More details to be sent nearer the time via dojo. 

As always we welcome students to come in dressed as their favourite book character 

More details to be sent on Dojo Closer to the time!

Further details will follow on Class Dojo in due course.

Date: 7/2/2024

Dear families, 

As we come to the end of a busy but short half term, I want to share with you some of the exciting things that have happened in school so far and what we have planned for the next half term.

We started 2024 with another wonderful production from M&M theatre of Aladdin.  The pupils enjoyed the show and explored the props and costumes after the show then had the opportunity to meet the actors. They will be returning to us 19/3/24 with their show, ‘The Railway Children’. 

Pupils throughout school have already started collecting Children’s University credits from lunchtime clubs, enrichment activities and trips out. This half term pupils have been able to access reading and football lunchtime clubs.  Pupils can also collect credits outside of school hours including Aiming High sessions, more information can be found here… https://www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/ 

A group of pupils have been working with Everton in The Community and other schools across Merseyside to create a music video for World Down Syndrome day.  This will be ready for WDSD on 21st March 2024. 

Each year, Merefield School joins all of the other Southport schools to support a local charity, this year their nominated charity is Southport Foodbank. We will be accepting any donations for the food bank at school.  https://compassionacts.uk/foodbank/ 

This half term we have been busy updating many school policies as we have had a change to our school leadership team, you can find our most recent policies and privacy notices on the school website or you can request printed copies of specific policies by contacting the school office. www.merefieldschool.co.uk 

On Friday 9th February we will be holding our annual Valentine’s disco in school.  Pupils can come to school wearing their own clothes for a donation of £1.  We will be collecting for Derian House Children’s Hospice.  The support that Derian House offers to children requiring palliative care, respite stays or end of life support is truly appreciated and a charity that is very close to our hearts. 

We will also be accepting any additional donations for Derian House on Friday in memory of Jack Barber and the support they were able to offer Jack and his family.  Our thoughts are with Jack’s family at this sad time.

School will reopen on Monday 19th February. We are expecting work to begin to repair part of the school roof from 19th February. This may impact parking, drop off and pick up, however we will keep you immediately informed of any actions we need to take to minimise the impact on the school and the pupils. 

Dates for your diary:

19/2/24 - School opens

19/2/24 - Roof repairs due to begin

4-8/3/24 - Careers and Enterprise week

7/3/24 - World Book day

8/3/24 - 10 - 11.30am Enterprise craft fair. Families are welcome

15/3/24 - Merseyside Enterprise showcase at Aintree racecourse, families welcome to attend 10.30-12pm. 

19/3/24 - M&M theatre production of ‘The Railway Children’

28/3/24 - School closes at 2pm for the Spring break. 

15/4/24 - School re-opens

Thank you for your continued support this half term and we look forward to seeing everyone back in school after a restful break. 

Yours sincerely

Jo Sharpe

Headteacher

Dear Families,
I am delighted to be able to write my first letter as the new Headteacher at Merefield School. I would firstly like to take this opportunity to thank the Governing Body for entrusting me to lead our outstanding school and build upon the success achieved under the leadership of Peter Chadwick. I am also delighted that my first headship is at a school I have grown with and know so well. I have had the pleasure to work here for the past 14 years and I am always humbled by the progress and achievements the pupils make each and every day, it is a pleasure to be part of that.
As a mother of four wonderful children, now adults, I know how valuable a child’s time at school really is.

Having a child diagnosed with Autism at a young age, I also have a great deal of empathy and understanding of the barriers pupils and families can face. I am passionate about providing an outstanding education for all pupils regardless of any barriers. I want to continue building a school that provides children with many wonderful and exciting opportunities to enable them to reach their full potential, feel happy, safe and enjoy coming to school each day.

Merefield School has a hugely committed and wonderful staff team who work tirelessly to provide the best care, education and support every day. The fantastic culture in the school is underpinned by core values of respect, integrity and high expectations for the whole school community. Over the next few months I intend to revisit the vision and mission statement for the school with staff, Governors and families to ensure we continue to be the very best team around the pupils.

From my experience of being a teacher and senior leader, I know that a successful and happy school depends on all of us working together. As parents and carers, you make an important contribution to your children’s achievements, and I’m excited to build on the relationship between you and the school. During the Spring term, we will be holding our annual Enterprise craft fair and I will be inviting parents and carers to attend. This will be an opportunity for you to come and have a chat with me, meet other parents and see the wonderful products the pupils will have made. I will let you know when this will be during the coming weeks.

I am also delighted to welcome back to the school Katy Calder as our newly appointed deputy headteacher. Katy has worked as a class teacher at Merefield School previously and is now returning after 4 years as an Assistant Head at a similar school to Merefield. Katy has a wealth of experience and is also keen to meet you all over the coming weeks.

You are welcome to contact me at school if you have any questions, queries or concerns in the meantime. I hope that I can count on your support as we move forward and I am very appreciative of this opportunity. I am really looking forward to my new role and will work with pupils, staff, governors and professionals to ensure that Merefield continues to provide a wonderful learning environment for our pupils.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Sharpe
Headteacher

As we prepare to welcome back pupils when the time is right and the government advice changes, we have been busy working on a recovery curriculum to help pupils get back on track with their learning, social and emotional development and rebuilding relationships with their peers.

This policy has been published within the policies section of the school website.

As you already know, schools are closed for all except children of critical workers and vulnerable children.  We thank you all for your support during these difficult times. 

You can find the latest Government information below...

Information about school closures.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

Information about supporting children with their education at home.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance for self isolation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Social Distancing

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others

Shielding and protecting the most vulnerable

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

Mental Health and Wellbeing guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-public-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing

GOLD FOR MEREFIELD!! OUTSTANDING SPORTING ACHIEVMENT IN 2018-2019

We are delighted to announce that we, Merefield School, have achieved the School Games GOLD Mark Award for the 2018/19 academic year. The School Games Mark is a Government led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success.

Our sporting achievements this year include:

* Weekly session with Everton in the Community coaches;

* numerous competitions with the Greenbank Sports academy;

* Panathlon success at Merseyside, Regional and National level, involving a trip to London for the Swimming finals!

* 4 Sports Leader have been coached by EiTC to support our younger pupils in PE;

* Recognition of our achievements through Sefton Sports awards and the Greenbank Academy for Primary and Secondary teams of the year.

With a large number of young people competing in local, regional and national inter-school competitions this year, we are extremely proud of our pupils for their dedication to all aspects of school sport, including those young volunteers, leaders and officials who made our competitions possible. As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.

A special thanks to: Katy Calder, John Rice, Jo Sharpe and the Merefield staff for their ongoing commitment to PE. Thanks also to Steve Sullivan and Tony Weymouth for providing us with fantastic opportunities to compete against other schools.

We look forward to applying once again in 2020!

What beautiful weather for a school holiday! Whilst the majority of our school community were enjoying the weather and break from school, Gemma and John were busy in school supervising the building of our wonderful new playground equipment in the far lower school playground and the creation of a wonderful bathroom mural by Smartwalls! Thank you Paymentshield and FOMS for all your fundraising which enabled the play equipment to be installed and to Kimberley from Smartwalls for the beautiful mural. It was lovely to see the pupils playing and socialising on the play equipment yesterday - I am sure the equipment will be fully explored over the next few months!

Having just completed the calendar for this forthcoming Summer Term I know the weeks are going to go by in a flash! Residentials, sports events, music events, dance festivals, trips out and special visitors to school are all planned alongside our usual busy school days. As this will be my last term I intend to adopt a mindfulness approach and ensure I enjoy each and every day!