RODDENSVALE
Parents & Friends Association
Making friends, Lifting hearts, Sharing futures...
Charity No: NIC106368, Inland Revenue No: XR99212 Roddensvale School, LARNE, BT40 1PU Tel: 028 2827 2802 www.roddensvale.org.uk
TRUSTEE REPORT
OCTOBER 2023
Roddensvale Parents and Friends Association has continued to promote the aims and objectives as detailed in the constitution of the organisation. There was a change to the membership of the committee due to resignations from previous postholders in this period with a change in Office Bears at the most recent AGM. The Office bearers are now as follows:
Chairman : Mr J Madden Secretary : Mr G Hawthorne Treasurer : Mrs L Hamilton (until 30 September 2023) Committee Mrs N Wood Mrs K Cahoon Members : Mr G Kerr Mrs K Mace
Due to changing circumstances, Mrs Linda Hamilton resigned from her role as Treasurer and Trustee from 30 September 2023
This Trustee report reflects a blended approach to raising funds and utilising these for the benefit of all the pupils in the school.
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DONATIONS
Donations have continued throughout this period from the following sources:
General Donations
These continued from individuals, organisations, and businesses throughout the year.
Donation Boxes
We continued to receive support from business in the local community through placement of our collection boxes in their premises. There have been preparations made to increase this fundraising the purchasing of additional collection boxes.
Grants
We applied for Awards for All in June 2023 to assist with the provision of Music Therapy in the school. Unfortunately, this grant was not successful. We will look again at how we can best meet the funding objectives for this award and reapply at some stage in the near future.
We are delighted to record that a Brighter Futures grant application in September 2023 was successful. This till provide Music opportunities for pupils to the value of £1,800 throughout the 2023/24 academic year.
Virgin Money/Stripe/Just Giving
The PFA facilitate the collection of donations for sponsored events through Just Giving and Stripe. A recent upgrade to the JustGiving account allows for greater flexibility.
Gift Aid
The PFA has a Gift Aid Secretary who continues to claim Gift Aid from HMRC. We claimed £251.83 through our Gift Aid declarations.
General Fundraising
The PFA committee have committee to supporting fundraising initiatives in the school, purchasing the necessary items to allow this to take place e.g. ballot tickets. The PFA are fully registered and have the appropriate gambling license.
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SUPPORT FOR PUPILS & FAMILIES
Music Therapy
The PFA funded Music Therapy provision for classes throughout the 2022/23 year. This allows for a Music Therapist to work with small groups of pupils.
Easter
The PFA provided every pupil in the school with an Easter Egg or something appropriate for the nonchocolate eaters. This was well received by pupils.
SeeSaw
The PFA provided financial assistance to allow continued use of SeeSaw as a method for parents and families to receive updates from the school. This has become an essential method of communication between home and school and a vital resource for parents and school alike.
Twinkl
We continue to support the school community through provision of Twinkl – a resource platform that allows teachers and staff to prepare resources that are appropriate for each pupil in their class.
Summer Fun!
Roddensvale PFA were delighted to provide some summer fun activities for pupils, including an ice cream van visit to welcome in the summer holidays. This was very much enjoyed by everyone in school.
Sports Day
The PFA were able to support all classes with medals and a snack for the annual Sports Days. This was well received by all.
Summer Scheme
We were delighted to provide the summer scheme organisers with a £500 donation for activities and resources for the two-week summer programme. This allowed the summer scheme leader to book activities that were not available through traditional funding mechanisms, thus augmenting the experience for pupils in attendance.
Minibus Insurance
The PFA committee and trustees are always working to enable and extend opportunities for pupils in the whole school. In these days of financial strain on schools, we thought it prudent to alleviate the pressure on the school budget and provide financial assistance for the minibus insurance. This allows activities such as horse riding, music workshops, educational visits etc. to continue.
Christmas Gifts for Pupils
The PFA are delighted to provide £5 per head for a Christmas present for each pupil in the school community. We consider this to be important in these times of financial pressures on family. Whilst the amount may not be excessive, we can be sure that every child in our school community will get at least one gift this Christmas.
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