Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 11th July 2025
Date: 11th Jul 2025 @ 10:35am
Reports
The children’s annual reports are scheduled to be sent home electronically today in which you will find a written summary about your child, information on their progress and attainment and the results of any formal, national assessments for the children in Reception, Year 1, Year 4 and Year 6. My thanks to the teachers for the considerable amount of time that these take to write on top of their usual workload.
The report also details your child’s class for next year which are as follows:
Hatchmere Reception Mrs Teece
Sandymere Year 1 Mrs Bettley
Delamere Year 2 Mrs Williamson and Mrs Worstencroft
Oakmere Year 3&4 Mrs Kelly
Linmere Year4&5 Mrs Skelley and Mrs Andrews
Blakemere Year 5&6 Mrs McLaughlin
Initially in Linmere, Mrs Skelley will be teaching Monday to Thursday and myself on a Friday until Mrs Andrews is able to join us and then it will change to Mrs Skelley on Monday to Wednesday and Mrs Andrews on Thursday and Friday - which hopefully won’t be too long!
For clarification, classes are organised by dates of birth so where there are mixed age classes, for example Oakmere, the children are the younger Year 4s, and the older Year 4s are in Linmere. Our curriculum is set up so that the children always have access to appropriate teaching and never repeat a year. However, as we are a small school with 6 classes and there are 7 year groups in primary school, all children have to spend 2 years in one classroom at some point along the way, but are always in their next year group.
Uniform
As we finish for the summer and people start to think about preparations for September, please may I remind you of our uniform expectations as detailed in our uniform policy on our website:
- Light blue polo shirt
- Blue school sweatshirt or cardigan with the school logo
- Grey skirt or grey trousers
- Sensible black shoes (not trainers) which are flat and offer support, Velcro fastenings are ideal
- Grey or white socks, grey or black tights
- Optional blue/ white checked dress or grey shorts in the summer
Furthermore, our PE kit consists of:
- Plain white t-shirt
- Plain black shorts
- Plain black jogging bottoms in cooler weather with the addition of the school jumper.
- Black pumps or bare feet for indoor PE
- Black pumps or trainers for outdoor PE
We only have the one branded item as policy, which is our jumper or cardigan which is available from Winsford Market or The Green Uniform and Baby Bank. All other items are widely available from supermarkets and other retailers.
Celebration of Summer
St. John’s church are holding a ‘Celebration of Summer’ on Saturday 19th July between 12pm and 4pm. There will be lots to do including crafts, refreshments, choirs to listen to and a jam session if anyone wants to take their instruments along! Please see the poster attached below.
Adults Read Two
Do you like to read? Why not take part in this initiative? Open to pupils and adults alike!
Celebrate your love of books and reading this summer and join a reading challenge for adults and teens online and in libraries.
Entrants just need to read two books between 5 July and 7 September. Choose from a library book, eBook or eAudiobook, to be in with a chance to win £50 of book vouchers through the libraries’ prize draw at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/read or pick up a flyer from your nearest library. There are two prize draws - one for 13-17 year olds and one for 18+. Winners will be chosen at random. Under 16s need parental permission to take part. Please see the flyer below.
Attendance
As always, we are looking for attendance to be at least 96%. For the school this week we are at 96.04% – thank you! Since September, we are on 94.80%.
Here is a rundown of each class attendance this week:
Hatchmere: 96.82%
Sandymere: 97.14%
Delamere: 99.00%
Oakmere: 95.20%
Linmere: 91.60%
Blakemere: 97.31%
Well done to Delamere for the best attendance this week who will receive our trophy in Collective Worship next week.
Next week we will hold our end of term attendance awards during our Collective Worship. There are certificates for those that achieve 96% and above, 98% and above and 100%. Those with 98% or more then go into the termly prize to win a £15 Argos voucher and as it’s the end of the year, we also have the prize drawer of £30 for those that have achieved 100% all year – fingers crossed!
As always, I appreciate how difficult it is when there is illness circulating but also appreciate you checking Is my child too ill for school? and being reassured that we will send them home if they are too ill to be in school. You might also be interested in this link from the Government about support for parents for attendance:
Improving School Attendance - Government Support for Parents May 2024
Summer Reading Challenge - Reminder
Details of this year’s Summer Reading Challenge have now been shared by Cheshire Libraries. Five thousand children from Cheshire West took part last year and this year they are hoping for more!
The Challenge (4- to 12-year-olds) and Mini Challenge (Under 4s) are entirely free. Children are given a sticker booklet for starting and stickers every time they read two books or whatever target they have set themselves. After reading their target of books (normally six), they are given a certificate and a medal. Any books qualify, from the library or not, and can be in print, digital, or audio form.
In addition, they have lots of free events, including favourites like animal handling and fun science but also face-painting and even Nick Sharratt (You Choose, Pants) will be visiting. Details of these events are on www.ticketsource.co.uk/cwaclibraries and will be bookable from 5 July. They also have special offers from partners such as Hayrack Church Farm (free child entry), Climbing Hut, and Deva Roman Experience just for joining, plus Brio have given 200 family swim passes for the first children that go in to join. One child per library who completes each Challenge will receive a bug hotel/book (SRC) or a plush Gruffalo toy (Mini).
Children can join the Challenge from “Start Up Saturday” 5 July at their local library or via https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/read and can, from that date, book events for the first half of the holidays then all the rest of the events can be booked from Saturday 26 July.
#WakeUpWednesday
AI can be an amazing tool for education and creativity – sadly, it’s also become a tool for online scammers. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide shines a light on the dark side of using AI, including phishing emails, fake voice calls, and influencer-based frauds targeting younger users. From deepfake videos to romance scams powered by chat bots, the tactics are getting more convincing – and the consequences more serious. If you’re looking to help children and young people navigate the online world with confidence and caution, this week’s guide offers key insights and practical advice to keep them safe.
Absence During Term Time – Reminder
As I have shared a number of times previously, there have been some changes to the way that Penalty Notices are issued for absences during term time. Penalty Notices are issued for irregular attendance, with days off here and there throughout the term including holidays.
The new National Framework for Penalty 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 (£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).
School Dinners
School dinners currently 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 Summer Term 2025 – new dates highlighted
Friday 11th July: Annual Reports due out
Monday 14th July: School Disco at 5.30pm – 7pm
Thursday 17th July: Leaver’s Play in the United Reformed Church. Admission by free ticket only for Year 6 adults.
Friday 18th July: Leaver’s Service in St. John’s church at 9.15am. All welcome.
Friday 18th July: School closes at 2pm
Have a lovely weekend
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon