Oliver Jeffers -95%
Julia Donaldson - 96%
Michael Rosen - 100 %
Nelson Mandela - 94%
Boudica - 98%
Rosa Parks - 100 %
Kadeena Cox - 95%
Lewis Hamilton - 98%
Leigh Academy Peninsula East - 97 %
Well done to Michael Rosen class for having 100% attendance this week in KS1. In KS2 this week, Rosa Parks class also achieved 100% attendance so congratulations to them too! Our whole school attendance was also over 96% which is great to see.
PYP Learner Attribute Awards
Oliver Jeffers Class - Pippa (Social skills) & Luna-Belle (Knowledgeable)
Julia Donaldson Class - Ayden (Inquirer) & Rosie (Communication Skills)
Michael Rosen Class - Maeve (Self-Management Skills) & Arbour (Communication Skills)
Nelson Mandela - Jake (Communication Skills) & Dolly (Caring)
Boudica Class - Kit (Knowledgeable) & James (Communication)
Rosa Parks Class - Ollie (Self-Management) & Olivia (Open-Minded)
Kadeena Cox Class - Bluebell (communication skills) & Darcie (open-minded)
Lewis Hamilton Class - Ivy L (Research skills) & Poppi-Anne (Thinker)
Congratulations to these children for fantastic writing this week...
Oliver Jeffers Class - Elliott
Julia Donaldson Class - Zainab
Michael Rosen Class - Wynter
Nelson Mandela Class - Hartlee
Boudica Class - LaRosa
Rosa Parks Class - Ellie
Kadeena Cox Class -Albert
Lewis Hamilton Class - Tommy
Oliver Jeffers Class - Oscar
Julia Donaldson Class - Jaxson
Michael Rosen Class - Oliver
Nelson Mandela Class - Hannah
Boudica Class - Tilly
Rosa Parks Class - Chloe
Kadeena Cox Class - Tilly
Lewis Hamilton Class - Mila
Year 2
It's been a wonderful start to the school year in Michael Rosen class, and all the children have settled into Year 2 beautifully. We've had a busy and exciting few weeks full of new learning adventures and opportunities.
Our central idea, "Choices affect wellbeing," has sparked some deep thinking and great questions. To kick things off, we investigated a "great classroom disaster" to help us understand the importance of responsibility and accountability within our own classroom community.
Our line of inquiry, "What makes us human," has led to fascinating discussions. We've been exploring our similarities and differences, connecting our learning to PSHE. We also discussed the key features that make us human before creating some incredible self-portraits to display in our own class gallery.
In literacy, we've been showcasing our descriptive writing skills by crafting character descriptions using a rich variety of vocabulary, all inspired by our core text, Cotton Wool Colin.
Maths has been all about place value! The children have been showing off their knowledge by partitioning numbers up to 100 into tens and ones. We've used physical manipulatives and then practiced writing these numbers down in our books.
The children are also very excited about our new Chromebooks! We've been practicing logging in and navigating them, which has been a little tricky as we get used to the keyboard layout. However, they are all showing great resilience and are keen to start using them daily to support their learning.
We're all looking forward to continuing our learning journey and can't wait to see what the rest of the term brings!
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.
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Reading
We ask that parents listen to their child read at home at least three times a week to help build on the reading skills they are learning in school. A reading diary has been provided for you to record any comments about their reading practice and to be signed once your child has read.
It is important that these diaries are brought to school daily, as they are checked by teachers and are also used for reading practice in school. For consistent home reading, your child will be rewarded with a token for our reading book vending machine, where they can choose a new book to keep.
In addition to individual awards, we also have weekly class reading awards. Every Friday, the percentage of children in each Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 class who have read at least three times is calculated, and the winning class is announced in our weekly assembly.
This week's reading scores:
Julia Donaldson Class - 58%
Michael Rosen Class - 55%
Nelson Mandela Class - 55%
Boudicca Class - 80%
Rosa Parks Class - 57%
Lewis Hamilton Class - 90%
Kadeena Cox class - 95%
Congratulations to Julia Donaldson Class (Year 1) and Kadeena Cox Class (Year 6) , who are the reading winners this week and have been rewarded with extra playtime.
BANJI ALEXANDER AUTHOR VISIT - 2nd OCTOBER
Leigh Academy Peninsula East will be taking part in a special author visit on Thursday 2nd October, being facilitated by celebrated, published author/teacher, Banji Alexander – as seen on Britain’s Got Talent. Children in Year 1 to Year 6 will take part in a workshop in the afternoon.
At the end of the school day, Banji Alexander will be signing books in the school hall. If you would like to pre-order books, please fill in the form sent home with your child, or ask the academy office for a copy, and return to the office with £10 (cash only please in a sealed and labeled envelope) by Wednesday 1st October 2025.
We are very fortunate to have Banji Alexander visit our school. Please note, the book pre-orders cover the cost of the visit, allowing all pupils to enjoy the experience, so please support where you can!
Banji Alexander appeared on Sky News & BBC News to discuss the schoolbook tour. Visit www.banjialexander.com/banji-in-the-media to see where else he has featured.
His website is www.banjialexander.com
His title 'Lockdown Looms: Reggie's Birthday Party', comes highly recommended for primary aged children and has received wide acclaim from teaching professionals across the country, and MPs, including the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, & former Shadow Minister for Schools, Stephan Morgan MP.
Lockdown Looms: Reggie's Birthday Party:
Details a child's experience during lockdown
It was written to allay the fears of Banji's learners surrounding the pandemic
Helps facilitate discussions around mental health and well-being
Key themes are: Hope, Kindness, Resilience, Patience, Gratitude & Adapting to Change
We are really looking forward to Banji's visit, and we are sure this is going to be a memorable experience for the children at Leigh Academy Peninsula East.
Attendance holiday request reminders
Any holiday-related absence taken that includes 10 sessions in 10 weeks, may result in a Penalty Notice. In this instance, a ‘Notice to Improve’ notification will not be issued beforehand.
The penalty notice amount increased from August 2024 with a maximum of two penalty notices within a rolling three-year period:-
• First offence - The first time a Penalty Notice is issued the amount will be: £80 per parent, per child paid within 21 days. This increases to £160 per parent, per child if paid after day 21, until day 28. Any non-payment of the Penalty Notice may be referred to the Magistrates Court.
• Second Offence (within 3 years) - the second time a Penalty Notice is issued the amount will be £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days. Any non-payment of the Penalty Notice may be referred to the Magistrates Court.
• Third Offence and subsequent Offences (within 3 years) - the third time an offence is committed a Penalty Notice will not be issued, and the case may be presented straight to the Magistrates’ Court under s.444 of the Education Act (1996) or other legal interventions considered. The Magistrates’ Court can order fines up to £2500 per parent, per child.
Parents with parental responsibility, and adults residing with the child, including for example,
stepparents who have day-to-day responsibility for the child, may be fined, and this applies to each child who is absent. For example, if two adults take two children out of school, the total fines would be £640 (reduced to £320 for a first offence paid within 21days).
If a Penalty Notice is not paid within the time limits set out in the letter to the parent, Medway Local Authority may proceed the case to court.
We recognise that these Penalty Notices may be unpopular with families, but it is important to inform you of these changes promptly.
Nationally, Headteachers are:
not permitted to approve term-time holidays except in genuinely exceptional circumstances, and are to consider each application for a leave of absence individually before making our
decision.
The law clearly expects Headteachers to enforce these penalties strictly.
The policy also states that schools are required to consider requesting the issuance of Penalty Notices when the criteria are met. This is a statutory national process that applies to all state-funded schools in England.
Our school attendance policy in line with these requirements can be found here: https://leighacademypeninsulaeast.org.uk/about-us/policies/
Are you looking for a school place for your child for September 2026?
If you are starting to look for your child to join a Reception class in September 2026, we have tours available for you to come and view the school. We have an open morning on Thursday 16th October at 9am and an open afternoon on Tuesday 4th November at 2pm. We look forward to meeting you and showing you the exciting opportunities that attending our school offers for your child. Please contact the academy office on 01634270428 or email office@peninsulaeast.latrust.org.uk
Safeguarding at Leigh Academy Peninsula East
What is safeguarding?
Members of staff, parents/carers and visitors who come on to our school premises have a duty of care towards the welfare and safety of the children who attend our schools.
This is called Safeguarding.
Every child can potentially be hurt, put at risk from harm or abused regardless of their age, gender, religion, ethnicity or disability.
Safeguarding means that:
Children are protected from mistreatment
A child’s health or development is protected
Children grow up with safe and effective care
Action is taken to ensure the best outcomes for all children
Safeguarding is the action we take to promote the welfare of children in our care and to protect them from harm.
Our safeguarding team at Leigh Academy Peninsula East:
Designated safeguarding lead and Principal - Mrs L Rimmer
Deputy designated safeguarding lead and Vice Principal - Miss C Brading
Deputy designated safeguarding lead and SENCO - Miss L Hartung
Deputy designated safeguarding lead and FLO - Mrs J Dyke
If you require further information about safeguarding and require further support or advice please refer to our academy website - https://leighacademypeninsulaeast.org.uk/safeguarding/