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2024-08-31-accounts

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 2024

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:

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 £24,521 for the school year 2023/24. 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 remains in line, if not ahead, of where it was before the pandemic.

This year we implemented a change in how our fundraising events were planned, organised, executed and reviewed. Historically the PTA committee had sole responsibility for this with very little engagement from the wider school community in the planning, organising and reviewing events. However, with a dwindling committee and future personnel changes to plan for, this year the committee actively sought non committee parents to take on events, with the PTA committee overseeing.

We kicked off our fundraising year with the annual Spooky Discos for the children. Always a popular event that has been running for many years so a great one to start our new way of working as we have an event plan that works. We were fortunate to have a parent step forward to take this on event. We raised £1,100 which is very much in line with previous Spooky Discos. A few learnings in terms of how the committee can support parents who take on events for the first time but definitely a success of the new event model.

The annual Fireworks Spectacular swiftly followed. This is our biggest event so one that needs to be right to ensure we can maximise our fundraising. Again, a parent took the lead in managing this event and again, everything went smoothly, and we raised £12,000 – in line

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with the 2022 Firework Spectacular that was our most successful ever. As always, fireworks requires a significant amount of volunteers at the actual event and this is challenging. Like in 2022, we’d like to give a special mention to the teachers and staff who again stepped in, after a long teaching day, to make the event possible. Without them the event would have been scaled back or cancelled, putting the £12,000 raised at risk. We will continue to work on sharing the very important need for volunteers at the actual events to ensure the school community understands how critical it is and how the events can’t happen without them volunteering, not just attending. The Firework Spectacular continues to be well-loved beyond the school and in our wider community and would be sorely missed socially and financially.

We attempted to run a cinema morning at the local cinema, in conjunction with the infant school. We chose an inset day morning hoping that parents would appreciate something to do with the children on a rainy November day, however, it sadly was unsuccessful and just broke even. It is unlikely we will run any events like this again.

We finished the autumn term successfully, when we included the net profit from our Christmas related events that included the sale of Christmas Cards designed by the children, Christmas Trees & Wreaths, including a wreath making evening, and a variety of smaller income-generating activities including second-hand Christmas Jumper sales, Hot Chocolate Friday and Christmas Concert drinks raising another £900 in total. It’s worth highlighting that the wreath making evening was more of a social event than a fundraising event so it is unlikely to feature in the fundraising event plan going forward in the format executed in 2023.

As we headed into the Spring term, it was time to revive our annual parent Quiz Night. In 2022/23 we moved this event to run early in the school year. It was poorly attended and didn’t raise anywhere near as much as previous years. Therefore, we moved it back to early February, choosing the first Friday in February after the “January Blues”. Two parents volunteered to lead on this event. It was hugely successful and incorporated a big winter raffle. Between both we raised £3,000. The main learning from the event was that the raffle should be stand alone and perhaps run over Christmas time. A raffle at quiz night with less prizes, that required less organising would have raised just as much. We are also conscious of not asking local small businesses for support too often during such challenging economic times. They are always very generous, and we are very grateful so it’s important to make the most use their donations to maximise our fundraising.

Due to the new way of running events, the PTA committee still had energy left come spring term and we made the most of it! We planned an enterprise fundraising event with school. Grow a Pound was massive. Our school community was fully engaged. We gave every child £1 and asked them to “grow” their pound as much as they could in whatever way they wanted. The children made things to sell from bracelets to cakes. Some children ran sponsor events with friends and family. Some children offered services such as gardening help or car washing. The children continued to “grow their pound” over the Easter break and when we returned to school we held a Friday afternoon mini school fair where some of the children sold their products. Everyone in school came along to the afternoon. It was a fabulous day. We raised over £5,000 from the event. The children made it a huge success and it was well supported by parents. Definitely one to do again in the future.

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And we didn’t stop there. In the summer term, based on our fireworks success we held an Outdoor Movie Night. We lucked out with the weather. It was a very warm sunny evening when we showed Wonka on the school field. Everyone who attended the event had a great time. We raised £1,600. This was nowhere near the levels that we raise at fireworks but it was our first time running such an event so there were plenty of learnings and our expectations were a little high but nonetheless a success and one to consider doing again taking on board the learnings.

As the school year came to a close we held the final few events. Our now annual parent drinks mini festival on the field raised almost £500 and the year 6 leavers a similar amount. Throughout the year our second-hand uniform sales and cakes sales raised around £900, taking our annual total to just under £25,000, ahead of last year.

In 2023/24 the plan for our fundraising money was as follows:

Our new online platform introduced in spring 2023 continued to work well and we are pleased with the decision we made last year. For 2024/25 we are looking to see how we can use the system further for raffles and second-hand uniform sales. The volunteering part of it is not working as smooth as we’d like and we’ll continue to develop how we can make this better.

Plans for 2024/25 are well under way as we continue on our 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 (the playground improvement project currently) and will be utilised in order to improve the daily education and enjoyment of your children whilst they are at the school.

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Committee Update

Caroline Piggott stood down as Treasurer in December 2023. We’d like to thank Caroline for everything she has done for Fleetville Junior School and appreciate the support she continued to give to handover the role. She will be sadly missed on the committee. Chris Evans, who was working closely with Caroline early in 2023/24, was elected as Treasurer, an important appointment to ensure our charity can continue its fundraising. We also elected Chloe Mann as the new Secretary early in 2023/24 taking over from Toni Kitchingham, with an appropriate handover phase. We’d like to thank Toni for all she has done in her role as the Secretary. Carol Morton continued as chair with a note that 2024/25 will be her final year, as in 2025/26 she will have no children attending Fleetville Junior School. A plan needs to be put in place to cover this gap. Toni Kitchingham remains on the committee in 2024/25 as a parent member with Naomi Mackenzie-Davies and Kelly Pike stepping down. Sofia Reino also continues on the committee with the organisation of second-hand uniform sales. Cerys Kilcline sadly left due to her child moving on to secondary school. We’d like to thank her for taking on the huge responsibility of Firework Spectacular for 2023. The PTA is enormously grateful to her for this. A special mention to Thea MacLeod for Spooky Disco and Caroline Bates and Rebecca Ward for Quiz Night. Two very successful events in the 2023/24 calendar.

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 £24,521 (2023– £22,432) of funds in the year. The PTA made no major donations to the school during year 2023-24 because the ~£5,000 annual donation for the theatre trip, usually made at the beginning of the year, was made at the end of year 2022-23 and a decision was made to reserve all other funds raised for the MUGA project (see details below).

As usual, the PTA paid for Christmas crackers for everyone at the school Christmas Dinner in December 2023, a donation worth £230.

The current strategy for funds raised by the PTA that are in excess of the regular £9,000 annual donations (Theatre trip - £5,000 and Class Allowance - £4,000), is to put them into a fund to build a “Multi Use Games Area” (MUGA). This will make more of the school’s large outdoor spaces, especially during the wetter months. This is an expensive project and has been the long-term ambition of the school leadership, and the PTA are keen to support it. However, going forward we need further information from the school to indicate costs, timetable and funding approach to clarify whether this is the correct strategy, or an alternate approach is appropriate.

This was another fantastic year of fundraising, setting a record for the amount raised. It came from a great combination of successfully running both well-known, regular events, such as Fireworks, and introducing new and highly profitable events, such as “Grow a pound”.

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 £32,861 (2023 - £8,570).

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:

Name Office Relevant dates
Carol Morton Chair/Trustee
Caroline Piggott Treasurer/Trustee Resigned 20thOctober ‘23
Clare Whitehouse Trustee (Headteacher, Fleetville
Junior School)
Eve Templeman Trustee
Josh David Trustee Appointed 1 September 2023
Chris Evans Trustee(incomingCo-Treasurer) Appointed 20 October 2023
Chloe Mann Secretary Appointed 20 October 2023

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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 2024 which are set out on pages 1 to 11.

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 2011 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:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. 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: 26 June 2025

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Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 August 2024

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 2024
Note
Current assets
Debtors and prepayments
6
Cash on deposit
Cash in current account
Cash
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
 2024
2023
£
£
505
261
0
44,265
0
38,120
1,012
1,465
174
106
45,956
39,952
(20,746)
(16,953)
(689)
(567)
(21,435)
(17,520)
24,521
22,432
(230)
(23,785)
24,291
(1,353)
2024
2023
£
£
405
150
3,509
3,335
33,742
10,173
205
0
0
(88)
37,861
13,570
24,291
(1,353)
13,570
14,923
37,861
13,570
Date 25 June 2025
Date 25 June 2025
Date 25 June 2025

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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
Disco - Autumn term
Fireworks
Xmas activities
Movie Morning 2023
Grow a Pound 2024 /Coronation 2023
Ice Lollies Summer Term
Sports Day
Fleetville Arms
Year 6 Leavers Party
Quiz night and Winter raffle (2024)
Year 6 Performances
Disco / Movie Night - Lent / Easter
Circus
Summer Disco
Total
Note 4 Other activities
Photo Commission
Easyfundraising
Recycling (Clothes bank + other)
Other / Used Uniform
Total other trading activities
Note 5 – Expenditure Benefitting the school
Theatre trip (2022 & 2023)
Wicked Workshop Contribution
MUGA contribution
Pencil Cases
Class Allowance
Year 6
Christmas Crackers
Commemorative Medals
Netball Posts
Total expenditure benefitting school		 2024
Income
£
2024
Expenditure
£
1,666
(604)
17,115
(5,665)
4,416
(3,271)
677
(654)
5,428
(486)
130
0
8,939
(7,823)
937
(288)
779
(789)
4,177
(1,166)
0
0
0
0
0
0		 2024
Net
£
2023
Net
£
1,062
1,135
11,450
12,135
1,146
884
23
0
4,942
1,934
130
339
1,116
386
650
436
-11
0
3,011
834
0
-46
0
882
0
1,787
0
462
44,265
(20,746)		 23,519
21,168
2024
Income
£
2024
Expenditure
£
0
97
0
915		 2024
Net
£
2023
Net
£
0
595
97
514
0
220
915
137
1,012
0		 1,012
1,465
2024
Net
£
2023
Net
£
(9,125)
(875)
(8,000)
(426)
(4,000)
(189)
(230)
(230)
(529)
(411)
(230)
(23,785)

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Note 6 Debtors
Trade debtors
Film society deposit
Prepaid expenses
Total		 2024
£
2023
£
255
-
150
150
-
-
405
150

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