Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 20th September 2024
Date: 20th Sep 2024 @ 3:36pm
Over St. John’s PTA
Don’t forget that the PTA are holding their AGM on Monday 30th September. Everybody is welcome to come along at 3pm to the school hall. This meeting will be an opportunity for you to find out a little bit about the PTA and their plans after a vote has been carried out to formalise the members of the committee. Don’t worry – just because you come along doesn’t mean that you will have to be part of the committee and the team, you can be as involved as much or as little as you like, but the more the merrier!
Their first event is an ‘Express Yourself’ Day next Friday 27th September – please see the poster attached below for more information.
You can keep up to date with all things OSJ PTA by finding their Facebook social media page – just search for ‘Friends of Over St. John’s PTA’ and you’ll see their logo which is like the one on the poster below.
Weekly Attendance
Congratulations to Blakemere who have had the best attendance this week. The magic number that we are looking for is at least 96% attendance or above and Blakemere have achieved that this week
Hatchmere: 94.00%
Sandymere: 94.29%
Delamere: 93.33%
Oakmere: 94.63%
Linmere: 90.80%
Blakemere: 96.80%
Overall, the attendance this week has been lower than we would like. There are a number of holidays being taking and odd days off. Please remember that the rules around holidays/ odd days off have changed this year and the fine has increased – please see my ‘Absence During Term Time – Reminder’ below.
#WakeUpWednesday
Final Fantasy XIV is an online game which allows thousands of players to occupy a far-reaching world simultaneously - embarking on quests and fighting monsters alongside one another - which has risen to a high level of popularity in more recent years. According to a study from the UK Safer Internet Centre, 73% of young people have experienced unpleasant or inappropriate behaviour while enjoying an online game. As an always-online game, several safety concerns can arise when playing this PEGI 16-rated multiplayer title – especially for young people.
As a trusted adult, it can be intimidating to figure out where the risks lie when dealing with such a huge and expansive game - but being aware of these concerns and how to mitigate them is absolutely vital when making online safety decisions if there are younger gamers in your care - especially under-16s, for whom the game is unsuitable according to its PEGI 16 rating. Fortunately, this week’s free guide offers expert advice on the risks present in Final Fantasy XIV, and suggests steps you can take to ensure young people are as safe as possible online.
Absence During Term Time – Reminder
As shared towards the end of last term, 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).
Applying for Secondary School Places for September 2025
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 2024, 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 3rd March 2025. 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 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.
Currently, I am aware of the following secondary school Open Evenings.
Tuesday 24th September 5pm – 7pm Rudheath Senior Academy
Thursday 3rd October 4.30pm – 6.30pm The Winsford Academy
If I receive information from other secondary schools, I will share this with you.
Applying for Primary School Places for September 2025
If you have a child who is turning 4 years old between now and 31st August 2025, 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 2025, 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 2025. 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 per day, £15 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 2024 – new dates highlighted
Friday 27th September: PTA Express Yourself Day – Non Uniform for £1
Monday 30th September: PTA Annual General Meeting at 3pm in the school hall – all welcome
Thursday 3rd October: Whole School Nasal Flu Vaccines
Friday 11th October: Individual Photographs
Monday 21st October – Wednesday 23rd October: Chester Zoo workshops in school for Oakmere, Linmere and Blakemere
Tuesday 22nd October: Pupil Consultation Evening 4pm – 6pm
Thursday 24th October: Trip to Chester Zoo for Oakmere, Linmere and Blakemere
Thursday 24th October: School closes for half term at 3pm
Thursday 24th October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3:15pm – 5:15pm
Friday 25th October: INSET Day – School closed
Monday 4th November: School opens at 8:35am
Thursday 7th November: PTA Glow Walk – more details to follow
Friday 15th November: Children in Need Non Uniform Day
Thursday 12th December: Whole School Pantomime Trip
Friday 13th December: PTA Christmas Extravaganza
Thursday 19th December: Carol Service in St. John's church at 1.30pm . All welcome. Collection from church.
Friday 20th December: School closes at 2pm
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon