Friends of school
People
The Friends of School are a group of parents, relatives and staff who work together to organise events year round to fundraise for Sutton Upon Derwent School. Every year, we vote on our committee and then ask for volunteers to help lead activities for the children.
For 2021/22, our committee are;
Lucy Hardcastle – Chair
Rachel Earnshaw – Vice Chair
Emma Elkington Thomson / Caroline Patient – Treasurers
Alex Medcalf – Secretary
We are always looking for people to help create & run an innovative programme of fundraisers for the families of Sutton Upon Derwent School. If you have any ideas, time, resources or would like to have your say on fundraising for school, please email friendsofsutton@gmail.com to get involved in any capacity. For those without access to email, please leave your name and number with the school office, and we will be in touch. Alternatively, please speak to any of our committee members in the playground.
Volunteers don’t have to attend all meetings, nor events. Your entire involvement could just be planting the seed for our next big fundraiser, we can handle the rest! More people means more scope for innovation, and we are excited to hear your ideas. We will be sharing the link to a suggestion form on here shortly, so your involvement could be entirely virtual.
Events
We are developing our annual plan for 2021/22, and have lots of fantastic events lined up. Everything from business enterprise schemes to inflatable fun days. With your support, our events raise approximately £3000-5000 each year. All of the funds are spent directly on school and experiences for the children.
Our next fundraiser is our Festive Five. We have organised a week full of wintery wonder for the families of school, starting on Monday 29th November. From the stocked shelves of Elfridges, to giant toy hampers for our Bake Off winners, we have a little something for everyone. The week’s festivities will end with a bang at our Winter Wonderland on December 3rd.
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Funds
Thanks to your support, The Friends of Sutton School have a healthy balance, from the past few year’s fundraising events. A fund-ometer will be live on here soon.
Every year, we commit to funding Nativity & Christmas gifts, leavers hoodies and contribute £5 to every child for school trips, to name but a few.
Further spending is determined by requests that the Friends receive. Children & staff work together to write requests. The link to the form will be available here before January 1st 2022.
To ensure fairness, we will share all funding requests publicly on our Facebook page, Friends of Sutton School. They will also be visible on our Friends noticeboard on the front of school. To have your say on any current funding requests, please email friendsofsutton@gmail.com. The closing date for comments will be publicised with the requests and voting will then commence within the committee.
Thanks to you
Library, staffroom, books, leavers hoodies, school trips, Easter packs,
resurfaced playground, pantos, EYFS area
What Next?
The school development plan aims to ensure all children grow in confidence & flourish within our schoolfamily. The school’s curriculum and passion for outdoor learning allows children to thrive and achieve their potential, and the Friends of Sutton fully support the staff team with their goals for 2021/22.
The children and staff have big ideas for outdoor learning and are aiming to enhance the outdoor provision, so that the stimulating learning environment indoors is mirrored outside. The school are also aiming to achieve Eco Status and we are looking forward to seeing how we can help with their application.
So far we have had funding requests for outdoor writing resources, sand & water tables, child-friendly storage sheds to allow children to freely select their own equipment and outdoor furniture to let teachers take classes outside. All teachers are making a wish list with their classes, detailing what they need to learn more outdoors. We will share these with requests publicly in January, so that all can have their say on spending.
For the children at school, we are designing a calendar full of exciting events & special visitors that will undoubtedly enhance their experience at Sutton upon Derwent Primary. Watch this space for future events and notices.
