Ambleford

Unboxing Education

Useful Information for Parents

Term Dates

TermFromTo
Autumn 202510th September17th October
5th November12th December
Spring 20267th January13th February
25th February27th March
Summer 202622nd April22nd May
3rd June10th July
Autumn 20263rd September16th October
3rd November11th December
Spring 20276th January12th February
23rd February25th March
Summer 202720th April28th May
8th June9th July

Term Time Holidays

At Ambleford, we recognise the value of family time and understand that, on occasion, families may request time away during the academic year. However, we strongly encourage all families to arrange holidays and extended breaks outside of term time wherever possible, as regular attendance is essential to children’s learning, development, and wellbeing.

Any request for absence during term time must be made in writing at least one month in advance. Requests will be considered on an individual basis and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. Where an absence is not agreed or does not meet the criteria for authorisation, it will be recorded as unauthorised.

Please note that no work will be provided for periods of absence, including holidays, religious observance, or illness.

We also ask that families support their child’s learning by ensuring excellent attendance throughout the rest of the year. As part of our attendance monitoring procedures, any child with continuous unauthorised absence of 10 days or more may be reported to Kent County Council (KCC).

Fees and Admission Process

Our fees are based on either part time attendance 2 days a week (Wednesday & Friday) or full time 4 days a week (Tuesday to Friday). They are inclusive of VAT, all support and resources used including access to specialist teachers as required to fulfil our rounded curriculum. There is an optional extra day (Monday) of forest school which will run for the same duration as the other school days. This is available to both part time and full time students.

An application fee of £100 is payable when the application form is sent in to confirm the beginning of the admissions process. A 2 day taster session will then be organised which will include CAT testing for children in Y1 and up as well as time to see how the school days run. After this a formal offer will then be sent and at this point a deposit of £500 will be due. This is refunded as the child leaves Ambleford provided that a full term’s notice in writing has been given.

Full Time fees 2026/27Part Time fees 2026/27Extra day fees 2026/27
Reception – £4000 per term
Years 1 & 2 – £4550 per term
Years 3 – 6 – £5750 per term		£2400 per term for all age groups Short session (9:30am – 2:30pm) – £420 per term
Extended session (8:45am – 4:00pm) – £610 per term

We do not currently have any bursaries or scholarships available. We offer a sibling discount of 10% for the second or subsequent siblings attending at the same time.

Uniform

Ambleford School does not operate a mandatory uniform as we feel that this allows children to be comfortable and to dress appropriately for the time of year/weather. This said we do require all children to have a complete change of clothes with them for each session to account for changes in the weather and full engagement in all outdoor activities. Any specific kit requirements will be communicated to parents in a timely manner. We encourage you to look at the weather forecast each morning and decide on appropriate clothes as this is a great life skill.

Hair that is long enough to be tied back must be at all times to ensure that it doesn’t get in the way of fun or learning!

We have a suggested list of items and ask that all kit is clearly named ideally with sew in tape as this is least likely to come off.

Winter Kit List

While many children and parents like to opt for a very thick overcoat, these are not very practical as the children get hot very quickly and then tend to leave their coat outside. Multiple layers topped off with good quality waterproof trousers and coats is much easier for them to manage. While puddle suits and waterproof dungarees are great for staying dry, they are very hard to get out of when your child needs the toilet. As such please do not send your child in with these.

Summer Kit List

All kit should be brought to school in a kit bag large enough to hold all items securely. We recommend a dry bag or rucksack to ensure that the contents stay dry whatever the weather.

School Lunches 

While we transition towards becoming a full time school, we request that all children bring a packed lunch with them each day. We will regularly cook together, making soups, stews and breads and offer these to the children but to ensure that they are fueling properly, having a lunch which parents know they will enjoy is important. 

Please note that we are a completely NUT FREE site and children bringing nuts on site will be asked to leave the food in their bag. If necessary we will contact you to bring replacement food if there is no alternative.

Children should also bring in two healthy snacks, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. We ask that parents do not send in sweets of any kind or fizzy drinks. Water is best for hydration and we have multiple places for water bottles to be replenished so a 500-750ml bottle is sufficient.

Lunch should be brought to school in a named bag inside the kit bag. All waste food and packaging will be returned so that you know what has been eaten each day.

Technology at Ambleford

Our aim at Ambleford is to prepare children for the world which has yet to exist. As such, we have decided to engage purposefully with technology in areas of the curriculum where it can enhance learning and research. 

That said, we are a technology free site when it comes to personal technology and this includes: 

These devices should not be brought on site under any circumstances and will be securely held if found and only returned to a parent at the end of the day.

Some children find that a Kindle provides a more suitable reading font/background but these will only be approved for use in individual cases where the benefit to learning is shown by a qualified professional.

View our Personal Electronic Equipment Policy

Reporting to Parents and Communication

We try to keep in contact with parents as much as possible, keeping you up to date with what your child is doing at Ambleford. For this we use the Class Dojo app, which you will receive a link to when you complete registration. If you would like more than one parent linked to the account, please do let us know and we will send out a second invite. You will be able to see your child’s portfolio grow as they go through the terms. These photos and documents are only available to the named adults on the child’s account. We will also share stories of what the group is up to as a whole and use the class stories as our first point of contact, so it is important to have notification settings on please.

Written reports are sent home 3 times a year; at the end of the Autumn term, the end of the Spring term and at the end of the Summer term.

We also have two parents evenings a year; one before the October half term (this is mainly a settling in chat) and one before the May half term.

We welcome parents to get in touch through Dojo if you have anything you need to let us know or want to discuss something. As morning and afternoon drop off can be busy, please send us a message and we will do our best to accommodate a meeting the same day but may have to schedule a call with you if this is not possible and you need to discuss something that is time critical.