March Newsletter 2026

Dear families,

As we come to the end of the Spring term, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a short but productive period for our school community. It has been wonderful to see the children continue to grow in confidence, resilience, and enthusiasm for their learning.

Although the term has felt brief, it has been filled with many achievements and memorable moments. When we return after the Easter break, we can look forward to the true arrival of spring. Longer days, warmer weather, and more opportunities for outdoor learning and activities. The brighter days always bring with them a renewed sense of energy and positivity across the school.

In our celebration assembly last week, I spoke to the children about the importance of making the final term of the school year count. Whether it is setting new goals, working towards achieving existing targets, or simply continuing to give their best effort each day, this last term is an important opportunity for growth. This message is not only for the children but for all of us as a school community. We, as adults, also take this time to reflect, set goals, and strive to provide the very best for our pupils.

We are also delighted to share the outcome of a recent Safeguarding audit carried out by an external consultant from the London Borough of Redbridge. The audit was very successful, and the feedback we received was incredibly positive. The consultant noted that leaders and governors have established a highly effective and meticulously managed recruitment system that prioritises safeguarding at every stage. It was also highlighted that children feel exceptionally well prepared to keep themselves safe both in and out of school. Pupils spoke confidently about feeling secure and supported, with many commenting on the attentive and caring nature of the staff, sharing that, “Teachers know when you need help!” and “All teachers protect you and make you safe.” Pleasingly, pupils with additional needs also shared positive experiences, with one child explaining, “I feel comfortable here in the playground, I can settle.” We are extremely proud of this feedback, which reflects the strong safeguarding culture across our school.

The Summer term is always a busy and exciting one. It is full of key events and opportunities for children to shine. These include statutory assessments, Sports Day, International Day, and, hopefully, our first Summer Fête (more information on this event coming soon!). Please do keep a close eye on upcoming dates and regularly check the school’s events calendar to ensure you do not miss anything important.

Over the Easter break, we are pleased to be offering a new holiday club here at school. This will provide children with a safe, engaging, and enjoyable environment during the holidays. Full details can be found within this newsletter, and we encourage you to take a look if this is something that may be of interest to your family.

In addition, a number of our Year 6 pupils will be attending Easter School during the break. This is an important opportunity for them to prepare for their SATs in May, and we are proud of their commitment and determination. We wish them every success and know they will approach this next step with confidence.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support over the last two terms. It is always greatly appreciated and makes a significant difference to the success of the school and the experiences of the children. The partnership between home and school is vital, and we are grateful for the role you play in supporting your child’s education.

As we approach the Easter period, we recognise that for many families this is a special and reflective time. We are currently in the period of Lent, leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which hold particular significance to Christians. I would like to wish you all an enjoyable Easter period, and a restful and happy break to all families.

Finally, I would like to extend warm wishes to those in our Muslim community who celebrated Eid last week—Eid Mubarak to you all! 

We look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 13th April at 8:30am

Warm regards,

Ms M Nwankiti

Headteacher 

A FANTASTIC WORLD BOOK DAY

We had a fantastic and successful World Book Day, with the day beginning in the most exciting way as children arrived in a wonderful array of creative costumes inspired by their favourite characters. Throughout the day, classes explored a range of engaging texts and shared their love of reading together. A huge thank you to our wonderful children who contributed to the story jars. They were truly amazing and showcased such creativity and effort. The bookmarks were also fantastic and will be enjoyed by the children for a long time to come. One of the highlights of the day was the story riddles, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. We have included some of the riddles below—how many can you solve?

1. I wear a stripy hat, and I’m tall and thin.

I hide in a crowd with a cheeky grin.

Look closely at the pictures, I might be hard to see…

Can you find me on the page? Who could I be?

 

2. I’m small and clever, with a love of books.

I use my brain more than muscles or looks.

When grown-ups are naughty and think they’re so right,

I stand up for myself with courage and might.

 

3. I’m furry and friendly, but sometimes I roar.

I went on a walk through a deep, dark wood before.

With terrible tusks and a terrible grin,

I might look quite scary… but I’m kind from within.

 

4. I have a lightning scar upon my head.

I go to a school where magic is taught instead.

With wands and spells and friends by my side,

On broomsticks and trains we magically ride.

British Science Week Poster Competition

This year, all of Roding (ages 3-11) are taking part in the British Science Week poster competition, supporting this year's ttheme of CURIOSITY, which also reflects our school values. We're working with a team of scientists who are curious about what children and young people think will make a ‘good’ or ’positive’ childhood in the future. We will all be thinking together about the same question. Therefore the theme of our children's poster is: 

What are children and young people's visions for a good/ positive childhood?

Instructions 

• We ask parents and carers to introduce the poster competition theme with your children using the following questions: What makes children’s lives positive? What will a positive childhood look like in the future for children your age?  You might like to discuss the words ‘positive’ and ‘childhood’ here, particularly with younger children. 
• Make your poster 
  • Once children have had the opportunity to explore the questions and collect their thoughts, it’s time for them to respond by creating their own poster to present their ideas. 
  • Posters must be A4 or A3 in size
  • We need to be able to supply a 2D image of them (e.g. photo, jpeg or PDF file) so they can be sent to us online for judging. 
  • Children can use pop-up pictures, pull out tabs
  • Children can use materials such as pencils, paints, crayons, collage and paper to create their posters.  
  • Digitally created posters are also allowed. 
  • Shortlisted posters are often shared publicly, so please don’t include any personally identifiable information such as names or photos of real people. 

• All posters should be completed and returned to Ms Yates by Monday 13th April 2026 

The Roding staff team will then select five posters to represent the school and submit them for a chance of winning an array of prizes! 

For more details, along with the full set of poster competition rules and tips, do check out our website: www.britishscienceweek.org/poster-competition 

Many thanks and best wishes,

Ms Yates

CHLOE – YEAR 5 -  REAL LIFE SUPER-HAIRO

At Roding, we have a REAL LIFE SUPER-HAIRO! Chloe Morris has partnered with the 'Little Princess Trust' and decided to go for the 'BIG CUT', donating her own hair to their charity to support children who are very unwell with cancer get a new head of hair in the form of a wig. The Little Princess Trust helps thousands of young people regain their confidence and identity by giving them a real hair wig. They also raise vital funding for childhood cancers. Having their own wig allows children to build self-confidence and identity. Chloe's goal is to reach over £1,000, and she is very nearly there, so we ask Roding's amazing parents and carers to show their support for this outstanding citizen!

Thank you for showing all of our Roding values: COMPASSION and RESPECT for others, RESILIENCE to donate all of your hair, AMBITION to strive to do your best for children in need and INDEPENDENCE to support this charity by yourself!

Well done Chloe, we are all behind you at Roding and so proud of you! :-)

Ms Yates and Mr Albert, 

Hello Everyone,

My name is Chloe Morris and I have decided to go for the ‘BIG CUT’ on behalf of the ‘Little Princess Trust’.

The Little Princess Trust is a charity that helps thousands of young people regain their confidence and identity by giving them a real hair wig. They also raise vital funding for childhood cancers.

Supporters like me and many others need to grow their hair to at least 12 inches (or 30cm) under 10 inches just wouldn’t work because of the amount used for knotting it for the wig.

Right now, I have grown my hair to 17 inches and it will continue to grow whilst I am fundraising until the time has come for me to do the BIG CUT and make it look like a boy’s hair cut because I think it will look cute.

Hopefully, I can raise at least £1000 pounds to make a wig for children in need with cancer. So far, I have raised £650 in donations however it costs £150 to pay for a professional wig fitting. As well it costs £550 to make a wig and together that’s £700 and then they give it to the child but if we raise £1000 to give them drugs to help their cancer and insure they don’t die.

 

Many children have now been made happy because they might not get bullied, it is common for children with cancer to be bullied for not having hair. It’s sad and rude because they can’t grow it back until they have finished treatment.

My hair can grow back which is partly why I’m doing this but theirs can’t.

 

To donate you can go to Justgiving.com and search ‘Chlo chlos’

or

Click on the link below

https://donate.justgiving.com/fundraising/chlo-chlos-a-superhairo

or

Scan the QR code

Dear Parents and Carers,

My name is Michelle Wright and I am a Communication Support Worker (CSW) working with Deaf children at Roding. I am also Deaf.

I will be running British Sign Language (BSL) group sessions for parents who would like to learn some basic signs.

The sessions will take place every Thursday starting 16th April 2026 from 2.30pm-2.55pm.

If you are interested in joining, please let us know.

Look forward to seeing you.

FOOTBALL NEWS! 

After a disappointingly narrow loss in the semi-finals of the Redbridge 9 a side league, the Year 6 football team had to pick themselves back up to compete for a third place tie.

With some team members missing, the team had to pull together and our star AHB in 6G stepped in to allow the team to compete.

A final score of 8-3 meant that Roding placed 3rd in the league – what an incredible achievement!

We look forward to our final league of the year, beginning after the Easter holidays, where we will play both home and away matches against school teams in Redbridge.

We hope to see some of you up on the field, supporting us! Thanks again to all parents who have ensured the children get there, to the Sport-savvy coaches for their hard work and to the whole team for representing Roding.

Yours in Sport,

Miss Goldberg

OUR YEAR 2 CHICKS HATCH! 

It has been a particularly exciting time in Year 2 as the children have had the wonderful opportunity to watch chicks hatch in their classroom. This hands-on experience has sparked great curiosity and enthusiasm, with pupils carefully observing the changes each day. The children have taken their responsibility for looking after the chicks very seriously, showing kindness, patience, and a growing understanding of how to care for living things. It has been a truly memorable experience that has brought learning to life in a very special way.

CONGRATULATIONS SCIENCE TEAMS

I am incredibly proud to share the fantastic achievements of our Year 5 and Year 6 pupils who recently took part in a national 'Quiz Club' science quiz. Twelve children represented the school, forming three teams to compete in a 30 question Science quiz against more than 200 schools from across the UK.

Throughout the competition, the pupils demonstrated the very best of our school values. They showed resilience when faced with challenging questions, ambition in striving to do their very best, and respect for one another as they worked collaboratively in their teams. They are truly outstanding young scientists, showing great curiosity, which perfectly reflects the theme of this year’s British Science Week.

Our teams achieved outstanding results, finishing 11th, 22nd and 23rd nationally. What a remarkable accomplishment in such a highly competitive event. The children have represented Roding School impeccably, and I truly could not be prouder of them.

A big thank you also goes to all the pupils who took part in the school heats. Your enthusiasm, interest and engagement in science made the competition possible and showed just how much scientific talent and curiosity we have across the school overall.

We are now eagerly awaiting confirmation from the national organisers to see whether any of our teams will progress to the semi-finals. Fingers crossed, and well done to everyone involved! 

Mrs Yates