‘It wasn’t just the parents who
came to the fair. The street was closed, and everyone was invited. The whole day was about peace and love and everyone being welcome, which is exactly how I feel about the school.’
A fresh start The PTA at Rush Common School in
Oxfordshire (450 pupils) stopped functioning during the pandemic, and most of the previous committee – as well as the headteacher – left the school. To revive the Friends of Rush Common, Rebecca Strugnell stepped up to take on the role of chair, a decision she describes as ‘a leap into the unknown’. She says: ‘I had a long talk with our
new head Kristen Fawcett about what to do – what he’d like to get out of it and what I’d like to get out of it.’ One of the first things they decided was that clear communication was essential. As representatives of their
When we run events on school premises, staff are
really helpful. But we don’t pressure them because
that’s their time – Rebecca Strugnell
groups, they would be in charge of the strategy and could delegate to their teams, meaning there’s a single thread of communication, which prevents confusion. They also agreed that the Friends
would use the school premises after school and twice a year at evenings and weekends, for their big events – the summer fair and fireworks night. They hire local halls for the smaller events they run, such as wreath-making workshops and first-aid courses. Rebecca believes
it’s helpful to understand why school procedures mean there’s a good reason behind this decision. It also puts her in a better position to ask for help at the events they do hold at the school. ‘When we run events on school premises, staff are really helpful. But we don’t pressure them because that’s their time,’ she adds.
Balancing acts Last term, Mr Fawcett asked the
Friends to focus on curriculum- based items instead of their longer-term goal of replacing the adventure playground, explaining that these were still additional resources that the school wouldn’t otherwise be able to provide. ‘I did ask for clarification on that,’
says Rebecca, ‘but I accept that however wonderful it might be to prioritise only the fun things, the reality is that we need to ensure we have enough of the essential items. ‘The leadership team have a
difficult task. They have to make their goals realistic in terms of what they can afford. I need to understand that it’s not all fun for them; they have a lot of balancing to do.’ Should differences arise, Rebecca
tries to use them as a way to further understand the school’s values and objectives so that she can better anticipate their needs. Every year, she attends a teacher
training day, where she explains the value the Friends bring to the school and asks what they can do for the staff. She says: ‘I make a real effort to say thank you, and it’s not a one-way thing. Every year I get invited to the end-of-year school assembly, where they thank everyone, and they always include the Friends. We won’t always see eye to eye, but there’s a lot of mutual respect and as long as we have that, we can do this well.’
A middle ground Following an Ofsted visit, Milton
Primary School in Cambridge (320 pupils) invested heavily in rigorous
18 AUTUMN 2024 School Fundraising
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