Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 17th October 2025
Date: 8th Oct 2025 @ 1:41pm
School Council
The School Council had their first official meeting last week where they democratically elected Phoebe as Chair and Alice as Vice Chair. Congratulations to them both and the School Council as a whole who do a wonderful job representing the children of our school.
The newly elected Chair and Vice Chair have decided that the first thing that they would like to do is to raise awareness surrounding making healthier food choices and are starting with looking at breaktime snacks. They have asked the School Council members to collect some information surrounding this. More will follow with regards to this in the future.
Pupil Consultation Evenings
We are looking forward to welcoming many of you to our Pupil Consultation evenings next week. These are a really important opportunity for you to meet your child's teacher, see how they are getting on in school and discuss ways in which we can further support at school and you at home. I will be around in school on Tuesday but I am at a conference on Thursday so will miss some of you.
Current Attendance
Whole school to date: 95.43%
Whole school this week: 95.81%
Hatchmere: 89.47%
Sandymere: 97.73%
Delamere: 100%
Oakmere: 95%
Linmere: 95.45%
Blakemere: 96.54%
Mid Cheshire Education Awards
We have been sent the following information to share about the upcoming Mid Cheshire Education Awards:
The Mid Cheshire Education Awards are back for another year and the 2026 awards promise to be the best yet!
Nine awards will celebrate schools, nurseries and colleges across the area, honouring pupils and students, teachers and teaching assistants, classes and teams.
We want to highlight everything that’s good about Mid Cheshire's educators, shining a spotlight on innovation and best practice across the town.
Who should win one of our 9 awards?
There’s the class or team award, honours for pupils and headteachers as well as awards for teachers and teaching assistants.
Other special awards include an unsung hero honour and one for Early Years educators.
Entries are invited from teachers, parents, governors, pupils and anyone with knowledge of a particular school or education establishment.
All schools are welcome to enter as long as they are based in Mid Cheshire.
Individuals or institutions can enter more than one category, but this should be made clear on the entry form.
We welcome nominations from and for your school, your staff, parents and carers, and pupils.
Make your nominations here:
This link will take you to our website:
https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/25484030.education-awards-2026-mid-cheshire---enter/
This link will take you directly to the nomination form:
https://forms.office.com/e/sbEchzSfEq
There is also a QR code below which takes people straight to the nomination form.
The closing date for entries is Friday, 21st November
Attendance - Reminder
This year, we are going to continue our focus on attendance as we definitely made some improvements on the previous year, going from 94.1% to at the end of 2024 to 94.76% at the end of last year. This is a fantastic improvement on which I am sure we can build this year to get closer to our pre-COVID levels of around 96%
The magic number that we are aiming for is 96% and above and for the children who achieve this, we have some special rewards. At the end of each term there will be certificates for all children who have attendance at 96% or more and a special prize draw of a £15 Argos voucher for those children with 98% attendance or more. Each term will be a ‘new start’ so if someone didn’t manage to make the percentage in one term, there will be future chances. But what does 96% attendance look like? This table may help to give you an idea.
|
Attendance during one school year |
Equivalent Days |
Equivalent Sessions |
Equivalent Weeks |
Equivalent Lessons Missed |
|
95% |
9 Days |
18 Sessions |
1.4 Weeks |
45 Lessons |
|
90% |
19 Days |
38 Sessions |
3.4 Weeks |
95 Lessons |
|
85% |
29 Days |
58 Sessions |
5.4 Weeks |
145 Lessons |
|
80% |
36 Days |
72 Sessions |
7.1 Weeks |
180 Lessons |
|
75% |
48 Days |
96 Sessions |
9.3 Weeks |
240 Lessons |
Children understandably get ill from time to time and it can be easy to wonder whether they should be in school or not, so to help, please find some guidance from the NHS around Is my child too ill for school?
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).
Applying for Secondary School Places for September 2026 - Dealine for Applications Drawing Close
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 2025 - during the half term holiday, otherwise your application will be classed as a late application and could have a severe impact on your preferred school choice. Results are available from 12.30am on 2nd March 2026. 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- Transferring to Secondary School Guide to 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 ‘Transferring to Secondary School’ information booklet in the link above.
Applying for Primary School Places for September 2026
If you have a child who is turning 4 years old between now and 31st August 2026, 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 2026, but like the secondary school place, before making your application, it is important you view the Starting Primary School Booklet. Results are available from 16th April 2026. 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
When young people go through something traumatic – such as bereavement, bullying or a family crisis – it can take time to make sense of what they’re feeling. That’s where adult guidance can make all the difference. This week’s Wake up Wednesday guide offers helpful tips for parents and educators supporting children and young people through difficult experiences.
From fostering a sense of safety to recognising when specialist help might be needed, the guide is full of practical ideas for creating a compassionate, stable environment that supports recovery. It’s a reassuring read for anyone who wants to be there for a young person going through tough times.
School Dinners
School dinners cost £3.10 per day, £15.50 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 2025 – new dates highlighted
Monday 20th October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.15pm – Linmere only
Tuesday 21st October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.15pm
Thursday 23rd October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.30pm (not Linmere)
Thursday 23rd October: School finishes at 3pm for half term
Friday 24th October: INSET Day – school closed
Monday 3rd November: School opens at 8.35am
Monday 3rd November: PTA Meeting at The Gate at 7pm – all welcome
Monday 1st December – Friday 5th December: PTA Christmas Events Week
Wednesday 17th December: Carol Service in St. John’s church at 1.30pm Pick up from church
Thursday 18th December: Whole School Pantomime trip
Friday 19th December: School closes for Christmas at 2pm
Monday 5th January 2026: School opens at the usual time
Tuesday 13th January: PTA Meeting at The Gate at 7pm – all welcome
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon