About the HSA
The HSA (Home & School Association) organises a variety of events around the school providing both children and parents with fun activities and social gatherings. From our Friday afternoon ice cream and hot chocolate sales, to quizzes, camping trips, discos and especially our Christmas and Summer Fetes, there are plenty of opportunities to get together and support the school! In addition to building community through these events and activities, we generate funds which help enrich the school.
Through the donations raised by events held over the years, we have funded a range of things from playground equipment and upgrades to the school stage to much needed resources including books, science equipment, and teaching walls. Our initial focus this year was to raise £10,000 for laptops for students and teachers. Subsequently we will be working with the school to fund an outdoor library with additional support from the Harpenden Trust.
Running a charity is no small task, but with the generous and active community here at Manland, it is a pleasure!
If you have questions, ideas or just want to know more please get in touch with any of the team or you can email us at HSAManland@gmail.com.
Newsletters
Events
To view our events, please visit the Diary Dates page on this website. There are links in the diary dates to sign up for our events.
14 November: Kids disco, School Hall
28 November: Non-uniform for bottle tombola
29 November: Christmas Fete & Santa’s Grotto (sponsored by Whittaker & Co)
5 December: Antler run on the school field (with Rennie Grove Peace Hospice)
Key Contacts
| Name | Position |
| Ben Heineike | Chair |
| Lisa Booth | Vice Chair |
| Claire Wollaston | Secretary |
| Polly Seale | Treasurer |
| Ali Nicholl | Manland Helpers |
| Amy Beaton, Laura Hambleton and Tara Hellens | Reception |
| Zoe Medlock and Kate Middleditch | Year 1 |
| Charlotte Wells | Year 2 |
| Jo Hughes | Year 3 |
| Dani Mash | Year 4 |
| Louise Smith | Year 5 |
| Shi Begum & Sal Cuthbertson | Year 6 |
How can you get involved?
We always welcome volunteers and love to hear new ideas for fundraising. Some parents and carers may also have access to fundraising or sponsorship opportunities through their own business, employer, or other contacts and these can prove to be invaluable. Please direct all fundraising enquiries to the HSA leadership team via classlist or HSAManland@gmail.com.
We also hold Committee meetings once a half term. Anyone keen to get involved on a more regular basis is most welcome.
We communicate via class whatsapp groups and the Classlist app – www.classlist.com – which is also used by the school administrators to communicate with parents and carers.
How we raise money
Our biggest fundraisers each term are our Christmas Bazaar & Summer Fete each year, and this year we are grateful that they are sponsored by Whittakers & Co. Each week on Friday after school and at select school sports events we sell ice creams or hot chocolates (depending on the season). We hold events like quiz nights and a summer party for parents and carers and quizzes, discos and other events for the children. The HSA is also behind other fund-raising activities such as Christmas cards and tea towels.
One of our main fundraising events every two years is the Festival on the Field, held jointly with Sir John Lawes School. This tribute band concert event started in 2012 and has been hugely successful, getting bigger every time! The next one will be on July 4th, 2026 – see the website for more details: https://www.festivalonthefield.co.uk/line-up.
What do we spend it on?
The funds we raise all go to help support our wonderful school from big projects to extra playground equipment. This past year our funds went towards:
|
Refurbishing the Stage in the main hall (with year 6) |
| Maintenance costs including gate repair, fire safety equipment, and shed and roof repairs after storm damage |
|
Helping the Pupil Parliament reach their funding goal to get a new Ping Pong Table |
This year we are targeting:
|
New laptops for the classrooms |
|
Building an outdoor reading library (on top of a grant obtained by the school) |
|
Supporting the next Pupil Parliament funding goal – possibly a gardening club… |
After that the school is looking towards upgrading the KS1 playground which we will support.
Manland Helpers
Several members of the HSA participate in a group called Manland Helpers which organizes small work parties of parents to do jobs around the school on the weekend – painting fences, repairing our ‘Happy Hut’ gazebo, etc. If you want to join in, contact us or show up at one of the work parties.
