Risk assessment for Managing Respiratory Infections Including Covid -19, can be found on the school website - please click the link below:

Information for parents and carers on COVID-19 vaccination for at risk

 5 to 11 year olds

Children aged 5 to 11 years who are in a clinical risk group or who live with someone who is immunosuppressed can get the COVID-19 vaccine, in line with advice set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).  Eligible children include those with diabetes, immunosuppression, learning disabilities, and other conditions as outlined by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in the Green Book.

Vaccinations help to increase protection against COVID-19, which is particularly important for those with underlying health conditions.

Further information is available in the guide for parents of children aged 5 to 11 years published by UKHSA.  We have published some frequently asked questions on the vaccination programme including information on eligibility, accessibility and advice for parents of children at high risk from COVID-19.  Following advice from the JCVI, healthy 5 to 11 year old children will also be offered two 10 microgram doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.  The NHS will prepare to extend this non-urgent offer to all children during April.

  DfE 8 March 2022

Reporting COVID results.

Please email the report from NHS to responses.sjw@schools.sefton.gov.uk  Day 0 is the day of the results or onset of symptoms.  LFD tests to be done on day 5 and 6.  If negative on both days, your child can return on day 6.  If the test is positive, continue to isolate and test daily until you get 2 consecutive negative tests. However; isolation can end at 23.59 hours on day 10 providing you don't have a temperature.

17 September 

IMPORTANT 

Please read the letter from the LA regarding the implementation of further steps from Friday 18 September in response to the significant increase of COVID cases in Sefton.

All adults to wear face coverings for drop off/pick ups and whenever they are on the school premises

We had already requested that face coverings should be worn by adults dropping off and collecting

children. THANK YOU for your support.  Please could we ask that this also includes whilst waiting along Denmark Street and that adults drop off and collect at the allocated times.  

17 May 

A letter form the LA is posted below:

12 March

Sefton LA have produced a frequently asked questions document for parents: 

9 December

The following letter outlines the contact tracing procedures for the Christmas period. 

26 October 2020

Families who currently receive free school meals can complete the form by following the link below. Sefton Council will send you an e voucher for meal support over October half-term 

5 October 

Please find below the latest letter from the  Sefton LA regarding learning at home in the event of self-isolation.

1 July

Department for Education information for parents and carers - updated 30 June.

29 June 

Please find attached a letter from Sefton LA confirming that schools may go ahead with the wider reopening on 22 June. This means that the  children in Reception and Year 1 whose parents requested a place will now be able to attend school on Monday 22 June. 

A separate letter will be sent with regards to additional information for those children in Reception and Year 1 who will come to school on  22 June. 

9 June

Please find below a letter from Sefton LA to parents and carers regarding the delayed reopening of primary schools to wider numbers of year groups.  Please also refer to a letter from the headteacher outlining the consequential position of our school. 

20 May     

 IMPORTANT SEFTON LA UPDATE 

Please find below a letter from Sefton LA to  parents and carers. It sets out the council position  on the wider opening of school for increased numbers of children and recommendations that schools aim to do this from 15th June. 

15 May

11 May

Parents will be aware of the Prime Minister's announcement on Sunday evening about schools and childcare settings being asked to prepare to open for more children on 1 June. 

At this stage, like you, all schools have only just heard the announcement, and so cannot answer many of the questions which must be concerning parents following the government update last night.  We are waiting to receive more information from the government about what this means for our school.

However, in the short-term, nothing has changed but  we will provide further information in the coming days and weeks once we are able to do so.

8 MAY 

Please find below the latest Purple Page. It can also be found in the usual place NOTICEBOARD section of the website. A copy will also be sent to parents. 

4 May

Please find the latest government information by clicking on the link below.

 Added information about:

• the May bank holiday
• a link to the admissions appeals
• updates to the support is available to parents to help them educate their children at home

1 May 

Please find the latest updates on the Purple Page below. The Purple Page will now be published each Friday during the school closure. Copies will be sent via email to parents -please update us if your email address has changed. It will also be posted, as usual, on the noticeboard section of the website. 

30 April 

17 April

Resources to promote  and support good mental health 

We know that social connections, exercise, sleep, a healthy diet and routine are really important factors for supporting good mental health. Some of these healthy habits and routines may be difficult to sustain during this time and may affect children's wellbeing. 

All NHS mental health trusts are setting up 24/7 helplines to continue to deliver support during the coronavirus outbreak.

Below are some very useful resources to promote and support good mental health.

16 April 

HOME LEARNING 

It's hard to believe we are now coming to the end of a fourth week of school closure. We miss all our children and families and look forward to a time when we can fully open our happy, vibrant school and see everyone again.

It is worth reminding ourselves that everyone is doing their very best in extraordinary circumstances, everyone... and that means you too! It is sometimes easy to feel that we are not coping as well as others, perhaps when following social media posts or comparing ourselves to friends and neighbours. Everyone will be facing challenges during these difficult times.

We have now updated each class page with home learning activities for the next two weeks (weeks 5 and 6). Click on the tab on the home page:  CHILDREN > Classes.

For families without internet access, learning packs can be collected from school from Monday. Please contact the school to arrange an allocated time for collection to enable us to adhere to social distancing.

If you require a printed version to be collected from school, please email admin.stjohnswaterloo@schools.sefton.gov.uk or telephone 0151 928 5685. 

If you are self-isolating it won't be possible to collect the packs, please contact the School for advice. 

We hope you find the home learning activities helpful. Remember you are not expected to teach your children as they would be taught in school. It may be worth having a look at the link below, Home Learning Support Tips, which has been reposted today for ease of reference. Whatever you manage to do, and this may change from day to day, is great! 

NHS special COVID 19 message to parents/carers:

'When your child is ill or injured it is very difficult to decide if/when to call your child's GP, NHS 111, or go to the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E).While the government is asking everyone to stay at home, it can be confusing to know what to do.'

Please click on the link below for NHS guidance.

9 April 

Universal Credit- How to make a claim course

Sefton Council are hosting an online ‘Universal Credit- How to make a claim’ course. This is not a webinar but a question and answer platform similar to Facebook.

The session will be on Wednesday 15 April between 10am and 12pm.

For anyone who is struggling to make a claim and has recently become unemployed, contact  communitylearningservice@sefton.gov.uk  for help to access the support needed.

7 April 

BENEFITS-RELATED FREE SCHOOL MEALS 

St John's CE Primary school  is able to continue to offer weekly food parcels for families of children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals (not children who are normally in receipt of infant universal free school meals in Reception, Years 1 and 2, in line with DFE guidance). This is also continuing over the Easter holidays. 

All parents of children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals have been contacted and parcels have been delivered to families who have asked for this support. Please contact the school, if you think you're entitled to this support and are not currently receiving it. 

The School is currently pursuing the option of issuing vouchers using the National Voucher Scheme after the Easter holidays. Understandably, there is some pressure on the system at present however we are fortunate to be able to continue to offer food parcels. We will keep parents updated. 

Parents can still apply for benefits-related free school meals. If you think you could be entitled or if your circumstances have changed, contact Sefton council on the following numbers: 

0151 934 3263 or 0151 934 3246

HOME LEARNING 

Home learning support for the Easter holidays has now been updated. Please refer to each child's class page. 

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE

There is a great deal of helpful advice and support for parents and carers to ensure that children are kept safe online. 

The school website has been updated to provide parents and carers with most current advice and support.

Please go to the tab on the KEEPING US SAFE top on the home page and click on the ESAFETY  tab for access to the following links: 

• Thinkyouknow (advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online)
• Internet matters (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
• Parent info (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
• LGfL (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
• Net-aware (support for parents and carers from the NSPCC)

Tuesday 7 April 

An information book about the coronavirus for children has been released today. It is a illustrated by the Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler.

It is available to download as an electronic copy.

There are two links below. The first is to an online PDF version of the book. The second is to the nosycow.com blog post - scroll to the bottom of the page for the book.

 It is also available on Amazon. 

6 April 

Please be aware that Ormskirk Children's A & E department is to close temporarily overnight from Monday 6 April.

The department will close at 10pm until 8am each day until further notice. Ambulance patients will be taken directly to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. Please check the link below for further information. 

The hospital's usual children's A&E service will operate at all other times.

23 March 

School is open on an EMERGENCY BASIS ONLY  for children of essential workers and identified vulnerable children.

Like many schools, we are operating a triage system:

• On Friday we had to prioritise families with two essential key workers and single parents who are key workers. 

• Today we  have contacted most families  where one parent is a key worker. We will then prioritise places where  a parent  is employed in an essential job AND their specific job is critical to the country's COVID-19 response AND there is no alternative childcare option available. 

        Please complete the form attached below  and return to  admin.stjohnswaterloo@schools.sefton.gov.uk .

        Please note the form needs to be completed in full. 

• PLEASE NOTE: if there is a second parent, or a suitable non-vulnerable person in the household, and they are not an essential worker they should look after their children at home, unless families make alternative arrangements.

Please act on this guidance to ensure we are not overwhelmed in order to keep everyone safe. We are working with a skeleton staff 

Please also read the attached letter released today from Sefton LA.  

19 March (3 pm) 

At the time of writing, schools are still awaiting the government guidance on the key worker and vulnerable children criteria. However, we need to try to gauge the numbers of people within the school community who may be working within the categories as quickly as possible.

We would be grateful for the following information: 

·        The name(s) and class(es) of your child(ren) who attend St. John's CE Primary School

·        The job and title of each employer for each adult within the household

Parents should email  admin.stjohnswaterloo@schools.sefton.gov.uk  or return the reply slip of the letter sent home today ( letter also attached below). We would greatly appreciate the information as soon as possible, but by 9 am tomorrow, Friday 20 March, at the latest.  

18 March

The Secretary of State Education, Gavin Williamson, has announced this evening that 'schools, colleges and early years settings will close to everyone except children of key workers and vulnerable children.'

The last day of school will, therefore, be Friday 20 March. 

School will now plan to organise for the care of the children of parents of key workers or other identified needs.  We are expecting government guidance about the designated criteria tomorrow. We will then share this information with parents and carers -  a letter will be sent out to ascertain the number of people within the school community who are working within these categories and we would ask for the information to be returned by 9 am on Friday morning. 

As part of these arrangements, we will make provision for children who remain at home to receive work to support their education during normal term time.  Information will be shared with parents before the end of the school day on Friday.

We know it is a worrying and uncertain time for everyone. It is an exceptional set of circumstances for our school, community, and society. We wish to thank you for your continuing support, understanding, and consideration during these very challenging times. 

16 March

Please refer to the letter, sent out to all parent/carers outlining the school's response to the current situation 

• staff, young people and children should stay at home if they are unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature to avoid spreading infection to others. Otherwise they should attend education or work as normal
• if staff, young people or children become unwell on site with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature they should be sent home
• clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces more often than usual using your standard cleaning products
• supervise young children to ensure they wash their hands for 20 seconds more often than usual with soap and water or hand sanitiser and catch coughs and sneezes in tissues
• unless you have been directly advised to close by the local Public Health England Health Protection Team, we recommend all education settings remain open

Link to Department for Education - https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

Please be aware that the school's procedures and planned actions are subject to change, in light of the emerging situation.  The school will communicate the latest information via this page.