Friends of SUN
We are very fortunate at our school to have a Friends’ Association that has always been such an integral part of the school community for many years. In its time the Friends of SUN has raised many thousands of pounds, which have been spent on improving equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in school.
But it is much more than just fundraising. The Friends of SUN Association, or FoS for short, also exists to provide closer links between home and school, and it is an excellent way to bring staff, parents and pupils together in support of the school to work towards common goals.
It is challenging to organise bigger event, but with the continued support of parents and staff, we have always succeeded in our efforts, just ask any of the committee or parent helpers how rewarding and fun it can be!
All parents and members of the school community can be involved, even if you only have a small amount of time available; all parents automatically become members of the Friends of SUN when their child gets a place in our school.
FoS are conscious of the ethos and values of our school, and we try very hard to respect this when organising and planning events to ensure a variety of activities with something for everyone.
Our FoS Committee currently consists of 2 Officers (Chair, Treasurer) along with several other Committee members to make up the full Committee who are trustees for the charity.
We are looking for new committee members and someone to take on the role of Chair and/or Secretary in September, these could be shared roles and we always try to delegate key jobs between committee members and willing parents.
Our Committee for 2025
Chair: Jolene Martin
Treasurer: Julie Farmer
Secretary: Position vacant
Committee Members: Sheila Fisher, Emma Drury, Maria Pagotto
How We Spend The Money We Raise
The money we raise is usually spent fairly quickly - this way, parents can be sure that in supporting our school, all children will benefit from our fundraising efforts.
Usually our Headteacher has a ‘wish list’ of items that the school would like to purchase. Often for resources to improve a particular area of the curriculum or school environment. Sometimes this will be as a result of the children or parents asking for something in particular.
Friends’ funds are not spent on improving the fabric of the school building as this is the responsibility of the school’s Governing Board. Our Constitution commits us to spending money on things that will benefit the children directly. It states that funds are to be used to “provide facilities or equipment which support the school and advance the education of the pupils” and that we also aim to achieve this by “engaging in activities” and “developing effective relationships between the staff, parents and others associated with the school”
Here are just some of the things that the Friends have helped to raise money for:
Educational activities
Subsidising school trips, such as whole school trip to Christmas Pantos, class tips to museums and educational centres, visiting theatre performers and inspirating visitors;
Subscriptions for the children to use such as TTRS/Numbots, MyMaths and SpellingShed;
Previous years we have paid for resources and visitors for an off-timetable Science Week or Arts Week; Yoga and a climbing wall for our Wellbeing Week, coaches for the Sports week;
At times we have paid for prizes, keepsakes, ice creams, Easter eggs and Yr 6 Hoodies;
Equipment for Classrooms, books for the library, tablet covers, smart boards, cooking equipment and ingredients;
A brand new Reading Scheme with books for the whole school;
Resources, including playground and indoor play equipment, outdoor games, playground markings, staging, storage units, picnic benches and sun shades.
In the main, Friends’ funds are for the ‘extras’ not provided by the school budget, that make our children’s learning experiences even more fulfilling and exciting.
How You Can Get Involved
There are ways you can help and support your child through FoS:
You can start to help us fundraise by doing you online shopping through EasyFundraising (see link below), where “Friends of SUN—Reading” receive a donation at no cost to you. There are many big names such as Argos, M&S, John Lewis, ao.com, Currys - PC World are among the huge list of retailers involved, so whether buying gifts, uniform, appliances or even holidays, you can be helping us raise funds to benefit the children at SUN school.
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/sunschool
Also, please have a look at Scholastic Book Club (link below), where if you select ‘Sulhamstead and Ufton Nervet’ for every £1 you spend on orders of £10 or more then the school receive 20p to spend on books themselves.
“Friends of SUN” is a registered charity on the West Berkshire Lottery, which is £1 a week for just 1 month at a time if you’d like to have a chance of winning!
50% of funds go to the charity you have chosen to support and 10% is split between varying West Berkshire charities. There is a draw every Saturday evening, where there is a chance of winning prizes of 3 additional tickets, £25, £250, £2,000 or £25,000!! And every month there is a special prize, worth around £1000 which is guaranteed to be won by a current ticket holder
https://www.westberkshirelottery.co.uk/
Offering to help at events or at other events during the year is so valuable – it really is a case of ‘many hands make light work’. It doesn’t matter if you are unable to help on a regular basis, or even if you can’t come into school. There are always little jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare e.g. wrapping gifts, preparing raffle tickets etc. We really couldn’t achieve what we do without the unseen ‘army of help’ that exists in school. It is also a great way to meet other parents and friends of SUN and feel more part of the community, so please - get involved.
