This landmark project is to develop the area of woodland behind the school field, backing onto the riverbank of the River Trent, and will provide a natural woodland environment for the whole community to explore and experience. The area will be developed with local community involvement for use by the local residents, schools and community groups. It will incorporate a woodland wildlife garden and nature area, sculptural trail and sensory walk along with enhancement of the natural habitats to further cultivate and enhance a variety of birds, mammals and insects. This will benefit the whole community in the following ways:

• An improved woodland and nature area for the local Isle community to use. There is also the potential for the area to be designated a Local Nature Reserve.
• A community which has a better understanding of caring for the environment and sustainable practices.
• Helping to improve biodiversity by creating a variety of habitats for wildlife to flourish.
• Improved health and well being of visitors and residents.
• Improved community involvement and cohesion in Keadby and the surrounding villages.

Sarah Tate, Head teacher of Althorpe and Keadby Primary School, said: “The Nature Area will make a huge difference to the Keadby community and the school very much looks forward to being a part of the project. We place huge importance on learning outdoors and working in the community and this project will make that learning incredibly real for our pupils. The nature area will be an excellent resource which the pupils will be able to use and enjoy as part of the curriculum as well as in out of hours learning.

Well done to our Friends of the School for enabling this project to happen and to all the community who have supported the project to date, I know that it will be a wonderful space which will be well used and respected by all in the community.”

Cllr Arthur Wills, Vice Chairman Keadby with Althorpe Parish Council, said: “When the idea was first suggested to develop a nature area on the piece of land adjacent to the school the Parish Council were in full support of the project, no doubt the Friends of Althorpe and Keadby Primary School are working endlessly to complete the project and we will continue to give our full support to such local community projects. The completed project will be a wonderful asset to the community and for the pupils of the school who will have a marvellous opportunity to experience an outdoor educational area that we hope they will all experience and enjoy for many years.”

Kathryn Russell, Chairperson of the Friends of Althorpe and Keadby Primary School, said: “This project has come to fruition after a year of hard work and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved. The vision and enthusiasm from Michele Davy in the development of this project and the level of support from the Parish Council, North Lincolnshire Council, local community groups and businesses, members of the local community and regular supporters of Friends of the School has been outstanding.

The advice and support from Gary Allen at Voluntary Action North Lincolnshire (VANL) has been invaluable and as a result the funding has been made possible by the following organisations to whom we would like to express our sincere thanks:

• The Northern Lincolnshire RDPE LEADER programme (Rural Development Programme for England), which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and is managed by Yorkshire Forward in the Yorkshire and Humber region, who provided a grant of £44,770;
• The Landfill Communities Fund of Waste Recycling Group (WRG) which is administered by the Environmental Body WREN, who provided a grant of £34,000;
• SSE Keadby Power Station, who contributed £3,740; and
• Keadby with Althorpe Parish Council, who contributed £500.”

]]> http://www.friendsofalthorpekeadby.co.uk/friends-of-althorpe-and-keadby-primary-school-secure-funding-for-a-community-nature-area/feed/ 0 http://www.friendsofalthorpekeadby.co.uk/local-pta-selected-as-regional-winner-in-prestigious-awards-competition-and-will-now-represent-the-north-of-england-in-the-national-finals/ http://www.friendsofalthorpekeadby.co.uk/local-pta-selected-as-regional-winner-in-prestigious-awards-competition-and-will-now-represent-the-north-of-england-in-the-national-finals/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 14:02:11 +0000 David Hagan http://www.friendsofalthorpekeadby.co.uk/?p=150 THE FRIENDS OF ALTHORPE AND KEADBY PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEADBY, SCUNTHORPE have been selected as the regional winner for the North of England and will now proceed through to the UK national finals of the NCPTA Gold Star Awards 2011.

“The Gold Star Awards recognise and reward the everyday achievements of PTAs throughout the region,” said Pauline Dent, NCPTA Adviser.  “The standard of entries was very high this year and NCPTA commends all the applications received; to make it through to the national finals as the regional winner for the North of England in the PTA Fundraising Achievement category is an amazing feat and we wish the Friends the very best of luck as they now go through to the final judging stage”.

The Friends were looking for an innovative way to raise money and so hit upon the idea to take the school on tour! Initial investigations revealed that throughout the local area there were many events that would provide the Friends with the opportunity to raise the profile of the school whilst making money from running stalls such as hook-a-duck, pick-a-lolly and tombola. Committee member Julie Sillence said “We booked a stall at two local events which were really well attended by the local community; we were really busy! We raised over £800 so were delighted that we had taken the Friends of Althorpe and Keadby Primary School on such a successful tour.” The money raised went towards the purchase of new books for the Key Stage 2 school library and towards the Althorpe and Keadby Community Nature Area which is a new and exciting project to develop an area of land behind the school for the use of both the school and local community.

The Friends will now join winners from Northern Ireland and Wales plus England (South and Central) at the national finals on the 8^th June in central London, when the winner will be announced. If successful, the Friends will receive a cheque for £1,000 in addition to the £500 they have already won as a regional winner!

Location: ALTHORPE AND KEADBY PRIMARY SCHOOL

This year’s Summer Fayre is to be held on Saturday 11^th June and plans are already being made to make it a fantastic, fun, family day as well as a great fundraiser.

There will be the usual favourites there such as tombola’s, hook-a-duck, beat the goalie, washing line, face painting and bouncy castles. Not to mention the BBQ and strawberries and cream!

Also this year we are arranging some great entertainments running throughout the afternoon. Confirmed so far are the Twin Tigers School of Martial Arts coming to do some demonstrations, storytelling sessions with a lovely lady from the library and musical entertainment too.

We are still awaiting more confirmations and hopefully will be able to send out a schedule before the big day!

We are currently taking bookings for stall holders and car booters at a small charge for each; please contact us for a booking form or for more details.

We are already becoming very excited and will keep you posted closer to the time, look forward to seeing you all there!

Over the summer holidays, Friends of the School were successful in an application for a Grassroots Grant and were awarded £1,675.00.  The project will pay for the transport costs to take pupils to Rock City in Hull to participate in rock climbing sessions and to cover the costs of transporting families to areas within Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire to participate in organised walks.  We were thrilled to receive this grant and hope that families will take advantage of these exciting trips – more information to follow.

Location: ALTHORPE AND KEADBY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Want to earn some money? Beat the credit crunch – have a declutter, sell your unwanted items and grab a bargain at the same time!!! You don’t even need to man a stall – just bring your items up to school between 1.00 – 1.45 pm Friday 25th March ready to unpack. We do the rest – you just come back after the sale to collect any unsold items and your proceeds, minus a 20% commission for Friends of School. Couldn’t be simpler! All you need to do now is register that you want to sell, and we’ll send you your seller’s info pack!

Register by emailing kathryn@friendsofalthorpekeadby.co.uk

NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE TAKEN ON THE DAY OF THE SALE.

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