk warmly about the staff and their friends. They were eager to talk about the importance

of a happy mind as well as being physically fi t and healthy. This strong sense of well-being reflects the
school’s wider commitment to supporting the whole child.’
TOGETHERNESS has been shown this year in so many different ways. We have been working together with our families in
our classrooms, inviting them in to see how we learn to read, how we keep our minds healthy and how we stay safe online:
‘ Relationships are strong in school, and families are welcomed at every opportunity. The parents enjoy the
many invitations into school and say this has supported them in understanding expectations the school has.’
Our Eco Council have been working together within our local community, developing a community garden at West View
Advice and Resource Centre with the Voices of Hartlepool – this is a real highlight of the week! Our School Council and
Reading Ambassador groups have been working together with children from other schools – both within and outside of
Ad Astra Academy Trust. The School Council’s visit to Sunnyside was a particularly special visit, with a focus on inclusive
practice. We can’t forget our Happiness Heroes who have been doing their best to ‘pass on a smile’ in school and in the
community, visiting the local care home and creating positive postcards:
‘ Pupils view themselves as part of the local and wider community and look to engage with events and
programmes that allow them to deepen their understanding of the world around them and how they
can contribute and make a positive difference. Staff work to lead initiatives which support pupils’
personal development.’
What success we have seen this year at West View Primary School! Not only have we become an Inclusion Quality Mark
Flagship School but we have also become a Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Champion School as a result of Miss Furness
our excellent work in the teaching of phonics and early reading. Because of this, we now work together with colleagues
from other schools to share best practise in order to drive forward improvements in reading.
It has a certainly been a very special year full of many proud moments. Next year, we hope to build on these successes
even further, using our status as a Flagship School and a Champion School to work together with more colleagues to
improve outcomes for children across the country.

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