Chiswick School PTA Minutes of the AGM, 15[th] October 2020 Held on Zoom
Present
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Office Holders: Vernee Samuel (Chair), Lesley Tulley (Secretary), Rebecca Hobson (Treasurer),
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School Staff: Laura Ellener (Head Teacher), Jane Mills (Deputy Head Teacher),
No formal register was taken but it is believed that around 40-45 parents and carers joined.
Chair’s Report – Vernee Samuel
A year ago, I took over as Chair of the Chiswick School PTA and it’s definitely been a year of two halves. From October to March our Car Boot Team were able to run their very successful monthly sales in the school grounds. For those of you who are new to the school a wonderful group of current and former Chiswick parents run a Car Boot Sale on the first Sunday of every month, except for January. These sales have historically raised up to £80,000 a year for the school to spend on enrichment activities for the students such as trips, workshops, speakers and equipment. The PTA runs bids meetings twice a year where staff, students and parents can bid for funds for specific projects. This year, the Covid-19 measures meant that we haven’t been able to hold sales from April onwards and so have put our bids meetings on hold for the time being. However, the PTA was able to contribute to the cost of text books for students during lockdown.
One of the roles of the PTA is to provide a link between families and the school. We have increased the frequency of Parent Forums where Laura and members of her leadership team are able to join families on Zoom to answer questions and discuss the school’s plans for the future. This year Parent Forums were held in November, March, May and July and the next one is scheduled for Wednesday 11 November at 6pm. At the start of the Autumn Term we set up WhatsApp groups for parents and carers from each year group to be able to share information, ask and answer questions and support each other. They have proved a useful addition to school life, especially in the current climate when we cannot meet so a huge thank you to the parents who set up and administer these groups. As an aside, please only post messages about Chiswick School and remember that you can mute notifications if they become too distracting! Two of our parents, Isabelle Meron and Joanne Lingard, have volunteered to join the school Eco group who are tackling environmental issues within Chiswick School. We look forward to hearing how they get on.
We are always looking for new members to join the PTA team. Lesley has completed her three year term as Secretary and so we are looking for someone to take over that role. If you are interested in this role or would just like to be added to the general PTA helpers list, please email us at pta@chiswickschool.org.
We really miss being able to support events such as the Summer Arts Fair, School Productions and the Winter Concert and look forward to a time when these return to the school calendar. While we had to cancel our popular annual school quiz at short notice, we were able to hold a virtual quiz in June and I would like to thank our Secretary, Lesley Tulley for being the driving force behind that very successful event. I would also like to thank Lise Madsen who, as well as being a Car Boot Team leader, organises regular second-hand uniform sales, most recently in August of this year. And this seems like a good place to extend my thanks to our Treasurer, Rebecca Hobson and our new Communications Officer, Rhonda Qually. Finally, thank you to our Head Teacher, Laura, for everything she does for the school and for how much she values hearing from parents and carers, and to all the staff with a special mention for Laura's PA, Jo Duddy, for always being available to answer our random questions.
Treasurer’s Report. (Attached) The Treasurer reported that this is a very healthy time of year for the PTA accounts as there have been numerous car boot sales over the summer since the last bids’ meeting. Current funds in the bank have exceeded the protected £85,000 and
so a transfer was made to the school in advance of this term’s bids. In response to potential concerns about Metro Bank’s future, it was proposed that the PTA should open an additional bank account with Santander. Santander also has a branch in Chiswick but it is not open on Sundays so the Metro Bank account will remain for banking the cash from the Car Boot Sale. The decision to open the new bank account was unanimously agreed. It was noted that there is an opportunity to promote more participation in raising funds through people signing up to Easyfundraising. Information will be sent to the school for inclusion in the newsletter.
Election of Office Holders
Lesley Tulley has completed her 3 years as Secretary and is standing down. Nominations were taken and Stavroula Ourailidou was elected unopposed.
Rebecca Hobson was unanimously re-elected as Treasurer
Vernee Samuel was unanimously re-elected as Chair
The AGM was closed.
1. Bids:
The following bids under £500 were agreed by the PTA Office Holders and Trustees before the meeting:
More Able Chess club supplies Art & Design Aprons Careers Raising awareness of Careers opportunities throughout school Student Services Spare clothing supplies PSHCE Reach Teaching Resource EAL Cultural capital trip to London 6[th] Form Senior Citizens party History 6[th] Form academic texts Science USB microscopes Careers Y11 and 6[th] Form breakfast sessions meeting professionals
The following bids over £500 were all approved during the meeting:
| | Year 7 | PGL Transport |
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| | PE | Upgrading the ftness suite* |
| | 6thform | Coaches to transport Y12 students to UCAS conference at |
| Surrey University | ||
| | History | Year 11 Berlin Trip |
| | Food | Hardship fund, ingredients and equipment |
| | Science | Wireless dataloggers |
| | SEND/Learning Support Seating for A4 |
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| | D&T | Sublimation Printer & Inks |
| | Teaching & Learning Video cameras for staf professional development |
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| | Languages | Year 8 French Trip |
| | Languages | Year 8 German Trip |
| | Languages | Year 9 Spanish Trip |
| | Allotment Group | Chiswick School Bee-Keeping project |
| | Science | 6thForm and Y11 Triple Science Visit to Science Live |
| | 6thForm | Enrichment activities, including industry experience for |
| engineering, medicine | ||
| and law** |
*money was approved for this but request made to investigate the possibility of refurbishing existing high-end rowing machines
** two separate but related bids were submitted and it was requested these were both amalgamated and also consideration was given to providing additional support to pupils in other subject areas.
The Bids meeting was closed and the following general PTA business was discussed
- Winter Concert on 10 December.
The PTA will be providing refreshments for the Winter Concert
Volunteers required to help set up and serve.
3. EAL
- parents new to
The EAL department would like to set up a buddy scheme to support the school. Details of how to volunteer will be sent out.
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OFSTED Parent View A request was made for parents to consider completing the OFSTED parent view
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survey at https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/login?destination=give-
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your-views
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Volunteer Evening It was agreed it would be a good idea to arrange a gettogether for all the groups who volunteer within the school – eg. Allotment Group, Car Boot Teams, Reading volunteers, Careers mentors, etc. PTA will liaise with the school to arrange.
6. Next meeting:
Parents & Carers’ Forum, 6[th] November 2019
Meeting closed.
Chiswick School PTA
Statement of Income and Expenditure Year ended 31 July 2020
| Opening balances Income Car boot sales Friends fundraising/Easy fundraising Arts Festival (previous year) Arts Festival (current year) Quiz night Parent donations Interest Total Income Expenditure Donations to Chiswick School Arts Festival (current year) Quiz Night Sundry PTA Subscription Bank charges Total Expenditure Net movement between accounts Closing balances Check Combined balance 21,135.31 £ Additional cash: Car Boot Float 1,180.00 £ Treasurer Float 273.69 £ Grand Total 22,589.00 £ Bids outstanding 10,900.04 £ Funds available 11,688.96 £ |
Current Account £ 65,887.61 34,708.77 419.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 35,128.43 (90,465.88) 0.00 0.00 120.00 (122.00) (30.88) (90,498.76) (55,370.33) 10,517.28 10,496.28 21.00 - |
Deposit Account £ 10,592.02 26.01 26.01 0.00 26.01 10,618.03 10,618.03 |
Total £ 76,479.63 34,708.77 419.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 26.01 35,154.44 (90,465.88) 0.00 0.00 120.00 (122.00) (30.88) (90,498.76) (55,344.32) 21,135.31 |
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
| Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages |
Charity Name Chiswick Community PTA |
Charity Name Chiswick Community PTA |
Charity Name Chiswick Community PTA |
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| 31stJuly 2020 Charity no (if any) 1113523 |
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| 1 to 3 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) |
Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. responsibilities of The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year trustees and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
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Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner’s statement by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my examiner's statement attention (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect,:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did 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 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.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
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Signed: Frances Houseman Date: 15/7/2021
Name: FRANCES HOUSEMAN
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December 2017
IER
Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):
ACMA (CIMA qualified accountant)
Address:
4 Eastbourne Road Chiswick W4 3EB
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
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December 2017
IER
Give here details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
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December 2017
IER