ABOUT US
The Friends of The Oaks School began in February 2006. A small group of staff and parents came together to discuss ways in which they could support our pupils. We adopted the name ‘Friends’ because we wanted the organisation to be open to anyone with a connection to The Oaks. A willingness to work together for the benefit of young people with a special educational need and their families is all that is needed. The group became, affectionately, known as FOTOS.
Our motto is to ‘Have Fun, Fund Raising’ and we aim to provide social events, support and enriching activities to benefit all pupils and their families at the Oaks. We host regular coffee mornings, pie pea and bingo, quizzes and barbeques. We also try to raise the profile of the school within the community and liaise with other charitable organisations. We fund raise through a range of activities and apply for grants. We are always ready to support families and are willing to share our advice and experiences.
We have adopted formal constitution which enables us to have good links with Parent Kind which is the national organisation for parent teacher associations. We have a chairperson, vice chairperson, treasurer and secretary who are appointed each year at the AGM and Mrs English (Executive Head teacher) is our ‘Honorary President’. We achieved Charity Status in April 2009.
FOTOS is made up of a range of people including current staff, retired staff, governors, parents, ex pupils and friends of the school. We meet regularly to discuss future fund-raising events and discuss how funds can be used to support all pupils in school throughout the year. Anyone is welcome to join the group and new ideas are always welcome.
We have supported recent events in school including Zoolab, The Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Christmas reward trips and many more.
You can become involved with FOTOS by asking to be on our mailing list and attending a meeting or by telephoning Mrs Crawford or Mrs Dobinson at school 01388 827380, you could also send a note or an email to: theoaks@durhamlearning.net
