Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear Families,

I hope you all had a lovely half-term break and enjoyed some time to relax, read, play games and have fun with your children.

We have certainly wasted no time getting started this week! The children have returned full of enthusiasm, ready to get stuck into their new learning. It has been lovely to see them showing courage, taking on new challenges and being willing to have a go, even when things feel unfamiliar or a little tricky. They have already started exploring their new topics in history, science and other areas of the curriculum, and we are looking forward to seeing where their learning takes them.

Over the coming weeks, many of our children will also be heading out on exciting visits, including trips to Buster Farm, the Buddhapadipa Temple, the Poppy Factory, Richmond Museum and The Bunker. These experiences give children the chance to see and experience things first-hand, bring their learning to life, broadening children's understanding of the world around them and, most importantly, spark curiosity. We are very much looking forward to hearing all about their learning!

We have also had a fantastic community fireworks evening, organised by a group of our wonderful Year 6 parents, with lots of help from others in our school community. It was a lovely evening and so nice to see so many families coming together. A huge thank you to everyone who helped organise the event, gave up their time or supported on the night. It was a great success and we really appreciate all that went into making it happen.

The week also started with our Family Christmas Events meeting, which was very well attended. There was lots of energy and enthusiasm in the room, along with some great ideas! It was lovely to see so many families keen to get involved. Please read further down the newsletter to find out more about what is planned and how you can help.

We are very aware that not all of our families celebrate Christmas, and we want everyone to feel included in our school celebrations. We will make sure that our plans are welcoming to all families and are happy to make adjustments where needed so that every child can take part in a way that feels comfortable for them.

As always, thank you for everything you do to support our school. The time, care and enthusiasm that families bring to our community make such a difference. We have lots to look forward to over the coming weeks!

Wishing all those celebrating Diwali on Sunday a very happy Diwali. We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends!

Best wishes,

Frances

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Learning Bulletins

Our Learning Bulletins can now be accessed in two places on the school website: via News & Events > Latest News, where they are linked to each phase’s latest updates, or via Our Curriculum > Half-termly Learning Bulletins. This makes it easy for families to keep up to date with key learning highlights and what the children have been exploring in their phase.

Ms Reilly and Miss Daborn

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

Continued Professional Development

This week, our staff CPD focused on adaptive teaching and how we can use carefully chosen resources and adjustments to ensure every child can access the learning and achieve their potential. The key message was that we maintain high expectations for all, with children working towards the same learning intention and, wherever possible, producing the same expected outcome. It is about adapting the support, not lowering the expectation. For example, this might include using word banks, visual prompts, writing frames, practical resources, worked examples, pre-teaching key vocabulary or providing additional modelling and guided practice.

We explored how these small, targeted adjustments can remove barriers to learning while building children's confidence and independence. This approach is supported by research from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), whose evidence highlights the importance of explicit instruction, scaffolding, flexible grouping and effective feedback in supporting pupils to succeed.

You can read more about the EEF's research and its Five-a-Day approach to supporting high-quality teaching here: Supporting High-Quality Teaching.

Ms Reilly and Miss Daborn

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

School Council

We are incredibly proud of all the children, who prepared thoughtful speeches and bravely presented them to their classes before half-term. It is clear that there are lots of children who wish to dedicate their time to helping improve the school as part of the school council. Following a democratic vote in each class, the children listed below have been successful and will represent their classes this year. We look forward to meeting with them.

The Vineyard School Council 2026/27

Class	School councillor	School councillor
Gems	Lacy
Sunstone	Barney	Yuyu
Diamond	Aiden	Theodora
Turquoise	Amelia	Oscar
Pearl	Monty	Laura
Ruby	Milo	Emma
Emerald	Rowan	Carla
Sapphire	Anab	Martin
Onyx	Rory	Kira
Carnelian	Ava	Luca
Zircon	Mia	Ralph
Starlite	Rufus	Nefin
Peridot	Ava	Alex
Moonstone	Ava	Maxi
Garnet	Ivy	Ben
Kyanite	Ted	Alice
Jet	Ned	Ava

A wonderful opportunity for The Vineyard!

New Packed Lunch and Snack Policies 

We are delighted to share our new packed lunch and snack policies, developed in collaboration with Kate Cox, our school nutritionist. As part of our whole-school approach to food and nutrition, we have delivered assemblies for both pupils and families to explain the thinking behind our policies and the important role food plays in children's health, wellbeing and learning.

We believe that nourishing our children with real, nutritious foods is fundamental to supporting their growing brains and bodies. A key part of our approach is understanding the importance of balancing blood sugar levels to keep the body fuelled for longer. This has a significant impact on how children feel, their energy levels, mood, concentration and ability to learn.

Our packed lunch policy focuses on combining slow-releasing, fibre-rich carbohydrates (such as wholemeal bread) with protein-rich foods (such as chicken and cheese). This combination helps to maintain more stable blood glucose levels, providing sustained energy and supporting concentration, positive mood and readiness to learn. The policy also encourages a balance of all the essential food groups – carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats – alongside the vitamins and minerals children need to thrive.

Our wider aim is for every child to become ‘Food Literate’ – developing a positive relationship with food and the confidence, knowledge and understanding to make choices that nourish them and promote lifelong health.

Lunchtimes and snacks play an important role in achieving this. We greatly appreciate your support in embracing our new policies and working in partnership with us to give every child the best possible foundation for health, wellbeing and learning.

Volunteer Training 

• Date: Monday 9th November 
• Time: 9.00am

Please sign up here to attend. 

It is compulsory for all volunteers at The Vineyard to complete this training each academic year. 

Christmas Events Volunteering Team 

If you would like to get involved, please email volunteer@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk.

Everyone is welcome, and many hands make light work.

Thank you.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

And a host of heavenly angels (aka Vineyard volunteers) are ready to bring you and your children some wonderful, memorable events!

Please check the email from school dated Wednesday 4 November for details of everything planned. As a quick reminder, we have:

📆 Thursday 10 December - Christmas carols evening, 6.30-8.00pm. All Vineyard families welcome.

📆 Thursday 17 December - Christmas Celebration Day, during school hours.

• Christmas Jumper Day
• Christmas lunch day
• Santa visits the younger children and Gems
• Y3–5 visit Elfridges to select a gift for a loved one. 

📆 Throughout December – Miss Foster's Santa Dash. All children put on a festive hat whenever they go outside for PE or break time.

💝 Winter Kindness Project – Watch this space for more details. 

JUST ANNOUNCED: CHRISTMAS CARDS, TREES AND PUDDINGS!

Make your Christmas extra special whilst supporting our school.

Our Christmas card fundraiser is back for 2026, and most children will bring home a sample card today, or early next week. Order your Christmas cards and other printed gifts via Arbor, with every purchase raising a few pence for the school.

The order deadline is short, in order to receive the printed products back by the end of November. Orders must be placed by 13 November.

We're also selling beautiful Christmas Trees and delicious Christmas Puddings, with proceeds supporting our school community.

✅ Premium quality Christmas trees in a range of sizes

✅ Traditional Christmas puddings as well as lemon and sticky toffee flavours

✅ A great way to support The Vineyard 

Order now via the Shop in Arbor shop section on the app.

All orders must be placed by 19 November. Trees (and hopefully puddings) will need to be collected from the school between 10am and 2pm on Sunday 29 November.

YOUR ACTION CHECKLIST! 🎄

We know, it’s a lot. So here’s a checklist of what you can do — and when — to help make Christmas at The Vineyard extra special:

NOW / BEFORE MID NOVEMBER

1. Order your Christmas cards and gifts via the Arbor school shop on the Arbor app, by midnight on 13 November.
2. Order your Christmas tree and puddings via the Arbor school shop, by midnight on 19 November.
3. Donate clean, pre-loved soft toys for our teddy tombola.
4. Donate a new or unused gift for Elfridges. (Think of this as a secret Santa gift for an adult you like.)
5. If you’re able, contribute to our Christmas Collection Pot to help cover the costs of our festive events, and/or purchase an item from our Amazon Wishlist.
6. Bring donations to the uniform shop, or get them delivered direct: Uniform Shop, Vineyard School.

GET READY FOR DECEMBER

1. Find a festive hat for your child to keep at school for Miss Foster’s Santa Dash throughout December.
2. Save the evening of Thursday 10 December (6:30–8pm) for our Christmas Community Evening!
3. Find a Christmas jumper for Thursday 17 December – Christmas Celebration Day!

COMING SOON!

❤️ Watch the WhatsApp Announcements and school email for more details of our Winter Kindness Project – coming soon!

Thank you for your support and helping us make a difference for our pupils and school community this Christmas!