PTA: Friends of Walton Oak
Welcome to the Friends of Walton Oak
The Friends of Walton Oak (FOWO) is the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of Walton Oak School. FOWO’s role is to help build a sense of community at Walton Oak and to help enrich the school experience of the children. We do this by organising various events such as discos, parent quiz nights, Break the Rules Mufit Day and the Christmas and Summer Fairs. We also run initiatives such as second-hand uniform and fancy-dress sales that aim to help school families – and encourage recycling!
Though not our primary focus, we do fundraise through our activities. We are a registered charity (charity number 801702) with the purpose of raising funds for items/experiences (big or small) that are of direct benefit to the children. In summer 2023, FOWO contributed £8k towards the refurbishment of the Early Years play area, funding a stream and water wall. Other recent funding examples include iPads for Key Stage One Children, anti-bullying workshops across the school, author visits, Christmas books and ties for Y2 children moving to Y3.
You can keep up with our activities by reading The Wire, following us on Facebook or joining the Classlist app. You are also welcome to come to the termly committee meeting in the school hall. This is open to all parents/carers and is a good way to find out more about FOWO's latest activities. Keep an eye on the calendar for dates.
How you can get involved?
FOWO is run entirely by parent and teacher volunteers who organise the various activities and initiatives in their spare time. As a parent or carer of a child at Walton Oak you are automatically a Friend of Walton Oak and we always welcome anyone who would like to get more involved. There are lots of options! Email fowo@lumenlearningtrust.co.uk to find out more about any of them.
- Event volunteers: give just one hour over the course of a school year and help out at one of our events. We always need lots of people to put on the Christmas and Summer Fairs, and also need people to help out with year group cake sales, discos and other events. Take a look at our calendar, if there is an event you can help at please email us.
- Skills volunteers: do you have a skill that you can help FOWO with? We have a group of creative parents who help with poster design and similar. Could you join that? Or are you a keen gardener and could help us with gardening events? Are you an amazing baker and could help judge a baking competition? We'd love to hear from you if you think you can help in any way!
- Class/Year Reps: Class Reps help FOWO spread the word about its activities on WhatsApp. There is a Class Rep WhatsApp group and the Reps forward on information to the Class/Year Group WhatsApp chats. There are no other expectations. We put the call out for Class Reps at the start of each new school year.
- Committee: joining the committee is the most involved. You will be part of a busy WhatsApp group and will be asked to make decisions on how FOWO funds are spent. As a committee member you normally get involved with some of the events/initiatives that FOWO runs, but there is no expectation to do everything. We spread the load between us and we are very flexible - we all have our own commitments to work around! We're more interested in what you can help with, rather than worrying about what you can't! Being on the committee is open to every parent/carer/staff member in our school community and there is no special experience required to join. The committee is voted in at the FOWO AGM each September, but you can become a committee member at any point during the course of the school year.
- Sponsorship / raffle prizes: sometimes volunteering your time just isn't an option, but could you help in another way? We have many generous parents who through their work donate raffle or silent auction prizes or find sponsors for events. We'd love to hear from you if you or your work can help in this way!
