Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear Families,

And just like that, the academic year is nearly over! What a fantastic year it’s been. So much has been achieved by the children, staff, governors, PTA, and, of course, you, our wonderful families. Your support makes all the difference, and we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you!

As we head into the summer, I thought I’d set some fun (and entirely optional!) challenges for the children. They can do as many or as few as they like, but I hope they’ll enjoy giving a few a try!

Summer Challenge Menu

READ...
A book of your choice! It can be anything, as long as you finish it. If you start one and don’t enjoy it, try another. The best books are the ones that capture your imagination.

VISIT...
A museum, gallery, or place of educational interest. Look for somewhere that sparks curiosity—local or further afield!

WATCH...
A film, documentary, or series with educational value. It could be linked to science, English, history or anything you’re interested in. KS2 children, you might even try watching something in French!

DO...
Something active outside! Go for a walk, run, bike ride, or play a sport. It should last at least 30 minutes and take place outdoors.

MAKE...
Something creative. Paint, draw, bake, cook, dance, write a song or poem - anything that gets your creativity flowing.

WRITE...
Tell us what you’ve been up to! Write about your activities or take photos and share them with us. Send your write-ups, pictures or even a postcard to Mrs Bracegirdle, headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

I hope you have fun with these activities, and I can’t wait to see what you get up to!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday!

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Farewell to Members of Our Vineyard Community
As we come to the end of another school year, it’s time to say goodbye to some much-loved members of The Vineyard community.

To the staff who are moving on, whether to new schools, different careers, new places across the UK, or even adventures as far away as Australia, we send our heartfelt thanks. Your care, commitment and creativity have left a lasting mark on our children’s lives, and we are truly grateful. We wish you happiness and fulfilment in the exciting journeys ahead.

To the families who are leaving us this year - thank you for the many ways you’ve contributed to our school. It’s been a privilege to have you as part of our community, and we hope your new schools and neighbourhoods bring you as much joy as you brought to ours.

And finally, to our incredible Year 6 pupils: what a year you’ve had! Your end of year production was a wonderful celebration of your time with us, full of talent, teamwork, and Vineyard spirit. You are more than ready for the next step, and although we’ll miss you, we’re so proud of all you’ve achieved. Please remember: once a Vineyard pupil, always a Vineyard pupil. Please don’t be strangers!

Frances Bracegirdle - headteacher

A goodbye message from Mrs Thompson

The last three years, being both a parent and a teacher at The Vineyard have flown by. I have had the privilege of teaching the oldest children in the school, seeing them on their way as they fly the primary school nest, as well as the youngest children in Reception, just starting out on their journey. There has been lots of hard work and lots of laughs and I will always remember the school with great fondness. My family and I are moving out of the area and embarking on a new adventure in the countryside this summer. Thank you to the Vineyard community for making our time here so special - we will miss you!

Name correction

Catherine Brindley is joining our reception team not Catherine Pearce!

Teaching and Learning at The Vineyard

As we come to the end of a successful year, it’s a great moment to reflect on the incredible progress we’ve made in strengthening teaching and learning across our school.

• We’ve designed, delivered, and supported the rollout of a brand-new writing curriculum and writing journey, equipping teachers with the tools and guidance to inspire confident, high-quality writing in every classroom.
• Through our continuous professional development sessions with staff, we’ve enhanced our use of Assessment for Learning strategies — from Think-Pair-Share, Show Me Boards, Random Questioning, to Exit Tickets and a focus on Quality of Questioning — helping teachers to check children's understanding and to make every lesson more impactful for our learners.
• We’ve laid the foundations for next year with an update to our engaging science curriculum. This will be ready to launch next year, bringing exciting learning opportunities for all pupils. 
• Across our school, we’ve established and embedded clear expectations for Behaviour for Learning, creating calm, purposeful classrooms, where children feel connected, understand the boundaries and routines and work hard to be successful in their learning. 

These achievements reflect the dedication and teamwork of our fantastic staff, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead.

Ms Reilly and Mrs Dempster 

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

SPEAR Fundraiser Day

Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising day on Friday 4th July, especially our enthusiastic School Council members from Year 1, who collected the donations in the morning and then worked diligently at the cake sale all afternoon.  Thank you to their parents, and the year 5 and 6 school council members who also supported the cake sale. 

We have proudly raised £609.81 for SPEAR, who support people moving from homelessness to independence in Richmond. 

Congratulations to all those who entered our creative talent competition.

Congratulations to our 3 winning entries!

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our school council members from year 1 to 6 for their diligent and enthusiastic support throughout the year.

Tarnia Houllier and Amy Thompson 

School Council Leads 

Richmond Library's Summer Reading Challenge 

This half-term, Emily, the librarian from Richmond Library, spoke to the children about their summer reading challenge. The children were very excited by the idea of reading 6 library books over the summer.

Please click here to find out how to join. 

School Lunches from September 2025

The booking for school meals from September to December 2025 is now open.

A reminder to all parents that we are unable to accommodate a mix of school meals and packed lunches. Children will need to choose either a packed lunch or a school meal for the whole of the term.

To select your meals, please indicate your choice across all 5 days via the School Money App.

We would kindly ask that even if your child is going to be receiving packed lunches from home, you still submit this option as confirmation.

For any further information please contact aauchoybur@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Click here for more information on Grow. 

Click here for the Autumn-Winter menu.