Minutes
Friends of Kenninghall Primary School Meeting Minutes held Tuesday 20th January 2026 at 7.30pm at The Foundry
Attendees
Gabrielle Walsh (GW) Catriona Harvey (CH) Harriet Waters (HW) Rose Whittle (RW) Mandy Taylor (MT) Jen Notley (JN) Kelly Shaw (KS)
Apologies
Nick Tabram (NT) Carrie Spencer (CS) Francesca Sewell (FS)
GW thanked Julie Branford, who has decided to step down from the committee and continue on a volunteer basis.
The Friends thank Julie for all her time and amazing efforts given to The Friends during her time on the committee and thank her for her continued support as a volunteer.
2025/2026 Academic Year – Events held to date.
MT advised that the colour run made £1,300 profit, which we are exceptionally pleased with especially as this was the first one.
It was agreed we would redo this year, in September again, but with better/longer obstacles for the KS2.
MT advised that during December, we raised £1975.
This is made up of:
Wreath making & Kids centrepieces £1375
Xmas Raffle £365
Xmas Disco £235
The tote bags and tea towels were popular. All agreed we were very happy with the design, quality and print.
The total amount sold amounted to £668, however we are unaware to date of the profit as the invoice has not been received.
ACTION POINT – CH to continue to chase invoice & MT to provide update at next meeting.
Fundraising Commitments this Academic Year (2025 – 2026)
To continue to provide the same enrichment activities as we have previously done for the last academic years, we need to raise £7,500.
Raising this will allow us to keep the current buffer (£2,500).
To date, this academic year we have raised between £2,100 - £2,800 (number to be confirmed by MT once above invoice received).
2025/2026 Academic Year – Upcoming Events
Valentines Bake Sale – confirmed for Friday 13th February from 3pm to 4pm on school playground. It was unanimously decided to increase the costs of the bakes to £1 each. All allergies catered for, no nuts in line with school policy.
Spring Trail & Easter Bake Sale – this is always a popular and well-loved event. To be held Friday 27th March after school on the playground and sports field.
The event will run the same as in previous years, all children primary school aged and under will do a spring picture/word hunt and at the end receive a free chocolate egg (allergen equivalent where applicable).
Bake sale to run alongside side the hunt. As above, all bakes £1. All allergies catered for, no nuts in line with school policy.
Spring Fundraiser – Date and event specifics to be confirmed. It was agreed that an additional meeting will be required so discuss and finalise this event.
Spring Fete – confirmed for Saturday 16th May 2026. To be held on the school playing field and playground. Timing TBC as we are potentially looking at extending the run time (currently 3 hours).
As with previous years, we will have a BBQ, Bar, inflatables and games. It was decided to host a separate meeting in February dedicated to the fete to begin planning, organising and assigning roles.
2025/2026 Academic Year – Events to be Scheduled
Ice Cream Sales – The Friends to liaise with the school how often we can hold ice cream Fridays throughout the late spring/summer months.
End of Year Celebration BBQ/Leavers Party – Annual celebration/awards ceremony and leavers party. Not for profit. School to confirm dates.
2026/2027 Academic Year – Events to be Scheduled
Colour Run – our first one was a great success, and all the children loved it. As stated above, it has been agreed to do again. School to confirm dates.
Halloween Event – Date and timings to be arranged. Activities to be streamlined.
Christmas Disco – Very popular with all the children and they really enjoy the variety of disco, movie room and colouring room. Date and timings to be arranged.
AOB
MT advised that she has devised a questionnaire to send to all families to gage their opinions and perspectives on what is important and how they can support us.
ACTION POINT – GW to liaise with the SLT to establish if the questionnaire can be sent to families via parentmail. If approved, results will be collated and discussed at the next meeting.
GW advised that the Mary Bowles Charity have exceptionally kindly donated £3,000 to The Friends. This money is to be used for the school library project solely.
The Friends are delighted to be chosen to receive this wonderful donation, which will aid such a great cause and enhance every child at Kenninghall Primary School. The Friends and on behalf of the school, we sincerely thank the Mary Bowles Charity and its members for supporting us.
Grants – GW touched on dedicating some specific time to applying for grants. JN advised that her partner, Matt, has successfully applied for and been granted grants within his line of both work and volunteering. JN advised that she would speak with Matt to see if there were some grants he knew of that we could apply for, and for his to assist with the application.
CH raised that we have not to date received correspondence from the SLT on what they would like to raise funds for, how much they are requesting we raise and if there are any changes in how we fundraise.
ACTION POINT – GW to liaise with the SLT to establish their requests and discuss at next meeting.
Meeting end. Next meeting date TBC.
