Dear Families,

As we reach the end of another academic year, I find myself wondering where the time has gone. It has been a truly wonderful year, filled with memorable moments, achievements, laughter and countless reasons to be proud of our children. It has been a privilege to watch every child grow, not only academically, but also in confidence, resilience and character. They continue to amaze us every single day.

One of the highlights, and always one of the most emotional parts of the year, has been saying goodbye to our Year 6 pupils. For many of them, I have had the pleasure of knowing them for all seven years of their primary school journey. Watching them arrive as nervous Reception children and now leave us as confident, thoughtful and ambitious young people is incredibly special. They have been wonderful role models for our younger pupils, and although we will miss them greatly, we know they are more than ready for the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. On behalf of everyone at Roding, I wish each and every one of them every success and happiness as they begin the next chapter of their education.

This month also brought the long-awaited release of our Year 6 SATs results, and I am delighted to say that our children have done us incredibly proud. These results are a reflection of the hard work, determination and resilience shown by our pupils throughout the year. They have embraced every challenge with positivity and have worked exceptionally hard both in lessons and through the additional booster sessions before and after school. I would also like to thank our dedicated staff, who have given so generously of their time and expertise, and of course our parents and carers for your continued encouragement and support at home. Success is always a team effort.

I would also like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who completed our Parent Survey. Your feedback is invaluable and plays an important role in helping us reflect on what we do well and where we can continue to improve. We have reviewed the responses and will share the findings with you, along with the actions we intend to take. We genuinely value your views and appreciate the time you took to share them with us.

Please also keep an eye out for my end-of-year letter. It will celebrate many of the successes, milestones and achievements from across the school over the past year. Looking back, there really is so much to celebrate, and I am incredibly proud of everything our children, staff and wider school community have accomplished together.

A huge thank you must also go to everyone who attended and supported our Summer Fete. It was wonderful to see so many families enjoying the afternoon together and helping to create such a fantastic community event. Events like these simply would not be possible without the support of our families, volunteers, staff and Friends of Roding, so thank you for helping to make it such a success. You will find lots of photographs later in this newsletter, and I hope they bring back some happy memories.

As I am sure you can appreciate, the final weeks of the school year are incredibly busy. It had been our intention to share the fundraising total from the Summer Fete before the end of term, along with details of how the funds will be used. However, with everything that accompanies the close of an academic year, we have not quite managed to finalise this information. Please be assured that we will write to you at the beginning of September to share exactly how much was raised and to thank you properly for your generosity. Once again, thank you for supporting our school so wholeheartedly.

Finally, I would like to thank every member of our Roding community for another fantastic year. The partnership between home and school is something we value enormously, and your continued support enables us to provide the very best experiences for our children.

If your family's journey with Roding comes to an end this summer, I wish you and your child every happiness and success for the future. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your child's primary school journey—it has been a privilege.

For those families who will be returning, I look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 7th September for another exciting year of learning, laughter and opportunity.

Until then, I wish you all a safe, restful and enjoyable summer break. I hope you take the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends, create wonderful memories and return in September refreshed and ready for another fantastic year.

With warmest wishes,

Ms M Nwankiti 
Headteacher

School Uniform Update - From September 2026 

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 have introduced a new Roding PE T-shirt, available to purchase from the school. 
• 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.

Summer Fête 

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and supported this year's Summer Fete. It was wonderful to see so many children, families, staff and members of our community coming together to enjoy such a fantastic afternoon. From games and stalls to performances and refreshments, there was a real sense of fun and community spirit throughout the event.

We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our generous sponsors for their kindness and support. Their contributions helped make the event possible and are greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoy looking through some of our favourite photographs from the day!

 

SPORTS DAY 

Our Sports Days were once again a fantastic celebration of teamwork, determination and school spirit. It was wonderful to see every child taking part with such enthusiasm, encouraging one another and giving their very best, whether they were competing on the track or cheering from the sidelines.

A huge thank you to all of the parents and carers who came along to support the children. Your encouragement helped make the days so special. We are also incredibly grateful to Miss Goldberg, our PE lead, for organising all the sports  events and ensuring that every child had the opportunity to take part and enjoy the experience.

Well done to all of our pupils for demonstrating resilience, respect and excellent sportsmanship throughout. We are so proud of you all!

TAG RUGBY

We would like to share a huge thank you to Rob and his team at Wanstead Rugby Club for their time and coaching this year, engaging Years 1–6 in tag rugby. We have loved watching the children try something new and have seen so many children laugh and smile up on the field during these sessions. We are eager to work with Rob again early next year preparing our Years 5 and 6 children for our next competition. Until then, if your child has enjoyed working with Rob or you are interested in training sessions, please do contact Rob at Wanstead Rugby Club. 

SCIENCE DAY 

Science Day was once again a fantastic success, with children across the school spending the day exploring, investigating and asking lots of brilliant scientific questions. From exciting experiments to hands-on investigations, every class embraced the opportunity to think like scientists, showing curiosity, creativity and excellent teamwork throughout the day.

A very special thank you goes to Mrs Yates, who has organised our Science Days over the years with such passion and enthusiasm. As this will be her final Science Day at Roding, we would like to thank her for the dedication, creativity and hard work she has put into making each event such a memorable experience for our children. We hope the excitement and love of science she has inspired will stay with our pupils for many years to come.

FAREWELL YEAR 6 

As another chapter closes, we say goodbye to our wonderful Year 6 pupils. It has been a privilege to watch you grow into the confident, kind and resilient young people you are today. You leave Roding with so many wonderful memories, friendships and achievements to be proud of, and you should all leave knowing that you have made a lasting contribution to our school community.

We have watched you overcome challenges, celebrate successes and support one another throughout your primary school journey. Whether you have been with us for seven years or joined us more recently, each of you has left your own unique mark on Roding.

As you begin the next exciting chapter at secondary school, remember to believe in yourselves, work hard, be kind and never be afraid to embrace new opportunities. We have every confidence that you will continue to achieve great things and make your families and your new schools incredibly proud.

Good luck, Year 6. We will miss you all, but we know your brightest days are still ahead. Once part of the Roding family, always part of the Roding family.

YEAR 6 RESIDENTIAL AND ACTIVITY WEEK 

Our Year 6 pupils enjoyed an unforgettable final few weeks at Roding, with exciting opportunities both on and off site.

For those who attended the Maes-y-Lade Residential, it was a week full of adventure, challenge and unforgettable memories. From exploring caves and taking on long countryside walks to wading through rivers and working together to overcome challenges, the children demonstrated resilience, teamwork and determination every step of the way. Many stepped well outside of their comfort zones, discovering strengths and confidence they didn't know they had. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces and friendships grow even stronger throughout the week.

Meanwhile, the rest of our Year 6 pupils enjoyed a fantastic Activity Week, packed with fun experiences including a trip to Fairlop Waters, bowling, cooking and a variety of exciting activities in school. The week provided a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the end of primary school together, creating lasting memories with friends before moving on to secondary school.