Parent/ Carer Bulletin - Autumn Half Term Break

{item_alt_tag}

Headteacher's Message

Good afternoon,

Welcome to our final parent / carer bulletin of the current half term.  As always I can not believe how quickly the time has gone. 

This term has seen a whole range of activities and events take place in school.  

As you will be aware we have now hosted Information Evenings for alomost every year in the school.  These evenings are designed to provide you as parents / carers with the information that we believe will support you in supporting your child to be successful at Upton-by-Chester High School.  All the presentations are also avaliable on the school website so please do use this as a useful resource using the link below. 

https://www.uptonhigh.co.uk/page/?title=Parent%2FCarer+Information+Evenings&pid=567

I am pleased to be able to share with you that the contract for the rebuilding of the school has been signed today.  This means that the building work will go ahead as planned with the set up starting in the half term holidays. 

The major changes to the school will be that two mobile classrooms will be removed, in order to create more outdoor space in the Year 11 zone and we will lose the use of the field from after the half term.  To ensure that learners still have an opportunity to take part in activities at lunch time we will be making extensive use of the Sports Hall in the Sports Club at lunch times and I will share details of this with learners on our return.  Other than the above and more restricted parking on site it will be business as usual.  We will make sure we keep you informed of the progress of the building works. 

The vast majority of learners have made a very good start to this academic year.  They have been enaged in thier work adn making good progress.  We will continue to work hard each day to ensure that learners continue to shape thier own future and that of others positively as we continue to move through the academic year. 

We hope that our Year 10 learners have enjoyed a successful week of work experience, we look forward to hearing all about it when they return to school.

I wish all our learners and their families a relaxing break.

With very best wishes,

Mr L Cummins

{item_alt_tag}
{item_alt_tag}

Forthcoming Events 

School reopens to learners
8:35am – 3:10pm
03
November
Year 7 Meet the Tutor Evening
4:00pm – 7:00pm
13
November
Year 12 Meet the Tutor Evening
4:00pm – 7:00pm
20
November
Year 9 Learner Progress Evening (Virtual)
4:00pm – 7:00pm
11
December
Last day of term
8:35am – 3:10pm
19
December

Other School News 

{item_alt_tag}

Notification of Absence/ Appointments via email

 

When notifying the school of an absence due to illness or a scheduled medical appointment, please ensure you send the information to admin@uptonhigh.co.uk. If you would also like to inform your child's form tutor, you may copy them into the email. However, we kindly ask that admin@uptonhigh.co.uk is always included to ensure the attendance team receives the message and the register can be updated accordingly.

School Canteen

 

The school caterers, Aspens, provide a variety of options to cater for all our learners. Details of the current menu on offer and Meal Deals available can be found here

Meal Deals represent a particularly good value-for-money lunch option for learners at £2.70. This is a very cost effective way for learners to get a good amount of nourishment, rather than purchasing items separately which would be more expensive.

You can add credit to your child’s account via the school’s online payment system Scopay. If you do not have an online payment account, please email finance@uptonhigh.co.uk to request one. Whilst the school exercises a degree of flexibility and understanding to ensure that all learners have access to food, this should not be relied upon and you should ensure that there is always sufficient credit on your child's account before they go to make any purchases.

Free School Meals

Learners in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) are allocated a daily allowance of £2.70, which is aligned with the cost of a Meal Deal. The allowance is applied to their account at the start of each day for the child to spend as they see fit, although it is intended for lunchtime provision. You may wish to consider providing extra food or additional funds to your child’s account if they wish to eat something at Break as well.

Please be aware that any unused credit is not carried over and does not accumulate. Any purchases that take a child’s spending over the daily allowance will be charged to their account, leaving them in deficit. In such instances, parents/carers will be required to top-up their child’s account with funds to clear the debt.

Cashless Catering Balances

Please ensure that your child’s catering balance is kept in sufficient credit so that they are able to make their desired purchases. If for any reason a child does not have sufficient credit on a given day, they should seek out a member of school staff in the canteen to request support in that instance.

Whilst we exercise a degree of understanding and support, a report is run each Wednesday highlighting any learners whose accounts have fallen into deficit and a communication will be sent to the relevant parents/carers requesting that any negative balances are settled as a matter of urgency.

Please discuss your child’s spending habits and choices with them so that they are aware of their options and are getting the most from their credit or FSM entitlement.

Monthly Billing

 

A convenient way to ensure that your child’s catering account is credited regularly, and that you are keeping up with any payment schedules for visits is to make use of the Monthly Billing feature on Scopay.

This optional feature allows you to specify a set date that you wish a payment to be credited to your child’s account each month, topping up their balance to an amount set by yourself. However, please be aware that you must set a suitable amount that will meet your child’s catering needs and keep their account in credit for the full month, or it will go into deficit and you will receive notification emails requiring you to make additional top-up payments.

A guide on how to set up and use Monthly Billing can be found here.

Tempest Photographs for Year 11 and Year 13

 

Dear Parents and carers, 

Have you ordered your school individual & group photo yet? A polite reminder that the closing date for free delivery back to school is Wednesday 29th October.  Order through the Tempest website using your unique link that was emailed to you, or if you have received paper order forms visit www.tempest-orders.co.uk 

If you need any assistance in ordering your photos, feel free to contact Tempest on 01736 751555 (option 5). 

Updating Parent/ Carer Contact Details

 

It is very important that we hold the most up-to-date contact details for you. Should you need to update anything you can complete a form on our website https://www.uptonhigh.co.uk/page/?title=Online+Forms&pid=537 or email us at admin@uptonhigh.co.uk

Careers Bulletin

 

Click on the link below to see the latest information:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ab57VM41x7_yzr0Q19PUj0r4KoWn--X2iSfZR7Kl_yc/edit?usp=sharing

Community News

Free Cycling Courses for Families and Adults

 

Please use the following link to access details of free family and adult cycling training via Cheshire West and Chester:

https://www.bikeright.co.uk/sponsors/cheshirewest-chester

Parent Carer Forum October Newsletter

 

PCF Monthly Newsletter– October Edition!

It’s been another busy month for the Parent Carer Forum!

Catch up on everything we’ve been involved in, find upcoming events, training

sessions, and the latest SEND updates, what’s on during half-term – including details about “The Big One” PCF Survey 2025/26!

Read the full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/2189b28c4b5e/g84jy88giu-17464934

{item_alt_tag}