Latest News
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Return to School January 2021
Wed 30 Dec 2020Following on from the government update regarding school opening in January, please see the letter below outlining the key information.
Return to school January 2021 letter
If you have any further questions please contact your child’s head of year.
Year 7 – Miss Watkins – e.watkins@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Year 8 – Mr Mottershead – b.mottershead@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Year 9 – Miss Jacques – a.jacques@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Year 10 – Miss Winter – l.winter@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Year 11 – Mrs Lancaster – c.lancaster@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
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Nasal Flu Immunisations
Mon 02 Nov 2020We will be hosting year 7 flu vaccinations in school on Tuesday 24th November 2020. Could all year 7 parents please follow the link to consent or decline for this year’s nasal flu vaccinations
https://www.nhsimms.uk/FLU/information?Id=105576&Type=FLU
Please note, the link will close 17/11/20. If you have any questions or queries contact the Immunisation Team on 0333 358 3397. -
Virtual Open Evening and Open Weeks September 2020
Wed 09 Sep 2020We are so excited to announce our VIRTUAL open evening and open weeks for years 5 and 6 parents and students!
Our virtual open evening will be on 24th September, launching at 4.30pm. The online event will give you chance to view an interactive map of school, view videos from each faculty, find out how to apply and hear from our current year 7 students to find out how they are settling in!
Our open mornings will be held over a four week period starting on the 21st September, Monday to Friday and offering a chance to have a guided tour and see the school in action! All tours will be personalised and following all COVID-19 guidance.
You can book online here: https://www.olhs-manchester.org.uk/open-weeks-september-2020/
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Paris Trip Update
Wed 05 Aug 2020Paris 2020
Thank you for your patience in terms of Paris and our sincere apologies that this has taken so long to resolve. The insurance have finally paid out to school and we are able to begin the process of refunding parents. The only way we can suggest that this can happen is by bank transfer. We will send information out by text to those parents who were on the Paris Trip about how to submit the details we need to process a refund. This should be received by the end of the week and we will process refunds in the order in which the information is received.
Update: 5 August 2020
We have now had confirmation from the insurance company that they have approved the claim for the Paris Trip and we should be receiving the payment soon. We will then arrange full refunds for the monies paid by everyone who was booked on the trip. We may be able to do this directly through parent pay or we may have to refund directly to parents. We will be in touch over the next week or so to advise as to how refunds will be processed but it would be our intention to try to get these completed by the end of August / early September. We appreciate your patience and support during this challenging time. As always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Tracey Torr t.torr@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Update: 28 July 2020
We have spoken to the insurance company and they have advised that the assessor for our case has approved the claim for full payment. Due to the value of the claim it needs to go to a senior person for payment approval, but given the fact that it’s been passed for payment we are confident that this will be settled shortly. We should hear more by early next week and then will update further to look at the best way to arrange refunds to parents. As always, if you have any questions please contact Tracey Torr, School Business Manager – t.torr@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Update: 16 July 2020
The insurance company have said it will probably be about a further week before we hear from them in relation to the Paris Trip. We will continue to chase during the school holidays and keep parents up to date. If you need any further information please contact t.torr@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Update: 29 June 2020
We have chased the travel insurance company up again today to try and get a timescale as to when we are expecting to hear the outcome of the claim that has been submitted. They have advised that things are delayed due to unprecedented circumstances. They have advised that this is currently taking between 21-28 days from last correspondence which was submitted. This was on the 17th June 2020 and therefore we are hoping to hear back from them by 15th July at the latest. We will continue to keep parents informed as soon as we have any more information. If you have any further queries please contact Tracey Torr, School Business Manager on t.torr@olsc.manchester.sch.uk or by telephone through the school.
Update: 11 May 2020
Further to previous communications, the claim has been submitted to the travel insurance company. We have chased this up again with Manchester City Council’s insurance department who have advised that this has all been processed but as of yet there is nothing back from the insurance company.
Due to the unprecedented situation they are not able to provide timescales at the moment. They will inform us as soon as there is any more information. In the meantime the school will continue to chase this up and keep parents informed as soon as we are aware of any developments.
If you need any further information please contact Mrs Tracey Torr, School Business Manager on t.torr@olsc.manchester.sch.uk
Thank you for your patience and support.
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Free School Meal Vouchers
Fri 03 Jul 2020Free School Meal Update - 3 July 2020
The latest £30 vouchers have been ordered and should arrive directly with parents by Monday – please check junk mail boxes. For those parents who do not have an email, the manual vouchers will be available from next week. The Government have confirmed that they are continuing with vouchers for year 11 pupils. The £30 is for week commencing 6th July and week commencing 13th July. If you have any issues please contact school. Thanks
Free School Meal Voucher Update - 29 May 2020
The next £30 vouchers have now been sent to those for who we have direct email addresses – please check your junk and spam box. For those that have manual vouchers these will be available from school from next week. The voucher is for 2 weeks per child (£15 per week) and we have just received notification from the Government that they are funding this half term week. Therefore the vouchers will be for W/C 25th May and W/C 1st June. The next vouchers will be due for W/C 8th June 2020.
If you have any questions please contact school.
Free School Meal Vouchers - 18 May 2020
For those parents who received manual vouchers orders should be completed this week for the second lot which was £30.
There are no vouchers for next week as this is half term. Therefore the next vouchers will be processed for W/C 1st June 2020 and should be received that week – more information will follow when they have been despatched.
If you have queries please contact Hania Tkaczuk at school.
Free School Meal Vouchers - 11 May 2020
For those parents who receive vouchers directly by email, you should now have received your second vouchers from Edenred.
The voucher is for £30 and covers week commencing 11th May and week commencing 18th May.
If you have not received it please check your junk or trash mail boxes.
Any queries please contact school.
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Equal Education Chances
Fri 19 Jun 2020Last week, I had the privilege to meet some volunteers from Equal Education Chances, who were using some of our school facilities to pack relief packs for families and carers of children with disabilities who have been struggling to get food during this pandemic.
Equal Education Changes (EEC) are a non-profit organisation that aims to support and empower children and young people living with disabilities to learn and develop academic, social and vocational skills as well as assisting their families. Recently, volunteers for the charity have been delivering activity booklets to disabled children around Manchester to help them continue to develop their skills whilst working from home. This food relief project stemmed from a growing need from families for basic food supplies, families that have been struggling to find the time and funds to gather food for themselves.
The project was generously funded by Cash for Kids, and their funding ensured that the team of volunteers for EEC could pick up food items to feed a large number of families around the area. Overall, the project took three days, with the first day dedicated to collection and drop off of essential food and supplies, the second for packing the boxes and the third for hand delivering each family relief pack. As the charity has so many willing volunteers, they were split into three groups to give everyone a chance to do their bit.
I had the pleasure of interviewing and photographing the group on Thursday, who were incredibly welcoming and in my short time there, it was easy to see just how committed each and every volunteer is to their mission. The volunteers ranged from ages as young as 15 and consisted of a number of family members also. Some of the volunteers were even current and ex-students of Our Lady’s, which is why the charity were delighted that we could host their efforts.
In the end, the volunteers were able to deliver packages to over 100 families. We were more than happy to have hosted the project that will help so many people in this difficult time, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
Equal Education Chances meet every Friday for a free weekly family forum between 10am-2pm at Blackley Fire Station. They run sessions covering education, wellbeing, recreation and advocacy for families and carers of children with disabilities. If you would like to be involved in their future charity projects, you can contact the group via Facebook at Equal Educational Chances or e-mail at equaleducationchances@gmail.com
Kirsty McCarten
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Online Safety
Wed 15 Apr 2020During the coming weeks young people will be spending more time online than they may normally. This will be both for home study and entertainment. It is important that we continue to do all we can to keep them safe.
If you or your child have any concerns surrounding online safety then you can contact us as well as the services shown below:
Childline - for support
UK Safer Internet Centre - to report and remove harmful online content
CEOP - for advice on making a report about online abuseWhere can I go to get support to help keep my child safe online?
There is support available to keep your child safe online. Below are some useful links to help parents and carers:
• 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)
• Let’s Talk About It (support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation)
• UK Safer Internet Centre (tips, advice, guides)Online Safety at home packs
The following works have been designed for secondary school children to stay safe online. Scroll down to the secondary section from the link below.
Parental controls – consider restricting access to inappropriate content via the following:
• Broadband via router
• Mobile phones and tablets
• Games consoles -
FSM Application Guide
Mon 06 Apr 2020You can find a guide to help with applying for Free School Meal funding below.
Free School Meal Information
Families with pupils who are eligible for free school meals are able to claim support whilst school is closed.
Arrangements up to the 19th April 2020
Manchester City Council have put in place temporary arrangements up to 19th April 2020 to provide funding for pupils who are eligible for free school meals. This financial support can be accessed using the link below.
There is a user guide at the link above which will show step by step how to access the support and more information about the support that is available and how this will be paid.Arrangements from 20th April 2020
The Government has launched a national programme of support which will be up and running from 20th April 2020. School will be sending out more information to families in due course about how to access this.
This support will be in the form of vouchers for supermarkets. -
Paris Trip Update
Mon 23 Mar 202023rd March 2020
For those pupils who were due to go to Paris on the 20 April, further to our previous correspondence we just wanted to keep you updated with where this is up to.
We are liaising with the travel company and they have advised that they are working through bookings in departure date order and we should hear from them shortly. As soon as have more information from them about the booking we will of course inform parents – we are hoping this will be this week.
We thank you for your support at this challenging time.
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School Closure Letter COVID-19
Thu 19 Mar 202019th March 2020
Dear Parent/Carer
Re: School Closure Update: Teaching and Learning
I am writing to inform you that based on government directives we have made the difficult decision to close the school from Friday 20th March 2020 at 12.20pm. This closure is indefinite and we will endeavor to update parents with regularity through the school website and social media outlets as more information is provided by central government.
Although the building is closed, we are still expecting your child to undertake daily learning activities. Due to this, high quality work will be provided for all pupils in order that their education should not suffer. Some of this will be provided to pupils in hard copy, with learning expectations as well as supporting and enhancement materials on the school Kanexion portal. https://www.kanexion.com/sportalnew/access/1/1/1/login.php
When the closure occurs, teachers will still be working from home, updating teaching resources and lessons on a regular basis through this system, or via email. Parent and carers are able to contact teachers if required through the Kanexion messaging service. All details and instructions to do this were sent home with pupils on 17th March 2020.
As stated previously at this moment in time we do not know how long the school will be closed for, so it is important that your child continues with their studies to keep their mind active. The education of all Our Lady’s pupils and support of families will always be an imperative for the school throughout the current national crisis. Consequently the school will be staying open for a selection of pupils in order to support parents in key areas.
If you are the parent/carer of an EHCP, Looked After, or vulnerable child a member of school staff will be in contact to establish any support needed. Additionally, the school will be open to the pupils of any key workers.
A school community is so much more than its building and as a Catholic school we have reminded our pupils of the importance of living out the gospel values within their communities and the need to look out for each other during this period of time. In the meantime, the best additional advice that we can give is to continue to follow all national guidance which are updated regularly. Please encourage your child to maintain good hygiene routines and regularly check the school website, social media and Kanexion for further updates.
Thank you for your support
Yours sincerely
L Ormsby
HeadteacherHow Parents Can Support Their Children With Home Learning.
“Home learning is one area where parents can play a very active and encouraging part in their child’s education. On a very basic level, it can help kick-start conversations between parents and children, especially in families where busy work and extracurricular commitments may prevent regular mealtimes together.”
While research has shown that regular family mealtimes is an excellent way to boost academic performance, this isn’t always possible for families to achieve. Therefore alternative times have to be manufactured to promote conversation and for parents to demonstrate interest in their child’s schooling. Home learning can also help parents identify areas of strength and those for improvement, potentially more successfully than the classroom teachers.
Home learning is also a lesson in independence and time management, and pupils need support to manage these commitments – developing a schedule and helping them balance their home learning with extracurricular activities and family commitments is important.
Create space
• Set up a space for your child to do their homework.
• While making this space in their bedroom is sometimes the easiest option, this automatically makes home learning a solitary activity.
• If there is an option for a space in a communal area of the house this helps promote discussions and it is easier to get involved without it feeling like an intrusion.
• Wherever the space, give the learner some ownership over it and make it an inviting space to spend time in. New stationery, a comfy chair and good lighting will also help.Make it positive
• Make parental input a positive thing.
• Ask them about what they are doing and be interested, even if you don’t understand it.
• If your child has a question about their work, help them, but try not to tell them the answer. Use questioning to help them get as close to the answer as they can. Doing these practices in will mean that home learning a bigger part of their learning outside of school, your child is comfortable discussing it with you and values your input.Let them make mistakes
• It’s OK for answers to be wrong.
• Telling your child the right answer and getting them to just write it down means that the teacher is none the wiser about which bits they are struggling with and which they excel at.
• Help but not too much and leave the mistakes as they are for a teacher to see. Any errors are very revealing and this helps teachers adjust their teaching to address these issues.
• The chances are, if your child doesn’t understand it, others in the class probably don’t either, and home learning is a great way of highlighting this to the teacher.Be realistic
• Give them time to complete work set.
• It is ok if they don’t stick to the normal time constraints of a normal school day. Allow them some flexibility for other commitments if they need it.
• Allowing them some space in the family schedule means they will be able to start allocating their own time and gives them plenty of time to complete the work set. This will allow more time for discussion, greater conversation between family members and the learner, and an altogether calmer approach.Insist work is finished
• Do not excuse incomplete work, if the requirements are for an appropriate amount.
• If your child is struggling, support them in finding support, either online or from friends.Links to support independent home learning – if you would like to extend what is being asked of them
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/?fbclid=IwAR1reQmiD-4yFu1B1OyxXoSJVrkjCsVny5iljt8BXjJgAIOf5ylA7Cv7C1s
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/levels/z4kw2hv
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/levels/z98jmp3The Our Lady’s Kanexion Home Learning Portal
https://www.kanexion.com/sportalnew/access/1/1/1/login.php?schoolid=1
Subject Specific Learning Platforms and Resources
Maths – Dr Frost
https://www.drfrostmaths.com/
English –Our Lady’s YouTube page, Instagram
olhs_english
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHxPd0SHpNEH6Wrh8--oT6g/playlists
History – Our Lady’s YouTube page
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHxPd0SHpNEH6Wrh8--oT6g/playlists
Geography – Instagram
olhs.geog
Languages – Active Learn, Linguascope
https://www.linguascope.com/
Science – Seneca
https://www.senecalearning.com/
RE – Seneca
https://www.senecalearning.com/
Food – Seneca, Kahoot,
https://www.senecalearning.com/
https://kahoot.com/
PE – The Ever Learner
https://theeverlearner.com/availableCourses?curricula=1
Technology - Instagram
Olhc_tech