Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

As the term draws to a close and the festive season is upon us, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all our wonderful families a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. We hope you have a chance to relax, spend time with loved ones, and create some special memories. We look forward to welcoming the children back to school in the new year, refreshed and ready for new adventures in learning.

Warmest wishes from Team Wincham

School Admissions Consultation

Our school admissions are managed by Cheshire West & Chester Council, who are responsible for ensuring sufficiency of places for all children.  Due to lower numbers of children being born in the local area, the LA are consulting on reducing our Published Admission Number (PAN) from 45 to 30 for the Reception year group.  This will be effective from September 2026.  

The consultation documents are available here.

The proposals will not affect children who are currently at the school, nor will it impact the admission of younger siblings of children who are currently at the school.

Change to INSET days for 25-26

We have recently been working closely with The People's Learning Trust, a newly formed multi academy trust with extensive links to Everton Football Club.  In particular, we will soon begin a 10 year project to improve English teaching and learning, with support, training and guidance from the National Literacy Trust.  

Teachers and teaching assistants have been invited to attend their first joint INSET day, which will be held at a central venue on 1st September 2025.  Our Governors have made the decision to move the November INSET day from 3rd November 2025 to 2nd September 2025.  This will ensure we can still dedicate a day to essential school-based training at the start of the year such as safeguarding and classroom preparation.

This means that school will be closed to pupils on both 1st and 2nd September 2025.  School will reopen to all pupils after the October half term on 3/11/25.  We understand this may cause some inconvenience and we appreciate your understanding.  If there are individual concerns where this impacts a planned holiday, please see me to talk about it.

The full term dates can be found on the website here.  To add the dates to your personal calendar/ mobile device, click here.

Labelling your child's belongings

As the weather turns colder and the layers of clothing increase, we kindly request that all parents ensure their children's belongings are clearly labelled with their names. This includes coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. With so many similar items, it can be difficult to distinguish who owns what, and lost items can easily find their way to the lost property box. Your cooperation in labelling your child's belongings will help us reunite any misplaced items with their rightful owners quickly. 

Lost property is available in school if you need to come and help your child to check for their things at the end of the school day.

Respiratory illnesses in school

There are a range of coughs, colds and the like in school at the moment.  All classes have windows open to increase ventilation, and staff are constantly reminding chidlren about hand hygiene, the importance of hand washing, and using tissues when sneezing/ coughing.  Unless children have a high temperature, or are genuinely too unwell to attend, they should still be present in school.  

If your child is unwell and will not be attending school you must let us know the reason for the absence before 9.00 am by calling the absence line 01606 668380. You should call the absence line before 9am each day until your child returns to school to give an update.

When you leave your message please do not just say that your child is "poorly" or "not well".  You should provide the following information:

• What symptoms your child has

• When your child started to feel unwell

• If you will be making/have already made a doctor’s appointment

• Is your child able to attend school with calpol/painkillers/anti biotics etc?

• When do you expect them to return? Ensure this is realistic and in line with the NHS advice

• Do you need support with anything else?

If your child has sickness or diarrhoea they must be kept off school for at least 48 hours after the last attack of vomiting and / or diarrhoea. If parents adhere to this rule, hopefully these nasty bugs will not spread from one child to another easily.

For more information on specific illnesses please refer to the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

CWAC Autism Service Transition to High School Support

Please see the leaflet that outlines the Transition to High School online event being run by the Autism Service at the LA.

Christmas Holiday Activity Fund

The leaflet here outlines activities and support available over the festive season for families of children with SEND who are also eligible for Free School Meals.