All of a sudden the pond is transforming from a muddy area to a place of beauty.   It has not been without a lot of thought and work and we thank everyone who has been involved. 

As you will see from the photographs, the banks of the pond have been planted, the donated water lilies introduced to their new home and just this week, the latest delivery of plants have arrived ready.

The team have been really careful to include elements that will encourage wildlife to the area.  As well as the planting in the pond itself and special access areas, the frame for the bug hotel is completed, ready for the children to fill it.  Piles of logs have been placed to encourage other insects and animals to make their homes - or just as a stopping off place.  There is the start of a little island in the middle of the pond, planted to encourage rooting and growth.

A new compost bay has been built which will be re-sited once the fencing work has been done.  The broken slabs have been cleared and the area leveled so that the log seating circle can be used and bulbs have been planted among the plants you can currently see on the back bank.

The work is ongoing, but we would like to say a really big thank you to everyone who has and is working on this project; to those who have generously provided plants and other items and to the Friends of Our Ladies who are continuing fundraising to support this project and other external areas around the school.

Thank you to Mrs Rothera for the lovely photographs.

Once again a big thank you to our team of volunteer gardeners who last week transformed the raised bed in the Key Stage 1 Play Yard.  As our photograph shows, it now has a mixture of herbs and other plants and it will be interesting to watch what develops in the pots.

If you would like to join our team of volunteers please see Mrs Edmondson.   At the moment we are looking for volunteers to help with the planting of geraniums and other pot plants so please either speak to Mrs Rothera or Mrs Edmondson if you can help.

CHANGE TO FREE SCHOOL MEALS ELIGIBILITY

The introduction of Universal Credit (that is replacing many benefits, eg jobseekers’ allowance) means there are changes to free school meals eligibility for children of qualifying parents. The new criteria for free school meals eligibility is that all families in receipt of Universal Credit and earning £7,400 or lower per annum will be entitled to free school meals.

From 1 April 2018, all existing free school meals claimants will continue to receive free school meals whilst Universal Credit is rolled out (currently to roll out in Shropshire from May 2018 and scheduled to complete in March 2022), even if their circumstances change eg earnings rise above the new threshold during the roll out period.

Any child who gains eligibility for free school meals after 1 April 2018 (eg in July 2019), will also continue to receive free school meals during the Universal Credit roll out period.

Once Universal Credit is fully rolled out, any existing claimants that no longer meet the eligibility criteria at that point (because they are earning above the threshold or are no longer a recipient of Universal Credit) will continue to receive free school meals until the end of their current phase of education (ie primary or secondary).

During the roll out of Universal Credit, protection arrangements mean that once a pupil has claimed free school meals and has been found eligible, there is no requirement from the Department for further eligibility checks to be undertaken.

We therefore encourage parents who believe they may qualify for this (whether in Key Stage 1 or 2) to make an application for this via: http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/free-school-meals.

Please contact the School Office if you have any other queries regarding this.

Please use this link to make your RACE FOR LIFE donation: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/our-lady-st-oswalds-catholic-primary-school

Thank you :-)