2020-12-31-accounts - The Owen's School Association

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THE OWEN’S SCHOOL ASSOCIATION 47[th] AGM: Monday 7[nd] March 2022 MINUTES

Present

Hannah Nemko (via Teams), Glenn Taylor, Kate Mackintosh, Anthony Osijo, Walter Buchgraber, Margaret Bryant, Bev King, Tony Sodhi, Deepika Shah, Simi Shah, Sharon Nelson

1. Introductions and Apologies

New members: Margaret Bryant – a very warm welcome.

Apologies: Mbalu Koroma, Geoffrey Blythe, Helen Mankovska, Eleanor Walton, Ivan Scheer, Maria Leahy

2. Approval of the minutes of the 46[th] AGM held on Monday 2[nd] March 2020

Proposed as accurate by Glenn and seconded by Kate.

3. Matters Arising from the minutes

At the last AGM the registration for Gift Aid was discussed. This has been completed in the meantime.

4. The President’s address by Mrs H Nemko (Head)

The school has had its fair share of difficulties this year starting with the sad loss of Martha Mills after what should have been a straightforward, yet serious, injury, moving to complications and implications of COVID. The school is still reeling from the latter – curriculum has been written and rewritten, teachers are constantly responding to changes in programmes of study as published by exam boards and incessantly writing, standardising and moderating assessments for the Year 11s and 13s whilst trying to calm and reassure our students.

There has been a lot of work done pertaining to PSHRSE (Learning for Life) as well as general Mental Health, including additional parental education sessions as it is clear that our young people have found the pandemic as difficult as others. We have been chosen as a Herts Trailblazer MH school and as such have an additional resource in an NHS worker who is with us once a week to help with less severe cases. The reduced possibility of assemblies (lower and upper school) as well as off site visits has certainly not helped the community feel of the school return to its pre-COVID feel. We hope that these will be able to resume soon. We will be considering the value of returning to in person parent consultation evenings too. We have appointed a new DHT Pastoral to replace Dr Mitchell when he steps down from this role in September. Ms Blackburn will be starting with us after the Easter break.

The school has consulted on and amended uniform expectations for September and is consulting on the use of mobile phones in school with a view to deciding whether a change is needed in our approach to their use on campus or not.

Adopted by Walter and all in favour.

5. Treasurer’s Report

At the beginning of 2021 we started with £40,641 in the bank account and at the end of the year we finished with funds of £63,292.

The surplus in 2021 was £22,582 (compared to £25,158 in 2020). A significant contribution came this year from Match Funding (£9.631), although about half of it was related to events in 2020 (particularly to the Auction). The uniform sales (£3,222) were also significantly higher than in the previous year (£1,853). A cheque of £36,029 was given to the School in December 2021, which was not cashed until January 2022, so it is reflected in the balance sheet as a liability. We had numerous issues with our two HSBC bank accounts this year, mainly due to safeguarding. Most of the issues have now been resolved but some issues still need attention, which is not easy because the bank is quite unresponsive.

Anthony thanked Tony (our Assistant Treasurer) and Gouri (our external auditor) for their contributions. Regardless of all the issues we have had, we still managed to have a relatively successful year and managed to meet all our regulatory obligations.

See attached draft accounts for more details.

Approved as accurate in principle by Kate and seconded by Walter (subject to final approval at the next committee meeting). The accounts will still need to be reviewed by an independent auditor.

6. Chair’s Report

Glenn thanked all the people involved in the OSA.

It has again been a difficult year, but with a huge amount of effort of so many people in this group we have again exceeded all expectations.

See attached Chair’s report for more details.

Adopted by Walter and all in favour.

7. Election of Committee Members for 2022

The following 23 people were elected as Committee Members:

Glenn Taylor, Kate Mackintosh, Simi Shah, Anthony Osijo, Tony Sodhi, Walter Buchgraber, Deepika Shah, Sharon Nelson, Jay Ahmed, Mbalu Koroma, Maria Leahy, Ivan Scheer, Tabitha Sumberg, Patricia Doyle, Alan Williams, Eleanor Walton, Margaret Bryant, Georgia Bance,,Geoffrey Blythe, Lily Talukder-Alam, Sian Bull, Amelia Knight

(Hannah Nemko is a committee member but ex-officio)

(Glenn was proposed by Kate and seconded by Anthony. Kate was proposed by Glenn and seconded by Anthony. All other committee members were proposed by Glenn and seconded by Kate).

The following five committee members were elected as trustees: Glenn Taylor, Kate Mackintosh, Simi Shah, Anthony Osijo, Walter Buchgraber (All trustees were proposed by Deepika and seconded by Tony).

8. Appointment of Independent Examiner for accounts

The appointment of Gouri Kupir as Independent Examiner of the OSA accounts was proposed by Anthony and seconded by Kate.

Charity Commission No.1059655

The Owen's School Association Receipts and payments accounts

Period start date Period end date For the period from To 1 January 2021 31 December 2021

Receipts and payments

Receipts	Notes	Unrestricted funds 2021 £ 3,405 352 2,004 2,830 3,222 9,631 1,256 74 0 22,774 - - - - 123 - 123	Unrestricted funds 2020 £
Fundraising Events		3,405	13,235
School Event Refreshments		352	975
200 Club-Membership & Returned Prizes	4	2,004	3,196
Book Covers		2,830	2,022
Uniform Sales (Nearly New)	7	3,222	1,853
Matched Funding	2	9,631	5,383
Coins, Amazon smile & Easy Fundraising	6	1,256	1,958
Donations Inc. Cheese & Wine		74	1,042
Bank Interest		0	3
*Total receipts*	1	22,774	29,667
Payments
Cost of Fund Raising Events		-	3,590
Costs-School Event Refreshments		-	388
200 Club Prizes		-	350
Book Covers	3	-	57
NCPTA Membership		123	110
Other Event Costs		-	-
*Totalpayments*	1	123	4,495

*Net Funds Raised*	1	22,651	25,172

Donations to Dame Alice Owen's School	5	-	-
		22,651 40,641 63,292
*Net surplus/(deficit)*		22,651	25,172

Cash funds atyear beginning		40,641	15,469

*Cash funds atyear end*		63,292	40,641

Funds - All transactions relate to unrestricted funds. There are no restricted or endowment funds.

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year

Other monetary assets Investment assets Liabilities Chair Treasurer Cash funds Assets retained for the charity’s own use	Bank Accounts Bank Accounts - 200 Club Cash *Total cash funds* No other monetary assets are held No Investment Assets are held Payment to School Stock of Drinks and Snacks Stock of Book Covers for resale Other Book Cover Expenses 200 Club Prizes Signature	Unrestricted funds 2021 £ 53,076 10,216 £ 63,292 Unrestricted funds £ - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Unrestricted £ 100 Unrestricted £ 900 Unrestricted £ - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (accrued) Unrestricted £ 900 Unrestricted £ 1,625 Unrestricted £ 36,209 Print Name Glenn Taylor Anthony Osijo	Unrestricted funds 2021 £ 53,076 10,216 £ 63,292 Unrestricted funds £ - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Unrestricted £ 100 Unrestricted £ 900 Unrestricted £ - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (accrued) Unrestricted £ 900 Unrestricted £ 1,625 Unrestricted £ 36,209 Print Name Glenn Taylor Anthony Osijo	Unrestricted funds 2020 £
				32,430
				8,212
				-
				£ 40,641
				Unrestricted funds £
				-
				Fund to which asset belongs

				Fund to which asset belongs
				Unrestricted
				Unrestricted
				Unrestricted
				Fund to which liability relates
				Unrestricted
				Unrestricted
				Unrestricted
				Date of approval
		Glenn Taylor
		Anthony Osijo
Notes to the receipts and payments accounts
1. Fundraising Events & Activities Receipts £ Quiz Nights - Auction 3,405 Refreshments 352 Book Covers 2,830 Foreign Coins & Easy Fundra 1,186 Uniform Sales 3,222 Donations Inc. cheese & wine 74 200- Club 2,004 Matched Funding 9,631 Licences and Sundry Costs Bank Interest 0 £ 22,705	Payments £ 0 0 0 0 0 0 (123) (123)	2021 Surplus £ - 3,405 352 2,830 1,186 3,222 74 2,004 9,631 123 - 0 £ 22,582	2020 Surplus £ 316 9,329 587 1,965 1,944 1,853 1,042 2,846 5,383 110 - 3 £ 25,158
		£ 22,582	£ 25,158

Due to the fact that our events and collections were mostly electronic, the amounts that are reflected this year are mostly reflected as nett.

2. Matched Funding Donations

Thank you to Parents and Employers who have provided Matched Funding for fundraising activities An additional sum of £4655 related to 2020 activities was received in 2021. Matched Funding to-date 9,631 5,383 .

3. Book Covers

The Book cover sales were marshalled by Maria Leahy. Costs accrued in 2021 included an invoice for 2020 paid on behalf of the association in 2021

4. 200 Club

The 200 club memberships shown are those received during the year. Prizes and creditors included relate to draws for months in the year. Each winning ticket receives £50. No prizes were paid out in 2021

5. Donations to Dame Alice Owen's School

A contribution of £36,209 was made to the school in 2021 but was not cashed until January 2022. This is reflected on the balance sheet as a liability

6. Coins, Amazon & Easy Fundraising

The Association receives a donation for old foreign coins collected. The association also receives charitable donations from Easy Fundraising and amazon Smile, when on-line purchases are made from retailers registered with either platform and the association is selected as the charity for donations.

Foreign Coin Collection Amazon Smile Easy fundraising Total	2021 - 69 1,186 1,256 £	2020 - 14 1,944
	1,256 £	2,258 £

7. Uniform Sales

A revamped website was instituted for the uniform sales in 2021. This has resulted in a significant increase of the second hand uniform sales

8. Bank Accounts

A number of issues were experienced during the year with the operation of the HSBC bank accounts due to safeguarding and the lack of access to the banks due to COVID. This resulted in temporary freezing of the bank accounts during the year which have now been resolved in the main.

9. Post Balance sheet Event - Covid 19

Since 31 December 2019, the spread of COVID‐19 has severely impacted many local economies around the globe. In many countries, businesses are being forced to cease or limit operations for long or indefinite periods of time. Measures taken to contain the spread of the virus, including travel bans, quarantines, social distancing for the school but the main issue has been that all live events so far have ceased.

The OSA has determined that these events are non‐adjusting subsequent events. Accordingly, the financial position and results of operations as of and for the year ended 31 December 2021 have not been adjusted to reflect their impact. The duration and impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic, as well as the effectiveness of government and central bank responses, remains unclear at this time. It is not possible to reliably estimate the duration and severity of these consequences, as well as their impact on the financial position and results of the OSA for future periods.

Chair’s Report: Glenn Taylor & Kate Mackintosh: 2021-22

This time last year we were talking about how difficult the previous 12 months had been and thanking so many of our Committee members for keeping the OSA wheels turning. We could have written the whole 12months off. However, because of the people we have on this Committee we gave it our best shot, we thought laterally and we ended up having a really successful year, raising a huge amount of money for the School.

This past year has been no different and once again this is down to so many of the Committee going above and beyond what could have been expected of them. Our online Auction was a success once again, our ‘Nearly New’ Uniform sales have been a steady source of fund-raising, and we are now back to serving refreshments, which, although they are not our biggest fund-raisers, they certainly enhance the enjoyment of the audiences as well the performers.

As part of chairing the OSA Committee, Kate and I continue to be of the mindset that we need to document tried and tested methods for as much of what we do as possible. Whilst we do need to keep some flexibility in what we do, as circumstances do change, the easier we can make future similar events or Committee roles, the better placed we will be to make them a success and the easier it becomes for whoever is kind enough to volunteer. We will continue to put things in place as much as we can over the next year.

We would like to thank a number of Committee members who have worked so hard to ensure we can provide the services we do to Parents and Helpers and to hand over the sums of money that we do to the School.

Firstly, you will all remember the difficulties we have experienced with our banking. I think it is safe to say that we have ridden out the storm. Anthony has been extremely patient (although not always) and has now got our banking back on an even keel for which we are very grateful. Anthony, Deepika and Bev have all spent a ridiculous amount of time ‘on hold’ and going into branch to sort things out. This has taken a huge amount of time that no-one sees but it has enabled us to continue without too much disruption. So thank you to all 3 of you for your time and tenacity in getting this sorted out.

Tricia and Balu have arranged a number of ‘Nearly New’ uniform sales over the last 12 months and have taken the whole offering to the next level with a very professional looking online shop. Their ‘nearly new uniform’ empire continues to grow as they have completely taken over one of the OSA stock rooms and now have their sights on using some of the other one! A very big thank you to both Tricia and Balu for all that they have done and continue to do.

We hosted our second online Auction which was almost single handedly run by Tricia. Not as much money was raised as last year but when considering the amount raised in isolation, it could only be described as a huge success. Many thanks to

Tricia although we really need to plan to make this a team effort in future years to spread the load and ensure we make the 2022 Auction another big success.

Other Committee members have carried out their roles equally well.:

Deepika has experienced a really difficult year with the 200Club with the wretched and time-consuming banking issues. It seems as though the issues are behind us, dare I say it, and it has required a huge amount of patience and perseverance from Deepika for which we are very grateful.

Maria has also once again done a great job, pretty much on her own, ensuring that everyone is catered for efficiently with regards to the School Book Covers. This is one of the processes that runs really smoothly and that is down to Maria – thank you.

We are now back to serving refreshments at School productions and without even being officially asked, Bev has taken up the reigns on this which is really appreciated. Although the help with serving is important, stock needs to be checked, shopped for, chillers need filling, floats organised, then there is the set up and clear up which are all part of what is involved. The School and the OSA really do appreciate the refreshments that are served and we have decided that this needs a team of people rather than it landing on the lap of one person. In the meantime, we want to thank Bev for everything she continues to do.

Geoff has continued the fantastic job he has carried out over the last few years, by encouraging parents to get involved with Easy-fundraising. Geoff’s personal focus on being the number one contributor has no doubt resulted in him purchasing some items that he may not necessarily need or want but he continues to lead by example and continues to encourage new and existing participants such that this is a real success in our fund-raising. Geoff is moving on at the end of this academic year so we would like to thank him for everything he has done and will insist that we get a chance to thank him in person, perhaps at the Summer Social. We would also like to thank everyone associated with the School who supports the OSA via Easyfundraising.

Match Funding continues to be a really important part of our fund raising. Tabitha kindly took up the job of co-ordinating our Match Funders. However, this year has been really difficult with so few events taking place, plus. some of our Match Funders have changed job or their employers have changed their Charitable Giving approach. With events now back in the calendar, hopefully we can now focus on adding to our list of Match Funders. Thank you to Tabitha for agreeing to continue with this role and huge thanks to all of our Match Funders.

Thanks also to Walter, who has really grown into the role of Secretary over the last 12 months. He has taken it upon himself to do more things that need doing, without prompting, which certainly takes a bit of the workload off myself and Kate. Walter is organised and conscientious, both excellent assets for the OSA Secretary role. Thank you for all you do Walter.

Ivan, again, in the background, continues in his important role as the OSA Newsletter Co-ordinator. It is obviously extremely important that parents and friends of the School are up to date and informed about what we do, in order to encourage them to support us whenever possible. Roz has also continued to promote and report on our activities on Social Media for which we are very grateful.

And, of course, many, many thanks to the other members of the Committee and other helpers who have given up their own time to help the OSA. We really are ‘all in this together’ and your help is very much appreciated.

And finally, our relationship with the School is a very healthy one. Hannah is always very willing to help us in any way she can, always looking to ‘find a way’ to agree with our requests. Hannah and Dave give their time, input and support freely towards everything that we do and this only makes things easier for us for which we are very grateful. And, of course, the Caretakers, the Site Manager, the School Admin staff and the other School Staff who help us throughout the year in different ways and always willingly.

All of this combined effort has culminated in us handing over a cheque to Hannah at the Christmas Social for just over £35,000. This was a massive achievement by the OSA during another very difficult year. As a result, we were delighted to be able to meet all requests from Heads of Department at the School for items, visits and many other things that the children would not otherwise have been able to experience.

We now look forward to a Quiz, a Summer Festival and a Year 8 Cheese and Wine over the coming weeks. For the record, Kate is working with Kathy Bamber, Tech Crew and the art and drama departments to completely revamp the Summer Festival to create The DAOS Summer Music and Arts Festival . Watch this space. These are events that could have been pushed back until next academic year but because of the people involved in this Committee, it was decided to get back to raising funds and providing opportunities for parents and friends of the School to attend social events as soon as we possibly could. This just shows what we are all about.

We do have a bit to do to get the website up to date and administered efficiently. Jay has spent time with Nicola who works at the School and we should be on top of this reasonably quickly. Thanks to Jay for doing this and thank you to Nicola for her help (and thank you to Hannah for giving us access to Nicola!)

From Kate and I, thank you so much for your support, time and effort. It has been another difficult year, but with the huge amount of effort of so many people in this group, we have again exceeded all expectations with regards to funds raised. We should all be proud of the last 12 months and we look forward to working with you again over the next 12.

Glenn & Kate - March 2022