Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear Families,

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the sunshine that’s finally lighting up our break times! It’s been wonderful to see the children making the most of the warm weather and having fun outdoors. We’re all looking forward to even more sunny days ahead!

Today, we celebrated World Book Day, which has been a real highlight! A big thank you to everyone who participated and to the teachers who swapped classes to read their favourite stories. The creativity and enthusiasm from both children and staff made the day extra special. It was fantastic to see so many different costumes and hear the love for reading in every classroom.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank all those who joined us for the School Funding Workshop. Your involvement and thoughtful questions are truly appreciated as we work together to ensure the best possible learning environment for all our children. Please find information here about the Friends of The Vineyard and a further leaflet here. I will be repeating this workshop online for those who have not managed to attend either of the in-person ones. This will be on Wednesday, 19th March at 7pm. A link will be sent at the beginning of that week.

Racial Justice Working Party – Update

Today, we held our first Racial Justice Working Party meeting, bringing together the school and families to collaborate on achieving our anti-racist pledge (available on our website).

As a result of this meeting, we have identified key actions and are committed to keeping all families informed about our progress and ongoing efforts throughout the year and beyond. Further updates will follow.

In the meantime, you can learn more about how we are addressing racism at The Vineyard by visiting this link: Anti-Racism Pledge. This pledge is part of an initiative launched by the Richmond and Kingston boroughs.

Our journey will be shaped by the voices and experiences of our children and their families. We encourage the whole community to be part of this important work, and we will share further information and learning opportunities on becoming an anti-racist school in due course.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We are fortunate to have such a strong community working alongside us!

Last but certainly not least, I am delighted to announce that Mrs. Bartlett, Year 5 teacher, is expecting her first baby in August—such exciting news! I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms. McArdle back from her maternity leave.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

Warm regards,
Frances

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Attendance

Well done to all the year groups getting above 96%. 

Frances Bracegirdle - headteacher

Maths at The Vineyard – following our Maths Workshop for Families

At The Vineyard, our approach to teaching mathematics emphasises building a deep understanding of mathematical concepts through fluency and reasoning. We believe that this foundation enables children to tackle complex problem-solving tasks with confidence and skill. Rather than accelerating through the curriculum, we focus on ensuring that each child fully grasps the material, promoting the application of maths skills, effective problem-solving strategies, and the development of oracy.

A recent study published in Research in Mathematics Education highlights the benefits of a mastery approach in mathematics education. The study found that children who demonstrated a thorough understanding of mathematical topics before progressing were better equipped to handle advanced concepts and problem-solving situations.

tandfonline.com

By encouraging children to delve deeper into their understanding, we aim to foster a genuine appreciation for mathematics and equip them with the tools necessary for lifelong learning.

Thank you to all parents who attended either the problem-solving workshop or the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check workshop. I hope you found them useful and informative. Please find the slides attached.

Maths' workshop 2024

Maths' workshop 2023

Multiplication Tables Check 2024 - year 4

Ms Reilly and Mr Jackson 

Assistant Headteacher for Teaching & Learning & Maths Lead

International Women's Day Competition Winners!

We were so impressed by the entries for our International Women's Day competition. Children across the school, from Reception to Year 6, bought in their entries, and it was very tough for Mrs Norman to judge. Well done to all those children who entered, and we can proudly announce that our winners are...

Bessie (Y6), Jeanne (Y3) and Elodie (Y2)

Bessie celebrated her amazing grandmother, Jeanne celebrated Joan of Arc and Elodie celebrated Taylor Swift. 

Behaviour Posters 

As you will have seen around the school and through family communications, we have posters of expected and unexpected behaviour at school. Children know what we expect of them and what will happen if unexpected behaviour is shown. We have reviewed what would happen in cases of high level behaviour incidents, including bullying and racism. These next steps can be seen here. 

Career Day - Thursday 5^th June 2025

The Vineyard Career Day will take place on Thursday 5^th June to enable students to learn about various professions and career paths, so that they can link their learning in school with the real world.  As part of the Career Day, in EYFS, KS1 and Lower KS2, we would like to invite parents and carers into class to talk about their careers and the skills required to follow those careers.  For Upper KS2, we would like to host a careers fair, with children in Year 5 and 6 having the opportunity to talk to parents/carers about careers that they might find interesting.  

We would love to get you involved. If you would be willing/interested in talking about your career in your child’s class or would be willing to participate in a careers fair, please email me at year4@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk.  When responding, please let me know what your job or profession is, as we would like to cover as wide a range of careers and professions on the day as possible, as well as the year group of your child/children.

Helen Darling 

Year 4 class teacher 

Book Swap - Friday 14th March 

As part of our World Book Day celebrations, the Green Team are hosting a book swap on Friday 14th March. This is an opportunity for children to bring a book from home to school to swap for another book. This will take place throughout the school day. If your child is interested, they can choose a book at home and bring it to school on Friday ready for the book swap! Please make sure the book is in good condition and age appropriate as children will be swapping within their own year group. 

Super Saturday Update

The funding from the Opening Schools Project ended mid-way through this academic year.

The aim of the project was to open a safe space for Vineyard families to play.

Vineyard families were welcome to invite their close community (neighbour, cousin) to join in with them on the school grounds.

Super Saturday had two focuses – a wheel based project (cycling, skateboarding, inline skates, scooters) and a Table Tennis project.

For the project to continue at its most basic level, and to be sustainable, it requires financial support.

The grounds are opened by school staff. The outside space is monitored by JA Sports who do not directly coach but instead facilitate play. The site is maintained by cleaners the following morning.

There are 381 families in our school community. For a minimum contribution of £6.00 per family the grounds could open after February half term for the remainder of term time Saturdays for this academic year.

In the future

Academic year 25/26 the cost per family would be £13.00 for the school to be opened every Saturday term time 9:30-12midday giving families the opportunity to use the space.

What’s planned: we would like to continue with our projects by having private skateboard, table tennis, cycle lessons

Create an extended Vineyard run

Continue with adhoc events such as the Hobby Horse jump show, sports tournaments