All students who cycle to school must now have a Bicycle Licence in order to bring their bicycle to school. Securing this licence involves a simple process, where students and parents have to select the link below, and then agree to follow these simple rules around bicycle safety. 

If students cycle to school without a licence, or if their licence is withdrawn, then they will no longer be permitted to bring a bicycle on to the school site. This is done with the best interests of all of our students and staff in mind. 

To secure a licence for your child, please click on this link. 

Thank you, as always, for your support as we keep our school community safe. 

In recent summers, when there have been periods of exceptionally hot weather, we have permitted students to wear their PE shorts to school in place of their normal school skirt or trousers.

This summer term (until Wednesday 24 July), we are proposing trialling to allow students in Years 7 to 11 to wear shorts to school on any day, irrespective of the weather, subject to the following provisos:

• the shorts must be the black Bermuda style shorts sold by Little Heath’s two uniform suppliers (Tilehurst Schoolwear and Stevensons), or equivalent black shorts purchased from elsewhere but which are still of the same overall style, length and fabric;

• no other style of short will be permitted and students may be sent home to change if they arrive at school wearing shorts of a different colour, style or fabric to that stipulated above;

• students must still wear school shoes, as per the normal school uniform, even if opting to wear the tailored shorts, meaning that trainers will not be permitted;

• while the above trial is being undertaken, there will be no further relaxation of uniform rules to permit the wearing of PE shorts on particularly hot days.

This trial has been proposed in response to a number of requests from parents and students to permit the wearing of shorts throughout the summer. Feedback from parents will be welcome and will inform a decision whether this becomes a permanent change to Little Heath’s uniform. For more guidance on uniform policy, please check our website.

Please regularly check your child’s attendance on Satchel One – where medically possible, attendance should remain above 96%.  Satchel One is also our main communication system to inform parents of house points, behaviour points and detentions.  It is therefore essential that all parents check for notifications during the school day.

Research has shown that regular attendance and good punctuality are crucial factors in students achieving their full potential at school, and we saw this very clearly in our exam results last summer. 

It is important that parents/carers monitor single-day absences, as these days can soon add up to weeks. As a parent/carer, there are important steps that you can take to help support your child’s good attendance:

• Monitor your child’s attendance and punctuality using Satchel One.
• Ensure your child comes to school every day, on time, equipped and ready to learn. Tutor time begins at 8.50am and students are expected to be sat in tutor time by this time i.e. they need to arrive on school site before 8.50am.
• Failure to arrive to tutor time by 8.50am will result in a lunchtime detention.
• Students can arrive on school site from 8.00am.
• Talk to your child about the impact of lateness on their school day and over time.
• Do not allow your child to stay off because they are feeling a little poorly / tired or because of an issue which makes the journey a little more difficult than usual.  Resilience is an important trait in students whose attendance is high and one which all students should strive for.
• If your child is poorly in the morning, but improves enough to return, please send them in to school as they will still receive an attendance mark for pm registration.
• Try to ensure that medical appointments are made outside of school time and, if unavoidable, the student does not miss a whole school day.
• Inform the school in a timely manner of any medical appointments or requests for absence.
• Book holidays during the school holidays.
• Make sure you respond to school letters, telephone calls, emails and texts regarding attendance and punctuality.
• Ensure the school has up-to-date addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses.
• Communicate with our Attendance Officer early and regularly when you have any concerns that may impact your child’s attendance.

Please note that schools have had a clear directive from the DfE not to provide work for students who are absent.

Just a reminder for students to bring a reusable water bottle to school every day. We have a number of water fountains around the school site where they can be easily refilled. 

With the current high pollen count, please can you also ensure your child has taken appropriate preventative medication in the morning (if necessary).  

As the exam season comes to a close, we would like to ask Year 11 and Year 13 students to donate any subject text books to school for reuse. We will have boxes available in main reception and Sixth Form for them to drop them in.

We are also looking for donations of good quality, second-hand uniform for both KS3 (red logos) and KS4 (silver logos), including PE kit. If you have anything to donate, please drop them into main reception. Any donations will be available to our new Year 7 parents on their information evening in early July. We will also send a reminder out in the autumn term for uniform donations from students transitioning from KS3 to KS4.

Congratulations to the students who have been chosen as the next Senior Student Leadership Team. This group of ten students will be an integral part of the Little Heath School community over the next academic year, and we are so excited to see what positive changes they can make!

Well done to all the students who applied to be part of the Senior Student Leadership Team, all the applications and interviews were very impressive and all students should be so proud of themselves.

The process of Student Voice is about allowing pupils to express their ideas and the Conference is designed to give a range of our students from across the school the opportunity to work with others and discuss key issues, and to give their input and suggestions.

Our Conference, back in April, was attended by over 100 students and this year featured workshops on behaviour, pride in the school, wellbeing, respecting others and our environment, citizenship, teaching and learning, as well as lunch and a Q&A session with our Governors.

The sessions resulted in some fabulous suggestions and thought-provoking discussions. Issues discussed at the conference and matters arising will be fed back in various ways, and will feed into strategic work related to these key areas. We know there will be many positive changes for the benefit of all our students which will have come from the discussions in the workshops.

Huge thanks to the volunteer team from P&G who returned this month to work on our nature area project. The team, headed up by ex LHS student, Michaela Wombwell, joined us back in September but were keen to return and complete work further on the project. They worked really hard to level the ground ready for an outdoor learning space; as well as removing tree stumps and trip hazards; and starting work on bug hotels in our 'wild area'. They also sourced and collected second-hand items and materials which they bought along on the day.

We will be continuing their good work by taking groups of students out each week to work on the project until the end of term. Year 8 Science students have already got to work finishing the bug hotel, laying down bark chips and creating log piles in our 'wild area'. Thanks to C A Cook & Co Tree Surgery and Connick Tree Care for the bark chips and logs.