The school has to plan for the future. We need to make provision for the teaching. This includes making sure that the premises are comfortable, safe and secure and we have teaching staff. Utilities, staff costs and materials are fixed costs and are managed appropriately. These costs are covered by fees. Other costs are not.

The model we work to is explained to every parent when they join the school. As head teacher this is usually the last time I speak directly to parents about finance. We all need reminding of this spoken agreement so that the school can continue to prosper.

The school prospers through the free will giving of the school community. We work to meet the needs of the wider community and the education we provide is a unique and essential part of the schooling in our area. If you think about your own experience of the school and the families whose needs are served by the school, you will see that God has provided us to serve in this area in a special way. As families of the school we aren’t just clients we are providers of a service.

Each of us supports the ethos of the school by the school offering significant fee discounts to families and we have always done so. The ethos is also supported through volunteering and a wage structure that enables teachers to send their children to the school. We have always benefited from teaching staff whose only stake in the school is that they work here and believe in what we are doing. The calibre and dedication of our staff is a blessing. We need more than the fee and volunteering however and we should not depend on paying our staff less.

Parents have always had to step up to their responsibility and give in proportion to their income beyond the basic fee. Maintaining the school is the responsibility of the parents and a vital part of the giving, not depending on events or one off initiatives. The giving we hope for is free, regular and joyful.

Past beneficiaries of the school who remember the faithfulness of others, could you underwrite the continuing work of the school? Small regular giving can make a significant difference to our finances. This is true because the community of the school, past and present is now big enough to make your collective effort effective. One off gifts and bequests are fantastic. Your generosity is significant to our income.

Please share this letter as widely as you are able. We love it when people attend our events and make contact with the school and realise that people who have not necessarily benefited from the school want to support us.

We appreciate people organising and attending special events. But, we need the security of your continuing financial support for the general work of the school.

Contact the office for a standing order form and gift aid declaration or explore the online ways of making donations.