Phase 1

Phase One has had a busy term learning through our celebrations, our immersion day and we are beginning to invite our parents in for our ‘Share and Learn’.  Flamingo and Penguin parents came to join in with our learning and enjoy a snack time with their children.  During next term all other classes will be inviting their parents in to enjoy a similar experience and we are all looking forward to these events. 

Stepping Stones 

Stepping Stones have had lots of fun exploring our topic ‘Food, Glorious Food’. It has been lovely to welcome some new children to our setting and everyone has settled in well to the new environment. We have been reading and exploring the stories ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’ and ‘Don’t put your fingers in the jelly Nelly!’. 

We have tasted lots of different foods as well as explored different textured foods using all our senses. We also did some mark making and printing with different fruit and vegetables. 

To celebrate the coronation of the King we decorated crowns and had a coronation picnic. 

Koala Class 

Koala Class have had a very exciting Term with our IB Theme ‘Food, Glorious Food.’ We began with the story ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and used oats to support Maths skills such as scooping, filling, pouring, comparing and weighing as well as making oaty playdoh for the children to investigate. In cooking, they made porridge and flapjack! Of course the children tasted their cooking - the porridge was not so popular but the flapjack was a big success! The children had a lot of fun celebrating the coronation of King Charles III with different crafts, stories and a fantastic Immersion day with all of the Phase 1 classes. It got very messy with cake, jelly, ice cream and glitter but a fabulous time was had by all of our Koalas. For cooking, they made cucumber sandwiches and showed us how amazing they were with spreading the margarine. Our term has finished with the story ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ which the children (and adults) have really enjoyed. This has been great for the children to explore different foods and colours. 

We hope you all have a very happy and enjoyable half term.

Penguin Class 

Penguin class had another busy term! Focusing on our IB topic ‘Food Glorious Food’, we have been learning to explore the world around us and try some different foods. Students have enjoyed stories relating to food such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Oliver’s Vegetables, both offering great opportunities to try a range of fruits and vegetables. Cooking lessons have been particularly popular with the students making smoothies, soups and fruit caterpillars! We have also visited the school garden to see what is growing in the raised beds and polytunnels, exploring where food comes from just like Oliver in our story! There have also been some fantastic celebrations this term, including our topic immersion afternoon where all the students enjoyed food based activities with the rest of Phase 1 as well as the celebration of the King’s Coronation! 

Bear Class

Bear Class have had a wonderful term and have made wonderful progress exploring a range of new foods, environments and embedding skills that are linked to functional learning tasks. This Term for Science, Bear's have loved exploring animals/food through play activities that have allowed them to make direct links, such as milking a cow and exploring foods that cows produce. We have also really enjoyed our new PE sessions with our coach in the gym, exploring new pieces of equipment, following simple instructions and turn taking in small groups. We have been risk takers, exploring new environments such as the local park and have been open minded, de weeding and planting new herbs and flowers in our sensory garden. Towards the end of this term, we will be growing flowers and beans to take home to flourish over the half term. 

Have a wonderful break before our final term. We will see you all in Term 6!

Flamingo Class 

Flamingo class has enjoyed exploring our theme of food glorious food. We have looked at where our food comes from by having a farmyard tuff tray and identifying different animals. We made some wartime recipes to show how food and the way we create our meals has changed since the war. We celebrated the coronation by designing our own bunting and gold state coaches for our phase celebration and continued this theme the following week by making coronation collages.

The physio team arranged for some trikes to be in school for the day and a lot of our students had the opportunity to try them out,

Leopard Class 

Leopard Class has had a fantastic Term 5. We have enjoyed our IB topic ‘Food Glorious Food’ encouraging us to explore the influences food and farming has on the way people live. We took part in a trip to Kent Life Farm, exploring a kitchen garden workshop as well as visiting the animals, recognising how to keep ourselves safe when caring for the animals. In PSPD we have continued to develop our independence and self help skills around the school and in the community, we have focused on how to act appropriately and build positive relationships. In Maths this term we have continued with our number bonds, addition and subtraction as well as introducing time. We have made great progress in our Read Write Inc sessions and have introduced digraphs, we have also focused on how we can improve our writing skills and take ownership over our feedback by beginning to self mark our spellings. This term we have enjoyed a range of celebrations including the King's Coronation. We are making the most of the good weather and participating in a range of outdoor learning opportunities.

Lion Class 

Lion class has been working hard on our individual targets and exploring our theme of “ Food Glorious Food”. We have had sensory exploration of farms and where our food comes from. Our class read “ The very hungry caterpillar “ and we all enjoyed counting the fruit and food that the caterpillar ate. 

Tiger Class 

It has been a very busy Term in Tiger class filled with lots of excitement and exploration. We have been learning about the topic ‘Food, Glorious Food!’, which has seen the children engaged with high levels of enthusiasm and interaction! Tiger class have enjoyed learning about healthy versus unhealthy through tasting different foods and exploring a range of healthy recipes during our sensory cooking lessons. We had a whole phase coronation party and learnt about the coronation in class through a sensory story and made our own collages for the King. We are finishing the Term with a focus on pattern in art; we will be exploring this through mark making with fruit and vegetables, using different media to make different marks and linking our learning to our RE, focusing on Hindu patterns. We have also enjoyed exploring our local area more now that the weather is nicer and we look forward to expanding on our learning more next Term! Have a wonderful half term.

Giraffe Class 

This Term Giraffe class has been learning where food comes from. We have been looking at photos and watched videos of farms to see where fruits and vegetables grow. The children have explored the crops in the garden area and have planted their own beans. We have also seen where milk comes from and looked at different packaging. They have all really enjoyed trying different fruits and vegetables during our cooking lessons. 

Claire Woolmer - Phase 1 Director 

Phase 3

The Phase has worked extremely hard towards a common goal to prepare for the Milestone Coronation Street Party.  Our learning has all led to this event through the transdisciplinary theme:  

Central Idea

The food on our plate impacts the environment

Lines of Inquiry: 

Food on our plate comes from many different places.

Our food choices need to be produced responsibly

Aztec Class 

Aztec class have learned about ‘Where food comes from?’ and they have located this on a World Map, looking at the different climates within these locations and the weather these produce for growing crops.  Our learning has definitely focused on the key concept of ‘connection’ as students then used their PSHE learning about which foods are in which food groups and how to have a healthy balanced diet.  Students can now make educated decisions of their food choices knowing what is healthy and what foods can be seen as treats.  These ‘treats as well as healthy snacks, have been added to the list of produce that all students in the phase have voted to have in the tuck shop (more information to follow).  Students have demonstrated a key learning attribute of ‘open mindedness’ as what types of foods and then the costs were discussed in a mature manner.  Aztec class has prepared advertising posters, shop signs, price lists all ready for the tuck shop to start soon…

In English, students have been studying ‘“e Next Best Junior Chef”. answering questions about what has been read and completing character profiles about each contestant.

In Maths, students have been extending number sequences and choosing the multiple these are either increasing or decreasing in.  They have been learning the time and looking at patterns within maths topics.  Lastly, Students have really enjoyed practising and baking scones for the Milestone Street Party, which was truly a successful event, fun for  students, families and staff.

Sparta Class 

This Term, Sparta’s central theme has been "The food on our plate impacts the environment". We have been learning what continent and climate different foods grow in during our geography lessons. Students have broken down some of their favourite recipes to see which ingredients are needed, where they come from and what conditions they need to grow. One of the learning attributes we have been learning about this Term is how to be “balanced”. For this we have been looking at what different foods/drinks make up a balanced diet and how much we should be getting of each. We have also been learning how to keep our mental health balanced through practising different mindfulness techniques. In English we have been reading “The Next Best Junior Chef”. This book is all about 4 young contestants who enter into a TV competition to become “The Next Best Junior Chef”. Students have been discussing the personalities of each of the contestants and what the traits are for someone in a TV competition. In maths we have been looking at telling the time using an analogue clock in my group, and in Sam’s group they have also been learning about decimals. We prepared food for the coronation street party and students from Sparta class also performed by singing different songs to provide entertainment for the adults. This was a really great success and the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

Tudor Class

Tudor class really enjoyed the Transdisciplinary Theme about menus around the world and creating some lovely food linked to the countries during our cooking lessons.

We have also enjoyed our Coronation celebrations including our street party where many parents were invited. The Tudor class really enjoyed themselves. They helped make the decorations and cooked Chocolate Brownie cake, ate lemon drizzle sponge and had cheese and cucumber sandwiches.

Viking Class  

This Term Viking class has been exploring our central idea ‘The food we eat has an impact on the environment’ where we have looked at where our favourite foods come from and how some of it has to travel from lots of different places around the world. We have had discussions about the welfare of the animals who produce our food as well as the different people who cultivate and harvest the different ingredients that go into our food. We have explored what food should be in a balanced and healthy diet and researched different celebration foods in preparation for our Coronation celebrations.

Some of the pupils in Viking class have had the opportunity to join a work placement at Bore Place, a working dairy farm where we have seen where milk is produced and how the animals are cared for. We have also begun planting seeds including sunflowers and potatoes, which will be grown and harvested later in the year. We have also tried grinding some wheat to make flour to make our own bread. Our Horticulture group have also been looking at 

In English we have been reading the text “The Next Best Junior Chef” a book about how 4 children are navigating their way through a cooking competition, where we have explored how they might be feeling and described the different characters in the story. In maths we have been working on telling the time using both analogue and digital clocks, focusing on the language we use to tell someone the time. We have also been working on the use of decimals. 

One of our biggest highlights has been preparing for and attending the Coronation street party on the playground where we demonstrated some amazing singing and rapping efforts from the pupils in Viking class and from around the Phase. We do hope everyone enjoyed the scones and cheese twists we made!

Saxon Class 

Saxon Class have enjoyed exploring our transdisciplinary theme this Term and exploring different foods from around the world. Through our cooking lessons we have continued to work on developing fine motor & independent skills, as well as experiencing different smells, flavours and textures of foods which are different to our everyday favourites.

Students in Saxons have continued to develop their listening & attention skills in working on their daily individual learning plan targets and we have thoroughly enjoyed taking our learning outdoors as much as possible, now that the weather is getting warmer.

One of the key learner attributes which we have been working on this term is ‘risk-taker’. Saxon Class students have all been working on increasing their communication & interactions with each other through turn taking board games in class and fun games on the playground, such as ball games, chase games & taking turns on the swing. The students have been increasingly taking risks in trying out new activities and tasks which they may not have experienced before and myself & the class team are very proud of all the Saxons!

A huge highlight of this term has been the Phase Coronation Street Party; it was wonderful to see the whole phase come together as one and enjoy the festivities including party food made by each class and entertainment too. Saxon Class worked extremely hard to make some delicious mini Victoria Sponges and we were pleased they were enjoyed by so many people who were here to support Phase 3.

Roman Class 

A short but a busy term for Roman Class.  We have welcomed two new members of our team - Martella and Jen - and they are now part of the Roman family.  Students have continued to work on their individual learning plans and we have seen great progress from everyone as well as lots of smiles to show us that everyone is happy.  We have spent a lot of time looking at books this term and using these to develop our learner attribute of “communication”.  We particularly like anything by Julia Donaldson and have been using her books to answer simple comprehension questions using symbols, talkers, and other methods of communication that we like to use.  We also love a sensory story and have enjoyed a special massage one for the Coronation. We continue to develop our personal care and love to look at ourselves as we clean our teeth, wash our faces and our hands.   We continue to be “risk takers” trying new things, exploring new places.   

One of our students - Sonny - has been exploring his environment in Phase 3 more and visiting other classes.   

Renaissance Class 

Renaissance class had an exciting Term 5 with planning and preparation for our Coronation Street Party. This has linked well into our theme of "The food on our plate impacts the environment" where we were exploring where the food we eat and cooked for the party came from and mapping it around the world. We have discussed climates and ideal growing conditions for different plants and crops. 

We love cooking in Renaissance class and have been enjoying reading “The Next Best Junior Chef” in English. This book is all about 4 young contestants who enter into a TV competition to become “The Next Best Junior Chef”. We have been discussing how the characters are feeling throughout the stress of the competition and what character traits they have to head for success. 

The highlight of the term has to be the street party, for both staff and students; 

we sang, danced and signed along to our favourite songs and ate some delicious food that the whole phase cooked. It was so special to spend the afternoon with families and our friends. 

Jurassic Class

This Term has absolutely flown by and we have been all around the world, hypothetically speaking anyway.  Our central idea of ‘food connects people and communities' has taken us to different countries in order to think about the types of food produced or eaten in them.  Through our journeys we have explored famous landmarks of different countries and identified whether they are physical or human.  We’ve also been thinking about how we enjoy sharing meals and who we share food with.  We have been taking more risks with our food choices and really enjoyed creating our own meals. We made choices for things like our pizza toppings or the vegetables we used in stir fry recipes and where these foods come from.  Ultimately we enjoyed being a part of the phase street party and prepared 100 bowls of ploughman's salad!  

Kyle Marsh - Phase 3 Director 

As we move into the Summer Term, it is an ideal time to reflect on all our successes so far. I am very proud of the Phase 3 team who, with Maria’s leadership and our young people’s enthusiasm, have gone from strength to strength. 

I want to thank the entire Phase 3 Team for making our Coronation Street Party a huge success, and I especially want to thank the family members who came to support our young people. It was a unique event, which was enjoyed by more than 200 people altogether. You will no doubt have noticed how hard all our classes worked to decorate, bake, cook, clean and get our environment ready (and the clean up afterward was a massive job!). A huge congratulations to all the students who were courageous enough to provide our afternoon’s entertainment! 

At the time of writing, I am excited about this year’s Phase 3 Residential, “Crash Out on Cavalier,” which is taking place at Chatham Historic Dockyard. Like last year’s visit to Norfolk, this is another first for us, and I am proud that Phase 3 is always pushing barriers and trying new things so that our students get to experience as much of the world around them as possible. 

I know that this time of year always brings its challenges and stresses, especially for students who are transitioning to a new class or new site. Some of our students will be attending our fabulous Milestone @ the Leigh provision, while other students will be moving on to Phase 4. It is natural and normal to be worried about times like these, but be reassured that we will do everything possible to make this transition as smooth and stress-free as possible. 

If you want to contact anyone, please make note of the names below:

For transitions into Phase 3: 

Kyle Marsh, Assistant Principal: kyle.marsh@milestoneacademy.org.uk

Maria Street, Phase 3 Leader: maria.steer@milestoneacademy.org.uk

For transitions to Milestone @ the Leigh:

Sofia Pinto, Satellite Director: sofia.pinto@milestoneacademy.org.uk

For transitions to Phase 4: 

Noleen Parkhouse, Assistant Principal: noleen.donaghy@milestoneacademy.org.uk

Amy Mercer, Phase 4 Leader; amy.mercer@milestoneacademy.org.uk 

For transitions to Milestone @ Wilmington:

Nicky McCarthy, Satellite Director: nicola.mccarthy@milestoneacademy.org.uk 

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Kyle Marsh

Assistant Principal, Phase 3

Milestone @ The Leigh Academy

Milestone@The Leigh

Central Idea

Society and communities bring people together for different purposes.

Lines of Inquiry

The structure of British democracy and other global governments.

Sporting and arts events bring nations and communities together.

Charities and local services contribute to our communities.

 Anning class 

In Term 5, we have started reading the book “The Accidental Prime Minister”. This is a fabulous book that tackles the decision making, pressure and importance of being the Prime Minister. In Maths, we became time experts! We learnt to tell time on an analog clock. The children worked so hard in lessons to take on this really tricky topic. Well done! We also learnt about charity and a volunteer speaker for WaterAid gave us an illustrated talk. The speaker talked about living without access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene - what this feels like and the consequences - and explained how WaterAid is helping to get clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere. We found amazing the work that WaterAid does to help those that are in need and understood how lucky we feel to have access to clean, safe water and decent toilets. As part of Community Learning and Skills Development, our class went to a local church to discover how people use the building to worship and to help with the foodbank as part of the King's Coronation Big help out. We absolutely loved it! Finally, Anning took part in Coronation Celebrations to acknowledge the coronation of King Charles III. We had the opportunity to take part in different activities with our peers. We had lots of fun!

We cannot quite believe how quick this term has been. The children have really grown in confidence with their learning and have had a lot of fun.

Turing Class 

In Term 5, Turing has been exploring how communities are brought together through various systems and for varying purposes. We have explored different types of government structures and students had the opportunity to deliver their own ‘State Opening of Parliament’ speeches if they ever became the monarch of their own country. A lot of these ideas revolved around the ways they would help to bring people together in positive ways and how they would eliminate some of the elements of society that they deemed unsupportive of people. Students also explored the similarities and differences in places of worship and discovered how many different religions are represented in our neighbourhoods. We also explored how sports and arts bring people together by exploring the history of the modern Olympic games and Eurovision. And of course, we have taken the opportunity to celebrate King Charles III’s coronation and Turing students developed their own version of Coronation-themed garden party games to help bring the M@L community together.

Equiano Class 

Throughout Term 5 the Students have explored the society in which they live, through the British Political system and how it is structured, learning about our Government and the Monarchy. They have been a part of organising a Garden Party to celebrate the King's Coronation, focussing on the type of correspondence the Royal family would have made for such an event and also looking at other Global events that bring communities together. 

They have also been exploring local charities and services that are a part of the local community, around New Ash Green and Dartford and how they can be involved within the community through the choices they make or activities they participate within.

For our class read, Equiano has started a new novel which is a reality fiction that takes place in a 22nd - century parallel universe. The story is told from two different perspectives - Callum and Sephy and their experiences of their entwined but very different lives and the  worlds in which they live. The class has enjoyed our story so far and we will continue to explore the story into Term 6. The series is made up of four books and a TV series on the BBC which the students can access if they wish to dive deeper in the thoughts of Malorie Blackman's adventure and action books.

Please remember to visit the Phase 3 class pages to see all the wonderful

learning your young person has been engaged in on the Milestone Website by clicking on the tab marked ‘curriculum’.

Sofia Pinto- Satellite Director - Milestone @ The Leigh

On Thursday 18th May, M@L visited the Science Museum in London which showcases one of the world’s most extraordinary collections drawn from the fields of science, engineering, medicine and technology. This trip ignited our students' curiosity and provided an unforgettable experience. It was an exciting day of exploring beyond the classrooms! 

Milestone @ Wilmington Academy

Upnor Class  

Upnor class have had a fantastic Term 5 and the students have continued to work hard towards their accreditations in healthy living and health and safety in the community. 

The students have enjoyed visiting Beams to continue to develop their life skills and they worked hard to produce a delicious roast dinner from scratch. The students visited Wilmington Market as we began our business enterprise this term and the students are excited to start making their bug hotels which we are hoping to sell at our upcoming school fete. 

Hever Class 

Hever class have continued to work really hard and have sat English and Maths exams. 

The class have shown amazing team working skills in producing two meals, the first from a set of ingredients provided for them and the second that they discussed and planned themselves including visiting the local supermarket to purchase the items following a shopping list. The meal that they produced during their visit to BEAMS was very tasty. 

It was lovely to see them all sitting around the table enjoying a meal that they were responsible for producing each stage of. 

The class have also used the opportunity of visits to BEAMS the supermarket and local market to carry out travel training using the local bus service and roads within the area. They have practised reading the timetable, identifying the correct bus to board and paying for their ticket.  

As well as the visit to the local market they have visited Hawley Garden centre to carry out research for the upcoming Business enterprise project that we look forward to sharing with you in the near future. During the local elections the class were given the opportunity to experience voting within the classroom to choose the name of the ‘pet’ dog and cat (not real). They were given a ballot sheet, cast their votes and chose the names Coco and Cookie. 

Rochester Class 

Rochester class have worked really hard this term and have completed exams in English Speaking and Listening as well as working hard on their accreditations. The students have enjoyed developing their understanding of Business Enterprise this term where students carried out some market research at the Wilmington Market. The students have come up with their own ideas of products we could make and sell where they have produced their own Business plan and pitched their ideas to the class.

Nicky McCarthy - Satellite Director