Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 25th September 2026
Date: 24th Sep 2026 @ 10:39am
School Council
Our newly elected School Council met for the first time last week and are excited to begin their work for the year ahead. During their first meeting, the children elected Lilly as Chair and Adelaide as Vice Chair. Congratulations to both of them on their appointments.
The School Council plays an important role in helping to improve aspects of school life and ensuring that pupils have a voice in decisions that affect them. The children have already started sharing ideas and discussing ways in which they can make a positive difference to our school community.
Supported by Mrs Williamson, they are looking forward to gathering the views of their classmates and getting started on the projects and initiatives they would like to develop throughout the year. We look forward to seeing their ideas take shape over the coming months and watching them let their light shine through their leadership and service to others.
Agents of Change
Mrs Riley has now worked her way through the applications for this year's Agents of Change, and we are delighted to have appointed a new group of children who are eager to make a difference both in school and beyond.
Last year's team worked incredibly hard to achieve the Ocean Friendly Schools Award, showing real commitment to caring for the wider world. Building on this success, this year's group have decided that they would like to focus their efforts a little closer to home. Their initial discussions have centred around how we can help strengthen connections between different generations within our local community to make sure no one is lonely, and they are already beginning to explore ideas for how this might be achieved.
This links beautifully to our vision of 'Let your light shine'. At Over St. John's, we want children to recognise that they can make a positive difference to the people around them, whatever their age. By showing kindness, compassion and taking action to support others, our children are living out that vision and helping our community to flourish. In a world where generations do not always have the opportunity to spend time together, we are excited to see how our Agents of Change can help build those connections and ensure that their light shines beyond the school gates.
We look forward to sharing more about their work as the year progresses.
Dodgeball Competition
A group of children travelled to The Winsford Academy last night to take part in a Dodgeball competition. I am delighted to report that they came home with the silver medal, having finished in second place. Admittedly, there were only two schools competing... but a silver medal is a silver medal and we're very proud of them nonetheless!
More importantly, the children had a fantastic time, demonstrated excellent teamwork and represented the school brilliantly throughout the event. Opportunities like these are all about taking part, being active and enjoying spending time with friends, and by all accounts they did exactly that.
A huge thank you to Mrs Teece and Mrs Skelley for giving up their time to take the team and support them throughout the evening. Their encouragement and enthusiasm helped to make it such an enjoyable experience for the children.
Morning Routine - Reminder
The school gate opens each morning at the beginning of the day at 8.35am. The children are able to go straight to class and get on with the activities that are there for them. Our register is taken at 8:45am promptly and as such, if your child is not here at 8:45am, they will be marked late on the register. Please ensure that your child is in school a few minutes before 8:45am so that they are on time for the register as I close the gate a couple of minutes before this time. If you arrive before 8.35am, please remind your children that they should stay by your side as it is not a play area - Delamere Street is a very busy road and traffic also turns into our car park – they should not be playing and running around outside whilst waiting as it is a car park and not a playground.
The whole school goes in to Collective Worship each morning at 8:50am and if children are late, it can be unsettling for them to have to walk in to Collective Worship late in front of the whole school as well as distracting for the children that are already there. Your support with this would be greatly appreciated.
Our PTA Needs You! - Reminder
I would like to take a moment to talk about something that is incredibly important to our school community: our PTA.
Over the years, our PTA has worked tirelessly to organise events and raise funds that directly benefit our children. From fairs and family events to funding resources, supporting educational visits and providing those little extras that make school life even more special, their contribution has been invaluable.
However, our PTA currently has a very small number of members who are volunteers and, unless more people are able to get involved, there is a real possibility that it may not be able to continue in its current form. This would be a huge loss for the school and, most importantly, for the children.
Being part of the PTA does not mean committing huge amounts of time. Whether you are able to help plan events, volunteer occasionally, share ideas or simply lend a hand when needed, every contribution makes a difference. The more people we have involved, the more opportunities we can provide for our children and the stronger our school community becomes.
In the spirit of our vision to 'Let your light shine', this is a wonderful opportunity to use your talents, time and ideas to make a positive difference for the children and families of Over St. John's.
Please take a look at the attached poster for further information and consider whether you might be able to help. Together, we really can make it happen.
Absence During Term Time – Government Regulations including Fines
Penalty Notices are issued for irregular attendance, not just holidays, with days off here and there throughout the term.
The National Framework for Penalties includes:
- A Penalty Notice must be considered for 10 sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period – these days do not have to be all at the same time, they can be a couple of days here and a couple of days there; they can be a combination of a couple of days holiday and a couple of days absence at other times too.
- An increase to the amount of a Penalty Notice is now £160 if paid within 28 days, and £80 if paid within 21 days. This fine is issued to each parent separately for each child, so both parents receive the £80 fine, meaning that for one child it equals £160 (e.g. £80 for Mum and £80 for Dad) if both parents take the child.
- A second Penalty Notice could be issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling 3 year period being charged at a higher rate of £160 with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80.
- A national limit of 2 penalty notices that can be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling 3 year period, so at the 3rd (or subsequent) offence(s) another tool will need to be considered (such as prosecution or one of the other attendance legal interventions).
Benedict’s Law and Allergy Awareness - Reminder
Many of you may have seen recent media coverage of Benedict's Law, which has been introduced in school’s in September, to strengthen allergy safety in schools following the tragic death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe after an allergic reaction at school. As a result, schools are now required to have enhanced measures in place to help protect children with allergies, including a dedicated allergy policy, staff training and clear procedures to reduce risk and respond to emergencies.
To support this, our updated Allergens Policy is now available on the school website for all families to read. We would encourage parents and carers to take a few moments to familiarise themselves with it.
Earlier this week, I spoke to the children in Collective Worship about the importance of keeping one another safe. We discussed simple but important habits such as not sharing or swapping food and washing hands before and after eating. These are small actions that can make a significant difference in helping to keep everyone safe.
We also talked about the lovely tradition of children bringing treats into school to celebrate birthdays. Since the introduction of Natasha's Law in 2021, we have asked families not to send birthday treats into school, as items such as cakes are cut up and shared, making it difficult to track ingredients and potential allergens. With the introduction of Benedict's Law, and our collective responsibility to create the safest possible environment for all children, this message has become even more important.
I completely understand that some children and families may feel disappointed, as these gestures are always made with kindness and generosity. However, the safety and wellbeing of all children must always come first. By working together and following these expectations, we can help ensure that every child is able to enjoy school safely and confidently.
Thank you, as always, for your understanding and support in this important area.
Uniform
The children have all looked so smart as they returned to school on Tuesday, thank you for your support with this. A gentle reminder that our school uniform consists of grey trousers or grey skirt, a light blue polo top (does not need the logo) and a sweatshirt/ cardigan with the school logo. The sweatshirt/ cardigan is the only branded item that is required in order to keep costs as low as possible for families. Socks should be grey or white and tights should be grey or black. Children can also wear grey shorts or blue and white checked dress/ playsuit in the warmer weather. Children should wear black school shoes, not trainers. I do understand that circumstances sometimes mean that trainers may need to be worn and I do not mind this if adults have had a conversation with me.
Upcoming Services at St. John's Church
We are fortunate to enjoy such a close relationship with St. John's Church and would like to make you aware of a couple of upcoming services that families may wish to attend.
The first is the Harvest Service on Sunday 4th October at 10.30am. Everyone is very welcome to join the congregation as they give thanks for the harvest. As part of the service, donations will be collected for the Mid Cheshire Foodbank, so if you are able to bring along a non-perishable food item, it would be greatly appreciated. We are also hoping that some of our children will be able to read prayers during the service and will be in touch with families about this shortly.
Looking a little further ahead, St. John's will also be holding a Christingle Service on Sunday 6th December at 10.30am. A Christingle is a decorated orange which symbolises Jesus as the Light of the World and is traditionally used during a special service celebrating hope, light and generosity. It is always a lovely occasion for families to attend together.
If you are planning to attend the Christingle Service, please let us know when we contact you later in the term, as the church would like an indication of numbers so that enough Christingles can be prepared. We will send out further information nearer the time and include a survey on School Spider.
Both of these services provide wonderful opportunities to strengthen the links between our school and church communities. As a school whose vision is to 'Let your light shine' (Matthew 5:16), these shared celebrations help us come together, support one another and shine our light within the wider community.
Operation Encompass
As a school, we participate in a police-led initiative called Operation Encompass, a scheme which ensures that we can better support any child where a domestic incident has been reported to the police from their home.
Following a domestic incident, the police will make contact with the school and communicate relevant information to nominated, fully trained school staff. This will ensure that we are made aware early enough to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe, supported and listened to.
Each school has a member of staff called a key adult who is trained to liaise with the police, when required, whilst ensuring support is available to the child. If you would like to speak to someone further about the initiative, or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Mrs Bettley as the key adults for Over St. John’s.
We are committed to working in partnership with local relevant organisations to safeguard and protect children across Cheshire and provide the best possible care and support for our pupils.
You can find out more about Operation Encompass via the following site: http://www.operationencompass.org/
Applying for Secondary School Places for September 2026
If you have a child in Year 6, the application round has now opened for you to apply for a secondary school place. It is very important that you do this before the deadline, which is 31st October 2026, otherwise your application will be classed as a late application and could have a severe impact on your preferred school choice. Results are available on 1st March 2027. To apply, you will need to create an account or log in on this link. Before making your application, it is important you view the chrome- Secondary School Booklet 2027 help you with your choices.
As a school, we are a partner primary with both The Winsford Academy and Hartford CE High School which means that applications for children from our school are considered above some other categories, should the school be oversubscribed. However, you have the option to apply for 3 secondary schools of your choice. Further details with regards to this can be found in the ‘Secondary School Booklet 2027’ link above.
Currently, I am aware of the following secondary school Open Evenings:
Thursday 24th September 4pm – 6pm St. Nicholas Catholic High
Thursday 24th September 4.30pm – 7pm Rudheath Senior Academy
If I receive information from other secondary schools, I will share this with you.
Applying for Primary School Places for September 2026
If you have a child who is turning 4 years old between now and 31st August 2027, or know of a child who is, then the application round is also open for them to apply for their Reception place. The timescale is slightly different for this and you have until 15th January 2027, but like the secondary school place, before making your application, it is important you view the Primary Booklet 2027 . Results are available from 16th April 2027. To apply, you will need to create an account or log in on this link.
If you would like to visit Over St. John’s with a view to a Reception place next September or know of someone else who would, please do just ring the office and we will arrange a time to suit yourselves and us. We do not hold an open morning as I prefer people to see us as we are on a daily basis and have more personal time during a look around with me to ask any questions that they may have.
#WakeUpWednesday
Discord is a hugely popular communication platform where young people can chat, play games and join communities built around shared interests. This #WakeUpWednesday guide explores some of the risks that can come with using it, including contact with strangers, inappropriate content, harassment and the potential for gaming and socialising to become a distraction from everyday life.
The guide also offers practical advice for parents and educators, from using Discord’s Family Centre and checking privacy settings to talking openly about suspicious behaviour and reviewing spending controls. It also encourages families to agree on clear expectations around screen time, helping young people enjoy the platform while making safer and more informed choices online.
School Dinners
School dinners cost £3.20 per day, £16 per week. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free meals as part of the government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme. Dinner money must be paid in advance via School Spider.
If you are in receipt of benefits and think that you may be entitled to free school meals, please click here for more information and support and how to apply. It is very important to apply for free schools meals whatever year your child is in, even if you receive the UIFSM in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, as the school receives a sum of extra money to further help support your child and their education.
Confirmed Dates for the Autumn Term 2026 – new dates highlighted
Friday 2nd October Individual photographs
Sunday 4th October Harvest Service at St. John’s Church 10.30am
Friday 9th October Flu vaccinations
Tuesday 20th October Pupil Consultation Evening 5pm -7pm
Thursday 22nd October Pupil Consultation Evening 5pm -7pm
Friday 23rd October School closes for half term at 3pm
Monday 2nd November School closed for INSET day
Tuesday 3rd November School opens at 8.35am
Sunday 6th December Christingle Service at St. John’s Church at 10.30am
Wednesday 16th December Carol Service in St. John’s church at 1.30pm. Collection from church
Thursday 17th December Whole school pantomime visit
Friday 18th December School closes at 2pm
Tuesday 5th January 2027 School opens at 8.35am
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon