Parent Staff Association
Welcome to the Bishops Down PSA community (registered charity no: 1044070)
Hello and welcome to the Bishops Down PSA community. The Bishops Down PSA is the registered charity that fundraises for Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School. All parents, teachers and staff of Bishops Down automatically become members of the PSA when they join the school. This means that we have a fabulous community that love the school and want to see it thrive and enrich the lives of all our children.
Recently, we have appointed Clare Wetz as a new Co-Chair. She will join Lucy Howard (Co-Chair) as we bring new ideas and new enthusiasm to the PSA. We have a number of vacant positions in the PSA and these need to be filled so that we can continue to raise vital funds for our school.
Sadly, James Shaw has decided to step down as Treasurer after three years in the role. James has been an invaluable member of the PSA and will be sorely missed. Thank you to James for everything he has done for the PSA and for the school. This means that the role of Treasurer is vacant and we hope to fill it as soon as possible. We also need to fill the post of Secretary. We do have an expression of interest in this position and plan to have a vote for this role at our October AGM. Lastly, the role of Vice-Secretary/ Class Representative Coordinator is currently vacant. If you are interested in either of these roles or would like more details then please email us at psa@bishops-down.kent.sch.uk.
Thank you
Thanks to your help, the money raised through the PSA has had a massive impact on the resources Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School is able to offer its students. And it has enriched the experiences and opportunities available to all pupils. We are grateful for every donation we receive, every fundraising activity that is undertaken and every volunteer at an event.
In the past few years, we have contributed £20,000 to the school. This money has been used, among other things, to buy 30 iPads and their accessories. These are used alongside the desktop computers in the ICT suite and have been a great addition to the children’s learning. This is an amazing achievement and should be celebrated. So thank you for everything that you have done to help the PSA have such an impact on Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School. We really couldn’t do this without you.
We now aim to raise £10,000 for the school. This money will be used to refurbish the mobile classroom into a library that will benefit all the children in the school. We also aim to replace the school’s desktop PCs. £10,000 is an ambitious target but we know that it is achievable if we all work together to fundraise for our wonderful school.
How can I help?
There are many ways that you can become more involved. Please do not be put off if you feel you can’t give your time or are unsure what volunteering entails. We’re a very friendly bunch and would love to have more people involved. Different ways you can help us include:
-
giving your time on an ad-hoc basis,
-
helping to organise a fundraising event,
-
sharing a skill,
-
donating to the PSA,
-
leading your own fundraising event,
-
attending our fundraising meetings,
-
sponsoring an event or competition.
If you are a local business and would like to work with us to help us meet our fundraising target, then we would love to hear from you. There are many ways that you could support us. These include:
-
sponsoring an event or competition,
-
donating a prize for a competition or an event,
-
donating your time or resources at future events,
-
donating directly to our charity fund to help us reach our fundraising goals,
-
forging a long term ongoing partnership for the future.
If you have a fundraising idea or would like to aid our fundraising efforts in any way then please email us at psa@bishops-down.kent.sch.uk.
Why should I help?
The PSA is a very friendly community and we would love to have more parents or guardians help us in any way that they feel they can. By joining the PSA you will be giving back to our wonderful school. You will also be able to connect with other parents and teachers, be the first to know about new fundraising initiatives and become a role model for our school and your children. Participating in the PSA community is also great fun and a brilliant way to meet other parents and guardians.
Simple ways to help
There are also many other simple ways that you can help our community raise much-needed funds for the school. You will find a number of these below.
Stikins School Uniform Labels
We have teamed up with name labels Stikins to help us fundraise and to help you make sure that your children’s clothes are properly labelled. Stikins produce stick-on name labels that can be easily placed on the wash-care label of clothing. They can also be used on shoes, lunch boxes and other personal items.
For each packet of name labels sold, we will earn a 30% commission from the sale. So this is a really easy way to raise money for our school. All you need to do to order your name labels is visit the Stikins website or call 01270 668076 to order over the phone and quote the school reference number: 36216. Please note that we will only earn a commission if the school reference number (36216) is quoted.
Click here to order Stikins name labels and help to raise money for our wonderful school.
Easyfundraising
It's simple to use and it's free. Since their launch in 2005, they've helped thousands of good causes raise money simply by shopping online. To take part follow these three easy steps.
-
Join - Head to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/bishopsdown/ to join and start raising money for your chosen cause.
-
Shop - There are nearly 3,000 retailers on board, so pick the one you want and start shopping.
-
Raise - After you’ve made your purchase, the retailer will make a donation to Bishops Down at no extra cost to yourself.
AmazonSmile
AmazonSmile is a program that donates 0.5% of your eligible purchases on Amazon to a charity of your choice. All you need to do to start raising funds for Bishops Down is below.
-
Join - Head to https://smile.amazon.co.uk and choose to support Bishops Down Primary School Parent Staff Association.
-
Shop - Shop on AmazonSmile to your heart’s content.
-
Raise - A donation will then be made to Bishops Down at no extra cost to yourself.
TW Lotto
TW Lotto is an exciting weekly lottery that raises money for good causes in Tunbridge Wells, including Bishops Down Primary School. Tickets for the lottery cost just £1 a week. Each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week, with a top prize of £25,000.
For every £1 ticket sold 60p will go to good causes in Tunbridge Wells. You can choose which good cause gets 50p of the 60p (the remaining 10p will be distributed to other local good causes). Please remember to pick Bishops Down Primary and Nursery School as your chosen good cause. Then we will receive at least 50p for every £1 that is spent. A fun and easy way to fundraise.
Follow us on Social Media
We have created fundraising pages on Facebook and Instagram and also have a private Facebook group that you can request to join. We often run competitions on our private Facebook page and frequently update our social media pages with information about future fundraising activities. So if you have a Facebook and/ or Instagram account then please go and give these pages a follow.
Introducing the new PSA team
The PSA has had a number of new faces. So we thought we would introduce you to the new core team.
Lucy Howard - Co Chair
"I’m mum to two children, who are both at Bishops Down and have been since Nursery. Before having children, I had a career as a corporate and legacy fundraiser at various charities and higher educational institutions including UCL and Cancer Research UK. I can’t wait to start using my fundraising skills again to help Bishops Down PSA raise important funds for the school."
Clare Wetz - Co Chair
“I'm mum to two boys, the eldest of whom has attended Bishops Down since Reception and has enjoyed every single day! I work full time as a Communications Manager on an IT transformation programme for Primark. I'm really enjoying being involved with the PSA and giving something back to the school. I initially got involved as I was keen to support school fundraising during COVID, but have really enjoyed volunteering, meeting other people and seeing the funds we raise enhance the school. “
Recent Newsletters
Future events
We have a number of exciting events planned for the next few months. With Christmas approaching, it will be time for our annual Christmas raffle and this year we are hoping to be able to run the Christmas fair. This event was cancelled due to COVID last year. So it will be very exciting to be able to hold it again.
Please look out for more information in emails, Mrs Owen’s newsletter and on social media. If you have any questions about the events we are running or would like to volunteer for an event then please email us at psa@bishops-down.kent.sch.uk. We would love to hear from you.
We look forward to working together to help bring vital funds to the school.