Princess Frederica Parent Staff Association Annual Report and Accounts 2024
(August 2023 – July 2024)
1
Princess Frederica Parent Staff Association is a registered charity, charity number 800472.
Trustees of the charity
-
Mark Adriano Castro appointed February 2024
-
Peter Grigg appointed October 2017
-
Nifa McLaughlin appointed February 2023
-
Clare Kathleen Laurance appointed February 2023
-
Kathryn Thomas appointed February 2024
-
Penelope Anne Wynne Capper appointed February 2024
Independent Examiner
- Martin Skitt ACA
Contact details
Email: admin@princessfrederica.brent.sch.uk Tel: 0208 830 0218
This report covers the period from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.
2
Who we are
-
Princess Frederica is a Church of England Voluntary Aided primary school based in Brent, North-West London.
-
The Princess Frederica School Parent Staff Association (PSA) is a charity with its own trustees and governance; independent from the school. Its aim is to enrich children's experience at Princess Frederica school.
-
Our PSA was first set up in 1988 with our governing constitution updated with the Charity Commission in 1992 and 2007. Our PSA is a member of Parentkind (the national membership body of Parent Teacher Associations).
Princess Frederica PSA - Purpose, Objectives and Activities
Our PSA exists to enrich children's experience at Princess Frederica school and advance the education of pupils by providing and assisting in the provision of facilities for education at the school.
We achieve this through three main objectives:
-
We raise money to spend on activities and projects that support children at the school,
-
We engage parents, carers and families to build an inclusive school community,
-
We partner with the school to continually enrich experiences for children.
The main activities that we support at the school include an annual PSA Book Week and PSA Art Week, improvements to the school environment, and welcome events for new parents each year. In regular years, our main fundraising events include a summer fair, Christmas celebration, auctions, and cake sales.
Public Benefit Statement
The goal of the Princess Frederica Parent Staff Association is to enrich the experiences of current pupils at the school. In furtherance of this goal the PSA may:
-
organise social, educational, and fund-raising activities.
-
engage in activities to support the school and enrich the experience of the pupils who attend it.
-
support engagement and communications between the staff, parents and others associated with the school
-
use funds raised to purchase items, equipment and experiences for the benefit of pupils at the school
By following our aims and objectives the charity is providing a public benefit to the school and wider community in Kensal Rise, London.
3
We support all pupils at the school regardless of personal background, faith, gender, or personal circumstances. Identifiable benefits we expect to achieve through our activities include:
-
improving children’s wellbeing and happiness at school,
-
improving children’s access and inclusion to enriching activities,
-
expanding children’s horizons about their potential future,
-
improving parental engagement in the school community.
The trustees confirm they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Structure, Governance and Management
Key details:
-
Our PSA is entirely voluntary and there are no paid members of staff. By virtue of being a parent, carer or member of staff at the school – individuals are automatically members of the PSA. There is no membership fee.
-
The PSA is governed by an overarching “Executive Committee” elected each year by members at the Annual General Meeting. Members of the executive committee will typically, but not always, be the charity’s trustees.
-
Committee members hold a term of one year and may be re-elected in subsequent years. Trustees are similarly elected by members. There is currently no limit on the term of being a trustee though - in practice – members tend to be current parents at the school. Trustees and Executive Committee members are not remunerated for their time or efforts.
-
PSA Committee Meetings are held three times a year with at least one of these being an Annual General Meeting open to all members. Minutes from AGMs are recorded and shared with all members. Attendees are invited to vote on overall spending proposal and involved in decisions about core fundraising priorities.
-
The Executive Committee works with the school leadership team to determine priorities for expenditure and fundraising.
2024-2025 Achievements and Highlights Overview
This year has been a remarkable period of growth and generosity for our charity. Thanks to the unwavering support of our parent community, volunteers, and community partners, we have surpassed expectations and made a tangible impact for the school. Our fundraising
4
efforts have not only met but exceeded our targets, reinforcing the power of collective goodwill.
Record-Breaking Fundraising Achievements included:
-
Queens Park Park Run: Our most successful fundraising event ever, the Queens Park Park Run, incredible over £20k! Children enthusiastically participated by running two laps of the park and setting up individual fundraising pages, showcasing their dedication and inspiring generosity from family, friends, and the wider community.
-
Grant Success: We secured several key grants from foundations and government bodies, providing vital funding to complete the Specific Classroom refurb project. This included a one-off grant from Thomas Sinded Developers for £5,000. These partnerships have brought both financial contributions and invaluable resources, expanding our ability to meet our targets to invest back into the school.
-
Friends of Freds provided sponsorship £12k which underwrote our main fundraising events and support with value-in-kind for our main fundraising events help us keep our costs to a minimum.
-
We also hosted our much-loved Fredstival event, a vibrant celebration featuring live music, unique stalls, and amazing food. Spearheaded by the incredible Yasmin Eady, the event brought together families and friends for a day of fun and fundraising, successfully raising £9k to support our initiatives.
-
Another great effort by all who took part in the Kensal Tri in May 2023 led by Gordi Thompson. We raised a total of £4k from teachers and selected parents.
-
Our fabulous ice-skating Fredstive event was a designed to be a fun and inclusive family event which raised £2.5k along with a further £5k raised by other Christmas activities.
Other fundraising activities:
Other smaller activities throughout the year helped us reach a total fundraising accomplishment of £77K
Impact
Thanks to these incredible fundraising achievements, we have been able to complete the classroom refurbishment in just 12 months reduced from the projected two-year timeline. The classroom refurbishments, including new carpets, sound baffling, quiet corners, and beautiful paintwork and furniture for all classrooms and halls. The has been transformation incredible, creating a huge positive change for teachers and dramatically enhancing the children's learning environment.
5
In addition to our large project throughout the year the PSA provided funding for many provisions which have enriched the learning experience for the children of Princess Frederica including funding for Book Week, Art Week, Music and Sport Provision.
Financial Review
The PSA operated on a receipts and payments basis , in accordance with Charity Commission guidelines for small charities. All income and expenditure is accounted for when money is received or paid, rather than when it is committed.
6
Receipts and Payments Statement Foi the year ended 31 July 2024 ents Profiv Loss PSA Led Fundraisin Prior Year Events 74.443 133 16.244 245 58.2(X) 11131 2.494 1,951 Fredstive 8.739 3,771 3.036 12,9f 783 6.245 1,819 570 Cei l idh Clothing Sale Fredstival 3,982 8,978 783 Secondhand Uniform Christmas Activities 7.926 30.257 3.123 259 4.803 29,998 SprinE Fundfaising Cake Sales Donations & Sponsorship Grants Donarion5 Friends of Fred5 5UPPOrt 18,128 2.067 2.C67 16,061 2,933 1.278 11.850 1.278 11.850 other Income i interest & Solar Pannelsl 2,616 2,616 School Led Enrichrnent tIvItieS Art week Book Week 5,222 1,128 3,625 5.222 11,1281 13,6251 14681 Christmas Crafts School Enrichment Pro" Class Refurbishment 97,236 67572 747 97,236 167.5721 17471 11,0511 17,9751 13,1381 17,1641 (S) 13701 12481 14861 17,9851 Embankment Provision Outdoor Learn ing Provision Classroom Furniture iPads Opal Plav Peace Garden Chi Idren's Scrap Project Sports Equipment Provision Music Provision Classroom provisions (from Cake Sales) 1,051 7,975 3,138 7,164 370 7,985 ratin Costs 534 5Yd Total 95,187 121,302 26,115 Bank Account Movements Openins Bank Balance las at l Ausust 23) Income for period 01 August 2023 to 31 July 2024 Expenditure for period 01 August 2023 to 31 Juty 2024 CJosin8 Bank Balance (as at 31 Juty 24) £64,789 £95,187 £121,302) £38,674
Reserves
As of 31 July 2024, the PSA held unrestricted reserves of £24,683 .
Our target is to maintain reserves equivalent to one year of typical annual expenditure (excluding major one-off projects), estimated at £12,500–£15,000 , to ensure financial stability. The current reserve level is above this target. In addition, £13,991 is ringfenced:
-
£4,444 from cake sales, held for class-specific spending by teachers.
-
£4,496 from a family memorial donation, designated for the Peace Garden , in line with the donor's wishes.
-
£5,000 from Thomas Sinded Developers grant to be used in line with the grant stipulations.
Future Objectives
Over the next few years we aim to achieve the following ambitions under each of these;
-
We want to raise more money to spend on activities and projects that support children at Princess Frederica’s
-
Special events and innovative fundraising activity including Fredstival and a sporting fundraiser
-
Find ways to rebuild summer and Christmas activities.
-
We want to engage a diverse range of parents, carers and families in the school community to rebuild a depleted PSA community after the pandemic
-
Understand what parents want and need from the PSA and how we can be more inclusive as a PSA
-
Support new parents who enter the school community to have a voice and get involved.
-
We want to spend the money we raise:
-
Fund core school events like PSA Art Week and PSA Book Week
-
Our main target for the next 2 years is the Opal Play playground initiative: OPAL (Outside Learning & Play) by bringing the playground to life through playground equipment, murals, outside learning and more. In total that’s 1.4 primary years in the playground. And we are already part way through our mission to Enhance the children’s learning & Play environment, but we need everyone’s support.
-
Support the school in a range of other requests.
8
Acknowledgements:
The PSA would like to thank all the parents, carers, staff and children who dedicated time, effort, money and support for PSA activities throughout the year. A special thanks to Mark and Colette Castro, Penny Clapper, Polly Holmes, Juliet Price, Clare Laurance, Nifa McLaughlin, Kat Thomas, Sem Balay Billie Culora, Peter Grigg, Gordi Thompson, Poppy Gordon Lennox, Waneta Newell and Yasmin Eady for their notable contributions
9
Princess Frederica Parent Staff Association Annual Report and Accounts 2024
(August 2023 – July 2024)
1
Princess Frederica Parent Staff Association is a registered charity, charity number 800472.
Trustees of the charity
-
Mark Adriano Castro appointed February 2024
-
Peter Grigg appointed October 2017
-
Nifa McLaughlin appointed February 2023
-
Clare Kathleen Laurance appointed February 2023
-
Kathryn Thomas appointed February 2024
-
Penelope Anne Wynne Capper appointed February 2024
Independent Examiner
- Martin Skitt ACA
Contact details
Email: admin@princessfrederica.brent.sch.uk Tel: 0208 830 0218
This report covers the period from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.
2
Who we are
-
Princess Frederica is a Church of England Voluntary Aided primary school based in Brent, North-West London.
-
The Princess Frederica School Parent Staff Association (PSA) is a charity with its own trustees and governance; independent from the school. Its aim is to enrich children's experience at Princess Frederica school.
-
Our PSA was first set up in 1988 with our governing constitution updated with the Charity Commission in 1992 and 2007. Our PSA is a member of Parentkind (the national membership body of Parent Teacher Associations).
Princess Frederica PSA - Purpose, Objectives and Activities
Our PSA exists to enrich children's experience at Princess Frederica school and advance the education of pupils by providing and assisting in the provision of facilities for education at the school.
We achieve this through three main objectives:
-
We raise money to spend on activities and projects that support children at the school,
-
We engage parents, carers and families to build an inclusive school community,
-
We partner with the school to continually enrich experiences for children.
The main activities that we support at the school include an annual PSA Book Week and PSA Art Week, improvements to the school environment, and welcome events for new parents each year. In regular years, our main fundraising events include a summer fair, Christmas celebration, auctions, and cake sales.
Public Benefit Statement
The goal of the Princess Frederica Parent Staff Association is to enrich the experiences of current pupils at the school. In furtherance of this goal the PSA may:
-
organise social, educational, and fund-raising activities.
-
engage in activities to support the school and enrich the experience of the pupils who attend it.
-
support engagement and communications between the staff, parents and others associated with the school
-
use funds raised to purchase items, equipment and experiences for the benefit of pupils at the school
By following our aims and objectives the charity is providing a public benefit to the school and wider community in Kensal Rise, London.
3
We support all pupils at the school regardless of personal background, faith, gender, or personal circumstances. Identifiable benefits we expect to achieve through our activities include:
-
improving children’s wellbeing and happiness at school,
-
improving children’s access and inclusion to enriching activities,
-
expanding children’s horizons about their potential future,
-
improving parental engagement in the school community.
The trustees confirm they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Structure, Governance and Management
Key details:
-
Our PSA is entirely voluntary and there are no paid members of staff. By virtue of being a parent, carer or member of staff at the school – individuals are automatically members of the PSA. There is no membership fee.
-
The PSA is governed by an overarching “Executive Committee” elected each year by members at the Annual General Meeting. Members of the executive committee will typically, but not always, be the charity’s trustees.
-
Committee members hold a term of one year and may be re-elected in subsequent years. Trustees are similarly elected by members. There is currently no limit on the term of being a trustee though - in practice – members tend to be current parents at the school. Trustees and Executive Committee members are not remunerated for their time or efforts.
-
PSA Committee Meetings are held three times a year with at least one of these being an Annual General Meeting open to all members. Minutes from AGMs are recorded and shared with all members. Attendees are invited to vote on overall spending proposal and involved in decisions about core fundraising priorities.
-
The Executive Committee works with the school leadership team to determine priorities for expenditure and fundraising.
2024-2025 Achievements and Highlights Overview
This year has been a remarkable period of growth and generosity for our charity. Thanks to the unwavering support of our parent community, volunteers, and community partners, we have surpassed expectations and made a tangible impact for the school. Our fundraising
4
efforts have not only met but exceeded our targets, reinforcing the power of collective goodwill.
Record-Breaking Fundraising Achievements included:
-
Queens Park Park Run: Our most successful fundraising event ever, the Queens Park Park Run, incredible over £20k! Children enthusiastically participated by running two laps of the park and setting up individual fundraising pages, showcasing their dedication and inspiring generosity from family, friends, and the wider community.
-
Grant Success: We secured several key grants from foundations and government bodies, providing vital funding to complete the Specific Classroom refurb project. This included a one-off grant from Thomas Sinded Developers for £5,000. These partnerships have brought both financial contributions and invaluable resources, expanding our ability to meet our targets to invest back into the school.
-
Friends of Freds provided sponsorship £12k which underwrote our main fundraising events and support with value-in-kind for our main fundraising events help us keep our costs to a minimum.
-
We also hosted our much-loved Fredstival event, a vibrant celebration featuring live music, unique stalls, and amazing food. Spearheaded by the incredible Yasmin Eady, the event brought together families and friends for a day of fun and fundraising, successfully raising £9k to support our initiatives.
-
Another great effort by all who took part in the Kensal Tri in May 2023 led by Gordi Thompson. We raised a total of £4k from teachers and selected parents.
-
Our fabulous ice-skating Fredstive event was a designed to be a fun and inclusive family event which raised £2.5k along with a further £5k raised by other Christmas activities.
Other fundraising activities:
Other smaller activities throughout the year helped us reach a total fundraising accomplishment of £77K
Impact
Thanks to these incredible fundraising achievements, we have been able to complete the classroom refurbishment in just 12 months reduced from the projected two-year timeline. The classroom refurbishments, including new carpets, sound baffling, quiet corners, and beautiful paintwork and furniture for all classrooms and halls. The has been transformation incredible, creating a huge positive change for teachers and dramatically enhancing the children's learning environment.
5
In addition to our large project throughout the year the PSA provided funding for many provisions which have enriched the learning experience for the children of Princess Frederica including funding for Book Week, Art Week, Music and Sport Provision.
Financial Review
The PSA operated on a receipts and payments basis , in accordance with Charity Commission guidelines for small charities. All income and expenditure is accounted for when money is received or paid, rather than when it is committed.
6
Receipts and Payments Statement Foi the year ended 31 July 2024 ents Profiv Loss PSA Led Fundraisin Prior Year Events 74.443 133 16.244 245 58.2(X) 11131 2.494 1,951 Fredstive 8.739 3,771 3.036 12,9f 783 6.245 1,819 570 Cei l idh Clothing Sale Fredstival 3,982 8,978 783 Secondhand Uniform Christmas Activities 7.926 30.257 3.123 259 4.803 29,998 SprinE Fundfaising Cake Sales Donations & Sponsorship Grants Donarion5 Friends of Fred5 5UPPOrt 18,128 2.067 2.C67 16,061 2,933 1.278 11.850 1.278 11.850 other Income i interest & Solar Pannelsl 2,616 2,616 School Led Enrichrnent tIvItieS Art week Book Week 5,222 1,128 3,625 5.222 11,1281 13,6251 14681 Christmas Crafts School Enrichment Pro" Class Refurbishment 97,236 67572 747 97,236 167.5721 17471 11,0511 17,9751 13,1381 17,1641 (S) 13701 12481 14861 17,9851 Embankment Provision Outdoor Learn ing Provision Classroom Furniture iPads Opal Plav Peace Garden Chi Idren's Scrap Project Sports Equipment Provision Music Provision Classroom provisions (from Cake Sales) 1,051 7,975 3,138 7,164 370 7,985 ratin Costs 534 5Yd Total 95,187 121,302 26,115 Bank Account Movements Openins Bank Balance las at l Ausust 23) Income for period 01 August 2023 to 31 July 2024 Expenditure for period 01 August 2023 to 31 Juty 2024 CJosin8 Bank Balance (as at 31 Juty 24) £64,789 £95,187 £121,302) £38,674
Reserves
As of 31 July 2024, the PSA held unrestricted reserves of £24,683 .
Our target is to maintain reserves equivalent to one year of typical annual expenditure (excluding major one-off projects), estimated at £12,500–£15,000 , to ensure financial stability. The current reserve level is above this target. In addition, £13,991 is ringfenced:
-
£4,444 from cake sales, held for class-specific spending by teachers.
-
£4,496 from a family memorial donation, designated for the Peace Garden , in line with the donor's wishes.
-
£5,000 from Thomas Sinded Developers grant to be used in line with the grant stipulations.
Future Objectives
Over the next few years we aim to achieve the following ambitions under each of these;
-
We want to raise more money to spend on activities and projects that support children at Princess Frederica’s
-
Special events and innovative fundraising activity including Fredstival and a sporting fundraiser
-
Find ways to rebuild summer and Christmas activities.
-
We want to engage a diverse range of parents, carers and families in the school community to rebuild a depleted PSA community after the pandemic
-
Understand what parents want and need from the PSA and how we can be more inclusive as a PSA
-
Support new parents who enter the school community to have a voice and get involved.
-
We want to spend the money we raise:
-
Fund core school events like PSA Art Week and PSA Book Week
-
Our main target for the next 2 years is the Opal Play playground initiative: OPAL (Outside Learning & Play) by bringing the playground to life through playground equipment, murals, outside learning and more. In total that’s 1.4 primary years in the playground. And we are already part way through our mission to Enhance the children’s learning & Play environment, but we need everyone’s support.
-
Support the school in a range of other requests.
8
Acknowledgements:
The PSA would like to thank all the parents, carers, staff and children who dedicated time, effort, money and support for PSA activities throughout the year. A special thanks to Mark and Colette Castro, Penny Clapper, Polly Holmes, Juliet Price, Clare Laurance, Nifa McLaughlin, Kat Thomas, Sem Balay Billie Culora, Peter Grigg, Gordi Thompson, Poppy Gordon Lennox, Waneta Newell and Yasmin Eady for their notable contributions
9
Independent Examination of Princess Frederica CE Primary School Parent Staff Association (Reg. Charity No.800472) Year ended 31 July 2024 Examiner I, Martin Skitt ACA, have been asked to perform the independent Examination for the year ended 31 July 2024 following performing the same for 2023/24 last year. Qualifications: Qualified accountant with the ICAEW (Membership number 11774361 for 18 years, Fellow of the ICAEW for the past 8 years. Senior Audit Manager at Deloitte12004-20101 Current professional position is Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Financial Services Limited. Parent Governor at Widmer End Community Combined School, High Wycombe. Governor in charge of Data security and Maths. Independence.. It is confirmed that I have no close relationship with the school or the trustees. Work Performed Completeness: Draft Annual report reviewed and agreed to be complete and consistent with the financial performance and accounts. Account summary and transactions tied to the movement in the bank balances. All bank balances tied to the opening/closing bank statement positions. Completeness checks satisfactory with no areas of concern highlighted. Testin A sample of 12 was selected using a mixture of judgemental sampling, for some of the larger items or items that stood out upon review of the transactional list, as well as a statistical sample where each item had equal chance of selection using a random number generator. Total coverage of the sample was comfortably in excess of IO¥o of the payment and receipt values respectively at 490A and 29% and thus satisfied that the sample covers a range of items with sufficient coverage.
Supporting documentation of the 12 items sampled were requested. The results of the findings are noted in the table and accompanying commentary below (also attached as Appendix A): Date 3 2gi02-'2D24 PRIIICESS FREERcE 5CHAulvrnn EE In¥o4Ee 7.974 9 ueJD4I2Q24 EACSQE FIT46ry8? QQQD E14ERQY 0$73CpÈ4RITIES TRu3T èA¢gPRIIICE5S FRÈOERI¢APAYPALIHC. FP247QP3?4¢OL42u87 14PT T{sATlITIc 24D 00 IQ 2O'07AD24 ODD 00 EACSPRIHCE5S FREDERICAPATrFALIN~. 49# During the testing it was noted that there was a £12,000 expense and matching £12,000 item of income on the same transaction date with reference "Salvatore Culora trading" The bank rejected this payment as part of its suspicious payment protection checl<s due to the high value and round number concerned. This was then re-submitted and was successful for both the £12,000 noted but also an additional £3,000 due. This £15,000 was sampled as one of the larger judgemental items and tied to the two supporting invoices. Through the test of a sample of items no material issues noted of concern. Further observations Recommendations: l) In the prior year it was noted that the funds available were in excess of £50,000 at the start and end of the year. Given the objective is to provide for the pupils at the school, the balances held on to appeared to be excessive. It was noted last year that there were plans to put this money to use after it had been building up for some time. This is apparent in 2024 with fund5 going to numerous activities to benefit the School as per the Annual Report. Of the £38,674 available at the end of July 2024, £12,991 are restricted as per the Annual report leaving £24,683 for activities into FY25. 21 It was noted there was a donation of £500 where the donor could not be identified. Efforts have been made to find out who the donor was but to no avail. Given the value concerned no material concerns a re raised. 31 The Minutes of the AGM held on 19 November 2024 were reviewed with no issues or concerns noted. Conclusion: In accordance with the Charity Commission guidance on independent examination of charity accounts ICC321 there are no material observations or areas of concern with the accounts as presented and the financial information in the Annual Report. I would also like to thank Mark Castro for his rapid responses to my queries throughout the independent examination period and thorough record keeping. th Martin Skitt ACA {Member No. 11774361, 13 May 2025
E E E E E E É E E E E E OJ ol tz] tD ts] a] tD (J v) () (L () () i) cfy ij ij (L (o fL () O () O tD (U ID W LL 4r () cj pl CJ fJ iii a o CJ cj o iij