Who are we?
The Friends is the name we give to the Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) at SMSP. If you are a parent of a child at the school or a member of staff or Governor, you are automatically a member of the Friends association.
What do we do?
The Friends has two main objectives: to raise funds to enhance and enrich the learning experiences of the children at SMSP, and to promote a sense of community within the school.
With increasing pressures on school budgets, The Friends association is instrumental in raising additional funds to ensure that the children of SMSP continue to receive the high quality of education they deserve.
With the help of class reps and volunteers, there are a number of large fundraising events held each year, including the Christmas Bazaar, summer fair, quiz night, School of Rock, bingo and a disco for the children.
These will be interspersed with a number of smaller events, and other non-fundraising community events. Click here for full details of the role of the rep.
The Committee
The Committee members are elected annually and are responsible for the day-to-day running of the association, overseeing fundraising events throughout the year, managing our finances and building an engaged community of parents and carers. They are strongly supported by class reps and other member volunteers in the organising of events and fundraising initiatives.
The Friends Committee is made up of the following people:
Louise (Secretary) – Louise has two children at SMSP and works in wealth management. She enjoys playing netball with the mighty Teddington Tigers, a good book and working her way through all the restaurants London has to offer.
Claire (Co-Treasurer) – Claire has two girls at SMSP and spends her day job ensuring the UK supermarkets are full of wine! She enjoys walking the family dog, Teddie, holidays to new places and occasionally some yoga.
Sarah (Co-Treasurer) – Sarah has 3 children at SMSP and works in finance within the hospitality sector. She is a lifelong Swiftie, an occasional raver, and a huge fan of a city break.
Ben (Chair) – Ben has two children at SMSP and works in philanthropy. He enjoys watching Arsenal, is a passable birdwatcher and also dabbles in the tabletop universe of Warhammer 40,000.
When do we meet?
Friends meetings are held once a term to discuss upcoming events, fundraising initiatives and spending. The Friends committee chairs the meetings, which are always attended by either Ms. Swain or Mrs. Bateman. We encourage the class reps to attend and by getting as many people involved and working together, we hope to be able to support the school and provide essentials for our children to thrive at SMSP. There is also the option of joining the meeting online. By getting involved and working together, we will ensure all our events are a success.
The dates for the Friends’ meetings are on the school calendar on the school website. Reminders will also be sent out via your class reps.
How much do we raise and where does the money go?
For the past few years, the Friends have managed to raise over £30,000 a year for the school. This money is raised primarily from events held, but also from initiatives like The School Lottery. This is an amazing achievement and is thanks to the hard work and dedication of all the parents, especially the class reps, staff, governors and children. In previous years, this money has been used to purchase interactive white boards for all the classrooms, laptops, wellbeing week workshops, learning subscriptions and playground equipment, as well as provide fun events for the children, like the Christmas Pantomime.
Please look out for our monthly update in the school newsletter where we will share with you how the money raised is being spent, current initiatives and the dates of future events.
Contact
We are always looking for volunteers or any contributions you can make whether it be time or skills! You can contact us on friendscochair@hotmail.com or do feel free to come and chat to us in the playground or at the next Friends meeting.