Leigh Academy Peninsula East

Module 3 | 23rd January 2026

Attendance

Oliver Jeffers -91%

Julia Donaldson - 99%

Michael Rosen - 95%

Nelson Mandela - 95%

Boudica - 96%

Rosa Parks - 99%

Kadeena Cox - 98%

Lewis Hamilton - 98%

Leigh Academy Peninsula East - 97%

Well done to Julia Donaldson class for having the best attendance this week in KS1. In KS2 this week, Rosa Parks class are the winning class so congratulations to them too! It is great to see that we are at 97% this week, this is fantastic!

PYP Learner Attribute Awards

Oliver Jeffers Class - Grace (Thinking Skills) & Junade (Open-Minded)

Julia Donaldson Class - Sylver (Communication skills) & Layla (Caring)

Michael Rosen Class - Haisley (Caring) & Brody (Thinking)

Nelson Mandela - Harrison (Research skills) & Macie (Reflective)

Boudica Class - LaRosa (Communication Skills) & Izzy T (Reflective)

Rosa Parks Class - Callie (Risk-Taker) & Charlie (Thinking Skills)

Kadeena Cox Class - Bluebell (Knowledgeable) & Joe (Thinking)

Lewis Hamilton Class - Austin (Research Skills) & Archie (Knowledgeable)

WOW Writer Awards

Congratulations to these children for fantastic writing this week...

Oliver Jeffers Class - Ates

Julia Donaldson Class - Scarlett

Michael Rosen Class - Charlie

Nelson Mandela Class -Tiger-Lillie

Boudica Class - Nora

Rosa Parks Class - Felicia

Kadeena Cox Class - Brayden

Lewis Hamilton Class - Luisa

Readers of the Week

Oliver Jeffers Class - Ronnie

Julia Donaldson Class - Gracie

Michael Rosen Class - James

Nelson Mandela Class - Izabella

Boudica Class - George

Rosa Parks Class - Paisley

Kadeena Cox Class - Jospeh

Lewis Hamilton Class - Vinnie

Our Wonderful Inquiry Work

Year 1

It has been an incredibly busy and productive time in Year 1, and we are so proud of the children’s enthusiasm! In English, our young authors have been doing fantastic work writing about the story "The Secret of Rain," using wonderful descriptive language to bring the story to life.

We have also launched our new Science topic on Plants and Trees, which kicked off with an exciting nature hunt around the school grounds.

The children have been fantastic scientists, identifying various common wild plants and learning how to distinguish between evergreen and deciduous trees based on their leaves. Their curiosity during our outdoor exploration was wonderful to see—well done, Year 1!

School information

Writing

Here you can see the work from our Wow Writers this week!

Every week we will showcase the winners of our weekly writing certificate so you can see the piece of writing they won their award for.

Year 1: Narrative writing

Insert text here

Year 2: Science writing

Year 3: Newspaper Report

Year 4: Newspaper Report

Year 5: Newspaper Report

Insert text here

Year 6: Formal letter writing

Class Dojo Rewards

When children achieve 100, 200 or 300 dojo points, they are rewarded with bronze, silver and gold badges to wear with pride.

Congratulations to the following children who have received their Bronze Award:

Year 3 - Jamie & Harrison

Year 4 - The whole class!

Year 6 - Ellis, Brayden, Sienna, Jayce, Zoha, Ibrahim, Nikos, Orson

Congratulations to the following children who have received their Silver Award:

Year 6 - Austin, Richard, Vinnie.

👋 Makaton Signs of the Week: farm animals!

Hello everyone!

This week in school, we had lots of fun learning some Makaton signs for animals. Makaton is a special language program that uses signs and symbols alongside talking to help everyone communicate!

Command signs are really useful because they tell us to do something. Have a look at the signs we learnt below!

✨ Why Signs are Great

Using Makaton signs helps everyone, especially friends who find it harder to talk, to understand and share what they want to say. When we sign and speak at the same time, we're helping our whole school be a great place to communicate!

🤩 Keep Practicing!

Ask your child to show you the signs they learnt this week. Practice using them together at home. The more you use Makaton, the easier it becomes!

Happy signing!

Phonics Screening Check

What is the phonics screening check?

The phonics screening check is a short, statutory reading assessment designed to give teachers information about how individual children are progressing in phonics. It is designed to confirm whether pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard

Who takes the check?

Year 1 children are expected to take the phonics screening check during a specified week in June. Some Year 2 children might also be checked if they didn’t achieve the expected standard in Year 1 or if they have not taken the check before

What happens during the phonics screening check?

The check contains 40 words. Each child sits one to one with a teacher and reads each word aloud. The list of words the children read is a combination of 20 real words and 20 pseudo words (nonsense/alien words). The check takes about 10 minutes but each child can complete it at their own pace.

What are pseudo words (nonsense/alien words)?

Pseudo words are words that are phonically decodable but are not actual words with an associated meaning. Children cannot read these words by using their memory so they have to use their decoding skills. All pseudo words in the check are accompanied by a picture of an imaginary creature so that children recognise these as nonsense or ‘alien’ words.

How are the results reported?

By the end of the Summer Term, schools will report results of the check to parents and will confirm if children have met the standard threshold.

What happens if a child does not meet the standard?

The screening check will identify children who have phonic decoding skills below the level expected for the end of Year 1 and who therefore need extra help and support. Children who do not achieve the expected level will retake the test when they are in Year 2.

How can I support my child at home?

• Enjoy sharing and reading books as much as possible.

• If your child is struggling to read a word, encourage them to ‘sound out’ and then blend the sounds together from left to right.

• Talk about the meaning of unfamiliar words.

• Ask your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

The Department for Education (DfE) also publish guidance which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phonics-screening-check-information-for-parents

A new MMRV vaccine protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox (also called varicella)

From January 2026, children will be offered the MMRV vaccine as part of the routine childhood immunisation schedule, protecting against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. While chickenpox is often mild, it can cause serious complications. A child should be immunised with their first dose of at one year of age. The second (and final) dose is given at the age of 18 months. If a child is under the age of 6 and has missed a dose of MMRV, they will be offered a catch-up vaccination. You don’t need to do anything – your GP will contact you when your child is due their vaccination.

This is a fantastic chance for families to protect their children from chickenpox—which often means time off nursery or school and work—while also guarding against three other serious illnesses. Measles spreads easily and can make children very unwell, so it’s especially important to get the MMRV vaccine on time to keep children safe.

Families can find out more at: https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/mmrv-vaccine/

Safeguarding Curriculum at LAPE

At Leigh Academy Peninsula East, our intent is to provide a curriculum that ensures every pupil, regardless of need or background, acquires the knowledge and skills to successfully transition to their secondary setting as a well-informed, globally aware young person. This includes ensuring that all our pupils know how to keep themselves, and others, safe at all times in order to be successful.

Our teaching of safeguarding is implemented across our mapped curricula for computing, personal, social and health education and relationships and sex education, we specifically plan to teach children about online safety, healthy relationships, keeping healthy minds and bodies and what to do in an emergency situation.

PSHE and Computing link to our Curriculum page

Across our school day and in all areas of the curriculum there are many more times when we are teaching the children how to keep themselves safe. Some examples of this are:

Teaching children about the safe use of social media – including video games and Whatsapp
Appropriate use of mobile phones – including distributing of images, group chats and cyber bullying
Understanding the difference between fake news and factual news, including the safe use of AI
Fire safety talks from Kent Fire and Rescue
Kent Police Talk around contextual issues for our children and County Lines
Bikeability to teach children how to be safe riding their bikes on the road
Preparing pupils for school trips and how to use coaches and walking safely by busy roads.How to interact safely with strangers and what to do if they get lost
Celebrating Black History month and learning the dangers of extremist views in society
At home time, following safe procedures for releasing children to whoever is collecting them and reinforcing why we do this.

We know that our safeguarding culture has the impact we want it to have as our children trust our team with information that is worrying them. Our children can name, and do talk to, trusted adults across the school. Through listening to pupil voice across the school the children are able to talk about our safeguarding policy and procedures. They make use of our worry boxes to tell us when they want to talk about something and our children are part of a well-being group. They know what healthy relationships are and tell us if they are worried about a relationship inside or outside of school. Parents also report that their children feel safe at Leigh Academy Peninsula East. Our children can talk about how they will keep themselves safe and make reasoned, principled decisions when choosing how to act. This ensures that our pupils successfully transition to their secondary settings as well-informed, globally aware young people and are also prepared for their future careers.

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