Spinning plates on a level not often seen, is Jodie McQueen. Jodie is currently pursuing a foundation degree in Early Childhood Studies at Southern Regional College, while working part-time as a classroom assistant in Sperrinview Special School, Dungannon and being a single parent to her own little superstar, son Jimmy, a child with additional needs.
To add to her already busy day to day, Jodie is currently the chair of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Sperrinview Special School. A charity organisation which Jodie and Sperrinview Vice Principal Michelle Tolan set up in 2023. The PTA has celebrated its first anniversary and after a year of fundraising and providing activities for the schoolchildren, the PTA set a goal to buy coats for all children to ensure no child is cold this winter.
On seeing ParentKind’s “No Cold Child” initiative, which provides registered PTA’s with clothing brand FatFace coats at a discount, Jodie and the PTA knew it was too good of a chance to let pass by. Inspired by her Early Childhood Studies lectures, Jodie learned that to support a child’s learning, you must meet the child’s basic needs. Going without a coat affects children’s health, their ability to learn and can even make them feel excluded. Jodie said;
“Every child deserves a new coat of their own, with the ParentKind No Cold Child initiative we were able to get a £60 coat at a cost of £10 for each child in the school. In this climate, and especially coming up to Christmas you don’t know who is struggling financially, £10 might be unachievable for a lot of parents at the minute. We are not going to differentiate between children, as you can’t tell who is struggling.”
Once expenditure was approved, it came to determining coat sizes and appropriate colour choices for pupils. This involved multiple spreadsheets, one for each class, to be filled with children’s sizes and colour preferences, offering two choices for girls and boys.
Once the essential information was obtained, an order for each individual coat had to be completed. Fast forward to the coat delivery which involved over 20 boxes of randomly packed coats being delivered to Jodie’s home for sorting. Jodie admits the process of sorting coats was a bit stressful as coats were packed individually and needed to be sized, labelled and delivered to the school’s two sites. During the sorting process, Jodie’s front room was taken over completely by boxes, however Jodie admits,
“I thrive with pressure and can focus so much better when under pressure. I feel like I love a bit of stress to keep me motivated.”
Funds for the coats came from the fundraising activities the PTA undertook throughout the year. When it came to allocating money for expenditure Jodie admitted that she was nervous about spending fundraising money, however the planned expenditure was put to a vote by PTA committee members, who agreed with the initiative.
The PTA is continuing its fundraising activities as they hope to purchase a hoist for the trampoline currently located at the school. This is to enable all children, especially wheelchair users access to the trampoline for rebound therapy. Other plans include purchasing specialised trikes for outdoor play and classrooms. As Jodie says:
“Children learn so much better outdoors than inside a classroom. Children need to be active before they can learn, as movement helps children to focus.”
In the Early Childhood Studies foundation degree, Jodie is learning about children's welfare and development. To find out more about the part-time course, visit EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES Level 5 Foundation Degree (Part-Time Option). To view information on the full-time course, visit: EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES Level 5 Foundation Degree (Full-Time Option).
