Milestone Academy Newsletter
March 2021 - Term 4
Principal's Welcome
Dear Families,
Welcome to our Easter 2021 Newsletter. Significantly this newsletter marks the end of a Term where uniquely we brought our school back together from 8th March having responded to the January lockdown. I am also very aware that Milestone, like all schools nationally, have had pupils and staff who are yet to return as they are shielding and we will look forward to welcoming them back in Term 5.
As you read on you will, I trust, pick up the energy around the learning that has been occurring across the four Phases that make up the wide ranging Milestone Academy estate - be it on main site or in our four satellites. It is also great to see our pupils embracing technology in their learning as you can see with Zak and Kane's contribution to our newsletter - more of this to follow I am sure!
Coupled with our in house news and internal and external information (Fairtrade and KCC free school meals), can I draw your attention to the Milestone record Red Nose Day raised amount of £1190.20. Many thanks to Sarah who brought staff and pupils together to bring this amount into reality. The newsletter concludes with a letter to all the country's pupils from Gavin Williamson the Secretary of State for Education.
I hope you like our newly formatted layout of this newsletter which is now more accessible for those using electronic devices to read it. I would like to thank the LAT Website Team, led by Brandon Baily, who have enabled this to occur and to Megan from our Front of House Administration Support Team who expertly collates the whole newsletter each Term.
May I say a huge thank you to all parents, carers and families for your ongoing collaboration as we have rebuilt Milestone Academy and wish one and all a safe Happy Easter.
Nigel Jones - Principal
Phase 1
Stepping Stones Nursery have had a lovely term and enjoyed lots of outside activities in the lovely Spring weather. We read 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' and we went on a sensory bear hunt journey outside. We went through the river, mud, snowstorm and found the bear! We also did some transport themed activities and explored a different country each week. We danced to Spanish music and had croissants for snack during French week.
It has been brilliant to have all of Penguin Class back together again. Straight away the children settled back into class routines and working! Penguins have enjoyed working on the class topic of, ‘Are we there yet?’. We have been on a sensory journey into space where we landed on the moon and discovered it smelt and tasted of cheese! We have journeyed into Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed dancing to the sounds of Scottish bagpipes. And finally, we ended up visiting the seaside where we listened to the cries of the seagulls, sang and danced to seaside songs, and experienced many sensory elements of the beach and ocean. Penguins have also enthusiastically joined in with our sensory dance massage sessions where we have visited, danced and moved to music from all around the world. It has been a very productive term for us all, but also a real joy to be back together again.
Turtle Class have really enjoyed getting stuck into their topic lesson this term. We have been travelling around the world exploring different countries and holiday destinations.
Our favourite places have been Scotland, Mexico and the seaside. The children have loved learning through sensory lessons such as mint and lime water play, hot and cold porridge oat sensory trays.
Bear Class have all enjoyed returning to school after remote learning. We have developed our communication and independence skills over the term, and enjoyed being back together as a class. We have worked hard on our topic this term 'Are we there yet?!' by exploring and learning about different countries on our very own sensory journey.
Leopard Class have had a fantastic term 4 and it was so lovely to welcome all of the children back on the 8th March. The children were all superstars and coped so well with the transition back to school. We enjoyed our topic of "Are we there yet?" , exploring different parts of the world, with a focus on mountains and volcanoes in geography. The children enjoyed making their own erupting volcanoes in science which were amazing! We enjoyed the story of "On the way home" in literacy and worked hard to design our own dream playground - the ideas the children came up with were fantastic! I hope you all have a lovely Easter and I look forward to welcoming the children back in Term 5 where our topic will be " Do you believe in magic?", where we will be learning all about magic through the ages!
Lion Class have been exploring creatures that live in the sea. We made sea jelly and found lots of the creatures in it using our fine motor skills to collect them. We have had the story of Handa’s surprise and made pictures using the fruit from her basket, the tangerines were popular with all the students.
Giraffe Class pupils were all really excited to be back in school and it has been a busy term. The children have enjoyed participating in the daily mile and have been walking around the school field. We have also been focusing on mountains and volcanoes in Geography and the children made their own apple volcanoes.
Panthers Class have had a great time this term visiting lots of interesting places in our topic 'Are we there yet?'. We have enjoyed sensory stories of Handa's surprise where we got to taste different fruits and then use them for printing. We are looking forward to doing some Easter related activities this week and making some lovely Easter treats.
Tiger Class have been enjoying this terms topic, "Are We There Yet?". The class have been exploring different places around the world in Geography, as well as stories about going on a journey. This term the Tigers have particularly enjoyed the story Handa's Surprise, looking at all the fruits and animals along the way.
Flamingo Class have had a busy term exploring our topic of ‘Are we there yet’. We have travelled to space, Scotland and the seaside through a variety of learning experiences. During our space focus students enjoyed making rockets, exploring different textures of moon sand and exploring the stars with different light up activities. While ‘visiting’ Scotland we made and tasted shortbread and explored different ways of traveling on roads looking at buses and cars. Finally in our ‘visit’ to the seaside Flamingos enjoyed exploring shells and different sand textures. Flamingos have all enjoyed our different sensology sessions throughout the term too.
Claire Woolmer - Assistant Principal Phase 1
Phase 2
It has been great to welcome back so many pupils into school. For those pupils who continue to isolate, you are not forgotten! We miss seeing you in school and look forward to when we can all be together again. Well done for continuing your home learning and to those pupils who are joining in with live lessons.
Dates for your diary: 27th and 28th May will be our activity days. The theme is Walk Like an Egyptian! Friday 28th May will be a dress up day, please can your children wear Egyptian themed clothing.
Woodland Class have settled back into the school routine well. Each week we have been on a Sensory Journey to learn about different countries, through our five senses. We have seen the Statue of Liberty in New York, explored sand in Africa, listened to the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Tasted Soy Sauce in China and smelt Garam Masala in India. We have worked hard on our switch skills this term through our sensory cooking lessons and have created some fantastic UV art under our new UV lamp in class. We have also enjoyed holding and listening to our resident chicks!!
Coast Class have been settling back into school life and spending time doing a range of sensory activities. We have particularly enjoyed exploring a range of textures including: paint, chalk, baked beans, flour and shaving foam. We have also enjoyed a weekly cooking activity as well as enjoying time in the playground when the weather has been nice.
Mountain Class have enjoyed returning to their usual class this term. We have particularly enjoyed our music lessons with Jak, where we have been listening and creating music from different countries such as Jamaica, Indonesia and China. We thought traditional Chinese music was very calming and it made us feel as though we were at a relaxing spa. The living egg project coming to school has also been a real highlight for us, we have watched the eggs hatch and the chicks become fluffy and yellow. Some of us even got the chance to clean them out and give them food and water. During our English lessons we have been reading the book ‘Lost and Found’ by Oliver Jeffers, the children have loved the illustrations and we have watched lots of videos of penguins and seagulls in action! We have also been enjoying exploring the woodland area since the weather has started to improve and we look forward to doing even more of this when we return for the summer term.
Orchard Class have had a fantastic return to school in Term 4, and have particularly enjoyed the phase 2 living eggs project. We watched 10 eggs hatch, and we have 5 girls and 5 boys! We have since cared for them by cleaning them out and providing them with fresh food and clean water. Students (and staff!) have had a great 2 weeks observing the chicks grow, holding them and listening to them chirping! We have enjoyed reading the book “The Emperor’s Egg” and learning lots of facts about Emperor penguins! They grow nearly as tall as some of us in Orchard class! During science we have been learning about forces, and particularly enjoyed our ‘egg parachute’ experiment, exploring how quickly the eggs drop when attached to different sized parachutes - there were a few cracked eggs along the way! In Art we have been learning about sculptures and we enjoyed making salt dough to create our own ‘spring’ sculpture in the style of Barbara Hepworth. For Red Nose Day we enjoyed dressing up as superheroes and completing an egg and spoon race, tackling different obstacles without dropping our red nose - it was really difficult!
Forest Class have all enjoyed being back in class and they have been working hard on their topic of ‘Poles Apart’. The pupils have enjoyed the story of the ‘Blue Penguin’ during their English lessons and they have all been working hard on their ILP targets. The pupils have also engaged well in their Clever Fingers sessions and they have been working hard on developing their fine motor skills. The pupils have also enjoyed being able to participate in gymnastics sessions with Beaming Stars and they have engaged well with the ropes and climbing apparatus. Forest class have also enjoyed their Science topic looking at magnets and investigating which objects are magnetic and which aren’t.
Meadow Class has had a fantastic term. We have really enjoyed our topic this term ‘poles apart’. We particularly enjoyed learning about the different climates and loved our 3D winter walks and visiting forest school. In maths we had a fantastic time learning about 2D and 3D shapes, We created a shape hunt around the school and were able to create fantastic posters describing the shapes we had found.
In science we have been learning about forces. We particularly enjoyed learning about air resistance and created our very own parachutes. In RE we learnt about the life cycle of a chicken and really enjoyed the question ‘what came first the chicken or the egg’, we were able to have a brilliant debate before researching that the chicken egg came first.
Michelle Hilton - Assistant Principal Phase 2
Milestone @ DPA
Nova Class have had an interesting and challenging term 4, due to the changes we experienced. We began the term learning remotely before returning to school midway through the term. The pupils have shown great resilience to overcome this period of time and have demonstrated some excellent learning. In maths, our focus for the term has been geometry. We began the term by looking at 3D shapes and learning the names of these. We also looked at how to identify the different properties of 3D shapes and explored different methods to count these. We then continued into 2D shapes and looked at the properties of these as well. In reading, we have focused on non-fiction forms of writing, beginning by looking at letters. We explored these in the fiction texts, Dragon Post and The Jolly Postman. We then continued with the genre of non-fiction by reading the text 'You Wouldn’t Want to Be on Shackleton’s Expedition'. This was a tricky book and we engaged brilliantly with it. In writing, we began the term by looking at how to write letters, considering what we needed to include in each section and looking at the format and structure of letters. We then created posters of Arctic and Antarctic animals, researching ideas as a group then creating the posters.
Moonbeam Class are so happy to be back in school and have done some fantastic learning since coming back. We have really enjoyed the ‘Poles Apart’ topic and have particularly enjoyed reading “The Emperor’s Egg” and learning all about Emperor Penguins. We also had fun learning about the Arctic and Antarctic in Geography. In Maths, we have enjoyed being creative and finding different ways to make 2D and 3D shapes, including using our bodies! Our absolute favourite topic this term has been ‘forces and magnets’ in Science. We have had so much fun experimenting with different magnetic objects and have set up our own ‘force’ experiments.
Comet Class has been learning about the Polar Regions and the people and animals that live there. We have been exploring Arctic habitats and the properties of ice, thinking of different adjectives to describe it. During one of our phonics lessons, we had to break different items out of blocks of ice and then identify the initial sound of each of the items. During lockdown learning, those of us in school even created our own igloo using plastic trays. In maths we have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes including their properties and playing games to identify them from their nets. We have worked on making a group sculpture in art inspired by the artist Barbara Hepworth.
Sam Jolliffe, Satellite Director (Interim)
Phase 3
The first message I want to include is a huge THANK YOU to the staff, students, and families in Phase 3 for giving me such a wonderful welcome back to the main site. It is a pleasure and a privilege to come into school every day, and I have loved getting to know all of our students.
I am especially grateful to the Phase 3 Leadership Team:
Noleen, Phase 3 Leader
Rachel, ASD and Behaviour Lead
Phoebe, English Lead
Tom, Maths Lead
And to the amazing team at Milestone @ the Leigh, led by Sarah.
Congratulations once again to Tom, who is now our Viking Class teacher and has recently taken on the role of Phase 3 Maths Lead. However, an even bigger congratulations goes out to him because by the time this newsletter reaches our families, Tom will have welcomed his new baby into the world. Congratulations Tom and Lauren.
A huge welcome to Yasmin, who has been leading Sparta Class brilliantly. I am so grateful that Yasmin has joined us, and I have seen the amazing work that she and her team have been getting up to.
In the news that follows, you will find out some of the brilliant things our students have been doing. I am especially proud of how well everyone has settled since returning to a fully-open Milestone Academy. As you will see, truly engaging and high-quality learning has been taking place in all of our classes.
Lastly, a real highlight of the last few weeks especially has been the arrival of our baby chickens! They came to us as eggs and within a few days we were even able to watch some of them hatch. Out of ten eggs, all ten Phase 3 chicks hatched and have grown healthy and happy. We will be very sad to see them go, but they have brought our students and our staff a huge amount of joy. A great big thank you to Sarah-Jane for organising this via the Living Eggs charity.
To our families: On behalf of the entire Phase 3 Leadership Team, it has been wonderful working with many of you so closely. Thank you for reaching out with your questions, comments and concerns. Like you, we are always working to provide the best possible support for our students, and we could not do this without you. So, thank you - as always - for your support.
Kyle Marsh - Assistant Principal and Director of Phase 3 (Interim)
It has been wonderful welcoming the students of Roman class all back together again this term. Following on from the fantastic remote learning with their families, Roman Class have got straight back into working hard upon their individual learning targets and generalising these skills through fun sensory based learning activities based on our theme ‘Going Global’. This term we have gone on sensory journeys to some European neighbours including Italy, France and Ireland, exploring the sights, sounds, tastes and even textures - Noleen & Sarah-Jane
Sparta Class share their reflections on the term:
Archie: I have been reading Time Travelling with a Hamster and I liked it because it was a nice book. I have enjoyed seeing our new teacher.
Jessica: This term, I have been reading Time Travelling with a Hamster and Snow Dog. I really like them. Learning about shapes in maths has been very fun! I like being back at school now, playing with my friends.
Tyler: This term I have been getting fit in PE and learnt about 3D shapes. I have been reading Dora’s chicks and I have enjoyed seeing my friends and my new teacher.
Antonious: Now I am back at school I like playing on the swing. I have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes. I have been reading Time Travelling with a Hamster.
Saxon class have travelled to Egypt and learned about the Pyramids as well as what can be found inside! Students enjoyed discovering artefacts buried in sand and then sampling Egyptian flavours. They have also made Egyptian tombs including items Pharaohs needed for the afterlife. Students have completed some great shape work identifying shape in the environment and those used in everyday independent living skills - Maria Steer
Viking Class have been learning all about geometry and shapes in maths. We even wrote our own song called “don’t tread on lego” to help us and other classes remember the properties of 3D shapes. In English we have been continuing with our story “Time Travelling with a Hamster” and recapping our knowledge on verbs, adverbs and adjectives. We also had to use our SPAG knowledge to work out who burned the pasta dish in our murder mystery of the “Great British SPAG off”. In history we’ve been learning all about the industrial revolution and how England went from being rural to industrialised. Many of the students have very much enjoyed going to see and documenting the development of our “live eggs eggsperiment” in the Phase 3 office. Here they have enjoyed watching and recording chicks hatching from eggs - Tom Watling
Empire have been working hard on our core curriculum supported by the topic ‘Going Global’. We have been visiting different countries around the world (virtually) and learning about different festivals and celebrations. We have been beginning to understand why these celebrations take place and what they represent in the cultures that celebrate them.
We have explored the celebrations across the world including of Chinese New Year, Kite festivals, Rio de Janeiro carnival, Holi, May day, Easter and Eid. We also celebrated Red Nose Day, thinking about charity and helping others, we enjoyed different activities during the day and made cakes for our snacks - Angie Frost
Tudor Class have worked upon their ILP and generalised their skills by exploring Egypt. We made Egyptian butter cookies, sarcophagus out of clay and mummies using lollipop sticks and modroc. This week we have explored the country of Greece, we are making Olympic torches, Greek butter cookies with sesame seeds, also medusa heads and greek pots using clay.
The students are really enjoying the variety of activities and cross curriculum learning - Nicola Thatcher
Norman Class pupils have all enjoyed being back in school, seeing their friends and having fun this term. Normans have had a great time completing different craft and cooking activities related to a different country each week and they have joined in brilliantly during sensory stories such as ‘A Day Trip to Italy’, where Normans enjoyed pretending they had travelled to Italy, tasting different foods and exploring souvenirs too. Norman pupils have also been working hard during Maths lessons this term, where the focus has been Shape. We have been on shape hunts, played shape bingo and other fun games. All of Norman Class have continued to work hard during PSHE functional skills tasks, where they have helped with cleaning and tidying around class and outside too. Brilliant work Normans! - Rachel Perry
Kyle Marsh - Assistant Principal and Director of Phase 3 (Interim)
Milestone @ The Leigh Academy
Milestone at the Leigh are all back and all working hard - and even though it has been a very short term, it has been a great and engaging one.
We have had some really cute, fluffy visitors and the students watched in awe as they hatched from their shells - next term we hope to have butterflies and maybe some African land snails!
This term we had an amazing Science Day exploring states of matter including making ice-cream and tasting our wares.
In Drama the students have been looking at the concept of a radio play. They have independently written, produced and performed a five minute play which will be broadcast on Milestone Radio in Term 5.
The students have enjoyed sharing the text of “The Girl Who Speaks Bear” and learning about Russian customs and culture. They drew pictures of the characters and the author, Sophie Anderson, sent a message to the students on Twitter.
Sarah Brown - Satellite Director
Phase 4
Eynsford Class have been working very hard on their ASDAN work- and have been looking at time and recognising times of the day using their visual timetables. Eynsford have been making their own timetables in the morning and using these to follow and to locate different environments. We have also been working very hard to recognise times and events within the year and have been exploring different seasons and celebrations throughout the year in countries around the world - we have been on many sensory journeys together and have gained lots of stamps from different countries we have visited on our virtual passports.
Canterbury Class have been "Around the World" this term. We have been investigating the sights, smells, food and music from Italy, France, Spain and Australia. We enjoyed making cakes, superhero masks and red noses to celebrate Red Nose Day.
Leeds Class have been busy with working on 7 countries around the world, we have been to a different country every week from England to America.
We have been singing our rap around the world.
On Red Nose Day we took part in a danceathon with the whole class and staff dancing to a song every 30 minutes.
Everyone in class raised money for this event.
Kai Johnston received fantastic sponsorship and raised £115.
Dover Class have really enjoyed being back in school this term and have enjoyed socialising with their peers again. We really enjoyed learning about different countries for our topic of ‘Countries around the World’ and enjoyed making and trying the different cuisines. We have also started taking part in the daily mile where we walk around the tennis courts 4 times. The children have planted a range of different foods in the allotment and are looking forward to seeing their produce grow throughout the next few weeks, hopefully we’ll be able to use them in our cooking lessons later on in the year!
Scotney Class have settled back into school well and have been familiarising themselves with the school routine. We have focused on lots of communication sessions and have been working on our topic of ‘One World’. We have been looking at different countries around the world, the animals they have in those countries along with exploring traditional music and foods from around the world.
Terry Brock, Assistant Principal Phase 4 & Faye Mendez, Phase 4 Leader
Milestone @ Wilmington Academy
A busy term, so where to start? I have decided to share with you the beginning, the middle and the end!
The Beginning - World Book Day (or as M@W like to call it World Book Fortnite!)
Still in the middle of a national lockdown but not to be deterred, the focus was "Matilda" by Roald Dahl with a different challenge every day. After much hard work, Kane was the overall winner of the Daily Challenge.
I couldn’t show everything so here are just a couple of examples of the hard work.
The Middle - Back to school
Mixed feelings but one young person in particular was very happy to be back as he shared his feelings about lockdown in a video he made while working at home on Google Classroom.
We also raised £105 for Comic Relief!
The End! - of this newsletter report at least!
Liesl Andersson - Satellite Director
'Innovating for the Future'
During Science Week children pupils across the school joined in a range of activities of the theme 'Innovating for the future'. It was fantastic to see children working together to explore opportunities for a greener future, including making water purifiers, sorting plastics, exploring recycling options and finding inventive ways of recycling!
Red Nose Day
On Friday 19th March staff and pupils came together to support Red Nose Day. Many of us dressed up as superheroes and throughout the day took part in a variety of activities including each class doing a sponsored challenge - these included egg and spoon races, face painting, silences and danceathons! Within school we also had a virtual comedy show featuring staff and students from all areas of the school. Great fun was had by everyone whilst also raising a fantastic £1190.20 for charity - a new record for a charity day at Milestone!! A huge thank you to everyone for your support.
Easter Bonnet Parade
Milestone @ DPA had lots of fun making their own Easter bonnets for a parade and a competition. They then enjoyed having an Easter bonnet parade around the playground to show off their brilliant work.
Well done to all pupils, especially Nathan in Moonbeam, Daniel in Comet and Kieran in Nova, who won the first prizes for their creativity. Happy Easter from Milestone @ DPA!
Therapy Team News
Shielding Pupils:
This term we have sent home some resources for the pupils who are still shielding. These have been personalised, including sensory and practical activities to support communication at home. We hope these will be enjoyed over the Easter break.
We have put a copy of the 'Spring Scavenger Hunt' on the website for everyone to enjoy. Please use these when you go out for a walk. Look out for the different things on the list, and talk about them when you see them. There is also a sensory scavenger hunt, where you are encouraged to explore what you can hear, feel and smell on your walk.
Support in class:
The Therapy Team have been into Bear class over the past two weeks. We have helped them with their communication at snack time, and played some messy sensory games. Bear class were very welcoming and had a great time.
NHS:
Physio and OT's have been visiting school, reviewing equipment and programmes, and they've gone well.
Enjoy the Easter break, and we look forward to seeing you in term 5.
Liz, Laura, Gem, Anne, Tim and Terri
PE News
Classes in all phases have started taking part in the Daily Mile. This is a national initiative aimed at engaging students and staff with 15 minutes extra exercise per day. Classes will attempt to make their way across the globe on their class destinations map, and will learn some facts about different countries in the world when they reach each destination on the map. Class teams will give out certificates for students putting extra effort into this and prizes will be given out to classes in different curriculum pathways who have been putting in the extra yards.
We look forward to getting our young people and staff back into good physical fitness and improving our mental health.
Steve Devereux - Head of PE
Free School Meals
If your child is under 19 and in full-time education, you may be able to get free school meals for them if you receive certain benefits. The quickest and easiest way to check whether your child is eligible for free school meals and to apply is via the KCC website:
If your child is already registered for free school meals, you do not need to reapply. If you’re not sure whether your child is already registered, please call the school and we can check our records, or you can contact KCC on 03000 416464.
Fair Trade
Usually the Coop like to be able to share Fair Trade information by aiming to come into schools to interact with the pupils. Sadly, this is impossible this year, however the local Store Manager Paul Dyason, from New Ash Green store, and his staff have put together a little video for the students and parents which you may want to look at and share with your child or young person.
Lockdown lunches and meal plans
Change4Life have created recipes and shopping lists for families which can be used to create lunches for around £15 each week.
SeeAbility
SeeAbility is an Eye Care Service which provides extraordinary support and champion better eye care for people with learning disabilities and autism.
Registered as The Royal School for the Blind, SeeAbility is one of the oldest disability charities in the UK and has pioneered specialist support for over 220 years.
As part of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service, SeeAbility currently provide eye care services in seven special schools in London.
Our team of experienced optometrists, orthoptists and dispensing opticians are also providing training, with support from NHS England, for colleagues who will be providing new Special Schools Eye Care Services.
Our self-advocacy, influencing, supported employment and research programmes mean more people with disabilities are able to change attitudes, influence service provision and change policies towards people with disabilities.
Curriculum update
At Milestone Academy we understand that all pupils learn differently and at different rates. Consistent and regular exposure to new learning, including knowledge, and therefore skills, which are viewed as strings of knowledge, through a sequenced curriculum is a priority. This ensures key concepts are learnt, transferred to the long term memory from the short term memory, then built on when ready. This leads to teaching possibly looking different in every class in school to ensure it is responsive to pupils' needs and individualised as required.
Teachers use knowledge of prior learning and assessment against learning objectives in each lesson to check pupils’ understanding, ensuring any misconceptions and errors are corrected. Assessment may be repeated against a learning objective until it is achieved, in such cases the teaching approach may be changed to support the development of understanding in a different way if required.
Integral to the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme are the Approaches to Teaching, which include:
Teaching through inquiry
Teaching focused on effective teamwork and collaboration.
Teaching differentiated to meet the needs of all learners
Teaching informed by assessment
These approaches are used throughout school to engage pupils and ensure knowledge, skills and understanding are taught in ways that also develop personal skills alongside the planned learning objectives.
During Term 5, all phases across school will be focusing on the PYP transdisciplinary theme of ‘How we Organise Ourselves’, with the central theme and learning individualised for each phase and class.
Letter to Young People from Gavin Williamson CBS MP, Secretary of State for Education 26 March 2021
I wanted to let you all know how grateful I am for the way you have responded to the huge challenges you have all faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Whether this is your first year at school or your final year of college, I know the disruption you have all faced to your education since the pandemic began has been incredibly challenging and has meant completely changing the way you learn - either learning remotely at home or continuing at school or college with fewer of your friends around you and lots of safety measures in place.
Whether you were at home or at school, the disruption last term and throughout last year asked a lot of you and your families. I am filled with admiration for the incredible way you all responded and the resilience you have shown. Not being in school or college with your teachers and friends was a huge sacrifice. Everything you did, with the help of your families and your schools and colleges, and everything you missed out on – time in school, taking exams, seeing friends, playing sport and much more - made such a huge difference to helping us stop the spread of the virus. I want to say a huge thank you to all of you.
Getting all young people back into school and college safely has been my priority throughout the pandemic. I know how vital it is not just for your education but also to spend time with your friends and to feel happy and secure. All our lives have changed a lot in the past year but the challenges that young people have faced have been some of the hardest. I will continue doing everything in my power to make sure that all of you are supported to boost any areas of work you’ve had less time at school to study, get the qualifications you deserve and have the opportunities you need to succeed.
Continuing to follow all the safety measures your schools and colleges have worked hard to put in place, as well as taking a test twice a week, is so important and helps us to stop the virus spreading. The testing that thousands of you have been taking part in at school and college is a vital part of this. I am so grateful to you and all the staff who have supported you to do this. I know your schools and colleges have worked incredibly hard to prepare you to test yourself at home.
As most of you at secondary school and college move to testing yourself regularly at home, it’s vital that you continue to test and report online twice a week through the Easter holidays and after you return to school. Home testing twice a week for you and everyone you live with makes a huge difference and means you are playing a really important role in helping us move back to a more normal way of life. Your school or college will continue to support you and make sure you have tests. You and your family can also find out more about home testing here:
https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/03/24/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-home-testing/
I was delighted to see the enthusiasm with which so many of you returned to school at the beginning of March and I am sure you have had a wonderful few weeks catching up with your friends and teachers. It was fantastic to meet pupils delighted to return to school on my visits to schools like Arden Academy and Bedford Free School and to see so many more of your reunions on social media. I hope that the new term will be just as enjoyable and successful for all of you.
Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP, Secretary of State for Education