About the PTFA

Originally founded back in the mid-sixties, the St John Fisher PTA was formed to advance the education of pupils in the school, in particular by developing effective relationships between staff, parents and others associated with the school, within our Parish and St John Fisher RC Church.

Now a registered charity (charity number 1105886), and working alongside Gift Aid, raising even more money, we work hard during the year to help raise funds for the school through events such as quiz nights, discos, school fairs, fun days, raffles and our up and coming 100 club.

How Can You Get Involved?

There are lots of ways you can help and support your child through the PTFA. Offering to help before events or at other times during the year is extremely valuable. We couldn't achieve what we do without the unseen "army of help" behind the scenes eg wrapping gifts for the Christmas fair, preparing raffle prizes etc.

We very much welcome any ideas, feedback and support from all parents as this allows us to ensure continuously that all voices are heard and that the events we organise are appropriate to both parents and pupils.

The work of the PTFA is very rewarding and can be fun too! Any parent interested in joining, helping out at a function or who has any other ideas should contact us via email at info@st-johnfisherpta.org. Anybody can get involved it they want to, even if they only have a small amount of time available.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Our AGM is held at the beginning of the autumn term and this is an opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about events run, funds raised and how the money has been spent. It is also the occasion when we elect our new committee. Elected members serve the committee for an average of 2-3 years, but can be voted in to stay longer!

How We Raise Money And What We Do With The Money

Like most PTFAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run. Any funds raised during the year are used to fund events or used to improve equipment and resources to enhance our children's education and the facilities in school in general eg playground equipment, digital cameras, funding for coach trips, drama stage of the outdoor classroom, contribution towards the new boiler system, contribution towards the building costs for the new classroom block in addition to the main school (to name but a few!!)

The PTFA 'in it to win it' lottery is also a scheme which has been introduced to increase the provision of these extra services. All parents and family members can participate by contributing £10 per year. Therefore the more people in the scheme the bigger the sum.

Anyone who doesn't want to participate in a prize draw can make regular or a one off donation. This donation will then attract gift aid meaning that the government will apply a further 28% without it costing the contributor a further penny.

Anyone interested in participating in the scheme should download the relevant form and follow the simple instructions.

Once money is raised, the funds are banked straight away. The decisions on how to spend the money are then discussed and agreed at our PTFA meetings.

Mrs O'Byrne and Miss Kenna usually have a "shopping list" of items that the school would like to purchase. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children asking for something eg playground equipment. At other times it will be for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment eg provision of digital cameras. PTFA funds are for the "extras" not provided by the school budget that make our children's learning experiences more fulfilling and exciting. We aim to "spend" the money quickly so that the children and parents who helped raised the money can benefit from the items bought!

PTFA funds are not generally spent on improving the fabric of the school building as this is the responsibility of the school governing body. We always endeavour to spend our funds in ways that will benefit all our children across all areas of the school and curriculum.