Old Ford Newsletter
January 9th 2026
Principal’s Message
Happy New Year everyone and welcome back!
I hope you had a good break with your families whether you went away or stayed in London.
David Willis Paradigm Chairman Retiring
David has been chairman of the Paradigm Board of Directors since 2016 and we are lucky to have had him at Old Ford as our Link Director. (You may have met him at our Academy Council meetings where he has been a regular attender). He has been a huge asset to the Trust and we are all sorry to see him go.
I will particularly miss him as he has been a huge support to me as Principal through some tricky times, not least the Covid-19 pandemic. Like all of our directors, David’s role was voluntary and unpaid. Thank you David for all you have done, on behalf of myself, the staff and the numerous pupils and their families who have attended OFPA during your time as a director.
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
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.
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.
- Young Community Languages- for ages 6-18. These free sessions help children learn their heritage language or an additional community language.
- 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.
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!
Spring Term Calendar
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!
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
