Newsletters

25/26 - Autumn 1, Week 1

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Dear parents and carers,

A very warm welcome back to all our families at William Ford – and an especially warm welcome to our new Year 3 children, who have settled into school life with confidence and enthusiasm. This has been one of our smoothest and most successful transitions into Key Stage 2, and we are delighted to have them join our school community.

Before looking ahead, we would like to begin with a heartfelt thank you to those parents who were with us last year. The gifts, cards, and words of encouragement given to staff at the end of the summer term were so greatly appreciated. On behalf of every member of staff, thank you for the love, kindness, and support you continue to show our school.

We welcomed children back on a very, very wet Thursday 4th September, but it was still wonderful to see the school full of energy again. That morning in Collective Worship, pupils were introduced to our new school vision:

Supporting pupils to be successful, healthy, fulfilled and empowered to make a difference – strengthened by the hope and example of God.

All Church of England schools are required to have a vision that is biblically underpinned and also reflects the community they serve. Our vision is rooted in Psalm 25:4–5:

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me.”

At the same time, our vision has been shaped by the unique needs of our local community. It links directly to the curriculum intent we have created for William Ford pupils, ensuring that what we teach is purposeful, relevant, and filled with hope for the future.

Already this vision is coming alive across school. Here’s how the start of term has shown each strand in action:

✅ Being Successful

  • Careers education is embedded across the curriculum, showing pupils that they can use their gifts to shape their own futures and make a difference in the world.

  • Our first celebrity guest of the year, former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, spoke to pupils about overcoming dyslexia to succeed in politics – inspiring children to see that barriers don’t have to hold them back.

  • Radio station training with Russell Prue from Anderton Tiger Radio gave our new DJs the skills to present, interview, and hold engaging conversations, building confidence and communication.

🍎 Being Healthy

  • Our school cook is now teaching cookery in every class for two hours every three weeks. Children are learning food basics, cookery skills, and how to prepare nutritious meals for life.

🌟 Being Fulfilled

  • Stand By Me assembly introduced Year 3 to their new sponsor child, Matias. Pupils are building friendships across borders, writing letters and sharing celebrations through Christmas and Easter cards.

  • Opportunities across school life – from radio to cookery – are giving children purpose and joy in their learning.

🌍 Being Empowered to Make a Difference

  • Through sponsoring children in Colombia, each year group is actively helping another child’s life while deepening their understanding of global citizenship.

In Collective Worship, our theme for the term is Genesis and the creation story. We were delighted to welcome back Mr Edwards from Dagenham Parish Church to help launch this focus with us, strengthening the link between school and church.

Finally, a reminder to our new Year 3 parents: children should now be dropped off at the school gate in the morning. Parents should not enter the site at this time. If you need to speak to a teacher, please arrange a meeting through the office, or catch them at the end of the school day.

We look forward to another inspiring and joyful year ahead at William Ford, where our vision continues to guide all that we do – both in faith and in learning.

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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Welcome back to a new school year!  

Next week, all year 3 pupils will be completing an online dyslexia screening. The tool we are using is Talamo and is designed for children aged 7-16 to provide personalised reports on their learning profile, identify potential learning difficulties early, and offer clear next steps for support at home or school. If you have any questions about the screening, please contact me via the school office to discuss.  

If you have child in another year group and are concerned about possible dyslexia, again, please contact me via the office to discuss your concerns. 

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you who joined us during the holiday period in support of The Felix Project and the Kindness Offensive/Lush donations. The feedback received was amazing.

We’re excited to share that we’ve applied for the October half-term community distribution through The Felix Project, as well as the Heat and Eat Project deliveries. If you’d like to stay updated on the upcoming deliveries, please join our WhatsApp announcement group for all the latest details by clicking on this link:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CqbK8wRCt6xI54BmMNOqLT?mode=ac_t

Thank you once again for your continued support and kindness!

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Hair Love by Matthew A. Charry 

 

I started reading this book this week and I am really enjoying it. In the book you get to see how much the character appreiates her wonderful hair. 

 

Joy 3F 

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Year 6 swimming (Group 1)
9:30am – 10:30am
16
September
Year 6 Swimming (Group2)
10:30am – 11:30am
16
September
Year 6 swimming (Group 1)
9:30am – 10:30am
23
September
Year 6 Swimming (Group2)
10:30am – 11:30am
23
September
Antibullying Week
7:30am – 8:00am
29
September
Meet the SLT Coffee Morning [In-person]
9:00am – 10:00am
29
September
Antibullying Week
7:30am – 8:00am
30
September
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11 Sep 2025
Matt Hancock visits William Ford to share his dyslexia journey
Matt Hancock visits William Ford
Read more
09 Sep 2025
Mr Huntingford appears on Good Morning Britain
Filming for ITV Breakfast
Read more
05 Sep 2025
Stand By Me
Stand By Me visit – welcoming our new sponsor child
Read more
05 Sep 2025
William Ford Radio
Anderton Tiger Radio returns to train our new school DJs
Read more
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Year Three

It has been lovely to welcome our new Year Three classes and to witness them settle in so quickly. They have adapted to their new routines, work and rules incredibly well and we are all so proud of them. It has also been a pleasure to meet so many parents this week, and we look forward to continue building strong relationships with you all.  

What we have learnt about this week 

In English this week we have begun our shared reading text ‘Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx’ and have used this as a stimulus for writing character descriptions. We have also practised writing expanded noun phrases to add detail to our work. 

In maths we have been working on place value. The children have represented and partitioned numbers in many ways. 

In science, we have introduced our new topic ‘animals including humans’ and this week we looked at the function of the human skeleton. 

In R.E. this half term we are looking at the creation story and this week and the children considered what of God’s creations they think are amazing. 

What we will learn about next week 

In English next week we will be practising using a range of pronouns within our work. We will also be writing another description but this time of the main character, Marcy. 

In maths we a continuing our work on Place Value using a range of recourses and methods to reinforce learning. 

Next week we will begin our geography unit focusing on the continents and countries of the world. In RE we will focus on the Bible version of the creation story. 

The children have been enjoying their P.E lessons with the Kick coaches. Many thanks for ensuring the children have their PE kits in school.  

 

Year Four 

It has been lovely to welcome the children back to school. They have already begun to settle well into Year 4. 

What we have learnt about this week 

In English this week, the children have been introduced to their new book, ‘Nell and the Cave Bear’. They have thought carefully about the setting and have attempted to write their own. 

Maths has seen the children thinking carefully about place value. They have consolidated their understanding of numbers to 1000. 

In history, the children were thinking about chronology. They have used their history detective skills to place a range of modes of transportation in chronological order. They thought carefully about why they were placing them in a particular order. 

In RE the children have thought about Hinduism and have looked at its main beliefs. They have considered what they already know and what they would like to find out over the coming weeks. 

Science has seen the children thinking about living things and their habitats. They have been consolidating their understanding of the five groups of vertebrates and of the different diets of various animals. 

What we will learn about next week 

In English next week the children will be continuing their studies of their new text. They will also be looking at the use of time and cause conjunctions and will be attempting to use these in their written work. 

In maths, the children will be continuing their unit on place value. They will be using number lines and they will be looking at representing numbers up to 10,000. 

 

In RE the children will be thinking about the origins of Hinduism. Geography will see the children locating India in order to start their studies this term on this fascinating country. 

 

Year Five

What a great start to Year 5 – the staff in Year 5 have really enjoyed the first week back, welcoming the pupils and helping them to re-integrate into school life. 

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in Year 5, pupils have been introduced to lots of new topics, across the curriculum.  

Our overarching theme this term is linked to Space, and the pupils have been commissioned by Professor Brian Cox to create 3 video documentaries, for the series: Stargazing. This is a fantastic opportunity for pupils to combine their science skills, art skills, English writing skills and their computing and media skills. 

In English, pupils are learning about the book: Hidden figures – which is all about the wonderful Black-American women who helped shape the future of space travel and aeronautics, as well as being at the pinnacle of change in the 1960s. 

In Science, pupils are beginning to learn about the solar system, in our topic on space. 

In maths, pupils have begun their unit on place value, learning about roman numerals, as well as working with numbers up to 100,000.  

In PSHE, pupils are looking at families and relationships.  

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, we will be continuing our study on place value, in maths.  

In English, we will be writing a diary entry, based on one of the characters in Hidden Figures and their experience of working in a new environment.  

We will be doing lots of other fun stuff, such as the Space Race in Art and an introduction to the Anglo-Saxons in History. 

We hope you have a wonderful, restful weekend! 

 

Year Six

The Year 6 team are delighted to welcome your children into Year 6 and have been so impressed with the positive way they have started the year. 

 

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in maths, the children have begun their lessons on place value by working with numbers up to 10,000,000.  In English, they are enjoying descriptive writing based on the novel Street Child. In science, we have started our first unit on evolution and inheritance, and in art the children are creating some beautiful zentangle designs. As always, we have begun the year by focussing on online safety in our IT lesson. 

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, the children will have their first practice SATs papers.  This will give the teachers a good indication of their current attainment and provide an accurate focus for future teaching.  The children will also continue to build on their English work and maths work that they started this week.  A reminder that swimming lessons take place every Tuesday for the following six weeks; please ensure your child brings the appropriate items, including swimwear, a swimming hat, a towel and if they wish swimming goggles. 

We look forward to an exciting and successful year together. 

 

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Each week, staff select two children from each class who have shown effort and commitment to upholding an aspect of our school vision, shown at the bottom of the page. Congratulations to this week’s ‘stars of the week’ for their tremendous endeavours!

YEAR THREE

Class

Star of the week

Star of the week

3BL

Name: Liban 

For: making a positive start to year 

Name: Ava 

For: settling into a new school and being kind to others.

3F

Name: Joy 

For: excellent focus during independent work this week.  

Name: Leon-Zayne 

For: sharing his thoughts and ideas during class discussions.

3M

Name: Emily 

For: an excellent attitude to work and demonstrating positive behaviour at all times. 

Name: Nakunu 

For: being an excellent role model and kindly offering to help others. 

YEAR FOUR

Class

Star of the week

Star of the week

4F

Name: Kairo  

For: her positive attitude towards her learning in class.

Name: Michelle 

For: demonstrating our school values and being a positive role model

4N

Name: Tahiya 

For: a positive attitude to all lessons and demonstrating excellent behaviour. 

Name: Zahid 

For: listening carefully and being and excellent role model to his classmates. 

4O

Name: Mustafa 

For: His great contributions to class discussions

Name:

YEAR FIVE

Class

Star of the week

Star of the week

5H

Name: Irina 

For: such fabulous singing during singing club.

Name: Quinn 

For: for her kindness and patience towards others this week

5I

Name: Israel 

For: His fantastic behaviour in all lessons. 

Name: Elsie 

For: Her great effort in maths this week

5W

Name: Avantika 

For: Showing fantastic effort leading to success in her outcomes this week.  

Name: Stanislav 

For: Making a great start and working well with others to make a difference

YEAR SIX

Class

Star of the week

Star of the week

6B

Name: Gregory 

For: excellent listening and offering great ideas in lessons

Name: Nabil 

For: an excellent start to his new class and having a great ‘have a go’ attitude to school life.

6L

 

 

 

 

6M

Name: Demilade 

For: Contributing brilliantly in Shared Reading Lesson this week! 

 

 

Name: Rosie 

For: showing a fantastic attitude towards her learning this week. 

Name:Amiyah 

For: Demonstrating resilience when faced with chellenging question in Maths lesson – Well Done!

 

 

Name:Amiyah 

For: Demonstrating resilience when faced with challenging question in Maths lesson – Well Done!