1

Publication 1

Document Page number

1 Biometrics permission letter 2

2 Cashless catering letter 3

3 ICT Acceptable Use Agreement 4

4 Leave of Absence letter 5

5 Medical letter 6

4 PE extra-curricular letter 7-8

5 Privacy notice 9-18

6 Chair of Governors letter 19

7 Friends of Ranelagh letter 20

2

May 2020

Dear Parent

The School is using an automated recognition system for the purpose of Catering and Library access. Under the Protection of

Freedoms Act 2012 (sections 26-28), we are required to obtain the written consent of at least one parent to use a child’s bio-

metric information before 1st September 2020.

Biometric information and how it will be used

The information will be used as part of an automated biometric recognition system. This system will take measurements of your

son or daughter’s finger and convert these measurements into a template to be stored on the system. An image of your son or

daughter’s finger is not stored. The template, i.e. measurements taken from your child’s finger is what will be used to permit

your child to access services.

You should note that the law places specific requirements on schools when using such personal information, for the purposes of

an automated biometric recognition system.

The school cannot use the information for any purpose other than those for which it was originally obtained and made

known to the parent(s) as stated.

The school must ensure that the information is stored securely.

The school must tell you what it intends to do with the information.

Unless the law allows it, the school cannot disclose personal information to another person/body – you should note that the

only person/body that the school wishes to share the information with is Biostore Ltd; this is necessary in order to use

their software.

We welcome these requirements as they also safeguard the school.

Providing your consent/objecting

In order to be able to use your son or daughter’s biometric information, the written consent of at least one parent is required.

You can withdraw your consent at a later stage if you so wish. Please note that any consent, withdrawal of consent or objection

from a parent must be in writing.

The school is also happy to answer any questions you or your child may have.

If you do not wish your child’s biometric information to be processed by the school, or your child objects to such processing, we

will provide reasonable alternative arrangements for children who are not going to use the automated system to Catering and

Library access.

If you give consent to the processing of your child’s biometric information, please sign, date and return the enclosed consent

form to the School Finance and Resource Manager.

Yours sincerely

Mrs C Moir

Head of Finance & Operations

3

May 2020

Dear Parent or carer

Introducing sQuid online payments

sQuid is a convenient and secure way for you to pay for your child’s catering, school trips, clubs and other

offers online.

Helping our school go cashless

Reducing the amount of cash we have to handle at school is a real benefit to us as it eliminates having to count

and bank cash, which is extremely costly. It also benefits the students as they will spend less time queuing and

more time playing, and no longer have to carry cash to school with the risk of it getting lost or stolen.

You will soon be sent a letter with your child’s sQuid registration details

This is a 16 digit registration number and 3 digit security code that you should register on the sQuid website. If

you have more than one child at the school, they will each be issued with their own registration number. Simp-

ly follow the instructions set out in the letter to create your online sQuid account and register your child.

Once you have created a sQuid account for your child, you will also be able to manage their account online at

any time to:

Top up their account from your bank account, credit or debit card

Enable Auto top up so that they never run out of funds

Check their account balance

View their transactions

A daily spend limit, if required, can be managed by contacting the finance office.

We thank you for your anticipated support in using sQuid.

Yours sincerely

Mrs C Moir

Finance and Resource Manager

4

Ranelagh School Acceptable Use Agreement: Students

I will only use the ICT systems in school for school purposes.

I will only log on to the school network / Learning Platform /e-mail with my own user name and password.

I will keep my passwords private and change them regularly.

I will use my school e-mail address when I am in school and I will make sure that all ICT com-munications with students, teachers or others are responsible and sensible.

I will behave responsibly and respect the filtering system when using the Internet. I under-stand that online activities can be monitored and logged.

I will not deliberately browse, download, upload or forward material that could be consid-ered offensive or illegal. If I accidentally come across any such material I will report it imme-diately to my teacher.

I will not download or install software on school technologies.

I will follow e safety guidelines to keep myself safe online.

I will respect and look after all ICT equipment provided and not eat or drink in computer rooms.

I will respect copyright and intellectual property rights.

I will only use computer rooms with the permission of a member of staff.

I will make sure that anything I print is for school use and will always consider more environ-mentally friendly options (e.g. e-mailing work or resources).

I understand that these rules are designed to keep me safe and that if they are not followed, school sanctions will be applied and my parent / carer may be contacted.

If you do not comply with any points in this policy, your right to use computer equipment in school may be withdrawn

5

May 2020

Dear Parent

Leave of Absence from school for students

The Governing Body has a very clear policy.

The legal situation is that leave of absence can normally only be granted for Work Experience or for taking part in a

performance under the authority of a licence granted by the Council.

Parents may apply for leave of absence for an annual family holiday, but the Governors are not obliged to grant

such leave and will do so only in very exceptional circumstances.

As Governors, and as concerned parents we are aware of the demands of the Curriculum and its associated testing

and assessment. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make up work missed through absence and we wish to

stress that it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children attend school on a regular basis as stated in

the Home School Agreement.

Therefore, where the Governors or Headteacher have the authority to grant leave of absence it will only be given in

exceptional circumstances when a case has been made by the parents or guardian of the student concerned. All such

requests are subject to Headteacher approval. If it is the view of the Headteacher that there are educational

grounds for objection, the leave of absence will not be granted. The same situation will apply where consideration

of a licence for employment or performance is required.

Any absence taken without permission will be unauthorised.

Yours sincerely

Mrs L Hodkinson

Chair of Governors

Please note:

leave of absence for holidays in term time is contrary to statutory regulations; this includes short absences at the beginning and end of each term.

6

May 2020 Dear parent / carer Medical information will be collated on an annual basis, rather than asking parents to complete a medical form for each individual trip. The medical form asks for the following information:

Student’s name, date of birth and address; doctor’s details Details of any medical concerns or allergies Details of any medication; indication of students who have an epipen Emergency contact details for two people Request for consent for emergency medical treatment Indication of whether you permit photographs of your child to be taken on trips

The information will be used to generate a nominal roll for each trip [in view of changes to data protection legislation]; trip leaders will take a copy of the nominal roll, in order to store the information as securely as possible. Once this form has been returned, there will be no need to complete an additional medical form for sub-sequent trips during the year, with the exception for residential trips when parents will be asked to re-submit the information. When making an online payment for a trip, at checkout, you will be asked to con-firm that there are no updates to the information that you have provided us with. I would therefore rec-ommend that you keep your own copy of the medical form, so that you can refer to it prior to answering the questions for each individual trip. We will request updates of the medical form on a rolling 12-18 month cycle. However, it is essential to update the school immediately of any change of address, telephone numbers or email address. Yours sincerely Liz Combes Assistant Headteacher

7

May 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

The purpose of this letter is

to remind you and your child of the extra-curricular sporting activities which are available at Ranelagh and to encourage them to participate throughout the next year

to give some general information about the arrangements for these activities

to gain your permission to take your child to such activities, particularly Sports Day. We do not seek permission for each individual fixture, as there are sometimes more than ten different teams playing in any week. Instead, we would appreciate it if the reply slip overleaf could be returned to the PE department to cover all of the activ-ities outlined here.

It is our policy to accommodate all those who wish to participate in clubs whenever possible and to give those who attend practices regularly an opportunity to compete in matches or participate in performances when appropriate, if they are keen to do so. In some activities we must however ensure, for safety reasons, that pupils have suitable experience and expertise before they compete at this level.

Details of fixtures and teams are posted on the notice boards in the Sports Hall and on the google calendar accessi-ble via the following link on the school website https://www.ranelagh.bracknell-forest.sch.uk/ranelagh-school-sport-fixtures/. This is regularly updated by PE staff when arrangements have to change. Practices take place at lunchtimes or after school and fixtures are usually played after school and occasionally on Saturdays. Members of squads are expected to attend practices regularly, and to make themselves available for fixtures whenever possible. Team lists for fixtures will give information about the venue and expected finish/return time. We try to be as accu-rate as we can with these times, but obviously it is not always possible to precisely estimate how long a match may last, particularly tennis and cricket, and the traffic on our return journey is often unpredictable. It is important that pupils who sign up for fixtures let PE staff know with plenty of notice if injury prevents them participating as it is difficult to find last minute replacements and lets the whole team down.

PE staff will not necessarily be able to wait with pupils who have not been collected 10 minutes after the published finish time of the event, unless special arrangements have been made in advance. Pupils must make sure that suita-ble arrangements are made to return home after the fixture and that parents are aware of the fixture in advance.

For away fixtures, teams will usually travel in the school minibus, or a private hire bus with seat belts. Pupils are ex-pected to wear seat belts and to remain seated throughout the journey. Occasionally pupils may be taken in staff cars or that of a parent or may walk to a nearby venue under staff or prefect supervision. Occasionally parents are asked to collect pupils from the venue, and on these occasions we would appreciate parents arrive at the venue at the appropriate time.

Parents are always very welcome to watch and support at fixtures and we appreciate your help to encourage the very best standards of sportsmanship. If you have any concerns about issues which may arise at a fixture, then please contact the member of staff responsible in the first instance to make us aware of your concerns.

8

During the last year, these are some of the sporting activities in which our pupils have engaged:

Netball

Cross country

Dance

Rugby

Handball

Athletics (Corona virus permitting)

Football

Rounders (Corona virus permitting)

Cricket (Corona virus permitting)

House competitions are held in most activities and all pupils are encouraged to participate. In addition, our annual Sports Day, at Bracknell Sports Centre athletics track, is held in early July. All pupils walk to the sports centre to compete or spectate, and then walk back to school.

Ranelagh has an excellent reputation in the local community and this includes an excellent reputation for good sportsmanship. Pupils are reminded that they should

only make encouraging comments to other team members

be sociable and friendly towards the opposition

use fixtures as an opportunity to socialise with and meet pupils from other schools and develop good relationships with these pupils

accept all decisions of the referee/umpire without question/ comment or gesture

shake hands with their opponent at the end when appropriate

join in ‘three cheers’ or the appropriate equivalent at the end of the match

thank the referee/umpire at the end

wait until the opponents have left before leaving the pitch/court

take care of any equipment and facilities that are used, including helping to pack away at the end of a session before leaving

Thank you for your support in encouraging your child to participate in sporting activities at Ranelagh.

Yours sincerely

Mrs J Nicholls

Curriculum Leader for PE

9

May 2020

Privacy notice for parents/carers

Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the school uses any personal data that we hold about them. We comply with this right by providing ‘privacy notices’ (sometimes called ‘fair processing notices’) to individuals where we are processing their personal data.

This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data about pupils.

We, Ranelagh School, are the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of data protection law.

Our data protection officer is Mr M Williams, Deputy Headteacher (see ‘Contact us’ below).

The personal data we hold

Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about pupils includes, but is not restrict-ed to:

Contact details, contact preferences, date of birth, identification documents

Results of internal assessments and externally set tests

Pupil and curricular records

Characteristics, such as ethnic background, eligibility for free school meals, or special educational needs

Exclusion information

Details of any medical conditions, including physical and mental health

Attendance information

Safeguarding information

Details of any support received, including care packages, plans and support providers

Photographs

CCTV images captured in school

Biometrics (fingerprints).

We may also hold data about pupils that we have received from other organisations, including other schools, local authorities and the Department for Education.

10

Why we use this data

We use this data to:

Support pupil learning

Monitor and report on pupil progress

Provide appropriate pastoral care

Administer cashless catering facility

Protect pupil welfare

Assess the quality of our services

Administer admissions waiting lists

Carry out research

Comply with the law regarding data sharing.

Our legal basis for using this data

We only collect and use pupils’ personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we process it where:

We need to comply with a legal obligation

We need it to perform an official task in the public interest

Less commonly, we may also process pupils’ personal data in situations where:

We have obtained consent to use it in a certain way

We need to protect the individual’s vital interests (or someone else’s interests).

Where we have obtained consent to use pupils’ personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for consent, and explain how consent can be withdrawn.

Some of the reasons listed above for collecting and using pupils’ personal data overlap, and there may be several grounds which justify our use of this data.

Collecting this information

While the majority of information we collect about pupils is mandatory, there is some information that can be pro-vided voluntarily.

Whenever we seek to collect information from you or your child, we make it clear whether providing it is mandatory or optional. If it is mandatory, we will explain the possible consequences of not complying.

How we store this data

We keep personal information about pupils while they are attending our school. We may also keep it beyond their attendance at our school if this is necessary in order to comply with our legal obligations.

11

Data sharing

We do not share information about pupils with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

Where it is legally required, or necessary (and it complies with data protection law) we may share personal infor-mation about pupils with:

Our local authority – To meet our legal obligations to share certain information with it, such as safeguarding concerns and exclusions

The Department for Education – To provide data as requested for the National Pupil Database

The learning Records Service – To provide us with a Pupil Unique Learner Number (ULN)

The pupil’s family and representatives – To support pupil welfare

Educators and examining bodies – To register and process results of examinations

Our regulator – Ofsted

Suppliers and service providers – To enable them to provide the service we have contracted them for

Central and local government – To provide data as requested

Health authorities – To support pupil welfare

Health and social welfare organisations – To support pupil welfare

Charities and voluntary organisations – Friends of Ranelagh and Parent Teacher Association to promote and raise funds for the school

Police forces, courts, tribunals - To provide data as requested with a warrant

Professional bodies – To provide data necessary for trips, visits and work experience.

National Pupil Database

We are required to provide information about pupils to the Department for Education as part of statutory data collections such as the school census.

Some of this information is then stored in the National Pupil Database (NPD), which is owned and managed by the Department and provides evidence on school performance to inform research.

The database is held electronically so it can easily be turned into statistics. The information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and exam boards.

The Department for Education may share information from the NPD with other organisations which promote chil-dren’s education or wellbeing in England. Such organisations must agree to strict terms and conditions about how they will use the data.

For more information, see the Department’s webpage on how it collects and shares research data.

You can also contact the Department for Education with any further questions about the NPD.

12

Youth support services

Once our pupils reach the age of 13, we are legally required to pass on certain information about them to Bracknell Forest Borough Council as it has legal responsibilities regarding the education or training of 13-19 year-olds.

This information enables it to provide youth support services, post-16 education and training services, and careers advisers.

Parents/carers, or pupils once aged 16 or over, can contact our data protection officer to request that we only pass the individual’s name, address and date of birth to Bracknell Forest Borough Council.

Transferring data internationally

Where we transfer personal data to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, we will do so in accordance with data protection law.

Parents and pupils’ rights regarding personal data

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that the school holds about them.

Parents/carers can make a request with respect to their child’s data where the child is not considered mature enough to understand their rights over their own data (usually under the age of 12), or where the child has provid-ed consent.

Parents also have the right to make a subject access request with respect to any personal data the school holds about them.

If you make a subject access request, and if we do hold information about you or your child, we will:

Give you a description of it

Tell you why we are holding and processing it, and how long we will keep it for

Explain where we got it from, if not from you or your child

Tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with

Let you know whether any automated decision-making is being applied to the data, and any consequences of this

Give you a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

Individuals also have the right for their personal information to be transmitted electronically to another organisa-tion in certain circumstances.

If you would like to make a request please contact our data protection officer.

13

Other rights

Under data protection law, individuals have certain rights regarding how their personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:

Object to the use of personal data if it would cause, or is causing, damage or distress

Prevent it being used to send direct marketing

Object to decisions being taken by automated means (by a computer or machine, rather than by a person)

In certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data corrected, deleted or destroyed, or restrict pro-cessing

Claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the data protection regulations.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our data protection officer.

Complaints

We take any complaints about our collection and use of personal information very seriously.

If you think that our collection or use of personal information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate, or have any other concern about our data processing, please raise this with us in the first instance.

To make a complaint, please contact our data protection officer.

Alternatively, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Report a concern online at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Call 0303 123 1113

Or write to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, please contact our data protection officer:

Mr M Williams, Deputy Headteacher

14

Privacy notice for pupils

You have a legal right to be informed about how our school uses any personal information that we hold about you. To comply with this, we provide a ‘privacy notice’ to you where we are processing your personal data.

This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data about you.

We, Ranelagh School are the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of data protection law.

Our data protection officer is Mr M Williams, Deputy Headteacher (see ‘Contact us’ below).

The personal data we hold

We hold some personal information about you to make sure we can help you learn and look after you at school.

For the same reasons, we get information about you from some other places too – like other schools, the local council and the government.

This information includes:

Your contact details

Your test results

Your attendance records

Your characteristics, like your ethnic background or any special educational needs

Any medical conditions you have

Details of any behaviour issues or exclusions

Photographs

CCTV images

Your fingerprints

Why we use this data

We use this data to help run the school, including to:

Get in touch with you and your parents when we need to

Check how you’re doing in exams and work out whether you or your teachers need any extra help

Track how well the school as a whole is performing

Look after your wellbeing.

15

Our legal basis for using this data

We will only collect and use your information when the law allows us to. Most often, we will use your information where:

We need to comply with the law

We need to use it to carry out a task in the public interest (in order to provide you with an education)

Sometimes, we may also use your personal information where:

You, or your parents/carers have given us permission to use it in a certain way

We need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interest)

Where we have got permission to use your data, you or your parents/carers may withdraw this at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for permission, and explain how to go about withdrawing consent.

Some of the reasons listed above for collecting and using your information overlap, and there may be several grounds which mean we can use your data.

Collecting this information

While in most cases you, or your parents/carers, must provide the personal information we need to collect, there are some occasions when you can choose whether or not to provide the data.

We will always tell you if it’s optional. If you must provide the data, we will explain what might happen if you don’t.

How we store this data

We will keep personal information about you while you are a pupil at our school. We may also keep it after you have left the school, where we are required to by law.

16

Data sharing

We do not share personal information about you with anyone outside the school without permission from you or your parents/carers, unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

Where it is legally required, or necessary for another reason allowed under data protection law, we may share per-sonal information about you with:

Our local authority – To meet our legal obligations to share certain information with it, such as safeguarding concerns and exclusions

The Department for Education – To provide data as requested for the National Pupil Database

The learning Records Service – To provide us with your Unique Learner Number (ULN)

The pupil’s family and representatives – To support pupil welfare

Educators and examining bodies – To register and process results of examinations

Our regulator – Ofsted

Suppliers and service providers – To enable them to provide the service we have contracted them for

Central and local government – To provide data as requested

Health authorities – To support pupil welfare

Health and social welfare organisations – To support pupil welfare

Charities and voluntary organisations – Friends of Ranelagh and Parent Teacher Association to promote and raise funds for the school

Police forces, courts, tribunals - To provide data as requested with a warrant

Professional bodies – To provide data necessary for trips, visits and work experience.

National Pupil Database

We are required to provide information about you to the Department for Education (a government department) as part of data collections such as the school census.

Some of this information is then stored in the National Pupil Database, which is managed by the Department for Education and provides evidence on how schools are performing. This, in turn, supports research.

The database is held electronically so it can easily be turned into statistics. The information it holds is collected se-curely from schools, local authorities, exam boards and others.

The Department for Education may share information from the database with other organisations which promote children’s education or wellbeing in England. These organisations must agree to strict terms and conditions about how they will use your data.

You can find more information about this on the Department for Education’s webpage on how it collects and shares research data.

You can also contact the Department for Education if you have any questions about the database.

17

Youth support services

Once you reach the age of 13, we are legally required to pass on certain information about you to [Bracknell Forest Borough Council as it has legal responsibilities regarding the education or training of 13-19 year-olds.

This information enables it to provide youth support services, post-16 education and training services, and careers advisers.

Your parents/carers, or you once you’re 16, can contact our data protection officer to ask us to only pass your name, address and date of birth to Bracknell Forest Borough Council.

Transferring data internationally

Where we share data with an organisation that is based outside the European Economic Area, we will protect your data by following data protection law.

Your rights

How to access personal information we hold about you

You can find out if we hold any personal information about you, and how we use it, by making a ‘subject access request’, as long as we judge that you can properly understand your rights and what they mean.

If we do hold information about you, we will:

Give you a description of it

Tell you why we are holding and using it, and how long we will keep it for

Explain where we got it from, if not from you or your parents

Tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with

Let you know if we are using your data to make any automated decisions (decisions being taken by a com-puter or machine, rather than by a person)

Give you a copy of the information.

You may also ask us to send your personal information to another organisation electronically in certain circum-stances.

If you want to make a request please contact our data protection officer.

18

Your other rights over your data

You have other rights over how your personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:

Say that you don’t want it to be used if this would cause, or is causing, harm or distress

Stop it being used to send you marketing materials

Say that you don’t want it used to make automated decisions (decisions made by a computer or machine, rather than by a person)

Have it corrected, deleted or destroyed if it is wrong, or restrict our use of it

Claim compensation if the data protection rules are broken and this harms you in some way.

Complaints

We take any complaints about how we collect and use your personal data very seriously, so please let us know if you think we’ve done something wrong.

You can make a complaint at any time by contacting our data protection officer.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office in one of the following ways:

Report a concern online at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Call 0303 123 1113

Or write to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy no-tice, please contact our data protection officer:

Mr M Williams, Deputy Headteacher

19

May 2020

Dear Parent

On behalf of the Governing Body I would like to take this opportunity to offer you a very warm welcome to Ranelagh School,

whether this is your first time as a Ranelagh parent or you are already part of the Ranelagh family.

The purpose of this letter is to introduce the Governing Body and to explain briefly our role.

Governance is about agreeing priorities and monitoring progress towards them to ensure the success of the school. It is not

about the day-to day running or management of the school; we leave that to our excellent Headteacher and leadership team.

Our three core functions are:

working in partnership with the Headteacher to determine the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school

holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school

monitoring the financial performance of the school, making sure it spends money wisely.

Our vision underpins everything that we do. We aim to be a dynamic learning community where staff and students feel both

challenged and supported to achieve their full potential. Whilst maintaining the integrity of our Christian roots, we aim to be a

safe and welcoming community for people of all faiths and of none, where everyone is valued.

The Governing Body includes representatives from the Diocese, staff and parents; you will find our names on the school web-

site. We feel very privileged to be part of the life of such a successful and vibrant school where students can not only achieve

academic success but also develop their talents. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated staff who care about our students’

spiritual and mental well-being as well as providing them with an excellent education and a wide variety of opportunities for

personal development. At a time when many schools are cutting back on creative subjects, Ranelagh’s students are lucky to

have a huge range of opportunities to develop and exhibit their creative skills.

We are immensely proud of our school and recognise the important role that Ranelagh’s parents play in the development and

growth of our students. We are truly grateful that Ranelagh’s parents are willing to support the school in so many ways and

hope that many of you will feel able to join the Parent Teacher Association and Friends of Ranelagh, particularly since fundrais-

ing has become indispensable in the current financial climate. We look forward to working with you as we embark on a new

school year.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Louise Hodkinson

Chair of Governors

20

Dear Parents/Carers

I would like to welcome you to Ranelagh and wish your child every success as they begin an exciting new phase in their life.

Please take a few moments to read this letter and find out how you can provide valuable support to Ranelagh’s students.

Who are the Friends of Ranelagh?

The Friends of Ranelagh is a charitable association which was set up by volunteers to make a positive impact on the school life

of Ranelagh’s students. It aims to provide a proportion of the money needed for the major capital programme of the school,

as well as to help fund school refurbishments, improvements and resources not financed by the Government or Diocese. We

work with the Headteacher to see where the funds raised will be of most benefit.

What do we do?

Ranelagh has always been fortunate in the level of parental support it receives, including financial support. Many schools

have taken the step of setting up a school fund and asking parents for a set annual contribution, but at Ranelagh the school

has always been supported by the Friends. Every year large numbers of parents have chosen to voluntarily make financial

contributions to the school via the Friends of Ranelagh. The trustees manage these contributions and maximise them by

claiming back tax under the gift aid scheme.

Why does the school need financial support?

Continuing cuts to education funding mean that school budgets are very tight and the costs of improving and maintaining

facilities has to come from the already stretched teaching and learning budgets. We believe this to be detrimental to our

students' experience so ask you to consider contributing to the Friends with a monthly standing order or via BT mydonate.

How will your children be benefitting from past donations?

Over the past five years the Friends of Ranelagh has contributed over £500,000 maintaining and upgrading facilities, including

computer rooms, the kitchen, the gymnasium, site security, and the IT infrastructure throughout the school. Below are some

of the initiatives that the Friends of Ranelagh has helped to fund:

What can you do to help Ranelagh to maintain a pleasant and productive working environment?

We ask you to consider making a regular monthly contribution to the Friends. We suggest a donation of around £15 per

month per child, but donations of all sizes are gratefully received and will really make a difference. A regular donation enables

us to predict our annual income and project the level of support we can offer to the school, but one-off donations are also

welcome. Donations can be made under Gift Aid if applicable which makes your donation worth an extra 25p in the £ if you

are a standard rate taxpayer. Donations can also be made via BT mydonate, which is a free to use service for charities,

although there is a small deduction for credit and debit card transactions.

What do I need to do now?

Please complete BOTH sides of the consent form and return it to the Friends of Ranelagh to the school at the address below

to enable us to keep you up to date. We understand that not everyone will be in a position be able to contribute to the

Friends, however, we ask that you also complete the donations section of this form even if you are unable to make a contri-

bution this year. This helps us to plan our ability to fund projects for the school.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about the Friends and I hope that you will feel able to support us. A small regular

donation really can make a big difference.

Regards

The Friends of Ranelagh School, Ranelagh Drive, Bracknell, RG12 9DA Established 1947 Registered Charity Number 1060543 Email: fordonations@ranelagh.bracknell-forest.sch.uk