Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 28th February 2025
Date: 28th Feb 2025 @ 2:38pm
We have had a lovely first week back and it is so nice to have a positive change to the weather today!
We had some great excitement in Collective Worship this morning as we welcomed a new group into school through Churches Together called Open the Book. They will be coming into school on a fortnightly basis to bring stories from the Bible to life through narration and acting. They were all dressed up this morning as they shared the story of Jesus being lost in the temple when he was just a boy and the lesson that we can learn from this about being safe and learning so much through God. We are looking forward to their next visit in a couple of weeks.
Wildlife Area
Thank you to Mr Teece and his friend who have created and installed a fabulous sign for our wildlife area up on the field – see the photo below – and we look forward to seeing what wildlife we can attract and what minibeast hunts we can go on as we develop this area further.
Attendance
As always, we are looking for attendance to be at least 96%. For the school this week we are at 96.62% and 94.63% since September. Here is a rundown of each class attendance this week:
Hatchmere: 97.62%
Sandymere: 93.45%
Delamere: 96.71%
Oakmere: 95.31%
Linmere: 98.08%
Blakemere: 98.08%
Well done to Blakemere and Linmere for the best attendance this week. We are going to introduce a class trophy from next week for the class with the best attendance – there may even be a reward for the class/es that achieve it!
Once again, I would like to acknowledge that we have had some good attendance figures over the past few weeks, with several over and above 96% – thank you.
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.
#WakeUpWednesday
According to Ofcom’s most recent Media Use and Attitudes Report, roughly 55% of 3-17-year-olds in the UK are using WhatsApp as their primary messaging service. Not only does that make WhatsApp the most popular messaging platform among children and young people in the UK; it also means that of the app’s approximately three billion users, over seven million of them are British youngsters – keeping in touch with friends and family, but also being exposed to its various risks.
As parents and educators, it’s our responsibility to stay up-to-date on the safety concerns around this highly popular app, and know how to protect children and young people who are on the platform. That’s why National Online Safety have put together this expert-led free guide, breaking down WhatsApp’s most prominent risks and advising you on how best to safeguard the app’s younger users.
Information about Brownies
I have received some information about the Brownie Pack at the United Reformed Church in Winsford who are hoping to encourage some new girls to come along to visit and hopefully join their Brownie Pack.
Brownies is an exciting, challenging and fun-filled adventure for girls aged between 7 and 10 and they are reaching out to more girls in Winsford to give them the opportunity to join. Please see the poster below for more information and if you have any questions or concerns, please call either Kristina Dunning (07816 416078), or Josie Clewes (07875 266048) who are both licenced Girlguiding leaders and have full enhanced DBS certificates.
Junior Bake Off
I have received some information that may be of interest to any keen bakers out there with regards to the search for new participants in the next series of Junior Bake Off.
“My name is Ollie, I’m an Assistant Producer at Love Productions; the production company behind The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throw Down. We are delighted to say, that we have recently opened applications for the 11th series of Junior Bake Off; a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain.
With this in mind, we are contacting schools in the hope that you can help us spread this message to any of your students aged 9-15 years old who are budding young bakers.
Filming would take place from July 2025, but our applications close on Sunday 23rd March 2025.
Interested bakers can apply online at - www.applyforjuniorbakeoff.co.uk
Please see the flyer attached below.
Child Care Course
A Level 1 Child Development course is beginning at Winsford Work Zone in the near future. For anyone who may be interested, the four-day course covers:
- Understanding play and the links between play, learning and development
- Understanding children’s social and emotional development and how to help children feel positive
It runs on Mondays and Tuesdays on 24-25 March, 31 March-1 April 2025 from 9.30am – 2.30pm at Winsford Work Zone, Wyvern House,
To book your place please contact 07766 205389 or tony.gray@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
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 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 Spring Term 2025 – new dates highlighted
Dinner Week 2
Saturday 1st March: St. David’s Day Ceilidh and Meal at St. John’s church 7pm
Wednesday 5th March: Sandymere visit to Winsford Library
Wednesday 5th March: World Book Day at OSJ
Wednesday 12th March: Hatchmere visit to Winsford Library
Monday 31st March – Wednesday 2nd April: Year 2 and 3 Residential to Robinwood
Friday 4th April: Easter Service in St. John’s Church at 9.15am. All welcome.
Friday 4th April: School closes for Easter at 2pm
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon