The School Support Group
Our school support group raises funds to improve equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school in general. It is also a great way to become involved in school life and to get to know other parents.
We are a registered charity (number 1103019).
In 2007/8, we made a huge donation of £10,000 to the school towards equipment for the new foundation classroom. In 2005/6 we donated just over £4,000 for play and sports equipment, including tyres for both playgrounds.
In 2008/9, we donated £10,000 to the school to pay for interactive whiteboards, including fitting and new computers where needed, for the final six classrooms that did not have them previously. We also bought over £2,800 of new library books in a fantastic project that saw every child in the school choose a book to be dedicated to them in the library.
We also pay for Christmas parties for the children every year.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Our Annual General Meeting is held in October each 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.
If you would like to become involved in the commitee, please see the school newsletter for details of our next meeting.
How We Raise Money
Events
Like most Support Groups, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Our biggest fund raising event during the year is the Summer Fayre in June. Our regular schedule of events is:
100% Attendance Day stall - September
Autumn Coffee Afternoon - October
Christmas Fayre - December
Children’s Christmas discos - December
Beetle Drive - February
Easter Fayre - March/April
Quiz Night - May
Treasure Hunt - May
Summer Fayre - June
Summer Discos - July
Online shopping
Our supporters can shop on line and raise funds for the Support Group. Click here to access our shopping pages.
Charity Matched Giving
Charity Matched Giving is a very simple practice. Companies or businesses pledge to donate to a charity such as ourselves an amount of money relating to the amount that an employee(s) donates or fundraises for us. We have been helped enormously in the past by this type of donation – last year, we received over £1,600 when people manned stalls at the Summer Fayre and the money that was raised was matched by their employers.
If you think that your employer has a matched giving scheme already in operation (most banks and utility companies do, for example), or if you would like some more information about charity matched giving or setting up a scheme in your workplace, please talk to one of the Support Group officers, or ask in the school office.
Mobile Telephones
We collect old mobile phones, which we recycle to raise funds. It does not matter how old the phones are, or whether they work, they are still worth money to us.
If you have any old mobiles lurking in your drawers at home or the office (or even better, ask you colleagues at work for theirs too), please drop them into the school office and we will turn them into cash for the school.
We send home regular Support Group newsletters via children’s book bags.
The letters include information on forthcoming events and dates plus requests for assistance, when we are planning large events. Following a Support Group event, we always write to let you know how much was raised.
How Can You Get Involved
There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the Support Group.
Helping out (at events or behind the scenes)
Joining the committee, or becoming a class rep (each class has a rep to liaise between the class and the support group committee)
Donations of goods and prizes for events
Matched giving
Online shopping
Collecting mobile phones
Just taking part in events
If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with one of the committee.
You can contact us by e-mail at stwerburghsprimary@googlemail.com if you have any questions or if you would like to get involved now – you would be more than welcome.
You are also more than welcome to come along to our AGM in the first half of the Autumn Term to find out more and see if you would like to get involved in helping out, or even in joining the committee.