Our 'Friends of'
Friends of The Blue Tangerine Federation
Incorporating Friends of The Collett School and, Friends of St Luke's School
Supporting Our Schools To Support Our Pupils
Chair of Trustees: Ruth Patil (c/o admin@bluetangerine.herts.sch.uk)
Charity Number: 1157000 (Friends of The Collett School Trading as Friends of The Blue Tangerine Charity)
Our Vision: Our Vision is a world where people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties thrive.
Our Mission: To enable activities that promote the work of the schools, raise funds and in doing so, work with our communities to break down barriers for children with SEND
Our Ethos: We look after ourselves, each other, our learning and our environment.
Our Fundraising Priorities for the Next Three Years: 2022-2025
Federation-Wide
FEDERATION: Music Therapy
Cost: £35,604 per year
We would like to continue offering Music Therapy
across The Blue Tangerine Federation for the next
three years. In 2021 we witnessed the first year of the
incredible benefits that Music Therapy had for our
children with Special Educational Needs, with a Music
Therapist delivering both music therapy sessions for
small groups or individuals; as well as class music
lessons.
Music Therapy is about bringing together intellect
and feelings to enable personal expression, reflection
and emotional development. This encourages students
to form a deep understanding of themselves, their
ability to listen and reinforce positive interactions
whilst increasing their self-esteem.
FEDERATION: Information Technology
Cost: £15,000 per year
IT is an ongoing project which requires funding with equipment needed to be replaced regularly, technology being updated and specialist programmes becoming available that support with our children's learning. Specialist IT programmes and equipment will provide access to curricula subjects and provide levels of communication that would otherwise be unattainable for some of our pupils. Teachers can create simple, engaging and bespoke activities for individual students that can be easily accessible by all students with Special Educational Needs. It can also encourage and develop communication skills, and development of life skills.
FEDERATION: Increase Class Budgets
Cost: £5,400 per year
We have set ourselves the target of increasing each class budget by a third (£300 a year.) The class budgets are used to buy stationary, art materials, learning resources, fulfil school trips, brunch and other classroom necessities.
St Luke's School Fundraising Priorities
ST LUKE'S SCHOOL: LED Lighting
Cost: £31,242
The current florescent lighting we have at St Luke’s could be a contributing factor to sensory overload in our children. We therefore need to replace the current lighting to LED lighting throughout the school. Not only will LED lighting be a more cost effective and environmentally friendly option but it will relieve the sensory difficulties some of our children suffer with. We have already begun replacing the lighting in key areas, but there is still more to do.
ST LUKE'S SCHOOL: Daily Mile Track and Multi-Use Games Area
Cost: £63,000
Since the pandemic, we have utilised all outdoor spaces to be able to accommodate Covid bubbles. Being fortunate to have a wealth of external spaces, we have been able to do this. However, the spaces are open and bare - not conducive to the needs of pupils. As many children do not regularly access external spaces outside of school hours, the wider focus on ensuring outdoors activities promote staying healthy and improving mental health. As a result, the schools' front field will include a daily mile track, exercise equipment and improved all-weather sports space. This space will be utilised during lessons as well as movement breaks and unstructured play times. Children will be encouraged to participate in physical activity in a fun and engaging way.
ST LUKE'S SCHOOL: Lockdown Alarm
Cost: £7,000
The safety of our children is paramount and highlighted by gun attacks and assaults on school pupils in many countries including the UK, a lockdown alarm will ensure we can secure all areas of the school from potential threat. The sound of the alarm is different to a fire alarm where all pupils and staff are expected to exit the building. In the event of an intruder, staff will draw blinds and lock doors. The school has provided the necessary blinds over the past two years for this purpose. The system is installed in its entirety at The Collett School and Forest House Education Centre.
ST LUKE'S SCHOOL: Toilets and Changing Rooms
Cost: £199,108.76
We need to complete our programme of toilet and changing facilities for our children with Special Educational Needs. As our school was originally a mainstream school with mainstream facilities, our toilets and changing spaces are inadequate and unfit for purpose for the children who now occupy the school.
More children placed in our school have hygiene requirements and need changing. We do not have any hygiene facilities to change our pupils; some of whom are teenagers.
Many pupils take longer and be more complex an activity for children with Special Educational Needs than their mainstream peers, whilst some finding changing highly stressful and challenging. All children should feel clean, comfortable and secure when using toilets.
We always take into consideration the views of our children as it is important they feel listed to and in control, especially with regards to their personal care. To support this, our children have been actively involved in the design and decision-making processes and have demonstrated strong views for changes to be made.
ST LUKE'S SCHOOL: Additional Intervention & Sensory Space
Cost: £32,000
The children are relying more on individual intervention and sensory sessions with specialist teachers and external therapists. To be able to deliver these sessions effectively, we need to create suitable spaces. We are fundraising to internally build in an existing space within the heart of the school.
ST LUKE'S SCHOOL: Middle School Playground
Cost: £94,000
The area has been reclaimed after the removal of the condemned portacabins. The Local Authority is looking to increase the number of children on site and the area requires resurfacing, play equipment suitable for children with complex special educational needs and mobility issues. Monies from the Sports Premium are also targeted for use in this area for 2022-2023
The Collett School Fundraising Priorities
THE COLLETT SCHOOL; Sensory Room Extension
Cost: £71,000
Due to the increasing complexity of needs of our children, we are relying on our sensory spaces more than ever. All possible areas within our school are currently being utilised to it full capacity, consequently we need to build additional space to create a sensory room that is accessible to our children in lower school, who currently need to traverse through the hall to access the school's existing sensory area, that is often utilised by others.
The sensory room will be designed to create access to calming and stimulating activities, to enable behavioural challenges to be reduced, whilst also enhancing learning through play, sensory stimulation, improving balance, movement and spatial orientation. It can also provide a moment of comfort for overactive and distressed individuals. It needs to cover a lot of scenarios!
We expect to extend building on to the lower school playground to retain the necessary classroom space and will require planning permission.
THE COLLETT SCHOOL: Essential water and hygiene classroom areas
Cost: £29,929
Across the school, some classes do not have access to a sink and cleaning area or, it is outdated and unfit for purpose. These hygiene areas are necessary to teach basic life skills.
THE COLLETT SCHOOL: Training Café
Cost: £83,000
Giving our children transferrable and employable skills is crucial to the work we do to enable our children to access opportunities once they enter our mainstream world. The creation of a training cafe at the front of the school forms an aspect of our teaching curriculum, supporting access to work for the 94% of adults with special educational needs who are unemployed through adulthood.
Following the success of The Blue Tangerine Horsebox Café, we want to create an onsite café to offer more opportunities for work related learning. This will be a space accessible to the general public, whilst ensuring we uphold the safeguarding of the school.
As part of this project we hope to transform an old classroom space into a café where our children can gain accredited qualifications, work experience and a connection to their community.
THE COLLETT SCHOOL: Lower School Playground
Cost: £41,000
The current playground has had improvements through fundraising and is looking better and used as part of the teaching and independent play activities. It now needs completing with resurfacing to provide a level area suitable to all our children and their mobility needs. Additionally, to be all-weather proof, so no matter what the weather our children can utilise it (including a canopy to create a shelter).
Achievements of The Friends of The Blue Tangerine
The Positive Impact of Fundraising
Mental health and Special Educational Needs; these hidden disabilities often lead to inequality and in many instances prejudice. Much of the negativity surrounding our children is due to a lack of understanding and, we tend to fear and avoid what we do not understand.
Our children want to belong to the communities they exist in. By offering an innovative and inspired education with an 'I can' attitude, we prepare our children for the mainstream world; increasing independence and resilience to celebrate their uniqueness and abilities.
By reaching out, we build better understanding and links with our communities. Come into our schools and see for yourself the amazing pupils and staff. With the amazing support over the years we have managed to provide many desperately needed resources and facilities. Some have been very difficult to achieve as they are so very badly needed but do not appeal to many who understand funding a trampoline but not necessarily the equally important fixing of broken steps.
This is a list of a few of our achievements, but far from an exhaustive list, you will see how diverse our needs really are and continue to be!
Mobile café – transferable life and work-related learning skills – going out into the community
Disabled access at Collett – our children can now walk or wheel into the front entrance of their own school!
New Toilets and Hygiene Rooms
LED lighting – good for the environment, invaluable for our children’s sensory needs
Therapy equipment – invaluable and life changing please come and visit us to it in action
Resources for Maths, Literacy, Art, PE etc
Playground equipment
IT – essential for everyone these days but for our children a means of communication and a window to independence
Audio Visual IT (Collett and St Lukes' now have screens the children can see and interact with in our school halls.)
Classrooms – yes, we have had to build our own classrooms to accommodate the children!
Chairs, tables – we have a mismatch of donated furniture around the schools but it is a badge we wear proudly, it shows the community support and adds a real homely warmth, which enhances our children’s learning experience.
Play equipment and outdoor resources – for many of our children the school is their window on the world and many breakthroughs have been achieved whilst working and playing outside
Indoor Play Equipment, such as our indoor play activity room donated by Gosling, Welwyn Garden City.
Minibuses
Decorating and general maintenance
Medical room
Storage containers – because all our cupboards have had to be used to create therapy rooms!
Cookers, washing machines, toasters, kettles – life skills and providing breakfast for those who arrive not having had any!
Animal housing, accommodation and food, such as this beautiful aviary by Little Thatch Company
Refurbishing our Library
Sensory spaces outdoors and internally
Servicing equipment
Mending broken things; windows, IT equipment, doors, plumbing and so much more!!!
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us so far!
2020-2021 Financial Year
Federation
|
April 2021
|
Horsebox Cafe (Carried Forward)
|
|
Cafe on St Luke's School Site (Carried Forward)
|
|
The Collett School
|
April 2021
|
Sensory Garden
|
Achieved
|
Replace carpet flooring in classrooms with vinyl
|
|
Completion of Lock Down Blinds
|
|
St Luke's School
April 2021 | |
MUGA Multi-Use Games Area
|
|
ASD Friendly Lighting in classrooms
|
|
Cycling Proficiency Bikes (repairs, training, helmets etc.)
|
|
ASD Friendly Lighting in Hall and corridors
|
|
Quad improvements - fountains, painting, planting
|
|
Front Entrance to the school
|
|
Donkey Stables Improvements
|
Achieved
|
Ferret House creation in the Quad
|
Achieved
|
Flooring for classrooms
|
|
Hall Sound and Vision improvements completion
|
Achieved
|
Dining Area improvements
|
|
Stage curtains replacement
|
Achieved
|
Forest House Education Centre
|
April 2021
|
Outdoor Area Improvements to site and equipment
|
|
Classroom Improvements
|
Achieved
|
Pupil Laptops
|
|
Replacement desktops (IT)
|
|
Replacement pupil kitchen
|
|
Science resources - new curriculum
|
|
English resources - new texts
|
|
English resources - theatre trips
|
|
2019-2020 Financial Year
The Collett School
|
April 2020
|
School Signage |
Achieved |
Lockdown Blinds |
Partial |
Middle Block Replace Pupil Toilets |
Achieved |
ASD friendly lighting (lower corridor, lower corridor classrooms, Hall, Primary classrooms, school offices, top corridor) |
Achieved |
Sensory Hideaway Ball pit room |
Achieved |
Front Garden planting |
Achieved |
Class Budgets increased by £200 each class |
Achieved |
M&M Productions Theatre Visit (Whole School) |
Achieved |
St Luke's School
|
April 2020
|
Improved toilets by Sensory Area
|
Achieved
|
Soft Play Room
|
Achieved |
Library
|
Achieved
|
PE equipment and Football Kit
|
Achieved
|
ASD Friendly Lighting
|
Carry Forward
|
Corridors Flooring Replacement (Main Building)
|
Achieved
|
Sensory Garden in Primary Area
|
Partially
|
Lockdown Blinds
|
Achieved
|
Pupil Laptops x 40
|
Achieved
|
Interactive Screens x 4
|
Achieved
|
Hall - Sound and Vision Improvements
|
Achieved
|
Therapy Room in 9 3/4 Corridor
|
Achieved
|
Brunch Contribution
|
Achieved
|
|
April 2020
|
Staff Laptops
|
Achieved
|
2018-2019 Financial Year
-
Aviary Build at St Luke's
-
Replacement Outdoor Classroom at St Luke's
-
Sound Acoustics Improvement at St Luke's Gym & Dining Room
-
Sensory Equipment
-
Toilets
-
IT Equipment and Resources
-
Completion of 9 3/4 Sensory Room
2017-2018 Financial Year
-
Disabled Access Throughout the School
-
IT Equipment and Resources
-
All Weather Artificial Pitch: MUGA
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Therapy Equipment
-
Shatterproof Windows
-
9 3/4 Sensory Room