Deadline for York secondary school applications nears

Parents are reminded that applications for secondary schools places for September 2017 should be made before 31 October 2016.

admissionsParents of children currently in Year 6 – the last year of primary school – should apply for a maximum of five schools and we recommend that one preference should be the catchment school

Applications can be made online at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

All details and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents. This guide, updated for 2017 admissions, contains information on school admissions and appeals processes as well as information on admissions statistics, oversubscription criteria and other information for parents and carers. Also online are details for service families and information on fair access.

Any parents eligible and who may not already have applied for free school meals are urged to do so at the same time. This means that whether or not the meal is taken, the pupil premium of £900 per year per eligible secondary school pupil will follow the young person throughout their time at school to benefit their education.

For more detailed information, please email: education@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551554

York young people in care back Care Leavers Week

New care leavers group launched
 Members of York’s Children in Care Council, Show Me That I Matter, are taking part in a national conference and will launch a care leavers group in York, both as part of Care Leavers Week. The theme of National Care Leavers’ Week 2016 is Leaving Care Around the World and runs from 20-30 October.

The council, known as SMTIM, was approached by The Prince’s Trust to speak at the London conference about the group’s poster and blog project Aspire To More, which highlights the importance of care leavers – including nationally-known authors and York residents – as role models for those in care.  (more…)

Nearly 9,000 York school pupils set to take “Walk to School” week in their stride

walking busTwenty eight York schools and over 8,800 pupils across the city are set to take part in Walk to School Week from 10 October which aims to encourage even more children to walk, cycle or scoot to school

The school that gets the highest number of pupils walking, cycling or scooting throughout the week will win the coveted Jack Archer award and £200 to put towards sports equipment.

‘Scoot to School’ day will also take place on Wednesday 12 October. To encourage students to scoot the school with the highest percentage of pupils who scoot to school on that day will win a Scooter Pod worth £300 donated by CyclePod.

It is recommended that children aged five to sixteen do at least sixty  minutes of physical activity that gets their heart beating faster than usual and they need to do it everyday to burn off calories and prevent them storing up excess fat in the body.

Regular activity is also important for adults and it is recommended that adults make sure they’re active for just 30 minutes each day, or 150 minutes a week.

The scheme is also targeted at families who normally take the car, and encourages them to consider walking or cycling to school instead.

Residents can find out more about changing the way they travel in York at: www.itravelyork.info/

Primary and secondary school applications open 12 September 2016

Applications for City of York Council school places for September 2017 open on Monday 12 September 2016 at Secret Life 5 YearOldGroup10--(None)_A2www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions

Parents and carers of children born between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2013, are invited to apply for places in the reception class at their chosen York primary schools. Also, parents and carers of children who have just started in Year 6 may apply for a place in Year 7 at secondary school from today.

All details and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents. The guide, updated for 2017 admissions, contains information on school admissions and appeals processes as well as information on admissions statistics, oversubscription criteria and other information for parents and carers. Also online are details for service families and information on fair access.

School contact details are also available through this website, to help parents and carers to find out when any open evenings or days might be held or to arrange school visits.

For more detailed information, please email: education@york.gov.uk or call
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Aspire to More – Celebrating the Participation of Children And Young People in Care

York’s Children in Care Council, is hosting an event on 13 September to celebrate the achievements of children and young people in care.

Members of the council, known as Show Me That I Matter (SMTIM) will celebrate their newest project Aspire to More www.aspiretomore.wordpress.com. It includes a series of posters and a website produced by Inspired Youth aimed at inspiring other children in care and care leavers to live their dreams.

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New 30 hour free childcare offer for York families

This Early Implementers programme – announced in York in February this year – has City of York Council as one of the first areas in England to offer 30 hours free childcare support to parents, so they can balance work with their family lives.

ChildcareYork is one of eight areas across the country to be chosen following huge demand from local areas to take part in delivering the offer a year early. The offer means that an additional 15 hours free childcare is available for many working parents of three- and four-year-olds in the area, as long as they earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum or living wage.

The eight areas that were chosen to lead the way – including York, Wigan, Staffordshire, Swindon, Portsmouth, Hertfordshire, Newham and Northumberland – are involved in getting the programme’s delivery right, so that the rest of the country can hit the ground running in September 2017.

In York, 166 providers have signed up to the pilot. This represents 72 per cent of the city’s schools, day nurseries, play groups, childminders and independent schools committing to the programme.

The 30 hour free childcare offer builds on the investment being made in childcare – rising from £5 billion to £6 billion per year by 2020. The aim is to make it easier for parents to work and earn more in the years before their children start school and will also provide a financial boost to working parents who already pay for childcare. Parents will also be able to reserve places ahead of time – before their child turns three – to ensure their working patterns are not disrupted.

Parents or providers interested in finding out more about what this offer means for them can visit: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

Lesley Calvert is the manager of Funfishers pre-school and out of school club, a charitable provider based on the Fishergate Primary School site. She said: “I think the programme will be of positive benefit to working parents who have to manage childcare bills. As a setting, I’m confident that through working with other providers and the local authority within our partnership, we will make the pilot a success and enable its rollout in September 2017.”

Better GCSE level results at York High School

The Press is today reporting,

York High SchoolStaff and students at York High School are celebrating hugely improved GCSE results after a very challenging year in 2015.

Headteacher David Ellis said: “I am thrilled that the proportion of Year 11 students who have gained 5 good GCSE grades has almost doubled this year compared to 2015, even surpassing our results from two years ago. This is a result of the hard work of our young people and the determined and supportive work of my colleagues. We were extremely disappointed with the way that grade boundaries were moved in 2015 which had a negative impact for our students a year ago but I am incredibly proud of the way that the whole school community has risen to the challenge in the last 12 months resulting in the progress we have made this year”.

Associate head teacher Rod Sims, who is responsible for achievement at York High commented on the great spirit within Year 11 in 2016. He said: “The very pleasing improvements this year are in large part due to the way that the students responded to all of the extra demands that staff have put on them. They have turned up for extra revision sessions in large numbers, in some cases very early in the morning! The young people recognised that as the examination boards continue to raise the bar the challenge of gaining high grades is ever increasing and they worked with staff incredibly hard to gain the very best grades that they could. Our students can be very proud of their achievements and it has been a real pleasure to work with them and their Head of Year Mrs. Harrison to enable us to achieve the outcomes we have.”

One pupil celebrating results is Chloe Stead who achieved 7 GCSEs at grade C. Chloe was the first baby born in York in the new millennium and her results epitomise the effort that the year group as a whole have made this year.

Mr Ellis said “We are delighted for Chloe and the whole year group. Many pupils of all abilities have fulfilled their own individual targets and potential which will allow them to move successfully on to the next stage in their education and careers. We wish them all the very best.”

For photos click here

Successful year for A level students in York

Children’s Services leaders in York today (18 August) are congratulating A level students across the city on achieving an excellent set of results.

Provisional results for York school sixth forms and York College show that the very high standards of previous years have been maintained and initial results for the city indicate that A level results remain consistently amongst the best in the country.

York school sixth forms – All Saints RC, Archbishop Holgate’s CE, Fulford, Huntington and Joseph Rowntree – and York College are reporting strong results with many ‘best ever’ performances. Early results for the schools show that across the board young people will be able to get to the universities of their choice, including those applying to Oxbridge universities and medical courses. This strong position is being maintained despite the significant changes to the content and structure of A and AS level courses this year.
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Teen Week at York Explore

Manga MondayAug 15_Manga

Date: Mon 15 Aug
Time: 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Cost: Free drop in. £2 for Arrietty Garden session

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Book Spine Poetry Challenge

Date: Mon 15 Aug – Fri 19 Aug
Cost: Free

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Keep Calm and Colour

Date: Tue 16 Aug
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Cost: £2

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Mindfulness

Date: Wed 17 Aug
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Cost: £2

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Yoga

Date: Thu 18 Aug
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Cost: £2

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Criminal Friday

Date: Fri 19 Aug
Time: 10.30am – 3.30pm
Cost: Free drop in sessions and £2 for materials

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