BIG READ: School: '˜It isn't fair to rely on goodwill

FOR schools across the region, there is an ever-present danger of meeting the financial demands of a successful education programme.
The Rotary Club of Gosport donated £5,000 to Leesland Junior School to help with their fundraising effortsThe Rotary Club of Gosport donated £5,000 to Leesland Junior School to help with their fundraising efforts
The Rotary Club of Gosport donated £5,000 to Leesland Junior School to help with their fundraising efforts

Teachers are purchasing stationary out of their own pockets, and funding is the talk of staff rooms everywhere.

According to statistics published by the Department for Education, in 2016/17 local authorities spent a total of £40.3bn on education, children and young people’s services – compared to around £55bn in 2010/11.

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Funding is certainly tight, and despite schools holding cake sales and raffles, some have started to look for alternative means of funding the school and its projects.

Claudia Cubbage, principal of Henry Cort Community College in FarehamClaudia Cubbage, principal of Henry Cort Community College in Fareham
Claudia Cubbage, principal of Henry Cort Community College in Fareham

These alternative funding methods include applying for grants, starting crowdfunding campaigns and organising unique and exciting events for members of the public.

Leesland Junior School in Gosport is one of those schools that has spent the past few years looking at alternative funding methods.

The school is currently aiming to renovate its swimming pool with a new roof and upgraded heating - a scheme that is expected to cost more than £100,000 to complete.

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Business manager Kate Hedges said: ‘The pool itself was originally built in 1972, so as you can imagine there is some work to do to bring it up to modern standards.

The swimming pool at 
Leesland Junior SchoolThe swimming pool at 
Leesland Junior School
The swimming pool at Leesland Junior School

‘We use it a lot as part of our school curriculum - it is important that students learn to swim from a young age.

‘The swimming pool is used after school most evenings by young people from across the borough. There isn’t really anywhere else that they can go, so to have a service like this is really important for children.

‘We don’t want it to get so bad that the pool has to close. That’s why it is important for us to secure funding for it.’

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The school has a number of fundraising options available; having previously applied for grants, albeit unsuccessfully, the plan is to continue with those.

Claudia Cubbage, principal of Henry Cort Community College in FarehamClaudia Cubbage, principal of Henry Cort Community College in Fareham
Claudia Cubbage, principal of Henry Cort Community College in Fareham

In addition, the school is looking at hosting alternative events, such as the Take That tribute concert that was held in Thorngate Halls on January 19.

Mrs Hedges said: ‘Doing things like the Take That tribute night is a nice way of doing something for people in the community.

‘Not only did it help to raise a bit of money, but it also raised awareness of our fundraising campaign in the local community.

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‘The main issue we face is that it isn’t fair to rely on parents to constantly give money to us, especially for things like non-school uniform days where they don’t get anything in return.

The swimming pool at 
Leesland Junior SchoolThe swimming pool at 
Leesland Junior School
The swimming pool at Leesland Junior School

‘We simply cannot keep going back to them on every fundraising event that we do.

‘By doing things like this we are able to give something back, not only to them but for members of the public as well.

‘What’s more, the swimming pool is used by people from across the borough, so anyone with children or grandchildren in Gosport benefits from it.’

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Schools can also apply for grants to assist with the funding of certain projects.

In May last year, Henry Cort Community College in Fareham applied for the Tesco Bags of Help project – where selected causes can receive between £1,000 and £4,000.

The school applied to the scheme in the hope of improving the school grounds.

Speaking at the time, Mrs Cubbage said: ‘The project will give our students the opportunity to improve their college environment, and also for different age groups to work together, improving community relationships.’

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Leesland Junior School has also previously applied for a grant for their swimming pool.

In the 2015/16 academic year the school applied to Sport England for a grant of £100,000 – which would have covered all of the works needed to repair the building.

Mrs Hedges said: ‘We put a bid into Sport England for a grant, in the hopes that we would be able to secure some funding.

‘Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our application – but we are hoping to find another similar grant to apply for in the future.

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‘I think something you have to bear in mind when you submit an application for a grant is that you have to be selective about which grants you apply for.

‘There are so many different grants available but quite a lot of them are for niche causes.

‘It wouldn’t make sense to apply for every single one because you would be wasting your own time and the time of the people who are reviewing all the applications.’

SCHOOL ‘IS NOT ALONE’ IN FUNDING FIGHT

SCHOOLS across Hampshire have been forced to get creative in order to raise sufficient funds, according to a councillor.

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Leesland ward councillor Cllr June Cully says that Leesland Junior School is not alone in its quest to fund projects that will benefit its local community.

Cllr Cully said: ‘We have had budget cuts just like everywhere else and I think schools haev been hit hard in Hampshire.

‘The parents have been heavily involved because it seems to fall to them to support the schools for trips and other projects.

‘Schools have to get away from relying on parents and start thinking outside the box a bit, otherwise those parents will feel pressured by the school.

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‘I think everybody is competing for the same funding streams at this point, which is a great shame.

‘This has become quite a common problem now – it is enough of a challenge to try and keep yourselves going as a school in this day and age, without having to worry about other issues such as community projects and renovation work.

‘At the same time, people are trying to be more innovative when it comes to funding – they have sadly been forced into this situation, but there are some absolutely fantastic people involved in these projects and they are doing a great job.

‘It is encouraging to see and I do hope that they can pull this off.’

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A CHEQUERED HISTORY FOR BOROUGH’S LAST REMAINING SCHOOL INDOOR POOL

THE swimming pool at Leesland Junior School has been a community mainstay in Gosport for more than 45 years.

The building was built back in 1972, forming a vital part of the school’s facilities.

It was designed with the goal of teaching young people in the area how to swim, meaning that the depth ranges from 86cm to 1.25m at the other end.

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Accommodating 54 people at a time, the swimming pool building also includes two heated changing rooms, showers, toilets and a seating area.

Since opening, it has been used by maternity groups, mental health groups, swimming associations and sports schemes, among others.

In the past, the building had been sponsored by Waitrose, which allowed the school to pay for part of the pool to be repainted.

Currently, after-school swimming lessons are run by Aqua Academy Swimming School, a firm that focuses on delivering small, intimate swimming classes.

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But after 40 years of operation, the swimming pool started to show signs of wear and tear, with three holes appearing in the roof – and Leesland School was told it would have to pay for a new roof and internal heating.

After the school received the news, it launched a fundraising campaign in 2015 to pay for the upgrades.

Director of Aqua Academy Swimming Pool Caroline McCulloch donated £1,384.

Speaking at the time, Caroline said: ‘The pool is great for us because the deepest it goes is 1.25m.

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‘Other pools in Gosport go a lot deeper and children cannot learn to do lengths because it is too deep.

‘I don’t know what we would do if the pool had to close down.’

Since then, the school has been going all-out to raise money for the swimming pool – setting a fundraising target of £100,000.

Business manager Kate Hedges said: ‘Raising £100,000 would cover all of the costs for the first phase of work we need doing – which includes doing the roof and improving the heating.’