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with bad weather and a lack of time. Being part of the project meant we could address these issues. We were put in touch with people in the community who could help. We completed a baseline assessment followed by six sessions. At the end of the WWW project,
pupils and staff were reassessed. We saw signifi cant improvements in most children’s wellbeing, increased academic performance and an improved sense of personal responsibility. Staff noted that they felt more confi dent delivering lessons outdoors. From there, we made widespread
changes, informing staff that they were expected to spend at least 30 minutes away from the classroom each week. Our school has beautiful grounds and is next to Longford Park, so we looked at how to utilise these places. As a result of participating in WWW, we were eligible to apply for the CLOtC bronze mark. However, we were delighted to receive the silver mark instead. We are now a LOtC Gold
Mark school. This achievement, focuses on sharing best practices and embedding learning outside the classroom into the curriculum. Staff now view this approach as an
integral part of teaching. When the weather is cold outside, classes may stay indoors, but they use different areas of the school – for example, going to the community lounge and cooking together. People often ask how we manage
to fund so many experiences, and it isn’t easy. I receive a lot of emails about funding opportunities, and I set alarms to make sure I apply for everything. Think Active, an organisation that promotes physical
activity, awarded us funding for playground equipment, and the National Lottery Community Fund gave us
money for our forest school area. We sometimes use pupil
premium funding, and we save money by taking two year groups out at once, using a minibus or taking public transport, which the children love. Staff work incredibly hard to plan how they can use different parts of the school or free places nearby. At the start of the year, we meet
with the parents to outline the upcoming costs. We offer a payment plan whereby parents can pay £1 per week to cover the cost of a bigger trip in the spring or summer term. Our approach has gone from
We saw signifi cant
improvements in most children’s wellbeing
strength to strength. Even children with no additional needs sometimes struggle to sit down for long periods. We’ve got a lot of children like that. We might not give them a glue gun inside, but outside they can confi dently handle a drill or a hammer. They are in their element.
THE PTA
Anita Bargewell is chair of Longford Park PTA I was shocked when I learned that the school budget didn’t cover things like footballs, art supplies and building materials for outdoor play that I thought of as essentials. If my children had a mud kitchen, I wanted the school to have one. So, I got involved with the PTA. Now, the staff tell me I’m always at the school. I’m the PTA chair, a parent governor and I volunteer one day a week. The funds we raise support our
school’s commitment to learning beyond the classroom. A key part of what we do is to keep costs manageable for parents. We recently paid for coaches for a trip to London and we’ve supported trips to the beach. The parents at our school can’t afford £50 for a day out, so we step in.
18 SUMMER 2025 School Fundraising
‘A key part of the PTA is keeping costs manageable for parents’ We also hold events that bring our
diverse community together. Family tickets for our bonfi re night event cost just £8, which includes food. We also hold movie nights, family picnics and bingo evenings. It’s fun to watch families play bingo together – often for the fi rst time. At the Christmas fair, we make sure every child has the opportunity to meet Santa and receive a small present. If the school needs something,
we will try to source it from within the local community, often through social media. We’ve obtained donations of items such as crates, tyres and sand this way. Recently we held a donation drive to encourage parents to contribute outdoor clothing their children have
outgrown, such as wellies and waterproofs. Now we have enough wellies for all the children and they come home with clean, dry feet. We collaborate closely with our deputy
We held a donation drive to encourage parents to contribute
outdoor clothing. Now we have enough wellies for all the children
headteacher Danielle Farrelly to make sure everyone is working towards the same goals. At one point, we were talking about funding outdoor equipment, but Danielle was able to secure a grant. Instead we hope to fund new tablets for our classes. One benefi t will be to show families how we learn outside the classroom. Seeing a photo of their child immersed in learning helps parents understand why we do this. Having everyone on board makes a massive difference.
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