Welcome to FOOPS (Friends of Overstone Primary School)
Friends of Overstone Primary School (FOOPS) is a charity (Charity No. 1058044) run by volunteer parents and carers. All parents/carers of school pupils automatically become members of FOOPS upon joining the school. You can attend meetings and make suggestions for spending or raising funds. We welcome new members and fresh ideas; please don't hesitate to get in touch. As a charity run by volunteers, we rely on the support of our school community to help raise money and run events. Your support is appreciated and invaluable.
What does FOOPS do?
We raise money to spend on improving equipment and resources to enhance our children’s education and the facilities in the school in general. Among the contributions we make to the school are:
- £3,000 per year towards the school mini bus
- Half the cost of all the class trips the children go on
- Christmas pantomime
- Christmas present for every child
- Additional equipment the school may need
Regular activities and events we run throughout the year include:
- Film Nights
- Mufti Days
- Christmas Cracker
- Easter Eggstravaganza
- Mother’s Day Afternoon Teas
- Father’s Day BBQ at the end of Rose Day
- Refreshments stall at Rose Day
- Refreshments stall at Sports Day
Committee
The committee currently comprises six members:
- Hannah Smith (chair)
- Becky Ager (vice chair & joint secretary)
- David Watkins (treasurer)
- Victoria Phillips (joint secretary)
- Emma Wright
- Georgina Green
Role of the Committee
We are a small committee who look after the day-to-day running of the charity. We meet regularly, with all meetings open to our school community. You do not have to commit to a position within the committee to help organise, plan or run an event and any time you can offer is more than welcomed.
How we spend the money we raise
Every child in the school benefits from the funds we raise. In addition to the annual contribution to the mini bus and other items outlined above, the Headteacher attends most FOOPS committee meetings and submits funding requests for items which are then discussed and voted on.
Meetings
Ordinary meetings are generally held each term in school or at a local pub. They last around 2 hours.
Our Annual General Meeting is held in November, to allow the new year to settle in. At this meeting, the Chair and the Treasurer present reports on the previous year and the committee for the following year is elected. As with our ordinary meetings, we welcome new faces. The AGM allows us to start a fresh year and is a good time to voice opinions, ask questions and be critical of any mistakes made in the previous year.
Minutes
Minutes of all meetings are posted to the FOOPS Facebook page and are available upon request.
How can you get involved?
There are many ways you can help and support your child through FOOPS. Any amount of time you can offer to run, organise, or prepare for events is welcomed. Donations of raffle prizes, cakes or workplace fund matching are invaluable to us. Coming along to a meeting and offering a fresh perspective helps keep fundraising relevant and up to date.
We rely on the help of volunteers to run the events which the children really enjoy so any help you can give is crucial and very much appreciated. This doesn’t have to be a regular commitment!
FOOPS Contact Details
We welcome new members and fresh ideas; we value your views so please feel free to contact the FOOPS Committee if you have any suggestions or would like to get involved.
Email: foops@overstoneprimaryschool.org.uk
Post: FOOPS c/o the school office.
In person: You will generally be able to find a committee member in and around the playground at drop-off and pick-up, we are always approachable so please come and chat.
Other Fundraising Schemes
In addition to the various events organised throughout the year by FOOPS, we have several passive income sources including:
- EasyFundraising.org.uk
- Clothing bank (located inside the front gate)
- Uniformerly – sale of pre-loved good condition uniform items – www.uniformerly.co.uk
We are always open to new suggestions for passive income sources.