It has been lovely to see everyone back in school this week. On Wednesday morning I joined our Singing Club at St. George’s Church, where they joined a few of our local schools in a singing event. Each school sang 2 songs. All the children sang beautifully, and performed for us again in assembly on Wednesday afternoon. Thank you to Miss Quinn for organising the event and for her time preparing our children for the event.

The children may have told you about the Music Alive performance yesterday. A group of staff from Wigan Music Service joined us. We learned about a number of woodwind instruments and how to play them, and we were all entertained with a great selection of music. The children from current Y2 upwards can choose to learn to play a musical instrument next year. For those children interested we have some forms in school where you can find out about hiring an instrument if necessary and the cost of the tuition. These will come home next week with those children interested.

As we look to next week, the phonics screening tests will be carried out in Y1 and in Y2 as required. Y4 will also be carrying out their multiplication tables check. On Monday we have someone from the Canal and River Trust coming into school to deliver some very important water safety messages. On Tuesday family worship is with Y5 & 6 at the usual start time of 9.10am. On Wednesday our Y5 pupils have their art work on display at Leigh Spinners Mill. On Thursday the children are invited to join us in wearing a football kit/ sports wear for the start of the World Cup.

Next week is a week that determines the funding we receive for Bee Ready Club. If your child has not tried our free breakfast club, then they are very welcome. The junior gates are open from 8.25 – 8.35am, and the children can choose from toast, yoghurt, cereal with a drink. No need to book in – just turn up.

Have a lovely weekend.

A huge congratulations to our Year 6 pupils. They have coped so well with the demands of this week’s assessments. We are so proud of the way they have come into school each day and really focused themselves on the tests. They can now enjoy their last few weeks together.

This week is Christian Aid week. We mentioned it in worship on Wednesday looking at the work of the charity supporting people to live the life they want free from poverty and injustice. We had a small number of envelopes to give out to our younger pupils. Otherwise, if you would like to contribute to the collection, please send money into school in an envelope labelled ‘Christian Aid’.

Yesterday Mr. Grogan came into school to announce the winner of the ATSA logo design competition. We were delighted to find out that, out of the 300 entries, the winning design comes from Bella in Year 6. Congratulations Bella!

On Monday morning we waved year 4 off as they set off on their 2-night residential to Bispham Hall. They had a great time with the Nomad Rangers carrying out a huge range of activities, including grass sledging, orienteering, fire-lighting and frisbee golf. If you follow this link to the website you can find out more - https://astleysaintstephen.ovw10.juniperwebsites.co.uk/page/?title=Y4+Residential+to+Bispham+Hall+May+2026&pid=972
Thank you to Mr. Burrows, Mrs Deakin and Miss Longshaw for giving up their time to be with the children.

This half-term seems to have flown by, and next week is the last week before the one week break. On Tuesday family worship is with Y1 & 2. We will start at the usual time of 9.10am. Please wait at the junior gates if you are able to join us. Refreshments will be available as usual.

We finish the week with our sponsored walks on Friday afternoon. Families who are joining the junior walk are asked to wait by the junior gates ready for their walk at 1.30pm. Families who are joining the infant walk are asked to wait by the infant gates ready for their walk at 2.30pm.

Just to remind you all- Bee Ready Club is our free breakfast club open to all pupils attending our school as and when required. The junior gates are open from 8.25 – 8.35am to welcome the children to school. The children have access to drinks, fruit, cereal and yoghurts before the start of the school day, and spend time playing with their friends. There is no need to book. Just turn up.

Enjoy the weekend, and we will see you on Monday.

As you are aware we were inspected under the new Ofsted inspection process at the beginning of March. We are due our report soon. Instead of single-word judgements like “Outstanding”  or “Good”, schools will now receive a five-point scale for each area:

Exceptional – Nationally exemplary practice

Strong Standard – Highly effective and consistent

Expected Standard – Meets all requirements

Needs Attention – Some weaknesses to address

Urgent Improvement – Serious concerns needing immediate action

All statements must now be met to achieve the above grading statements. It is now a secure fit system and not a best fit system as in the previous framework.

The graded areas are:

• Leadership & governance

• Curriculum & teaching

• Attendance & behaviour

• Achievement

• Personal development & well-being

• Inclusion

• Safeguarding will retain a simple Met/Not met grading

The children have loved our new OPAL areas- especially the digging area and mud kitchen. If anyone has any gardening trowels or forks that you could donate to school, they would be very much appreciated.

This week the children all saw the dress rehearsal for St. Stephen’s Got Talent, and last night all the finalists performed for their families. It was a fantastic show. We were treated to singing, dancing, comedy and music from children as young as Year 2. Well done everyone! You were all amazing! Thank you to our judges, Mrs Lowe and Mr Lawrenson, and a huge thank you to Miss Quinn for all your time in putting everything together. We really appreciate it.

On Wednesday we had 2 of our Year 6 pupils taking part in a spelling competition, and then later that day the reasoning group from Y6 were also out at their next session. Well done to you all.

Reception and Year 1 had a fabulous day out at Smithills Farm earlier in the week, and yesterday Y3 all looked fantastic for their Roman day.

Can I please ask everyone to be considerate in their use of the car park? Last night one of our families needed access to a disabled bay, and they were all in use. Please do not use the disabled bays unless required.

Next week we have a strange week with it being Bank Holiday Monday and the school is closed on Thursday for the local elections. On Tuesday all children must be in full school uniform (which is P.E. kit in nursery) for class photos please. On Friday 8^th May we are holding a non-uniform day, asking if the children can bring in an item for one of our tombola’s at the Summer Fair.

I mentioned to you recently about your child’s attendance record being sent to you digitally. It has been emailed to you this afternoon.

A huge thank you to Mrs Ogden and Year 3 who ran the Easter draw this afternoon, delivering the prizes to the winners. Thank you so much for all the donations received in school, and for buying tickets. A fantastic £515 was raised for The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. It was lovely to see so many family members in our Easter services this week. Thank you to all the children who performed beautifully.
If you are doing any sorting out over the holiday we would welcome more donations for OPAL play – action figures, cuddly toys, suitcases, items that can be used in the mud kitchen, plastic jugs, bottles and bowls. Next term we are looking to expand the zones, and have water play, a digging area, and a messy kitchen.
Can I remind all family members again not to use the car park at the start and end of the day unless by prior arrangement with the office. With the work taking place at the moment on site there are reduced spaces, and it is making the children’s entrance to school unsafe. Thank you in advance for your support.
We will also be posting our latest newsletter on dojo. Please take some time over the holiday to read it.

We started our week with the SHADES team from Manchester diocese delivering an act of worship on standing firm in power and pride. Power meaning using our strength and courage to be a changemaker- and make the world a better place. Pride meaning being happy and confident about who you are, your culture, identity, heritage, and your history. This was followed with workshops in Years 5 and 6.

As you are aware we then had an Ofsted inspection with 3 inspectors being in school on Tuesday and then 2 on Wednesday. This was a very rigorous process looking at what it’s like to be a pupil at St. Stephen’s. The lead inspector described the children as wonderful and very proud of their school. They told the inspectors how they loved the adults in school and how they care for them. They were eager with a thirst for knowledge. We look forward to sharing the report card in due course.

All families are welcome to this week's Sunday service in the school hall in celebration of Mothering Sunday. Refreshments from 9.30, service at 10.

On Monday the girls’ football team played a match against Sacred Heart, winning their match 4-1. Well done everyone. Good luck to the team tonight in their next match against Holy Family.

We have a number of ATSA events taking place next week, starting with a Kickstarterz session after school on Monday. On Tuesday Y6 will be starting a series of Sats support sessions with Wigan Warriors Community Foundation. The six-week programme helps children recognise and understand their feelings alongside fun exercises! On Wednesday afternoon a group of our Y6 pupils will also be attending their next maths reasoning club session.

We finish the week with Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day. As mentioned in the message yesterday, the children come into school in their usual uniform, and can wear a red nose. This year’s red noses are a blank canvas for the children to decorate and make their own, and are available in school £2.00 each.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. To all you amazing mums I hope you have a lovely day on Sunday.

Well done to the girls who played their first 2 football matches on Monday after school. Miss Brennan tells me they played so well. They lost their first match against Tyldesley primary 4-2. The Hindley match ended up 4-4, which was incredible because it was 4-0 to Hindley at half time. The girls battled hard to secure the draw. Good luck to the team playing again tonight against St. George’s Central and St. Ambrose Barlow.
On Wednesday we had 4 of our Y6’s out at the ATSA First Aid for Sports event. There they enjoyed practising some basic First Aid.
The pancakes certainly went down a treat on Wednesday! The children really enjoyed adding a range of toppings. Thank you so much to Charlotte for doing the shopping for the event, and to Stacie and the members from church for their support - Sandra, Janet, Jane and Nicky. I will share the total amount raised next week.
On Wednesday afternoon we had a theatre company in school for the juniors to launch this half-term’s online safety work. I hope the children have talked about this at home and the important messages shared. At the end of family worship this half-term we will share key messages for the different year groups. This will start with Years 5 & 6 next week following their family worship on Tuesday.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our Parent/ teacher meetings on Tuesday next week. If you have not already done so you will need to set up your Juniper account to book this. At the beginning of February you will have received an email from Juniper to create an account. You can also use this link to access your account: https://astleysaintstephen.ovw10.juniperwebsites.co.uk/page/?title=Parents%27+Evening+Bookings&pid=956.
On Thursday we have World Book Day. The theme this year is reading for pleasure, therefore on the 5th March we will be completing activities based around our favourite books. The children can dress up like their favourite book character or wear their own clothes, it’s completely your choice.
Let’s hope we get some more lovely weather over the weekend.