Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• World Book Day

  Thu 27 Feb 2025

  February 2025

   

  Dear Parents/Carers,

   

  World Book Day (WBD) is nearly here! We shall be having our WBD on Friday 7 thMarch (which is a day after the National WBD).

   

  Your child is encouraged to dress as their favourite book character for the day if they should wish. We would encourage parents to use clothes they have and be creative with them, rather than spending money on costumes they might not wear again. If your child wishes to dress up and is due out on a trip for part of that day, please ensure they have a suitable change of clothes with them.

   

  We are also running a whole school ‘Book swap shop’ to celebrate our World Book Day this year. We would welcome pupils to bring in a book(s) they would like to donate to the ‘swap shop’ and in return they will be able to choose a book from the swap shop in the afternoon of our WBD.

   

  The day will also include activities such as:

   

  • Bring in a favourite book to share an extract with the class in class time/tutor group time
  • A range of art and craft, writing and reading activities relating to World Book Day
  • Book themed obstacle course
  • Where’s Wally competition
  • Guess the character/ author and book quizzes
  • And much more.

   

  Thank you for your support.

   

  Kind regards,

   

  Fran Eastwood/Mandy Kirke-Laird / Andrew Bourton English Lead/Primary Lead

• Headteacher Letter

  Fri 14 Feb 2025

  14 February 2025 

   

  Dear Parents and Carers   

   

  I hope that this letter finds you, your friends and family in good health.  

   

  Many thanks to all those who attended the coffee morning yesterday. It was great to see so many of you there. Our next one is at 9:15 on Wednesday 19 March. 

   

  We covered a range of topics including Therapies, our offer and future activity. This included a talk led by Ms Bober regarding Thrive and Family Thrive for parents and carers. The Thrive approach is an evidence-based approach to support pupil’s social and emotional development. There will be a separate letter soon inviting you to be part of this activity. 

   

  I discussed the latest planning application for our area. This time I am broadly pleased by the proposals for having Paddle board courts constructed close to the school. Please see the application below, for more details. 

  https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications 

  F/TH/25/0003 

   

  We also talked about the proposed redesignation of Laleham Gap school. KCC are proposing to change our designation from a Communication & Interaction (C&I) school to a Neurodivergent with Learning Difficulties (NLD) school. Laleham Gap school recognises the need for change and welcomes greater inclusion of pupils with more complex learning difficulties to our inclusive, learning community. 

   

  We would like the focus to remain on pupil need, not on labelling children. I would like the new designation to be worded as: 

  Communication and Interaction. Admission guidance:  

  Pupils are neurodiverse and may have a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, learning difficulties or other conditions. Pupils have severe social communication difficulties, and may have social, emotional mental health needs associated with neurodiversity, including severe social anxiety. 

   

  We are awaiting a notice for a 28-day public consultation regarding these proposals. When I receive this, I will write and let you know. At that time, I will be seeking your support and attendance at the public consultation meeting to support the future of our school. 

  A quick reminder to all parents of year 8 pupils, the expectations for pupil phone use will, from next term be the same as year 7 and primary pupils. Children may have their phones for their journeys to and from school but, will hand them in at Reception until the end of the day. 

   

  I would like to thank all involved staff and pupils for their hard work, perseverance and talent with our performance, Shrek the Musical. Both nights were sold out and good fun was had by all. I would particularly like to thanks Mr Clements and Mrs Short for all their time. 

   

  I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. I look forward to seeing you all on the 24/2/25. 

   

  Best wishes 

  Les Milton  

  Headteacher  

• Headteacher Letter

  Tue 11 Feb 2025

  11 February 2024

   

  Dear Parents and Carers

   

  Subject: Limits on Mobile Phone Use by Year 8 Pupils

   

  I am writing to inform you of an important change to mobile phone use for all Year 8 pupils. From Monday 24 February year 8 pupils will not be able to access their mobile devices during the school day.  They must hand in their devices on arrival and collect upon leaving the school building. The devices will be kept in a secure box during the day. This change, which is an extension of our Primary and Year 7 approach, is designed to protect children and reduce the risks presented from social media. It is also designed to improve pupil wellbeing and attendance.

   

  As you will have seen in the media there has been an increasing debate about mobile phones in schools since the Government issued its guidance earlier this year. There is a lot of concern about the amount of time pupils are spending on mobile phones, the distractions that this causes in school and the very real dangers of social media.  Since September we have had to deal with a growing number of issues regarding pupils’ misuse of mobile phones, with the most recent resulting in police action. We have therefore reviewed our approach to mobile phone use.

   

  I would like to take this opportunity to explain the new expectations for your child in year 8 which is the same as for Primary and Year 7 pupils. This means that your child’s devices will be available for transport and in case of emergencies but will be handed in at reception and stored securely until the end of the day.   If you need to contact your child during the school day, please ring the school office and we will be able to get a message to them. 

   

  We appreciate your support with this matter.

   

  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

   

   

  Les Milton

  Headteacher