Londonderry Primary School PTA Trustees’ Annual Report for the year 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024
Purpose of the Charity
The purpose of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is to advance the education of pupils in the school, in particular by:
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Developing effective relationships between the staff, parents and others associated with the school.
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Engaging in activities or providing facilities or equipment which support the school and advance the education of the pupils.
The benefit which flows from improved relationships between home and school includes funding for additional resources for the school and links built with the local community. This is demonstrated through having an active PTA that works in partnership with the school and engages parental support and through pupils having access to resources, events, activities and links with the local community which are not available through direct school funding.
The benefit is for children at Londonderry Primary School. Charity trustees (PTA committee members) are usually also parents at the school which their children attend and hence gain benefit in the same way as all other beneficiaries.
Governance
As a PTA we work closely with the pupils’ families and teaching and support staff for Londonderry Primary School. This both supports and compliments the work of our committee and volunteers and ensures that the views, requirements and concerns of all stakeholders can be fully realised.
The PTA is governed by its Constitution which has been agreed and is adhered to by all members of the PTA committee. We regularly review processes to ensure best practise is forefront in all aspects of what we do.
Trustees during this Reporting Period
| Chair | Christine Wilson | Acting Principal | Donal McGarrigle |
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| Secretary | - | Teacher Rep | Loraine Hutton |
| Treasurer | Natasha Adamson | Teacher Rep | Caroline Hamilton |
Teacher representatives are elected as trustees for a term of one year only, replaced each year by other members of the teaching staff.
Activities during this Reporting Period
As in previous years the fundraising year began with the children designing personalised Christmas cards and gifts that could then be ordered for taking home to friends and family, with the PTA making a set profit per item sold. This initiative is always well supported with children enjoying seeing their artwork on cards, mugs, placemats etc.
This year the PTA hosted the following events: the half term disco, Christmas movie night, So you think you can dance, coin wars, Easter raffle, Easter wrapper design and Easter bonnet competitions
In June, the PTA hosted its biggest fundraising event of the year, the Summer Fair. Despite the continuing economic challenges, there was a huge turnout and a total of £5,068.59 was raised for the PTA, of which £1,667 related to the sale of raffle tickets under a society lottery, making it the PTAs most successful Summer Fair (and event) to date. The PTA were very grateful to the local businesses that supported the school by providing raffle prizes despite the continuing struggles being faced by small business. The event was enjoyed by all who attended, and it provided a great opportunity to promote the work of the PTA and recruit new volunteers.
With the funds raised over the last two years we were able to provide support for the school community, including:
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4 interactive whiteboards - £9,226.00
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Contribution towards the refurbishment of the playground - £3,000.00
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Teacher wish lists - £1,600.00
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New netballs - £126.23
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Annual Twinkl subscription - £271.76
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A book for every child at Christmas - £426.76
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A chocolate egg for every child at Easter - £227.90
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Contribution of half the cost of the P7 leavers hoodies - £600.00
How the charity has mitigated any harm flowing from its purposes
We work closely with the school SMT to undertake risk assessments on all activities and ensure that our activities follow the ethos of the wider school environment.
How the charity has ensured that any private benefit has been incidental to the public benefit
We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Statement of compliance with the duty to have regard to the Commission’s guidance
In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
Financial overview & statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
The PTA has no other assets or liabilities other than the bank accounts (current and reserve) held in its name. We opened the period of account on 1 August 2023 with cash in the bank and in hand of £9,850.47. Income for the year totalled £12,599.61, mostly from fundraising activities but with other income including private donations and donations from Easyfundraising for cashback given on purchases made online by our supporters. Expenditure for the year totalled £18,689.81, leaving cash in the bank and in hand of £3,760.27 at the close of the period on 31 July 2024.
We work with the school to ensure that all monies raised can be quickly and effectively put to use to achieve the objectives of the association. As such the PTA try to only carry small reserves from year to year. This policy is from time to time re-evaluated if there is a larger target requiring multiyear fundraising.
The Reserves Policy is based on a sum equivalent to 3 months’ average expenditure. This should be sufficient to meet any unforeseen item of major expenditure on activities or to be able to continue, in the short term, funding planned activities in the event of an unexpected cancellation of a planned fundraising activity.
A larger reserve than usual was held over from the previous year, due to the school requiring new interactive whiteboards and the PTA is very proud that, through its efforts, it was able to fund all four of the new interactive whiteboards this year. This will make it easier for the teaching staff and the benefits will be felt by all current and future pupils.
Statement of thanks to the volunteers and supporters throughout the 2023/24 year
Continued thanks go to Campbell Keatings, the Tesco Community Champion (Newtownards) for his ongoing support which includes regular donations of stock that we sell and use at events such as the Summer Fair and Tesco’s continued support of other school activities.
Our thanks to Mr McGarrigle (Acting Principal) and the teachers and ancillary staff for their support at the events throughout the year and to our regular committee members and volunteers for their continued support, generously offering their time and support to the association’s work.
I hope that this will be another successful year for the PTA, with the children and school benefiting from the additional funds and resources.
Signed on behalf of Londonderry Primary School PTA
Mrs. Natasha Adamson LLB Hons Treasurer Londonderry Primary School PTA 2023/24
Londonderry Primary School Parent Teacher Association c/o Londonderry Primary School Glenbrook Road, Newtownards, Co Down, BT23 4EY
Registered with the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland No. 104230