Winter term update

This first term of the new school year is always our busiest and we are delighted to say that we raised over £10,000! This is from a number of events including Fireworks, Coggeshall Christmas, the Christmas Fayre and a school disco.

Thanks to everyone’s fundraising efforts, this money has been supporting the school with a number of requests including the following:

  • Visualisers
  • Homework books
  • Contribution towards a new preschool shed
  • Mobile planetarium
  • Ukuleles
  • Lunchtime play equipment
  • Preschool Christmas books
  • Cash pots for ad hoc classroom resources
  • KS1 Christmas books
  • Christmas staff treats

On the final item of this list, we provided a breakfast on the final day of term to say a huge thank you to all of the staff at the school. As a PTA, we work with the teachers to raise funds for the school – they often give up their time in the evenings and weekends to support our events, and we want to show our appreciation for this and everything else they do for the school. For example, we didn’t have volunteers to run the Father Christmas grotto at the Christmas Fayre, so Mrs Brooker and Miss Bolton stepped in to be our elves. At the fireworks display, we had staff including Mrs Armitage, Mrs Warwick and Mrs Larner helping to scan tickets, serve drinks and sell tuck.

As well as providing funding for resources in the school, we have also been supporting families with our Helping Out Fund. This is funded specifically from the 100 Club, and the money is ringfenced to ensure it is there for those who need it. FOSP has no visibility or knowledge of the children or families who benefit from it, but we discuss any requests with Miss Wilding and Mrs Sullivan. They ensure that there is complete confidentiality around the Fund. In terms of how we can use the money in this Fund, it can be for a wide range of needs. For example, if a child would like to join an after school club but their family doesn’t have the means then we can approach Mrs Sullivan and she will ask FOSP to pay for this place. If they require equipment for an activity, such as music or sport, they can apply for help from the fund for this. Should they want to go on a school trip but it is out of their budget, the fund could cover the cost of their place.

This Fund has been in place for a while and will continue to be there as a source of support for whoever needs it. All of the children and parents at St Peter’s are part of a community and we believe that we have a key role in being a bridge between home and school, embodying this spirit of community involvement in education.

We will shortly be renewing the 100 club, if you’d like to participate and help contribute to the helping out fund keep an eye out for our update.