Parent's Association

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

But it is much, much more than just fundraising. The PA, as well as fun, is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school working towards a common goal. Obviously as in any organisation, there are times when it is more 'challenging', but with the continued support of parents and staff, our PA 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 and all parents automatically become members of the Association when they join the school.

The PA is extremely conscious of the ethos and diversity of the school community, and we try very hard, when organising and planning events, to respect this. The majority of our events are fundraisers for the school, although we do also raise funds for local charities.

We can trace our PA history back many years. Lots of the people who were Committee members years ago still help us out in a number of ways today. Some of the staff who have had children at the school were once members of the PA, and the knowledge of past PA's still gets 'tapped' into regularly.

Our PA Committee consists of 4 Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary). We also have between 10 and 20 other Committee members plus a long list of helpers that we can call on to help at events.

The Committee meet on a regular basis usually once or twice per half term, with smaller working groups meeting as necessary to organise our bigger events e.g., the Summer Fayre.

The list of the current PA Committee can be found HERE

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

As in most schools, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Some of our most popular events are the Summer Fayre, Spring Ball and the Quiz Night. These events in 2005/6 raised, in total, a fantastic £8,600.

We also hold other events through the year such as Children's Discos, a Mother's Day Gift Shop, Christmas Craft Fair, Fun Runs etc. In 2005 we even had a Magic Evening!

In 2005/6 the PA managed to raise a staggering £13,000 for the school. This couldn't have been done without the continued support of the school staff and all the parents/carers.

We are always looking at new ideas and if you have anything that you think we could try, please contact us.

So, as 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 PA has purchased.

It is at our PA Committee Meetings, that the decisions on how to spend the money are taken.

Usually, Mr. Snow (the Head teacher) will have a 'shopping list' of items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something (sometimes through the School Council), or at other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment. In the main the PA funds are for the 'extras' not provided by the school budget, that make our children's learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting.

PA funds are not generally spent on improving the fabric of the school building as this is the responsibility of the school Governing Body.

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

The money we raise is usually spent fairly quickly. That way, you can be sure that in supporting your school, you, the other parents and everybody's children will feel the benefit.

Of course there are times when we have a big project underway that we need to save money for. In the past, we have helped with the purchase of the school swimming pool, mini bus, class-room interactive white boards etc. However, whilst saving for these, we have still managed to find funds for smaller items thanks to the generous support of our parents.

There are regular letters giving forthcoming dates for events also updates and requests for help when we are planning large events.

There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PA.

Offering to help with events, or at other times during the year is so valuable - it really is a case of 'many hands make light work'. It doesn't matter if you can't help on a regular basis, or even if you can't come into school. There are always little jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare.

You can of course volunteer to be a Committee Member - you would be made very welcome.

And finally, we are always extremely grateful to receive donations of raffle prizes or any other donations that you feel you can give e.g., unused but unwanted gifts that would be good for our Mother's Day sales, lucky dip, raffles, wrapping paper, cellophane, ribbons, tissue paper etc.