We are fortunate at our school to have a PTFA that’s an integral part of the school community. Over the last 5 years we have raised thousands of pounds, which have been spent on equipment and resources to enhance our children’s educational experience and the school’s facilities, and also to subsidise school trips, pay for leavers' gifts, the wonderful new garden provision and so much more.

Our association is about much more than simply fundraising. The PTFA exists 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 is 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. All families are automatically members of the PTFA when their child joins our school.

Attached a reminder of the ‘6 reasons why…’ it’s great to get involved.

Our Committee consists of:

Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Ordinary Committee Members (minimum 4)

The Committee meet on a regular basis, usually 1-2 times per term, with smaller working groups meeting as necessary when we are planning larger events.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we have trialled the use of technology for virtual meetings and will be considering this for regular meetings in the future, to make them more accessible to those parents who may not have childcare provision for example.

All PTFA meetings are open and any member can come along, find out what the association are planning, share ideas and get involved.

We welcome any help from parents, teachers and wider family and friends, and we 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, wrapping lucky dip prizes or folding raffle tickets (just a few examples) would be invaluable. If you would like to join us please speak to a committee member, come along to our next meeting or contact us via the Facebook Group (see below for details).

Our Annual General Meeting is held in late September 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.

Our PTFA is 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

Parentkind also provide resources for Parents, if you would like to sign up to their Parent e-Bulletin please visit https://www.parentkind.org.uk/Signup

Like most PTFAs, the majority of our funds are raised through the events that we run.  Some of our most popular events are:

Christmas Fayre: A traditional craft fayre focused around Christmas gift shopping. Held at Thelbridge Cross Inn.

Easter Bingo: An evening of Bingo where you can win Easter Eggs, Breakfasts and Roast Chicken dinners. Fun for all the family.

Summer Duck Race & Dog Show: Our BIG fundraiser – usually makes in excess of £4k!! We are incredibly proud of this event and how it has developed over the years into such a successful one. It is also a really fun event to get involved with the organisation of.

Jumble Sales: 2-3 times per year we hold a jumble sale at Witheridge Parish Hall. It is a great earner and all unwanted clothes, toys books and household items are welcome for us to sell. So think of us next time you are having a clear out. Donations from parents are extremely important.  You can donate time, money, items for sale, raffle prizes and auction lots or offers of services and skills. 

Lottery www.yourschoollottery.co.uk: The PTFA are part of Your School Lottery. You pay £1 a week and are in with the chance of winning a top prize of £25,000. Each £1 ticket consists of 6 numbers between 0 and 9, there is a draw every Saturday night when a 6 digit winning combination will be picked, match all 6 and win the jackpot! There is also a guaranteed winner for each school every Saturday which will win you 30% of our schools ticket sales. Register online at and tell your family and friends to do the same!

Easyfundraising www.easyfundraising.org.uk: As easy at is says, every time you shop online you can raise funds for East Worlington PTFA. An average of 5% of your online basket goes to the school at no extra cost to you. Easy to sign up just add the app to phone or tablet and start raising money.

The PTFA committee are responsible for deciding how our PTFA funds are spent. Usually the teachers and pre-school leaders 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 do share it with the Committee. We can discuss it at a meeting and feedback.

Funds are typically spent on the ‘extras’ that are not provided by the school’s budget, thus making our children’s learning experiences so much more fulfilling and exciting. Funds are not generally spent on improving the fabric of the school building, as this is the responsibility of the school. Our Constitution commits the association to spending money on things that will benefit the children directly.

The PTFA includes all updates in the school newsletter which is sent to you by email fortnightly.

This includes information on upcoming events and dates as well as requests for help we need at our larger events. Following an event, we always write to let you know how much was raised, and when we reach our target, or annually at the AGM, we tell you what the money will be spent on.

We have a PTFA noticeboard situated next to the school gate where you’ll find all our posters and news.

If you have access to Facebook, please request to join our “East Worlington Pre School & Primary School PTFA” group and like our public page “East Worlington Primary and Pre School PTFA”

There is also a Facebook messenger group for parents/ guardians which is useful to be on when you aren’t sure what day they are wearing PE kit or what time they are getting back from a school trip.