About

The PTA is a team of parent and teacher volunteers who run events in conjunction with the school to raise much needed funds that help to purchase items that the school budget cannot stretch to. We try to make the children’s school experience extra special and fun!

The PTA is a registered charity, with registration no: 1042060

All parents that have a child at the school are automatically members of the Beaudesert Lower School PTA.

If you would like to be an active member, you can join us at any point during the school year, even if you can’t attend any meetings, there is so much you can do at home or at the events. It is a great way to get involved with making your child’s school experience more fulfilled. 

We support the school in so many ways. Any help is always gratefully received whether it is making teas and coffees, helping to lay out chairs or just giving fresh ideas! We are always looking for new ideas and any parents who have skills or contacts that we can utilize!

Don’t be put off if you feel you can’t give your time, haven’t been asked or are unsure what’s involved….

If you can’t give your time, please sign up for our money raising scheme (YourSchool lottery) that allows us to raise money with very little effort and at the same time you can win up to a 25k jackpot and a different prize every month.

At the moment the committee members are:

Co-Chairs: Isabel Burgin and Rosie Turner
Secretary: Thais Ortiz
Treasurers: Lorna Turney and Becca Croft

FAQs

What is the PTA? What do they do?

The PTA is a team of parent and teacher volunteers who run events in conjunction with the school to raise much needed funds that help to purchase items that the school budget cannot stretch to. We try to make the children’s school experience extra special and fun!

The PTA is a registered charity, with registration no: 1042060

How can I join the PTA?

All parents that have a child at the school are automatically members of the Beaudesert Lower School PTA.

If you would like to be an active member, you can join us at any point during the school year, even if you can’t attend any meetings, there is so much you can do at home or at the events. It is a great way to get involved with making your child’s school experience more fulfilled. 

We support the school in so many ways. Any help is always gratefully received whether it is making teas and coffees, helping to lay out chairs or just giving fresh ideas! We are always looking for new ideas and any parents who have skills or contacts that we can utilize!

Don’t be put off if you feel you can’t give your time, haven’t been asked or are unsure what’s involved….

If you can’t give your time, please sign up for our money raising scheme (YourSchool lottery) that allows us to raise money with very little effort and at the same time you can win up to a 25k jackpot and a different prize every month.

When do we meet and who attends the meetings?

We try to meet once a month or at least twice every term. At the moment meetings are on Monday evening at 6:30pm in the staff room at school. However, this may change. Always check our calendar for the latest update on any event. Remember, you can add it to your google calendar so you don’t have to add the events individually. Just click on the link below:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=cHRhYmVhdWRlc2VydEBnbWFpbC5jb20

It is usually the committee members, a few regular volunteers, Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. White who attend the meetings and anyone is welcome to join us! 

How can I contact the PTA?

You can email us (ptabeaudesert@gmail.com) or send us a Facebook message through our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Beaudesert-Lower-School-PTA-529206763888349/

I don’t have time to volunteer, how can I support the PTA?

Your School Lottery

It’s simple, choose 6 numbers between 0-9 and if they match the weekly lottery draw, you win great prizes. One of our players will win a cash prize every week, maybe even the £25k jackpot! Tickets cost just £1 per week and the proceeds are donated to Beaudesert Lower School. Every Saturday at 8pm the numbers are drawn and posted online. Winners are notified by email and winnings paid into the account of your choice. The easiest way to join our lottery is online at YourSchoolLottery by direct debit or debit card.

Treasure Map Trails

Fantasie-themed treasure maps of towns and cities for young explorers.

We’ll get 30% of all sales and customers get 10% discount on any purchase with cupon code ptabeaudesert. They make great presents! 

https://treasuremaptrails.com/?ref=ptabeaudesert

Bag2school 

Bag 2 School specialises in the reuse and recycling of good quality second hand clothing and we have arranged to make a collection from our school. All the bags will be weighed and the PTA will be paid for the total weight collected (40p per Kg at the time of writing).

Please use your own bag or bags (there is no limit). Plastic bags will be sent for recycling afterwards. We are collecting good quality items for RE-USE: Mens, ladies & childrens clothing, paired shoes, handbags, belts & accessories. (No uniforms, workwear, pillows, duvets or pieces of fabric please)

https://bag2school.com/what-we-collect

Our next collection is on: 9th October 2024 Please leave your bags under the playground shelter before 9am.

Stamptastic 

Earn 15% commission for your PTA when you buy any Stamptastic product, using the link below PLUS £4.99 discount when you order the School Name Labels Deluxe Bundle, using the PTA Code LU73LD.

Get a stamp with your child’s name on and fabric ink to mark clothes and other things. Much more durable that stickers and easier to apply! This is not limited to parents of Beaudesert; it can be shared with friends (by word of mouth, email or on your Facebook page), family and colleagues. So the more you spread the word about the product the more money we will receive!

https://bit.ly/STAMPLU73DX

Where does the money go?

The money raised goes into our charity bank account, which is separate from any school funds. Then the PTA decides how to spend the money. The headteacher attends all PTA meetings and informs us of current and future projects that may need funding, then the PTA decides whether to contribute or not and how much. We also make suggestions to the school and find enriching activities for the children to enjoy such as a theatre company visiting the school, a magic show or a part-funded trip to the theatre. We always try to respond when asked to help the school, and after the work is done, it’s so rewarding to see the children enjoy new resources and equipment provided by the PTA.

Throughout the last 5 years, the PTA has raised more than £15,000! The last four years haven’t been our best due to the pandemic and many events were canceled, then the struggle to find volunteers, however, we still managed to raise a fair amount that was used for a few things, including:

  • Contribution towards the new Early Years outdoor area.
  • Coach transport for swimming lessons for Year 3 and Year 4 every year
  • Christmas Panto paid for the whole school in 2022
  • Santa visit and Presents for Santa during their Christmas Parties every year
  • Meet the Author on World Book Day every year
  • Weatherproof outdoor maps and shop posters decorating the walls outside of Y2 and Y3 classes in 2022 and 2023.
  • School disco in 2022 and 2023
  • Year 4 leavers hoodies every year
  • Easter eggs for all children and an Easter Egg Hunt every year
  • Gardening and pond dipping equipment in 2024
  • Outdoor library in 2024

This year (2023-2024), so far, we have paid for some garden equipment to be used by all the children in the gardening area during break times, including a shed to keep all the equipment safe and in good condition. We have also paid towards an outdoor library and outdoor bean bags so children can choose to pick a book to read if they want.

In the current climate it might be a challenge to fundraise but we are still looking at activities to raise money for the school so the children can have better equipment and enjoy enriching activities. These are some of the fundraising activities we organised last year:

  • Rainbow day and other Non-Uniform days 
  • Christmas Fair and raffle including a Great Beaudesert Bake Off
  • MyChildArt – Products with children’s artwork to purchase
  • Quiz and Bingo nights
  • School disco
  • Bag2school clothes recycling scheme
  • Ice cream sales
  • Preloved uniform and books sales
  • Summer fair

The PTA are very conscious of the well-being and financial effects on both children and parents across the school due to the cost of living crisis. Therefore, our aim is to find a balance between the need to fundraise and ensuring the children have  fun. We really appreciate your continued support.We need more volunteers to continue the work that we do. If you think you can help, please join our next meeting or let us know via the Facebook Page. It doesn’t have to be a big commitment! Or if you have any ideas for fundraising, comments or feedback we would love to hear from you! Please get in touch!

What are we raising money for next?

Scooter track outside of running track – the school has requested this as the running track is not good enough for scooters.

Incubator – This is a project for the school year 2024/2025. We will provide one per year group and it will go in the quiet rooms. School will provide us with some dates so it tights in nicely with the curriculum. The children will be able to observe an egg incubator and hopefully see chicks hatching out of the eggs. The farm will then come and collect the chicks after a couple of days.

Mini bus – This is an ambitious project and we are looking at the best option which seems to be leasing but still costs a minimum of £750 a month. The PTA could raise money to pay the down upfront payment of £2.2k, however, it is still a big cost. We could look into sharing it with another school to cut costs. Otherwise we could give out an Experience Grant to each year group to use next year (2024/2025) on a trip of their choice.