Fundraising
long crowdfunding campaign on the InvestMyCommunity fundraising platform. This has raised several thousand
pounds in just a few weeks. Our parents have taken it in turns to run an after-school stall every fortnight, featuring dishes from their own cultures, including Bengali, Somali and Middle Eastern. Each of these raises about £200. We also ran an Enterprise Week where the children designed and sold mugs and tote bags. Plus we raised £3,400 at the summer fair and another £800 from other smaller events throughout the summer term. During the summer holidays, we
sent the children home with a brief to create their own sponsored event that could involve their extended families and friends, and we’re now applying for grants. We’re also writing to companies to ask if they can sponsor one element or piece of equipment in the playground, and we will recognise these donations with a wall plaque. Gareth Morris, head of school, Netley Primary School and Centre for Autism, Euston, London (420 pupils) FundEd will follow the Netley play space campaign and bring you an update.
BEFORE
‘We’ve raised more than £5,000 towards
a sensory garden’ The Marlborough Centre was originally designed as a space where children struggling in our mainstream primary school could receive extra support, but over the years it’s been increasingly used for children with complex autism who need full-time placements. The centre is on the same site as Hoo St Werburgh Primary School in Rochester, Kent, and the two schools work closely to teach children of all educational needs. Many of our pupils are non-verbal, thriving in highly sensory
environments filled with colours, moving patterns and tactile toys. However, the Marlborough Centre was never designed to cater for children with such specialist needs. So in November, we began our Marlborough On A Mission campaign. Our ultimate goal is to raise £20,000, a sum that will transform our facilities. We want to renovate the centre’s outdoor space as it is currently right next door to the mainstream playground. It can be hard for our children to emotionally regulate in such proximity to the gleeful, breaktime clamour next door. Working with a specialist company, Pentagon Play, we created a
design. The floor – which was old and concrete – needed replacing with a safe, hard-wearing alternative. To make it visually interesting, we agreed to set a coloured ‘river’ into the ground. To quieten the garden, we will build a thicker fence between us and the playground. But things won’t always be peaceful – we will also purchase some durable outdoor instruments such as xylophones and drums! Perhaps the biggest change will be the large, coloured canopy roof.
On sunny days, this will reflect rainbow light onto the ground but when it rains, the children will still be able to play outdoors. With only 80 families at the school, we couldn’t keep repeating the
same raffles and bake sales. So in this campaign we organised a range of exceptionally active fundraisers. One teaching assistant daringly raised £600 from a sponsored skydive. Another member of staff organised a 24-hour rope climb which generated over £1,000. A group of us have even climbed Snowdon. All in all, we have so far raised £6,450 – that includes online donations through the crowdfunding platform InvestMyCommunity, £1,900 offline and a further £590 from Gift Aid. We are also applying for funding from our academy trust, which would allow us to complete the renovations next year. It will be incredible to see the children interacting with the space when it is ready. n Louise Kennett, head of the Marlborough Centre, Rochester, Kent and blogs at
ShropshireSBM.org
FundEd AUTUMN 2022 31
AS TOLD TO ANNA SCOTT
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