Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 14th November 2025
Date: 14th Nov 2025 @ 4:09pm
On Tuesday, our school community came together in a spirit of reflection and respect to mark Remembrance Day. It was a meaningful opportunity for our children to learn about the importance of peace, gratitude, and remembering those who have served and sacrificed.
During our collective worship, we shared the poignant story Peace Lily by Hilary Robinson. The children listened with great attentiveness, and the story sparked thoughtful conversations about courage, kindness, and hope during times of conflict.
At 11 o’clock, the whole school observed a one-minute silence. It was a powerful moment of stillness, as we joined together to honour those who have given so much in service to others.
Throughout the day, each class engaged in a variety of activities to deepen their understanding of Remembrance. From creating poppy-themed artwork and poetry, to exploring historical events and discussing the values of peace and unity, the children showed great empathy and curiosity.
We are proud of how our pupils approached this day with such maturity and respect. Thank you to all families for supporting these important conversations at home. Together, we help our children grow into thoughtful, compassionate citizens of the world.
The Royal British Legion have been to collect the money that we raised towards this year’s poppy appeal and I would like to say a huge thank you for the wonderful £205.10 that was raised. Well done and thank you again.
School Council – Healthy Eating Snacks
As you may be aware, the School Council have been carrying out a survey of the snacks that the children are bringing into school and they have met recently to discuss their findings with Mrs Williamson, who leads our School Council. The School Council have asked me to share the following information with you all:
‘The School Council have seen how much unhealthy snacks are in the school and we would like to see more healthy snacks such as bananas, apples, strawberries and more. Thank you.’
Current Attendance
There has been quite a lot of illness this week with a sick bug and chicken pox circling!
Hatchmere 91.05
Sandymere 97.73
Delamere 93.33
Oakmere 89.62
Linmere 86.82
Blakemere 92.69
Whole school this week 91.84
Whole school this year 94.46
Huge congratulations to Sandymere with the best attendance this week – keep it up!
Heating Bank
We have received the following information from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau which you may find useful:
Many families are struggling with rising energy bills, and some risk fuel poverty. Citizens Advice Cheshire West, funded by CWaC’s Household Support Fund, runs a Heating Bank to provide emergency help with heating costs.
The Heating Bank is designed for families and individuals who may be struggling to keep their homes warm this winter. By offering temporary relief with heating costs, the service aims to reduce the health risks, stress, and hardship caused by cold homes.
Last year, we supported around 1,000 households with an average of £233 each towards energy bills. The service is free, confidential, and offers quick assistance to households on benefits who are struggling to stay warm.
How to access the Heating Bank:
Families can apply directly https://www.citizensadvicecw.org.uk/heatingbank/
Support is available to households who are in receipt of benefits and struggling to meet their energy costs.
The service is free, confidential, and designed to provide quick assistance.
By working together, we hope to make sure no family has to choose between heating and other essentials.
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, November 21.
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 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.
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
School Dinners: Week 3
Tuesday 25th November: Disco at 5.30pm – 7pm
Thursday 4th December: Christmas Movie Night at 5pm – 7pm
Friday 12th December: Christmas Fair 3.15pm – 4.30pm
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 closed - INSET
Tuesday 6th 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