Colchester primary school welcomes £2000 charity cheque from Provide Community

Braiswick Primary School in Colchester has received £2000 of funding from neighbouring social enterprise, Provide Community, for new playground equipment.
As a Community Interest Company (CIC) responsible for the delivery of health and social care services across Essex and East Anglia, Provide Community reinvests its profits to benefit the communities it serves.

In its latest initiative, Provide asked more than 1000 staff to nominate local causes they felt deserved a donation. Jennie Bateman, Communication Officer at Provide, nominated Braiswick Primary School, which was selected and allocated funding by a panel of Provide’s Council of Governors. She said:

“Both my daughters attend Braiswick Primary and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to their education. The parent-teacher association (PTA) has worked tirelessly to raise funds for equipment to enrich play and learning for the children through engaging and fun events. I feel very blessed to have the chance to give something back to the school which has given so much to my family over the last seven years.”

The school’s PTA, known as Friends of Braiswick Primary (FOBP), was established by parent Hannah Evans when the school opened in 2015. She said:

“My daughter was part of the first intake when the school opened and will be the first year group to leave this summer. I set up the Friends of Braiswick Primary, working with a small group of dedicated parents, to engage all parents and the whole school community in supporting the school. It’s wonderful that Jennie nominated Braiswick to receive funding from Provide.”

Hannah, who is Chair of FOBP and also a nurse lecturer at University of Essex, explained how the donation will be used:

“Part of the school’s philosophy is to encourage play as a natural way of being creative and this extends to the outdoors, including the school’s much-loved onsite Forest School. We are extremely grateful to Provide Community for the £2000 funding, which will be used for new playground equipment to further enhance the children’s active playtime.”

Pictured left to right: Elizabeth Delaney (Provide Community Governor), Jennie Bateman, Hannah Evans and Claire Russell (Braiswick Primary Headteacher).