Minutes of PTFA Meeting - 20.01.2008
held at the Pound Art Centre, Corsham
Present
Peter Dove, Frances Inman, Paul Arrowsmith, Nick Skeet, Veronique Needham, Letitia Bradley-Proulx and Helen Robertson (for Kieran Loftus)
1) Apologies for Absence
Martin Edmundson, Andrew Shirley, Sally Mitchell, Amanda Fitzgerald, Neil Bolton, Fiona Dowling, Lis Skeet, Margaret Gill, Andrea Hunt, Jo White, Sarah Taylor and Elinor Anderson.
2) Minutes of the previous meeting (7.11.07) and matters arising.
The minutes were agreed by all present to be accurate.
| Agenda item | Action | Responsibility | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Meeting with KL to agree objectives and fundraising targets | PD and NS before next meeting | Completed |
| 6 | Move current bank account to CAF bank | PA | In train – see agenda item 5 |
| 8 | Final stalls list for Bazaar and risk assessment | Lis Skeet | Completed |
| 9 | Events planner to be placed on website and notice board | PA/NS | Outstanding -updated for meeting of 17.1.08 |
| 9 | Consult on potential events list and agree calendar | NS | Outstanding – under agenda item 6 for meeting 17.1.08 |
| 9 | Wine tasting evening | NS for early Feb 2008 | Outstanding – agenda item 6 |
| 11 | Road safety signage at school entrance | NS and PD to raise with KL at meeting before Jan 08 | Completed |
| 11 | Car sharing scheme promotion | Andy Shirley before Xmas 07 | Completed |
Agenda item 11 from the previous minutes sparked a debate on all aspects of Road Safety around the school; Andrew Shirley’s proposed scheme has unfortunately generated only 2 responses, however there seems to be a great deal of informal car sharing that is arranged between neighboring parents and this may explain the poor response. Everybody agreed that the idea was admirable and Andy had done a good job in raising awareness and taking on the task but we wondered if another limiting factor is the large spread of outlying locations from which children travel.
The ‘walk to school Wednesday’ initiative reportedly worked really well in the past, as the teachers had actively encouraged the children to participate and had done a tally to keep score (adding to the competitive feel) and this should be considered for further use. The meeting also considered the relatively easy but potentially big benefits of promoting the buses that currently bring children in from a number of areas. Many of the parents are not aware of where the bus stops are or indeed that there are bus services at all.
Mention was also made of how using a buddy system on the bus would encourage more parents to use it. It was decided to put up a list of bus times and stops in the PTFA notice board. Mrs Robertson offered to ask the School to provide details of the bus times and stops.
Peter also said he would follow up the Car sharing scheme promotion with Andy.
Also under agenda item 11; the funding for the new sign that has been agreed upon. The School will pay for half of it and we will ask for a voluntary donation of a £1 per child to cover the rest of the cost. Larger families at the School could give a donation that they were comfortable with. Becky Roberts raised the idea of re-instating a no turning sign at the previous meeting, so in order to provide her with the opportunity of seeing through the idea to fruition Paul agreed to approach Becky as to how she may be able to assist in promoting and helping to raise the £1 per child contribution.
3) Chair's Report
Peter began his report by thanking everyone who has helped make all the events we have had since he became Chair in November a success. He specifically wanted to thank Lis Skeet and Letitia for the Christmas Bazaar and everyone who worked for the two days it took to create Santa’s Grotto namely Jo White, Andrea Hunt, Alison Surtees and all the other stall holders.
He really felt that everyone had played a big part in making it a Christmas bazaar to remember. Peter also wanted to thank all the Dads that stayed at the end and helped with the mammoth task of tidying up.
Lastly we wanted to thank the School for all the help that was given making the task of running the Bazaar easier, especially for the access that was granted and to the Year Six pupils who managed without their tables for the afternoon. Peter thought it was great that so many staff helped with the teas or ran a stall for us.
Another big thank you to Fiona Dowling and everyone who helped her run the Christmas parties just before we broke up and to everyone who has got the Class teas rolling to raise funds directly for the teachers, and Peter said how in awe he was of the effort that went into them. “It never stops” was his closing comment.
4) Head Teacher's Report
Mr Loftus had asked Mrs Robertson to express his and the school’s appreciation for the Bazaar and the efforts that went into it. He also wanted to say that the bid for RBS funding for the playground competition had been sent in and we would hear by the end of the month if we had been short listed for the grand prize or a regional runners up award.
5) The Treasurer's report
Paul started his report by explaining how Vodafone have a scheme whereby they will match charitable funds raised by an employee up to a certain figure. He had submitted the Harvest Disco takings to them which they did indeed match and so the PTFA coffers were increased by another £350!! Paul agreed that other parents and carers might be in a position to apply for such funds as many companies have these schemes and he will write an article for the newsletter to advertise the fact.
Paul ran through a presentation detailing the current financial position which is extremely healthy. We have approximately £5k available in the bank following the excellent fundraising efforts before Christmas and this should allow us to provide support to the school straight away.
6) Vice Chair's update
A tabled paper setting out in detail the objectives and targets agreed with the school at a recent meeting was discussed and the actions agreed.
A meeting held between Nick Skeet, Peter Dove and Mr Loftus on 20 Dec 2007 resulted in agreement as to the school’s short and medium term priorities for indoor and outside improvements. Coupled with issues raised through the PTFA about pedestrian safety at and around the school entrance a list of priorities for funding and fundraising was agreed thus,
Short term
- Reception reading scheme replacement and shelving (approx. £800)( this would include an upgrade).
- Set of bibles appropriate to each age group (this would be two different types of Bible 32 x £10 and 16 x £16)
- Replace library stocks (£500 minimum)
- Radio/CD player for 4 KS2 classes (approx. £200)
- Role play area for year 1 (approx. £500) this would help the transition from Reception to Year one.
- A sign for the school entrance to enhance pedestrian safety - we are waiting for a mock up of this from the suppliers.
Nick also told us of plans he has heard of that the District Council have to improve road markings and signage around Corsham schools and how Town Councilors (who are consulted by the DC) reported the positive impact that representations from Boards of Governors often have in driving decisions on these issues. Corsham Primary for instance have recently influenced decisions to launch a parent’s parking permit scheme in Corsham which will see free parking re-instated in town car parks for those on the school run FOR SPECIFIED TIMES ONLY. They have also communicated information to their parents about this proposed scheme.
The meeting considered that it would be beneficial to raise this issue with the Chair of Governor’s for St Patrick’s to ascertain what influence they are bringing to bear on the Council given the issues surrounding road safety at drop off and pick up times.
Peter and Nick agreed to talk to the Governing Body and make sure that they knew of this important channel for both information and influence that they could tap into for the good of the School.
The meeting agreed that we had enough funds available to cover these purchase requests now noting that there was something to benefit all ages at the school in the plans.
Medium term
Storage shed and associated concrete base for early years play area new equipment (KL to source quote)
Early years outdoor equipment (Teaching staff to define exact wish list for pricing)
These priorities also support improvements that Mr Loftus is planning in relation to the whole early years play area and the library facilities provided within the school.
Nick asked the meeting to approve the spending of funds on immediate priorities in line with funds available. The Committee were also asked to agree medium term priorities and fundraising targets where these could be calculated which we did so in principle but wanted to have specific quotes and wish lists before making a definite financial commitment.
As detailed here these requests were approved.
7) Upcoming events
Nick presented a Consultation document he had prepared for sending out to the parent body via the book bags. When the consultation document comes back to us we will have a better idea of which events would prove popular. Mrs. Robertson felt the teachers would be very supportive of a sponsored something. Peter felt it was important to get people interested in putting their name against an event and wondered if a social night for just the class reps might be a good idea, he said he would send a personal invitation out to them.
St Patrick’s Night
We have tried to find a good alternative to a Race Night but haven’t got anything that can raise as much money, provide the same level of fun and we have good experience of organizing; so we felt if we refined it taking note of what people liked and didn’t like from previous race nights we could still improve on previous years and make sure it wasn’t jaded.
There is in fact lots of enthusiasm amongst the vast majority of parents asked and there have been several useful suggestions made. Nick and Letitia will start the organisation of the event.
Summer Fete
Once we have the feedback from the Consultation list we will have an idea of who wants to help start the planning. This is such a fantastic event and really brings the whole school and wider community together that it would be a shame if we could not hold it due to lack of organisational support. We all agreed we need to find a team to start the planning ASAP.
Full Consultation document – returns to Nick via the office by 1 Feb please.
8) A.O.B.
The feedback on the Calendars has mostly been very good, the price was fair for the size, and the presentation was good. We agreed that if we did them earlier next year we would have a greater response as well.
We have sold enough to have funded the printing of them and are going to make a small profit. The remaining Calendars we would like to distribute to some of the businesses that have sponsored us over the year as a thank you and encouragement for future support.
Actions
Peter to follow up the Car sharing scheme promotion with Andy.
Paul to talk to Becky Roberts to offer her the chance to see the idea through to the end by asking her what support she could give with regards to collecting the money.
Mrs Robertson to ask the School will provide details of the bus times and stops.
Paul to write an article for the newsletter to advertise the scheme his company runs.
Peter and Nick agreed to talk to the Governing Body about representing the school at the Council meetings.
Peter to send a personal invitation out to the class reps for a night out.