Head Teacher Blog: Friday 26th May 2023

Date: 26th May 2023 @ 2:00pm

We've made it to the end of another half term. I can't believe how quickly the time seems to be passing by. I hope that you all manage to get some rest over the holiday and that there is a bit of half term sun to enjoy!

September Staffing Arrangements

I am now in a position to be able to share with you our staffing arrangements for September and there are some exciting changes afoot!

First of all, I am sad to say that Mrs Winder will be moving on to pastures new as she has secured herself a new position much closer to home in Wales. Mrs Winder has been a much valued member of our OSJ team since 2009 and she will be greatly missed but we know that her new students will be lucky to have her.

Mrs Riley will be taking on the role of our French teacher from September and whilst she may not be quite as ‘French’ as Mrs Winder, she is highly capable having studied French at university! Mrs Riley will also be working in school as a teaching assistant supporting pupils in Key Stage 2.

Some exciting news is that we have gained a new teacher for September and one whom you will all be very familiar with – Mrs Teece. Having qualified as a teacher last summer, we are excited to welcome Mrs Teece in a new role as our reception teacher from September. Mrs Teece is already familiar with everything about our school so will seamlessly slot into our teaching team and we are very pleased to have her.

Class teacher and teaching assistant support are as follow:

Class	Teacher	Teaching Assistant
Hatchmere	Mrs Teece	Mrs Monson
Sandymere	Mrs Bettley	Mrs Starsiak
Delamere	Mrs Williamson and Mrs Worstencroft	Mrs Starsiak
Oakmere	Mrs Kelly	Mrs Highton
Linmere	Mr Pasquill	Mrs Riley
Blakemere	Mrs McLaughlin	Mrs Conlon

Exactly which class your child will be in will be included with the end of year reports which are currently due to be emailed home on Friday 14^th July.

Miss Pile will continue covering teachers statutory Planning, Preparation and Assessment time one day a week and teaching in Sandymere one day a week to cover Mrs Bettley’s PPA time and Management time.

Behaviour System

As you may remember, a few weeks ago we introduced our new, simple set of three rules to our children: ready, respectful and safe.

Today we have introduced our new Behaviour Steps in Collective Worship that will replace our warning, yellow and red cards after the holiday. All that we are doing is based on the highly regarded work of Paul Dix, a leading figure in behaviour in education and his book When the Adults Change, Everything Changes. We have spent a lot of time reviewing our practices in school and training the staff in our new behaviour system to complement this approach. The focus is on giving lots of attention to the behaviour that we do want and very little to the behaviour that we don’t want by making our responses to negative behaviour consistent and short, whilst giving the opportunity for a second chance.

There will be five new behaviour steps for when children are finding it difficult to follow our rules.

1. Remind – children will be reminded of the need to follow our rules.
2. Caution – children will be given a private, verbal caution to change their behaviour or there will be consequences. The adult will say something like ‘I trust you to make the right choice now.’
3. Last Chance – children will be spoken to privately and given a last chance to make the right choice. We will remind children of the times that we have seen them behave really well and request that they make a positive choice. They will be asked to stay behind for 2 minutes at the end of the session. This step will be delivered in a scripted way that will be the same no matter which adult delivers it.
4. Time Now – children will be asked to spend a short time outside the classroom or at the side of the playground or the dining hall (depending on where they are) to take some time to calm down, compose themselves and look at the situation differently. The adult will say ‘I’m going to give you some time now to…’
5. Repair – this will be a quick chat at break time or a more formal meeting depending on the child or the situation. Repair work will be carried out after a Last Chance and also after some Time Now.

Alongside this, there are lots of things going on in school to celebrate the positive such as raffle tickets, Recognition Boards, stickers, Excellent Examples…

If this is something that you are interested in finding out more about, Paul Dix is bringing out a new book in September called When the Parents Changes, Everything Changes which could work well at home alongside what we are doing in school.

Wake Up Wednesday

Not only is an ‘influencer’ an increasingly powerful role in the digital age, but it’s also become a desirable career goal for many young people – an enjoyable way to gain international fame and a gateway to financial success. A survey of Instagram influencers, for instance, found that those with over a million followers make an average of £12,000 (around $15,000) per month.

Much of this wealth, of course, is unlocked by entering into partnerships with various brands – which then raises all manner of questions about some influencers’ authenticity. Is their praise for certain products genuine, or simply because they’ve been paid for their endorsement? This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide peels back the filters for a closer look at influencers.

School Dinners

When we return after the holiday, school dinners will cost £2.70 per day, £13.50 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 as we do not accept cash in school.

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.

Absence during Term Time

Please may I remind you that schools are not allowed to authorise pupil holidays in term time. Any child going on holiday in term time will receive an unauthorised absence. Our registers are regularly checked by the Education Welfare Service and parents may be issued with a fine from the Local Authority for unauthorised absence, which is currently £60 per child, per parent and this rises to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.

Confirmed Dates for the Spring Term 2023 – new dates highlighted

Friday 26^th May: School closes at 3pm

Monday 5^th June: school opens at the usual time

Monday 5^th – Friday 23^rd June: Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check

Wednesday 7^th – Friday 9^th June: Year 5 and 6 residential to The Conway Centre

Monday 12^th June: Year 1 Phonics Screening Check week

Thursday 22^nd – Friday 23^rd June: Year 3 and 4 residential to The Tattenhall Centre

Saturday 24^th June: Delamere Street Festival – Hatchmere to take part (details to follow)

Wednesday 5^th July: Year 5 Come and Play with the Halle at The Bridgewater Hall

Thursday 20^th July: School closes for summer at 2pm

 

Have a lovely half term holiday.

 

Take care,

Mrs E Snowdon

Files to Download