Lightening the lockdown load: Friends of Romiley Primary School’s Fundraising Success

Following a successful win on the Promethean Grant in 2018, Romiley Primary School has benefited from increased student engagement and technology use in class thanks to the Promethean ActivPanel.

As a result, its PTA, Friends of Romiley Primary School (FRPS) took it upon themselves to help the school to break down the budgetary barriers and raise vital funds to get an ActivPanel into every classroom to support student outcomes. 

Although the Covid-19 crisis resulted in traditional fundraising events being cancelled, FRPS remained undeterred and committed to the cause. Rethinking their plans, FRPS has successfully raised approximately £5,000 during a nationwide lockdown, supporting the implementation of two new ActivPanels into the school ready for the students’ return in September. 

As technology use has been more important than ever within education over the last few months, FRPS wants to ensure that no student misses out. Cassie Chantrey, Chair of Friends of Romiley Primary School, shares her inspirations and experiences of fundraising during lockdown. 

Putting the ‘fun’ in Fundraising

“Before the win on the Promethean Grant, the front of class technology at Romiley Primary School hadn’t been upgraded for over 18 years. With budgets not stretching far enough to cover tech upgrades, and seeing the power of the new technology on student engagement and participation, we launched a powerful campaign to kit out the entire school with Promethean ActivPanels.

“We had a lot of plans and aspirations for the fundraising campaign during 2020, which unfortunately were impossible to complete due to the coronavirus outbreak. As the school was closed, our attention turned to supporting the school community, ensuring students had social time with their friends, even though they couldn’t physically see them.

“We began to use social media to create innovative digital events and encourage wider community participation, ensuring everyone was aware of the power of technology. We ran social media Easter egg hunts, bingo, virtual discos and much more, keeping our campaign at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

“From this, the school and wider community were inspired and encouraged to get involved during lockdown, and thanks to the overwhelming success of a sponsored sports event in our Early Years setting and a school-wide virtual balloon race, we were able to reach our target. We raised almost £5,000 during lockdown and are well on our way to kitting out the entire school with ActivPanels, and hope to continue on our fundraising journey.” 

To find out more about Friends of Romiley Primary School please visit, www.thefrps.com.