Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 5th September 2025
Date: 5th Sep 2025 @ 12:54pm
Welcome back to our new school year! It has been a real pleasure to see all the children back in school again, looking so smart, hearing their stories from the summer and we are really looking forward to the journey ahead as we go through the school year. I hope that you all had a lovely break over the summer, which was officially the hottest summer on record. Personally, I would like to thank everyone for all your kind thoughts, cards and gifts at the end of the last academic year as it is always very much appreciated – thank you.
A special welcome to all our new children this year as we welcome Tristan, Jack, Rory, Phillipa, Sienna, Violet, Lucan, Theo, Reinhard, Alfie-John, Maeve, Raine, Heidi, Harriet, Kiara, Rex, Ophelia, Reggie, and Ava in to Reception. They have been busy getting stuck in to all that school life has to offer and have settled really well, as if they have always been here! We are sure that they will all be very happy.
Communication via School and Home
For those of you who are unfamiliar with my blog, this is something to keep your eye on every Friday (or the majority of Fridays, depending on my calendar!) This is my main form of communication with you all and I provide updates as to what has been going on in school, information about forthcoming events as well as other information that I think you may find useful.
In terms of class communication, please keep your eye on our website as teachers update the class pages with information and blogs, generally on a weekly basis. We may also send texts or e mails home as quick updates and reminders of information that has generally already been shared with you via e mail or the school website. If you think that you have not had the information in the text previously, please do check the website and School Spider messages that have been sent home.
If you need to pass a message on to a teacher, I am always available at the start of the day so you can do so via myself, an e mail (admin@overstjohns.cheshire.sch.uk) or a phone call (01606 592608) and the class teacher will get back to you if needed.
Morning Routine
The school gate opens each morning at the beginning of the day at 8.35am. The children are able to go straight to class and get on with the activities that are there for them. Our register is taken at 8:45am promptly and as such, if your child is not here at 8:45am, they will be marked late on the register. Please ensure that your child is in school a few minutes before 8:45am so that they are on time for the register as I close the gate a couple of minutes before this time. If you arrive before 8.35am, please remind your children that they should stay by your side as Delamere Street is a very busy road and traffic also turns into our car park – they should not be playing and running around outside whilst waiting as it is a car park and not a playground.
The whole school goes in to Collective Worship each morning at 8:50am and if children are late, it can be unsettling for them to have to walk in to Collective Worship late in front of the whole school as well as distracting for the children that are already there. Your support with this would be greatly appreciated.
Attendance
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.
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?
PTA Petting Zoo
Our wonderful PTA have secured an exciting Petting Zoo experience for our children next Friday! We have Primary Workshops for Schools in all day giving children the wonderful opportunity to see a range of animals and creatures up close – it should be an exciting day!
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).
Uniform
The children have all looked so smart as they returned to school on Tuesday, thank you for your support with this. A gentle reminder that our school uniform consists of grey trousers or grey skirt, a light blue polo top (does not need the logo) and a sweatshirt/ cardigan with the school logo. The sweatshirt/ cardigan is the only branded item that is required in order to keep costs as low as possible for families. Socks should be grey or white and tights should be grey or black. Children can also wear grey shorts or blue and white checked dress/ playsuit in the warmer weather. Children should wear black school shoes, not trainers. I do understand that circumstances sometimes mean that trainers may need to be worn and I do not mind this if adults have had a conversation with me.
Operation Encompass
As a school, we participate in a police-led initiative called Operation Encompass, a scheme which ensures that we can better support any child where a domestic incident has been reported to the police from their home.
Following a domestic incident, the police will make contact with the school and communicate relevant information to nominated, fully trained school staff. This will ensure that we are made aware early enough to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe, supported and listened to.
Each school has a member of staff called a key adult who is trained to liaise with the police, when required, whilst ensuring support is available to the child. If you would like to speak to someone further about the initiative, or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Mrs Bettley as the key adults for Over St. John’s.
We are committed to working in partnership with local relevant organisations to safeguard and protect children across Cheshire and provide the best possible care and support for our pupils.
You can find out more about Operation Encompass via the following site: http://www.operationencompass.org/
Applying for Secondary School Places for September 2026
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 2025, 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 2nd March 2026. 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 chrome- 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:
Wednesday 10th September 5pm to 8pm Hartford CE High School
Tuesday 16th September 4pm to 7.30pm Weaverham High School
Thursday 18th September contact the school Middlewich High School
Thursday 18th September 5pm – 7.30pm The County High School, Leftwich
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 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.
#WakeUpWednesday
National Online Safety believe that all parents, carers, teachers and trusted adults should be empowered with all the information needed to have informed and age-appropriate conversations about online safety and mental health, with children and so every Wednesday, they produce practical, easy to follow guides which focus on specific risks that they think adults and children need to be aware of. I will share this information with you on a Friday.
With over 60% of children and young people regularly feeling overwhelmed, it's never been more important to support them in managing stress as they head back to school. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide highlights 10 top tips – from spotting early signs to encouraging healthy sleep patterns – that can make a meaningful difference.
Designed for parents and educators alike, the guide outlines how small, everyday actions can help young people feel more in control. It’s a valuable resource to keep stress in check and nurture emotional resilience.
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
Friday 12th September: Petting Zoo in school all day for all pupils
Friday 3rd October: Individual photographs
Tuesday 21st October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.15pm
Thursday 23rd October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.30pm
Thursday 23rd October: School finishes at 3pm for half term
Friday 24th October: INSET Day – school closed
Monday 3rd November: School opens at 8.35am
Monday 3rd November: PTA Meeting at The Gate at 7pm – all welcome
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
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon