Dear Parents/Carers, 

This week’s weather has certainly kept us on our toes — sunshine, rain and strong winds all in the space of a few hours! Although we are beginning to see signs of summer, temperatures are still quite cool, so please ensure that children continue to come to school with their coats and jumpers/cardigans.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say a huge well done to all of our Year 6 pupils for their fantastic effort during this week’s SATs tests. Throughout the week, the children demonstrated tremendous grit, resilience and determination, and they should all feel extremely proud of themselves — as proud as we certainly are of them.

As a school, we remain committed to ensuring that every child receives a high-quality education that challenges and supports them to achieve their full potential. The hard work and dedication shown by our pupils this week is a true reflection of that commitment.

While SATs are an important part of the school year, we also know that tests do not capture everything that makes our children exceptional. They do not measure kindness, creativity, resilience, empathy, humour, or the joy our children bring to school each day. At Forest Academy, we are proud not only of what our children achieve academically, but of the wonderful young people they continue to become.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

Mrs Lloyd & the Forest Academy Team

Year 1 have had a fantastic and busy term full of creativity, curiosity and growing confidence! The children have made brilliant progress in their writing stamina and are now writing for longer periods with much greater independence and enthusiasm.

In design and technology, they have enjoyed learning how to weave using a variety of different techniques, creating colourful and imaginative pieces they are very proud of. In geography and English, the children have developed their skills in giving clear directions and writing instructions, showing fantastic teamwork, listening and communication.

The learning has also extended into the natural world, where the children have been exploring plants, observing how they grow and change, and developing their understanding of the environment around them.

A highlight of the term has been their exciting exploration of Croydon, where they compared old and new buildings. The children showed great curiosity as they spotted the differences in architecture, discussed how the area has changed over time, and made thoughtful observations about their local community.

We are incredibly proud of all their hard work, enthusiasm and growing independence across every area of learning!

In English, the children have been studying the core text Oliver Twist. Inspired by the story, they wrote their own play script versions of key scenes and enjoyed including stage directions to describe the characters’ actions and movements.

In maths, the children have been learning about money. They practised converting pounds into pence, as well as adding and subtracting different amounts of money. They have also developed the important life skill of calculating change after making purchases.

In science, the children have been learning about the life cycle of a seed. They cut tomatoes in half, scooped out the seeds and planted them in pots filled with compost. The seeds were then covered with a small amount of compost and watered carefully. The children are now waiting to see the seeds germinate. To compare germination rates, they also planted cress seeds to investigate which would grow first – cress or tomato. They observed a live strawberry plant and identified where the fruit develops from the pollinated flower, noticing the seeds beginning to form on the outside of the fruit. The children also examined beetroot and pumpkin seedlings to compare their features. After learning about seed life cycles, they investigated the different ways plants disperse their seeds.

In history, the children explored how trade developed during the Bronze Age. They learned that improvements in farming, following the discovery of bronze, allowed people to produce a surplus of food. This surplus enabled trading with other parts of Europe and Asia by land and sea.

In computing, the children have been learning about branching databases. They began by identifying the features of different animals before sorting them using yes/no questions. By continuing to ask questions, they were able to narrow groups down until only one animal remained in each category. They then applied these skills on the computer by creating tree diagrams to classify foods according to their features.

This week, Year 5 have been busy learning the skills needed to write a voice over for an animal documentary. They revised how to write using present tense verbs and explored punctuation they could use for effect such as an ellipsis. The children then generated vocabulary to describe the journey turtles take when they are born. They will put all these skills together to write a voice over, which they will then record.

In maths, children have been learning about angles. They began the unit by using the terms 'half turn' and 'quarter turn' and linked these to 90 and 180 degrees. The children then classified a range of acute, right, obtuse and reflex angles and estimated how many degrees were in each angle.

In science, the children learnt about the physical and emotional changes experienced by adults as they become elderly. In geography, the children learnt about renewable and non-renewable resources and discussed the choices countries make when choosing their resources. In D&T, the children explored electrical components that could be used to make a wind turbine propeller move. In RE, the children explored Humanism and the importance of science and reasoning to humanists. In PE, the children are revisiting athletic events in preparation for Sports Day. This week, they practised throwing a javelin and covering distances in the long jump. In computing, the children learnt how to add features to a document to enhance its look and usability.

If you have concerns about a child (or their families) welfare, contact Croydon Council’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) 

Telephone: 020 8726 6400 

Out of hours: 020 8726 6400 (ask for out of hours team) 

Email: childreferrals@croydon.gov.uk 

Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 – 16:00 

If you think a child is at risk of immediate harm telephone 999