Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 9th January 2026
Date: 9th Jan 2026 @ 11:09am
Happy New Year to you all and I hope that you had a lovely Christmas with loved ones and managed to get some well-earned rest. Thank you so much for all the lovely cards and gifts that were given to staff at the end of the year – they are very much appreciated.
We have had a very wintry start to the Spring term, but fortunately it caused minimal disruption as we did not have to close. I would like to thank you for bringing your children into school – where there’s a will, there’s a way - and a special thank you to all the staff who travel in and the site staff for ensuring that our site was safe for the children. I would also like to thank the children for being so very patient on Tuesday as we weren’t able to go outside. I must say that the children’s behaviour has been fantastic as I know how frustrating it can be when you are stuck inside – although on the other hand, some were very glad to be in the warm as I know I was!
We welcomed two members of staff to our Teaching Assistant team this week – welcome to Mr Dufty who is based in Linmere, and welcome to Mrs Steele (the children are getting used to the shift from calling her Tina at lunchtime!) who is working in Sandymere. We are very pleased to welcome them to Over St. John’s and they will both be fabulous additions to our strong team.
Morning Routine
As we start the new year, please may I take this opportunity to remind you again about the morning routine at Over St. John’s. 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. To avoid a late mark, please ensure that your child is in school a couple of 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.
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 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.
Illness
It is that time of year when so many people are catching lots of different bugs that are going around. With some of these, it is important that your child stays at home to avoid passing the illness around but there are others that they are perfectly fine to come to school with. I am re-sharing a link that gives you an idea of some common illnesses and whether you should keep your child at home or send them in to school: Is My Child too Ill for School?
#WakeUpWednesday
Amigo is a social platform which purports to connect strangers from around the world and with built-in translation software, it reduces the expected language barriers. Focusing heavily on one-to-one chat, video calls and live streams, Amigo encourages its users to build up online relationships to unlock exclusive features such as private video and audio calls: essentially, the more that people chat, the more features become available to them. This is an app designed with mature users very much in mind and is therefore definitely not recommended for children.
In this week’s guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as inappropriate contact, strangers and membership costs.
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).
Applying for Primary School Places for September 2026
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 application process closes next week on 15th January 2026. 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.
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.
Operation Encompass – Reminder
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
Confirmed Dates for the Spring Term 2026 – new dates highlighted
Dinner Week 2
Tuesday 13th January: PTA Meeting at The Gate at 7pm – all welcome
Thursday 15th January: Special ‘Out of this World’ lunch
Monday 9th February: PTA ‘Rose for Someone you Love’ on sale this week
Tuesday 10th February: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.30pm
Thursday 12th February: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.15pm – 5.30pm
Friday 13th February: School closes for half term at 3pm
Monday 23rd February: School opens at 8.35am
Monday 23rd February: Canal and River Trust Water Safety Assembly
Wednesday 1st April: Easter Service in St. John’s Church at 9:15am. All welcome
Wednesday 1st April: School closes at 2pm
Monday 20th April: School opens at 8.35am
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon