Old Ford Newsletter

May 22nd 2026

Principal’s Message

Have a great holiday everyone! See you back at school on Monday 1st June!

There is a lot going on next half term so please make a note of the dates below:

1st June – Y4 multiplication test starts
3rd June – Y1/2 sports day (Y1 morning, Y2 afternoon)
4th June – Parents/carers attendance session 2
10th – 12th June – Y6 residential
11th June – Parents/carers attendance session 3
16th June – Y3/4 sports day (Y3 morning, Y4 afternoon)
17th June – Y5/6 sports day (Y5 morning, Y6 afternoon)
22nd June – Y4 residential

10th July – Y6 performance to Y5 and parents
13th July – School concert
17th July – Y6 leaver assembly

Wear Green For World Mental Health Week

We raised the following amounts last Friday. 

YN – £65
YR – £75
Y1 & 2 – £79
Y3 & 4 – £60
Y5 & 6 – £88

The pupils are choosing how to spend their money in their own playgrounds – Being physically active is one of the key ways to improve your mental health!

Attendance

We all know how important regular attendance is. If children aren’t in school, they will miss out on important learning.

I know sometimes children are genuinely to ill to come to school, but if they only have a minor cold or cough it is find to send them in. There’s some good advice here from the NHS if you’re ever not sure.

From this week, we will be sending out weekly messages via MCAS with your child’s attendance percentage for the year to date. 90% may sound like high attendance, but over the course of a whole school year, it’s equal to FOUR WEEKS of missed school!

Homemade Ice Cream Sundae Nachos with Whipped Cream and Sprinkles
boy playing Pokemon Trading Cards,

This week's Cake with Kevin Value Award Winners! EYFS and KS1

RC – Aadil: Adil R is receiving a Community award for being helpful to his classmates and for being a good role model. Thank you and well done!

RI – Yusra: Community – Yusra is always playing nicely with her friends and a great team member in class. well done Yusra, keep up the good work.

1C – Saleh: Saleh showed integrity by practising his spelling at home, trying his best, and feeling proud of earning full marks through his hard work. Keep shining Saleh!

1E – Kaisan: Dear Kaisan, this is a community award. In 1E you are always kind to your friends and say kind, supportive words when they are doing the right thing. You always listen to your friends, when they are talking to you. Thank you for your kindness. Don’t change.

1I – Aadam: Well done for producing an excellent piece of writing in Extended Writing! Keep it up!

2C – Maria: Excellence – I have been so impressed with how sensibly and calmly you have been walking in the corridor to our PE lessons. Keep up the excellent work!

2E – Orpha: Orpha has been trying really hard with her writing and she is growing more independent day by day. Keep up the great effort Orpha!

2I – Jibraeel: Your positive attitude, determination and commitment to doing the right thing is truly wonderful. You make us proud everyday. Keep shining and being a fantastic role model!

This week's Cake with Kevin Value Award Winners! KS2

3C – Rayhan: Well done for writing a really well thought through story for your English CJ. It was a great read!

3E – Patricia: Excellence: Patricia has been doing very well in shared reading. She has been super focussed and her effort has not gone unnoticed.

3I – Saminur: Excellence – Saminur, you have taken on feedback and have made significant changes in your approach to your work. As a result, you have produced some great work. Keep it up!

4E – Ayyub: Well done for producing some amazing artwork this week. Your self portrait was superb – you included shadows and shading. Keep up the amazing work!

5C – Harley: You performed exceptionally well during our Music lesson. This was noticed by a visitor teacher from another school. You did a great job at representing Old Ford. Well done Harley!

5C – Isra: Isra- Community. You show great focus in all lessons; have a ‘can do’ attitude and you are eager to reach greater depth level. You are set for year 6. Well done and keep it up!

5E – Amgad: Integrity: Amgad – Well done for having a fantastic week. You have shown integrity and tried your best to be mindful of others around you. Thank you for showing such character—we are all very proud of you! Keep up the fantastic attitude.

5E – Noah: Congratulations for having such a positive attitude in school, working hard to follow our school values and rules, whilst also joining in to work with good effort. We are all so proud of you! Keep up the positive attitude.

5I – Sumayyah: Congratulations Sumayyah K. for completing your Reading + assignments so brilliantly. Well done for getting 100% of your boxes green. Keep it up! We are very proud of you! Claudia

Cricket ball resting on a cricket bat on green grass of cricket pitch

Dates for your Diary

Pizza Express Visit – 5C
Tue 9th Jun
Year 4 Residential
Mon 22nd Jun
School Concert
Mon 13th Jul

Toothbrushing Guide

Please see the link below for information and advice on keeping your children’s teeth healthy and white!
Find out more

How can I be more punctual?

Be prepared

Go to bed at a reasonable time

Give yourself more time in the morning

Be aware of the time

Young Health Hub Launching

You are invited to the launch on 24th July 2026, between 2pm and 5pm at the Town Hall in Whitechapel.

Find out more

Fire Safety

Members of the Fire Brigade have been in our school recently, talking to pupils in Year 2 – Year 5 about fire safety, and what to do in the event of a fire. Use the links below to download the documents.

Key Stage 1 Fire Plan

Key Stage 2 Fire Plan

Charge Safe

Free Home Fire Safety Visit

Community Resources for Families

  • The government has launched their Best Start in Life supporting the Plan for Change target of 75% of children being school-ready by 2028. Visit the Best Start in Life website and sign up for personalised weekly emails.
  • Have you ever considered volunteering? The Early Help service allows parents to come together, learn new skills and prepare for work. 
  • The new expanded funded early education entitlements are available now – discover more about the 2-year-old childcare extension.
Captivating melody of music notes and signs on abstract dark background musical banner concept.

Online safety

We are still getting reports of pupils on social media apps such as Snapchat.

As you know, an important part of our curriculum is teaching pupils about esafety. We know that a lot of our pupils spend a lot of their time online, either through online gaming or on social media apps. This can sometimes lead to contact with inappropriate people
and/or exposure to inappropriate language. We strongly recommend that you monitor your children’s usage of the internet and that you are aware of what they are doing online.

Most social media apps have an age limit of 13+. If you are allowing your children to access these apps you are putting them at risk!

Read more about e-safety for you and your child.

art toys Labubu key chain labubu macaron collection from Pop Mart blind box collectable cute toy ้hanging on ivory backpack bag with background of white table, Popmart popular item doll

Start and end of the day

Please remember that there are no staff on duty in the playgrounds before and after school so parents/carers should supervise their own children. Children should not be playing with balls or on the climbing frames.

To keep children safe please do not park on the double yellow or zig-zag lines when you are collecting or dropping off. Tower Hamlets parking enforcement officers are conducting regular patrols in the area.

When collecting your child at the end of the day please wait until all pupils are in their lines before speaking to the teacher and collecting your child. We need to make sure that all of our pupils go home with the right adult!

Hands holding a mobile phone
A blue pen rests next to a name tag for a child on a soft fabric.

Unauthorised Absences in Term Time

We follow government guidance on term time holidays and we do not authorise pupil holidays during term time. We encourage parents/carers to take their holidays during one of the scheduled holiday breaks.

You can be fined or face legal action for taking your child on holiday during term time.

Read the government guidance here

Bow Foodbank

Did you know Bow Foodbank now operates out of Bow Community Hall?

Tuesday 10am – 12pm
Tower Hamlets residents only

Tuesday 12.30pm – 4pm
Click and Collect, order by 1pm Sunday.

Wednesday 2pm – 7pm
Open to all

Thursday 10am – 1pm
Tower Hamlets only

Friday collection 8am – 12pm
Order by 9pm Wednesday

 

Bow Foodbank is open to all, there’s no need for a referral or voucher. Visit them at:

Bow Community Hall
1, William Place,
E3 5ED

See you soon!

We are now closed for the holidays! We hope you enjoy your break and we look forward to seeing you back at school on  Monday 1st June.