We are very fortunate at our school to have a PTFA that is and has been such an integral part of the school community for many years. In its time the PTFA has raised thousands of pounds, which have been spent on improving equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school in general.

But our PTFA is about much, much more than just fundraising. The PTFA exists to provide closer links between home and school, and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal. It is fun too – just ask any of the PTFA committee members or helpers. Obviously as in any organisation, there are times when it is more ‘challenging’, but with the continued support of parents and staff, our PTFA has always succeeded in its efforts.

All parents and members of the school community can get involved if they want to, even if they only have a small amount of time available. All parents are automatically members of the Association when their children join our school, and are invited to help with all our fundraising events.

The PTFA is extremely conscious of the ethos and morals of our school, and we try very hard when organising and planning events to respect this. Not all of our events are run as fundraisers. Our children’s discos, Easter bunny visits and Christmas fun are run with the aim of giving the children a good time and as a way of thanking families for their continued support for the PTFA.

We can trace our PTFA history back many years. Many of the people, who were committee members previously, still help us out in a number of ways today. We have provided many valuable assets for the school including new books and storage for the library, Nintendo DS consoles for brain training fun, equipment for the playground, gifts for the year 6 leavers and much more. Back in 2009/2010 the PTFA raised a massive £5000 towards a pavilion which provides much needed shade, shelter and is also used as an outside classroom; We have purchased interactive whiteboards for all classrooms; Trips to Harry Potter World, the theatre and events such as Young Voices are paid for to support the curriculum; We helped raise over £10,000 during 2015/2016 to put solar panels on the school roof. During the summer of 2022 we ensured that every pupil was able to enjoy a school visit after the difficulties of the COVID lock down.

The current committee looks forward to building on that history if success.

Our Annual General Meeting is held at the beginning of the academic year and this is an opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about events run, funds raised and how the money has been spent. It is also the occasion when we elect our new committee, and in particular the 4 officers.

Like most PTFAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular, regular events are the Christmas Bazaar, Summer Fun Afternoon, Christmas Bazaar and school discos. We have also organised several themed bake offs, family bingo afternoons, quiz nights and non uniform days over the years. The children have also been involved with calendars, Christmas cards and tea towels, danceathons, sponsored runs, enterprise stalls etc.

You can see there is always something going on. We always try and respond to the children’s requests for events and it is truly the icing on the cake to see them having fun at the events or enjoying using a piece of new equipment that the PTFA has donated.

We are fortunate however to have other opportunities open to us to raise money. Donations are extremely important. These can be time, money, items for sale, donations for raffles or offers of services and skills.

Links with Local Business

We have over time, developed strong links with the local community and are always well supported by both residents and businesses, for which we are very grateful. Many of our local businesses are very generous in their donations of raffle prizes and sponsorship of fundraising events - this has had a huge impact on our fundraising.

Once money is raised from events the funds are banked straight away. It is at our PTFA Committee Meetings, that the decisions on how to spend the money are agreed.

At school there is a 'magic wish book' where any member of staff can request funds for items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something, as in new playground equipment or additional resources to enhance their school experience. In the main the PTFA funds are for the 'extras’ not provided by the school budget, that make our children’s learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting. Examples include:

• Art Solutions experience
• Subsidising school visits
• Fantastic Flights to Faraway Places theme week

We always endeavour to spend our funds in ways that will benefit all our children across all areas of the school and curriculum.

Of course there are been times when we fundraise for a large project. For example in 2015 the PTFA worked alongside the school to fundraise approximately £11,000 for solar panels. Whilst saving for this, we have still managed to find funds for smaller items thanks to the generous and continued support of our parents.

The PTFA does have ongoing commitments every year:

• Book bags given to the reception children joining the school
• Transport to the Young Voices concert at London's O2 (every other year)
• The annual Year 6 leavers afternoon BBQ & farewell hoodies
• The Easter Bunny brings the eggs for our annual Easter Egg hunt
• Christmas treats from a certain VIP when he visits the children just before Christmas
• Crackers for Christmas dinner

We feature regularly on the fortnightly school newsletter providing information on forthcoming events and dates, plus requests for assistance when we are planning large events. Following a PTFA event, we always try to let you know how much was raised, and if we can, we tell you what the money will be spent on.

Messages are sent out via the school app, and there is a Facebook page for helpers.

Our PTA is a member of Parentkind, which is the national charity that advances education and supports PTAs, throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We pay an annual membership fee to Parentkind which gives us lots of member benefits including subscription linked insurance cover, support and advice on PTA and fundraising matters, opportunities to meet with other PTAs to discuss and share experiences, regular newsletters and the PTA magazine, a special banking package to help us make the most of our funds, and an extensive list of PTA information and resources. In addition, we have a valuable resource at our fingertips – www.parentkind.org.uk

www.parentkind.org.uk is also a valuable resource to you as parents, with signposts to useful, relevant web-sites on subjects such as bullying, school funding, special educational needs, homework, and much much more. To access www.parentkind.org.uk you will need to register using our Parentkind membership number, which is 14657 You can then create your own unique login, to give you access at anytime. Do have a look.