About 24 long months ago, Friends of Beeston (Beeston Primary School’s PTA) were asked to help with raising funds for the refurbishment of the Key Stage 1 playground (Years 1 and 2). It was a big job; there was little in the playground for the children to play with, and what was there was at the end of its active life. Nevertheless, Friends of Beeston embraced the challenge and set about fundraising. Our events included The Great Beeston Bake Off, a stall at Beeston Festival, a summer fun-day, a Christmas card scheme, a Christmas raffle and several bake sales.
Not a lot of people realised (the PTA included, initially) just how much playground equipment costs. Quotes were in excess of £17,000, so the installation of this new equipment is a massive achievement, even if it has taken 2 years.
Friends of Beeston didn’t achieve this alone, and the children wouldn’t be enjoying their new playground had it not been for support from not only the fantastic PTA team, but also from the teachers at the school, The Whistlestop Pub, Save Our Beeston, the many local businesses who donated raffle prizes and the school securing grants from John Lewis and Barclays Bank.
As you can see from the photos, the children are having great fun in their new playground, and the work completed will benefit children moving through the school for many years to come.
Of course, the hard work is never over and now funds need raising to improve the final corner of the playground, which is still in need of improvement, so Friends of Beeston can’t rest on their laurels just yet. However, a fantastic boost to the project is that Friends of Beeston have been selected as one of Beeston Co-op’s community causes, so anyone who shops there can help with the fundraising by getting a Co-op members card and selecting Friends of Beeston as their chosen community project. We will also be looking to ask local businesses whether they can help in any way, so if you feel you can offer help of any kind please get in touch with us at FOBPTA@outlook.com to help children of all ages at Beeston Primary School make the most of their breaktimes.
This post was written by Lucy Halloway
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