Fundraising
Could you tell us more about the outdoor classroom ?
We ’ re very proud of our outdoor classroom . We started planning and fundraising when Covid hit and managed to reach our £ 13,000 target while the school was closed .
We wrote to a few groups in our village to ask if they would give us a grant . Luckily they said yes , so that helped us massively . We also did a GoFundMe page where we explained to the parents what we wanted to do , which raised about £ 400 . The outdoor classroom was built in early 2021 .
The children use the outdoor classroom all the time . They can use it at lunchtimes , and we also take classes out there to learn .
“ We ’ re very proud of the outdoor classroom ” Have you got any future projects planned ?
We ’ ve just been given the go-ahead to put in some new giant play equipment . We ' ve got a massive butterfly bench coming and a crawl tunnel that looks like a tree , and we ' ve also got a treehouse being installed .
Why have you chosen so many outdoor projects ?
Our school backs onto an RSPB nature reserve , so we get lots of different types of birds and wildlife . There are some sheep next door to us as well and some goats owned by a family that have a house there . It ’ s just such a lovely environment for the children to play in and learn in and feel free .
And by building a treehouse , there will be unobstructed views from our school across to the River Thames . If we can find some binoculars as well , that would be perfect !
Stacey ' s top spending tips :
Score some freebies . I often write to businesses to introduce our PTA and
1 explain what we ' re doing to see if I can get anything donated . Hunt for discount codes . I scour the internet and Facebook groups to
2 find them ! Shop around . I mostly shop when there are sales on , especially for
3 smaller items for our pop-up shops . I always think , “ It ' s not my money ,” and do my best to get things cheap so we can make a profit . If I have to pay full price I will , but I ' ll always go on a hunt first . 28 PARENTKIND . ORG SUMMER 2024