Dear parents and carers,
Welcome back!
This week I am writing our newsletter on a Tuesday instead of the usual Friday rush. All being well, at the time this is published I will be travelling back from what I imagine is going to be a fantastic residential to France. Hopefully parents have enjoyed viewing the numerous photos we (hopefully) managed to send back to the UK and are looking forward to hearing from the pupils about their adventures. I look forward to sharing more next week.
Staffing news
I wrote to the parents in Class 3P at the start of the week to inform that following a period of illness, Mr Pearson will not be returning to William Ford. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Pearson for his years of service at William Ford and to wish him every success for the future. 3P will be taught by Miss Finch and Mrs Legg for the remainder of this academic year. My thanks to both of these individuals.
Our playground miracle
So, it is about 8:30am, Tuesday morning. A few pupils are already in school for various boosters etc and the level of excitement our new playground is palpable. I am certainly looking forward to visiting the playground at break times to see all our hard works being enjoyed by the children.
I believe it was September when I first shared the plans for the playground with the pupils. The truth is we had been planning this for several months previous. I actually believe the completion of the playground is our own little miracle. Firstly, when the quotes came through we knew we could not afford it but, with the playground in such a bad shape - dangerous in parts - plus knowing we had a responsibility to get pupils active, we applied for various loans that are available to schools, only to be repeatedly told no. Eventually we convinced those who can support that this was a necessary - be it essential - project and monies were provided, and we are talking about an amount close to £100,000. During the summer, the next problem occurred as various tree roots started to destroy the concrete meaning significant digging and repairs was needed, and some trees had to go. This was going to wipe out a significant amount of the money that was needed. However, despite us receiving around £450,000 the previous year for a new roof, the Diocese of Chelmsford agreed to pay 90% of the cost to repair the playground! As I type, it is now 8:45 and children are entering the playground behind me. The screams of delight and excitement are just amazing to witness! Certainly through this experience, I have learnt a lot about trusting God, but also about patience - something I know I lack at times! I will forever be grateful for what God has provided for the pupils at William Ford. Pictures below.
Monday's inset day - another day off?
What is an inset day? Is this a day off for teachers? Certainly not! The government requires me to arrange five full days of training across the year. But what are they used for?
Hopefully you are aware that our whole school curriculum is based around the idea that we engage pupils in learning that fulfils a real life or make belive purpose. For example, in Year Three rather than learning about volcanoes, pupils have been working as volcanologists. In Year Four we have had pupils in role as archaeologists. Parachute designers have been working hard in Year Five whilst Year Six have been 'commissioned' by the South American Tourist board to promote their continent. Yesterday was a chance for our fantastic teachers to receive more planning on this radically engaging approach to teaching and to consider what the next projects will be. I can promise you there are some very exciting experiences planned for the pupils!
But why do we do this? What we are doing is firstly tapping into everyone's love of a story (that's why many of us have Disney+, Netflix etc). We also believe that this approach is much more engaging and if pupils are engaged and excited by their learning, they will learn more and remember more. We also want to raise aspirations and expose pupils to a range of new careers that they might just not realise even exist.
This approach is very new but, as the weeks and terms progress, you will hear your children coming home telling you about the new roles and careers that they are experiencing. This is a large part of what makes William Ford such a great school!
I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.
Mr. David Huntingford
Headteacher