Friends of St John Henry Newman

Friends of St John Henry Newman

We are very fortunate at our school to have a Friends Committee here at St John Henry Newman.  Our association is about much more than simply fundraising. We exist to provide closer links between home and school, and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school, working towards a common goal. It’s fun too - just ask any of the Committee members or volunteers.  All parents and members of the school community are encouraged to get involved, even if they only have a small amount of time available.

Role of the Committee

Our Committee consists of Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Ordinary Committee Members

Chair	Treasurer	Secretary
Sam Spencer	Bethany Hayter	Siddiqa Raffiq

The Committee meet on a regular basis with smaller working groups meeting as necessary when we are planning larger events. The Committee also hold open meetings, any member can come along, find out what the association are planning, share ideas and get involved.

Volunteers

We welcome any help from parents, teachers and friends, and have a growing list of volunteers who commit some of their time to helping the association. Every little helps, so just one hour of assisting at event or wrapping lucky dip prizes or folding raffle tickets would be invaluable. If you would like to join us please speak to a committee member, come along to our next meeting.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Our Annual General Meeting is held May and provides an excellent opportunity for all parents to come along and hear in more detail about our work, the events we have run, the funds we have raised and how the money has been spent. It is also when we elect our new committee members.

Support from Parentkind

The Friends of St John Henry Newman are a member of Parentkind, which is a national charity and membership organisation providing support and guidance to over 13,500 parent associations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Membership includes comprehensive insurance cover by Zurich Insurance plc for all our association run events and gives access to support and advice on running the association plus fundraising ideas and good practice hints and tips

The PTA committee are responsible for deciding how our PTA funds are spent. Usually the School Leadership Team provide a ‘wish list’ of items that the school would like us to consider funding.  We also invite input from parents too, so if you have an idea of something that would benefit all the students in the school, please share it with the Committee. We can discuss it at a meeting and feedback.