Milestone Academy Newsletter
October 2022 - Term 1
Principal's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to our end of Term 1 Newsletter! Despite increasing cases of illnesses and ongoing staffing challenges we can report that we have had a very successful term.
One of the most visible changes to school is the successful installation of the new library at the main site. We have finally been able to display the many new books that we invested in last academic year in bookcases that are attractive and inviting to our students. We have been amazed at how all the students have loved being in the library, choosing cosy spaces to sit in and engaging in the books around them. We are really beginning to see a love of books and reading develop across all phases.
We have also employed a dedicated librarian who is supporting classes in their book selections and ensuring that the library remains an organised and accessible space to enjoy.
Finally, our new Vision for Milestone is being published. Following consultation with students, staff and governors we have designed a Vision statement that is simple, encompassing in a few words, what is most important to our community and the pupils we serve. Our vision is built around our new logo:
'happy aspirational learners' who are safe, supportive, curious communicators.
Our Vision drives our curriculum and is supported by certain behaviours for learning printed around our core vision statement. We will be publishing a poster that uses our Makaton symbols so that as many students and families as possible can access and engage with our Vision. We will share this on our website when it is completed.
To the left is our new Vision Statement.
It only remains for me to wish you all a restful half term. We look forward to seeing you in November.
Sarah Goosani - Principal
Phase 1
It has been great welcoming the students back for the Autumn term. We have welcomed many new students into Lower Phase 1 and all are settling well, enjoying their new learning environments.
The pupils have all really enjoyed our topic of "Me and My School " This has involved us learning all about looking after ourselves, our friends and our responsibilities within the class, we have been looking at our local environment and beyond.. Next term our topic is "A Special Time of Year" where we will be learning all about Christmas and the story of the Nativity as well as expanding our knowledge of other faiths and celebrations. Our ‘Make a Choice Club’ will begin again in Term 2, giving the students extra curricular opportunities.
It has been wonderful to see how settled the Children are in Phase 1 and thank you all for your ongoing support. We hope you have a lovely half term and we look forward to welcoming you all back in Term 2. A note for your diary our next Phase coffee morning is 15th November 2022
Stepping Stones have had a fun and busy first term of the academic year. We have been reading the stories ‘Elmer’ and ‘Harry and the Dinosaurs’. We explored some colour based activities including a colour themed sensory tray each week and we enjoyed getting very messy! We used cereal to do some printing to make our own Elmer paintings and we explored dinosaur footprints in the playdough. In Write Dance, we did some gross motor movements to the song ‘Rainbow Cheer’ and explored mark making in different textures.
Penguin Class had a fantastic start to the school year looking at our topic "me and my school". Students who are new to the school have had the opportunity to explore different parts of the school site and access exciting new activities. All students have settled in well and have built strong relationships with both staff and their peers. In class, we have been looking at our likes and dislikes through exploring taste, texture and sound. Our music lessons have been a particular favourite for the Penguin Class students this term, looking at instruments that shake! We have also been preparing for our Harvest event by making bread. The students really enjoyed exploring all of the ingredients and kneading the dough! We hope you all have a lovely half term break and look forward to all that Term 2 has to bring! Lisa and the Penguin Team.
Giraffe Class have been very busy this term exploring the natural and human constructed world. As a class we have explored various building materials and constructed houses with materials we have found outside. We have also been on a mini beast hunt and collected leaves to make a self portrait.
Lion Class has settled well into the new routines and term 2 has flown by ,we have been extremely busy working hard on our individual learning plans but also exploring our topic "Me and My School“. The story of the Three Little Pigs was extremely popular and they all engaged with the sensory parts of the story, We have been enjoying community participation at a local park. The students have been amazing with the transitions there and back and they explored the equipment in the park. Well done Lion class.
Flamingo Class are working on our topic “Me and My School”. In our science lessons we took photos of the different materials that made up our school and in Geography we went to different rooms in the school to see what they were used for and who worked in them. We were also very sad to learn of the Queens passing and made a tribute card which was taken to Green Park and laid with all the floral tributes
Tiger Class have really enjoyed exploring our topic 'Me and My School' this term! We have used different sensory based tuff trays, activities and sensory stories to learn more about ourselves and our peers. We have explored different areas of the school and have particularly enjoyed using our outside area this term. The children have settled in really well and we are loving work with them and getting to know more about them every day.
Leopard Class have had a fantastic start to the school year! We have all settled in well and continue to build positive relationships with peers and staff in the Class. We have really enjoyed taking part in Read Write Inc and have all made great progress with this. We have also enjoyed our topic this term 'Me and My School' by building on our independence and confidence when transitioning and working around different areas in the school.
Bear Class have settled in very well this term. They have enjoyed exploring their new classroom and environment, and have transitioned well to new areas of the school. This term, we have enjoyed our topic of "all about me", where pupils have learnt to interact and form meaningful relationships with one another. Bear Class has really enjoyed our specialist subjects this term of music, dance and beaming stars. As a class we have been able to follow simple instructions with an adult and show recognition of what is coming next. Well done Bears! Have a fantastic half term!
Claire Woolmer - Phase 1 Director
Phase 2
Woodland Class have enjoyed getting to know the new adults and children in their class. Throughout the term we have explored using our five senses during our morning sensology routines. This term’s sensology boxes have been set up to introduce the pupils to their new classroom, routine and daily use of five senses. Our favourite part of this lesson seems to be tasting and smelling! Lip gloss and wax melts seem to be the classes favourite resources.
During our topic based learning we have enjoyed a carousel of five different activities based upon different adult jobs and environments. During this time each child works alongside an adult to explore through smell, taste and touch. Over the term we have explored the building site, hairdressers, restaurants, dentist, hospital and family life at home.
The pupils have also been creating Art work in the style of Claude Monet and they have been using different textures and resources to create their own Water Lily pictures. They have also been completing weekly Sensory cookery sessions where they have used their senses to explore different food items and created healthy snacks linked to our jobs topic, they have created fruit and vegetable skeletons as well as fruit police cars.
Mountain Class have had a great start to the academic year. We have embraced our topic, 'What do grown-ups do all day?' by focusing on a different profession each week. These have included farmers, construction workers, dentists, and teachers. Our mountaineers have dressed up as these professionals and explored related sensory tuff trays, and sensory massage stories as well as working on our individual targets!
There are some lovely friendships that continue to form between our mountaineers which is great to see and watch blossom. Have a fabulous half-term break, ready to approach Term 2 with the same amount of enthusiasm!
Forest Class have had great fun learning about different roles that grown ups have within our community this term, participating in a sensory journey to explore different jobs and responsibilities. We have all worked hard on our individual targets throughout the term, with a particular focus on increasing our independence in our learning and when transitioning around school. The students in Forest class have been working hard on their communication skills, using their personal communication aids to express their wants and needs in addition to building relationships with the new team. We have explored a variety of tuff tray activities during our continuous provision, and particularly enjoyed sensory exploration activities focusing on improving our fine motor skills, whilst learning to share resources with our friends. During our horticulture lessons we have been learning about the world around us, exploring the texture of different items we find in our outside area.
Orchard Class have enjoyed learning about different jobs in our community this term and we particularly enjoyed being doctors and nurses in science when we learnt about first aid and what we can do to make ourselves feel better when we are poorly. We have loved doing lots of physical activity this term such as swimming at Fairfield leisure centre and Beaming stars. We have all become more confident in the water. In art, we have enjoyed mixing paint to create different colours and making a piece of artwork in the style of Monet. We have continued to increase our phonic knowledge through read write inc phonics sessions which we all enjoy. This term, we have been building positive relationships with new peers and the adult team and focused on our communication in and outside of the classroom. We have particularly enjoyed snackshop where the students have the opportunity to request their snack and pay for it. In cooking, we have explored healthy eating and made lots of healthy recipes, including fruit salad and a pitta bread pizza.
Coast Class have really enjoyed Term 1 in our new classroom. We have lots of room to explore and all of our resources are floor level for independent exploration. This term we have explored the different jobs grown up’s have. We have focused on people who help us such us; Doctors, Police, Teachers and Firefights (to name a few). During our topic sessions we have explored messy and edible tuff trays, activated themed ECT devices and created themed Art. We particularly enjoyed our Firefighter week, spraying water bottles at our edible flames. In cooking we have made lots of healthy snacks which we shared during the afternoon snack. We have used lots of tactile resources to create Monet themed masterpieces in art. We have worked extremely hard on our physiotherapy targets and have settled extremely well into new equipment. We have acquired new switch devices to challenge our physical ability.
Canyon Class have settled in well in their new classroom and learning environment and have enjoyed meeting the adults and their peers. Canyons have been learning about what adults do all day and loved our activity day with a range of adult jobs set up for the students to investigate and role play. This included getting on a bus to New Ash Green, Doctor dress up, and made pizzas at our Milestone Pizzeria! In cooking this term, Canyons have been making some healthy snacks which involved the use of fine motor skills to chop, slice and spread in order to make sandwiches, fruit faces and fruit sheep. In our topic carousel we have been exploring colours, light and fire for the festival of light and have been manipulating fruit and veg for harvest in RE. In our Art and Geography sessions we have been getting messy and making paper mache balloons to re-create our own worlds. And for humanities and PSPD we have been looking at keeping our bodies healthy, creating an ‘all about me’ document and building on independence. Canyon class also loved exploring the school's brand new library!
Glacier Class have been learning all about the different jobs in our community. During our sensory story sessions we have been taken on a journey through all the vital roles that people play, we have listened to sirens, dressed up as doctors, pretended we are on a construction site and even made pizzas at our Milestone Pizzeria. During our Maths and English sessions we have all been successfully accessing our workbox tasks but also enjoying the practical and sensory tuff tray activities that have been set up for our child led learning time. Some of these activities have included matching numicon, developing our fine motor skills with cutting cooked spaghetti and mark making in salt and glitter. Cookery and nutrition has also been a huge success this term with the students making sandwiches, fruit faces and banana milkshake.
Michelle Hilton - Phase 2 Director
Milestone @ Dartford Primary Academy
We have explored our topic ‘What do grownups do all day?’ by inviting some visitors from the local community into school to share with us the jobs they do. We had a visit from Tammy Pullen, a para-triathlete, who shared stories of her races and showed us her specially adapted bike and many of her medals. Vernon from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service told us how the fire service keeps the community safe and even let us try on some of his uniform! Ray from the RNLI taught us about the important job this charity and the volunteers do and taught us how to stay safe around water.
Nova Class have settled well into the new school year. Our topic of ‘What do grown ups do all day?’ has allowed us to explore job roles in the local community. We have been medics, looking at skeletons and first aid, and dentists, looking at teeth and how to keep them healthy. We have also been dietitians, looking at the sugar content in the food we eat and how this can affect our health. We have been historians, researching famous historic people of our choosing, using the internet. We have looked at farmers and how they get our food from field to fork, and have incorporated this in our learning about Harvest festival.
We have very much enjoyed our Performing Arts sessions, using a range of props and music to support our learning. We have all engaged well and have shown an increase in confidence. We have learnt how to plant seeds and bulbs in our Horticulture lessons and have had a lot of fun making our playground a more exciting place to be. We are making good progress with our swimming lessons this term and have loved our time in the pool.
Comet Class have settled well into the new school year and have been enjoying our pyp focus of ‘What do grown ups do all day?’ This topic has given the students the opportunity to look at a range of different professions and have been lucky enough to have a range of different visitors into school to talk to them. The students have been historians and have enjoyed finding out about important people and how they have affected the world we live in today. We have been actors and actresses during our Performing Arts sessions and have thoroughly enjoyed, and looked forward to, Lawrence coming down each Monday afternoon.
Moonbeam Class have settled in well and have a good understanding of our daily routine. Our topic this term is ‘What do grown ups do all day?’ During our topic lessons we role played a variety of different jobs, we were chefs and this has been supported by our cooking sessions. We have been doctors and have identified the symptoms we may have when we are unwell and practiced bandaging each other. We have been librarians where we have read a range of books such as story books and factual books. Finally we have been dentists, where we identified how we take care of our teeth and sorted what food and drinks are healthy for our teeth. We have thoroughly enjoyed our performing arts sessions where we have used different props to act out stories, our favourite story was Jack and the beanstalk. Furthermore we have enjoyed our horticulture sessions where we have planted radishes and lambs ears in our playground and we water them daily.
Faye Mendez - Interim Satellite Director
Phase 3
In Phase 3, students have been learning through the trans-disciplinary theme of ‘Who are we?’ ‘Living Together.’ In the Waterfall and River pathway, this has involved investigating the communities, looking at the different communities we belong to, and investigating what services are provided locally and what services are needed. Classes have also found out about what fellow students want for the upcoming weekly tuck shop.
Some students have written manifestos ready for our Phase 3 school council campaign and hope that these will bring in the votes, so they can help improve and make a difference in the phase.
In Brook and Stream pathways, there has been lots of individualised target learning, which has use the ‘Brave Little Cowboy’ as a vehicle to encourage sensory exploration, speaking and listening as well as communicating choices.
Viking Class have been exploring the meaning of community during Term 1, thinking about what makes a good community and ways we can improve our in school community. They came up with a phase tuck shop and have visited the local village for a research project, looking into products that could be sold in a phase tuck shop, their price and the range of logos to embed in their own logo creations.
Saxon Class have loved joining in with the sensory story of ‘The Brave Cowboy’. A favourite part of the story is when we use shaving foam and sprinkle this all over the classroom when we clap our hands along to cowboy gun shots, great fun had by all! Saxon have also been working hard during target work time and enjoyed going on the trampoline during PE.
Aztec Class have been looking into social and moral guidelines within our community and the reasons behind them. We have created posters to remind citizens of expected behaviours within New Ash Green Village. Aztecs have really enjoyed swimming this term and community participation, they have visited the Coop in New Ash Green and bought the ingredients for their cooking. This term we have made Kentish dishes. Here are our Kentish Huffkins. Everyone in class enjoyed them with a bit of butter.
Roman Class has had a very busy Term 1. Andrew is really embracing keeping Roman Class’s housekeeping “hotel standard”; he has been wiping tables and hoovering. He has also been doing lots of chatting this term. Charlie overcame his fears of the trampoline and had a good rebound session; he now loves his weekly bounce. Oscar and Sonny enjoy singing to Jak’s music and Oscar has been doing a few dance moves. The girls in the class loved their nails being painted during our Community Day and they all have been looking at them admiringly. As well as all these fun activities that make Roman students happy, they have also worked hard on their targets and much applause to Freddie, Sonny, Charlie and Mia for meeting a lot of their physical targets. It is lovely to see Charlie walking around school more. Students have also enjoyed their weekly yoga sessions and now know a lot of the positions without support.
In Jurassic Class, there has been lots of practical Maths learning, we have been exploring the concept of more and less. Everyone was very good at choosing the plates with ‘more’ biscuits on. They have also completed some great writing, during English and have retold their favourite part of The Brave Cowboy story. Some of the students have participated and really engaged in the lunchtime clubs, a favourite in class is the Art Club. In our cookery classes we have enjoyed making some delicious eats, particularly vegan brownies and apple pies. One of our highlights this term was definitely preparing for our community day: we wrote letters to Sarah and invited her along; and prepared menus ready for our customers. Grace and Phoebe were very good at cutting out their pie cases.
Tudor Class have been brave cowboys this term, also during our Emporium day we visited the Aromatherapy shop, Popcorn shack, had boxing and soft play. In the afternoon we had gardening and then worked for the Community cupboard and sorting different dry foods for their deliveries. During Maths on a Friday we have Boomwacker Maths which Saxon class also enjoy and We have had a sensory story called ‘Shopping in our Community’ where students in Tudor had to find the correct money to buy a variety of food or books to enjoy throughout the story.
Sparta Class have been looking at what makes a good community. The pupils have looked at ways they could improve the Phase 3 community by asking staff members and pupils to pick from a list of different improvements that could be made. They used tally charts to record their data and bar graphs to show people's preferences. The students decided they wanted to make their own tuck shop and undertook further research to find out what items they could sell by visiting the local co-op. In English we have been reading the book 'Wonder' by R.J Palacio. This book is all about a boy with an extraordinary looking face due to all the surgeries he had as a child and the struggles he faces when attending secondary school for the first time. The pupils have really enjoyed this book and it has been a great tool to teach them to explore the meaning of empathy and compassion towards their peers. In maths we have been looking at 'time' during our recall activities in the morning and 'place value' in our maths lesson. The students have really enjoyed using the manipulatives which have supported their learning and drawing their workings out on the tables!
Renaissance Class had weekly visits to New Ash Green and the New Ash Green Library to learn about the shops and services that are available in our local area. We have looked at ways we can improve the communities we are part of. The pupils have also begun Horticulture lessons where they have planted root vegetables and helped tidy the leaves. Renaissance class had their first boxing lessons, they listened well to the instructor and enjoyed the experience. The class also loved running the nail bar and visiting the One Stop Shop in our community day.
Kyle Marsh - Phase 3 Director
Milestone @ The Leigh Academy
What an exciting and busy term it has been. The children have been working incredibly hard this term with their learning, and have demonstrated perseverance and resilience when faced with challenge. These are exceptional qualities and skills that they will be able to take with them as they move through their education and the rest of their lives.
I wish you all a happy and safe half term break. Thank you for your support this term.
Sofia Pinto
Satellite Director - Milestone@The Leigh
Anning Class have been amazing so far this year; they have worked very hard and been extremely busy writing in all areas of the curriculum. We have read The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Rauf which is a powerful read that raises awareness about a very important issue - food poverty. In Maths we have begun by focusing on place value before recapping on addition and subtraction skills. Our wider curriculum lessons have been around the effect of personal choices on our health. We have learnt about our physical health - our digestive system and importance of exercise and healthy eating; Our mental health - recognising emotions, the importance of sleep and helpful strategies; Historical choices and their effect on health.
We are looking forward to the rest of the school year and our varied learning.
Anning Class student comments from this term:
"This term we went to Bluewater Nature trail and then we went to Dartford park. We learnt some French words such as Bonjour, Salut and Je M'appelle. Then we went to ASDA , just for the food bank. In science we have talked about habitats such as rainforest and deserts. We have learnt about Varjak Paw and listened to the story of the Great Food Bank Heist. That is why Anning class is the greatest" - Taryn
"This term I like doing drama because I have found it fun and I got to direct Romeo and Juliet for the new show. I get to help Keren and I wanted to be the director for Romeo and Juliet, I am so excited to help" - Sophie
"I have been learning about rainforests, desert rainforests, food chains and ocean rainforests in science. Science has been my favourite lesson" - Oliver
"This term we went to Bluewater and the Park and got food for the food bank. We got products for £10, it was a bargain. I love a good bargain. The park was fun. We got to go on the Minibus to Bluewater Nature Trail, it was soooooooooo fun. I loved this term. I love this school. "- Ryan
Equiano Class have been investigating the idea "our lifestyle is influenced by our culture." We have been looking at health and medicine through history and comparing the lifestyles and healthcare of Vikings and Mediaeval people to our own. We have looked at the impact of advertising on our culture and our lifestyle and used the techniques we learnt to advertise our own apothecary cure. We have also investigated our own individual cultures and looked to explain how they impact the way we live.
Turing Class read "The Great Food Bank Heist" by Onjali Q. Raúf during Term 1. The class enjoyed discussions about the use of food banks and the need to support them. There were interesting class discussions about the family in the book not having enough food or nutrition and how this impacted on their lives. As a result of reading this book, the class has started to collect food for a local food bank and have been designing recipe cards to help food bank users to create healthy and balanced meals from non-perishable donations. The class will also be volunteering with a local food bank next term. Turing class has explored the local community through both planned walks and planned bus trips. We visited the local library to explore the variety of books that libraries offer and visited a local farm to explore the autumn harvest available.
Sofia Pinto - M@L Satellite Director
Phase 4
It has been a privilege to join Phase 4 this academic year, to have the opportunity to work with young people that I have seen progress through our school and to work alongside extremely talented staff is such a pleasure.
Term 1 is often an exciting yet challenging term, as young people become familiar with changes in classroom environment, staff or peers. We are exceptionally proud of how our young people have managed this transition, engaged in their learning and made positive individual progress.
Myself and the rest of the Phase leadership team wish you all a wonderful half term and look forward to welcoming everyone back to an exciting Term 2. Noleen Donaghy-Parkhouse
Dover Class have had a good start to the year and have built positive relationships with their peers and their supporting adults. This term's topic has been ‘This is me’ where we have spent time getting to know each other by exploring our likes and dislikes in PHSE work. We have also enjoyed the book ‘Super Duper Me’ in English where we have thought about our own qualities in order to make up a superhero based on ourselves. We have been actively joining in with our Independent living sessions on a weekly basis, helping to maintain the outside areas as well as keeping the flat clean and tidy. Some of the class have also been attending Bore Place this term where we have enjoyed looking after the calves, harvesting vegetables to make soup and even helping to build a campfire to make popcorn. We have all really enjoyed joining in with the arts carousel, continuing with the ‘This is me’ theme related to the circus in dance, art and drama.
Eynsford Class have had a very busy Term 1. We have welcomed and made new friends in class, and have been working well together to build friendships and explore interactions. Eynsford class have begun working on their ASDAN accreditation this term, ‘Engaging with the world around you-Technology’. They have been using the class interactive whiteboard to complete mark making and have also been participating in interactive stories, where they have been the main characters.
Canterbury Class have had a good term and all students have settled very quickly into the new class routines as well as getting to know new peers and the staff working with them. We have been learning all about ourselves and our families during topic lessons and have learnt that all families are different. We have been visiting the local supermarket on a weekly basis to buy our food shopping for cooking and nutrition lessons and breakfast. Some of the students have proved themselves very capable using the self service tills!
Leeds Class have welcomed two new students who have settled very well into our busy timetable. Our focus to start this year has been learning to become independent and respecting others. Our class jobs list is popular with Harry who now washes up and clears away the plates and cups after snack time.
The topic “This is me” links in to the ASDAN accreditation “Getting on with other people” and through registration, sensory stories, tac pac, intense interaction, therapies we have welcomed sessions to learn about each other.
Scotney Class have all settled well into their new routines and are building positive relationships with their peers and adults. We have been very lucky with the weather enabling us to continue to work on our outdoor areas and the allotment. We have been offsite to the shops, local playground and MEAPA gym working on our communication and functional skills. The trampoline in PE has proved very popular and we are still aiming to complete the daily mile. In Food and Nutrition lessons we have been preparing food for a packed lunch, including cheesecake, wraps and fruit kebabs. Scotney class are looking forward to next term when we will be cooking celebration foods.
Amy Mercer - Interim Phase 4 Leader
Milestone @ Wilmington Academy
Upnor Class It has been a wonderful first term for the students at Milestone @ Wilmington and it has been a pleasure to get to know all of the students here. In English we have enjoyed our text "Billionaire boy" and the students enjoyed planning how would spend their millions!, as well as designing their dream house.
Pupils have made their accreditation choices and are working hard towards their different qualifications, as well as continuing to develop their independent living skills. The students worked really hard to organize and host a Macmillan coffee morning and are already planning their next fundraiser event!
Hever Class visited the Apple store at Bluewater and took part in a coding workshop as part of their Ascentis ICT in the workplace course. We learned to use Swift Playgrounds and the Apple instructors were so impressed with how quickly our students started coding and commented on how they were great problem solvers.
Hever Class became entrepreneurs and developed their own chocolate brands and delivered highly professional Dragon's Den style pitches. It was amazing to see our students creating their own brand, producing presentations and speeches and taking questions at the end. Their enthusiasm was fantastic and Cadbury's need to watch out!
Rochester Class have been developing their knowledge of health and safety whilst at the workplace. They have been working in the M@W café where they have been making sausage rolls, sandwiches and pizzas demonstrating their ability to use tools safely and independently.
Nicky McCarthy - Satellite Director
Coffee Morning/Afternoon
We held the first PMLD Coffee Morning of the year and can I say thank you to all that were able to attend. It was lovely to see so many parents at the coffee morning. Thank you to you all for welcoming new parents and coming together to support each other. A huge thanks to the PMLD team for all of their hard work in supporting our young people.
The ASD team held their first coffee afternoon this year. It was lovely for families to come together and enjoy a chat and coffee. Families were sharing stories and also had the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire to share what they would like the focus for coffee afternoon to be in the upcoming year. Thank you for everyone who came.
Phase 3 Community Day
Our Activity Day involved lots of experiences that we may have in the community; as the ‘Phase 3 Emporium’ came to life. Services included, a sensory spa, a popcorn cafe, mocktail bar, dance studio, nail bar and a one stop shop. Students experienced buying items for themselves and also buying food for the local food bank.
The Community Cupboard visited and students from the Stream pathway helped to sort the food ready for families in need. The students also worked within their class communities as teams to overcome fun team building challenges; including ‘floor is lava’.
PE News
It has been a busy Term 1 with lots of activities booked for the coming months and changes to the PE curriculum. We are now using Complete PE to plan and differentiate PE lessons across all phases in the school. Complete PE is recognised nationally as a great tool for implementing high quality PE lessons and comes recommended by the Youth Sports Trust.
We have entered two teams to take part in the LAT Primary and Secondary Swimming gala which take place on the 22nd and 29th November so we look forward to attending those and getting back to competitive sports fixtures.
We have set up links with Olympia Boxing and Kent Cricket, both organisations will be leading extra curricular sessions at the school up until Christmas. Have an enjoyable half term break!
Steve Devereux - Head of PE
Horticulture News
It has been a busy first term! Phase 2 and 3 students have weeded the raised beds and started to grow new plants from seed. They have also explored different areas of the school, enjoyed sensory experiences and created artwork from natural objects. Some Phase 2 classes have learnt gardening songs! Students working towards their Horticulture qualification have made a great start - Year 1 have sown seeds, planted garlic and done a lot of weeding. Year 2 are learning about herbs and are growing herbs from cuttings and seeds. We will be using herbs in cookery and have made lavender based products. Both groups have been to the garden centre to identify plants.
Kirsty Wiseman - Horticulture teacher
Friends of Milestone
Hello from The Friends of Milestone.
Following our last Newsletter contribution, I am pleased to say that we have had more people signing up to The Friends and are looking forward to another year of events and fundraising for our lovely students.
We are planning a Christmas disco! The proposed date is Friday, 9th December: 6.00pm to 7.30pm for Primary children and 8.00pm to 9.30pm for Secondary and FE students. More details will be published after the half term break. It has been a long time since we had our last evening event and we are looking forward to getting back on track.
We will also being doing a Christmas wrap where students will be able to purchase small gifts for family members with more details to follow but if in the meantime if anyone has any new gifts/gift sets that they would be willing to donate it would be greatly appreciated.
Our next meeting is planned for Monday, 14th November at 9.30am in the TRAC. If you would like to get involved, please email friendsofmilestoneacademy@gmail.com
Once again, thank you all for your continued support.
Faye Warman – Chair
Sarah Spiers – Co-Chair and Treasurer
Lyn French – Secretary
Friends of Milestone
Medical and Therapy Team News
New pupils: In Term 1 we welcome all the new pupils. Thank you to families who have completed and returned the New Pupil Questionnaire. The information you provide helps us to know which speech & language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists have seen your child before starting school. It is important the children have time to settle into school life, their new classes and routines. This time is important for staff to get to know the children. This is valuable information and informs decisions about how we support their needs in school.
NHS Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy: The NHS Physios and OTs have been working hard in school to set up new equipment and carryout growth checks. Although the NHS Physios and OTs see children in school, please note this is a Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust Service and not a school service. You can contact the OT and Physio directly on The Children’s Resource Centre: 0300 790 6235.
School Occupational Therapy: Karen Al Khina, Occupational Therapist is employed by the Milestone on a consultancy basis. Karen is a highly specialist OT and has worked at Milestone for approximately 10 years now. Karen knows our children very well and works closely with class teams and ASD & Behaviour Leads to support children’s sensory difficulties and functional skills. As Karen is not available all the time for Milestone, all referrals and queries for Karen must come through the therapy team; this will ensure requests are prioritised and managed in the appropriate way. Families are asked to not contact Karen directly as she will not be able to respond and this may cause a delay in getting the advice or support needed.
Specialist Appointments in School: Many children receive specialist intervention in school from other agencies e.g. NHS OT & Physio, KM CAT Service, Wheelchair Services etc If your child is off sick and is not going to be in school for a scheduled specialist appointment, please contact the professional / service directly to save them a wasted journey.
Signing: Phase 3 & 4 signing clubs will start in term 2 on Monday lunchtimes; pupils and staff are very excited.
Take a look at the Makaton website. It offers free resources and lots of training and workshops for families www.makaton.org
Medical Team: Please continue to share health information via pupilhealthplans@milestoneacademy.org.uk. This helps us to keep the IHCP updated.
Email kentchft.milestone.schoolnurse@nhs.net if you need to contact Kent Community Health NHS Trust Special School Nursing Service.
We have purchased some insulated medpacs. These will be used to store and carry medication including emergency medication. These medipacs are lockable so will be very useful for off site visits.
From Liz Skilton, on behalf of the Medical Team
Useful Websites
Useful websites with information and resources for schools and parents to support toileting are:
ERIC at www.eric.org.uk
Bladder and Bowel UK www.bbuk.org.uk
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
Also look at the Facebook page for Kent Community Health as they also have information of sessions offered for parents on various topics.
Post-16 Home School Transport
A reminder that if your child is entering our post-16 provision next year (ie they are starting Year 12), and you currently receive free home-school transport, you will need to re-apply for this service. This can be done online:
Free school transport - Kent County Council
Kent County Council will also ask you to consider whether independent travel training will be appropriate for your student. Asking this is a standard KCC policy, and all families are asked the same questions. We appreciate that for most - if not all - of our students this will not be practical but want to make you aware that KCC will explore this option with you, as per their 16+ Transport Policy.