Chairs Annual Report

2013 – 2014/15

The Friends of Judith Kerr Primary School (FoJKPS) has now established itself and become an integral part of Judith Kerr Primary School’s fabric. It is a voluntary organisation and it is a challenge to make it run successfully, but it is an immensely satisfying challenge to see it succeed in its purposes. The FoJKPS’s core purposes are to provide opportunities for parents and teachers to come together for social events,to buildon theexisting community spirit of the school and to raise funds to enhance the children’s school experience and support their learning. Over the past year, the FoJKPS Committees haveput on some wonderful events for the children and the whole school community and wider community alike.

Looking back, theFoJKPS has facilitated and funded several events during the year that reflect our German and British heritages.Apart from the ever popular and regular Cake Sales, first up was the St Martin-Umzug Festival, celebrated on 11 November. For the first year, we joined forces with the German Kindergarten and the whole school joined the Kindergarten’s celebrations at St Faith’s. The FoJKPS provided refreshments for the children in school and the materials for the lanterns. Last November, we did our own “mini” St Martin’s and will build on that experience for this year’s St Martins-Umzug. The FoJKPS provided refreshments for this and thanks go to Annika O’Malley, Christin Ray-Odekeye and the German contingent for advice, lanterns and St Martin biscuit baking as well as leading the St Martin songs and to Frederik Rissom for playing the guitar.

Next up was an Usborne BookReadathon during World Book Day week which encouraged extra reading for the children, raised funds and provided the schooland the children with free books. Thanks to Lisa Fiske for organising this. To mark Fasching/Carnival and Shrove Tuesday, we provided pancake making ingredients for each class and materials for each class to make a Carnival mask. For Easter, we held a Spring German-themed Market, complete with cakes, German Easter chocolates, egg painting and Osterbaum trees.

The two big dates in the FoJKPS’s diary of events are the Christmas Fair and the Summer Fair. Both events have their different challenges, not least worries about the weather!

We have now held two German-themed Christmas Fairs at Judith Kerr and they have both been resounding successes, providing fun, social interaction, community spirit, carol singing and opportunities to celebrate German aspects of Christmas, like St Nicholas’s boots, Gluehwein and sausage to mention some of the more obvious ones! There were plenty of indoor craft activities on offer in case of inclement weather but, as it happened, both fairs were held on gloriously sunny days, so children and adults were able to enjoy exploring the playgrounds and newly opened wooded area. It was particularly encouraging to see so many people from the wider local community attending the fairs and supporting the school.

The Summer Fair’s weather challenge in the end was not rain, but sun! It was a very hot day, not that we should complain, of course. The Fair’s theme was ‘sporting’ to tie in with the World Cup and the games and entertainments reflected this. The ‘Secret Garden’ was packed with people and activities,with a number of outside stall holders, traditional summer fete games, the ever-popular bouncy castle, Football Magic providing sessions and Oh Art! arts and crafts sessions hosted in the bell tent under the tree, even though it was at times more like a sauna! On top of all this, the ‘sports day’ races somehow managed to squeeze between the thronging crowds of supporters cheering their children (or parents) on andbrought out everybody’s competitive edge.Luckily, the food and drink volunteers were on hand, headed up by Jackie Furley and her (now signature) amazing 12-hour roasted pork shoulders, to ensure that everyone was replenished after all of that thirsty work.At the end of a happy day the grand prize draw was announced, with prizes donated by parents and generous local businesses. The main prizes were two football strips, one German and one English, much to the delight of the World Cup-mad children at the school. Thanks particularly go to the Christmas and Summer Fair Committees for their tireless pursuit of perfection and also to all, parents, staff and friends who helped to make the Fairs possible and into such successful events. Needless to say, money was raised too which goes straight back into provision for the children.

What else do we spend the money on? A big part of what we’ve funded so far has been to do with improving several aspects of the outside spaces at JKPS. We can all see the potential we have and it has been wonderful to be able to fund the start of the great reveal of the potential and enhance the children’s outdoor play experience. There is still more that needs to be done, but so far we have funded two Woodland Clearance days, meaning that the woodland area is almost ready to be used. We have also funded the Heras fencing to enlarge the green space play area that the children used all through the drier months last year. In addition, now that the ‘Cleaner, Greener, Safer’ bid has been successful, the green play space will have ‘Grasslock’ fitted which will lengthen the time it can be used, even during the winter months. Plans for the Veg Patch are in full swing and if you have any questions or would like to get involved, please contact James Roberts. Watch the website for details and developments on all this.

In addition, thanks to your generosity of spirit, time, energy and money, we have raised enough money to buy some much-needed outdoor furniture. As well as the generous donation of a picnic table by Niya Hill, four more picnic tables have arrived and will be in use as soon as they are assembled. The children were particularly excited by the arrival of the first picnic table in the playground, as Mr Manfred will testify! The park bench was instantly put to good use by parents (and children) waiting at drop off and pick up.

In addition, we have also organised and run the following activities for the children and the school community. Back in November, representatives from each class (the School Council) planted daffodil bulbs and now the whole school can watch as the bulbs grow and (hopefully)burst into bloom as spring approaches which will help to brighten up the school environment.

We always work closely with the school and Head, Claire in what might be particularly needed by the children of JKPS. One of the first things we funded in the first term of JKPS’s existence was a Pantomime for the whole school in school. Members of the FoJKPS have organised drama trips to the Unicorn Theatre, Blue Elephant Theatre and the Ritzy Cinema (thanks Niya Hill and Maria Athini). The school is of course delighted that we have supported the improvements in the outside spaces, as described earlier. In addition, we have had a request for more books to support the school’s reading scheme. We will continue to discuss what is required in this regard with the school.

To support the Sustainable School policy, we arrange Bag2school and EcoKids collections for recycling good quality clothes. This helps to increase the children’s awareness of the importance of recycling and also raises funds for the FoJKPS. Similarly, looking forward to our events calendar for 2015, we have plans for a Book Swap, as well as a Table Top Sale. Watch this space!

Finally, the FoJKPS organised the Active Kids voucher collection last year and we collected enough vouchers for a basketball net and balls, a tennis/badminton net, rackets and balls/shuttlecocks. Thank you for shopping at Sainsbury’s! The scheme is up and running again now and the collection box is in the office.

FoJKPS is registered for easyfundraising which is a no-extra-cost way of raising money via online shopping. To get started, visit

Throughout its existence, the FoJKPS has funded some very good events and raised money for the enhancement ofthe curriculum and the children’s experience at school. The events provided by the FoJKPS have only been possible due to charitable donations and team spirit; therefore we would like to send our thanks to:

  • The local business that have supported our events and donated generously
  • Parents that have contributed time money and donations
  • The Head teacher and all the staff
  • The School Caretaker for all the help and the extra time as and when required
  • To all the volunteers that step in to help; from assisting on stalls to setting up and tidy up afterevents
  • To all the Committee Members of the various committees, who work really hard to bring these events togetherthrough long hours and a lot of planning.

The way forward:

We hope the FoJKPS will continue to grow as new children and parents join the school. It is an opportunity for you to come and get involved and bring new ideas and a fresh spirit to broaden the organisation. We want to be able to continue to provide exciting events for the children with parents contributing their own skills and knowledge. Come and help us think of even more fun ways to fund raise to enhance our children’s development. We wouldlike to continue to improve communications with you, eventually via the school’s website, but also in general communication which will provide you with updates and information. Katherine Leopold is working on this in conjunction with the school and the Parent Council. Above all, we want to be able to hear your views: what would you like from the FoJKPS?

The FoJKPS is a non-profit organisation; it is run solely by volunteers and in order for it to survive, we rely on Parents, Staff and Friends to support it. If you would like to get involve please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Amanda Johnson (Pitt)

Chair