Welcome to Ravenshead C of E Primary School

This information has been put together by Friends of Ravenshead C of E Primary School especially for you, as a new family joining our school community. Starting school is an exciting time for the whole family. Studies show that there’s a direct link between parental involvement and how well children do, so why not get involved from the start!

Gemma Thorley (Chair)

I have been a part of the school and the PTA since my eldest started school in 2016. My youngest is now in year 4.

Myself and my family love being a part of the PTA community. It is great to invest in our children’s education by providing them with much needed resources. As well as this we have so much fun creating the trails , planning the games and bagging up the sweets for the disco. It gives us all a great connection with school, a chance to make new friends and to be a part of something special,  which has really helped my family through primary school.

Outside of school life, I run my own psychotherapy practice, helping people with depression and anxiety. You may also see me walking my golden retriever around the village or at one of the many clubs and activities my girls take part in.

Life is very hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Katie Curtis (Secretary)

My daughter joined the school in F2 and is now in Year 5, so we have been part of the general school community for some time before I decided to join the PTFA last year.

The firs event I helped out at was at the school disco and absolutely loved it!  From then on, I was hooked and decided to volunteer for the Secretary role when it became available.

I work full time, so I'll be providing any time I can to this role alongside that (whilst also trying to keep on top of all my daughter's social events).

The PTFA is such a wonderful group of people and it's amazing to see the time and effort everyohne puts in to create all of these fantastic events, which I'm now really excited to be a part of.  Hopefully we'll be able to continue to raise lots of money to put back into the school for the benefit of everyone, whilst also having a great time along the way.

Linda Wilkinson (Treasurer)

I joined the PTFA two years ago when my grandson started in F2.  I have worked in finance for over 40 years and recently took early retirement.  I love my role as treasurer.

We hold our AGM in September where we review the year's finances and elect our Trustees for the new school year.  We meet on a monthly basis with smaller working groups meetin as necessary when we are planning larger events.  We also hold open PTFA meetings and any parent/carer can attend to find out what the association is planning, share ideas or to get involved.

Meetings

We hold our AGM in September where we review the years finances and elect our Trustees for the new school year.

We meet on a monthly basis, with smaller working groups meeting as necessary when we are planning larger events.

We also hold open PTFA meetings, any parent/carer can attend, find out what the association is planning, share ideas and get involved.

Volunteers

We welcome any help from parents, teachers and friends, and have a growing list of volunteers who commit some of their time to helping the association. Every little helps, so just one hour of assisting at an event or wrapping lucky dip prizes or folding raffle tickets (just a few examples) would be invaluable. If you would like to join or volunteer at one of our events us please speak to a committee member, join our next meeting or email us – ravensheadcofeschoolpta@yahoo.com

Why do we have a PTFA?

Over the last 5 years we have raised over £55,000 which has been spent on improving the KS2 quad, modernising the Mushroom Area, books for each library, playground equipment, funding Breakfast Club and much more.

Our association is about much more than simply fundraising. Our PTFA exists to provide closer links between home and school and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal. It’s fun too - just ask any of the Committee members or volunteers. 

All parents and members of the school community are encouraged to get involved, even if they only have a small amount of time available. All families are automatically members of the PTFA when their child joins our school.

How we raise money

Like most PTFAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. We have our own payment platform for ticket sales - please sign up via

www.pta-events.com/ravensheadcofeschoolptfa 

• Donations - If you would rather donate money directly to us you can do so via the payment platform - please sign up via www.pta-events.com/ravensheadcofeschoolptfa.  Please remember we can claim gift aid on all of these donations.
•  
• EasyFundraising - shopping online?  Then please sign up to EasyFundraising.  We get a donation when you shop online.  Click here to sign up today!
• Sitkins - Order your name labels from Sitkins and we earn up to 30% commission.  www.sitkins.co.uk  Use code 16534 when ordering.
• School Lottery - Tickets cost just £1 a week with a local cash prize weekly and a change to win the £25,000 national lottery jackpot!  www.yourschoollottery.co.uk/lottery/school/ravenshead-cofe-primary-school
• Pre-loved Uniform - We hold uniform sales at regular intervals throughout the school year and will always put a table out at our bigger events.  Keep an eye on the school calendar for our next sale.

How we keep you up to date

We have a slot in the school newsletter each Friday.  This includes information on upcoming events and dates, as well as details of the help that we are looking for at larger events.  Following an event, we will always write to let you know how much was raised, when we reach our target, and we will tell you what the money will be spent on.  

We also have a Facebook page:

If you would like to join us then please get in touch today! ravensheadcofeschoolpta@yahoo.com

We look forward to welcoming you to our school!