Friends Of Stratford Primary
Who are FOSP and what we do:
We are parents, grandparents, family & friends with a connection to the school. For many years the FOSP has successfully raised money for the school by organising events such as a Christmas Fair, discos and quiz nights. It is an important source of funding for the school and in the past has enabled the school to arrange extracurricular activities such as theatre trips, popular author visits and to buy equipment such as books, iPads and audio equipment.
There is a great community spirit at Stratford Primary and many busy parents who are willing to spare time to help raise money for our children. The events we run vary from major fundraising events to smaller events for the children, parents or the whole family, we are also keen to hear any new ideas. Of course they aren’t all about fundraising but also encouraging year groups to mix and giving families the opportunity to socialise.
We also offer regular second hand uniform sales, a weekly cake sale and encourage employee matching schemes.
How the well raised money has been spent:
In 2016 we completed our £20,000 challenge that enabled a new climbing frame to be bought, much to the excitement of the children and also new parasols to protect the children against the sun. We are very grateful to all the parents for their support so that we could manage to achieve such a tough target.
In 2017 we raised £8,237. We are using some of this money to refurbish the School Library, installing new shelving, buying new furniture to create a cosy relaxed area for readers. The books have been updated to ensure that they are relevant to the children's interests and learning.
We are also buying an apple server which enables all of the school’s iPads to have unlimited supply of education apps. An outdoor music/pa system which the children will benefit from at break times when music can be played for musical activities and will be great for sports day!
We are looking at investing in a watering system for the gardens so we can keep our award winning garden blooming through dry spells.
As a special treat we are funding a school trip for all of the children to go and see the local pantomime at the Art House this Christmas.
We enjoy working with the staff, children and of course the parents to understand what the next project will be for FOSP to fund!
How does it work?
FOSP meetings are held every 4-6 weeks and everyone is welcome. They are very social and usually held at the local pub! We appreciate that everyone has different amounts of free time and really appreciate the odd hour given here and there, either preparing for events or on the day of events themselves. We also love to hear ideas for fundraising and trying out new things.
The Team:
The FOSP team is made up of a couple of required positions (which can be shared) and a fantastic team of enthusiastic volunteers.
Chair:
Michelle Dale (child in Year 5)
Treasurer:
Liz (children in Year 3 and 5)
Secretary:
Vicky Whiting (child in year 2)
If you want to contact FOSP then please email fospschool@gmail.com
