Welcome to Littleover Community School

Update from Mr. Wilding - 26th January

Posted 26th January 2023

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding the upcoming strike action.

To all parents and carers,

You will be aware from media coverage and my previous email update, that members of the NEU have declared strike action, which will impact LCS on four dates, the first being Wednesday 1st February. This strike is happening because of a national dispute between the union and government, and not because of any issues at our school.

I’m sorry to inform you that Littleover Community School will be closed on Wednesday 1st February and I am asking you not to send your child into school on this date. A decision on whether school can be open on the remaining three strike days will be taken on a separate basis and parents/carers will be informed in advance of each separate date.

A small number of our most vulnerable students will be invited to attend school on 1st February and will be supervised by staff who are not members of the NEU. Parents/carers of these students will be contacted on an individual basis.

I have not taken this decision lightly. LCS remains committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all our students, however, I feel that we would be unable to guarantee the Health and Safety of our students with the staff we are likely to have available. As the law does not entitle the Headteacher to be provided with names of staff taking strike action, I will not know which staff are on strike and which staff will be in work, until 8-25am on the morning of each strike day. As I cannot guarantee students will be supervised, and by which staff, the only option I have is to ask all students not to attend on site.

As a result of the school closure, we will be providing a programme of remote learning for students. Teaching staff not on strike on 1st February will be teaching lessons remotely, via Microsoft Teams, and details of how students can access these lessons will be sent to all parents, carers and students shortly.

Where teachers are on strike and will not be in school, lessons will not be set on Teams and students will be provided with a list of alternative resources they can access during their lesson time.

Students eligible for Free School Meals will be able to come into school during the lunch break, from 1-20pm to 2-00pm, where a meal will be available for them in the main school Dining Hall. Students coming into school for their school meal should use the Pastures Hill entrance only.

I am sorry that you will have to make alternative arrangements for your child due to the closure of school. I understand that this situation may be frustrating, and ask that all members of our school community continue to treat each other with understanding and respect.

We are working closely with our staff union representatives and Derby City Council to keep up to date with the current situation, and I will inform you as soon as possible if arrangements change further.

Yours sincerely, 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Young Performers Showcase - 15th February

Posted 24th January 2023

LCS Creative Arts Department will be holding a Young Performers Showcase on Wednesday 15th February at 6.30pm.

Tickets

Tickets are available in school at break and lunch times from C14. Prices below:

We look forward to seeing you there!

Update from Mr. Wilding - 20th January

Posted 20th January 2023

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding strike action, school mean prices and Year 9 Options.

To all parents and carers,

Good afternoon, from LCS. I have some important information for you this afternoon, in my first update of the new term.

Strike action

You will be aware from national media coverage, that the NEU have declared strike action, as part of a dispute between Unions and Government. This is a national, rather than a local or school-based dispute.

Strike action will impact LCS on the following dates:

• 1st February 2023
• 1st March 2023
• 15th March 2023
• 16th March 2023

We are working closely with our staff Union representatives and Derby City Council to keep up to date with the situation, and I will inform you of final arrangements as soon as possible.

Decisions over school opening on these dates have not been made, as yet, and any decision will take all factors into account. At this stage, however, I feel it is fair to make all parents and carers aware of the high likelihood of school not being open to some, or all students on 1st February.

If school is closed to some, or all students, we will use a similar system of remote learning to that used during Covid-19 lockdown, and lessons taught will be on-line, using Microsoft Teams.

Further details will be sent to all students, parents and carers as soon as a decision has been made and will include details of our remote learning plans.

School Meal prices

After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that we are having to increase the price of our school meals, due to the increased costs we are incurring from our suppliers. We have not passed on earlier price increases as we are very aware of the current impact of the cost of living on families, and I want to reassure you that we have worked hard to keep our prices as low as possible, however, we will need to keep prices under ongoing review due to the continued higher costs from suppliers, as well as changes to electricity and gas prices.

In order to allow families enough time to prepare for the increased cost of school meals, we have made the decision not to increase our prices until the start of next half-term, on 27th February 2023.

The new price list can be found under Parents & Carers > Information for Parents > Lunch Menu, so you will be able to review the new prices with your child(ren). As an example, the price of a student main meal will increase to £2.80, from £2.60.

The daily allowance for students receiving Free School Meals will rise to £2-80, from 27th February, to reflect this price increase.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Options Process dates

Thank you to all Year 9 parents and carers who were able to join us for the GCSE Options Information Evening last night. A reminder of the relevant dates, below, for the GCSE Options process and Year 9 Parents' Evening.

Our GCSE Options Booklet can be found at Parents & Carers > Year 9 Options.

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

Keep safe. 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Job Vacancy: Admin Assistant (6th Form/Careers)

Posted 17th January 2023

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Admin Assistant (6th Form/Careers)

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

CRY Heart Screening Event at LCS: 25th-26th February 2023

Posted 16th January 2023

The George Watson Memorial Fund are funding a C-R-Y Heart Screening event, to be held on 25th & 26th February 2023, at Littleover Community School

CRY offers ECG and Echocardiogram screening to young people aged between 14 and 35. There is a simple way to diagnose most cardiac abnormalities, which is by having a ECG (electrocardiogram) test, where results can be read by a Cardiologist. For extra clarity an Echocardiogram ( Ultrasound scan) can also be done.

The screening is free, as is it being funded by the George Watson Memorial Fund, however if you wish to make a donation this will be gratefully received; you can do this on the day or via the website. If you would like to find out more about CRY (Cardiac Risk In The Young) and the amazing work they do, please visit   www.c-r-y.org.uk

Details of how to book are below.,    

1. Visit www.testmyheart.org.uk/private/
2. Find Littleover- Derby / Littleover Community School listed for the 25/02/2023 and 26/02/2023. Click Register.
3. The password for this screening is "George0108".
4. Select a time slot and click 'Register now'. (You can book up to 3 appointments at one time.)
5. Fill in the required details on the health questionnaire – this will take approximately 15 minutes.

Once the appointment is booked, you will receive a confirmation email; this will include a consent form. Please read through the consent form, sign it, and bring it with you on the day. Your son/daughter will not be able to be screened without a signed consent form.

If you cannot attend your appointment once it has been made, please cancel it on the website. The memorial fund will have to pay for "no shows" and we want to be able to screen as many young hearts as possible.

Thank you

Job Vacancy: Teacher of Mathematics

Posted 9th January 2023

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

GCSE and A-Level Exam Timetables - Summer 2023

Posted 12th December 2022

Timetables for GCSE and A-level exams in Summer 2023 are now available to download.

Please make a note of the requirement for students to be available on contingency days in the event of any issues arising during the exam period.

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

Final OFSTED Inspection Report

Posted 1st December 2022

Following on from their recent inspection, OFSTED have published their final report on Littleover Community School.

To all parents and carers, 

As you will be aware, Littleover Community School was visited by a team of Inspectors from OFSTED, who conducted a full Inspection of the school on 19th and 20th October 2022.

I am now in the position where I can share the final report from this inspection with you which can be found at the end of this message.

I am very happy to inform you that the Inspection team from OFSTED have judged LCS as being 'Good' overall, and have judged our Sixth Form provision as being 'Outstanding'.

As you will see from the attached report, Inspectors have commented on the 'high expectations' we have for all our students at LCS and the 'inclusive and academic culture' created at the school.

Inspectors have judged that teachers have excellent subject knowledge and arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with inspectors commenting on the 'culture of safeguarding' leaders have created. The report comments that 'the vast majority of students do not worry about bullying'.

Students are well prepared for life after school according to the report and behaviour was found to be 'calm and focussed' in the classroom and 'orderly and respectful' around the site.

Inspectors reported that enrichment opportunities at the school were good, with numerous clubs available to students. Inspectors have also commented on how the school prepare students well for their next steps, with appropriate careers education, advice and support.

Students were found to be eager to share their ideas and knowledge, and Inspectors commented on how leaders ensure that students with special educational needs and disabilities study the same curriculum as their peers, thanks to adaptive approaches that enable them to access learning.

Judging our Sixth Form provision as 'Outstanding', Inspectors have commented on students working 'purposefully', whilst being able to discuss their learning 'enthusiastically'.

Within their report on the school, Inspectors relayed two areas for improvement, reporting that some teaching strategies are not as focussed as the curriculum goals leaders had planned, making it harder for students to reach 'these ambitious end points'. The report also recommends that leaders ensure they have mechanisms in place to enable them to review strategies and refine policies, when needed.

Both of these areas for improvement had already been recognised as part of our development and improvement plans over the coming year, as we continue to work on ensuring consistency in all areas across the school.

The report is overwhelmingly positive, with many comments that staff, students, parents and carers should be very proud of. The inspectors described our school as inclusive and ambitious and have highlighted the excellent education, support and care that we offer all our students.

We are very pleased with the findings of this report, particularly as It has been 16 years since LCS received a full OFSTED inspection, during which time we have had several changes of leadership as well as a global pandemic to negotiate, over the last two and a half years.

What has been consistent during this time is the high expectation and ambition we have for every Littleover Community School student, our inclusive culture and our continued, excellent results.

From the outcome of this Inspection, parents and carers should be reassured that our school remains respectful, safe and ambitious for every child.

The full report can be found on under School > OFSTED

Thank you.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Update from Mr. Wilding - 1st December 2022

Posted 1st December 2022

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding Sixth Form applications, the upcoming INSET day, and the School Production - "The Addams Family".

To all parents and carers, 

LCS Sixth Form – September 2023 applications

Applications for places at LCS Sixth Form for September 2023 close at 4pm on Friday 2nd December.

Details of the application process can be found at the link below:

• LCS Sixth Form Applications

INSET Day – Monday 5th December

A reminder that school is closed to students on Monday 5th December, for staff INSET. Staff will be working remotely, so our usual Reception service will not be available.

For urgent safeguarding matters, please report concerns using the 'out of hours' contacts shown on our school website. The link to this information is below:
https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/safeguarding.php

School reopens to students on Tuesday 6th December. End of Autumn Term is on Thursday 22nd December.

The Addams Family

Tickets are selling fast for our brilliant production of The Addams Family, which will be on stage on 7th, 8th and 9th December.

Please see our website and social media pages for ticket details.

Thank you.
Keep safe. 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Welcome to Littleover Community School.

I am lucky enough to have worked at the school since September 2000 and, in January 2020, was asked by Governors to take on the role of Acting Headteacher.  Having now been confirmed as permanent Headteacher in March 2021, I will continue to do everything I can to make LCS the best school it can possibly be, whilst maintaining the safety and wellbeing of all our young people.

We are a large comprehensive secondary school, located to the south west of the City of Derby, close to the main transport routes of the A38 and A50. We pride ourselves on the excellent teaching we provide for all our students, as well as the care and support all students receive to help them achieve their best.

We are committed to a broad and balanced curriculum and our students have achieved outstanding results at both GCSE and A Level for many years now. We also believe in providing all our students with wider opportunities for learning and developing through their work in the classroom, as well as access to extra-curricular opportunities in sport and performing arts.

I hope you find our website informative and easy to use.  We are always happy to receive ideas of how we can improve our service to parents, carers, students and our community. 

If you have any ideas or questions about anything on our website, or more widely about the school, please do not hesitate to contact us.  If you would like a paper copy of our school brochure or paper copies of any of the information contained on our website, these are also available, free of charge.

Littleover Community School.
Learning, Caring, Succeeding.

Mr J. Wilding
Headteacher

School Aims

Learning

• Deliver an excellent quality of teaching which fosters an ethos of lifelong learning.
• Provide a relevant and accessible curriculum which meets the needs of our diverse community.

Caring

• Develop a caring and supportive environment where everyone feels safe and valued.
• Cultivate a comprehensive ethos that encourages inclusion.

Succeeding

• Deliver academic excellence to achieve the highest standards.
• Celebrate achievement in all its forms within and beyond the curriculum.