Carswell Community Primary School

 

Friends of Carswell School (our PTA)

Latest news

Christmas raffle prizes!


You can find all our latest news by:

  • Following us on Twitter @FOCSfeed
  • Joining the 'Friends of Carswell School (FOCS)’ Facebook group
  • Visiting our fundraising page https://give.focs.org.uk

About
FOCS is the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of Carswell Community Primary School.  As a charity, we raise funds to support our school to ensure every child gets the most out of their time at Carswell.  Our school is at the heart of our community and supports our children and families to be happy together and enjoy learning for life.
FOCS fundraising
In recent years FOCS has helped to fund many projects such as buying books for the library, part-funding the school’s Accelerated Reader subscription (an online reading assessment tool), buying playground equipment, and paying for trips and resources for classes.
This year, in addition to our usual budget items, there are trans-formative projects that the school desperately needs help in funding.  Amazingly, with the support of the Carswell community and local businesses, we have reached the fundraising target for renovating the school’s dining hall! We are over the moon this is now possible! We are now fundraising to create a forest school area in the garden space.
How to donate
The link to our donation page (online/cashless contributions with Gift Aid where applicable) is https://give.focs.org.uk and you can use the QR code below to take you straight to the link.

Another really easy way to help raise money for FOCS is to use easyfundraising and Amazon Smile.  FOCS received over £300 last year from these routes.  When you join easyfundraising (for free), the online retailers you shop with provide a percentage donation to FOCS.
If you join with this link we get an extra £5:
​ https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/focarswell/?invite=sf5p8o&referral-campaign=s2s
Use Amazon Smile https://smile.amazon.co.uk (which is exactly like the usual Amazon website) and Amazon will give a small percentage of all your Amazon Smile purchases to FOCS.
Who we are
The FOCS trustees are the people responsible for controlling the work, management and administration of the charity on behalf of its beneficiaries.
The people contributing to FOCS include many more beyond the trustees.  We are all volunteering our time because we love Carswell and want our children to thrive at school.  All parent, carers, guardians, members of staff and the local community are welcome to join the termly FOCS meetings or join a sub-committee for helping to organise a fundraiser or other initiative.

Meet the trustees

 

Friends of Carswell School trustees (ID 1103)

  • Hannah Bentley

    Hannah Bentley

    Hannah has two children at Carswell, a daughter in Year 2 and son in the preschool class. She is a Chartered Surveyor who loves residential property along with being active, socialising with family and friends and travelling the world (when she can!)

  • Kate Kyffin
    Chair

    Kate Kyffin

    I have a daughter in Year 1 and younger twin girls in Nursery. I am a Project Development Scientist for a Forensic DNA company. I enjoy cooking, socialising and going to live gigs and theatre performances.

  • Charlotte Mather

    Charlotte Mather

    I have two daughters at Carswell, I'm a Project Manager within a Medical technology company and I enjoy running, sailing and wine!

  • Sarah Hardwick

    Sarah Hardwick

    Sarah has two daughters, one in Year 2 and one in preschool. She is a lawyer by profession but is currently working as a business manager to a General Counsel for a large company. She loves spending time with friends and family enjoying coffee or wine!

  • Ceri Clark

    Ceri Clark

    Ceri has two children at Carswell, a son in Year 5 and daughter in Year 1. She has 17 years Human Resources experience, and is excited to get more involved in supporting FOCS and the school.

  • Serena El-Ajouz
    Secretary

    Serena El-Ajouz

    I have a son in Year 2 and a younger daughter. I work in Human Resources for Helen & Douglas House, a local Children’s hospice. I am originally from New Zealand and moved to the UK in 2014.

  • Mark Heelis

    Mark Heelis

    Mark has a daughter in Reception class and a second younger daughter. He is a Programme Manager in the UK Space industry with over 20 years experience. He enjoys playing and watching football, running and going to live music and festivals.

  • Amy Sykes
    Treasurer

    Amy Sykes

    Amy has 2 children at Carswell 1 in Year 1 and one in pre school. Amy works in accounts and enjoys spending time with family and friends.

  • Emmyleigh Buchan

    Emmyleigh Buchan

    Emmyleigh has a daughter in Year 3 and son in Year 1. Emmy is a qualified hairdresser & florist who loves reading, outdoor adventures and live music concerts.

  • Bex Hamer
    Vice chair

    Bex Hamer

 Diversity and inclusion
FOCS wants to reach every child and family in the school.  We have a much better chance of doing that with diverse and inclusive representation of children from different backgrounds among the trustees and in our termly FOCS meetings.  Please help FOCS to be more diverse and inclusive by getting involved.
Get involved
Get involved! We need you!
If you would like to support the school in any way please speak to any of the trustees.  You can also send an email to join@focs.org.uk.
There are lots of ways to help and support your child through FOCS:
Meetings: FOCS meetings are held once a term, in the evening after school and open to all. 
Fundraising initiatives: You can support us by simply participating in our fundraising initiatives.  Whether it be buying raffle tickets, helping your children with sponsored challenges or any of our other activities, any support you can provide is hugely appreciated and makes a big difference to the school.  If you can spare some time to help organise any of our fundraising initiatives then please do get in touch.
Donations: We often have fundraising raffles that need donations of anything from chocolate (no nuts please!) to toiletries, books and toys.  Our donation website (https://give.focs.org.uk) accepts one off donations and regular giving.  We encourage and welcome any donation from individuals, families and organisations.
Useful links
You can keep up to date with the fundraising events FOCS are planning and running on Facebook
by typing in 'Friends of Carswell School (FOCS)' to the search bar or follow us on Twitter @FOCSfeed.

 

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