Friends of West Park PTA

Welcome to FOWP PTA!

Our PTA is made up of parents from all year groups, who come together to find ways to raise money which is used directly to buy resources for the pupils of the school.

Even more than this, we are here to create and organise activities and events for all students, parents and the local community to enjoy.

Over the three years, we have raised over £75,000 through our events and community grant applications.

Money was raised from our events, such as the Summer and Christmas Fayres, Wreath making evening, a pancake flip a thon, as well as bake sales, Disco's, Raffles, Treat Fridays and Christmas cards designed by the children. The year was finished off with an Outdoor Cinema screening of Zootropolis.

With the advice of the student council, we were able to provide trim trails for both KS1 and KS2 playgrounds as well as a laptop for every class at the school.

We have also donated money for new books, Arts week, over £3,000 to the reception class area as well as essential school equipment. We paid to upgrade the outside school signage, purchased maths equipment as well as wet play games, a new school website, a book for each child in the school, delivered by Santa's elves and a brand-new home for our school Guinea pigs so that they can move between classrooms and be enjoyed by all the pupils in a safe and cosy environment.

We were also delighted to have applied for and been awarded a £10,000 Community Infrastructure Levy grant from Worthing Borough Council to build the Rainbow Hub. This provides a safe and dedicated smaller space for those children who find the playground overstimulating.

Another grant, from the Southover Manor Trust helped us to buy and Install two free standing ActivAll boards which are used by all children and have been an exciting and much talked about addition to the school.

Other donations have paid for beach trolleys and other beach school equipment as well as new library furniture, goal posts and repairs to PE equipment and we are very excited to find out what the school would like us to fundraise for next.

What's coming up?

This year we are excited to kick off with our very first PTA Quiz night for parents and carers. This will be followed by our Christmas Fayre, which last year raised over £6,000 Feb will see our new and improved sponsored pancake flipathon, involving all members of the school. Before breaking up for Easter, we will hold school discos for every year group and over Summer, we have occasional treat Fridays and visits from an Ice Cream Van. The year will conclude with our popular Summer Fayre in July and then our outdoor Cinema event – we can’t wait!

How do I know what's happening and when?

To keep up to date with all our news, you can follow us on instagram @friendsofwestpark. You can also find us on Facebook as well as sending out important information over email. We also have a representative in each class whatsap group who will pass on important information for us.

How can I help?

None of this would be possible without the fantastic support that we get from you as parents, so please keep attending those events and spreading the word. We are so grateful for all of your support.

Volunteering

If you would like to help at all, we are grateful for all and any help and time volunteered. The FOWP committee is made up of busy parents, with children at the school as well as full time jobs/ businesses to run. We understand that time is precious and not everyone can commit to coming to every meeting and activity.

We have a volunteer group WhatsApp you can join to keep up to date with different jobs/ events where we need help and you can pitch in as and when it works for you.

Alternatively, if you would like to be part of the committee and help plan events, you can join as a general member at any time or apply for a named role at our annual AGM held in September / October.

What if I don't have any free time?

There are so many ways you can still help without giving up your time!

Ask your company/employer if they offer matched funding, or if they would be willing to be a sponsor of our events.

Are you a small business owner? A baker/hairdresser/ beautician/ window cleaner etc. you could offer your services as a raffle prize!

You can make a one-off or regular donation to FOWP which will go directly to enriching the experiences of the pupils of our school.

Why should I join the PTA?

It might be hard work at times, but seeing the excitement on the children's faces as they lined up to take a turn on the trim trail, or watching their delight at the fayre or event you put your dedication and soul into organising, certainly gives a little glow in the heart! We do it for the children. So that their time at West Park can be the most enriched and enjoyable as possible.

If you would like any more information or to come along to a meeting and see what it is all about, please contact us on westparkcofepta@gmail.com

Even more ways to support your school!

Sponsor an activity or game at the Summer or Christmas Fayre or Donate a raffle Prize or service -for more details contact westparkcofepta@gmail.com

Earn Money every time you shop online with Easy Fundraising

Please join today and you can raise free donations for Friends of West Park every time you shop online this year! Over 8,000 retailers like eBay, Argos, John Lewis & Partners, Etsy, Tesco and Just Eat will donate at no extra cost to you: https://join.easyfundraising.org.uk/friends-of-west-park/o71px5/c2s/mQ7oHj9a/CE947/facebook/0.33

Stikins® - buy your clothing labels from here, and they will donate 30% to us – USE CODE 24877

Stikins® are also offering five free printed Stikins® name labels for every new starter joining West Park CE Primary School in September.

Clothes recycling - Put your unwanted clothes in the recycling in, outside the front entrance

Pre loved uniform donation - if you have any good quality uniform to donate, please contact fowp.preloveduniform@gmail.com

You can also make a regular or one-off donation to FOWP for more details contact westparkcofepta@gmail.com

Thanks to

FOWP would like to give a huge thank you to all of you that come along and support our events. All of this would simply not be possible without you.

We would also like to give a huge shout-out to all the generosity we receive from the local community when it comes to sponsorship and raffle prizes - we are always overwhelmed by the support we receive.