Present:
Kate Sykes
Charlotte Rooney
Ellen
Toby Blackburn
Sophie
Holly Charania
Linda Walsh
Amy Marsh
Lizy Jones
Apologies:
Caroline Jamieson
Suzie Leech
Mel GG
Chair’s Report
Welcome and introduction from the Chair.
What a year it’s been! 2023-2024 marked the first year with our new PTFA committee, with the exception of Toby who is a PTFA veteran. Our goals, at the beginning of this year, was to firstly just get to grips with running a successful PTFA, and try to raise somewhere near as much as the previous committee did along the way! We set out to make some meaningful contributions to the school and I’m pleased that one such noteworthy donation was the pirate ship which we hope will provide play and adventure for many pupils and years to come.
However, for us, there was another equally important goal: reviving the sense of community among parents that took such a hit during COVID. We’d heard stories of the golden pre-COVID days when parents came together for fundraising events that weren’t just about raising money but also about having a good time and connecting. It’s not just about supporting the children in school; it’s about enjoying the experience as parents too! After all, it takes a village, in our case, literally.
With that in mind, we brought back a quiz evening, organised and hosted by Ellen and Caroline and I think I can safely state that no other quiz has ever compared.
Our hugely popular Back to the 90s Night at the Tropicana was, once again, a total sell-out. With a roller disco for all ages in the afternoon and a club night for adults after dark. We sold 1,047 tickets, with an additional waiting list of over 100 people. It’s an event that has built an impressive following, with people once again travelling from outside of the area to attend. As chief organiser I’d like to thank Toby for his efforts.
We also introduced a brand new event in the shape of our Christmas wreath making workshop, organised and hosted by Charlotte. Feedback from the event was really positive and we’re happy to report that this year’s workshop has already sold out, and we’ve expanded it to accommodate even more participants!
In school events for the children and families were also well received, with the usual calendar of easter, summer fete and a multitude of Christmas events successfully held. The interactive part of easter was, sadly, once again cancelled due to weather conditions and this is something we will need to look at adjusting moving forward.
We wrapped up the year with a strong bank balance and a variety of exciting projects on the horizon. We’re eager to continue collaborating with the school to allocate funds towards initiatives that will make a real difference.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped us this year. No matter how small you may perceive you’re contribution to be, I assure you it is anything but.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer presented detailed expenditure and income data for the previous year. Overview is noted as:
Income: £20,538.02
Out: £ 6,812.61
Profit: £ 13,725.41
This is the first year with a new Chair and Treasurer and there have been some learning curves, we have held our first quiz night which was a successful fundraiser and we also held our first wreath making event which was also a success, we hope to expand on both of these in the following year. Our 90’s night was a complete sell out and made us a substantial profit, however with the Tropicana refurbishment planned for 2024/2025 we are yet to establish if this will go ahead in the following year. We have a made donations to the school for new ipads amongst other things. Profit for the year from fundraising was £13725.41 and total school donations were £8,244.09.
At the end of the school year on 31st August 2024 our bank balance was £30,792.38. We received the final figure and invoice for the building of the boat play equipment on the playing field in October, it has come in at £12,230. In September we have received the invoice for our contribution towards the year 6 leavers, sats breakfasts, dance festival t-shirts and year 2 visitor, which came in with a cost of £845.65. These contributions will go through the accounts in 2024/2025 now.
Thinking about possibly changing clothing donations provider as offering less money and not getting enough donations which means we don’t receive the money due until we meet the threshold.
Election of Officers and Trustees
It was proposed to continue with the existing roles of the committee.
Proposer: Kate Sykes
Seconder: Charlotte Rooney
Motion was carried unanimously.
Chair – Kate Sykes
Treasurer – Charlotte Rooney
Secretary – Toby Blackburn
Vice Chair – Caroline Jamieson
Events Co-ordinator – Ellen Williams
Vice Treasurer – vacant (no volunteers)
Vice Secretary – vacant (no volunteers)
Trustees
The following trustees were noted as continuing in their roles:
Suzie Leech
Lizy Kakou
Amy Marsh
Linda Walsh
Upcoming Spends
- £1,000.00 – Year 6 (Leavers books, photos, life skills)
- £150.00 – Year 6 Leavers party
- £1,200.00 – Year Group Visitors £200 per year (year 3/4 already paid for)
- £400.00 – School Visitor – Andrew Moffat
- £20,000.00 – Wooden Play structure
- £100.00 – SATS breakfasts
There is a meeting lined up for 21/10/24 with school to discuss priorities for the year ahead.
Kate noted she had proposed Bristol Old Vic visit school for performance funded by PTFA but that school had declined the offer.
Questions were asked about schools authority on involvement and veto. Kate clarified that school requests money for prioritised list of projects over course of year and PTFA usually agrees to fund those projects. Kate also noted that school has control over activities undertaken within the school but does not have control over activities which the PTFA organises outside school e.g. the 90s event, Christmas Wreath, Quiz etc…
Lizy proposed the idea of having different experiences such as cultural, music, sports etc… funded through PTFA. Kate to raise with school to see if receptive.
Calendar
Following events now lined up:
- Wreath Making – 30/11/2024
- Christmas Cards – November
- Secret Santa – December
- Class Parties – December
- Christmas Bazaar – December
- 90’s Night – TBC
- Bingo – TBC (Ellen)
- School Silent Disco – Feb
- Easter – April
- Summer Fete – June/July
- Possibly do some kind of Pride event
- Possibly some kind of wellbeing or self-organisation
- Christmas Jumper Sale
AoB
Christmas Jumper Sale. Marketing required
AGM finished at 9pm