FIND YOUR PTA PATH – The PTA Explorer
PTA SUCCESS
‘We set an ambitious target for our new pitch – and met it in under a year’
When replacing a worn out pitch became a matter of urgency, the Friends of Carswell School raced to find the funds with the help of their local community
O
ur school, Carswell Community Primary School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, is a lovely old Victorian
building, but it doesn’t have a field. The only place to play sports was a 30-year-old AstroTurf pitch with no proper drainage, which felt like carpet covered in sand. It had been gradually going mouldy and everyone knew it wouldn’t last much longer. But rebuilding the pitch was just one of the jobs on a long list for the Friends of Carswell School (FOCS). Then something terrible
happened. Two children playing on the pitch fell over and broke bones,
and we had to close it altogether. Pupils were left with only the concrete playground, risking yet more injuries. Carswell has quite a holistic
approach and that’s always been one of the reasons people chose it. But families were put off applying because there wasn’t enough space for physical activity.
Setting the target The school approached FOCS about
starting a long-term project to raise more than £60,000 for a new pitch. Most years, FOCS raises between £5,000 and £10,000, but we have
to spread the money across all the school’s activities. So the committee held an open meeting to ask for ideas and suggestions. We’re a small school, and when the class reps put the word out, there was a lot of discussion between the parents too. I hadn’t been involved with FOCS
before, but part of my job as a psychology researcher is to complete funding applications. I explained that it wouldn’t be an onerous task for me because I know all the terminology and writing bids is part of my daily life. Once I’d written one major application, I could easily
pta.co.uk AUTUMN 2023 25
IMAGES: SEAMARTINI/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
