Fantastic Football Fundraiser

Mrs Trish Whitt (Teaching Assistant), Rocky Tinsley and Miss Emily Arden (Teacher)Mrs Trish Whitt (Teaching Assistant), Rocky Tinsley and Miss Emily Arden (Teacher)
Mrs Trish Whitt (Teaching Assistant), Rocky Tinsley and Miss Emily Arden (Teacher)
On Monday night, some parents of the William Alvey school in Sleaford, Luke and Pippa Tinsley organised a charity football match and managed to raise an incredible £720 for the school’s SEND department.

Luke and Pippa’s children joined the Alvey in September and they wanted to show their gratitude to all of the support they received with helping to settle their children and particularly their son, Rocky, settle into Reception. Headteacher of the school, Mr Shaun Farrington commented: “I am so grateful to Luke, and all those who gave up their time, to raise such a huge amount of money for the children at William Alvey who have a Special Need. Thank you so much - you are all true 'Alvey Heroes.'

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The match took place at Sleaford Town’s football ground between Elsaforde Rangers (who Luke is a joint manager of) and EMAS FC with lots of the community rallying together to support the event. The pitch was used for free, the referee did not charge any fees and each of the players in the teams donated £10 to play. Pippa (Rocky’s mum) organised raffle prizes and local businesses were extremely generous in their donations. For instance, Samuel Owen from Salted Orange donated a 5-course private dining experience as one of the raffle prizes.

The school and the SEND department feels privileged that a parent would go to such great lengths to raise money for us. Rocky’s dad, Luke explained why he wanted to organise the event: “When we first came into this school it was such a beautiful moment as we could feel the passion from all of the staff. We feel the Alvey has really looked after Rocky. Before he even started, the SEN team rang us three times to make sure everything was in place for our children. Their passion was infectious and I felt like I wanted to match that passion with this charity event to show my gratitude. The SEN team and the Reception team have welcomed Rocky for who he is and they want the best for him. As a family, it means we can breathe again.

Rocky Tinsley ready to help referee the charity football match.Rocky Tinsley ready to help referee the charity football match.
Rocky Tinsley ready to help referee the charity football match.

“The event was so special. A lot of people from the football club know Rocky and it meant so much for him to be involved in the match. He had a referee outfit on and blew the whistle to start the game. On the 89th minute he was allowed to come on to the pitch and give a player a yellow card - it was a dream come true for him.

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“I am definitely going to organise another charity football match again.”

The event was attended by all of the footballers’ families, people from the local community and Miss Emily Arden (Reception Teacher) and Mrs Trish Whitt (Teaching Assistant) from the Alvey school. Miss Arden commented: “The atmosphere was electric and Rocky got thoroughly involved, blowing the whistle and even handing out a yellow card!”

The SEND team (who can be found in the affectionately named ‘The Barn’) were overwhelmed by the efforts of Luke, his family and the local community. The William Alvey's SENDCo, Mrs Weston said: “This was a wonderful piece of news! We’re so very grateful to Luke and the team of people who made the event such a success. Mrs Staples and I have wanted to be able to create a permanent ‘sensory circuit’ either on the small playground or within the Barn for ages, and the money raised will make this possible. Lots of our children use a sensory circuit to help them to alert, organise and calm themselves so that they are ready for learning, and a sensory circuit outside would mean this strategy could be used by more children, while enjoying the benefits of getting some fresh air.”

We will keep everyone updated on the progress of our new sensory circuit and we’ll let parents know of any future charity football matches.

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