PTA - Leavers' hoodies for Year 6

[megseleven]

I'm on our school's PTA for the first time this year and really like the idea of giving each Year 6 a leavers' hoodie. Has anyone else done this and can actually recommend a company? I mean I can do a google search as well as the next person but if you've done this before and were happy with the product then I'd love to know which company you used. I think £10 a hoodie seems to be a reasonable price. I don't want the hoodie to fall apart after 3 washes but also recognise that you get what you pay for.

I'm thinking along the lines of dark blue for boys and pale blue for girls, with all the names on the back inside a big "2015."

Any suggestions? Thank you xx

We have the rule about PTA money benefitting all children, but on the basis that it will benefit all children as they reach Year 6, our leaving books are allowed.

Bit too expensive for PTA to fund Local school does it , all 60 full names go on regardless of whether they buy them and they can wear during last part of Summer term
Doubt many would wear them after that
They also let the children have their shirts signed on last day , I always found this a bit of a nuisance when teaching and trying to tie ends up at end of term
Autograph books quite a good idea though

DS2 still wears his leavers hoody from last year. (It cost about £13 - and he didn't receive it until he was actually leaving)

For some unknown reason it's mid-blue. Everyone expected it to be navy, like the school uniform. Not sure of the printing company, but they made awful errors with the names (Rhiannon spelled Phiannon).

I know of at least one HT who won't let the PTA fund leavers hoodies, for reasons already mentioned.

Our school PTA gives out school bears to leavers - about £3 each and they all wear a tshirt with the school logo and year printed on. Saves all the hassle of worrying about spelling names correctly, safeguarding issues, wondering if the hoodies will be worn or not and so on. They seem to go down pretty well with the dc .

DS1 has a hoodie from his sports club that he's supposed to wear when they go to away matches. He never wears it because although it's the right size, he's got a big head and sticky out ears for his size and it doesn't fit over his head let alone his ears. I guess I should attack it with scissors and thread to cut an opening into the neck but I haven't managed to do that yet and I worry I will spoil it. Might be worth thinking about if you do get hoodies!

Agree with who it does eventually benefit all the children as they all leave...as long as you don't stop doing it!
I preferred the mugs to the tops as they are useful in the long term.
(The benefit all children I find difficult. We used funds to buy some things for a club only open to the older children....but we could justify it in that all the children would eventually be able to access the club and you could argue things like sports team kits only benefit members of the team. However I was uncomfortable in using PTA funding to help subsidise a trip for a 'school team'. I personally still think it was wrong (it was a committee decision but at short notice so we couldn't get together to discuss it). In order to be on the team you had to already have experience in an out of school activity that is quite costly - so that excluded a lot of children, especially ones with less wealthy parents. On the plus side... I don't think it will be happening again!)

Our PTA pays for a big inflatable obstacle course for y6 one day in their last week - the kind you'd pay £3 a go for at the fete. We pay the equivalent of £10 per child and they have it all day, with very little academic work. Big hit.

Our spending doesn't have to benefit every child directly, but every child benefits from the spending - y6 have put in seven years' worth of donations and will get the least benefit from the capital expenditure, so it's a nice gesture to send them off.

A t-shirt or polo shirt (to be worn instead of uniform) would be a good summer term gift; a hoodie would be better at Christmas.

I am sniffing sadly at the thought of a child not wearing one because his parents couldn't/wouldn't pay. I think that balances it towards heavy (or total) PT(F)A funding for such an item.

Our PTA does this but I think it's a total waste. Ours got them early on in the school year so that they could wear them on a school trip and DS has not worn his since. I can't see him wearing it after he's left primary either as primary school will soon become very uncool.