Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear families,

We hope you’ve all had a wonderful half-term break – full of rest, relaxation, and a chance to recharge with family and friends. Whether you ventured away or enjoyed some cosy time at home, we hope you had a great time with your family!

As we return for the second half of the autumn term, we’re gearing up for what is always one of the busiest, and most magical, times of the year. With lots of exciting learning opportunities, festive preparations, and end-of-term celebrations ahead, we’re looking forward to a productive and joyful run-up to Christmas. Some important dates for your diary.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and successful half-term for everyone!

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Celebrating Black History Month

This week, we have been celebrating Black History Month with a series of vibrant, inspiring workshops, including the immersive programme Hidden Figures delivered by Bigfoot Arts Education.

The children journeyed through time as ‘Time Investigators’, uncovering remarkable, often overlooked figures from Black British history, from the Roman Britain Ivory Bangle Lady to nurse and activist Dame Elizabeth Anionwu.

In these lively sessions, the children used drama, discovery bags, artefacts and role-play to bring these stories to life.

Here are some of the things our pupils said:

“I loved pretending to travel through time and discovering how people even in Roman Britain made a difference. It made me feel like I can do something great too,” said a Year 3 pupil.

“I thought it was fascinating to find out how many black people were around in Roman Britain times and that some were rich and some were poor,” said Mitchell in Year 6.

“The acting was really entertaining!” said Lily in Year 3.

“It was very fun when one of them got stuck behind a time machine and whenever they got more points, they did a funny dance!” said Nico in Year 3.

“I thought it was sad how many black people got forgotten, even though they did great things,” said Sophia in Year 6.

“I enjoyed having to help the characters get back to the future. We need to talk about them (hidden figures) more,” said Chayce in Year 3.

We were delighted by how engaged and thoughtful the children were, asking excellent questions, working together and reflecting on how the past connects to the present. The workshops helped foster empathy, understanding and the belief that each of us has the power to effect change.

Thank you to all the staff and to Bigfoot Arts Education for making the week so memorable. We look forward to continuing our learning and celebrating diversity throughout the year.

Why not take your music exam in our hub?

Congratulations Elizabeth (year 6) for achieving a distinction in her piano exam. Elizabeth was our very first Vineyard student to take her exam in our music hub. Well done Elizabeth.

ABRSM exams - December date now booking

Following the success of our October exam day in the Music Hub – with a 100% Merit and Distinction rate for Vineyard students and alumni! – our next ABRSM exam day is booked for Monday 15 December. If you have a child ready to take a grade exam in music, contact Cath on music@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk for more details. Priority is given to current Vineyard students and alumni, and bookings must be made by Friday 14 November. 

Instrumental and singing lessons now available!

There are currently spaces for children in Year 2 and above to have tuition in recorder, percussion and singing via the Richmond Music Trust; see flyers:

Recorder   Singing   Percussion

We also have one or two spaces via the Vineyard Music Hub for lessons in drumkit (minimum Y2) and piano. Contact music@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk if you are interested.

Safeguarding and Behaviour

Anti-Bullying Week

Next week is anti-bullying week. We will be having anti-bullying workshops and celebrating Odd Socks Day on Friday 14^th November. This is an annual event held in Anti-Bullying Week to celebrate individuality and raise awareness about bullying. To participate, people wear odd socks to show that it's okay to be different and to promote acceptance. We encourage all children to join in this event. For more information please visit: Anti-Bullying Alliance.

What we have been talking to the children about this week:

This week in our assembly we spoke to the children about how to keep ourselves safe online. The children were able to say that they should only use appropriate apps/websites and to get an adult if unsure of something. 

We also discussed that we need to show all adults the same respect, whether that is the headteacher, someone in the office, a midday supervisor etc. 

Alice McArdle 

Assistant Headteacher 

Reminder: The Vineyard SEND Coffee Morning on Wednesday 29^th January at 9am

On Thursday 19^th November at 9.00-9.30am, 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!

The Vineyard Governors

The Vineyard’s Governing Board is made up of 13 governors: the Headteacher; a local authority governor proposed by the Governing Board and appointed by the local authority; two parent governors elected by the parent body; one staff governor elected by the staff; eight co-opted governors chosen by the Governing Board for the skills that they bring to the Board.  Of the eight co-opted governors, four are current parents at the school. The Board can also be supported by Associate Governors of which we have one.  Our current board members and a brief profile of each of them can be found on the school website.

Governors are responsible for overseeing the management side of a school. They focus on strategy, policy, budgeting, and staffing, working alongside senior leaders and supporting teachers to provide excellent education to children.

Read more link: Governor's Report Autumn 1

Harvest Festival Collection

We want to extend a huge thank you to our parents and families for your generous donations to our Harvest collection this year. We were collecting for local charity, The Vineyard Community, who were incredibly grateful for our support. Thank you. 

Mrs Brindley & Miss Rahman 

RE Leads 

Friends of The Vineyard

If you would like to contribute financially to support your child’s education, read on...

The Friends of the Vineyard (FoV), our school’s registered charity (No. 1077631), plays a vital role in enriching learning at The Vineyard School.  Join the Friends of the Vineyard and help us deliver exciting, inclusive learning for every child.

With your support, we've already:

• Funded IT equipment and music resources
• Improved outdoor learning spaces
• Supported staff training and wellbeing

Current fundraising priorities include:

• Upgrading learning tools across subjects
• Expanding our Music Hub
• Covering specialist training and staffing costs
• Enhancing school security and IT infrastructure

Your support, whether through monthly donations, business partnerships, or major gifts, helps us invest in every child’s future. Click here to be directed to the page on our website.

PTA NEWS!

The PTA's Christmas event this year is called 'All I want for Christmas is Zoo', and will be happening at school on Sunday the 30th of November.  It will be a peaceful event with timed tickets, animals, and hopefully a sing-a-long or choir performance.  

Tickets will be on sale soon, but save the date!

AGM Update: The PTA's AGM was held last night.  We thank the nine people who attended, and helped vote in an equally small committee, Kat Parr Mackintosh returning as Chair, and Craig Hutchison as Treasurer.  Politely, none of us nominated PTA legend, Cath Cook, for Chair again.