Parental update 11

Dear Parent/Carer,  

Parental Update 11

I always think November is the hardest of months within a school: midway through the longest term, dark nights, much colder and wetter weather, exams, marking, behaviour dips (from some staff, students, parents (and headteacher!)). Despite this, it is one of the busiest months during which much of our hard work takes place. So, it is always nice to be coming out the other side of it in one piece and have the wonderful glow of Advent and Christmas on the horizon.

Congratulations to Year 7 who yet again and by a country mile, had the best attendance of the last week – their reward is that they will be early access to the canteen at breaktime next week.

Looking ahead to next week, we have our school show – Matilda – on Tuesday and Wednesday (see later), we start our KS3 Advent Chapel visits, we have a big Year 11 Geography field trip going out, we have our Year 8 Parents’ Evening and then we finish the week slightly earlier with an INSET Day on Friday (school closed to students).  

Whole School Focus – Lasallian Headteacher Conference

Last Thursday and Friday I was away from school at our District’s Lasallian Headteacher Conference in Dublin. Now I know that may conjure up images of me sitting on the banks of the Liffey with a pint of Guinness listening to a live Irish band. Sadly, the reality is somewhat different as we never get to see Dublin, as it is held in a hotel next to the airport, but nevertheless, it is a very positive experience.

The event brings together all the Lasallian Headteachers from across our District of GB, Ireland and Malta, alongside members of the Lasallian Mission Team, our 3 district retreat centres and several Lasallian Brothers. It takes place from 1.00pm Thursday to 1.00pm Friday and is a very packed schedule, but very enjoyable to re-connect with the wider Lasallian family.

The theme this year was “All is Connected” which is also our school’s theme for the year and marked 10 years since the re-organisation that created our District (it was previously 3 separate districts) and 170 years since the Lasallian brothers first opened a school in the UK – St Joseph’s in Bulah Hill.

Day 1:

• Opening Prayer
• Welcome 
• Keynote Speaker: Prof Paul Pace who delivered a talk on the topic of All is Connected: The Pedagogy and Spirituality of an Integral Ecological Commitment. This was really good (once someone had explained what the title meant!)
• Sector Presentations: these are always individual presentations from GB, Ireland and Malta which this year were:
  • Effective creation and use of prayer spaces (Malta)
  • How to Grow the Lasallian Family (GB - St Augustine’s Trowbridge)
  • Bringing the World into the Classroom (Ireland – Monastery School Ardee)
• Closing Prayer

Day 2:

• Opening Prayer
• Sector meetings (we met as GB) and this group is expanding as there are 5 Lasallian schools in GB but we also have a growing number of Associate Schools – 6 were at the meeting (these are diocesan schools that have some historical link to the Lasalle family) as well as having Emma Biggins, Director of our Retreat Centre in Kintbury. Our meeting focused on:
  • Catholic School Inspections – I and two others were able to share our recent experience.
  • Ofsted Framework Changes – discussion about how these are developing and specifically any impact on Religious Order schools
  • Curriculum and Assessment Review – looking at how we all plan to adapt to the recommendations but within the Lasallian mission
  • Opportunities for Collaboration – sharing opportunities for staff to come together for formation and development across the sector.
  • Student Pilgrimage to Rome – Andy Bridson shared the details of his well-planned student pilgrimage to Rome and offered to support any schools looking to run something similar
  • Student leadership Opportunities – this is an area I am really passionate about and plans were started on creating an annual coming together, at Kintbury, of our Student Leaders. 
  • Laetare Update – I provided the group with an update on how the Laetare CMAT was progressing.
• District Updates: We then joined back up with the other sectors for District Updates. There are significant changes taking place in the Lasallian family as our region (Europe) moves from 7 Districts down to just 2 districts. For us, we will be joining Central Europe, Spain, Poland and Belgium North.
• Colleagues from Central Europe and Belgium North introduced themselves and spoke about how their districts currently look and are structured.
• Safeguarding – Br Ben emphasised the importance of safeguarding across the Lasallian family
• The District Year ahead – Jo Millea shared the key events happening for the rest of the year across our district
• ASSEDIL – this represents the headteachers from across the whole of Europe – shared their work and upcoming events
• Final words from our District Visitor, Br Ben
• Closing Prayer

All in all, a very busy, intense but wonderful celebration and coming together of our Lasallian District. Even if my flight home was delayed by 2 hours!

School Lockdown Practice

Just an update on our School Lockdown practices. The SLT and Staff practices have gone well with some great learning along the way. We are pausing the roll out to the student practice, as we are having a new alert alarm fitted and want this to be in place for staff and students to hear and recognise – as opposed to the school bell and the fire alarm. This should be done before Christmas.

Check out our Socials

We have recently been putting some time into stepping up our social media presence and output for families to access. As well as the many Twitter accounts, we have re-invigorated our Facebook output and Instagram (a big thank you to Mr Metcalf for his work on this):

• Facebook: we are De La Salle School (@DLS_St_Helens)
• Instagram: @DLS_St_Helens
• Twitter: @DLS_St_Helens

Matilda

Our students have been very busy rehearsing for the upcoming performances of the hit show, Matilda. We have two evening performances on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Both performances start at 7.00pm in the Main Hall. Tickets are available for the bargain price of £5 on ParentPay. 

Sporting Updates

Another productive week of practices and rehearsals across the 5 days. A special mention goes to our Year 7 Rugby lads who had their first home rugby tie of the year and saw the inclusion of lots of new players to the team. 

Just a reminder to all parents who come along to support, that we insist on Silent Sidelines which applies to all spectators at all times. 

All of our PE and sport related updates can be found on the wonderful PE Twitter (I just won’t ever call it X!) site @DLSPEDept 

Lettings Assistant

We are currently advertising for multiple lettings assistant (casual). There is a requirement to work unsociable hours (weekends and some evenings). Please visit the vacancy page on our website for more information.

Laetare CMAT Update

The headline news is that on Monday, a fifth school will be joining our Laetare CMAT, this is St Joseph’s in Stoke, which is a Christian Brothers School. They will be joining ourselves, St Edward’s (Liverpool), St Anselm’s (Wirral) and St Ambrose (Hale). This means our Trust will be educating 5539 pupils and employing 628 staff! Attention will then turn to the expansion of the trust with schools from the south of England.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Jonathan Jones (CEO) and Kieren Done (CFO) are working to ensure the trust has all the necessary structures, policies and procedures in place, this includes work with the unions consulting on key policies.

BBC Bitesize Careers Tour – Message for parents

Following the very successful visit recently from BBC Bitesize Careers Tour, we have been asked to share the attached information with all parents which highlights support and help they can provide with your child’s careers education.

Term dates for 2026/27 (repeated)

Autumn Term 2026

• INSET Day: Tuesday 1^st
• Wednesday 2^nd: School Opens for students
• INSET Day: Fri 23^rdOctober
• Half term: School closes for pupils - Thursday 22^ndOctober
• Re-opens - Monday 2^ndNovember
• INSET Day: Friday 4^thDec
• School closes - Friday 18th December

Spring Term 2027

• INSET Day: Monday 4^thJanuary
• Students return – Tuesday 5^thJanuary
• Half term: School closes for pupils - Friday 12th February
• Re-opens - Monday 22^ndFebruary
• School closes – Thursday 25^thMarch

Summer Term 2027

• Re-opens - Monday 12th April
• Bank Holiday - Monday 3^rdMay
• School closes - Friday 28^thMay
• Re-opens - Monday 7^thJune
• INSET Day: Fri 25^thJune
• School closes for pupils - Friday 16th July

Winter Holiday and Food Programme (repeated)

The Winter Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) will be running from Monday 22nd December 2025 to Friday 2nd January 2026 for all eligible children, young people and families.

All of the information is already available on the HAF webpage prior to the activity bookings links going live on Monday 8th December at 2.00pm for families to book their Winter activities.   Please note that activity places are subject to availability.  

We would like to ensure that as many eligible families take this offer up over the Winter to remove some of the financial burden to families who are already on the brink.

Please see below the link to the HAF webpage with all of the information about the Winter programme. https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/4060/Holiday-activities-and-food-programme 

Reporting Absences (repeated)

Whilst we fine tune our communication systems, will you please report any student absences by using the email: dlsabsence@delasalleschool.org.uk 

The absence will then be triaged by our attendance team and may be followed up with a phone call or home visit. Any medical evidence can also be attached to the email.

Forthcoming Events (dates in bold indicate a change to normal finish times)

• Mon 1^st– Fri 12^th: KS£ Advent Chapel visits
• Tue 2^ndand Wed 3^rd: School Performance of Matilda
• Wed 3^rd: Geography Field Trip (Year 11)
• Thu 4^th: Year 8 Parents’ Evening
• Fri 5^th: INSET Day (school closed to students)
• Wed 10^th: PE Inflatables Day
• Wed 10^th: Anne Frank Workshop
• Mon 15^th: Year 10 Rewards Afternoon
• Tue 16^th: Year 8 Rewards Afternoon
• Wed 17^th: Year 7 Rewards Morning
• Wed 17^th: Year 11 Rewards Afternoon
• Thu 18^th: Carols by Candlelight
• Fri 19^th: School finishes for Christmas (12.10pm) no school buses

Christmas Holidays

• Mon 5^thJan: School re-opens

And finally…

Today’s tale takes place on our journey home from the Lasallian Conference, where three of us happened to be on the same flight back to Manchester. For context: on the way out, we flew on a standard Boeing 737—the kind most people hop on for their holidays. (Have I ever mentioned I quite like planes… and that I’m taking my pilot’s licence? Only once or twice, I’m sure.)

The return flight, however, was on a very different creature altogether: an ATR 72-600. Smaller, propellers, two seats on each side, and—crucially—a maximum luggage allowance of just 7kg. This was no issue for me; I don’t pack hair products or designer shoes, as you may have noticed.

In our slightly tight dash to the airport, two of us were travelling light. The third, however, had a bag with ambition—ambition that required check-in. After a battle with the self-check-in machine (which refused to cooperate, possibly out of spite), she was directed to the big queue. You know the one: a never-ending zig-zag of tired travellers shuffling forward at the pace of a melting glacier, marshalled by a single check-in clerk who appeared to be on a personal go-slow.

Being good Lasallians, we nobly offered to wait with her. And so, we waited. And waited. At one point I looked over and was convinced she had somehow moved backwards in the queue.

Eventually—somewhere between “this is fine we can wait” and “we live in the airport now”—she reached the front. Five minutes later, she wandered back to us… still holding her bag. Turns out she could take it on board all along!

Naturally, we then sprinted through security, power-walked to the gate like Olympians, arrived panting and triumphant… only to discover the flight was delayed by two hours. The universe has a fine sense of humour.

On the bright side, the delay did allow for some excellent plane spotting. (Did I mention I’m doing my pilot’s licence?)

Have a good weekend,

Andrew Rannard (Headteacher)