2020-12-31-accounts - The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St Mary The Virgin Puddletown

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St Mary’s Church, Puddletown

Annual Report and Financial Statements of the

Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31st December 2020

Vicar:

The Revd Sarah Hillman,

The Vicarage, Puddletown, Dorchester

Banks: CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ The CBF Church of England Funds, London, EC2V 6DZ

Independent

Examiner: Mr G Taylor, 23 Whitehill, Puddletown, DT2 8SB

St Mary’s Church, Puddletown Annual Report for APCM 2021

Background

St Mary’s Church, Puddletown, is part of a Benefice which also includes Tolpuddle and Milborne St Andrew with Dewlish.

The vicarage for the Benefice is situated in Puddletown, opposite the church.

A monthly magazine is produced which now covers the whole Benefice.

The Benefice has 4 churches, St Mary’s at Puddletown, St John’s at Tolpuddle, St Andrew’s at Milborne and All Saints’ at Dewlish. The Churchwardens regularly hold joint meetings.

The PCCs of the Benefice agreed that payment of the Benefice expenses would be split in 2020 as follows: Puddletown 46% Milborne 27%, Dewlish 8% and Tolpuddle 19%; this reflects the number of people in the May count for each church. A benefice account has been set up for this and is administered by the Benefice Administrator. Puddletown now pays a regular sum into the Benefice Account for the first 9 months of the year with the expectation that profits from the Benefice Fête will cover the rest of the year, however due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was no fete held in 2020.

Membership

Members of the PCC are either ex officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting for a three-year term, a proportion being elected each year. During the year the following served as members of the PCC:

Vicar: The Revd Sarah Hillman Church Wardens: Dawn Loveless Cynthia Metcalfe

Representatives on the Deanery Synod:

Vacancy

Elected Members:

1 year, to APCM 2021 Pam Fleetwood Pat Sparks Emma Hughes

2 years, to APCM 2022

Peter Bishop

3 years, to APCM 2022 Margaret Rickard David Jeffreys

There are 3 vacancies

The Church Electoral Roll Report to Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The certified number on the Roll as at the date of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2019 was 52.

During the past twelve months 3 names have been added & 1 member has died.

The total enrolment as at the annual meeting on 4[th] October 2020 was 54. This figure will be certified to the diocese and deanery following this meeting. Also revised lists have been put up in the church and church room.

Please will anyone aware of address changes of existing members let me or the churchwardens know as soon as possible.

Pat Sparks Church Electoral Roll Officer

Vicar’s Report

The Revd Sarah Hillman will make a verbal report to the meeting.

Churchwarden’s Report

Since our Archdeacon’s Visitation at the end of November 2020, when officially becoming Churchwardens, our duties throughout Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and the current Lockdown, have been somewhat different to what our Churchwarden lives would have been in “normal” circumstances.

Services at Christmas could only be attended by booking in advance as the safe spacing for the Carol and Crib services meant a limit to the numbers in attendance. This necessitated having two consecutive services and sanitising surfaces between services. This was managed successfully by a very efficient sanitising team.

During the most recent lockdown, services have rotated around the benefice. For all services at St. Mary’s alternate pews are being used with at least 2 metre spacing between people from different households. Members of the congregation are asked to sanitise their hands before entering the church, contact details are being recorded of everyone present and everyone is ushered to and from their pew before and after the service. In addition, the usual army of helpers at the end of each service has had to be disbanded in order to maintain safe distancing in the vestry. All this is in line with current Church of England guidelines.

Some regular sidespersons, readers and intercessors have not been available due to shielding or concerns about the risk of contracting coronavirus. However, those who are available have managed to fill in the gaps.

The 8.15 a.m. service has been discontinued and attendance at the 9.30 service, which has replaced the usual 11.00 a.m. service, is down mainly due to the age of many of our congregation. The risk of contracting COVID-19 has been, and still is, a very real source of anxiety.

Happily however we have successfully been able to continue to worship whilst keeping people as safe as is humanly possible and for this we are grateful and we are especially grateful for the continuing effort and support of all those who have been able to attend and have been helping out on a weekly basis in these uncertain times.

The fire extinguishers had their annual check on 8/12/20 and the lightning conductor was checked 18/2/21.

The inventory was completed to an exceptionally high standard prior to our becoming churchwardens, and we would like to record our thanks to Ursula Pomeroy for doing that. We are currently going through it and checking that everything is still in place.

Work has been started on the graveyard extension by a group of volunteers and plans for that are under discussion.

is my recommendation we look for an alternative bank to save money.

Without the Parish Giving Scheme direct debits and other regular donations the situation would be a lot worse on the end of year balances. We have had to start paying for our £25k share in monthly amounts when we can afford it, rather than saving money by paying it as a lump sum in January. The bills do not stop coming in and 2020 expenditure was higher than 2019 at £52k.The amount of outgoings required before we even open the doors is increasing with more and more requirements to maintain our grade one listed building, something which is in the long run untenable!

We were through kind donations and savings able to finish and pay for two of the three current projects in 2020. Firstly the Quinquennial repairs were completed at around £23k. And the refurbishment of the headstocks on tower bells £14K. Still to do and pay for is the completion of the graveyard extension which to date will have only cost £2.5 k. Due to all work done to date by a dedicated work group from our church, but! A lot still to do and costs will probably deplete our Fabric account savings. As a full time carer now, it is time for me to have to pass on the job as Treasurer to a new person and hope we can all pull out of this quite desperate situation as Covid is eradicated in time.

Robert Todd (Treasurer)

The radiator near to the North door is currently leaking.

Schools’ Reports – see attached

We would like to record our thanks to all who have helped us to settle into our new duties in particular, where this has meant continuing to fulfil roles that they took on when there were no churchwardens.

Dawn Loveless & Cynthia Metcalfe

Secretary’s Report

There were 3 PCC meetings this year, plus the APCM in October.

1 meeting was included with a joint meeting with the Benefice PCCs, 1 was in person and the 3[rd] meeting was on Zoom.

Emma Hughes

Deanery Report

See attached report. Rod Hughes represented the PCC at Deanery meetings during 2020.

Church Room

Unfortunately, there is little to report on the Church room, the bookings were going well and the church room has always paid for itself and helped towards Church expenses.

But Covid 19 arrived and to follow Government guidelines the room has remained closed we remain hopeful that maybe later in this year we will be able to open the room.

Jean Jeffreys

Health & Safety

We continue to use the PCC-approved Health & Safety Policy.

Safeguarding

No incidents have been reported. Cynthia Metcalfe is now our Safeguarding Officer.

Churchyard

Financial Review of the Year

Like everyone else in the UK our church has been in lock down or measures of some sort during this year. This has meant a drastic cut in income due to the curtailing of activity in the church, so very little in the way of collections, monthly lunch contributions, drop in, room rents, fees etc, along with very limited fund raising.

All this has meant we are well down on income over expenditure compared to last year’s positive balance of all accounts. Our bank has deemed it necessary to increase bank charges from £5 per cash account per month to £8 per account and has set a limit on the amount of cheques we can deposit in any one month before charging us 50p per cheque thereafter! It

We started the year well and our volunteers’ grass cutting was a little easier.

We had also agreed that some areas of the churchyard would be allowed to go a little wild so that oxeye daisies, clover, yarrow primroses etc can grow and then maybe spread. We then had to stop mowing because of the Pandemic so therefore everything was growing well.

When we could then go in and cut, several villagers came into the churchyard to help it was hard work and we were very grateful for their help.

The new part of the churchyard is going well and hopefully will be seeded in 2021

Jean Jeffreys

Fundraising Activities

Due to lockdown in March 2020, our village lunches and coffee mornings ceased. The flower festival was cancelled, as was the Benefice fete, and there were no Events Committee meetings.

We did however put together a Wreath Festival in the church during December, just after the 2[nd] lockdown, and had cake, bric-a-brac and a tombola stall. We had over 50 entrants to the wreath competition throughout the community, and the village Spar shop kindly donated prizes.

Fabric

Following the 2019 Quinquennial Report, a programme of repairs to the church building, lychgate and the boundary walls was carried out, as well as the repair to the altar rail and considerable work on the bells.

This being the year of lockdown with church closure, it was difficult to arrange for contractors to have access to the church for estimating the cost of repairs and then later to actually do the work, and difficult for the several grant-giving trusts to hold their meetings and decide what funds they could offer us.

However, the new system of applying for permission to the DAC was now up-and-running with the result that everything we needed to do came under ‘List B’ rather than requiring a full Faculty, and the process was relatively easy and quick.

There was a ‘window’ in the summer when Covid restrictions were eased, and all three contractors – Paul Dean doing the altar rail, Simon Crumbleholme with the general repairs and John Taylor for the bells – came at the same time and had to fit round each other.

Work on the church building included digging out and replacing the drains along the north side, stripping off and re-rendering the Ringing Chamber, re-pointing all round, repainting the exterior ironwork and minor repairs to the roof. A start was made on repairing the boundary walls, with the intention of continuing to do a length of it every year. This came to c.£25,000, of which £12,000 was covered by grants from DHCT and Erskine Muton and a local donation, and £8,000 from The Friends of Puddletown Church. No fundraising events were possible this year.

Repairs still to come on the QI list include some trimming of the trees, a possible rebuilding (not just repair) of a section of the boundary wall, some repairs to the windows. However, the Treasurer has pointed out that financial reserves are very low, so when restrictions are lifted we shall have to get going with the fundraising events.

A dedicated team has been working to prepare the new burial ground – details are separately in this Annual Report, and likewise the work on the bells is explained elsewhere by the Tower Captain.

Ursula Pomeroy

The Friends of Puddletown Church

Covid 19 restrictions meant that The Friends were unable to hold the AGM this year, so the finance report was sent out soon after the summer newsletter and members were asked to give their approval by email or telephone to the Committee’s suggestion that £5,000 of their funds should be used by the PCC to help pay for the weatherproofing repairs being carried out on the church, and that – should the grant-giving trusts to whom the PCC was applying not be as generous as was hoped – a further £3,000 should be added. More than 50% of the members responded positively (and nem con ), so in the event the full amount will indeed be transferred to the PCC’s Fabric Account.

On the Administration front, Sharon Sheppard has resigned from producing the newsletter – very many thanks to her for her patient editing of several over-long articles submitted, and her skill in setting it all out. Janet Nassim – from her home in Washington, thanks to the marvels of modern technology – produced the December one with apparent ease and hopes to be able to return for her usual summer in Puddletown and gather material for the next one.

We look forward to being able to hold our AGM this year, Covid-permitting.

Ursula Pomeroy

Burial Ground

Thanks to the usual small group of stalwarts a significant start was made in defining the middle burial ground extension in the second half of 2020 when COVID rules allowed.

Considerable amounts of weeds, builders’ debris, former school activity remnants were dug out and disposed of in pothole filling, trips to the tip or many bonfires. By the end of the year the whole area proposed for burial was under borrowed, weed suppressing polythene to over winter.

The former canteen (nearest the Church Path) foundations were exposed by further digging, enabling the Team to recommend an inexpensive and ‘labour light’ way forward to devote this area to cremated remains space.

After the Archdeacon has granted approval the next steps, are as follows:

PROPOSED BURIAL GROUND AREA (west if looking at rear gardens of former first school)

Volunteer jobs:

As area not adopted by Wessex Water, 2 relatively short lengths of modern style surface water pipe to be excavated, removed, and backfilled.
Brick chamber drain under brick and flint listed wall to be demolished. This is ongoing by a dedicated and determined volunteer!
Sow grass seed
Plant beech hedge at short west end abutting Mill Street property to give boundary definition, mutual privacy, stock proofing

Professional Input

Contractor to level prior to seeding.

This December a copy was delivered to every house in Puddletown and Tolpuddle.

Removed soil to cover canteen foundations.

PROPOSED CREMATED REMAINS AREA (former canteen, east, if looking at rear gardens of former First School)

Requiring professional Input

Quotation in hand for covering canteen foundations and dressing with removed topsoil from burial area
Quotations in hand for building low walls forming defined areas for cremated remains

Volunteer jobs

Other areas within this space to be seeded/gravelled as appropriate

OTHER

Requiring professional Input

Quotations in hand for making good, listed wall where gap was made to comply with planning permission to the top area from the existing middle burial area to the left of the substantial yew tree.
Quotations in hand for provision of ramp using a lot of larger stone /rubble dug out and retained that is sufficiently wide for grave digger machine and wheelchair access.

Volunteer Jobs:

Path that runs north/south between the 2 x newly defined areas to be tidied as appropriate with a view to housing seating for quiet contemplation for visitors.
2 x existing concrete paths and redundant manholes at east end under Church Path to be covered in weed supressing membrane and be top dressed in good layer of shingle/pea gravel to finish.

Emma Hughes

Junior Church

Messy Church continued throughout the Benefice monthly on a rotational basis, with a core team from across the benefice, for the first 3 months of the year and was postponed at the first Covid-19 lockdown and was not able to resume for the remainder of the year.

Various activities were emailed to our families throughout lockdown.

Emma Hughes

Hand Bells

This was our seventh year of playing the handbells at St Mary’s.

We now ring up to 28 bells, with 4 of us ringing 4-in-hand.

Ringing stopped in early March due to illness, and then did not recommence due to Covid-19.

Emma Hughes

Flower Team

The Flower team has 15 regular members, and with sadness we have said goodbye to Caroline Wood-Homer has retired from the team in 2020,

Since writing the report, Diana Wilson has said she will be stepping down from the Flower team after Easter, We will miss her enthusiasm, knowledge and fantastic ideas.

AIM

Project completion Autumn 2021.

Jacqueline P Burden

Magazine

The Magazine Working Group team remains the same as the previous year and the magazine is managing to break even. The advertising rates and cover price have not risen this year.

Jan O'Mara and Clare Campbell are managing the subscriptions and the distributors. This year they had a team of 20 Puddletown distributors delivering to 186 subscribers each month. In Tolpuddle a team of 8 deliver to a further 90. A further 8 are taken for sale in Dewlish and Miborne. There are also 5 postal subscribers. We also put 41 for sale in the shop and church. One copy is sent to the History Centre in Dorchester.

We currently have approximately 332 magazines delivered each month, with 867 of the December issue printed.

The quantity sold in the church and shop varies from month to month.

The AGM was held on 22nd February, and 8 members attended.

All Risk assessments have been updated for 2021 and emailed out to the team.

This has been a rather bleak year for the team, but as soon as Sarah could open the church for prayer and services the team stepped up and put some beautiful arrangements in the church. Harvest and Christmas flowers were stunning as per usual.

The planned Flower Festival was shelved for 2020,

I have been continuing to organise the team rotas, and I am planning on how to get us all together, at some point!

Heather Mears

Bells

Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions the Bells have been silent, apart from chiming at a few Services and special occasions.

This gave a perfect chance in the summer for the bells to have the important maintenance done by Taylors Foundry and Crumbleholme for the essential work in the Belfry to be completed.

I wish to thank our ringers and fellow ringers from other Towers who assisted with a lot of the Manual work to clear the Belfry and to help Taylors,

A test ring was carried out on 24[th] September 2020.

The clock is in good working order and a service was completed on 13th November 2020, by the Cumbrian Clock Company, and I continue to wind the clock weekly.

We are all looking forward to being back bell- ringing again.

During February, the Church has received a grant from the LEBRF for £1,600 towards the restoration.

Robin Mears, Tower Captain

THANKS

Puddletown Church continues to be supported by a great number of people who give generously of their time and talents, along with those who contribute financially.

We would like to thank Bob Todd for all his hard work as Treasurer and to Emma Hughes, our benefice administrator and PCC secretary.

Thanks, too, to Heather Mears and the flower team for all their beautiful displays, the excellent catering team for their delicious meals and cakes, the churchyard maintenance team who keep our grounds looking so well and the church cleaning team ably led by Jan O’Mara.

Also, an appreciation for the hard work of the Events Committee and to The Friends of Puddletown Church.

2021 Report for APCMs from Puddletown First School

As you can imagine, the Covid-19 pandemic our response to various lockdowns and restrictions has been the significant driver in our school.

Before I outline the detail of this, I think it is important to stress that despite what may have been reported in the media like all schools, Puddletown First School has never been closed. We have operated throughout all the national lockdowns, providing in-school provision for children whose parents are critical workers and children we have deemed as vulnerable (this included provision in the Easter holidays with an offer made – but not taken up – in the ½ term holidays). At the same time staff have always provided a comprehensive remote learning provision.

We began the 2019/20 academic year welcoming Miss Abi Gomm to our teaching team following the departure of Miss Sarah Muggeridge who had relocated to Sussex. And finished the year bidding farewell to Mrs Heidi Roberts, many of you will be aware of the amazing work Heidi had done not only in reception but within her wider leadership of the school in particular for our SIAMS (church-schools’ inspection). We have welcomed Miss Lottie Moore to our school as our new reception teacher.

In September we began the year as we always do by looking forward and looking to work through our school development plan in particular to;

Continuing to work to close the gender gap in writing
Continue to develop our teaching of spelling
Implementing the work of Pie Corbett in the teaching of reading and writing
Continue to embed the school’s vision and values
Further enhancing the provision to support children’s well being and mental health
Develop the teaching and learning for mental maths
Develop the curriculum provision by strengthening the role of subject leadership

We were able to start a good deal of work in addressing these plans, in particular around subject leadership. However, by March of 2020 we had a different set of priorities due to the nation’s first lockdown. The speed of the lockdown and the uncertainty of the duration raised a number of challenges for the school and also for parents. For 3 out of our 5 classes the June return to school made no difference as only Reception and Y1 were allowed to return. At this point we were introduced to the notion of class bubbles and for the rest of the summer term we worked in class bubbles of 15 children. These bubbles were not allowed to mix or have contact with each other, including staff. This along with a lot of last-minute guidance from the Government did not make life easy in schools.

We were aware through the summer term that many of our children as well as missing education and social interaction with peers were also missing many ‘rites of passage’ events. In particular our Y4 children who were not one of the year groups who returned in June. This meant that they missed their residential visit and the whole leavers’ experience. To try and mitigate some of this we had our Y4 (who were now in Y5) children return to Puddletown First on the first day of the September term, this gave them the chance to prepare a leavers’ service that their parents were able to attend and ensured that they had an official closure to their time with us.

The whole school return to school in September was welcomed by everyone and as is often the case the children amazed us with their resilience and adaptability to a different ‘world of school.’ One in which there was a strict adherence to class bubble measures meaning that we were not able to mix as a whole school; lunches were eaten in classrooms, playtimes were in class bubbles in separate areas and we didn’t meet together for collective worship. Instead collective worship was delivered virtually into each classroom: a big thank you to Sarah and the Open the Book team for adapting to this.

The children and staff did adapt well to this new approach but it did develop a sense of isolation within the school. There is also no doubt that amongst staff there was a sense of heightened anxiety, especially as case numbers within the country began to rise.

We were determined to try and keep things as normal for the children as we could, especially in the lead up to Christmas. We were able to have an Advent school reflection day, we had 3 communal Christmas trees and the usual class based Christmas parties. We were also able to adapt our Nativity performances by making a video to ensure that all our children had the chance to shine and our Y4 children to act out the story, another rite of passage moment for all concerned, especially Y4. Plenty of cute angels, sheep and stars on view!

The January school closure was a disappointment as we had taken the Government at its word when even as late as Sunday 3[rd] the PM told us that schools would reopen only to be told in the news conference at 8pm on 4[th] January that this wouldn’t be the case. Once again we had little time to be ready for the critical worker provision in school and prepare our families for on line learning. Fortunately, we had spent time in the Autumn term preparing online teaching resources for such an event and had a 2 week scheme of work ready to roll out.

It is fair to say that many parents have found this lockdown a lot harder than the summer one, this has been a consistent theme in our weekly phone calls with our families. Whilst these weekly phone calls have gone under the banner of learning support, they have been very much welfare and well being focussed as well as have a child safeguarding role. As in the summer lockdown we have also worked hard to ensure that our vulnerable families receive support with food. In the summer lockdown we paid for food vouchers from our budget and are waiting to see if the DfE will reimburse us for these costs. During this lockdown we have provided access for parents to the Government voucher scheme and have worked with our school meals provider to produce food boxes for parents. Members of staff are coordinating this, proactively contacting families to offer support as well as boxing and delivering the packages.

I am immensely proud of the way the staff at Puddletown First School have come together to support not just the children but our families and whole community throughout this pandemic. It has been a true reflection of our Christian purpose and a living out of our vision

‘We care enough to try our best in all we do because we are wonderfully made: made to love, made to flourish, made to be unique’

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. Psalm 1 verse 3

It is true however that this has come at a cost to the amazing staff here at Puddletown First School who have worked way above what could be expected of them often putting the school’s families needs before their own. We are also fortunate to have a fully engaged and supportive Governing Body.

As we look to return from this lockdown we will have a key focus on reintegrating our children into school life, some have been in school as parents of critical workers and are unused to full classrooms and others have had another 3 months out of the class. We will spend time repairing friendships that have been interrupted and support the children into reengaging with learning. Our support for well being and mental health will continue with a structured set of lessons and activities as well as where necessary some individual work.

As ever our links with St Mary’s Church and our Church School status are very important to us. ‘Open the Book’ continues to be a huge success we are really grateful to the team for all the work they put into planning and delivering the worships. We are also really thankful to Sarah for her support and drop ins.

We value the support of our church and the prayers that you offer. If you have any particular thoughts or observations about the school I can be easily contacted at head@puddletownfirst.dorset.sch.uk

Dan Hunwick

Headteacher Puddletown First School

Feb 2021

Annual Report for the APCM from St. Mary’s C.E. Middle School

It would be an understatement to say that this year has been one unlike any other in recent memory. For the majority of the year, we had very few pupils in school and delivered education in a way that was new to almost all of us at the school. However, it was a very successful year and we are proud at how we collectively rose to the challenge.

Pupils and staff came back after the Christmas break with some whispers about a thing called coronavirus although no one seriously thought that it would have the lasting impact on the remainder of the year. When the first full lockdown was initiated in late March, we said goodbye to the pupils unaware that they would not be back until September. This was hard for both staff and pupils but particularly so for our Year 8 pupils who were not able to return to finish their time at St. Mary’s in the usual way. However, thanks to the hard work of staff we were able to still hold our end of Year 8 awards evening virtually and were able to get pupils back to school for one final day for a celebration picnic, a chance to get shirts signed and to say goodbye to their teachers and friends.

This year has seen teachers, staff and parents needing to change the way that they approach education. The school tried a variety of different ways to teach remotely and moved quickly towards a system of recorded video lessons complemented by live tutorial teaching sessions via webcams. There was a high level of engagement from pupils and there were many positive comments from parents. We also learned lessons from the first lockdown to make sure that we were ready in case we went back into lockdown again with staff training focused on gaining live streamed teaching skills.

The second lockdown period has been even more successful with a timetable of lessons (recorded and live) that matched what pupils would normally have studied had they been in school. New and improved systems were put in place to ensure that all pupils remained engaged in lessons and we feel that the effect of the lockdown has been well managed to minimise the impact of lost learning time. Feedback from this has been overwhelmingly positive and pupils have risen to the challenge.

The school remained open throughout both periods of lockdown, including remaining open to key worker children throughout both half-term holidays, all bank holidays and throughout the Easter break. Staff very generously gave up their time to ensure we supported the national effort, even when there were more staff than children in school. Vulnerable pupils have been a particular focus for the school throughout the lockdown period. The pastoral team made weekly and for some, daily welfare phone calls to ensure that pupils remained safe and well at home. We were able to arrange food vouchers for all vulnerable pupils, ensuring a good supply of food to all of those pupils who would have been entitled to a free school meal at school. We were also able to secure a number of laptops from the DfE scheme to make sure that no pupils were at a disadvantage due to not having either a laptop or internet connectivity at home.

Throughout both lockdowns, we have been able to keep close contact with Sarah Hillman and the wider chaplaincy team. The school has made sure that acts of worship were consistently posted on the school website and these have meant that we have been able to give pupils time during the week to stop and come together in worship. Sarah was also able to come up and see the year 8 leavers and sent them a message as part of the year 8 awards evening. I would like to thank Sarah and the chaplaincy team for their support throughout these unprecedented times.

The leadership of the school has also made sure that the normal business of school improvement has continued throughout the last year. We have made sure to begin addressing the target areas given to us following the successful Ofsted inspection in October 2019. A new system for tracking reading across the school has been introduced involving the complete relabelling of every book in the school library. A new careers area has been set up in the school library and further funding secured to grow this resource and we have started the redesign of the humanities curriculum. Governors’ meetings have continued throughout the year although these have become virtual rather than in person.

I would like to highlight the commitment and dedication of all involved in the school during this last year. Whether this has been the commitment of staff to put the welfare of pupils at the heart of the their work, despite this often meaning working way beyond their normal hours; the support from the PTA in making sure we could fund our end of year events; support from the chaplaincy team in ensuring that we were able to provide worship opportunities throughout this time; or pupils and parents helping ensure that the learning continued throughout, it has showed the strong community we have across the school.

We now look forward to a more certain and (hopefully) less eventful year where our major challenge is to assess how much the lockdown has affected the pupils’ learning and make sure that we put in place an effective ‘catch-up’ curriculum to close the gaps. As always, we welcome the challenge.

Darren Ayling

Headteacher, St. Mary’s C.E. Middle School

DORCHESTER DEANERY SYNOD REPORT FOR 2020

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic the Synod met only once in 2020 and that on-line via Zoom on 24[th] November.

The main business was the licensing of the Rev’d Sarah Hillman as Rural Dean following the resignation of Canon Jonathan Still, who has now been licensed as Assistant Rural Dean.

As this was the first meeting of the eighteenth triennium it was necessary to elect a new Lay Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Margaret Morrissey Lay Chair) and Michael Clarke (Treasurer) had indicated their willingness to stand for a further term and in the absence of other nominations both were re-elected. Alan Neades was standing down after 21 years and there was one nomination for his role as Secretary, Jane Pridmore. She was therefore elected as secretary.

It is usual at the first meeting to elect Standing Committee/Pastoral Committee Members. Sarah Hillman invited six persons other than the elected officers to come forward for this Committee which is a mixture of clergy and laity. Heather Smith (Minterne), Charles Hodgson (Sydling St Nicholas), Roger Holehouse (West Knighton), Jill Minchin (Dorchester), the Rev Mark Phillips (Charminster and Stinsford) and the Rev Roger Butcher (Piddle Valley, Hilton, Ansty) were duly elected.

The Revd Keith Magee was welcomed at the new Team Rector of Dorchester. He was formerly Vicar of St Peter, Braunstone Park in the Diocese of Leicester. Also welcomed was the Revd Cora Yarrien, appointed to the Team Ministry in Dorchester for St George’s Fordington.

Alan Neades

St Mary's Church Puddletown

Accounts

31 December 2020

St Mary's Church Puddletown

Independent Examiner's Report to the members/trustees of

St Mary's Church Puddletown

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020 which are set out on pages 2 to 8

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner

As trustees of the charity, the members of the PCC are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed

It is my responsibility to

examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given 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 you as 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 next statement.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act

have not been met or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Grant Taylor FCA Chartered Accountant

27 April 2021

23 Whitehill

Puddletown Dorset DT2 8SB

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Statement of Financial Activities Note Incoming resources 7 Donations and legacies Charitable activities Other trading activities Investments Resources expended 8 Raising funds Charitable Activities NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 1st January 2019 10 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 31st December 2019 10	Unrestricted Funds £ 27,111 3,998 5,358 114 36,581 43 55,223 55,266 (18,685) 34,282 15,597	Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - 66,388 66,388	Restricted Funds £ 17,395 - - - 17,395 - 26,303 26,303 (8,908) 13,431 4,523	2020 Total Funds £ 44,506 3,998 5,358 114 53,976 43 81,526 81,569 (27,593) 114,101 86,508	*2019* *Total* *Funds* £ 33,032 12,567 12,821 126 58,546 - 51,652 51,652 6,894 107,207 114,101

St Mary's Church Puddletown Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2020

Notes Current assets Debtors and prepayments Bank/building society balances: General account CCLA deposit account Fabric Account 2 Friends account Magazine account Net current assets Loans due after one year Net assets Parish Funds 10 Unrestricted funds Designated funds Restricted funds	22,480 25,416 15,889 9,389 5,420 78,594	2020 £ 7,914 78,594 - 86,508 15,597 66,388 4,523 86,508	36,993 25,309 37,807 8,225 5,768 114,102	2019 £ - 114,101 - 114,101 34,282 66,388 13,431 114,101

The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

St Mary's Church Puddletown Notes to the Finncial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

1 Accounting policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities (SORP) and applicable accounting standards (FRSSE).The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.The financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. They do not include the accounts of church groups that owe their main affiliation to another body nor those that are informal gatherings of Church members.

2 Descripton of Funds

Restricted funds comprise of two elements :-

a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest

b) donations or grants received for a specific object or invited by the PCC for a specific object.The funds may only be expended on the specific object for which they were given. Any balance remaining unspent at the end of each year must be carried forward as a balance on that fund. The PCC does not usually invest separately for each fund. Where there is no separate investment, interest is apportioned to individual funds on an average balance basis.

Unrestricted funds are income funds which are to be spent on the PCC's general purpose.

3 Incoming Resources

Planned giving, collections and donations are recognised when received. Tax refunds are recognised when the incoming resource to which they relate is received. Grants and Legacies are accounted for when the PCC is legally entitled to the amounts due. Dividends are accounted for when receivable, interest is accrued. All other income is recognised when it is receivable. All incoming resources are accounted for gross.

4 Resources Expended

Grants and donations are accounted for when paid over, or when awarded, if that award creates a binding or constructive obligation on the PCC. The diocesan parish share is accounted for when due. Amounts received specifically for mission are dealt with as restricted funds. All other expenditure is generally recognised when it is incurred and is accounted for gross.

5 Fixed Assets

Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts by s.10(2)(a)&(C) of the Charities Act 2011.

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Notes to the Financial Statements

6 Income and Endowments from: a) Donations and legacies Voluntary income and receipts Tax efficient planned giving Other planned giving Collections at services All other giving and voluntary receipts including special appeals Gift aid recovered Grants - note 14 b) Charitable Activities Church Activities Statutory fees (retained by PCC) Fundraising activities c) Other Trading Activities Church hall hire Parish magazine d) Investments Bank interest TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES	Unrestricted Funds £ 15,146 - 1,429 7,650 2,886 - 27,111 2,088 1,910 3,998 1,315 4,043 5,358 114 114 36,581	Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Restricted Funds £ - 6,937 - 1,192 - 9,266 17,395 - - - - - - - - 17,395	2020 Total Funds £ 15,146 6,937 1,429 8,842 2,886 9,266 44,506 2,088 1,910 3,998 1,315 4,043 5,358 114 114 53,976	*2019* *Total* *Funds* £ 15,875 3,093 3,166 5,783 2,925 - 30,842 2,902 5,634 8,536 4,911 6,848 11,759 200 200 51,337

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

7 Expenditure on: a) Raising funds Fundraising b) Charitable Activities Church Activities Mission giving and donations Diocesan Parish share Church Expenses Church running expenses Church utility bills Benefice expenses Wages and honorarium Administration costs, printing and postage Professional fees Costs of trading Parish magazine costs Church room costs Bank charges Major Capital Expenditure Major repairs to the church TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED	Unrestricted Funds £ 43 43 729 25,239 25,968 6,552 938 3,160 225 42 200 11,117 4,352 339 120 4,811 13,327 13,327 55,223 55,266	Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60 60 26,243 26,243 26,303 26,303	2020 Total Funds £ 43 43 729 25,239 25,968 - 6,552 938 3,160 225 42 200 11,117 - 4,352 339 180 4,871 39,570 39,570 81,526 81,569	*2019* *Total* *Funds* £ 449 449 1,988 25,479 27,467 5,583 2,955 2,491 - - - 11,029 7,339 819 180 8,338 146 146 46,980 47,429

8 PCC Costs

There were no transactions made in respect of PCC members, no PCC member received remuneration, benefit or reimbursement of travelling or other expenses.

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

9 Funds Reconciliation Unrestricted Funds: General fund Designated funds: Church Fabric Fund Emergency reserve Future Ministry fund Restricted funds: Church Fabric Fund Family Ministry TOTAL FUNDS 10 SOFA Comparitive - 2019 Statement of Financial Activities Incoming resources Donations and legacies Charitable activities Other trading activities Investments Resources expended Charitable Activities Other NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 1st January 2019 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 31st December 2019	Reserves as as 1 January 2020 £ 34,282 43,750 14,386 8,252 66,388 12,402 1,029 13,431 114,101 Unrestricted Funds £ 28,257 9,838 12,821 126 51,042 48,566 - 48,566 2,476 31,806 34,282	Incoming resources £ 36,581 - - - - 17,395 - 17,395 53,976 Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - 66,388 66,388	Resources expended £ (55,266) - - - - (26,303) - (26,303) (81,569) Restricted Funds £ 4,775 2,729 - - 7,504 3,086 - 3,086 4,418 9,013 13,431	Reserves as at 31 December 2020 £ 15,597 43,750 14,386 8,252 66,388 3,494 1,029 4,523 86,508 2019 Total Funds £ 33,032 12,567 12,821 126 58,546 51,652 - 51,652 6,894 107,207 114,101

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

11 The income for the magazine includes payments in advance for advertising and subscriptions up to 31 July 2021, which is used to finance magazine production costs in this period. The balance of the magazine bank account at 31 December 2020 is £5,420, which represents this income received in advance.

12 Grants and donations received

The major income grants and donations received in the year are as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted fund:
Tower donation 2,025
Historic church grant 7,241
Bequeathments 5,500
£ 14,766
13 Donations made:
The major expenditure donations made in the year are as follows:
General fund:
No individual donations in excess of £200 were made in the year
-
£ -
14 Major repairs to the church:
These include the following items:
From General fund:
Replacement of bell headstocks and
overhauling clappers 13,327
From Restricted Fabric fund:
Multiple repairs to roof, tower, bell room,
doors, windows and drainage. 26,243
----- End of picture text -----

The above costs have been subject to a VAT reclaim under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The VAT reclaimed has been dedcuted from the above costs.

St Mary's Church Puddletown

Accounts

31 December 2020

St Mary's Church Puddletown

Independent Examiner's Report to the members/trustees of

St Mary's Church Puddletown

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020 which are set out on pages 2 to 8

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner

It is my responsibility to

examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act

have not been met or

(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Grant Taylor FCA Chartered Accountant

27 April 2021

23 Whitehill

Puddletown Dorset DT2 8SB

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Statement of Financial Activities Note Incoming resources 7 Donations and legacies Charitable activities Other trading activities Investments Resources expended 8 Raising funds Charitable Activities NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 1st January 2019 10 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 31st December 2019 10	Unrestricted Funds £ 27,111 3,998 5,358 114 36,581 43 55,223 55,266 (18,685) 34,282 15,597	Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - 66,388 66,388	Restricted Funds £ 17,395 - - - 17,395 - 26,303 26,303 (8,908) 13,431 4,523	2020 Total Funds £ 44,506 3,998 5,358 114 53,976 43 81,526 81,569 (27,593) 114,101 86,508	*2019* *Total* *Funds* £ 33,032 12,567 12,821 126 58,546 - 51,652 51,652 6,894 107,207 114,101

St Mary's Church Puddletown Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2020

Notes Current assets Debtors and prepayments Bank/building society balances: General account CCLA deposit account Fabric Account 2 Friends account Magazine account Net current assets Loans due after one year Net assets Parish Funds 10 Unrestricted funds Designated funds Restricted funds	22,480 25,416 15,889 9,389 5,420 78,594	2020 £ 7,914 78,594 - 86,508 15,597 66,388 4,523 86,508	36,993 25,309 37,807 8,225 5,768 114,102	2019 £ - 114,101 - 114,101 34,282 66,388 13,431 114,101

The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

St Mary's Church Puddletown Notes to the Finncial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

1 Accounting policies

2 Descripton of Funds

Restricted funds comprise of two elements :-

a) income from trusts or endowments which may be expended only on those restricted objects provided in the terms of the trust or bequest

Unrestricted funds are income funds which are to be spent on the PCC's general purpose.

3 Incoming Resources

4 Resources Expended

5 Fixed Assets

Consecrated and benefice property is not included in the accounts by s.10(2)(a)&(C) of the Charities Act 2011.

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

Notes to the Financial Statements

6 Income and Endowments from: a) Donations and legacies Voluntary income and receipts Tax efficient planned giving Other planned giving Collections at services All other giving and voluntary receipts including special appeals Gift aid recovered Grants - note 14 b) Charitable Activities Church Activities Statutory fees (retained by PCC) Fundraising activities c) Other Trading Activities Church hall hire Parish magazine d) Investments Bank interest TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES	Unrestricted Funds £ 15,146 - 1,429 7,650 2,886 - 27,111 2,088 1,910 3,998 1,315 4,043 5,358 114 114 36,581	Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Restricted Funds £ - 6,937 - 1,192 - 9,266 17,395 - - - - - - - - 17,395	2020 Total Funds £ 15,146 6,937 1,429 8,842 2,886 9,266 44,506 2,088 1,910 3,998 1,315 4,043 5,358 114 114 53,976	*2019* *Total* *Funds* £ 15,875 3,093 3,166 5,783 2,925 - 30,842 2,902 5,634 8,536 4,911 6,848 11,759 200 200 51,337

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

7 Expenditure on: a) Raising funds Fundraising b) Charitable Activities Church Activities Mission giving and donations Diocesan Parish share Church Expenses Church running expenses Church utility bills Benefice expenses Wages and honorarium Administration costs, printing and postage Professional fees Costs of trading Parish magazine costs Church room costs Bank charges Major Capital Expenditure Major repairs to the church TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED	Unrestricted Funds £ 43 43 729 25,239 25,968 6,552 938 3,160 225 42 200 11,117 4,352 339 120 4,811 13,327 13,327 55,223 55,266	Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60 60 26,243 26,243 26,303 26,303	2020 Total Funds £ 43 43 729 25,239 25,968 - 6,552 938 3,160 225 42 200 11,117 - 4,352 339 180 4,871 39,570 39,570 81,526 81,569	*2019* *Total* *Funds* £ 449 449 1,988 25,479 27,467 5,583 2,955 2,491 - - - 11,029 7,339 819 180 8,338 146 146 46,980 47,429

8 PCC Costs

There were no transactions made in respect of PCC members, no PCC member received remuneration, benefit or reimbursement of travelling or other expenses.

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

9 Funds Reconciliation Unrestricted Funds: General fund Designated funds: Church Fabric Fund Emergency reserve Future Ministry fund Restricted funds: Church Fabric Fund Family Ministry TOTAL FUNDS 10 SOFA Comparitive - 2019 Statement of Financial Activities Incoming resources Donations and legacies Charitable activities Other trading activities Investments Resources expended Charitable Activities Other NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 1st January 2019 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 31st December 2019	Reserves as as 1 January 2020 £ 34,282 43,750 14,386 8,252 66,388 12,402 1,029 13,431 114,101 Unrestricted Funds £ 28,257 9,838 12,821 126 51,042 48,566 - 48,566 2,476 31,806 34,282	Incoming resources £ 36,581 - - - - 17,395 - 17,395 53,976 Designated Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - 66,388 66,388	Resources expended £ (55,266) - - - - (26,303) - (26,303) (81,569) Restricted Funds £ 4,775 2,729 - - 7,504 3,086 - 3,086 4,418 9,013 13,431	Reserves as at 31 December 2020 £ 15,597 43,750 14,386 8,252 66,388 3,494 1,029 4,523 86,508 2019 Total Funds £ 33,032 12,567 12,821 126 58,546 51,652 - 51,652 6,894 107,207 114,101

St Mary's Church Puddletown Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020

11 The income for the magazine includes payments in advance for advertising and subscriptions up to 31 July 2021, which is used to finance magazine production costs in this period. The balance of the magazine bank account at 31 December 2020 is £5,420, which represents this income received in advance.

12 Grants and donations received

The major income grants and donations received in the year are as follows:

The above costs have been subject to a VAT reclaim under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The VAT reclaimed has been dedcuted from the above costs.