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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

To all parents and carers.

After assessing likely staff absence based on today's Industrial action, I can confirm that school will be open for students in Year 11 only tomorrow, 16th March. Students in all other Year Groups will have lessons set on Microsoft Teams, where teachers are in school

Students in Year 11 should arrive no earlier than 8-50am tomorrow and will register in their Period 1 lessons, at 9am. All other arrangements for Year 11 students will be as today.

School will re-open to all students on Friday 17th March.

Thank you for your continued support.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has sent out a message to all parents and carers regarding planned strike action by the National Education Union (NEU) on 15th/16th March 2023.

To all parents and carers,

NEU Industrial Action – Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March

You will no doubt be aware of proposed Industrial Action being taken by the NEU, on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March. These dates follow two previous days of Industrial Action by the NEU, on 1st February and 1st March

As this action looks likely to go ahead, I would like to provide parents, carers and students with as much notice as possible of our plans as a school for these days, as I have done in the past.

Wednesday 15th March

School will be open on Wednesday 15th March for students in Year 11 and Year 13 only. Where teachers are in school, lessons for Year 11 and Year 13 will run as normal. Where teachers are not in school, students will be supervised to complete classwork, or revision, as was the case on 1st February.

Students in all other Year Groups will have lessons set on Microsoft Teams, where teachers are in school, with arrangements being as they were on 1st February.

In addition to students in Year 11 and Year 13, a small number of our most vulnerable students will also be contacted individually and invited to be in school.

Students eligible for Free School Meals can attend school between 1-20pm and 2-00pm, where a meal will be available for them in the Main Dining Hall.

Thursday 16th March

Current indications of staff absence mean that it is likely only Year 11 students will be able to attend school on Thursday 16th March. If this is the case, arrangements will be as above, for all other Year Groups.

As on 15th March, a small number of our most vulnerable students will also be contacted individually and invited to be in school.

As arrangements for both days are subject to potential change, I will contact all parents and carers on 14th March to confirm arrangements for 15th March, and on 15th March to confirm arrangements for 16th March.

As we have done on both of the previous days of NEU Industrial Action this term, we have looked closely at likely staffing levels for 15th and 16th March, before making a decision on which students we feel we can safely have on site. In making the decision to have Year 11 and Year 13 on site on Wednesday 15th March and Year 11 only on 16th March, we have looked at all available options and chosen to prioritise those students with exams this summer, as well as our most vulnerable students.

I fully understand the frustration some parents and carers will be feeling about their children not being able to attend school on these days, but I would like to thank all parents and carers, once again, for your continued understanding and support.

Yours sincerely, 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Timetables for Year 10 School Exams in March and April are now available to download.

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

School will be open as normal on Friday 10th March. Parents should monitor emails and the school social media platforms for updates.

Good morning, from LCS.

School will be open as normal again today.

There is snow on site, but the forecast is for weather to clear by mid morning.

If this is not the case and we have further snowfall, we may adjust the timings of the school day, as we did yesterday.

Please check for updates via email and social media throughout this morning.

Due to the weather conditions, we will not be enforcing rules over footwear today and students wishing to wear an alternative to their usual school shoes can do so.

Thank you.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding snow on the school site. School will finish today at 2:45pm for all students.

To all parents/carers.

We have had increased snowfall around the school site in the last 2 hours. The school site remains fully accessible and all paths and access roads are clear.
For the safety of all students and staff, we will have a shorter lunch break today and school will finish slightly earlier than normal.

School will finish at 2:45pm today for all students.

Please also be aware of the following:

• All detentions after school today will not take place and will be rearranged.
• All sports fixtures and extra-curricular clubs will be cancelled.
• The school bus is planning to arrive at normal time of 3:30pm and any students needing the bus will be able to wait in the school building until it arrives.

Please continue to check updates on email and social media for any information related to school opening tomorrow. As things stand, school will be open, but we may adapt timings as we have done today.

Confirmation of school opening will be sent via email and social media, before 7:30am tomorrow.

Thank you.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Sixth Form Study Supervisor / Administration Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding safeguarding, medical information and links to exciting opportunities for students.

Good morning from LCS.   

My update this week includes important safeguarding and medical information, as well as links to exciting opportunities for students, both in school and through our local partners.  

I hope you find the information included in this update useful.  

A message from our Designated safeguarding Lead, Ms Jenkins

We have been asked to share the information below with all parents and carers, on behalf of the Children's Society:  

Across the country, young people are being manipulated, sexually abused, forced to launder money and deal drugs. Exploitation isn't obvious, but it happens everywhere and can happen to anyone.

For parents and carers, it is often difficult to spot the signs or know what to do. On this website, you can find information around the signs of exploitation and how you can report and get advice to help protect your child. 

LookCloser To Spot Exploitation | The Children's Society (childrenssociety.org.uk)    

The Children's Society social media sites:

• Twitter @childrensociety and @TCSImpact
• Facebook @childrenssociety  
• Instagram @thechildrenssociety  
• LinkedIn - The Children's Society

Further, general safeguarding information and advice can be found on our Safeguarding Page.

A message from Ms McSkimming (School Medical Officer)  

For parents/carers of students using Epipens and/or Asthma inhalers in school, please ensure your child has their Epipen and/or Asthma inhaler with them at all times. This includes keeping them close by when in a lesson where their bags are not immediately accessible, e.g. PE and Drama.

A reminder that students should not carry medication routinely with them in school. Any medication being brought into school requires completion of an 'Administration of Medications in School' form.

Completed forms should be returned to Ms A McSkimming, Medical Officer.  

Derby University Saturday Club  

Derby University (in conjunction with other partners) are running the  National Saturday Club, from Saturday 4 th  March . This is part of a successful and exciting national scheme and is the first of its kind in Derby. They are seeking creative and artistic students to explore the theme ' Society and Change '.  The project is open to students aged 13 to 16 who have interest in either Art, Music and writing and there will be many opportunities for making and showcasing their work.     
   
Those who are selected will be tutored by specialists with industry related experience. These sessions will take place at Pride Park and Art Core gallery.  The club will also provide opportunities over and above the 3-hour weekly sessions on a Saturday morning, a pop-up exhibition at the University of Derby, podcasting and showcase at a Derby County Home game (and tickets to the match). There will also be a trip to London to have a certificated ceremony for participation, with an exhibition of work at Summerset House.    

This is a 15-week programme starting on the 4 th  March and is free of charge. More details, including information about the aims of the National Saturday Club, and how to sign up, are available on the following link  https://saturday-club.org/club/university-of-derby/  

You will also find links to this information on our school Twitter and Facebook sites.  

Updated School Clubs and extra-curricular activities  

We have updated our list of available clubs and activities for students during and before/after the school day.

The updated list can be found at LCS Clubs and Extra Curricular Activities.

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

Keep safe.  

J. Wilding
Headteacher

Derby University (in conjunction with other partners) are running the National Saturday Club, from Saturday 4th March. This is part of a successful and exciting national scheme and is the first of its kind in Derby. They are seeking creative and artistic students to explore the theme 'Society and Change'. The project is open to students aged 13 to 16 who have interest in either Art, Music and writing and there will be many opportunities for making and showcasing their work.

Those who are selected will be tutored by specialists with industry related experience. These sessions will take place at Pride Park and Art Core gallery. The club will also provide opportunities over and above the 3-hour weekly sessions on a Saturday morning, a pop-up exhibition at the University of Derby, podcasting and showcase at a Derby County Home game (and tickets to the match). There will also be a trip to London to have a certificated ceremony for participation, with an exhibition of work at Summerset House.

This is a 15-week programme starting on the 4th March and is free of charge. More details, including information about the aims of the National Saturday Club, and how to sign up, are available on the following link https://saturday-club.org/club/university-of-derby/.

Mr Wilding has sent out a message to all parents and carers regarding planned strike action by the National Education Union (NEU) on 1st March 2023.

To all parents and carers,

You will be aware that the NEU have called a second strike, to take place on 1st March.

As with the strike action on 1st February, I want to give parents/carers as much notice as possible of the implications of this strike for the opening of school and to help parents/carers plan childcare.

Our current plans could change and I will inform you all at the start of next half-term if this is the case.

Following our experience of 1st February, I feel we can safely open school on 1st March to Year 11 and Year 13 students only.

The numbers of staff likely to be absent means we cannot have all students on site and by having Year 11 and Year 13 in school, we are prioritising the students with exams this summer.

Year 11 and Year 13 students

School will start at 9am and students should go straight to Period 1 classrooms, where they will be registered. Students will be allowed on site from 8-50am; students should not arrive to school before this time.

Lessons for students in Year 11 and Year 13 will run as normal, if teachers are in school.

Where teachers are absent, Year 11 will work on revision tasks and Year 13 will work as they usually would for IS. All lesson times are the same as normal and school will end at 3-00pm.

Food will be available for students at break and lunch time as normal, in the main school Dining Hall. Mr Archer will communicate further information to parents/carers and students in Year 13.

Students in Years 7-10 and Year 12

Lessons will be set remotely on Teams, as they were on 1st February.

Teachers will set lessons on Teams by 8-50am on the morning of 1st March and students should log in to lessons at the normal start times. Teachers who have Year 11 and/or Year 13 classes in school may be a few minutes late to starting lessons on Teams for other Year Groups.

Where teachers are absent and lessons are not set on Teams, students should access work from resources shared previously, on 1st February.

Arrangements for students eligible for Free School Meals will be the same as on 1st February. Food will be available during the normal school lunchtime, from 1-20pm to 2-00pm; students coming to school for lunch should enter via the Pastures Hill entrance.

A small number of our most vulnerable students will also be invited to attend school on 1st March. Our SENDCO and/or DSL will make contact with parents/carers of these students individually.

Separate decisions will be made about whether school can open on 15th and 16th March, if these further planned strikes go ahead. I feel it is fair to make parents/carers aware now, however, that school would not be able to open for more than one or two Year Groups, at most, if staff absence remains as expected for any future strike days.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely, 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has vacancies for the position of: Relief Exam Invigilator.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Wellbeing Coach.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Cook (Maternity Cover).

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding vaping, social media, the upcoming INSET day, extra-curricular clubs and activities, crime prevention and Children's Mental Health Week.,

To all parents and carers,

I hope this update finds you well.

We continue to be extremely pleased with the progress students are making, across the school. Report data compiled for several year groups in the last few weeks is very encouraging and reflects the hard work and excellent behaviour being shown by the overwhelming majority of our students.

Vaping

As I have mentioned to you several times in the past, we continue to have issues with students bringing vape into school, as well as problems associated with social media and mobile phone use. These two issues continue to make up a significant percentage of incidents we are needing to tackle with students in school.

On the issue of vape, I attended a meeting last week with several other Derby Headteachers, as well as the Director of Public Health for Derby, Dr Robyn Dewis, where the problem of students vaping, being experienced by all schools across the city, was discussed. We have agreed to look at a common strategy to try and reduce this issue in our schools and there is likely to be further news on this soon.

An article in The Evening Standard in January 2023 stated:

'It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s.

Vapes and e-cigarettes and their refill containers are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and must comply with tank capacity and nicotine strength limits, while their labels must display manufacturer details and health warnings.

However, Trading Standards said many of the devices it had seized flouted these rules. There were also concerns that some may be designed specifically to appeal to children and young people, with packaging and flavours emulating popular confectionery brands such as Skittles.'

It is important to remind ourselves that the majority of students are not vaping, but we will continue to take measures in school to address this problem, to the best of our ability.

Social Media

Social Media use remains a constant issue in school, which we will continue to address through our established procedures.

Click here to view a summary of how parents/carers can keep their children safe on Snapchat and Whatsapp, which are two of the most popular apps amongst our students and , consequently, the source of many of the problems being brought into school.

INSET Day

A reminder that school is closed to all students on Wednesday 8th February, for the scheduled INSET Day. Half-term will end at the usual time of 3pm, on Friday 17th February.

Clubs list

We have recently updated our list of clubs and extra-curricular activities for the Spring Term. This information can be found on our website at:
https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/content/activities/files/ecas_spring2023.pdf

Neighbourhood Watch Crime Prevention Free Webinar Series

We have been asked to share the information, below, by DerbyshireALERT

We are delighted to invite you to attend our free crime prevention webinars running during February.
Each webinar will be delivered by Neighbourhood Watch with an expert speaker on each of the topics of knife crime, burglary prevention and scams. Places are free but limited. We traditionally fill places very quickly so book your place soon to avoid disappointment. As our webinars are very popular, we ask that you only book a place if you intend to attend, to open spaces for others. 

The PREVENTING BURGLARY WITH WIDEN and UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCAMS webinars will each be run twice – you only need to book on one of those, not both. 

The EXPLOITATION, GANGS AND KNIFE CRIME AWARENESS FOR PARENTS AND CARERS is a two-part course; and we ask that ONLY PARENTS AND CARERS attend those and that you commit to attending both sessions.
  
More about each webinar:

PREVENTING BURGLARY WITH WIDEN

Dates and times: 14th Feb 1pm – 2pm and 22nd Feb 6pm – 7pm – please attend one session only 
Speaker: Inspector Matt Coe, Sergeant Matt Coe, Crime Prevention, London Safety Centre

Sergeant Matt Coe is going to lead us through a webinar on burglary prevention and the importance of keeping your property safe and working with your neighbours. Matt has worked in the Metropolitan Police for the last 21 years, his early career was spent working in a variety of departments, from neighbourhoods policing to intelligence and surveillance, on promotion Matt ran the counter pickpocket and theft teams across Westminster where his passion for crime prevention was born. Since 2012 Matt has worked in crime prevention related roles covering the design and guidance for new housing in London, introducing new legislation and leading an innovative collaboration with the Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service to reduce demand across all three services. Additionally Matt leads on Crime Prevention as a subject matter expert and is the Crime Prevention training lead for the Metropolitan Police.

UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCAMS

Dates: 15th Feb, 3.30-4.30pm and 28th Feb, 5.30-6.30pm – please attend one session only
Speaker: Paul Maskall from the Fraud & Cyber Crime Prevention Manager, Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU)

Back by popular demand, Paul Maskall will host a fireside chat on the psychology of scams and explain why scammers are so effective at their crimes. This fascinating insight into the way cyber criminals identify targets, often using data sold to them by other criminals, execute scams which use emotional blackmail and rational reasoning.
Although a scary topic, the much better news is that he will teach you how to question and swiftly deal with approaches from the criminal fraternity. An unmissable opportunity to learn more about cybercrime and fraud.

EXPLOITATION, GANGS AND KNIFE CRIME AWARENESS FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

Dates: Tues 21st Feb, 7-9pm and Tues 28th Feb, 7-9pm (Both should be attended to take full advantage of this opportunity.) 
Speaker: The workshops are hosted by The Ben Kinsella Trust and they will be facilitated by Anoushka Dunic and Patrick Green.

Parents and carers will gain a greater understanding and awareness of gangs, knife crime and how to keep young people safe. Parenting children and young adults is hard. Sometimes it can be scary and overwhelming, with news stories and social media influencing how safe we feel our children are and the risks they may face in today's climate.

These two workshops help you learn more about what is regular teenage behaviour and what might be signs that a young person in your care is vulnerable to being groomed or exploited by others. During the 2-week workshop, you will develop an understanding of the following topics:

Week 1 – Tuesday 21st of February 2023, 7-9pm

·  Introduction to the work of The Ben Kinsella Trust
·  "Attachment" and "peer" orientation
·  Stress and how this affects brain development and behaviour of young people
·  Why some children may be vulnerable to being exploited
·  Stages and signs of exploitation
·  Free resources for parents

Week 2 – Tuesday 28th February 2023, 7-9pm

·  What street gangs are, what they do, how and why
·  Language, social media, and drill music
·  The risks involved in gang lifestyles
·  County lines
·  Trauma experienced by those affected by gangs
·  Why exploited children and young adults may resist help and support
·  Building resilience within the family and community
·  Further support available for families

Places for any of these webinars can be booked through the website at:

• https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/webinars

Mental Health Week

Next week is Children's Mental Health Week. Various activities are planned in school for students to take part in, based on the 5 ways to wellbeing. On Monday 6th Feb we will be encouraging students to "Give" by collecting items for the Derby Food for Thought Foodbank.

If students would like to bring in an item from the attached list it would be greatly appreciated. Boxes for donations will be in Tutor Bases and in the Wellbeing office.

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

Yours sincerely, 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Kitchen Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Timetables for Year 11 Mock exams in March 2023 are now available to download.

You can download them from the Exams Information page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teacher of Health and Social Care and Girls’ PE.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

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

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!

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

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

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

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Receptionist/Admin Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued a back-to-school update to parents and carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon and Happy New Year, from all at LCS. I hope you have had a restful holiday.

With the current prevalence of flu, amongst other illnesses, and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, I am aware that many people may have been unwell in recent weeks. If you or any members of your family have been ill over the holiday period, I wish you a speedy recovery.

As you will be aware, school absence was high across the region and across the country towards the end of the Autumn Term. I emailed all parents and carers in mid-December, asking for children not to be sent into school if they were ill, to keep potential spread of infection to a minimum.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued guidance for all parents and carers, ahead of the return to school for students across the country. The link to this advice is below:

• Gov.uk - Back to School advice - Flu and Scarlet Fever

At LCS, student attendance was lower than we would normally have expected towards the end of last term, although school attendance over all was still at 93% by end of term.

I appreciate that some children have missed a lot of school in the last 2-3 years, through no fault of their own, and the last thing I would ever do is to encourage healthy young people to not be in school, learning and socialising with their friends.

We must remain sensible and pragmatic during these current times, however, and I would continue to ask all parents and carers to follow the government guidance and only to send your child(ren) into school if they are well enough to attend.

I would ask you to use your judgement when deciding to send your child(ren) to school at the start of the new term and not to send them if they have a high temperature/fever, as the guidance states.

We are all looking forward to seeing our students again next Monday for the start of the Spring Term and we are excited for what 2023 will bring.

Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Keep safe. 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Cover Administrator.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding end-of-term arrangements and student absence/illness.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS.

As we approach the end of term, I am not planning to email any further updates before Thursday 22nd December.

End of Term

School finishes on Thursday 22nd December at 1-40pm and students return for the start of Spring Term on Monday 9th January 2023.

There will be a School Bus on 22nd December, for those students wishing to use it, although it may not arrive before 2pm.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents, carers and members of our wider school community for your continued support throughout this term. It has been another busy period of time for all of us in school, not least due to our visit from the OFSTED Inspection Team, but our students and staff, as always, have shown consistent commitment and resilience.

I hope that all our students, parents and carers enjoy a restful and well-deserved holiday.

Student Absence/Illness

We are currently experiencing an unusually high number of student absences due to a variety of factors, including illness. This is placing considerable strain on our resources in Student Services, due to the volume of calls we are receiving and making each day, as well as students arriving at our Medical Room.

I would respectfully ask the following of parents and carers for the remaining few days of this term, to help us deal with the situation effectively:

Please do not send your child to school if you believe they are not well enough to attend. If your child is ill and cannot attend school, please call our Student Services team in the usual manner, on the first day of your child's absence.

If students are sent to school, it should be on the assumption that they are well enough to attend for the full day.

If students attend our Medical Room due to illness, we will operate our usual triage process and only contact parents/carers if we believe a student is not well enough to remain in school. In these cases, we will contact the parent/carer and ask them to collect the student from school as soon as possible.

We are not able to contact parents/carers each time a student attends our Medical Room, but will continue to do this in appropriate cases, where a student is clearly not able to remain in school.

If you are concerned about specific illnesses, for example Covid-19, Strep A and/or Scarlet Fever, please refer to the guidance emailed to all parents/carers previously. Alternatively, please contact NHS111 for advice, or consult with your GP.

Thank you for your support and consideration during this extremely busy time.

Keep safe. 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

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.

The Year 9 Options Booklet is now available for download. This contains information to aid students in choosing which subjects they will study at Key Stage 4.

You can find it under Parents & Carers > Year 9 Options

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Wellbeing Coach.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancies for the position of: Relief Exam Invigilator.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS Sixth Form late applications for 2023 entry are now open.

These will be acknowledged as soon as possible, however the priority will be those applications submitted by 2nd December.

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

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

Timetables for Year 13 Mock exams in January 2023 are now available to download.

You can download them from the Exams Information page.

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

LCS will be holding performances of our 2022 school production "The Addams Family" during the evenings of 7th-9th December.

Shows will be held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 7th, Thursday 8th and Friday 9th December.

Tickets

Tickets are available at school from Ms. Chawner in C14 at break and lunchtimes with prices as follows:

We look forward to seeing you there!

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Timetables for Year 11 Mock exams in December 2022 are now available to download.

You can download them from the Exams Information page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Caretaker/Site Operative.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding the recent LCS OFSTED inspection, Parent/Carer Survey results, School Production, Roadworks and E-Safety.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS. There are a few important notices and updates I would like to draw your attention to today.

OFSTED Inspection

We have received and responded to the draft OFSTED Report, following our full Inspection on 19th and 20th October.  We now await publication of the final Report, which will be made available via our school website. I will inform all students, parents and carers when this final Report is published.

Parent/Carer Survey

Results of our recent Parent/Carer survey can now be viewed on our school website, at the link below. Thank you to all parents/carers who took part in survey, the results of which were extremely positive.

• LCS Parent Survey Results

OFSTED conducted their own Parent/Carer Survey as part of our recent Inspection, results of which can be viewed on the OFSTED Parentview website. As with our own school survey, all responses and feedback will be considered, as we continue to aim to improve our work with all our school stakeholders.

School Production - The Addams Family

On the evenings of 7th/8th/9th December, LCS students will be performing on stage, in our own version of The Addams Family.

This will be our first school show since before the Covid-19 pandemic and I very much hope as many parents and carers as possible will be able to join us in the audience.

Ticket details will follow soon, so please look out for updates via email and on our social media platforms.

Roadworks

The roadworks on Pastures Hill have been suspended for the time being, but may return during the February half-term holidays, in 2023.

I would like to thank the majority of parents who adapted their usual plans or behaved accordingly when bringing and collecting students from school, during what was an extremely disruptive time.

I remain concerned about the behaviour of some parents/carers when collecting students in vehicles outside, or close to, the school site and I would respectfully continue to ask all parents/carers to consider the safety of all our students at all times.

WhatsApp Group Chats

As part of our regular reminders to students, parents and carers about the dangers of social media, I have attached information to my update today around student safety on WhatsApp.

As many parents/carers use WhatsApp themselves, some believe it is safer for students than other forms of social media. WhatsApp has become one of most common forms of social media where issues are caused in school, however, particularly when students engage in Group Chats. The age limit for users of WhatsApp is 16, although we are seeing problems around its use with students as young as Year 7.

The link below is to a brief safety guide for parents/carers to help us all keep our young people safe on WhatsApp and to, hopefully, reduce the issues students are bring into school, from their use of social media.

• WhatsApp Parent Fact Sheet

Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Keep safe. 

J. Wilding
Headteacher

The results of the recent parent and carer survey are now available.

You can find them under Parents and Carers > Communications > Parental Surveys or by clicking the following link:

• LCS Parent and Carer Survey Results - October 2022.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Attendance Officer/Admin Support.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS Sixth Form is hosting a reunion and celebration evening for the A-level class of 2022 on Tuesday 20th December, 6pm-7pm.

Students should contact school to let us know you are attending via sixthform@littleover.derby.sch.uk by 16th December.

Come and catch up with friends - Drinks and Nibbles – Presentation of exam certificates and subject awards.

It will be Christmas Jumper Day, so wear yours and please bring a donation to Macmillan.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The LCS Sixth Form Team

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Community Sports Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding the works currently being undertaken on Pastures Hill.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS.

Yesterday afternoon, myself and our School Operations Manager met with representatives from the company currently working on Pastures Hill.

The pavement directly outside the main school entrance at Pastures Hill will remain closed for the next 2-3 days, however, at that point, works will move along the road in the direction of Littleover Village.

This work on Pastures Hill will likely cause significant disruption in the area, which will impact on students arriving and leaving the school site.

Temporary walkways will be in place during closure of pavements and Temporary Traffic Lights will also be in operation, to restrict traffic flow during busy periods.

There will be no parking or stopping allowed in the area where works will be taking place.

These works will be ongoing until the end of November.

I would respectfully ask parents/carers who usually travel to school along Pastures Hill from the direction of Littleover Village to seek alternative routes to school over the next 3-4 weeks, due to the significant disruption to traffic and pedestrians these works are likely to create.

If you cannot use an alternative travel route, please do not drop/collect students from outside the Pastures Hill entrance and allow extra time for your journey.

I will be speaking to all students on Friday morning to inform them of the situation and to ask for their cooperation.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

J Wilding
Headteacher

LCS Sixth Form applications for 2023 entry are now open, along with an opportunity for external students to tour the school on 10th November.

The deadline for LCS Sixth Form applications is 4pm on Friday 2nd December 2022.

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

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding the recent LCS OFSTED inspection, GCSE and A-level exam dates and Parent governor elections.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS.

As we begin our much deserved half-term holiday, I would like to thank all students, staff, parents/carers and our wider school community for your collective support throughout our OFSTED inspection this week. The school Governors and Senior Leadership Team have been made aware of the Inspection Team's provisional findings, but these are confidential and cannot be shared at this stage.

The full OFSTED Report will be published within 30 working days, at which point it will be made available to all, via our school website. At that time, I will also issue a summary of the findings of the inspection, as well as our response to the Inspection Report.

There are just two further issues I would like to draw your attention to in my update today:

Important information to all parents/carers of students in Year 11 and Year 13

We are still waiting for the confirmed exam timetables from the exam boards for the June 2023 Examinations. Once they are confirmed, the timetables will be published on the school website.

The following information has been made clear by the exam boards:

"It is a requirement of the exam boards that all candidates (GCSE and A-Level) need to remain available until after 28th June 2023, in case they need to sit any contingency exams."

On this basis, I would respectfully advise parents/carers of current Year 11 and Year 13 students considering booking holidays for summer 2023, to book these for after 28th June.

Further information on exams for 2023 will be passed on, as soon as we have it.

Parent Governor Election

All students should have received a letter and voting slip this week, for our Parent Governor Election.

• Information contained in the letter is as follows:
• You may vote for one candidate only.
• You should:
• Read the Candidate Statements attached to this letter.
• Mark an X alongside the candidate's name you wish to vote for. Do not mark the ballot paper in any other way.
• Insert the completed Ballot Paper in the unmarked envelope and seal it.
• Insert the unmarked envelope containing the ballot paper into the second envelope. On the front of this second envelope, please write your name and the name and Form Group of your child. These details will be checked against school records of parents/carers eligible to vote.
• Return your Ballot Paper to Reception, or via your child to one of the Ballot Boxes located in each Head of Year Office. There will be an additional Ballot Box, also, located in the Student Services office.

The use of two envelopes ensures that your vote remains confidential. The details written on the second envelope will be shredded once checked against the list of eligible voters.

The process entitles each Parent/Carer to one vote each, regardless of how many children you have in school.

If you have any queries about this process, please contact one of our Reception team, or email me personally via the admin@littleover.derby.sch.uk email address.

Deadline for votes will be Monday 31st October 2022

We look forward to welcoming students back for the start of next half-term, on Monday 31st October.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

The LCS Sixth Form Open Evening 2022 will be held on Thursday 20th October from 5.45pm to 8pm.

There will be 2 identical presentations to students and their parents/carers beginning at 5.45pm and 6.30pm respectively as well as various stalls and information displays throughout the evening.

Further information, including the opportunity for a school tour on an alternative date, can be found on the Sixth Form Open Evening page.

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

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

To all parents and carers, 

As mentioned in my update from earlier this week, a link to our Parent/Carer survey has been emailed to all parents/carers this afternoon.

Please consider responding to this survey by clicking the link and offering your answers and comments; it is a brief survey and will not take you long to complete. Please complete this survey once only.

Once completed, please submit your responses by 4pm on Monday 17th October.

All responses will be considered and results will be shared with all parents and carers, later in the Autumn Term.

Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to complete this survey and for your ongoing support of the school.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding the LCS Open Evening, Parent/Carer Survey, the School Mural and Important Dates.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS. 

I have just a few brief, but important updates in my update to parents and carers today. 

Open Evening 

A reminder that our Open Evening is this Thursday 13th October. Further details of this event can be found on our website and social media pages. 

As previously requested, if you are visiting us on Thursday evening and can walk to school, rather than travelling by car, please do so, as car parking on site will be extremely limited. 

Parent/Carer Survey 

To coincide with our Open Evening, a Parent/Carer Survey will be emailed to all parents and carers, to collect your views on the school. A link to the survey, which will be completed through a Microsoft Form, will be emailed to all parents and carers, with a closing date of 4pm on Monday 17th October. 

Please look out for the email containing the link to complete the survey, which will be sent out later this week. 

School Mural 

You will have hopefully seen some of the coverage on social media of the official opening of our school Mural, which took place last week. 
This has been a fantastic project, completed in conjunction with The University of Derby and S.H.E.D. 

For more information on the project, please go to the S.H.E.D website, at the link below: 

• http://weareshed.co.uk/projects/littleover-mural/ 

Important Dates

A reminder to all students, parents and carers that the last day of half-term for students will be Thursday 20th October, as Friday 21st October is an INSET Day for staff. Students return after the holiday on Monday 31st October. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

The LCS Open Evening 2022 will be held on Thursday 13th October from 5.00pm to 7.30pm.

There will be 2 identical 30 minute presentations to prospective new parents/carers of students for September 2023 admission beginning at 5.00pm and 7.00pm respectively.

From 5.30pm to 7.00pm there will be a variety of activities and classroom-based displays to view.

As previously requested, we would politely ask visitors to walk to school, if possible, for our Open Evening due to the very limited car parking available on site. 

On Tuesday 4th October, we officially ‘opened’ the School Mural which was a product of an exciting partnership between the school and Derby University through S.H.E.D. 

The School Mural is aptly located at the very centre of our school and dynamically portrays the very culture and identity of who we are, and our aims of Learning, Caring and Succeeding. It has resulted from numerous workshops, discussions and questionnaires seeking to capture your perceptions of the school and the image being developed.

It certainly is an incredible mural and we would like to thank Dr Rhiannon Jones and S.H.E.D., lead artist Adoniah Haslam, and other support artists, who have tirelessly given of their time.

To find out further information, please use the link below which will take you to the brochure and information regarding the development of the School Mural.

• http://weareshed.co.uk/projects/littleover-mural/

LCS Student Council and staff, S.H.E.D. representatives, University of Derby representatives, Adoniah Haslam (Lead Artist) and family…

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding a Parent Governor vacancy, Open Day, the LCS School Mural opening, CAMHS open day and Safeguarding issues.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS. 

There are a few items I would like to draw your attention to in my update this week. 

Parent Governor vacancy 

Details were sent to all parents/carers earlier this week, regarding the current vacancy for a Parent Governor to join our school Governing Body. Further details are available on our website, at: 

• https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/governors.php#vacancies 

Open Day

A reminder that our school Open Day will be held on Thursday 13th October. We have contacted our partner Primary Schools to inform parents/carers of the limited availability of school tours during the morning, which will be for parents/carers of potential Year 7 students for September 2023 only. 

The general Open Evening presentations for all visitors will begin at 5-30pm and finish at 7pm. 

As previously requested, we would politely ask visitors to walk to school, if possible, for our Open Evening, due to the very limited car parking available on site. 

Advanced notice, also, that our Sixth Form Open Evening will be held on 20th October, from 5pm to 7pm. Students and parents/carers interested in applying for places in our Sixth Form for September 2023 are invited to attend and applications will formally open after this event. Applications close on Friday 2nd December. 

Further details will follow about this event. 

School Mural official opening

On Tuesday 4th October there will be a formal opening of our new school Mural, including representatives from S.H.E.D and Derby University, as well as LCS staff and students.

There will be coverage in local press and we will update our website and social media with photographs of the event. 

I would like to thank Derby University and S.H.E.D for their work on this project and for helping to bring our vision for the mural to life. 

CAHMS Open Day

Derbyshire CAMHS are holding an Open Day on Monday 10th October, from 12-30pm to 6:30 pm, to coincide with World Mental Health Day.  This has been arranged by young people and parents/carers who use the CAMHS service, or are employed by CAMHS. This event is open to everyone and is an opportunity to find out more about CAMHS and to share your thoughts and ideas about how to develop the service.

The event will be held atTemple House, Mill Street, DE23 6SA. 

Safeguarding Updates

We are becoming increasingly concerned about a worrying rise in self-harm videos being viewed and shared on TikTok. This is a national as well as a local concern and we have recently been told by some of our own students that they have seen these videos. 

Young people are filming themselves self-harming and encouraging other young people to do the same. These videos encourage young people to be inventive, share methods and ‘egg each other on’ to greater acts of self-harm e.g. how deep can you cut/ how much skin can you cut...? 

I appreciate it is distressing to read this but, as a school, we need to make you aware this is happening and it is a real possibility your child may be viewing this content on-line. 

Please speak to your child, monitor and go through their apps at least weekly and, if you can, download filters and blocks on all their internet-linked devices. If you have a concern about this, please contact school, Police, or use the reporting tool on the app to get the post(s) taken down. We also want to remind you that most apps, including TikTok have an age rating of 13, which is designed to protect the emotional and physical safety of your child and to ensure they do not see intrusive, harmful material. 

If you are worried about self-harm, please speak to us, your GP or, alternatively, you can also speak to the School Health Service, by text, on 07507 327754 

Other help for parents and young people can be found by visiting: 

• https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent - support and signposting for parents whose child is experiencing poor emotional health
• https://www.papyrus-uk.org - support for families where a young person is at risk of death by suicide 
• https://calmharm.co.uk - an NHS approved app to support young people to manage harmful urges 

General safeguarding information can be found on our school website at: 

• https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/safeguarding.php 

Thank you for taking the time to read this information. 

Your continued support of the school is much appreciated. 

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

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

For more information please see the School > Governors page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers regarding Open Day/Evening, Youth Mental Health Day and Extra-curricular activities.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS.

I have a couple of brief, but important items for you in my latest update.

LCS Open Day and Open Evening

We are planning to hold our Open Day and Open Evening this year as an on-site event, for the first time since October 2019. The date of our Open Day and Open Evening will be Thursday October 13th and school will be open to parents/carers, students and members of our wider school community from 5-30pm to 7-00pm. We are planning various events and activities to showcase the amazing work of all our students and I hope as many of you as possible will be able to join us.

Please be aware that parking on site is extremely limited, so I would ask and encourage as many visitors to walk to school for this event, if at all possible.

There will be two presentations for parents/carers of potential Year 7 students for September 2023 in the Main Hall, at 5pm and at 7pm; parents/carers of current LCS students do not need to attend these presentations.

Due to necessary restrictions on numbers, tours during the school day will be for potential new parents/carers of students for September 2023 admission only and we will not be able to offer this option to current parents/carers.

School will be open to everyone in the evening, at the times shown, above.

Youth Mental Health Day

Today is Youth Mental Health Day which, this year, is focusing on the importance of building and maintaining meaningful connections and relationships.
For further information on this event and to access useful resources, please use the link, below:

• https://stem4.org.uk/youthmentalhealthday/

Clubs and Activities

The list of school clubs and activities, including extra-curricular events, has been further updated. The full details of all school activities can be found on our website at the link below:

• LCS Extra Curriculuar Clubs and Activities

Thank you for your continued support of our school, our staff and all our young people.

Keep safe.

J Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Higher Level Teaching Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has issued an update to parents and carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS. 

It has been an excellent start to the new school year at LCS. Students have returned to school from the holidays full of enthusiasm and keen to meet their new teachers and classmates. Thank you to all parents and carers for your support with preparing and encouraging your child(ren) with their return to school. 

Bank Holiday – 19th September

As you will know from announcements in the national press, Monday 19th September is now a Bank Holiday, due to the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. School will be closed to students and staff on Monday 19th September and students will return to lessons on Tuesday 20th September. 

Extra-Curricular activities 

As usual at LCS, there is an exciting timetable of extra-curricular activities already up and running in school this term and I would encourage all students to take part in at least one activity to enhance their experience of school life. Full details of our extra- curricular programme can be found on our school website at the following link: 

• Students > Clubs and Activities > Extra Curricular Activities 

Our Head of Music, Mr Heywood, has posted an update on availability of Instrumental Music lessons in school this year. Parents/carers interested in their child(ren) taking part in music lessons should refer to Mr Heywood’s recent update, which can be found at the link below: 

• Instrumental Music Lessons

School Uniform and student clothing 

Thank you to all parents/carers for ensuring students are wearing the correct school uniform. I appreciate your efforts, particularly with the current cost of living crisis. 

Please ensure all clothing has your child(ren)’s name clearly marked/labelled, as we have already had numerous items of clothing handed in to our Lost Property Office. Any named/labelled clothing will be returned to the student, but most clothing we are seeing in Lost Property is not labelled. 

I would appreciate your support with this, particularly given the cost to families if clothing is lost and needs to be replaced. 

Introducing our new Deputy Head Teacher, Mrs Spalding 

Mrs Spalding has joined LCS as our new Deputy Headteacher, after the retirement of Mrs Bunting. Mrs Spalding has written a few words for parents and carers, to introduce herself to you: 

I grew up in Derby and have worked as an English teacher and school leader for 16 years across Derby and Derbyshire. I am passionate about teaching and learning and am an Evidence Leader in Education for Derby Research School, supporting the development of teachers across the city. Having started my teacher career as a trainee at Littleover, I am delighted to now return as Deputy Headteacher.

I am excited to work with teachers at Littleover to ensure that your child experiences the very best education during their time with us. I am looking forward to getting to know pupils and many of you over the coming months. 

We welcome Mrs Spalding to her new post and look forward to working with her. 

Thank you again for your continued support of the school, or staff and our young people. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Finance/Administration Officer.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Kitchen Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS will be closed on Monday 19th September as part of the Bank Holiday declared due to Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS.

The DfE have confirmed the following, in communication with all schools over the past weekend:

"The official date of the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is 19th September 2022. This day will be a Bank Holiday and settings that are normally closed on a Bank Holiday should close on this day as a mark of respect. This will include schools and colleges."

As a result of this announcement, LCS will be closed to students and staff on Monday 19th September. Students should return to school on Tuesday 20th September, for their normal timetabled lessons.

Thank you.

J Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has 2 vacancies for the position of: Teacher of English.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has 2 vacancies for the position of: Teaching Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent a an update to parents and carers regarding the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

To all parents and carers, 

All at LCS send our condolences to the family of Queen Elizabeth II, after the announcement of her death yesterday afternoon.

As our country's longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has been one of the most significant people in our history and her loss will be felt by many.

We will be holding a brief Assembly for all students this morning to remember Queen Elizabeth II and to pay tribute to her work for young people in this country and around the world.

The DfE has contacted all schools with the following information regarding the period of national mourning we will now begin, following the Queen's death:

'We have now entered a period of national mourning that will continue until the end of the State Funeral.

Guidance providing the public, businesses and institutions with advice on the period of national mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be issued by the Cabinet Office.

Once details of the funeral are confirmed, officials will contact schools again with further guidance'

Schools across the country will remain open at this time and we at LCS will continue to observe our normal school day. If and when details of any school closures are published, I will inform you all as soon as possible.

Thank you.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Parents and Carers can now apply online for a place for their child on the Instrumental Tuition programme at LCS.

We have a thriving music department within the Creative Arts Faculty at LCS. A key part of this is the Instrumental Tuition Programme.

This takes place outside of curriculum time with specialist teachers accredited by the Derbyshire Music Partnership or Baby People. LCS takes the safeguarding of students very seriously and only works with external agencies and individuals who can provide evidence of a full, enhanced DBS check and regular safeguarding training.

We have lessons available on Keyboard/piano, guitars (electric, acoustic and bass), singing, drum kit, brass (trumpet, trombone, euphonium, French horn), Strings (violin, viola, cello), and Woodwind (flute, clarinet, saxophone).

The lessons cost approximately £10 per 20 minute lesson, per week. These are invoiced termly directly by the instrumental teacher, but there are subsidies for Pupil Premium/Free School Meals and Special Needs to reduce the cost. There maybe the possibility on some instruments (not piano/keyboard) of a shared lesson.

If you wish for your child to be placed on the list for lessons, please fill in the form located at Parents & Carers > School Trips and Activities > Music - Instrumental Lessons. 

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Caretaker/Site Operative.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent a start-of-year update to parents and carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS. 

I wanted to contact all parents and carers today, ahead of the start of the new school year. 

Term begins on Monday 5th September at 8-40am for all Year Groups and we are looking forward to seeing all our students again after the summer holiday. 

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new parents and carers of students in our new Year 7 and those in our new Year 12 cohort who are joining us from other schools. I hope all students joining us for the first time on Monday enjoy their experiences at LCS over the next few years. 

I would also like to thank all parents and carers for their support of the school over the last 12 months. The challenges LCS has faced, along with all other schools, are well documented and I will not take time to go over these again. The support of all our parents, carers and the wider school community has been most welcome over the last year and has helped our students to achieve the progress and success they have. 

You will have seen from local press and our website that we were extremely pleased with the exam results our students achieved this summer, both at GCSE and A level. Full summary tables of results will be published on our website soon, but I will mention some of the headlines now, for those of you who are not aware. 

At A Level, our results were very similar to those achieved by students in 2019, which were the record results for us at that time.  The number of students achieving A*-A grades at LCS Sixth Form were above the levels achieved by similar schools nationally and well above regional trends.  The vast majority of our students have, consequently, gained places at their first choice University or Apprenticeship placements. 

The GCSE results achieved by our Year 11 students this year are also some of our best results ever at LCS. The pass rate for all courses was 100% and, as with our A Level students, the vast majority of students taking GCSE exams this year have been able to move on to their chosen first-choice post-16 placements. 

Many students achieved outstanding individual results; far too many to mention all of them. One student, in particular, Joe Goodchild, in achieving 11 A* grades, was one of less than 200 students across England to do so. 

The vast majority of our GCSE students achieved their individual targets and overall results reflected their excellent performance against students in similar schools, both locally and nationally.  These successes would not have been possible without the commitment of all our students and staff, as well as the support of parents and carers. 

As I do at the start of every year, I am again asking for the support of parents and carers as we look ahead to the new academic year.  I would ask all parents and carers to familiarise themselves with key school policies, which are available on our website.  I would particularly ask for support with our Behaviour Policy, to help us keep issues to a minimum. 

Many of our more significant issues with students in school remain linked to students’ use of social media. I would, once again, ask parents to support our stance on students not bringing mobile phones to school and would ask you all to be aware of your child’s social media use.

I would also draw parents and carers’ attention to the ongoing issue of students’ use of vape, which I mentioned several times in my email updates last year. All students will be reminded of our rules on use and possession of vape at the start of term and I would appreciate your continued support and vigilance in relation to this issue. 

The first day of term on Monday will inevitably lead to increased traffic on the roads around school and I would ask parents and carers to leave enough time for your journey, so students are not late on their first day. I would also ask all parents and carers bringing children to school by car to respect our local residents when dropping and picking students up and to act safely and responsibly when close to the school gates. 

I plan to send regular updates to parents and carers this year, at least weekly, to keep everyone in touch with developments. Please also check our school website and social media pages for regular updates on school events. 

I hope you have all had a safe and restful summer and I look forward to working with you all again over the next year. 

Thank you. Keep safe.

J Wilding
Headteacher

We are delighted with the GCSE results our Year 11 students have achieved this year.

The achievement of our students is a reflection of their outstanding commitment and resilience, as well as the support they have received from school staff, parents and carers over what has been an extremely challenging last two years.

• 292 Year 11 students sat GCSE exams this year
• The pass rate was 100%.
• 57% of students achieved grade 4 or above in the range of subjects which make up the Ebacc.
• 62% of students achieved grades 9-5 in English and Maths.
• 40% of students achieved 3 or more grades at 7-9.
• 34% of all grades were grade 7 or above.
• 52% of all grades were grade 6 or above.

We hope students can go on to secure their first-choice post-16 placement and we wish them well in their future careers.

We are delighted with the results achieved by our Year 13 students this year. Results achieved this year are particularly impressive, given the exceptional circumstances and challenges students have faced over the last two years.

174 students completed A Level exams in Year 13 this year.

• 34% of results achieved by LCS students were grades A*-A.
• 62% were grades B or above.
• Over 50% of students achieved at least one A*/A grade.
• Over 80% of students achieved at least one A*-B grade.
• 43% of students achieved 3 or more grades A*-B.
• 11 students achieved straight A*s (3 or 4 A*s).
• 4 students achieved 4 A* grades.

The vast majority of students have gained the results needed for their first choice Higher Education option and staff have been working with students this morning who needed support in securing placements.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all our students, staff, parents and carers for their collective efforts over the last two years. Year 13 students completing their A Level studies this year did not sit GCSE exams, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which makes their achievements even more impressive. 

We wish all our students the best of luck in their future lives and careers.

J. Wilding
Headteacher

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent an end-of-year update to parents and carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Greetings, from LCS. 

In my last scheduled email update of the school year, I would like to thank all students, parents, carers and the wider school community for their continued support through what has been another extremely challenging time. We have continued to make positive progress as a school and our students have been magnificent throughout, both in their work ethic and support of each other on a personal level. Although we are looking forward to our much needed holiday, we are also excited for the new school year and the opportunities this will bring. 

Safety over the summer holiday 

Ms Jenkins has spoken to students in Assemblies this week about ways to keep safe over the summer holiday. The links to our school website, below, include information on general safety issues, such as safety around water, buildings and railways, as well as information on how to report concerns over the summer holiday. 

• LCS Safeguarding Page 
• General Safety Advice 

The link, below, is to a new resource for parents/carers around issues of on-line safety and includes useful information on how to keep your children safe on-line, on social media and while gaming. 

• https://safetynet.skipseducational.org/parent-guides/ 

Support for young people and parents around mental health is available through Young Minds, through the link, below.

• https://www.youngminds.org.uk/ 

We hope all our students and families enjoy a safe holiday over the next 6 weeks. 

Derby City Council summer events and support for families 

Derby City Council are running a full programme of events for families over the summer holiday. The Household Support Fund and Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programmes are also available to offer support to families during school closure, over the summer break.

Details of all these programmes can be found on the Derby City Council website at the link, below: 

• https://derby.gov.uk/education-and-learning/extra-curricular-activities/derby-haf/ 

Support for families is also available through the DfE’s national programmes, details of which can be found at the link, below: 

• https://costoflivingsupport.campaign.gov.uk/ 

Vote for Derby! 

Derby is bidding to be the new home of Great British Railways (GBR). If you are interested in this campaign and would like to vote for Derby to secure this bid, details are available on the Destination Derby website, a link to which is below: 

• https://www.derbygbr.co.uk/ 

Mrs Bunting 

After 26 years of loyal service to the school, Mrs Bunting is retiring from her role as Senior Deputy Headteacher this week. 

Mrs Bunting has been one of the most consistent factors in the success of the school in the last two decades and has worked tirelessly to ensure all students have been provided with the best possible education. Originally appointed as Head of Maths, Mrs Bunting has held several posts in the school, most recently as Senior Deputy Headteacher, since January 2020. The work Mrs Bunting has done over the last 2 years, in particular, during the Covid-19 pandemic, has ensured that students have continued to access lessons through the development of our remote learning programme. 

Mrs Bunting will be greatly missed by students and staff alike and we wish her well for a long and well deserved retirement. 

Our best wishes also go to Mr Grant from our Learning Support Team, who will be leaving us this week. We thank Mr Grant for his work with our students and wish him well for the future. 

Start of new term 

After the need for staggered starts in the last two school years, due to Covid-19 testing, we are looking forward to welcoming all students to the start of the new school term, on Monday 5th September. 

Students in all Year Groups begin the new term on 5th September and should arrive for school for the usual start time of 8-40am. School timings will remain the same next year, with school continuing to finish at 3pm. 

I would respectfully remind all parents/carers that absence during term-time, other than through illness, will not be authorised, unless there are clear exceptional circumstances. 
Our term times for next year are published in advance and can be accessed at the link, below: 

• LCS Term Dates 2022-23 

All that remains is for me to wish all our students, staff, parents, carers and wider school community a very happy and safe holiday and I look forward to welcoming all students back to school for the start of the new year, on September 5th. 

Best wishes. Keep safe.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Due to the extreme heat posing a health and safety risk, lessons will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday 19th July, with special arrangements in school for vulnerable students.

Good afternoon from LCS.

Despite our best efforts and the measures we have put in place for students and staff, temperatures across the school building have been steadily rising as the day has gone on and have reached the point where I feel there may be a genuine risk to the health and safety of staff and students.

With higher temperatures forecast for tomorrow, I have regretfully made the decision to move students onto remote learning.

An early finish to school is not an option tomorrow, as temperatures are forecast to reach 36 degrees by midday and sending students home at that point would present more of a risk to health.

School will remain open for vulnerable students and we will send a further message later this afternoon with instructions for parents/carers of these students. We will also inform parents/carers of students eligible for Free School Meals how we will be providing for these students tomorrow.

I would be grateful if parents/carers can remind their child(ren) to check school emails this evening, for instructions from teachers.

Lessons will begin via Teams from Period 2 tomorrow (10am) and students will follow their usual timetables and lesson timings for Periods 2 - 5. Lessons will be set up in each 'Team', as we have done in the past during school closure.

Students attending school tomorrow should report to Reception by 9am, for registration.

I have not taken this decision lightly and I apologise for the inconvenience I know it will cause for some families. I can assure you that the safety of your children is and always will be my number one priority.

School will be open on Wednesday, as normal, to all students, and term will finish as planned at 1-45pm on Friday.

Thank you for your continued support.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Special arrangements are in place today (Monday 18th July) due to the extreme temperatures. School will finish at 2:45pm give students additional time to get home safely.

Good morning, from LCS.

As previously announced, students have the option of wearing PE kit or school uniform today.

We will be opening the Main Hall, G Block and Sports Hall for students to use at break and lunchtime, if they wish to.

To allow students additional time to leave the site safely this afternoon, we will finish school at the slightly earlier time of 2:45pm. Students are advised to go straight home at the end of the school day and not to spend time around local shops or parks.

The school bus will leave at the usual time and students needing to use the bus will be supervised until it arrives.

We will monitor the situation during this morning and make a decision later today on whether our plans for tomorrow will need to change.

Please check your emails later today for any updates.

Thank you.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Special arrangements have been put in place in advance of the extreme hot weather forecast on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th July.

Good morning, from LCS.

With weather warnings being issued for unusually high temperatures on Monday and Tuesday of next week, we will be making some adaptions to our school rules, in order to help students and staff keep safe.

On Monday and Tuesday of next week, students will be permitted to wear their PE kit during the school day, if they wish to, instead of their normal school uniform. Neither day is a non-uniform day, so the option is PE kit, or school uniform, only.

We will be opening indoor areas for students at break and lunch time and we plan to have facility for additional drinking water around school site.

School meals will be available on both days, but there may need to be an adaption to our usual menu, given the likely high temperatures our kitchen staff will be working in.

We continue to advise students to bring additional drinking water to school during this period of warm weather and particularly on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Sun cream and suitable sun hats are also advised.

Forecasts are for the highest temperatures on Monday and Tuesday to be after the school day, from 4pm onwards, but it will still be very warm in school and we will make suitable adaptions and precautions under the circumstances.

After-school clubs ran by the Learning Support department on Tuesday 19th July have been cancelled.

Current forecasts are for temperatures to return to seasonal norm from next Wednesday onwards, so students will be expected to be back in normal school uniform from next Wednesday.

If this changes, we will issue another update.

Thank you for your support.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Friday 15th July will be a non-uniform day for students, to mark the end of our Year 11 Charity Week. All donations from the week, including the non-uniform day, will be split between Cancer Research and our Sixth Form Uganda project.

Suggested donation is £1, but please feel free to donate what you can.

Thank you for your support.

The Year 11 Charity Week Team

The official opening of the 'Front of School Mural' has been postponed due to illness.

As two of the creative team involved have contracted Covid, we are having to postpone the opening of the 'Front of School Mural'.

Visitors to the Art Exhibition on Tuesday 12th July will still be able to clearly see the quality of the resolved mural. We look forward to seeing you there! 

LCS Creative Arts Dept

The new front of school mural is scheduled to be revealed during the Art Exhibition on Tuesday 12th July at 4:30pm.

We are currently liaising with SHED as they do the finishing touches to the final design for the ‘Front of School Mural’.  

It is an exciting image that encapsulates the Aims of the school and takes on board the feedback from the school community.

The team will be in this weekend to do the majority of the painting and we are planning to have the official opening (the reveal) during the Art Exhibition next week, Tuesday 12th July at 4:30pm. Please join us as we celebrate this achievement and to mark this creative journey. You will have an opportunity to meet the SHED team and to chat with one of the artists about the mural.  

LCS Exam results days are now finalised.

• A-level results are available in S5 from 8:00am on 18th August
• AS-level results are available in S5 from 10:30am on 18th August
• GCSE/BTEC/Cambridge National Results are available in the Main Hall from 9:00am on 25th August

You can find out more information, including when results are made available online and post results services under Exams > Exam Information.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Kitchen Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding a PCC survey, careers events and site lockdown drills.

Good morning, from LCS.

There are a few items in my update today.

PCC survey

We have been asked to share the information below, with all parents and carers.

Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Angelique Foster, has launched a county-wide survey to help her strengthen the policing services local people receive.

As part of her commitment to improving frontline policing and ensuring Derbyshire Constabulary delivers a top-quality service to the public, the Police and Crime Commissioner is inviting residents to share their views about their community safety.

To read more and to complete the survey please visit:

www.derbyshire-pcc.gov.uk/news/latest-news-police-and-crime-commissioner-invites-the-public-to-share-their-views-on-crime-and-safety/

Careers events

Parents/carers of students in Years 9 and 10 have until 4pm this evening (1st July) to book places at our careers information evening, on July 7th. An email has been sent to all Year 9 and 10 parents/carers containing the link needed to book your place.

This exciting new event will be delivered in partnership with Luminate Careers & the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, to help support the best next step for every child.

If you have any questions about this event, please get in touch with our Careers team, by emailing careers.ed@littleover.derby.sch.uk

A final reminder, also, to parents/carers of students in Year 10 that the deadline for returning Work Experience forms is this afternoon (1st July) at 4pm.
The form can be found on our school website, at the link below:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=5PRMbCY3qEGbo08mLMQigY-HkEOnNJRHgsc4rIuMiLxURTVMNE02MzFUVkoxRUZQOFg5TUE3UDlLUyQlQCN0PWcu

Site lockdown drill

As part of our safeguarding and site security protocols, we will be holding a lockdown drill next week, for all staff and students. The purpose of this is to test our newly installed site alert/sounder system.

As a large school and public building, there are numerous reasons why we may need to instigate a site lockdown, including where there was a chemical leak or fire in the local area, a potentially dangerous animal on site, or the unlikely event of an unidentified and potentially dangerous person on premises. These lockdown drills are standard procedure now in all schools and public buildings and are not an indication of any increased concerns we have over site security or safety.

All staff and students have been briefed on the protocol for the drill, which will take place at some point during the school day next week.

If your child discusses this with you at home, this is what we are doing and why we are doing it. If there is ever a genuine concern over site safety, parents and carers will be informed.

Thank you for your continued support.

Enjoy your weekend.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

The Derby Youth Mayor, LCS student Omar Aslam, can now be followed on Instagram via the account derbyyouthmayor.

To see the work being done by Omar, visit the Derby Youth Mayor Instagram page.

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teaching Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding sports day and careers.

To all parents and carers, 

Good evening, from LCS.

We are currently enjoying the warm, sunny weather, although some students are starting to complain that it is too hot and they want it to rain; you can't win, can you?!

Sports Day

As I included in my last update, tomorrow afternoon will be our first school Sports Day since summer 2019 and we are very much looking forward to being able to hold this event again. Please remember to send your child(ren) with drinking water and sun cream, as all students will be outside during Sports Day, either as participants, or spectators. Students who suffer from hay fever should also make sure they have taken their appropriate medication. Students can bring appropriate sun hats, if they wish to.

Students may also want to bring a small amount of money to purchase refreshments, which will be sold by our Year 11 students, as part of their fund raising for Charity Week.

Careers update

We have some important events coming up as part of our Careers programme.

Year 10 students have until 1st July to secure a Work Experience placement for October, by following the instructions they have all received in lessons. We would be grateful if parents/carers of students in Year 10 could support their children to secure a placement. All information related to this is available on our website, at:

https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/resources/careers/#work-experience

On 28th June, we are holding a new event in school for students in Years 9-12. Our Careers Fair will be open to students in Year 10 during lesson time and to students in Year 9 and 12 during lunchtime and after school. Further details of this event have been emailed to parents and carers.

Finally, our 'Transitions: Get Ahead' event will be held on 7th July for Year 9 and 10 parents and carers. If you are a parent/carer of a student in Year 9 or Year 10, please look out for an email you will be sent soon, for more information and guidance on how to book places.

Thank you.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

The LCS Art Department will be hosting an Exhibition of student art work from 4:30pm-6:30pm on Tuesday 12th July.

We are pleased to inform you of the upcoming Art Exhibition. Both Year 11 GCSE and A Level work will be on display in the Main Hall at Littleover Community School.

The evening is a chance for students, parents, and staff to celebrate the achievements of these students who have undertaken the Art and Design course during a turbulent two years.

We will also be showcasing large scale creative puppet carnival sculptures produced during the Year 8 MADfest event.

Year 8 students will be taking part in the Creative Arts Department MADFest on Friday 1st July.

MADfest is a creative and dynamic programme which provides Year 8 students with an exciting opportunity to experience an array of different Music, Art, and Drama (MAD) workshops outside the normal classroom experience. 

Students will be off timetable until lunchtime and will have an opportunity to attend workshops conducted by external artists, specialists, and entertainers as well as using the internal expertise of teachers within the school.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding sanitary products, warm weather and hayfever.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon from a very sunny LCS. There are just a couple of items in my update today.

'Ask for Sheila'

We have a large stock of sanitary items in school, which we can supply free to students.
These include:

• Tampax tampons; Regular, Super and super plus.
• Always sanitary pads, regular and night-time.
• Lilets organic regular and night time pads.
• ModiBodi period pants, extra small, small, medium, and large.

Students wanting any of these products can collect them from our Student Services Office and there are posters around school reminding students of this service.

If students are embarrassed about asking for these items from staff in our Student Support Office, they should ask to speak to 'Sheila', which will alert staff to their request.

Any parents/carers requiring further information about this should contact Anita McSkimming (Medical Officer) via the main school telephone number, or email address.

Warm weather and Hay Fever

The weather forecast is for warm weather, with sunny spells, over the next few days. Students should make sure they have drinking water with them in school, which should be brought in plastic bottles; glass bottles and cans are not allowed in school, for safety reasons.

We would also advise students to bring sun cream into school, for lunch and break times, or when outside during PE lessons.

We are currently planning to hold our Sports Day events on Wednesday 22nd June and if the weather is similar next week, students will need to be particularly careful to keep hydrated and avoid sun-burn.

We will be making additional drinking water available for students in school, but would encourage all students to be prepared for these warmer than average temperatures.

Hay Fever is a particular issue at present and we would remind students who suffer from this to take their appropriate medication before coming to school each day. If students have a more severe condition where medication is prescribed, rather than over the counter from a Pharmacy, this medication should be handed in to our Medical Officer in Student Services and not carried by the student during the school day. Students who use eye-drops can keep these with them, but nasal sprays/inhalers etc should also be kept with our Medical Officer.

Any questions parents/carers may have about medication at school, at any time, can be referred to Ms McSkimming.

Thank you for your continued support.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding the school mural project, drama festival, work experience and requests for leave of absence from school.

To all parents and carers, 

I hope you are all well and suitably rested after your long bank holiday weekend. It has been a busy start to the final half-term of the school year and I have a few updates for you today, which I hope you will find interesting. 

School Mural 

We are currently consulting with Dr Rhiannon Jones and mural artists from SHED (Derby University) on a very exciting project, to produce a school mural outside our main Reception area. The large mural will be located at either side of the entrance to Reception and is based on the school aims of Learning, Caring and Succeeding.  

The seven-minute video clip (link below) briefly introduces student and staff insights into the school aims, details the conceptual ideas relating to the mural and introduces the artists involved in the final development of this unique composition. The video is also a request for your ideas and your input as it is so important that this is developed collaboratively and reflects the whole school community. 

On Friday 10th June, students and staff will have an opportunity to contribute their ideas relating to the imagery used for the mural, through sharing their experiences associated with the school aims, commenting on existing design ideas, or physically drawing their own visual concepts. The introductory video can be accessed via the link below and through students’ school email accounts: 

• School Mural Project - Introduction Video 

Drama Festival 

Students from across the school recently took part in an evening Drama Festival, where they presented and performed their own original drama pieces. There were some brilliant performances and, as with our recent Music Festivals, this event has been recorded for parents, carers and students to watch at home. Both this and the mural video are available on Stream, with the link to the Drama Festival attached, below: 

• LCS Drama Festival on Microsoft Stream 

Year 10 Work Experience 

Parents and carers of students in Year 10 will be aware of our planned Work Experience week for students in October. Students have until July 1st to secure themselves placements, which would be for any 2 days during the week of 10th to 14th October 2022. All relevant information is being shared with students in lessons and is available for parents and carers on our school website, at the link below. If you are a parent/carer of a current Year 10 student, we would welcome your support in encouraging your child to secure a placement.  

• LCS Careers Dept - Work Experience Information

Leave of absence from school 

We have recently received a number of requests for leave of absence for students during term time. To clarify the situation for all parents and carers, to authorise any absence during term-time, outside of student illness, parents/carers must request leave in writing to the Headteacher; full details of this process are available in our School Attendance Policy, shown on our website.

For leave to be authorised, the reasons for this need to be exceptional. There is no standard definition or list of exceptional circumstances, but parents/carers must provide clear evidence that the situation is out of their control and that they cannot travel at another time.

Although we understand and respect the cost of holidays is less during term time, this alone would not be classed as an exceptional circumstance. 

Summer Term ends on the afternoon of 22nd July and the dates of the next school year are published on our website. 

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

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has 3 vacancies for the position of: Kitchen Assistant.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

LCS has 2 vacancies for the position of: Behaviour Support and Inclusion Mentor.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding face masks, work experience, summer clubs and activities, and cybercrime.

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon, from LCS. 

We are approaching the end of another busy half-term. School holidays are from Monday 30th May to Friday 3rd June and students return for the final half-term of the school year on Monday 6th June. 

I hope you all enjoy your long 4 day bank holiday weekend, when it comes. 

Face masks 

We continue to see a consistent, but low, number of students reported as being absent from school through Covid-19. As a result of the declining numbers of cases, we will change our guidance on face masks from next Monday, 23rd May, as outlined in my previous update. 

From Monday 23rd May, students wishing to continue wearing a face mask in school must have an exemption card, which can be applied for by parents/carers through our Medical Officer. Students without exemption cards will be asked to remove face masks in school, from this date. We do not plan any further changes to our face mask guidance until the start of the new academic year in September, but this will be dependent on continuing low levels of Covid-19 cases in school. 

Work Experience

Students in Year 10 have today been provided with information about their Work Experience programme, by Mrs Oversby. Information regarding Work Experience is available on our website from today and letters/emails will be sent to all Year 10 parents/carers. 

The deadline for students to find placements and forms to be returned is July 1st and students will take part in Work Experience during the first half of Autumn Term 2022, in October.

For parents/carers with older children who have been through our Work Experience programme at LCS in the past, our plans for 2022/23 have been scaled down, due to the decline in availability of student placements. I would ask all Year 10 parents/carers to read the information on our plans for the forthcoming year and to encourage students to find placements ahead of the 1st July deadline.

https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/resources/careers/#work-experience

Our Careers team are hoping to run a Careers Fair for parents/carers towards the end of June and further details of this will be sent to parents/carers when they are available. 

Summer Term clubs update

We are currently updating our list of available clubs and extra-curricular activities, for students to access in the remaining weeks of this term. I would encourage students to continue attending these activities and for students who have yet to be involved to try and attend at least one before the summer holiday.

Lists of clubs and activities can be found below: 

Student Clubs and Activities - Summer 2022

Cybercrime webinar 

Derbyshire Police Cyber Protect and Fraud Protect Officers are running a free webinar on Wednesday 25th May at 13.30hrs to warn the public of cybercrime, fraud and scams - and how you can protect yourself. 

Session will cover : 

• Device safety/protection
• Password guidance and account security 
• Protecting your personal information 
• Using social media safely 
• Social Engineering and phishing emails/texts 
• Telephone and Letterbox Scams 
• Romance Fraud 
• Online shopping & Online banking safely 
• Where to report 
• Signposting to further sources of support and resources

The session is for anyone who uses email and the internet. It is a non-tech session, easy to follow, with guidance on how to protect yourself from fraud, and protect your online accounts. 

To reserve your place please book via Eventbrite: 
Cybercrime (online safety) and Fraud Awareness webinar Tickets, Wed 25 May 2022 at 13:30 | Eventbrite 

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

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding face masks, exams and revision information, and social media.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS. 

There are a few brief items I would like to update all parents and carers on today. 

Face masks 

As you know, national guidance on face masks changed some time ago, and wearing of face masks in schools is no longer recommended. We have continued to allow students to wear a face mask if they wished to, however, due to the genuine concern some students continue to have around Covid-19. 

As cases of Covid-19 in school are currently low and have not increased since the most recent changes to national guidance on 1st April, we feel it is now time to change our rules on face masks. 

From Monday 23rd May, students will only be able to wear a face mask in school if they have an Exemption Card, allowing them to do so. Previously issued Exemption Cards will still be valid and any parent/carer requesting an Exemption Card for their child(ren), with valid reason, can do so by contacting our Medical Officer, through our main school email address. From Monday 23rd May, students will be asked to remove face masks, unless they can show staff an Exemption Card. Students with Exemption Cards can continue to wear a face mask until the end of this term; this must be the style of mask which covers the face and mouth and attaches behind the ear. No other style of face mask is acceptable. 

Exams 

From next week, our Year 11 and Year 13 students will begin their main exam period, which will go right through to the end of June. Our Year 11 students will finish regular lessons tomorrow and Year 13 on Friday 20th May. 

There is an extensive programme of revision sessions being run by staff throughout the exam period, details of which, as well as other important information about exams, can be found on our website at: https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/exams.php#before_exams 

We would encourage students to attend as many of the revision sessions as possible, to help their exam preparation. 

I would like to wish good luck to all our students beginning their exams over the next two weeks and to thank them all for the way they have worked with us over the last few years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The resilience our students have shown over the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic has been remarkable, as has their support of each other through these challenging times. They deserve great credit and I hope they will be rewarded with the exam grades they are hoping for and require, to move on to their chosen post-16 options. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to again thank all our parents and carers for your support of our students and the school in general. Your children have been an absolute credit to you. 

Social Media 

I apologise for once again needing to mention the issue of social media, but we have been dealing with further problems again in school this week. I would politely reiterate the request I made in my previous email update, that parents and carers monitor their child’s use of social media and that the age appropriate guidance for these sites is followed. 

As well as the issues I mentioned previously with students’ use of TikTok, we have had further problems brought into school through students’ use of Whatsapp this week and concerns have been expressed to us of the growing number of students accessing Omegle; if you are not aware of this site, please look into it before allowing your child(ren) to use it. 

Younger students in Y7 and Y8 continue to be our biggest concern with use of social media and most of these students remain below the age limit for use of these apps and sites. This is where we need your continued help and support as parents and carers, to keep our young people safe. 

Detailed information about these social media sites, as well as other issues around on-line safety, can be found at our website, at the link below: 
 https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/information.php#esafety 

Thank you for your continued support.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding face masks, exams and revision information, and social media.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS. 

There are a few brief items I would like to update all parents and carers on today. 

Face masks 

As you know, national guidance on face masks changed some time ago, and wearing of face masks in schools is no longer recommended. We have continued to allow students to wear a face mask if they wished to, however, due to the genuine concern some students continue to have around Covid-19. 

As cases of Covid-19 in school are currently low and have not increased since the most recent changes to national guidance on 1st April, we feel it is now time to change our rules on face masks. 

From Monday 23rd May, students will only be able to wear a face mask in school if they have an Exemption Card, allowing them to do so. Previously issued Exemption Cards will still be valid and any parent/carer requesting an Exemption Card for their child(ren), with valid reason, can do so by contacting our Medical Officer, through our main school email address. From Monday 23rd May, students will be asked to remove face masks, unless they can show staff an Exemption Card. Students with Exemption Cards can continue to wear a face mask until the end of this term; this must be the style of mask which covers the face and mouth and attaches behind the ear. No other style of face mask is acceptable. 

Exams 

From next week, our Year 11 and Year 13 students will begin their main exam period, which will go right through to the end of June. Our Year 11 students will finish regular lessons tomorrow and Year 13 on Friday 20th May. 

There is an extensive programme of revision sessions being run by staff throughout the exam period, details of which, as well as other important information about exams, can be found on our website at: https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/exams.php#before_exams 

We would encourage students to attend as many of the revision sessions as possible, to help their exam preparation. 

I would like to wish good luck to all our students beginning their exams over the next two weeks and to thank them all for the way they have worked with us over the last few years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The resilience our students have shown over the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic has been remarkable, as has their support of each other through these challenging times. They deserve great credit and I hope they will be rewarded with the exam grades they are hoping for and require, to move on to their chosen post-16 options. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to again thank all our parents and carers for your support of our students and the school in general. Your children have been an absolute credit to you. 

Social Media 

I apologise for once again needing to mention the issue of social media, but we have been dealing with further problems again in school this week. I would politely reiterate the request I made in my previous email update, that parents and carers monitor their child’s use of social media and that the age appropriate guidance for these sites is followed. 

As well as the issues I mentioned previously with students’ use of TikTok, we have had further problems brought into school through students’ use of Whatsapp this week and concerns have been expressed to us of the growing number of students accessing Omegle; if you are not aware of this site, please look into it before allowing your child(ren) to use it. 

Younger students in Y7 and Y8 continue to be our biggest concern with use of social media and most of these students remain below the age limit for use of these apps and sites. This is where we need your continued help and support as parents and carers, to keep our young people safe. 

Detailed information about these social media sites, as well as other issues around on-line safety, can be found at our website, at the link below: 
 https://www.littleover.derby.sch.uk/information.php#esafety 

Thank you for your continued support.

Keep safe. 

J Wilding
Headteacher

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: Teaching Assistant/High Level Teaching Assistant (Maths).

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

The LCS music department is offering students the opportunity to learn to play the trumpet or trombone. Interested students should contact Mr Heywood or Mr Cartwright.

Headline Image Credit: "Trumpet Macro" by Jamesongravity is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Parents of Year 6 students starting at LCS in September have been sent a letter containing information relating to the induction process.

We have made much of the information in the letter available online. Along with the details of the induction process for parents and carers, there are various videos and a virtual tour to help students familiarise themselves with the LCS Staff and school site.

You can find the information under Parents & Carers > Induction Process.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers regarding Covid-19, social media issues and the recent Lower School Music Festival..

To all parents and carers, 

Good afternoon from LCS.

I would like to wish Eid Mubarak to all our students, parents, carers and members of our school community who have been celebrating Eid over the last couple of days. I hope you have been able to spend time with family, without the Covid-19 restrictions which have prevented this over the last 2 years.

I have a few brief items in today’s update.

Covid-19

We are continuing to see Covid-19 cases amongst students in school, but case numbers have not been a concern so far this term. I would once again remind and respectfully request all parents and carers to follow the latest government guidance on managing Covid-19 in the community and not to send children into school if they have any Covid-19 symptoms. Schools can refuse to allow students to attend if they clearly have Covid-19 symptoms, but I hope we will not need to take this action.

We will be reviewing our rules on face masks for students within the next couple of weeks. When this happens, I will let you know in advance of any potential change.

Social Media issues

We have been made aware in the last week of accounts being set up on social media apps, particularly TikTok currently, where the name of the school or LCS logo is being used in the account name. These accounts are not official school accounts, as we do not use TikTok as a school. The accounts we are made aware of are often set up by younger students, who are often below the age limit to use these apps.

Our school Behaviour Policy is clear, that any student(s) setting up fake accounts using the school name or logo, or any student(s) using social media in a derogatory manner towards the school, school staff or other students, will face sanctions, which could include Suspension from school, or Permanent Exclusion in the most serious of cases.

Students are regularly reminded in school of our expectations and of the dangers of social media, in general, but we also need the support of parents and carers to keep these issues to a minimum. Please check age limits for all social media apps and if you are allowing your child to use these apps at any time, regardless of their age, please discuss acceptable use with them. It would also be helpful if parents and carers could monitor their child’s social media use, from time to time.

I would be grateful for your support in this matter, as it is a significant ongoing challenge for all schools. As a parent and/or carer, please do not assume your child is not involved in or witnessing unacceptable language and images on social media, as experience tells us that any student can encounter these issues, at any time.

Music Festival

Our Lower School Music Festival was held last Tuesday and the recording of the event is now available to stream at the link below. As with the Key Stage 4/5 event, students can access the stream through their school email account:

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/76d01122-2411-4d14-b3b8-8a1c4a31404f

Huge congratulations go to Luyando Lambu and Hanna Abdul who won the Lower School Music Festival and to Joseph Law who gained a Commendation. In the Upper School event, Georgia Bullock was the winner and Alesha Deen was Commended.

Both events were a great success and showcased the huge musical talent we have in the school. We are hoping that future events will now be able to be held with larger audiences, so as many of you as possible can see how talented our students are.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. If you have any questions or comments you would like to make about the school, at any time, please contact me via the school’s email address.

Keep safe.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Nathan Addai, an animation artist, will be running two days of workshops in art lessons on 3rd and 4th May.

We are excited to inform students that the Art Department have an animation artist running two days of workshops on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th May. Nathan Addai is a former animation student from Derby University who recently was commissioned by the BBC to create the 'Mental Roots' animation aimed at addressing inclusion, identity and mental health. He is keen for students to have a greater understanding of the pathways Art students can take to get into the Creative Industries, specifically the animation and Illustration sectors.

During these one-hour workshops, students will gain an understanding of the different types of animation and how they are used, the diverse animating roles and the pathways to becoming an animator. There will also be a small amount of time to try developing a miniflipbook  animation. 

The recording of the LCS Lower School Music Festival from Tuesday 26th April is now available to LCS Students and Staff via Microsoft Stream.

Students/Staff will need to log in at www.microsoftstream.com with their school email address and password to view the video. The video is then available on the Microsoft Stream home page.

Alternatively, students should receive an email with a direct link by this evening (28th April).

LCS has a vacancy for the position of: ICT Technician.

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from LCS.

I hope you have all had a good holiday over the last two weeks. Staff are back in school today and we are looking forward to welcoming students tomorrow, for the start of Summer term.

As you will be aware, national guidance on management of Covid-19 changed on 1st April. This included guidance for schools on managing Covid-19 cases amongst students and staff.

Mass asymptomatic testing has now ended and schools will receive no further supplies of LFD test kits to distribute to students or staff. The kits we have in school, or unused test kits you may still have at home, should now only be used in the event of an outbreak, or emergence of a new Covid-19 variant.

Guidance for adults and children attending the workplace, including schools, can be summarised as follows:

• Adults with the symptoms of a respiratory infection, and who have a high temperature or feel unwell, should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people until they feel well enough to resume normal activities and they no longer have a high temperature.
• Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people. They can go back to school, college or childcare when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.
• Children with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or mild cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to attend their education or childcare setting.
• Adults with a positive COVID-19 test result should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days, which is when they are most infectious. For children and young people aged 18 and under, the advice will be 3 days.

For the health and safety of all students and staff in school, I would ask all parents and carers to continue exercising caution when sending children in to school. If your child has a high temperature, or if you believe they may have Covid-19, please do not send them into school for the advised 3 days, or longer if they continue to be unwell. If you child is confirmed as having Covid-19, they must not attend school for the advised 3 days, or longer if they continue to have a high temperature or feel unwell.

We will continue to encourage good hygiene routines in school and will continue to remind students to wash their hands, or use hand sanitiser, regularly during the day and particularly around meal times and when using toilets.
Students who wish to continue wearing a face covering in school can continue to do so for the time being. We will review this policy after a few weeks of the new term.

Information will be sent soon to students in Year 11 and Year 13 ahead of GCSE and A Level exams, including guidance for students who contract Covid-19 during the exam period.

Your ongoing support of our school is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

J Wilding
Headteacher

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

For more information please see the Job Vacancies Page.

Mr Wilding has sent an update to parents and carers.

To all parents and carers, 

Good morning, from a very sunny LCS.

It is the last day of Spring Term and we are all looking forward to a well deserved holiday. I hope you find the information in my final update of the term useful. 

Music Festival

Earlier this week, we held our Upper School Music Festival, for students in Years 10-13. As usual, we were treated to some amazing performances from our mega-talented students, who were able to perform in front of an audience for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The recording of the event is available now to stream, at the link below. Students can access this link using their school email account and password:

• LCS Upper School Music Festival 2022

Our Lower School Music Festival, for students in Years 7-9, will be held on 26th April, and we are also hoping to record and stream this event in the same format.

Derby City Council Easter Promise

Derby City Council is again offering their Easter Promise programme this year, including events and food for children and families. A link to details of this event is below:

• Derby City Council - Easter Promise

Safeguarding during school holidays

I hope all students and their families remain safe and well over the next 2 weeks.

In the event of an emergency safeguarding issue during the holiday, the link below to our school website includes information and advice on how to report issues during school closure. A reminder that students return to school on Tuesday 26th April, as 25th April is an INSET Day for staff.

• LCS Safeguarding Page

Updated advice on Covid-19

The UKHSA has issued updated guidance for people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, or a positive test result for COVID-19. I will update all parents and carers at the start of next term on any changes to our Covid-19 guidance in school.

• Updated Guidance - People with symptoms of a respitory infection

Thank all for your continued support of the school.

Best wishes and keep safe.

J Wilding
Headteacher

Due to maintenance works, there may be disruption to the school phone lines on Thursday 21st April.

If you have concerns about the safety or wellbeing of an LCS student during this time, please see the information on our Safeguarding Page.