Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts
Fleetville Junior School Parent Teachers Association (PTA) Operating as Friends of Fleetville Junior School (FoFJS)
For the year ended 31st August 2023
Registered Charity No 1023670
Principal address 228 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 4LW
Objectives and activities
The object of the PTA is to advance the education of the pupils in the school. In furtherance of this object the Association may:
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Develop more extended relationships between staff, parents and other associates of the school.
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Engage in activities which support the school and advance the education of the pupils attending it.
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Provide and assist in the provision of such facilities or items for education at the school (not provided from statutory funds) as the Committee in consultation with the Governing Body shall from time to time determine.
The broad strategy to meet this objective is to organise various social and fundraising events at the school for the children, teachers and parents over the course of the year.
The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit in setting this strategy.
Achievements and performance
I’m pleased to report the PTA had a net income of £22,432 for the school year 2022/23. Many thanks to the committee, teachers, parent volunteers and donors for their hard work to help us to achieve this.
I’m also very pleased to report that we have now got back to a position where fundraising is in line, if not ahead, of where it was before the pandemic.
The year got off to a flying start with The Circus coming to town in September. We shared this event with Fleetville Infant and Nursery School, and still raised net income of £1,787. This was closely followed by our Quiz Night. This raised net income of £834, a very respectable amount. However, quiz nights are normally more successful fundraisers than this, so we need to review how to maximise this going forward.
The annual Fireworks Spectacular that has been running for many years, was the most successful ever and raised net income of £12,135. Once again, feedback was positive on the organisation and execution of the event and plans for Fireworks 2023 are well underway. It’s important to recognise that the main challenge in 2022 was the lack of parent volunteers to support on the night of the event. We’d like to give a special mention to the teachers and staff who stepped in, after a long teaching day, to make the event possible in 2022. Without them the event would have been scaled back or cancelled, putting the £12,000 raised at risk. We are hoping that this is not a recurrent challenge, as the event is critically important to our fundraising. We would like to urge members of our community who are able to volunteer at
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this event, as it is hugely well-loved beyond the school and in our wider community and would be sorely missed socially and financially.
We finished the first term very successfully, when we included the net profit from the Christmas Discos (£1,135), the sale of Christmas Cards, Trees and Wreaths (£884) and a variety of smaller income-generating activities including second-hand uniform sales (shown as an annual total in the accounts). The children’s discos continue to be very popular events, and our Christmas fundraising opportunities offer something for everyone. They are a great way to support our fundraising with minimal effort. Watch out for these again this year, including the introduction of a fabulous Wreath Making evening.
Due to the successful Autumn term of 2022/23 we were able to make a substantial donation of £6,000 to the school at the end of the term. This was used to ensure the cost to parents of the Christmas theatre trip to see the musical Wicked! was significantly reduced for all pupils. It also subsidised the cost of the anti-bullying workshops delivered during the week of the trip. We also donated funds for the purchase of new netball nets and posts and a pencil case for every child.
As we headed into the Spring term, events slowed down a little due to the amount of fundraising activity in the previous term, combined with the limited number of volunteers and committee members to organise the events. However, by the end of the school year we had reached a net total of funds raised of just over £22,000. This was raised from Movie Night (£882), including the mega popular tuck shop, the Coronation Fair (£1,934), a Summer Disco (£462) and the now annual Fleetville Arms event (£436), as well Ice lolly Fridays, Sports Day refreshments and second-hand uniform sales. Moreover, the Year 6 cohort from 2022/23 raised a significant amount of money from legacy fundraising throughout their time with us and we supported their leaving celebrations with a £189 donation. We thank the children, their families and carers for their support throughout their time at Fleetville and wish them all well as they embark on their secondary school journeys.
At the end of 2022/23 we were able to donate an incredible £17,500 more to the school, taking the annual donation for 2022/23 to £23,785; a fantastic achievement to support the children, enriching their learning and their experience at Fleetville Junior School. With this money, once again each child will benefit from an almost £14 reduction in the cost of the upcoming London theatre trip in December 2023. A huge opportunity for our children to experience a magnificent performance in the West End.
£8,000 of the donation from 2022/23 has been ring-fenced to go towards the playground improvement project that the school is working on. Going forward, much of the fundraising will also go towards this project.
In 2022/23 we also paid for Christmas Crackers for Christmas lunch, a second-hand uniform recycling bin, made a donation (as mentioned above) to the Year 6 Leavers’ Party and gave £1,000 to each year group to support enrichment during 2023/24.
In spring 2023, Plan Social, the online platform used for ticket sales and volunteering at events sadly closed. We needed to find a replacement platform, as the technology is key to
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fundraising. After researching the market carefully, the committee chose ClassList as our new system. ClassList brings many benefits to our PTA: ultimately it could replace the informal WhatsApp class groups that are used to pass on updates on events and volunteering opportunities. Thank you to everyone who has signed up. As always, change does bring some challenges, but we have embraced these and continue to learn from them.
Plans for 2023/24 are well under way as we embark on a new way of working for the PTA. We’d love more people to be involved to ensure that if everyone does a little then no one needs to do a lot.
All the funds will continue to contribute to various ongoing projects planned by the school and will be utilised promptly in order to improve the daily education and enjoyment of your children whilst they are at the school.
Committee Update
At the end of the financial year 2022/23 Rebecca Rowe stood down as co-chair. We’d like to thank Rebecca for everything she has done for the Fleetville Schools over the years. She is sadly missed on the committee.
Carol Morton continued as chair. Caroline Piggott continued as Treasurer, and Toni Kitchingham stepped into the role of Secretary for the year. Cerys Kilcline and Naomi Mackenzie Davis joined the committee as parent members, enabling Kelly Pike to take a welldeserved break from committee commitments (whilst still taking responsibility for sponsorship negotiations, Christmas Card organisation and second-hand uniform sales during the year). We are delighted to report that Kelly has passed Christmas Card coordination on to Maxine Finding and organisation of second-hand uniform sales on to Sofia Reino for 2023/24.
During 2023/24, Chris Evans has stepped into the role of Co-Treasurer, working alongside Caroline Piggott until the academic year, and Chloe Mann took over as Secretary.
Naomi Mackenzie Davis and Cerys Kilcline will continue on the committee as parent members. Cerys has taken on the huge responsibility of organising the Firework Spectacular for 2023. The PTA is enormously grateful to her for this.
As always, we are pleased to welcome any and all contributions from parents and carers so please do get in touch if you are able to contribute in any way.
Finally, I would like once again to encourage parents and carers to come forward and participate, especially as we move forward with the planned changes to the committee on the horizon. Being part of the school community and seeing the children benefit directly from that is a greatly rewarding and enjoyable experience.
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Financial review
The PTA generated £22,432 (2022– £14,732) of funds in the year. The PTA donated £23,785 (2022 - £8,649) to the school. This total comprised of a £426 donation to cover the costs of a pencil case for every pupil, £411 to buy new netball posts; £5,000 towards the cost of coach hire and anti-bullying workshops for the whole school trip to see Wicked in December 2022; £529 for commemorative Coronation medals for every pupil; £4,000 as a donation to each year group for the year 2023-24; £5,000 towards the cost of coach hire for the whole school trip to The Lion King in December 2023; and £8,000 towards the cost of the planned multiuse games area (aka the MUGA) on part of the school grounds. The PTA also contributed £189 to the Year 6 Leaver’s celebration (traditionally the PTA gives £500 to support this event, but ticket sales and judicious budgeting reduced the contribution needed). As usual, the PTA paid for Christmas crackers for everyone at the school Christmas Dinner in December 2022, a donation worth £230.
We were delighted to see a post-pandemic bounce in our fundraising capacity, and this year was our most successful since 18/19, because we ran more events, and did so more profitably. This enabled us to both consolidate our reserves to enable us to support the school in fallow periods, and dramatically increase our donations to the school this year. Given the slightly uncertain future for the PTA in terms of volunteer capacity as the end of 2022-23 came around, the decision was made to keep some funds in reserve over and about the £5,000 in the PTA’s reserves policy, but if the 2023-24 year is successful, this money will be donated to the school after discussion.
The PTA is considering making further contributions from funds generated for the MUGA project, which is expected to be expensive, but which will make more of the school’s large outdoor spaces useable at playtime in the wetter months. The PTA will also make other specific contributions to enhance pupil’s school experience, agreed with the School’s Senior Leadership Team.
The PTA maintains a reserve of £5,000 to fund expenses in advance of fundraising events and for any unforeseen expenditure.
The remaining funds are held for future distribution to the school and stand at £8,570 (2022 - £9,923).
Structure, governance and management
The PTA is governed by a constitution adopted in 2012.
Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting and shall serve until the commencement of the next Annual General Meeting. The trustees who manage the PTA are:
| Trustee name | Office | Relevant dates |
|---|---|---|
| Carol Morton | Co-chair/Chair | |
| Rebecca Rowe | Co-chair | Resigned 31 August 2023 |
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| Caroline Piggott | Treasurer | |
|---|---|---|
| Clare Whitehouse | Trustee (Headteacher, Fleetville Junior School) |
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| Fran Andrew | Trustee | Resigned 31 August 2023 |
| Eve Templeman | Trustee | |
| Josh David | Trustee | Appointed 1 September 2023 |
| Chris Evans | Trustee (incoming Co- Treasurer) |
Appointed 20 October 2023 |
The trustees have all acted for the whole year except as indicated. They form part of a committee which manages the affairs of the PTA. This committee is governed by the constitution and meets at least once per term to plan future activities and review past performance.
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of all the trustees.
Signed
Carol Morton, Chair
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Independent examiner’s report to the
Trustees of the Fleetville Junior School Parent Teachers Association (PTA)
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2023 which are set out on pages 1 to 16.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Helen Price - BA (Hons), CTA, TEP, PGCert
helenprice79@yahoo.com
Date: 25 June 2024
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Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31[st] August 2023
| Note Incoming resources Donations Gift Aid Fundraising events income 3 Other activities 4 Investment income Total incoming resources Resources expended Fundraising events expenditure 3 Other expenses Total resources expended Net funds generated for the school Expenditure benefitting the school 5 Net movement in funds Balance sheet as at 31st August 2023 Note Current assets Debtors and prepayments 6 Cash on deposit Cash in current account Current liabilities Trade creditors Net assets Net movement in funds Funds brought forward Total funds Signed on behalf of all the trustees. Signed Caroline Piggott, Co-Treasurer Signed Christopher Evans, Co-Treasurer Signed Carol Morton, Chair |
2023 2022 £ £ 261 55 0 38,120 0 25,869 1,465 964 106 11 |
|---|---|
| 39,952 26,899 |
|
| (16,953) (11,457) (567) (710) |
|
| (17,520) (12,167) |
|
| 22,432 14,732 (23,785) (8,649) |
|
| (1,353) 6,083 |
|
| 2023 2022 £ £ 0 642 3,335 3,229 10,173 11,174 (88) (122) |
|
| 13,570 14,923 |
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| (1,353) 8,840 14,923 6,083 |
|
| 13,570 14,923 |
|
| Date 25 June 2024 Date 25 June 2024 Date 25 June 2024 |
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Notes to the accounts
Note 1 Basis of preparation
Basis of accounting - These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014, and with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The accounts have been prepared on the going concern basis and present a true and fair view. The accounting policies adopted are those outlined in note 2.
No changes to accounting estimates have occurred and no material prior year errors have been identified in the reporting period. No reconciliation adjustment to funds under previous GAAP to funds determined under FRS 102 is required.
Note 2 Accounting policies
Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources; and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Restrictions to income - All income in the current and prior years was unrestricted.
Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor and is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.
Donated goods and services received are not included in the statement of financial activities due to the impractical nature of measuring them. The value of any voluntary help is described in the trustees’ annual report.
Debtors are measured on initial recognition at settlement amount after any trade discounts or amount advanced by the charity. Subsequently, they are measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be received.
Liability recognition - Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
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| Note 3 Fundraising events 2023 2023 Income £ Expenditure £ Fireworks 17,996 (5,860) Disco – Autumn term 1,803 (668) Pumpkin Trail - - Christmas activities: trees, wreaths, keyrings etc 2,757 (1,873) Movie / Disco – Lent term 1,391 (509) Coronation/Jubilee Street party 3,216 (1,282) Ice lolly Fridays - summer term 469 (130) Sports Day 484 (99) The Fleetville Arms – summer term 1,473 (1,037) Year 6 performances 101 (147) Girls’ football tournament - - Circus 5,424 (3,637) Quiz night 1,356 (523) Disco – Summer term 885 (423) Year 6 Leavers’ Party 765 (765) Total 38,120 (16,953) Note 4 Other activities Photo commissions Easyfundraising Marshalling Recycling Other (used uniform sales) Total Note 5 Expenditure benefitting the school Projector contribution Coaches for Wicked (2022) & Lion King (2023) theatre trip Contribution to Wicked workshops MUGA contribution Pencil cases Class allowance Year 6 Christmas crackers Commemorative medals (Jubilee, Coronation) Netball posts Total |
2023 2023 Income £ Expenditure £ 17,996 (5,860) 1,803 (668) - - 2,757 (1,873) 1,391 (509) 3,216 (1,282) 469 (130) 484 (99) 1,473 (1,037) 101 (147) - - 5,424 (3,637) 1,356 (523) 885 (423) 765 (765) |
2023 2022 Net £ Net £ 12,135 9,612 1,135 880 - 166 884 913 882 842 1,934 997 339 308 386 71 436 514 (46) (87) - 196 1,787 - 834 - 462 - - - |
|---|---|---|
| 38,120 (16,953) |
21,168 14,412 |
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| 2023 2022 £ £ 595 725 514 409 - (300) 220 131 137 - |
||
| 1,465 965 |
||
| 2023 2022 £ £ - (8,000) (9,125) - (875) - (8,000) - (426) - (4,000) - (189) (122) (230) (153) (529) (374) (411) - |
||
| (23,785) (8,649) |
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| Note 6 Debtors Trade debtors Film society deposit Prepaid expenses Total |
2023 £ 2022 £ - 492 150 150 - - |
|---|---|
| 150 642 |
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