Newsletter 

20th September 2024

Principal's Message:

It has been another busy week at Leigh Academy Langley Park with lots of learning taking place.

Year 6 Bikeability

You may have seen a number of our Year 6 pupils in the local area learning to safely ride their bikes through the Bikeability programme. This is such an important part of our curriculum offer as these are fundamental life skills as they teach essential cycling skills, promote confidence and safety on the road. The programme not only enhances road awareness and cyclist safety but also encourages environmentally friendly, healthy, and independent travel. Funded by the UK government, Bikeability helps foster a generation of more competent and responsible cyclists.

 Kent Award for Resilience and Emotional Wellbeing

It gives us great pleasure to share that we having been awarded the Kent Award for Resilience and Emotional Wellbeing. Here is what a representative from Kent Community Health fedback about our application;

"I am delighted to say that you presented a very impressive application, identifying the wonderful practice that is currently taking place at Leigh Academy Langley Park.

Reading your application form and supporting evidence, I was particularly struck by how embedded supporting emotional health and wellbeing is throughout the school from the senior leadership team, teaching staff and curriculum, pupils and parents – your whole school ethos and environment.

Thank you for sharing all the different evidence that you included in the application. There were many standout features to your provision including:

There are many more areas that I could mention that together have helped create a supportive/nurturing whole school environment."

A huge well done to Mrs Dunn who took the lead on this for the academy. It wouldn't have been possible without her hard work. A huge well done also needs to go to the whole staff team as they are the ones who are implementing all of the work we do around resilience and emotional wellbeing on a daily basis.

What wonderful news to end the week on.

Have a great weekend.

Miss S Brading

Office Reminders:

For our new parents, and any who are not already aware, please ensure that you click through all pages of our newsletter so that you have access to all of the information published each week. If you are not sure how to do this, pop into the academy office and we will be happy to help.

Parking

A reminder that if you need to drive to the site to drop off and collect your child(ren), the speed limit in the carpark is 5mph and vehicles should be parked in marked bays only, with engines switched off. Cars must not be parked across safe walkways or crossings, be double parked or within the staff parking area.

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a large parking area for our parent/carer community but it does rely on everyone observing the correct procedures and laws to keep safe all those who are on site.

We would like to share with you information regarding a free community art competition that is being run by Maidstone Borough Council to help raise environmental awareness. 

The competition is called "We are Nature" and there are a number of categories aimed at children and adults, depending on age. Entries must be a piece of artwork in any format and which showcases one of the following:

Entries will be judged using a range of criteria and shortlisted entries will be announced on Friday 18th October 2024.

The deadline for entries is Friday 11th October 2024. Good luck!

Whole School Attendance:

95.09%

Weekly Class Attendance Award:

98.75%

Pazazz Class

Key Dates:


23rd and 24th September Bikeability for selected Year 6 pupils (Group 3)

Tuesday 24th September Year 1 Local Area Walk

Wednesday 25th September Deadline for Harvest donations

Friday 27th September Macmillan Cake Sale 15.10-15.30

Monday 30th September Year 4 Trip to Hazlitt Theatre

Tuesday 1st October Reception Phonics Information Session at 14:30

Monday 14th October Individual School Photographs

Friday 15th October Harvest Assembly for Year 5, more information to follow

Wednesday 16th October Year 2 Animal Workshop

Friday 18th October Last day of Term 1


Please note that these are confirmed dates but should we need to change any due to unforeseen circumstances, we will communicate this with you with as much notice as possible.

National Online Safety Guide

When Apple unveiled the iPad in early 2010, they almost single-handedly rewrote people's idea of what a portable computing device was capable of... and sparked a tablet revolution. There are several, very respectable imitators on the market now, however the iPad remains the standard bearer for tablet computers and still routinely shifts upwards of 40 million units each year.

The immense popularity of the iPad, of course, has made it a familiar companion for children and young people - an auxiliary TV, an aid for schoolwork and a blessing on a long car journey, for example. However, there are still some aspects of Apple's flagship tablet that parents and carers should bear in mind to help protect their child(ren) from online risks. The below guide highlights possible hazards including the risk of age-inappropriate content, physical damage to the device and potential screen addition.



A reminder that all of our parent/carer community are invited to create an account with National Online Safety, which provides a wide range of resources such as the guides we include in our newsletters, courses and video resources. If you have not already done so, please create your account by visiting the link below. 

https://nationalcollege.com/enrol/langley-park-primary-academy 

You can also download the National Online Safety app on any device or smartphone by searching for it in the App Store/Google Play Store.

Contacting the class teachers:

If you have concerns that you would like to raise with the academy, please do so via the office email address which is info@langleypark.latrust.org.uk . Upon receipt, your email will be directed to the relevant member(s) of staff.

We respectfully ask that you address any concerns or issues with your child's class teacher in the first instance. If it remains unresolved then your concern will then be escalated to the Key Stage Lead and/or Mrs Neame, Vice Principal. In the unlikely event that it continues to remain unresolved, it will be escalated to Miss Brading at that point.

We are also aware that some parents/carers continue to email staff directly. In the event that this happens, your email will not be responded to and you should resume communication via the correct channels.