Charities

Registered charity no. 1211997

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Charity Committee

Update 2014/2015

We are very fortunate to have so many children at SJA who want to help others and as a result we have raised a fantastic £3865.54 during this academic year. The charities we have supported this year include; The Poppy Appeal, Movember, Children in Need, St Catherine’s Hospice, School Ghana, Red Nose Day, Cancer Research, Hope for Children and Coco’s Foundation. This year’s charity committee have been greatly organised and helped to advertise and arrange various charity events across the academy. A huge thank you goes to; Lily, Grace, Ella, William, Evie, Jessica, Harry, Lucas, Jessica, Jodie, Evie, Daniel and Zach.

Each year pupils at SJA raise over £2,500 for charities of their choice.
We have a charity committee made up of 10 pupils who, in conjunction with their peers, select two international, two national and two local charities to support over the course of the year. These charities may be linked to the curriculum, e.g. the school in Ghana that Y5 are linked with, or a charity that has supported our children and/or their families e.g. Diabetes UK

When the children have decided on the charities to support they take responsibility for organising, promoting and running the fundraising events. The largest event of the year is the charity stall event where groups of children come together to make and sell a variety of products - including home made cakes, biscuits and hand made products such as bookmarks and decorated flowerpots.

All monies raised are sent to the corresponding charities with an accompanying letter from the children. Members of the committee, amounts raised and charities supported are displayed on our charity board.

Fundraising

Fundraising gives us the opportunity to carry out important initiatives that we have identified, both as a school and  a community (children, staff, parents, clubs etc.), rather than be limited by those we are able to fund through our  budget share. The fund  allows us to enhance provision for the school and local community through various fundraising initiatives, also maximising the potential of the amazing funds donated by the PTFA.

What will the funds be used for?

 To promote and enhance the education of, and facilities for pupils (and the community) and for making provision for pupils not usually made possible by the local education authority.

How are funds raised ?

The vast majority of funds are raised by the PTFA for Southwater Junior Academy through a series of events such as the Firework Extravaganza, the Christmas Fair and Summer Fair.

What have we done so far ?

From PTFA funds and monies raised so far we have been able to fund the redecoration of the school hall and the installation of an overhead projector; electronic projection screen, a fully integrated audio system, sound-proofed staging and stage curtaining, all of which have enhanced school assemblies, presentations, productions and performances.
These facilities also provide community benefits as they are available for use by the various groups that hire our hall and Piper Suite, such as the Drama group and the Methodist Church

We were also, after many years of planning, in a position to build a medical room which enables sick and injured children to be cared for in rather more peaceful surroundings than the entrance foyer. The ‘Learning for Life’ fund allowed us to furnish this build, which will also be available for community use during any events held on the school premises out of school hours.

How else can you help raise funds?

It is increasingly necessary for schools to be entrepreneurial in their approach to generating funds and to look for opportunities to maximise the potential of monies raised - we have made a great start towards this. You can help us to by telling us about any interesting schemes you know of through your places of work or any other ideas you may have for us to improve provision for the school and local community.