To afford the developments they’d like to make, I’m always keen to let schools know about grant and funding opportunities. One of my “Playgrounds should be stimulating places.”favourites is Tesco’s 'Bags of Help' local community grant scheme, which funds thousands of projects in communities across the UK...
Projects looking to be funded need to bring benefit to their community, such as developing school outdoor spaces or buying new equipment. I was so excited when Pippa Jones from Romanby Primary School in Northallerton contacted me to say she’s won £12,000 in funding to build a school stage:
“We made an application, and I am delighted to let you know that we have won the top prize of £12,000 to use for our Outdoor Stage and Performance Area Project. We are all very excited about the project!”
Securing the funding
Tesco still do offer funding, though it’s now up to £4,000, and administered slightly differently from the one Pippa applied for. Projects that they say will get the green light include: developing an outdoor space play area, allotment, park, school grounds, woodland or wildlife area and community gardens.
Administration of the local funding is being managed by the community charity with a green heart, Groundwork, which specialises in transforming communities and the local environment for the better. Information is available at: www.groundwork.org.uk/tesco-local-community-scheme-uk-programmes
Sport England also have a Community Asset Fund. This a new capital fund dedicated to enhancing the spaces in local community. It’s now open for applications, and is looking for more community groups to come forward with bids.
Other options to raise money can include PTA fundraising events, cake sales, tea towel sales (with hand-drawn pictures of every child in the school), non-uniform days, and sponsored silences (may be very popular!) to name but a few.
How to get your community involved in fundraising
St Barnabas CE Primary School in Worcester has been doing a fantastic fundraising job to build their stage and performance zone. Lucy Merrett, the teacher who is responsible for outdoor learning and developing Positive Playtimes, has worked hard with headteacher Sarah Hanson to get the community involved. She recently shared with me all that they’ve been doing.
Initially they launched the project by way of a photo of the prospective stage on a blank board, with a thermometer next to it and the total amount they needed. They did this during two parents evenings and left a ceramic fundraising jar on display that said “Stage Fund!” (you can get plain jars from Hobbycraft for £6).
Then they held an assembly to explain to the children that they were hoping to raise money to build the stage. This coincided with “The school sent a letter to parents sharing the fundraising project.”a letter to parents sharing the fundraising project, where they asked for ideas to help reach their target. A number of parents came forward with ideas, and the school has been lucky to have some donations from parents, grandparents and the wider community.
Ideas have included:
- Setting up an easyfundraising page and encouraging parents to sign up and shop online.
- Discos for all year groups with a tuck shop.
- A ‘guess the teacher’s baby photo’ competition.
- A raffle (they wrote a letter to local companies asking for prizes, so there was no cost to the school).
They ran a Christmas arts event after school with a 'Jar-bola' (this was a parent suggestion). This involved the children decorating the outside of jars and filling them with small toys/sweets/stickers for a competition, with two winners per class (the prizes were donated by Tesco and Wise Owl Toys, with both companies sending a judge for the competition).
On the Friday before Mother's Day they held a plant sale (pictured top) - this was also initiated by a parent. The Year 6 children ran the stall, and enjoyed a money-based Maths lesson counting the money and working out the profit!
The school isn’t far off target now! Headteacher Sarah Hanson recently told me:
“We have currently raised £3,155, and are aiming to raise a further £1,000 through holding a Movie Night and an enterprise event. The aim is to get our outdoor stage fitted and ready to go well before the end of the summer term.”
Thanks to all who helped make Family Christmas Art so successful. We have raised over £1,100 towards our stage! pic.twitter.com/NzjMvIl3fI
— stbarnabasprimary (@StBPrimWorcs) December 8, 2017
Well done St Barnabas - I can’t wait to visit!
Want to receive cutting-edge insights from leading educators each week? Sign up to our Community Update and be part of the action!
