Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 6th December 2024
Date: 6th Dec 2024 @ 2:45pm
Only one week to go until our Christmas Extravaganza! Thank you so much for all the donations that have been sent in and for offers of help with the various stalls and activities. It is not too late! Please send in any donations to the school office and if you are able to help on the day, please complete the form that was sent out on School Spider last week.
Weekly Attendance
Our end of term prize draw will take place on Friday 20th December for a chance for those children with 98% or more to win a £15 Argos voucher. There will also be certificates for those with 96% or above attendance for the whole of the Autumn term.
The draw will reset for the Spring Term, so don’t worry if you’ve not made it this term due to things such as illness, as there will be another chance at the end of next term.
This week, the class with the best attendance is Blakemere with a very healthy 97.6% - well done!
Hatchmere: 89.80%
Sandymere: 93.81%
Delamere: 96.67%
Oakmere: 90.42%
Linmere: 94%
Blakemere: 97.60%
Christmas Activities at Brio
We have received some information about a variety of activities that are taking place at Winsford Lifestyle Centre over the Christmas holidays. Please take a look at the leaflet attached below to see what is on offer.
#WakeUpWednesday
According to findings from the NHS, 1 in 5 children in England suffer from a probable mental health issue, with 420,000 treated for such problems every month. With such high numbers of young people in need of mental health support, it’s perhaps unsurprising that plenty of them have turned to using apps intended to help them through these kinds of challenges.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of risks associated with these services, from data collection to a potentially unhelpful, impersonal experience. It can be difficult to know how to keep young users safe as they navigate these services, but this week’s free guide provides expert advice on how to do exactly that, while also breaking down the specific safety concerns of mental health and wellbeing apps.
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 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
Dinner Week 3
Monday 9th December: Raffle tickets available from today on the playground at 3pm
Thursday 12th December: Whole School Pantomime Trip
Friday 13th December: PTA Christmas Extravaganza including Santa’s Grotto
Thursday 19th December: Carol Service in St. Johns Church at 1.30pm – collection from Church
Friday 20th December: Christmas Jumper Day and school closes at 2pm
Monday 6th January 2025: School opens at 8.35am
Wednesday 15th January: Applications close for Reception places for September 2025
Wednesday 22nd January: Governors visiting school for the afternoon
Wednesday 29th January: Blakemere to visit Winsford Library
Wednesday 5th February: Linmere to visit Winsford Library
Tuesday 11th February: Pupil Consultation Evening 4pm – 6pm
Wednesday 12th February: Oakmere visit to Winsford Library
Thursday 13th February: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.15pm
Friday 14th February: School closes for half term at 3pm
Monday 24th February: INSET day – school closed
Tuesday 25th February: school opens at 8.35am
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon