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Issue Number: 35

                                                                                                                       17th July 2026

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Dear Families, 
We have reached that time of year when we say goodbye to our Year 6 children but also welcome our new Goslings. 

Kingfishers and Kookaburras have been a delight from start to finish. They really have had each other's backs, been incredibly welcoming to all the new children that joined them along the way, and they just deeply care for each other. We had the most wonderful Leavers' assembly yesterday, where individuality, kindness and respect for each other were celebrated. We will miss them greatly but know that they are ready for the next chapter in their learning journey.

We also celebrated Miss Raban. There are not enough words to describe what a wonderful teacher she is but also the impact she has had on Rodings. For the last twelve years, Miss Raban has nurtured, cared for and guided hundreds of children either through her class teaching or the amazing Singing Squad that she set up many years ago. We were delighted she made it to the Leavers' Assembly as her baby is due any day! There is going to be a Miss Raban-shaped hole at Rodings, but everyone wishes her the best as she goes on to new adventures. Thank you so much for everything you have done for Rodings. 

I'm also delighted to announce that our current Goslings have chosen their class name. They will be known as Nightingales as they go into Year 1. A great name! 

Keeping with tradition, we presented our annual awards celebrating everything that is special about the children and adults that are part of the Rodings family. Congratulations to all the winners who richly deserved the recognition they received yesterday. As we had two Year 6 classes this year, some awards were double awarded.  The full list of winners is below:

 

 

 

Our House Cup winner for the summer term is Hrotha. Congratulations! Your reward is a non-uniform day on Friday 11th September. 

Finally, I just want to say a huge thank you to all the staff and children for making 2025/26 another very special year. I also want to extend my gratitude to you, the parents and families, for your continued support, encouragement and enthusiasm for Rodings. It truly is a team effort, and we can only go from strength to strength with your continued support and participation. Thank you!

Have an amazing summer and see you all on Wednesday 3rd September. 



Mr Raraty 

To all parents and carers,

The governing board met for the last time this academic year on Monday 6th July.

Mr Raraty shared the staffing plans for September and we wish all staff every success in their new or continuing roles. We are especially sorry to hear that Miss Raban will be leaving Rodings at the end of this term as she heads off on maternity leave; she has contributed so much to school life and we will miss her inspirational and positive energy. We wish Miss Raban and her growing family every happiness for the future. After 12 wonderful years with us, Mrs Parker is also setting off on a new adventure and the care and dedication she has shown supporting many pupils and staff in her role as LSA has made a lasting difference. We wish her every success in her new endeavours.

We will soon be waving off our Year 6 children as they take their next steps into secondary school. With the happy memories and strong foundations they have built at Rodings, we know they are ready to embrace the new opportunities, friendships and challenges ahead. We are very proud of them and would love them to keep in touch and let us know how they are getting on!

Our work with other schools in our local partnership, DEEP (Dunmow Excellence in Education Partnership), continues to strengthen and through DEEP’s new teacher training programme, we are delighted that Mrs Hodges will be joining us to teach Year 5 from September. Our own Mrs George, who has previously worked as an LSA with us and has been training as a teacher in the DEEP programme over the past year, will be taking up the role as a teacher at St Elizabeth’s Specialist School from September - congratulations Mrs George!

Our meeting also covered the impact of the recent heatwave on attendance, along with updates on premises work, SEND planning, the school’s current financial situation, training and pupil behaviour. It was also lovely to hear about the success of the recent R-Fest.

One of our key roles as governors is to shape the future direction of our school and we discussed the proposed new ‘Road Map’ which has been developed with input from staff, pupils, parents and governors. This looks ahead to 2029, setting out an exciting vision for Rodings. We will use our Road Map to help guide our priorities, planning and actions over the coming months and years.

As yet another school year draws to a close, the governors would like to thank all staff, pupils, parents and carers for your continued support of our wonderful school. We hope you all have a restful, enjoyable and exciting summer break.

Steph Green

Chair of Governors   

Weekly Attendance (week ending 017/07/2026)
School target:
97%		 Number on roll:
289
Whole-School Attendance Unauthorised Absences Persistent Absentees

Lateness

94.8% (down)

1.4% (Same)

13.9% (increasing)

1.2% (down)

 

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Ella has had an amazing weekend with her pony winning the British young drivers championships for her age group, at the Sandringham estate and to top it off she was presented her rosette by HRH Duchess of Edinburgh,  what a show x

Well done Ella, we are so proud of you :-)

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Alice, Willow, Reenie, Camilla, Edie, Emmy, Sarah, Stan, Ruby and Annie all danced brilliantly at the 104th Summer Show at Harlow Playhouse with The Buckhurst Hill and Woodford School of Dance. We are all so incredibly proud of how well they performed and supported each other, with lots of practice sessions and performing in front of a packed audience! They were all complete stars! ?? 

Well done to you all, we are so proud of you :-)

The Mariner kids have had a great weekend of swimming achievements.

George passed his stage 4 swimming on Friday which has taken him a long time and we are super proud of his perseverance and Charlotte did her first artistic Swimming show ..due to her foot injury she's only been doing it about 6 weeks and did a brilliant routine with her group to a packed audience at Chelmsford Riverside.

We are super proud of them both!

Well done George & Charlotte, we are so proud of you :-)

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Lydia won an award for technical excellence in her dance show recently. ??

Well done Lydia, we are so proud of you :-)

Alice, Willow, Reenie, Camilla, Edie, Emmy, Sarah, Stan, Ruby and Annie all danced brilliantly at the 104th Summer Show at Harlow Playhouse with The Buckhurst Hill and Woodford School of Dance. We are all so incredibly proud of how well they performed and supported each other, with lots of practice sessions and performing in front of a packed audience! They were all complete stars! 

Well done to you all, we are so proud of you :-)

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Alice and Annie were also awarded the Fyfield Achievement Cup!!! We’re so proud of them both for all the dedication and hard work they have put in this year. Well done girls 

Well done Alice & Annie, we are so proud of you :-)

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We will be on Week 1 on the menu when we return in September

 

 

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INSET Days
All Day
from 01 Sep until 02 Sep
01
September
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