A group of parents compensated for government funding cuts by taking it upon themselves to raise money for a much needed revamp.

Parents from East Allington Primary raised £16,500 to fund a regeneration of the school’s outdoor learning area in just under a year.

The group of parents, spear headed by Denise Tozer, took the recent years’ government funding cuts and turned it into an opportunity to stand with the Foundation Stage Unit to fundraise and give the outdoor learning area for the younger children a much needed refurbishment.

In May 2017, a core team of mums, namely Denise Tozer, Jenny Box, Lucy Higgin, Kelly Reeve, Kelly Barons and Sarah Brooker started The Parents Playground Project. Together they created flyers and dutifully posted them in every letterbox in East Allington asking for sponsorship.

They contacted local businesses for financial support with gratitude shown by the company logo being represented at every PTFA event on a poster. A Facebook page was created and shared with weekly updates, photos and ‘shout-outs’ to those who had started to support the project. Donations could easily be made directly through the Facebook page as well, which many individuals readily used.

Within a few months, the project had raised £6,500, which was enough to start Phase 1 of the garden, and the child-safe grass was laid. However, the mums weren’t finished yet, as they worked together with EA Primary Head Tom Pether to apply for a £10,000 Lottery Awards For All grant.

The grant was submitted to go towards bespoke active learning equipment for the garden, and a ‘wishlist’ of equipment for the outside area was created by Denise and head of FSU, Kimberly Pollard.

Just two weeks later, The Parents Playground Project learned that the full £10,000 has been granted. In total, a whopping £16,500 was raised for the school, proving to the community that in times of hardship, community teamwork always comes through.

A little over a year later, the official opening of the new outdoor learning area took place under radiant sunshine. The children who had received their new foundation stage unit sang songs of thanks to those who supported the project, and a plaque has been secured on the railings at the front of East Allington Primary School to acknowledge all the companies and individuals who financially gave to help transform the dream into a reality.