Dear Families,

Welcome back to the final term of the school year. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable Easter break. It has been lovely to return to school and already see more sunny days, although I think we can all agree that there has still been a noticeable chill in the air at times! Here’s hoping for many more warm days ahead, giving us plenty of opportunities to make the most of our outdoor spaces and enjoy time on the field.

The children have settled back into school routines exceptionally well, and it has been a pleasure to see their enthusiasm and positivity as they begin this final term. It feels quite strange to say that we are already here, as the year seems to have passed so quickly. I can still clearly remember welcoming everyone back in the Autumn term and seeing the children arrive full of anticipation for the year ahead. It has certainly been a busy and rewarding journey so far.

This term is always one of my favourites, as it is filled with exciting opportunities and memorable experiences for the children. However, it is also undoubtedly the busiest term of the year. We have a wide range of events planned, and I am particularly pleased to share that, for the first time, we will be holding a Summer Fête organised by the school with the support of our wonderful parent volunteers. We are very much looking forward to this event and hope it will become a highlight of our school calendar. If you are interested in supporting or getting involved in any way, please do not hesitate to get in touch – your help would be greatly appreciated.

Alongside these exciting events, this term also includes a number of assessments across all year groups. Assessments are an important part of education and, indeed, life beyond school. It is essential that we begin to teach children how to approach assessments and develop effective techniques from a young age, so they feel prepared and confident as they progress. That said, our priority remains the wellbeing of every child. We want them to feel happy, comfortable, and calm, as this is when they are truly able to do their best.

You can support us with this at home by ensuring your child attends school regularly and arrives on time each day. Establishing good routines, including a consistent bedtime, is also incredibly important in helping children feel rested and ready to learn.

National Offer Day took place on Thursday 17th April, when many families will have received confirmation of their child’s reception place. If your child is currently in our nursery, and you have not yet applied but would still like to do so, please be aware that late applications may still be considered if spaces are available. If you would like guidance or support with this process, please do speak to Ms Hunte, our Nursery teacher, who will be happy to assist you.

You may also have noticed some recent improvements to our Early Years outdoor area. We are delighted with the enhancements, and it has been wonderful to see the children already enjoying the space. We remain committed to continually developing our learning environments to provide the very best opportunities for all pupils.

Finally, please keep an eye out for our updated events calendar, which will be shared soon. There are several additional events planned, and we look forward to welcoming you into school to celebrate and participate in these occasions.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

 

Warm regards,

Ms M Nwankiti

Headteacher 

School Uniform Update 

We have high expectations for all of our children, and this includes standards around school uniform. A consistent uniform helps to foster a sense of community and belonging, while also reducing unnecessary comparison between children, particularly around branded items. Unfortunately, we have increasingly noticed that some current options (especially footwear) are still allowing for unhealthy competition.

We also recognise that a number of families have shared that finding plain black trainers has been difficult. With this in mind, and to ensure greater consistency and fairness, we will be making the following updates from September 2026:

Footwear (Trainers)

• All children must wear school shoes to school.
• Trainers will no longer be permitted, including black trainers.
• Trainers may only be worn on PE days or for medical/sensory reasons.

For most families, this will not be a change, as the majority of children already wear appropriate school shoes. This update also aligns our policy with many other schools.

PE T-Shirt

• We are introducing a new Roding PE T-shirt, available to purchase from the school soon. 
• This item is optional for the next academic year.
• Children may continue to wear a plain white T-shirt for PE only, as outlined on our website.

It has been another jam-packed month for sport at Roding, seeing some fantastic individual achievements as well as team performances.

Last week, Roding children were faced with the Mini Marathon in Schools, along with over 2600 schools taking part across the country and over half a million students running. For some of our youngest students, it was their first visit to the field and for some of our oldest, an opportunity to test their resilience, running ability and ambition to cross the finish line. Huge congratulations to all year groups. We are immensely proud and had a fantastic day in the sunshine watching you!

 

RODING TAKE ON THE MINI MARATHON

On Saturday 25th April, we saw a small group of children from Years 5 and 6 head to London to take part in the TCS London Mini Marathon, where they ran alongside 20,000 children over a distance of 2.6 km.

Our children were up and out early, setting a quick pace and hoping that Mr Morris, Miss Daly and Miss O’Connor could keep up with them! We chose to run this year for a charity very close to our hearts — the National Deaf Children's Society — and managed to raise nearly £200 for the cause.

This was matched by Daddy Pig, who you may have seen run the London Marathon on Sunday, raising a HUGE £57,000!

Not only did our children manage to cross the finish line, but they were also called to the stage, met a few celebrities including Joe Wicks and deaf Gladiator Fury, and were photographed and interviewed for the children’s newspaper First News.

Thank you to the staff and children who took part, as well as our lovely Roding families who helped get them there. It was a magnificent day, and we look forward to entering the ballot again next year!

🏃‍♀️ Celebrating Success at the Spring Run

Finally, we would like to congratulate four of our students who ran alongside other pupils from Redbridge in the Spring Run. Well done girls! You all did a fantastic job, playing competitively. S achieved an incredible 3rd place among the Year 3 runners — a huge accomplishment!

Spring Spin and Win

Thank you so much for attending our Spring Spin and Win event. It was wonderful to see so many of you there supporting the school and helping to create such a fun atmosphere for everyone involved.

Thanks to your generosity and participation, we are delighted to share that we raised an amazing £806 for the school!

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 from 2.30pm-2.55pm.

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

Look forward to seeing you.