**Friends of West Ashtead Presented at the Annual General Meeting on October 17th 2022 The Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower, Ashtead. KT21 1AZ TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT** 

## **For the period 1[st] September 2021 to 31[st] August 2022** 

## **Aim (Object) of the Charity** 

The aim of the Friends of West Ashtead (FOWA) is to advance the education of pupils at West Ashtead Primary School. 

In planning the activities of the FOWA Charity for the year the Trustees and Committee kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The focus of the activities of the FOWA remains to fundraise to support the education experience of the pupils at the school, either through funding facilities, workshops or providing equipment. 

Decisions on where the funds raised by FOWA are to be used are taken in consultation with the Head teacher and the committee. The FOWA committee is made up of parents and guardians who attend regular FOWA meetings. These meetings are open to all parents and guardians. 

A fantastic contribution is made to the charity by a small group of very committed volunteer members. We are grateful for the many hours these volunteers have spent supporting the work of the FOWA in meeting its aim. This group includes the Class Reps and Committee Members and other Parents and guardians all of whom attend regular FOWA meetings. 

## **Trustees** 

Chair Jennifer Turner Vice-Chair Anna Owen Treasurer Lauren Johnson 

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and do not receive any remuneration or other benefits. 

The FOWA operates within the guidelines of the national confederation of Parent Teacher Associations of which it is a member (membership number 21274). 

The FOWA has Public Liability and Personal Accident Insurance to cover its meetings, activities, Officers and Volunteers. 

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FOWA delivered a calendar of seasonal events and fundraising activities throughout 2021/22 with the aim of bringing families together, helping build a social community and to create wonderful school memories for the children of the school. 

## **Charity events run this year:-** 

Firework Night Christmas Fair School Christmas Cards Christmas tree Sales Christmas Wreath workshop Reindeer Run Infant and Junior Disco Halloween Swap Shop Easter Trail Spring Raffle Summer Fair Smarties Challenge Parent Cake Sale Krispy Kreme Sale World Book Day - 2nd Hand Book Sale Pots of Love Sale Break the Rules Day Bags2School Collection 2[nd] Hand Uniform Sale Junior Production refreshments Virtual Balloon Race 

This year’s fundraising enabled FOWA to purchase history and geography resources including props, artefacts and additional reference books to bring topics to life for the children in the classroom, enhancing their learning environment. FOWA also purchased 100 new headphones for children to use for Lexia reading and Doodle maths sessions, for those children requiring extra support in their studies. A new school branded gazebo was also purchased and was used to promote the school at Ashtead Village day, and used at the summer fair. We hope to use it for all future in-school events such as sports day, FOWA fundraising events and also to support more outdoor learning sessions in the summer. 

FOWA has also continued to fund the school’s online librarian system this year. As well as funding the cloud reading platform, a number of committee volunteers helped with the ongoing maintenance of the library itself throughout the year. 

FOWA has also continued to subsidise the Year 6 leavers’ celebrations and the Infants Christmas Party, as has been done in years past. A new addition to the children’s school social calendar this year was a free End of Term Junior Disco fully funded by FOWA and supported by FOWA and parent volunteers. 

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The future fundraising goal is to continue to support school workshops which will benefit all class years, the library system and other additional online tools supporting learning outcomes for the children such as Purple Mash. In 2022/23 FOWA will start a new fundraising target for an outdoor play and development area for the children of West Ashtead. The project being worked up includes ideas such as a potting shed and greenhouse to grow vegetables, a mental health wild-flower garden and additional play area. This will be a legacy project which we hope children of the school will be able to enjoy for years to come. 

A summary of the funds raised in 2021/22 is shown in the attached accounts, and an independent auditor will be appointed to examine the full set of annual accounts. 

## **Serious Incidents** 

Nil return of serious incidents. 

## **FOWA Responsibilities as a Charity** 

The charitable status of the FOWA confers certain responsibilities upon the charity and the Trustees. As a charity with an income of between £25,001-£500,000 FOWA are required to submit an Annual Return, comprising an Annual Report and reviewed annual accounts. Since April 2009 as a charity with an income above £25,000 per annum the FOWA are also now required to report on any Serious Incidents. There are no Serious Incidents to report from the past year. 

## **Treasurer’s Report** 

The income raised less expenditure from this year’s fundraising was £13,989.34. 

We have spent £1,225.01 on a Gazebo, £2,211.64 on the school’s Geography, History and RE wishlist, £2,223.06 on headphones and £660 on the library system. £3,508.02 was contributed to the Year 6 leavers events. 

We have also contributed £204.42 to pay for the Infant Christmas party, £292.99 for the End of Term Junior Disco, £85.15 for Ice-lollies at sports day and a new PA system has been bought at a cost of £599 so that events like the Summer Fair can continue, going forward. 

## **Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts** 

We have appointed John Whittaker as Independent Examiner of Accounts for Year Ending August 2022. 

## **Future Plans** 

The focus for FOWA moving into the 2022/2023 school term is to review our fundraising strategy in light of the economic impact of the Cost of Living Crisis. We are aware that families of our school will be impacted with the increased costs and will align our style of fundraising activities to this. We will support families with pre-loved sales such as 2nd Hand Uniform, Winter Swarmer Swap Shop and a Christmas 2nd Hand Toy Sale. Ticketed fundraising events will be hosted out of school hours so that these are always optional, and to ensure non-participation does not cause any stigma. FOWA will continue to offer free tickets to paid events to all our Premium Pupil Children. We will also subsidise a number of free of charge fun activities to be held at the school for the children such as Discos, to continue to create long lasting fun memories of their school years. 

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To manage school funding requests and to support our budgeting, FOWA will be implementing a new funding request process with the school. This will launch in October 2022 under the guidance of our new Treasurer, James Balcombe. 

We will continue to meet regularly with the Head and Bursar to make sure that our fundraising plans and support are aligned with the school needs. 

## **Trustees Report** 

As I look back on our first year as Chair, it feels very much like a year of two halves. Initially in the Autumn / Winter term as a committee, we navigated our way round the Covid restrictions and government guidance which still very much lingered over all our fundraising activities. We continued to focus on outdoor fundraisers, stocked up on anti-bacterial gel and moved to cashless events in the hope of reducing the spread of the virus while still increasing the joy and fun back into our school. 

Bringing back our annual school fireworks event and witnessing the pure joy amongst 500 parents and children was a sight to see. Our Christmas Fair, headed up by the Year 6 committee on behalf of FOWA, had to move outdoors and attendees braved the cold and rain. Nonetheless the event was still a huge success hitting their annual fundraising target in only a few short hours. 

The new year began a new start as we very slowly, over the months, began to return back to normality again. Fundraising efforts climaxed with the biggest event of the year - our Summer Fair - in the last week of the school year. Under a blasting heatwave the children and our families enjoyed a day of festivities - with music from ‘Royale With Cheese’, magic shows from Theo the Magician, Kiko Football Fun sessions, games hosted by Year 5 (getting ahead of their fundraising for their final year’s leavers’ celebrations), the school dads’ epic BBQ, three inflatables and a mums, dads, juniors and infants tug-of-war to close the day! Not only did the event raise a considerable sum, but visitors also enjoyed a wonderful and memorable family day, with lots of positive feedback on the sense of community and fun. 

New fundraising activities were launched to much success throughout the year. Including a Halloween Costume Swap Shop, the school Reindeer Dash (which will now be an annual event), and our Easter Trail throughout Ashtead village. Cake sales have been replaced with Krispy Kreme Sales which has proven a hit with the children and parents as we balance the demands made on busy families with fundraising. 

With the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, we also welcomed a number of new children from Ukraine to our school this year. FOWA and the parents of the school launched a Welcome Fund. Children were presented a starter pack on their first day of school, which included a rucksack, stationery and water bottle, plus a full set of brand new school uniform and PE kit - to ensure they got off to the best start in their new school. 

As always, FOWA’s success is down to parents who volunteer their time and energy to help create memorable, fun and profitable events for the pupils at the school. A big thank you to everyone who has supported FOWA this year, whether through fundraising, organisation, volunteering or simply by participating at FOWA organised events. We sit on our committee Zoom calls very proud and inspired to be surrounded by such committed and passionate men and women supporting our school and our children in their spare time. 

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As outgoing Treasurer, a huge thank you needs to be extended to Lauren Johnson who has navigated Anna and I through the back-end organisation of the charity and delivered huge support throughout her term. 

Looking forward, Anna and I have been reviewing our fundraising approach to fit the current circumstances with the cost of living crisis biting. We aim to continue to raise funds for the school while tweaking the range of fundraising events and activities - to enable everyone to participate without pressure, and to support families and children of the school who may be impacted. 

I am confident that with the passion and dedication of our FOWA Trustees and Committee members FOWA will achieve its charitable aim to enhance the pupils at West Ashtead Primary School’s education, while continuing to build our very special community. 

Chair of Trustees: 


Jennifer Turner 

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## **Summary of income for the year ended 31st August 2022** 


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## **Balance Sheet as at 31st August 2022** 

|Bank Accounts<br>Current A/C<br>Deposit A/C<br>**Current assets**<br>Prepayments<br>Accrued Income<br>Funds B/F<br>Income Less Expenditure<br>Funding|**2021/22**<br>**2021/22**<br>£ 19,124.95<br>£<br>0.22<br>£ 19,125.17<br>£<br>820.00<br>£<br>505.00<br>£ 20,450.17<br>£ 13,479.10<br>£ 13,989.34<br>£<br>7,018.27<br>£ 20,450.17|**2020/21**<br>**2020/21**<br>£ 12,928.88<br>£<br>0.22<br>£ 12,929.10<br>£<br>550.00<br>£ 13,479.10<br>£ 13,205.87<br>£<br>7,298.08<br>£<br>7,024.85<br>£ 13,479.10|**2019/20**<br>**2019/20**<br>£ 12,655.65<br>£<br>0.22<br>£ 12,655.87<br>£<br>550.00<br>£ 13,205.87<br>£ 20,415.09<br>£<br>7,221.35<br>£ 14,430.57<br>£ 13,205.87|
|---|---|---|---|



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## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Friends of West Ashtead School** 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the **Friends of West Ashtead School** (the Trust) for the year ended 31st August 2022. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the charity trustees of the Trust 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: 

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

2. 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. 


John Whittaker BSc (Hons) ACA 10 Taleworth Road Ashtead, Surrey. KT21 2PT 

Date 30[th] May 2023 


Jennifer Turner 105 Stag Leys Ashtead, Surrey. KT21 2TL 

Date 5th June 2023 

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Friends of West Ashtead Registered Charity No. 1067628 Annual Report 2021/22