Freckleton Church of England Primary School raises over £12k in two years to fund iPads for pupils

Two years ago, Freckleton Church of England Primary School set themselves a “huge” fundraising target of £12,000 to provide a set of iPads for every classroom, and they have been astounded by how quickly their target has been met.

Vice Chair of the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association (PTFA), Abi Stones, said: “We thought it would take years and years to raise that amount of money but just two years later we have succeeded thank to the generosity of our local community and some brilliant fundraising events which have been well supported by our school families and children.”

The fundraising events included a Sponsored Reindeer Run in 2020, a Sponsored Santa Dash in 2021, Chocolate Bingo, school disco's, raffles and summer BBQs.

The school also secured a £1,000 cash donation from the Freckleton Charitable Trust, which was established following the Freckleton Air Disaster, as well as cash donations from local businesses to get them over the final hurdle; this included hairdressers, pubs, restaurants and small home enterprises such as the Veg Cabin on Lytham Road and local farmer John Rhodes.

Abi added: “Nearly every local business has helped in some way with our fundraising efforts – it is such a wonderful community.”

Now that the school has raised the money and bought the iPads, Freckleton says they are already making a huge impact on the learning on offer at the school, whilst children and parents are delighted with the technology available.

Headteacher Rachael Ainsworth said: “We are grateful for the PTFA for their fundraising to provide additional iPads in school. iPads have the potential to motivate both pupils and teachers. Their use in school, along with other technology, is valued by parents and seen as beneficial for pupils’ future prospects in a digital world.

"The use of iPads will never replace effective teaching, they complement rather than replace other forms of technology and teaching styles. They allow technology to be built into every subject and help facilitate independent learning providing an opportunity to develop a classroom practice where pupils not only learn from teachers, but also learn with teachers.

"Every child has access to the iPads in school and with the cost-of-living crisis, it’s one less thing for parents to worry about providing!”

As well as the iPads, Freckleton’s PTFA have also recently raised money to puchase junior playground markings and games, a history timeline around the school grounds, updated junior and infant reading scheme materials, subsidised school trips, as well as the partial funding of a whole school trip to the theatre last year and of a visiting pantomime into school this year

The PTFA is run by volunteers committed to enriching the children's lives through added investment in the school facilities and creating memorable social events for the whole school family to enjoy, but they say they could not do any of this without the support of the school family and local community.