## **Community Agreements - Kev** ## **Introductions** ## **What is the FOTW** The FOTW is a group of parents organising and running various events to support the school create the best experience for all the children here. We are a registered charity so there are a few official roles, a small committee, trustees and the year reps, but most of the ability we have to make all these things happen is down to volunteers. The Friends of the Winns is you. Every parent or guardian of a child attending The Winns automatically becomes a member when their child starts school. You can bring your skills, talents, enthusiasm, donations or your time. You can get involved with everything, or just one event that suits you. You can help behind the scenes with our ongoing projects, or create a whole new one ! We balance affordability and inclusivity with our ambitious fundraising targets. Donations for sponsored events are entirely voluntary. All children are welcome to participate regardless of whether they can contribute financially. We are committed to contributing to the Family Support Fund. We believe that helping the families who need it most is for the benefit of all, and suggest we continue to ring-fence 10% of fundraising for this purpose. ## **2024/2025 Year in Review** We started the 24//25 year with the completion and opening of the big playground. It looks amazing and was a very proud moment! Our fundraising targets were to raise money to furnish and fill a dedicated art studio and also improve the wellbeing spaces throughout the school. **Quiz** – our first adult only event was a huge success. George was an amazing host and everyone had a lot of fun ! the food team stepped up to keep everyone fed and we even ran a table service for drinks ! Oh and the teachers won ! **The Winter Fair** is always a lovely event, it takes a large cast of volunteers to organise, run the games, the food and all the fun. This year we were lucky enough to have parents who created an brilliant grotto ‘santa experience’, and were also brilliant enough to move it all inside on the morning when the storm tore it down. As well as the usual stalls, craft, food and music we had a new room at this fair, someone special. HO Eleanor Not all of our events are to raise money, and our events around World Book Day are free for all the children. **We have a** Book swap across all the school years and a costume give and take after school. There is also the Story trail which raises money with estate agent boards. And we committed to using all the story trail money just for new library books. This years sponsored event was something physical to fit with the wellbeing and creativity theme and Eleanor came up with the name the Winns Wiggle ## **Fiona** When I had the idea of a mass dance I imagined it as a joyous fire drill and that’s exactly how it felt. That was a really hot day, and for the first time in a while we had a scorching hot Summer Fair It was a glorious day, there were lots of performances from the school music groups, the usual games and bouncy castles and for the first time pizza ! Emma and Sahbi who have been running the food team managed to provide the usual options alongside fresh pizza which was a big hit Emma talk about food ? The weather for this years Tour de Winns could not have been more different and unfortunately as there was an Amber weather warning we had to cancel the ride part that Toby and Mr Millen had so brilliantly organised. But the event village and all our guests including the police and various local bike companies meant it was a really fun and successful event. In fact one of my best memories of FOTW fun will be singing Yesterday with the choir and Mr Millen in the pouring rain. As well as singing in the rain and why does it always rain on me. We hadn’t booked Matt to play or sing but luckily he was kind enough to come along at the last minute to add some festive atmosphere to the rain ! And the last event of the school year is the Year 6 Leavers do, this event is organised and run by the school and the FOTW support with the ever popular mocktail bar, games and this year nail painting. The leavers all also received their commemorative t shirts which are financed with the tea towels project that Bisi runs. Over to Rolly for the annual **Treasurers Report** And over to **Fiona for the head’s perspective** on the FOTW year I also wanted to highlight some ongoing **Parent Led Projects** , these are things that parent volunteers run and manage, with the support of the school and FOTW committee of course - Preloved Lucy & Myfanwy - Something new this year was providing Sports Day refreshments, a great idea from Vic HO to vic - Vic also runs the story trail I mentioned earlier and wrangles various estate agents to have them provide advertising boards and revenue that makes planning the big events much smoother - Tea towels and Christmas Cards - Library Support – Frances leads the Parent volunteers helping at the library does an amazing job. We have recently recruited several more volunteers to help stay on top of the tidying and collection management so this project continues to get excellent support form the parent community. - Dining Room Mural – over the summer we were lucky enough to have two artist parents design and create a beautiful mural in the dining area. It brightens up the space brilliantly - Lost Property a new idea hat happened recently is a parent led volunteer group to help with lost property Anissa - And I have to mention the Winns Community Choir, started by Matt its been a really lovely way to bring a group of parents together. And we performed at the summer fair and (impromptu!) at the TDW as mentioned before. All are welcome and I have made Matt promise that none of us year 7 parents have to leave ! ## **Committee Review** As well as the year reps we now have SEN parent rep (currently shared between Emma and Rhian) as part of our group to ensure all children are considered when we set up events we have made changes to the fair including lanyards and awareness, early opening and a quiet SEN space as standard, EMMA We’ve also added some extra ways that people can support the FOTW, with a direct debit and one of payment site via CAF, and also easyfundraising. We have tried to look for ways to make it as easy as possible for people to donate to us ! One of the new things this committee developed during its tenure is a specific role to manage all the FOTW communications George Speaks ## **Coming Up 2025** - Christmas cards and wrapping paper - Reception Coffee morning - Parent group support lost property - Anissa - Quiz - Winns Prints - Winter Fair Saturday 6[th] December ## **Join Us – How to Get Involved** - If anything you’ve heard sounds interesting, or if there’s something you _haven’t_ heard that you think would be a great addition to our plans then you can speak to one of us or reach out via email. - You can also join the FOTW Whatsapp group to stay up to date with what’s happening next and volunteer to support an event. - We mainly come together for fundraising events such as the fairs and sponsored events, but there is a whole lot more going on too. - We’d love to hear from you if you have a specific skill or talent we could use, or simply a couple of hours to spare, there will be lots of opportunities this year to join in, help out or bring ideas to the team. ## **Questions & Ideas from the floor –** art auction night Time to step down Myself and Kevin, the co chairs and Eleanor the secretary have reached the end of our two year tenure. It has flown by ! George is also stepping down from his comms role so we need to find several fresh leads to step up ! ## Eleanor re roles As a note its really useful to share these roles because as well as our parenting job most of us have other jobs and responsibilities and volunteering does take precious time. But with two people in a role its easier to spread that out and balance everything else in our busy lives. Starting with the chair roles Also Matt has offered to be co treasurer with Rolly, he can’t be here tonight but has given me permission to ask to vote him in ! Vote in New people Farewells and Thank Yous This is our last official duty as the committee, it has been a fun filled two years. A small thank you to Kevin for all his help with the committee and running the bar with an air of unflappable fun its an essential part of the fair and so good to have it in safe hands, he brought professional charity work experience to the team and is a great person to have around Also to George, who as well as running the Christmas cards and being a year rep helped create the comms role and made it his own with a light and deft touch, always informative and walking the line between needing to constantly remind people and not confusing or annoying them ! from him I have learned that people never scroll up in whatsapp groups. Also creating the quiz night was a huge success and he will still be running the quizzes so not going too far And Rolly, although he isn’t leaving I wanted to say thank you for being the treasurer. I will always picture you in at the entrance to the fair, under the gazebo come rain or shine ! and us always discussing the tokens and floats and trying to work them out Finally Eleanor, without whom none of this would have been possible. She has been so supportive and always listened to ideas and my endless concerns about getting things just right with grace and humour. Super capable and organised she’ll be a tough act to follow. From her I have learned we can never order too many samosas. Running the PTA isn’t always fun and it can be hard work. I have said many times how lucky I have been to be doing the hard work with someone whose company I enjoy so much I have actually enjoyed sorting out the shed, or the loft, or lugging car fulls of shopping into the freezer (still sorry about not unboxing the ice poles) I also want to thank Fiona and the school for all their support and patience, the ladies in the office with my endless requests for keys, Manny and Juliano for helping with all the physical stuff, Fiona for being so on board with all the ideas and Jonathan and Brennan for being calm and capable and the most useful volunteers at the fair ! Being the co Chair really has been such an honour and brought so much joy to my life, working with the committee, wonderful parents and the school to raise money and have so much fun together. I have been delighted and amazed as each event comes together and impressed by the generosity of all the parents with their time and donations. I’m really proud of all the successes we’ve had, the money we’ve raised that’s made a difference to all the children at the school. Its been hard work, but the best job ever except for the endless conversations about cups. Its been so much fun there’s still a couple of things I want to get done and I won’t be far away (in a nice way!) from the new chairs, happy to give them all the support they need. I can’t wait to see what they achieve next ! ## **Treasurer’s Financial Summary for the 24/25 Academic Year** Rolly: In the current economic climate, with school budgets under pressure, the money raised by PTAs is more important than ever. However, we are also mindful that the finances of local families and businesses are also very stretched and there is a limit to how much the community can comfortably donate. Again, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support received from parents, carers, family, friends and all the staff at the school. The balance held on the 1st September 2024 was £29,604.26 The total income between 1st Sep 24 to 31st August 25 was £35,017. NB. approx. £2900 was money raised from the Tour De Winns in July 24 Throughout the year, a total of £32,206 was given to the school. The large majority of £30,000 was a contribution to the Playground Other costs include £1108 for chromebooks for the school, books for the library, gazebo’s and outdoor bean bags as well as Asda vouchers and payments for after school clubs. Expenditure (fundraising events) and other costs for FOTW were £6687 Main fundraising events were the winter and summer fairs, the successful and popular quizzes in November and March, Wiggle for Winns during the summer term and the tour De Winns at the end of the school year. Other means of raising funds include Easy fundraising, the uniform sales, tea towels and general donations. During the academic year up to 31st August 2025, Friends of the Winns raised £35,017 Approximate profit figures for the following fund raisers |Activities during the year|Revenue|Costs|Profit| |---|---|---|---| |FOTW Quiz in November|£1,613|
£308|
£1,305| |Winter Fair|£8,084|
£1,170|
£6,914| |FOTW Quiz in March|£1,579|
£458|
£1,120| |Story Trail in March:|£750|
£95|
£655| |Summer Fair|£9,387|
£1,404|
£7,983| |Wiggle for Winns|£3,288||£3,288| |Tour De Winns|£2,476|
£339|
£2,137| |Easy Fund raising|£1,083||£1,083| |CAF|£200||£200| |School Uniform|£186.00||£186.00| This left us with a closing balance on the 31st Aug 25 was £25,728 Ringfenced for the Family Support Fund £3500 Tea Towels manufacture costs not yet paid -£1,410.60 General Contingency -£1,000.00 Commentary on the accounts. Another very successful fund raising year for the school which highlights the fabulous spirit and generosity of The Winns School community. The total money raised during the academic year 2023-24 exceeded £25,000, the accounts were needed to be formally audited by an independent examiner. These were submitted on time. As the money raised has again exceeded the £25,000 threshold, the accounts will again need to be audited which I will look to complete in the next couple of months. The charity starts the new school year in a financially strong position. New projects will be discussed with Miss Judge Winns Parents & carers and the new committee members. ACTION: Ongoing promotion of Easy Fundraising. Clarify the funds available for the Family support fund with the new committee and Allison. On completion of 2 years I plan to step away and handover to the new treasurer. ## **– Independent Examination of Charity Accounts - Friends of the Winns Registered Charity Number 1196921** ## **Introduction and context** This document sets out for the trustees, details of the independent examination of the charity accounts for the Friends of the Winns (“FOTW”), charity number 11196924. The FOTW is a group of parents organising and running various events to support the school and create the best experience for all the children at the Winns Primary School, Walthamstow, London. Charity law requires all charity trustees to prepare accounts for their charity. The trustees of registered charities must also prepare a trustees’ annual report (the “report”). The report and accounts tell donors and others interested in the work of the charity what the charity is set up to do, what it has done in the year and how it raised and spent its money. The role of the independent examiner is to provide an independent scrutiny of the accounts. The independent examination of the accounts has been undertaken in accordance with guidance issued by the charity commission CC32, published in December 2017. accounting records kept, whether the accounts agree with those records, and whether the format of the accounts is correct. The examiner should also comment on the accounts if they have other concerns about them. ## **Requirement and eligibility** CC32 states that “an independent examination can be carried out by any person who is independent, has the necessary knowledge and experience and provided the gross income of the charity is £250,000 or less.” According to CC32, the FOTW is required to have its accounts scrutinised by an independent examiner due to the fact that in the year to August 31 2025, its gross funds raised was in excess of £25,000. The independent examiner, Matthew Weitz, is a parent of three children at the Winns Primary School but is not involved in the daily operations of the FOTW.[1] He has the required skills to conduct the independent examination due to the following knowledge and experience: - Chartered accountant and full member of the Chartered Institute of Public Financial Accountants (UK) – (CIPFA) since 2008. 1 Note that Matthew Weitz became the treasurer of FOTW from the financial year starting September 1 2025, but during the financial year to August 31 2025 was not involved in the operations of the FOTW. - - forensic accountant and compliance auditor in a multinational corporation (2010-2014) and as a forensic investigator for a global investigations firm since 2014, during which time his work has involved detailed scrutiny of multiple financial information from a wide range of industries. ## **Documents reviewed** In conducting this review, the examiner has reviewed the following documents: - An excel spreadsheet entitled “Co-Op Bank Rec” – which shows the income and expenditure in the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025. - FOTW Finance Policy - FOTW AGM Minutes 2025 ## **Process** The independent examiner has undertaken the following: - Reviewed the cashbooks and reconciled these to the bank statements - Discussed a sample of transactions with the treasurer and requested further ## **Conclusion** On reviewing the accounts in accordance with the requirements set out in the document CC32, the independent examiner has not identified any material items that require escalation to the Charity Commission or which require additional reporting to the trustees. Signed Date : 26 June 2026 Matt Weitz Independent Examiner Countersigned Roland Zell Treasurer- FOTW ## **Appendix 1 – Checklist for the scrutiny of the accounts and commentary by the independent examiner** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Directi Direction heading (first line of the Independent examiner commentary
on Direction)
1 Check whether the charity is eligible The FOTW is eligible due to its income being between
to have an independent examination £25,000 and £250,000, according to section 2 of CC32.
2 Check for any conflict of interest There is no identified conflict of interest – the
that prevents the examiner from independent examiner was not involved in the
operations of the FOTW during the year to 31 August
carrying out their independent
2025.
examination
3 Record your independent Recorded in this document
examination
4 Plan the independent examination Examiner has discussed structure of the charity with
the Treasurer, reviewed the AGM minutes and the
Finance Policy. The examination was undertaken in the
context of this.
5 Check that accounting records are The FOTW operates on a cash accounting basis and
kept to the required standard records transactions in an excel workbook which
reconciles with the bank statements.
6 Check that the accounts are The accounting records are consistent with the
consistent with the accounting accounting records and no discrepancies were noted.
records
7 If the accounts are prepared on an n/a the accounts are not prepared on an accruals basis
accruals basis and one or more
related party transactions took place
the examiner must check if these
were properly disclosed in the notes
to the accounts.
8 Check the reasonableness of the n/a no significant estimates and judgements have been
significant estimates and judgments used
and accounting policies used in
accounting for the types of fund held
and in the preparation of the
accounts
9 Examiner must check whether the The examiner has reviewed the minutes of the AGM of
trustees have considered the the charity which includes a consideration of the
financial circumstances of the financial circumstances of the charity at the end of the
charity at the end of the reporting reporting period. The information presented to the AGM
period and, if the accounts are by the treasurer is consistent with the financial
prepared on an accruals basis, records.
check whether the trustees have
made an assessment of the charity’s
position as a going concern when
approving the accounts
10 Check the form and content of the The accounts contain all required information for a
accounts small charity operating on a cash basis.
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
11 Identify items from the analytical No further evidence was requested as the expenditure
review of the accounts that need to appeared to be in line with the stated purpose and
be followed up for further profile of the charity.
explanation or evidence
13 Compare the trustees’ annual report No annual report is produced (not applicable) – the
with the accounts accounts were aligned with the figures reported and
discussed at the AGM.
14 Write and sign the independent This document
examination report
15 Statutory duty to report matters of No issues noted.
material significance to the
Commission
16 Examiner’s discretion to report No issued noted.
relevant matters to the Commission
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