## **Killinchy Primary School PTA Trustees Annual Report Year: 1st Sept 2024 - 31st Aug 2025** ## **Objectives & Activities** Killinchy Primary School (KPS) PTA is a registered charity and as such its purpose is:- - to promote close co-operation and communication between parents and teachers. - to study and discuss matters of mutual interest relating to the education and welfare of pupils. - to engage in activities which support and advance the education of the pupils attending the school Funds raised by the PTA are to purchase educational and recreational materials for the benefit of all the children at KPS. ## **Activities** The PTA has a number of fundraisers which run continually all year, as well as publicised one-off events. Fundraisers which we run throughout the year: - **Uniform Exchange** - _this is a well established service and fundraiser now. The introduction of PayPal payments has made it easier for parents to donate and it is a great way to recycle and reuse uniforms._ - **Cash for Clobber Collection** - _We run three to four collections per year and have launched a PTA calendar of events so that parents know when future collections are coming up!_ - **Easyfundraising** - _an app that allows us to earn money from on-line purchasing. The returns are minimal._ - **Stamptastic** - _we earn commission from sales of uniform labelling equipment. The returns are minimal._ - **Empties Please** - _this is a service that we like to offer from an environmental perspective, as it recycles old ink cartridges. It also has some financial reward_ Killinchy Primary School Parent Teacher Association Killinchy Primary School, Main Street, Killinchy – PTAKillinchyPS@gmail.com _attached to it. An Ink Cartridge Bank is kept in the school for donations year round._ Annual Fundraisers - that everyone loves and expects!! - **Non Uniform Days** - _a fun day for everyone to come together, focussed on a particular holiday at the end of the term. We sometimes add competitions or raffles onto these._ - **Tea & Coffee Table** - _you can always rely on the PTA being at a school event to sell tea, coffee & buns. This year, in addition to the nativity, the P6&7s performed the musical Matilda and we were there with refreshments and a Bruce Bogtrotter give away._ - **Christmas Card Project** - _as an expected fundraiser, we continue to run this popular project each year. We did use a new supplier this year with a wider selection of products. The money raised is always modest and using a new supplier didn’t increase income notably._ - **Valentines Disco** - _again, this was another success of last year that people wanted a repeat of. This was held during school hours and combined with a non-uniform day and a chance to request a song. This year we charged a bit extra (£3) and included a Country & Western theme and a glow stick for each student._ - **Sports Day Refreshments** - _it was so successful last year that this is now part of our annual calendar. Buns are donated by parent and baker, Rachel Bakes._ - **School Fair** - _annual school fair which is a must on the school calendar and eagerly anticipated._ Unique Fundraising Events for 2024/25 - **Evening Workshops** - _we ran a Wreath Making Workshop with Little Shop of Plants just before Christmas and a painting evening with parent Laura Flynn._ - **Feast of Festive Fun** - _a Christmas Carol Concert at the school._ - **Bags 4 Life** - _Tote bag project decorated with student self-portraits._ - **Rural Micro Grant** - _while not a fundraiser per se, this was our first grant application and it enabled us to purchase seven chromebooks._ ## **Achievements & Performance** The 2024/45 year was another successful year in which the PTA was able to fund 91 Chromebooks for Killinchy Primary School. This means that P5, P6 & P7 can now use computers in their classrooms for a large variety of projects and conduct work on Google Classrooms which can be accessed from home. In turn, this leaves the school ICT suite free Killinchy Primary School Parent Teacher Association Killinchy Primary School, Main Street, Killinchy – PTAKillinchyPS@gmail.com for the other classes to use more often. Overall it is a huge improvement in student IT engagement and accessibility, especially for students who may not have access to computers at home. We welcomed a new Chair into the role in September, Carly Woollams, who has been a fabulous influence and has been heavily involved this year. We also had a teacher representative this year, Lesley Bleakley. It was a huge help to have her liaise with staff and help with fundraisers. With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our long-standing chair Lorna Cooke and member Melissa Sloan. We ran two successful evening workshops for parents, which added a really fun dynamic to our fundraisers. Jo from the Little Shop of Plants hosted a Wreath Making workshop before Christmas and Laura Flynn hosted a landscape painting class. Both were very popular and included nibbles and refreshments. There was a great atmosphere according to all who attended and they were relatively low maintenance to organise. Just before Christmas we decided to take on a large fundraising project, The Feast of Festive Fun, which essentially was a Christmas Carol Concert and Christmas Market rolled into one. The event was well attended, given the busy time of year, and we made £1,200. As part of the Feast of Festive Fun, we applied for a Lottery Licence for the first time. This enabled us to sell lottery tickets in advance of the event. Although it was mainly the school community we sold to, people who couldn’t make the event were able to buy raffle tickets. Reports were submitted to Ard Council before and after the event, but the extra revenue made the extra paperwork worth it! The licensing paperwork was still valid that we were able to do the same at the Summer Fair as well. This has been a great addition to our fundraisers. In addition to our annual fundraisers, we organised a ‘Bag 4 Life’ fundraiser, which printed student self-portraits onto a Tote Bag. It is always lots of fun to see what students draw and is a great keep-sake for students and parents. Projects like this don’t raise much money in comparison to other events, but it is fun to have these souvenirs at least once in your school career! For the first time ever we also applied for a grant, with the help of James MacDonald from local MP Jim Shanon’s office. We asked for funds to buy an additional seven Chromebooks that could supplement an afterschool programme and improve student access to IT outside of school hours. They were also used inside school hours to help with SEN teaching. The whole process was very straightforward and the awarding body, Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme, were really helpful and approachable. Killinchy Primary School Parent Teacher Association Killinchy Primary School, Main Street, Killinchy – PTAKillinchyPS@gmail.com We ended the year on the usual high of the Summer Fair. The sun was out and the sweets flowed once again! We raised a reliable £3,200. ## **Financial Review** We started the year with an opening balance of £12,063.98. We earned a gross income of £22,629.55. The PTA made a significant financial contribution of £14,593.80 towards the purchase of 91 Chromebooks and charging stations to be shared between P7-P5 classes. These devices allow pupils to grow their digital skills, collaborate on projects and engage with their learning in exciting new ways. It also allows other year groups extended access to the IT suite. PTA donated £950 to Kodi’s Fund to provide mental health to students identified by the school as needing it and £2,229.65 towards outdoor maintenance of the school landscape and polytunnels. Our closing balance sits at £9,459.23 ## **Future Plans** In the next school year, the PTA’s aim is to push for new recruitment. This year has seen a large turnover in PTA members, for mainly personal reasons, and remaining members are struggling with the current workload. The idea of a Book Fair has already been researched and a provisional date booked for late September. ## **Structure, Governance & Management** The PTA is governed by its constitution which has been agreed and is adhered to by all members of the PTA committee. At the AGM this year a few amendments were tabled and passed (see below, in red). These were to make us more compliant to HMRC in our quest to qualify for Gift Aid. ## **10. Amendments** Killinchy Primary School Parent Teacher Association Killinchy Primary School, Main Street, Killinchy – PTAKillinchyPS@gmail.com Changes or additions must be made at an AGM or EGM called for the purpose. The proposed change shall be specified in the notice calling the meeting and be approved by no less than two thirds of those present. No amendment shall be made which would have the effect of making the charity cease to be a charity at law. ## **11. Dissolution:-** In the event the PTA ceases to exist any remaining funds should be distributed for the benefit of the children at the school and/ or Local authority as necessary. Assets and funds cannot be distributed to Members.. Assets and funds should be given or transferred in any of the following ways: - a. directly to Killinchy Primary School; or - b. by transfer to any charity or charities for purposes similar to the charitable purpose of KPS PTA; or - c. to any charity or charities for use for particular purposes that benefit Killinchy Primary School. Charity trustees are parents of current KPS pupils who volunteer to be members of the PTA committee along with the Principal of KPS. Our change of committee this year, also resulted in a change of our Trustees. The Trustees are as follows: Carly Woollams Joanna Unsworth Janet Copeland Elly Price Christopher Currie We continue to be a small, supportive and fairly autonomous group of parents. With the addition of a teacher representative this year, our school points of contact were Lesley Bleakey (teacher representative), Christopher Currie (principle) and Denise Dornan (school secretary). We enjoy the flexibility of donations and payments being made online through a Charity PayPal account. Limits have been established so that purchases cannot be made through the PayPal account and funds are withdrawn regularly into our bank account. Killinchy Primary School Parent Teacher Association Killinchy Primary School, Main Street, Killinchy – PTAKillinchyPS@gmail.com We continue to use our PTA Whatsapp group to discuss follow-up issues outside of meetings and it continues to be a very useful communication tool. We also continue to feel that our systematic use of class Whatsapp groups to spread information has helped to improve engagement. All of our Governing Documents and Minutes are kept electronically on a shared Drive for all members of the PTA to access.