Friends of Fortismere PTA – We’re Official! Thank You & Next Steps
Key Takeaways from the Friends of Fortismere Launch Meeting:
- 🎉 We’re Official! Friends of Fortismere was officially registered as a charity as of 4pm on Tuesday.
- School Support: Co-Headteacher Zoe Judge welcomed the initiative, and we introduced Louise Prodromou (Director of Operations) and Sam Murray (Comms & Governance Lead), who will be our main school contacts.
- Summer Fair 2025 is ON! Date to be confirmed ASAP – we’re going big with new ideas like a dog show, classic cars, school bands, and more.
- Fundraising: The focus will be on big-ticket, strategic, fundraising that makes a real difference to the school. To do this we need to develop a clear, targeted fundraising strategy, balancing school priorities with parent-identified needs in agreement with the school.
- Careers & Work Experience: We want to support the school to offer a stronger programme for students, improving access to work experience, careers advice, and networking opportunities.
- Get Involved! There are lots of ways to take part – and no one will be asked to take on anything alone unless they want to! Some roles (like Year Reps) are light-touch, and everything will have the support of the PTA committee. To start off, we’re forming groups to drive:
- Summer Fair
- Careers & Work Experience
- Fundraising & Alumni Network
- Gardening Club
- Year Reps – helping to amplify PTA updates and organize year-based events
🖇 Presentation Attached – this covers everything we shared at the meeting, including our structure, goals, and ways to get involved.
More Detail – Meeting Recap & Actions
First, exciting news – as of 4pm on Tuesday, Friends of Fortismere is officially a registered charity! 🎉 This is a huge milestone and means we can now formally fundraise and operate as an independent PTA.
- A massive thank you to everyone who joined the launch event – it was fantastic to see so much energy and enthusiasm! A special thanks to Zoe Judge, our Co-Headteacher, who opened the event, expressing the school’s full support for this initiative. We introduced the current members of the PTA, and Louise Prodromou (Director of Operations) and Sam Murray (Comms & Governance Lead), who will be our main school contacts moving forward.
Key Discussions & Decisions
A Revamped Summer Fair as Our First Big Event!
Everyone agreed that an ambitious, exciting Summer Fair in July 2025 would be the perfect way to kick-start the PTA’s work. Ideas flowed, including:
- Ensuring students help shape what the fair includes
- Making school bands central to the event
- A dog show (yes really!!)
- A writers’ tent
- A classic car display
Fundraising – Aligning with School & Parent Priorities
We discussed how PTA fundraising will be complementary to school fundraising effortsThe primary focus will be on high-impact, strategic fundraising that makes a real difference to the school – rather than spreading ourselves too thin. To do this, we need to develop a clear and targeted fundraising strategy, balancing school-identified priorities with parent-identified needs in agreement with the school. A great example raised by a parent was the idea of a dedicated SEND space/refuge for students who need it. Other fundraising ideas included:
- Exploring salary sacrifice schemes, corporate sponsorships, and match funding
- Focusing on high-impact events that maximize fundraising potential while respecting everyone’s limited time
Strengthening Careers & Work Experience for Students
A key goal is to support the school build a stronger programme that improves work experience placements, careers advice, and networking opportunities for students. A couple of recruitment experts volunteered to help shape this work. Starting point t- database of parents/carers willing to provide opportunities.
Website & Comms Support
One parent has volunteered to support a PTA web presence – and possibly wider school-related website improvements as well Another to help design flyers and posters!
Gardening Club
Lots of enthusiasm for a gardening group that involves students in improving the school’s green spaces.
Action Points – Here’s How to Get Involved!
We’re now looking for volunteers to join or help coordinate the following groups:
- Summer Fair Team – Event planning, logistics, fundraising ideas
- Fundraising & Alumni Network Team – Fundraising strategy for PTA, exploring new funding sources & engaging former students
- Careers/Work Experience Team – Supporting school to provide students with networking and career advice
- Gardening Club – Helping to transform school green spaces
- Year Reps – Keeping parents informed and helping organize year-based events as well as year specific volunteering opportunities at other events
⚡ If you’re interested in any of these, please reply to [email protected]! First meetings will happen this month.
🖇 Presentation Attached – this covers our mission, structure, goals, and ways to get involved.
Thanks again for your support – we’re off to a fantastic start!
Friends of Fortismere PTA
