Newsletters

25/26 - Spring 1, Week 4

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Dear parents and carers,

Inspiring Visitors and Staying Safe Online

One of the great strengths of William Ford is the way we invite visitors from a wide range of careers into school to inspire our children and show them what is possible for their futures. This week, Amit Kalley did exactly that. His visit encouraged pupils to think about their own passions and how these could shape their lives and careers one day.

We are delighted that Amit will be returning to school on Safer Internet Day, Tuesday 10th February, to work with pupils and staff during the school day on the vital issue of staying safe online. He will also be running an online session for parents at 4:45pm on the same day. A separate letter with full details will be sent shortly and we strongly encourage all parents to prioritise attending this event.

It is essential that parents understand what their children are accessing online. Many families see this as more of a secondary school issue. However, we already have a significant number of pupils at William Ford who own mobile phones and have regular internet access, often without clear parental regulation.

Over the years, we have sadly dealt with many incidents involving children:

  • accessing inappropriate material, both intentionally and accidentally

  • becoming frightened by things they have seen online

  • encountering misleading or untrue information, particularly through AI-generated content

  • experiencing or engaging in bullying-type behaviour online

We have also had pupil mobile phones seized and scrutinised by the police, resulting in home visits being made.

We know that when the above situations occur, children rarely tell an adult. This makes it even more important that parents feel confident talking to their children about what they see and do online and understand how to put simple safety measures in place at home.

This session will support parents with practical advice and guidance on how to have these conversations and how to protect children in an increasingly digital world.

Egypt Day in Year 3

Year 3 enjoyed a fantastic Egypt Day this week. A huge thank you to parents for supporting this by helping children come dressed in Egyptian-themed outfits. The day was full of fun, creativity and rich learning experiences that brought their history topic to life and deepened pupils’ understanding of Ancient Egypt.

Representing William Ford in Parliament

This week, William Ford was represented in Parliament as I met with our local MP and others to discuss the challenges schools are facing, particularly around finance and maintaining ageing buildings. These are issues affecting many schools across the country. We hope these conversations will lead to positive developments and greater support for schools in the future.

Collective Worship

Collective Worship this week continued our theme of new beginnings and also focused on the British value of individual liberty. Pupils reflected on the freedoms they enjoy and the responsibilities that come with them, including making wise choices and showing respect for others.

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 is taking place from 9-15 February with the theme of This is My Place.  You can find out more here about it here: Place2Be announces theme for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026

 

 

UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY

Unity in Community are able to support households with fuel vouchers; these vouchers are sent via text message. We would like to offer this support to the parents, carers and guardians of students who attend William Ford. 

Help Available - Gas & Electric: Unity in Community will be providing vouchers to help towards paying for gas and electricity. To qualify you must pay for your energy through a prepayment meter and have not received energy vouchers from Unity in Community within the past 12 months. This is in response to the ongoing cost of living crisis and beneficiaries can be working, unemployed, self-employed or retired. For more information and to register, call 01482 420836, Monday to Friday, 9am – 3pm – if busy, please keep trying. 

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Year Three

ULA

Year Four

GIDEON

Year Five

AZOWA

Year Six

KAYLA

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The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss 

This is a funny book full of pictures and rhyming words. Sally and her brother are home alone on a rainy day when The Cat in the Hat appears on the doorstep. That is when the fun happens. I really reading this book. 

 

Giorgiana 5W 

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Y5 - LIFE - Interactive Exhibition at DPC
9:30am – 10:30am
02
February
Y5LIFE - Interactive Exhibition at DPC
10:45am – 11:45am
02
February
Y5 -LIFE - Interactive Exhibition at DPC
1:30pm – 2:30pm
02
February
Swimming Y5 Group 1
9:00am – 10:30am
03
February
Swimming Y5 Group 2
9:45am – 11:45am
03
February
Brilliant Club Graduation Event - Goldsmiths Uni.
9:00am – 4:30pm
05
February
Swimming Y5 Group 1
9:00am – 10:30am
10
February
Swimming Y5 Group 2
9:45am – 11:45am
10
February
Christian Foley School Visit (Rap/Poetry)
All Day
11
February
WF vs Manor Jnr Football Match @ Goals
3:00pm – 4:00pm
12
February
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29 Jan 2026
Amit Kalley careers talk
Inspiring Careers and Believing in Your Dreams
Read more
22 Jan 2026
Year 3 Cinderella Panto
This week, we hear from Year 3 about their panto trip.
Read more
20 Jan 2026
Young Voices 2026
A night to remember at the O2
Read more
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Year Three

What a great week in year 3, ending it with a fun and exciting Egypt Day.  

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in English, children wrote and edited their own diary entries as part of their writing assessment. They used their knowledge from the book Wild Cities about Paris to imagine what a day in Paris would be like. In maths children continued to look at multiplication, using mental and written methods to multiply 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. In science, children explored fossils, learning about how they form and even created their own fossil from clay. In geography, children used their knowledge of alphanumeric grid references to locate different features of their island. 

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, children will begin to explore the poem The Sound Collector. They will explore rhyming words, onomatopoeia, features of a poem and end the week by analysing The Sound Collector. In maths, children will begin to learn about division, using formal methods to divide 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. In history, children will learn about King Tutankhamun and debate whether ancient burial sites should be opened.  

Year Four 

We have had a good week in Year 4 with some great learning taking place.  

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in Maths, we have continued to look at multiplication and division. In English, children looked at identifying imperative verbs. We then planned and wrote clear instructions for training a dragon using our own imperative verbs. In Science, children found patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibration by using a range of instruments. In RE, children explored how religious and non-religious groups help others in their local area and then created their own notice boards. In Geography, children looked at climate and physical geography between Scandinavia and the UK. 

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, we will be understanding how cultural traditions, careers, and spirituality shape life in Scandinavia and comparing it to the UK. We will be looking at measuring in metres and equivalent lengths in Maths. In Science, we will continue with our sound unit. We will be recognising how sounds get fainter at a distance. In R.E we will be looking at religions that make up our local area. In English, we will be planning and writing our own diary entry.  

 

Year Five

We have had a great week in Year 5 this week, with lots of excitement.  

What we have learnt about this week 

This week, in maths the pupils have been consolidating their mathematical skills in division and multiplication.  

In English, the pupils have been learning how to use inverted commas, whilst using dialogue. The story of Beowulf is hotting up, as Beowulf and Grendel have had their epic fight.  

In history, we looked at the reputation of the Vikings and why the Vikings have such a ‘bad’ reputation. This was a great topic and generated lots of discussion about reputation and influence.  

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, we will be learning how to add, subtract and multiply fractions (unit and non-unit).  

 

 

Year Six

We have a great week in Year 6 this week, with some amazing learning taking place. 

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in Maths, we have continued our topic of Algebra and looking at how we can solve one-step and two step equations. In English, we are starting to write our description of an Indian Street Market setting. We brought the Indian Street market to life with the children smelling a variety of spices to inspire their writing. In addition to this, in Science, we have managed to cross off another suspect in our Crime Investigation topic as part of our learning of Light. The children made their own periscopes which reinforced their understanding of how light reflects and what materials they reflect off from.  

 

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, we will be learning about decimals, adding and subtracting and multiplying with decimal numbers.  

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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!

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