Newsletters

25/26 - Spring 2, Week 1

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Dear parents and carers,

Welcome back!
I hope you all had a wonderful half term break. It has been lovely to welcome everyone back into school, and even nicer to see the weather beginning to improve. With brighter days arriving, we have been able to bring out far more lunchtime equipment, giving children extra opportunities to play, socialise and enjoy being active together. As the term progresses and spring approaches, we are looking forward to expanding these outdoor opportunities even further.

Lighthouse Bikeability
This week, pupils in Lighthouse took part in Bikeability workshops. It was a real pleasure to spend time with them and watch their confidence grow as they practised riding and learned how to stay safe on pavements and in local park areas. For many, this was about far more than cycling – it was about independence, perseverance and believing in themselves. They represented the school brilliantly.

Year 6 Canoeing Experience
Year 6 have also had an exciting opportunity this week, visiting Barking and Dagenham Canoe Club. Pupils experienced canoeing on the water and worked collaboratively to navigate the river. It was wonderful to see teamwork, communication and encouragement in action, with children supporting one another and stepping outside their comfort zones. Experiences like this are exactly what help build resilience and confidence.

Collective Worship
In collective worship we have begun a new theme centred on our school values. We started the week by exploring humility and reflecting on Jesus’ teaching that, whilst it is right to be proud of our achievements, we should also remain humble. Pupils discussed what humility looks like in school life – listening to others, showing kindness and recognising that everyone has something valuable to contribute.

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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Secondary School Offer Day 

2nd March 2026

Supporting your child as they receive their secondary school placement 

Secondary school placement day can bring a mix of emotions. Whether your child feels excited, anxious, or unsure, your calm reassurance will make a significant difference. 

Acknowledge Feelings- It can feel overwhelming. Give your child time to process the news and talk about how they feel. Keep explanations clear and simple, and avoid overwhelming them with too much information at once. 

Reassure Them - Remind your child that support will continue in secondary school. If they have an EHCP or receive SEN support, the new school will have information about their needs. You can also contact the SENDCo to discuss transition arrangements or additional visits if helpful. 

Things you can do to help: 

  • Look at the school website together 

  • Practise the journey 

  • Talk through what a typical day might look like 

  • Use visual supports or social stories 

If the Placement Was Not Your First Choice- if you are exploring waiting lists or appeals, keep conversations calm and reassuring. Focus on helping your child feel secure while you manage any next steps

The borough has launched the Easter 2026 HAF programme, which as ever is free for families who are on benefit-related free school meals, or who are otherwise vulnerable.

Please note that bookings launch on the 2nd March at 12pm via our centralised bookings system - Eequ · After school. In place of school. Beyond school.

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Year Three

David

Year Four

Yahdeen

Year Five

Oliver

Year Six

Morgan

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Coming to England by Forella Benjamin 

 

This is a great picture book which tells the true story of Floella travelling from Trinadad to England. It shows how brave she was and how different her life was in another country.  

 

By Jessica 4F.  

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National Offer Day - evening - Secondary Places
6:00pm – 10:00pm
02
March
Swimming Y5 Group 1
9:00am – 10:30am
03
March
Swimming Y5 Group 2
9:45am – 11:45am
03
March
SATS Meeting
3:30pm – 4:30pm
04
March
World Book Day - dress in your PJ's or dress as your favourite character
All Day
05
March
Parent Evening
3:30pm – 6:00pm
09
March
Swimming Y5 Group 1
9:00am – 10:30am
10
March
Swimming Y5 Group 2
9:45am – 11:45am
10
March
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27 Feb 2026
Career visitor - Sarah Johnson - author and inclusion expert
"We can all face barriers, but they don't have to define our future."
Read more
13 Feb 2026
Safer Internet Day: Helping Children Navigate the Online World
  As part of our ongoing work to safeguard children and support their wellbeing, we held an interactive session with Amit Kalley, exploring how life online affects young people today. The aim was to help students think about their digital habits, understand the...
Read more
13 Feb 2026
Inspiring Visit from Rapper, Musician & Poet Christian Foley
We were thrilled to welcome Christian Foley to our school this week! Christian, a renowned rapper, musician, poet, writer and educator, delivered an energetic and inspiring whole-school assembly that captivated everyone from Year 3 to Year 6. With his fast-paced freestyling and lyrical creativi...
Read more
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Year Three

What a great start to the half term, children have shown great effort and focus during the assessments this week.  

What we have learnt about this week 

In English this week, children completed their reading, spelling and grammar tests. In maths, children completed their arithmetic and reasoning tests as well as practising their times tables. In science, children started the new unit on forces and magnets, exploring push and pull forces. In history, children concluded the unit on Ancient Egypt by exploring a range of ancient artefacts and determining whether they are from Ancient Egypt or another Ancient Civilization. In RE, children participated in a virtual workshop about a Synagogue.  

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, children will begin reading the new focus text for the half term, ‘Here Comes Hercules’, they will explore expanded noun phrases before writing their own description of a setting from the book. In maths, children will begin to learn about length, measuring in mm, cm and converting between the measures. In science, children will plan an investigation into difference surfaces and how objects travel on them. In geography, children will learn about the layers of the earth, creating their own model or poster to explain this.  

Year Four 

It has been a lovely start to the term. The children have shown great determination in their assessments.  

What we have learnt about this week 

In English, the children have planned and written their own quest story. In Science, children learnt all about electricity. The children sorted pictures and identified which appliances use electricity and which appliances use battery. In Maths, children have been calculating the perimeter of rectilinear shapes and completed their assessments. In history children understood how and why iron is superior to bronze. They then identified why people made artefacts from iron instead of bronze. In RE, children learned about The Easter story.  

What we will learn about next week 

Next week children will be looking at trade between Scandinavia and the UK. They will be writing up their own advert persuading people to trade with Scandinavia.  In RE children will continue to look at The Easter Story and we will be holding auditions for our play. In science, children will be constructing their own simple circuit. In Computing we will be moving on to a new Weather topic.   

Please remind children to bring in empty plastic bottles for our science unit. 

Year Five

It has been lovely to welcome the children back after the half‑term break. They have settled in brilliantly and shown great effort throughout the week. 

What we have learnt about this week 

The children have worked incredibly hard during their assessments this week and showed great determination. They also spent time revising key grammar skills and exploring the features and language of a poem. 

In Geography, the children investigated and compared different climates across North America. 
In History, they learned where the Vikings settled and how historians know this. 
In Computing, the class began their exciting stop‑motion animation project. 
In PE, the children enjoyed another fantastic week of swimming. 

 

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, the children will begin a new unit in RE, where they will explore the theme of Salvation. In Reading, they will continue their work on Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In English, the children will spend time analysing another poem and identifying its key features. In Maths, they will be working with equivalent fractions and decimals, as well as identifying and comparing them. In Art, the children will transfer their portrait poems onto a paper collage, combining creativity with their written work. 

Year Six

It has been great having the children back in school after half-term. They have returned with a positive attitude and have settled quickly back into their learning. 

What we have been learning this week 

 
In English, we have begun our new topic: the narrative poem The Highwayman. The children are already engaging thoughtfully with the language and themes of the poem. 

 In Maths, we have now concluded our unit on percentages. The progress the children have made in this area has been excellent, and they are showing much greater confidence when solving percentage problems.  

As we move towards Easter, our RE topic is Salvation. The children will be learning about what salvation means for Christian believers and why it is such an important concept within Christianity. In Science, we finally concluded our investigation as the “William Ford Crime Lab”. The children thoroughly enjoyed analysing the evidence and were fascinated to discover the culprit! 

They have had a fantastic first week back after half-term. 

What we will learn about next week 

In Maths, we will begin our new topic, Statistics, where the children will interpret data using line graphs, bar charts and a range of other representations. 

In English, we will continue our study of the narrative poem The Highwayman, with a particular focus on exploring figurative language and its effect on the reader. 

In RE, we will continue our theme of Salvation, deepening our understanding of its meaning and significance. 

In Geography, we will start our new topic, Our Local Area, where the children will begin exploring the features and characteristics of the area around us. 

 

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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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