Welcome to the Friends of Stanley Primary (FOSP) section of our school website.

Hello and welcome to the Stanley Primary School’s Parent Staff Association, better known as the Friends of Stanley Primary. Here’s how you can make a great school even better.

Who are the Friends of Stanley Primary?

As a parent at the school, you are automatically a member of the Friends. The Friends are a vital part of the school community, a way of meeting new friends and of being involved in what is happening in YOUR school. The Friends also raise money for the school through many and various fundraising events, and through support from local businesses. The Friends’ funds provide the ‘icing on the cake’ – extras that would normally be outside the budget of the school.

In the last few years, what have the Friends funded and what will they fund in the near future?

• Interactive whiteboards for every classroom              

• Book bags for every new child in the school               

• School storage

• Visualizers for the interactive whiteboards                  

• Books                                                                           

• Reading diaries

• Cooking funds for classes                                           

• Playground markings                                                   

• Fun Day 

• A makeover of the Living Classroom (wildlife garden)                                                  

• Help fund the new school minibus
• Year 6 Leavers’ Party                                                  

• Year 2 End of Year Disco

• 5 Minute Boxes (an extra reading and writing support for the children) 

• Landscaping projects for the new school and much, much, more…

How do the Friends raise money?

We raise funds through many different fundraising events that are organised by volunteer parents. Many people contribute, in a small or a big way, to the organisation of:

• Christmas Bazaar                                   

• Cake Sales                                             

• May Fair

• Wine Tasting Evenings                           

• Selling Christmas Trees                          

• Pool Night                                               

• Seasonal Fundraisers                             

• Stanley Lectures                                     

• Race Night

• Abel & Cole Fruit & Veg Scheme           

• Quiz Nights                                             

• Film Club

Of course, these events would not be a success if they were not supported and attended by the family and friends of Stanley.

Can you help?

We always need new volunteers and fresh ideas and we are always looking for help as we have a vibrant calendar of activity. So...

• Could you help organise events such as the Christmas Bazaar, coffee mornings or cake sales?

• Could you drum up financial support from local businesses?

• Could you look for and apply for grants that are awarded to schools?

• Could you design posters or write copy for newsletters?

• Could you give just a little bit of your time to help at an event?

• Could you do some photocopying?

• Could your company support the school in some way?

Even if you can only spare the smallest amount of time, please let us know – it is also a great way of breaking the ice with other parents.

How to get involved

The principle of ‘many hands make light work’ definitely holds true! The Friends are formed of several teams, comprised of parents of children from both Infant and Junior Departments. The teams are as follows:    

Chair

The Chair manages the overall plan for the year, liaises with the Heads and Class Reps, and is ‘the place to go’ for anyone with queries or suggestions.  They lead the agreement with the School about how we make best use of the money we raise.

Communications

A team which manages communications with friends and supporters (through newsletters, notice boards, Parentmail and emails), and the promotion of our events internally and externally.

We always need people to photocopy at school and distribute newsletters and flyers, so if you can spare an hour or two, please let us know.

Secretarial

The Secretary manages the meetings; issuing times and dates, agendas and minutes, and maintains our simple constitution, our annual return on the Charity Commission website and any other contact with ‘official’ bodies.

Finance

A team which takes care of the money side of our activities: handling cash, banking, issuing floats for events, paying expenses and donations to the school, keeping the books and reporting our financial position internally and to the Charity Commission. We always need help with book-keeping, so if you can do this, let us know.

Class Reps

Each class needs a Class Rep. They form the central connection between parents, pupils, staff and the Friends; helping out at cake sales, getting support for events (eg manning stalls at the May Fair), liaising with teachers about class-specific support and generally keeping parents up to date with anything happening within their class. 

Many people volunteer to do this with a friend. If you think you’d like to be a Class Rep or just want to find out more about what’s involved, get in touch.

In addition to these teams who will have responsibilities throughout the year, we also need people to get together to lead and support the many fantastic activities and events we run during the year.

Please get involved! It is a fantastic way to meet new people – and it will help enrich your child’s time at Stanley.

If you would like any further information or would just like a chat, please leave your details at the school office, call us or email the address below.

Call Natasha Thomas 07957 582 515 or email contactfosp@gmail.com