Dunsford PTFA
Chair’s Annual Report 2023/24
The start of the new school year and the end of my two years as chair, I feel we have a lot to celebrate. The charity has organised some fantastic events this year, many of them we have been running successfully for several years and are firmly in the calendars of the local community (The Christmas Fair, The Dunsford Summer Show and The Big Brunch) but we have added other events this year that have strengthened community ties within Dunsford and the Teign Valley (The Ceilidh and The Valley Bash) and we mustn’t underestimate how important these events are not only for us to feel supported as a charity but also in providing opportunities for different groups within our community to get together.
Thanks to the financial success of the past couple of years we have been able to comfortably spend a large proportion of our budget on the new outdoor classroom, our main project for 23/24. This project is part of the legacy celebrating 150years of Dunsford School. The 150 years celebrations were the highlight of last year and a project gathering stories and pictures from the school’s history is still ongoing. We enjoyed several events last year marking this milestone and, a personal highlight, it was a sheer joy to see the PTFA funded Maypole being used so much as part of this.
As usual, we started the year with a Pub Quiz at The Teign Hut in November, this was a great way to welcome new parents and to mark the beginning of a new school year. Later in the month we organised the annual Children in Need Disco, a raving success as usual and the children danced their Pudsey ears off in the village hall. Hot on the heels of this event was the Ceilidh, a new addition to the calendar and a joint fundraiser with the Village Hall. We all danced and spun and stripped the willow until only water would do at the bar which somewhat affected bar sales but we all agreed we should definitely do this event again (hopefully to be on Burn’s night this year).
The festive season, always a busy time for the PTFA and school, saw us organise the Christmas Movie Night, and we once again teamed up with St Mary’s church to put on the Christmas Fair in the Village Hall. Karen recreated her legendary Santa’s Grotto and there were some wonderful local crafts and homemade cakes to buy along with Secret presents, a raffle and tombola prizes. The event raised over £1500 which was split between the PTFA and St Mary’s Church.
We repeated our bursary gifts to each year, raising the amount to £200 per year group (which could be combined within classes) to spend as they chose. This saw the arrival of Simba in Oak Class, a Dragon no less. What do you expect when you ask 8-11year olds what they want to spend £600 on?! Cedars were treated to a summer BBQ and party on the field (this was going to be a camping night which sadly had to be cancelled, they still had a great time though) along with other valuable learning and craft resources. Willows bought a classroom den, along with a set of small tyres and steering wheels for budding mechanics. Maples’ main purchase was a wooden home and furniture set. It’s wonderful to see the money being spent well, on resources, long term investments (Simba) as well as valuable class experiences.
Once again the PTFA has contributed to school trips for every year group (Cedars are having theirs this term). We paid for a visit from the Barn Owl Trust, Tiny Travels and Devon Science who put on a Roald Dahl themed day of science experiments for all year groups. We have purchased a friendship bench,16 Glockenspiels for music lessons and a maypole that is being used by all pupils.
Bags2School has continued each term raising about £80 each time, an easy way to raise money and
give to charity at the same time.
The spring term saw the return of the Big Brunch. This is a much-loved community event, and great fun to volunteer for. The turnout was amazing, and one happy customer said we served a better breakfast than the 5* hotel he’d stayed in the night before! I think we sold the exact same number of adult breakfasts as the previous year. The team have this down to a fine art now, with barely a sausage going to waste at the end of the morning.
Always looking for an excuse for a good party, on the May bank holiday we joined up with Christow and Doddi School PTFAs to organise a 3 day festival at the Teign Hut. And what a weekend it was!!! Live music, beer, open mic sessions, face paints, sequins, tug of war, may pole dancing, children’s entertainers, nothing was lacking and everything was organised with creative flair and fun. The proceeds were split between the 3 PTFAs.
The finale of our fundraising calendar is The Dunford Summer Show. Despite being a week earlier than usual, a necessary change for the show organisers, the weather was kind, the punters were well fed and watered. We had Dangerous Steve and his death defying stunts, Wardour Garrisson and their 17[th] Century encampment, an incredible games area, BBQ, Bar, Dog Show, Raffle, Produce Show, St Mary’s Craft and play Tent and many other great acts ….but the stars of the show and many people’s highlight were the Dunsford School Choir and Maypole Dancers, they were a joy to listen to and to watch, a very proud moment for the school.
No Dunsford PTFA annual report can be written without mention of the pool. This has been the second season of the newly heated pool thanks to our mammoth fundraising efforts in 2022/23 and it has made a huge difference to the pupils enjoyment of their lessons and play in the pool. To those new to the school, the pool is leased from the school by the PTFA in order to keep it going as the LAP would not be able to afford the ongoing costs. The PTFA takes on the running costs, liability and management of the pool so that the school children have access to swimming lessons without having to be transported elsewhere and the school community is able to use the pool outside school hours and during the holidays. This means that we organise poolside training, First Aid training and DBS checks for all those wanting to be ‘spotters’. The pool membership fee of £30 per child is vital in securing the ongoing funds for the pool and therefore the pool’s future. Although this fee is largely paid by those wanting to use the pool out of school hours, it does contribute significantly to overall running costs making it possible to have a pool that can be used for lessons in school. This year also saw the birth of our new booking app for swimming sessions. Thank you to everyone for using the app, it is a vital part of our health and safety procedure for pool use.
I can’t sign off without mentioning the Green Flag Award. Thanks to the eco-council and volunteers the school has been awarded a Green Flag with Distinction and, once again, has been put forward for best eco-school of the Year. The bat filled Night Adventure and cake sale helped to fund the application. The school received a School for Nature certificate from Sir David Attenborough and he even congratulated the school in a hand written letter for receiving the Green Flag Award.
I have purposefully not mentioned many names in this report, largely for fear of missing someone off! However, I would like to thank all of you who have contributed to an actually slightly bonkers number of events and achievements that we have covered this year. We smashed it and our children will be on the receiving end of all our efforts so on that note…..let’s do it all again! I’ve had a truly brilliant couple of years as Chair, largely due to my support team and I wish all the best to the new chair - you really couldn’t have a better bunch of parents behind you.
Julia Matthews Dunsford PTFA Chair
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Dunsford PTFA Annual Accounts for y/e 31/08/24
£
Opening Cash Balances 30700
Unrestricted Restricted Total
Income
Fundraising Events 31199 31199
Pool Receipts 1737 1737
Outdoor Classroom & Leaf Etching 900 1000 1900
Other Fundraising 990 990
Donations 1000 1000
Interest 162 162
Total 35988 1000 36988
Expenditure
Charitable Activities 5471 5471
Fundraising Expenses 19092 19092
Pool Expenses 5613 5613
Outdoor Classroom & Leaf Etching 2037 1000 3037
Other Fundraising 220 220
Admin Expenses 544 544
Bank Charges 125 125
Total 33102 1000 34102
Closing Cash Balances 33586
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Dunsford PTFA
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Dunsford PTFA for the year ended 31 August 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of Dunsford PTFA 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 Trust’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:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
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: Ceri Blake
Name: Ceri Blake
Relevant professional qualification: CIMA Qualified
Address: 21 Brownings Mead, Dunsford, Devon, EX6 7JJ
Date: 19th April 2026