Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear Families,

I can hardly believe it, but somehow, we are already two-thirds of the way through the academic year! The summer term is always an exciting and busy time, with plenty of trips planned, residentials for Years 5 and 6, our Festival of Sport for each year group, and hopefully some lovely weather! But it’s not just about fun—there’s still plenty of important learning to do to ensure the children are well-prepared for the next year or even for secondary school.

As we approach the end of the term, it’s a great time to reflect on everything we’ve achieved since Christmas. Here’s a quick look at what the children and the school have been up to:

What Have the Children Been Up To?

• Years 1 & 2 have successfully presented their class assemblies.
• International Day – A huge success, with many families joining us to share their cultures and traditions.
• World Book Week – Filled with authors, quizzes, dress-up days, reading, and much more!
• Our first Music Day, including Samba workshops and a whole-school Samba flash mob in the playground.
• A borough-wide Ensembles Day, where our orchestra performed with other schools.
• The Singing Festival at the Rose Theatre, giving children in the choir the opportunity to sing with other schools.

What Family Engagement Events Have Taken Place This Term?

• A variety of workshops for families, covering topics such as assessment, reading, maths, phonics, the multiplication check, funding a state school, and SATs.
• Opportunities for families to view their children's books and speak to teachers during open classrooms and family-teacher meetings.
• A Family Forum, where class representatives brought questions to the Senior Leadership Team.
• A Music Day concert in the evening.
• Rocksteady concerts showcasing our young musicians.
• The launch of our Racial Justice Working Party.

How About the PTA?

• Rainbow Monday, which became Rainbow Friday (aka ‘Yes’ Day), was a fun success!
• A Fancy Dress Costume Sale.
• A Family Book Quiz.
• A Book and Bake Sale.
• A Music Concert.

Thank you to Cath, Kat, Claire and Hen for ensuring these events are high-quality, enjoyable occasions for our community. 

And the Governors?

• Letter from the Governors

What is coming next?

• Significant Dates Document

A special thank you to Cath Cook, who has worked extremely hard to develop our music provision at school. This term included arranging our wonderful music day and evening concert, the ensembles trip and our participation in the singing festival. 

I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish a belated happy Eid to those who celebrated! For those celebrating Easter, I hope you enjoy a lovely Easter weekend, and to everyone else, I wish you a wonderful spring break.

Best wishes,
Frances

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Teaching and Learning at The Vineyard

Please find your child’s learning bulletin here. This bulletin outlines the topics your child will be studying next term and highlights the key learning objectives. We highly encourage families to print it out, if possible, and display it at home where you can easily refer to and discuss it together.

If a particular topic sparks your child’s interest, consider visiting the local library or using the school library to explore more books on the subject. Engaging in pre-learning with your child at home is a wonderful way to help them build confidence and a deeper understanding of their learning.

If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s class teacher via the year group inbox.

Ms Reilly and Mrs Dempster 

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

Reminder: The Vineyard SEND Coffee Morning on Wednesday 30th April at 8.45am

On Wednesday 30th April at 8.45-9.15am, Mrs Qualter and Miss Jackson, our school SENcos, are hosting a coffee morning in the library at The Vineyard School. This is a great opportunity to meet the Inclusion Team and find out how you can access their support as well as to meet other parents. We look forward to seeing you there!

Career Day - Thursday 5^th June

We have been speaking to the children about The Vineyard Career Day, which will take place on Thursday 5^th June to find out which jobs and career paths they would be interested in learning about.  So far, they have told us that they would like to hear from designers and engineers, people who work in the food industry, about jobs in sport, from those who work with animals, make-up artists, people who work in the gaming industry and “the manager of a company such as John Lewis”.  Thank you to those who have already volunteered to be part of the day.  We do, however, need more volunteers! As you can see, the children are interested in a wide range of jobs and careers, so please do get in touch, whatever your role or experience (past or present).    

In EYFS, KS1 and Lower KS2, we are inviting parents and carers into class to talk about their careers and the skills required to follow those careers. For Upper KS2, we are hosting a careers fair, with children in Years 5 and 6 having the opportunity to talk to parents/carers about careers that they might find interesting.  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 or get in touch with your child’s class teacher.  

Announcing our Geography Photography Competition Winners

We are pleased to announce our winners of the photography competition. 

    Shouvik Sarkar     Ptolemy Krishnan           Eliz Esin              Lilac Krishnan

         Kyanite                   Moonstone                  Sunstone                 Amethyst 

Congratulations to our winners for their beautiful photographs of Richmond! 

Do you recognise these locations in Richmond? 

Screenwriting Competition - Year 5

Congratulations to Alycia Singh for winning the Year 5 Screenwriting Competition this term! A round of applause also goes to Nil for securing second place and Mordecai for achieving third.

We are incredibly proud of all the children who participated. Each child showcased exceptional creativity and dedication in crafting their play scripts during their own time.

A special thank you to Cat Jones, one of our parents, for organising and running the competition. The journey began with an inspiring assembly, followed by workshops for each Year 5 class, and additional drop-in sessions for those seeking extra support.

We look forward to running this competition again next year and building upon its success!

Message from Miss Gabriel: 

I am SUPER excited to be running the London Marathon on April 27th! I'm taking on this challenge to raise funds for the National Eczema Society, which has provided support and guidance to my family and me throughout my life, and I’d love your support. Every bit of encouragement means the world—thank you!

Donation link: https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/tatum-gabriel