LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teacher of Spanish.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teacher of Business.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teacher of Maths.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teacher of Physics.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

On Tuesday 23rd January 2024, LCS is hosting its first ever Services Marketplace between 3-5pm in the School's Main Hall.

A wide range of external agencies will be attending to showcase the services they offer students and families in the Community on a free or paid for basis. This will be Wellbeing/Social opportunities, family support and more.

We invite any parents who would be interested in accessing external support to come along.

The LCS Safeguarding Team

The list of extra curricular clubs and activities for Spring 2024 is now available.

You can download it from Students > Clubs and Activities > Extra Curricular Activities.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding the results of the recent parent/carer survey, parent governor elections and end of term arrangements.

To all parents/carers

Good afternoon, from a windy LCS!

Thank you for your cooperation with the delayed start to school today. This was caused by a large tree falling across the main student entrance to school at Pastures Hill, at around 7-20am. With the short notice involved, we did what we could to alert parents and carers as soon as possible.

School will finish today at the normal time of 3pm, and we currently plan to be open tomorrow, for the last day of term, at the usual time of 8-40am.

As promised, my final email update of the term includes a summary of the recent Parent/Carer Survey, results of which are now available of the school website.

Parent/Carer Survey

Thank you to all parents and carers who completed and returned the recent Parent/Carer Survey.
Results of the most recent Survey, as well as results from Autumn 2022, can be found on our school website at the following link:

https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/information.php#parents_survey

Overall, I am pleased that results of the most recent survey are largely very positive and show similar trends to Autumn 2022.

Thank you to all parents and carers who made specific comments in the last two sections of the survey, all of which are welcomed and will be taken on board. I have summarised, below, the main areas of feedback, where similar comments were made by several parents/carers on the same issue.

Staffing

I fully accept and understand the frustration expressed by some parents and carers, around recent staff absence and regular use of supply teachers for some classes.
Teaching staff absence in some departments has been difficult to cover over the past year, and particularly since September. Mrs Spalding has spoken to several parents and carers directly about this, but it is clearly not possible for us to provide parents and carers with the full reasons and context behind the current situation. As well as staff absence, several experienced staff have left LCS recently to take up promoted posts elsewhere, or have left the Derby area due to family relocation.

To help address the issue of staff absence, senior staff have been teaching extra groups, we have increased our own Cover Supervisor provision and we have asked all teaching staff this year to provide more cover for absent colleagues, within Union guidance.

We are hoping the situation we have been dealing with since September will improve significantly in the Spring Term, with new staff joining us and existing staff returning, and I would respectfully ask for the support of parents/carers while we continue to do what we can to address the issue. Your support and understanding so far has been greatly appreciated.

Staffing shortages and absence at LCS are a reflection of the much publicised situation nationally in the education sector, with rising numbers of teachers and school leaders leaving teaching, alongside shortages of new teachers joining the profession across the country. I feel LCS remains in a strong position compared to many schools, as we have still been able to recruit high quality new teachers this year. Short to medium-term staff cover has, however, been a significant challenge.

Mr Cartwright will leave us at the end of this week for a well deserved and, hopefully, long period of retirement. We wish Mr Cartwright well and thank him for all he has done for Music at LCS, over the last 10 years.

School policy on Mobile Phones

Some comments in the recent survey mentioned a perceived change in the school's stance towards students bringing mobile phones into school.

School policy has not changed on mobile phones, and students should not have mobile phones in school, unless in Sixth Form. The enforcement of this rule is as it always has been and we have seen no increase in numbers of students using phones during the school day, or in disruption to lessons caused by students' mobile phone use.
The biggest single cause of conflict between students in school remains linked to on-line behaviours and use of social media. This is particularly an issue amongst younger students, many of whom are below the age where they should be accessing these social media sites. I would continue to ask for the support of all parents and carers in monitoring student use of social media, as the vast majority of issues we deal with originate from comments made or images posted by students outside of school hours.

Personal Development and School trips

In response to comments made in the survey around school trips and extra-curricular activities, it is fair to say that the number of school trips at LCS has been affected by the impact of Covid-19 and rising travel costs. Trips have started to run more regularly in the last academic year and we have plans for the number of trips and extra-curricular activities to continue to increase in the year ahead. Mr Pestell, our new Head of Key Stage 3, has plans to further increase number and availability of school trips, as we agree that they are a valuable part of students' school experience.

We are also currently looking to raise the profile and range of extra-curricular opportunities and other ways students can enjoy new experiences in school. Mr Buchanan is developing plans for this, which we hope will be announced later this year.

Overall, I would like to thank all parents and carers for your support in completing the survey. All comments, positive or otherwise, are welcome and will help us to make LCS an even better school than it already is. Your continued support and faith you have put in LCS to do the best for your children is valuable to us and is much appreciated.

I believe that LCS remains in a strong position, despite ongoing challenges being faced by all schools locally and nationally, particularly in the last few years.
The exam results achieved by LCS students at GCSE level this year resulted in our overall Progress 8 figure being +0.54, the highest of any school in Derby and Derbyshire. Progress 8 is a way of measuring the progress students make from the end of Key Stage 2 (the last year of Primary School) to the end of Key Stage 4 (when students take GCSE exams). The higher a student's Progress 8 score, the more progress they have made in comparison with students who started at a similar level.

A score of +0.54 means that, on average, students at LCS have achieved over half a GCSE grade higher, than students with similar ability in similar schools nationally. Results such as this are a reflection of the excellent work I believe we do at LCS, to help our students succeed and prepare for later life.

I have been at LCS in varying different roles for some years now, and I will never claim that this is a perfect school, or that we do not face challenges or sometimes make mistakes. No Headteacher can honestly say this of their own school.

I can promise, however, that LCS will continue to do our very best to support each and every student, to the very best of our resources and ability.

If individual parents/carers would like to raise any issues or ask any questions related to the above, I would be more than happy to answer questions or points emailed to me via our admin@littleover.derby.sch.uk email address.

Parent Governor Election

I am pleased to announce that Dr James Law was elected to our Board of Governors Elected on 16/11/2023, after the closing of the recent Parent Governor Election, at the end of the day on 15/11/2023. Dr Law's term as a Governor will run from 22/11/2023 to 21/11/2027.

Welcome, Dr Law, to our Governing Board.

All that remains is for me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very safe and prosperous new year.

Term ends at 1-40pm on Friday 22nd December and students will return for start of Spring Term on 8th January 2024.

Best wishes.
Keep safe.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

The recent White Ribbon campaign to raise awareness of violence perpetrated against young women and girls has proved very successful and the video produced by Derby young people and the Voices in Action group has been nominated for a Charity Film Award.

For more details and to vote for the Community Action Derby film in the Charity Film Awards, please visit the Smiley Charity Film Awards Website.

Many congratulations to Community Action Derby and all our young people involved in this campaign.

Information regarding the Year 9 options process is now available.

You can find the information under Parents & Carers > Year 9 Options.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding Christmas Jumper Day and end of term arrangements.

To all parents/carers

Good afternoon, from LCS.

I have two notices to update you with today. I plan to send one final update to all parents and carers before the end of the Autumn Term, to include a summary of results from the recent Parent and Carer Survey, which closed on Friday.

Christmas Jumper Day

We will be holding our annual Christmas Jumper Day on Tuesday 19th December. Staff and students wishing to wear a Christmas Jumper may do so, in return for a minimum donation of £1.

This year, all proceeds from our Christmas Jumper Day will go towards the funding of a bench in memory of Mrs Middleton, which we hope to site close to her teaching room in L3. All donations are through ParentPay and can be made at the link below:

• LCS Christmas Jumper Donations on ParentPay

Minimum donation is £1, but larger donations would be welcome, if people wanted to make them.

Students and staff not wishing to wear a Christmas Jumper on 19th December may still donate, if they wish, but this is not a non-uniform day, so normal school uniform should be worn by any students not taking part.

End of Autumn Term

Autumn Term will end at the earlier time of 1:40pm on Friday 22nd December. There will be a school bus for students wishing to use it, which should arrive at school before 2pm.

All students should return to school for the start of the Spring Term, on Monday 8th January 2024.

Thank you for your continued support.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

A brief survey has been emailed to all LCS Parents and Carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Mr Wilding has sent a link for this survey, via email, to all LCS parents and carers.

We would be grateful if parents and carers could complete and return this survey by 4pm on Friday December 8th.

All responses are welcome and will help us to make LCS an even better school.

Thank you. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

Starting on 5th December LCS students will be performing festive songs as part of our "Twelvish Days of Christmas".

Each day we will be getting into the Christmas spirit with a festive performance from LCS students. From carolling classics to modern toe-tappers we'll be sure to get you ready for the winter break!

The Timetable for the Year 13 Mock Exams in January is now available to download.

You can download the timetables from the Exams > Exams Information.

LCS is hosting a reunion and awards evening for the Year 11 class of 2023 on the evening of Thursday 14th December.

The event will include presentation of GCSE certificates, subject awards, a guest speaker and the presentation of the funds raised during the Year 11 Charity Week in July.

Students should arrive in S-block at 6pm, where drinks will be available, with presentations starting in the main school hall at 6:30pm.

Parents and carers are welcome to attend and should arrive from 6:15pm in the main school hall.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding the White Ribbon Campaign, The "Big Ambition" survey, the upcoming INSET day and student clubs and activites.

To all parents/carers

Good afternoon, from LCS.

I have several items to update you with today. I hope you find this information useful.

White Ribbon Campaign

Current Derby Youth Mayor and LCS Sixth Form Student, Munti Muntasir, has written the summary below, to make parents and carers aware of the White Ribbon campaign, which we are supporting in school this week.

The White Ribbon Campaign aims to raise awareness against violence perpetrated towards young women and girls. This year, in particular, the message behind the campaign is "Change the story" where young men educate other young men on appropriate language and behaviour towards young women.

We decided to run the campaign from the perspective of young people through the Voices in Action Youth Council, as violence against young women has been an increasingly prevalent issue. For example, almost 1 in 4 adolescent women (15-19) have experienced some sort of physical/sexual violence, according to UN Women. Hence, it is imperative that young people take a stance to raise their voice and speak out against such acts.

The main message behind the campaign is to "Change the story" and educate young men to be aware of the language they use in private and publicly towards women. Furthermore, we want to encourage our young people to speak out against any unusual behaviour that they notice and take action.

LCS will be supporting the White Ribbon campaign by asking staff and students to wear a white ribbon throughout the week and through showing of a video produced by the Voices In Action Youth Council, to raise awareness.

The White Ribbon Campaign will run from Monday 20th to Friday 24th November.

Anyone wishing to support the White Ribbon campaign is encouraged to donate to the Safe and Sound Butterfly Campaign, by clicking the following link:

• Safe and Sound Butterfly Campaign

The Big Ambition

Schools have been asked to share the information below with students, parents and carers, by Dame Rachel De Souza, Children's Commissioner for England.

By now, I hope that you have seen my national campaign 'The Big Ambition'.

Children or parent/carers can find information about The Big Ambition at the website below:
https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-ambition/

The survey can be completed here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/the_big_ambition/

It is really important that the pupils at Littleover Community School have participated in The Big Ambition survey and had their say.

I want to ensure that the voices of all children in the Derby area are fairly represented in the findings, so that I can share their views with the most senior members of the country.

I must reiterate that it is vital that all children have their voice heard through this survey because, as Children's Commissioner for England, I have a statutory duty to protect and promote the views and interests of children. The Big Ambition provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell political decision makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election. I will be sharing their responses with Government to ensure that children's voices are heard.

INSET Day

A reminder to all parents/carers that Friday 1st December is an INSET Day and students should not attend school. Please be aware that staff will not be on site on this day, so will not be able to answer messages via telephone or email.

For emergency issues related to safeguarding, messages can be sent using the contact details used over school holidays, which can be found on the LCS Safeguarding Page.

A reminder, also, that Term dates for this academic year and for 2024/25 are available under School > Important Dates > Term Dates.

Clubs and Activities

The list of available clubs and activities for students this term has been updated and can be found under Students > Clubs and Activities.

There are some fantastic activities continuing to run this term and we would encourage all students to try at least one activity or club, either as a regular or new attender.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our school, our students and our staff.

Best wishes.
Keep safe.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Derby Youth Mayor and LCS Sixth Form student Munti Muntasir is leading a campaign to raise awareness around violence perpetrated towards young women. The campaign is called the White Ribbon campaign and we will be supporting it in school. Munti will be talking to LCS staff about the project and students will be shown a short video he has produced with others from Voices In Action.

Munti had the following to say regarding the campaign:

"The White Ribbon Campaign aims to raise awareness against violence perpetrated towards young women and girls. This year, in particular, the message behind the campaign is "Change the story" where young men educate other young men on appropriate language and behaviour towards young women.

We decided to run the campaign from the perspective of young people through the Voices in Action Youth Council, as violence against young women has been an increasingly prevalent issue. For example, almost 1 in 4 adolescent women (15-19) have experienced some sort of physical/sexual violence, according to UN Women. Hence, it is imperative that young people take a stance to raise their voice and speak out against such acts.

The main message behind the campaign is to "Change the story" and educate young men to be aware of the language they use in private and publicly towards women. Furthermore, we want to encourage our young people to speak out against any unusual behaviour that they notice and take action."

LCS will be supporting the White Ribbon campaign by asking staff and students to wear a white ribbon throughout the week and through showing of the video produced by Munti, to raise awareness.

The White Ribbon Campaign will run from Monday 20th to Friday 24th November.

Online donations can be made to Safe and Sound at their JustGiving page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Cleaner (AM).

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

The Timetable for the Year 11 Mock Exams in December is now available to download.

You can download the timetables from the Exams > Exams Information.

An email has been sent to all parents and carers today (Tuesday 7th November) containing information regarding the Parent Governor Ballot. The voting deadline is Wednesday 15th November.

Congratulations to former LCS student Hugo Milner, who won gold in the recent Triathlon World Cup event in Miyazaki, Japan.

Hugo had to fight back from over a minute behind the leader during the running stage to win. An incredible achievement!

You can watch highlights of the race on Youtube via the following link:

• Hugo Milner wins Triathlon World Cup Gold

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding parents evenings, the upcoming Sixth Form Open Evening, applications for leave of absence and student illness guidance.

To all parents/carers

Good afternoon, from LCS.

I have a couple of brief items of information for you all today, in what is my final update of this, very long, half-term.

Parents' Evenings

The annual cycle of Parents' Evenings will begin again early next half-term. Our Parents' Evenings will continue to use the on-line SchoolCloud system for this academic year, and parents/carers of students in each Year Group will be contacted with instructions on how to book appointments, ahead of each respective date.
The dates of Parents' Evenings for this year are as follows:

• Thursday 9th November – Year 11
• Thursday 16th November – Year 7 'Settling in' meeting with Form Tutors.
• Thursday 30th November – Year 13
• Thursday 25th January 2024 – Year 9
• Thursday 8th February- Year 10
• Thursday 29th February – Year 7
• Thursday 14th March – Year 12
• Thursday 25th April – Year 8

LCS Sixth Form Open Evening

Our Open Evening for parents/carers and students looking to make applications to LCS Sixth Form for September 2024 will be held tomorrow evening.

There are two presentations for parents/carers and students, in the Main Hall at 5:45pm and 6:30pm. The content of these presentations is the same, so parents/carers and students should only attend one. If we reach capacity in the Main Hall for the first presentation at 5-45pm, we may ask parents/carers and students to return for the later presentation.

Staff will be available to answer questions about individual subjects in the Sports Hall, from 6pm to 7-30pm.

Applications for places in our Sixth Form for September 2024 can be made immediately after Open Evening and the deadline for applications to be submitted is 4pm on Friday 1st December.

Applications for Leave of Absence

We have recently received an increase in requests for leave of absence for students during term time. As stated in our Attendance Policy and as is the case with all schools nationally, leave of absence for students can only be authorised during term time in 'exceptional circumstances', for reasons other than illness. To be classed as 'exceptional circumstances', it must be clear that any absence is unavoidable and could not have happened at any other time, or in school holidays.

Applications for leave of absence must be made in writing to the Headteacher and evidence may be requested in each case.

We always aim to publish our term dates well in advance, to allow parents and carers enough time to plan family holidays, and term dates for both this academic year and 2024/25 can be found on our website at the following link:

• LCS Term Dates

Student illness - Local Authority guidance for parents and carers

We have been asked by Derby City Council to circulate several pieces of information and guidance to parents and carers, related to some common illnesses affecting children and young people at this time of year.

We have collated this information into one area on our school website, which can be found at the link below:

• Information for Parents > Medical Issues

Thank you all, as always, for your continued support of our school, our students and our staff.

It is one year to the day that OFSTED visited LCS and I firmly believe that the school is even stronger now than it was at that time. The progress we have made, and continue to make, cannot happen without the support of all our parents and carers and, hopefully, we can continue to progress and improve together in the months and years to come.

It has been a very long half-term and we are all due a break next week. I hope all our students enjoy their holiday and I look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday 6th November.

Best wishes.
Keep safe.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding the LCS Open Day and Evening, the upcoming Sixth Form Open Evening. fundraising in memory of Sarah Middleton and National County Lines Intensification Week.

To all parents/carers

Good morning, from LCS.

I have a couple of items to make you all aware of today, but, firstly, I would like to thank you all for your support with our recent Open Day and Open Evening. The number of visitors we had on the day was back to pre-Covid 19 levels and both presentations for potential new Year 7 students for next September were full.

Thank you if you visited us on Open Day and Open Evening and please also thank your child(ren) if they gave their time to work in departments with staff.

Sixth Form Open Evening

Our Sixth Form Open Evening will be held on Thursday 26th October, from 5.45pm to 7.30pm. As with our whole school Open Evening, there will be two presentations for parents/carers and students considering an application to our Sixth Form for September 2024.

More details will follow about our Sixth Form Open Evening, over the next week.

Sarah Middleton fundraiser

You will all be aware that our friend and colleague, Sarah Middleton, passed away towards the end of the last academic year, after a long illness. Sarah's family, friends and LCS staff are planning to run the Carsington 10k and half in December, to raise money for a memorial bench at Eyes Meadow and a memorial event to remember Sarah.
Sarah's family have set up a GoFundMe page for anyone who would like to donate towards their goal of £1500 and I have attached the link, below, for anyone interested in making a contribution:

• https://gofund.me/8b79dfcb

A message from Derbyshire Police

National County Lines Intensification Week runs this week, from 15/10/2023. County lines is the name given to drug dealing where organised criminal groups (OCGs) use phone lines to move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas. They exploit vulnerable people, including children and those with mental health or addiction issues, by recruiting them to distribute the drugs. This is often referred to as 'drug running'. Criminals may also use a vulnerable person's home as their base of operations. This is known as 'cuckooing'.

A leaflet containing additional information on County Lines can be found on the Children's Society website, at the page below:

• https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/

Thank you for your continued support of our school, our students and our staff.

A reminder that Wednesday 25th October is a staff INSET Day and school will be closed to students. Our half-term holiday is from Monday 30th October to Friday 3rd November.

Keep safe.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

The LCS Sixth Form Open Evening 2023 will be held on Thursday 26th October

There will be two identical presentations to prospective students and their parents/carers beginning at 5.45pm and 6.30pm respectively as well as various stalls and information displays throughout the evening.

We hope you find the Open Evening both interesting and informative and look forward to seeing you there.

No booking is necessary.

More detailed information can be found on the Sixth Form > Applications page.

The LCS Governing Body has a vacancy for a parent governor.

For more information please see the School > Governors page.