Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear families,

There has certainly been a huge change in the weather this week — winter is here! It’s taking me some time to adjust my own wardrobe, so this is just a gentle reminder to please send your children in with coats and hats (even if they are resistant). We will send them outside at break and lunchtimes whenever we can.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to Cath Cook, who has stepped down as co-chair of the PTA. Her dedication to our school has been unwavering and has made a significant difference to our children. I am absolutely delighted that Cath plans to remain an active member of our community, and I look forward to continuing to work with her.

I am thrilled that Kat Parr MacKintosh has been voted in as chair of the PTA for the coming year, following a successful year of co-chairing with Cath. Please throw your support behind Kat so she can continue to lead the PTA in raising much-needed funds for the little extras we all know our children deserve.

As we all know, many hands make light work, so let’s get behind our fantastic PTA and make this year a wonderful one for our children and the whole school community. Here is a video of the things the school has been able to do thanks to the money raised by the PTA – Thank you!

I am delighted to share the news that Mrs Qualter is expecting her second baby next spring. She will be starting her maternity leave at February half-term. 

Warm regards,
Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

A special thank you to:

All the class reps, who were a wonderful conduit of information, and gave up a lot of their time to make everyone else's lives easier.

And to:

Sara – who ran the football event with us

Hayls – who ran the disco with us

Kate – who helped with the second-hand book sales

Jess – who helped with new reception events, and ran the second-hand costume sale for book week!

Krista and Sarah – who ran many bars, and held many foodie forts

Bianca – who volunteered for many of the most difficult jobs

Grandma Sue and Zac – Queen and Prince of the Café Stall

Olly – King of the Marshalls 

Renee – who was invaluable as a staff member, but also volunteered to cook all the barbeque food!

Mr. Kennerson – who was the face of the football event!

Mr. Jones – who supported Book Week and the book corner initiative. 

Mrs. Collier – who was our kind and willing First Aider for many events.

And not forgetting Craig - our wonderful treasurer.

🌍 Celebrating Diversity at The Vineyard

Whole-School and Class Assemblies

This half-term, every class has taken part in a whole-school assembly focused on celebrating diversity in relation to heritage. Next week, children will continue this learning in a follow-up classroom session where they will explore the idea of heritage: looking at how our backgrounds can be reflected in the foods we enjoy, the music we listen to, and the traditions or rituals we share at home with our families.

We warmly encourage families to chat with their child about what they learned in the assembly and, if they wish, help them bring in something small to share next week – this might be a favourite recipe, a special piece of music, or a tradition that is meaningful to your family. These moments of sharing help children appreciate and celebrate the rich diversity within our school community.

🤝 Celebrating Diversity Working Party – Parent/Carer Invitation – Thursday 4th December at 9am

We would like to invite parents and carers to join our Celebrating Diversity Working Party. This session is an opportunity for families and staff to come together, share ideas, and help shape our upcoming International Day in January, which is a much-loved event that our children look forward to every year.

We know our parent community brings a wealth of values, experiences, skills and expertise, and we would be delighted to draw on this collective knowledge. Together, we hope to create a truly joyful and meaningful celebration.

The session will be led by Miss Sanches, our Racial Justice Lead, and will include:

• Creative planning for International Day
• An update on our racial justice work so far and our next steps
• Time for families to share ideas or raise any other relevant matters

We would love to see as many of you there as possible and truly value your input in helping us build an inclusive and celebratory school community.

Please sign up HERE if you are able to attend.

If you are unable to attend but would like to share an idea, please use the same link above.

Attendance

Term Time Holidays

We are noticing an increase in requests for term-time absences. A reminder to families that holidays in term times are unauthorised and Fixed Penalty Notices may be issued. 

Sickness-related absences before or after a school holiday will be unauthorised without proof. 

If you have questions regarding attendance, please email absence@

- Alice McArdle- Assistant Headteacher

🌟Introducing Our 2025–26 School Council! 🌟

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s School Council. They are a fantastic group of young leaders brimming with creativity and enthusiasm! They’ve already been hard at work dreaming up fun whole-school events and new fundraising ideas. Throughout the year, they’ll be rolling up their sleeves to help shape exciting projects and make a real difference across our school community. We can’t wait to see what they achieve! 

Congratulations to Joseph, Zoe, Anton, Mark, Elizabeth, Demir, Maisie, Aris, Sofia, Jasper, Luisa, Skylar, Leo, Otto, Zoe, Chayce, Annie, Tommy, Clarissa, Jack, Cordelia, Harvey, Chloe, Jasper, Tiger, Ilya, Tabby, Ranvir, Amber, Nina, Arjun, Cece, Alex, Florence, Tommi

Amazing Fundraising At Home

We have all been in awe of Maksym’s incredible talent as an artist since he joined The Vineyard, and recently, he has been using his creativity to make a meaningful difference. Inspired to help others, he has been producing and selling beautiful pieces of his own artwork to raise money in support of the Ukraine Armed Forces. So far, Maksym’s artwork has raised £230 and his most popular piece is the “Saber-Toothed Tiger”.

Well done Maksym! 

Parent & Carer Coffee Meet-Ups – Open to All Vineyard Families
It's come to our attention that there is a series of free parent and carer coffee meet-ups taking place across Richmond this month, with the last of the three happening next week.

These relaxed, friendly sessions are designed to support families with children’s social and emotional development – offering practical tips, gentle strategies for managing big feelings, and a welcoming space to chat with other parents. Each meet-up is led by Caitlin, an experienced primary teacher and Social Emotional Learning coach. Vineyard families are welcome to drop in to any session that suits them; no booking is required.

If you’re interested, simply come along, enjoy a warm drink, and join the conversation. Dates and locations are on the attached poster.