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Stoke Gabriel Pre-School Committee Meeting
1st November 2006
Present: Laura K, Luke P, Kelvey A, Emma Y, Vicki P
Apologies: Alex D, Sam M, Tara H-L, Alison M
Chair’s Report: see attached
Treasurer’s Report: Unfortunately Lynette has decided to leave the committee and we would like to thank her for her help with the pre-school, even when both her children had left! The pre-school bank account for running costs is in a very healthy state. Emma has worked very hard in setting up many systems that will hopefully make the job of treasurer easier in the future and also make our accountability much better. In terms of fundraised income, all income from fundraisers are separate from running costs and are being spent on specific items to benefit the children. In the fundraising account there is approx. £100 left over from the toilet refurbishments, approx. £450 from the Murder Mystery Event and we are awaiting money from the Five-A-Side Football Event we supported and from the Carnival we supported.
Health and Safety: Kelvey’s work is ongoing in this area and risk assessments are proceeding as per normal but nothing major has arisen. Some alterations to the procedure for checking the fire-door each session were proposed.
Matters Arising
Toilets There have been some fantastic developments on this front namely that we now have the right number of toilets-to-children attending pre-school, as defined by government regulations. After what has been an extremely difficult battle, what was once felt to be unachievable has finally been achieved. Well done to everyone involved. We are now just awaiting an OFSTED inspection to confirm that the arrangements that we have put in place are satisfactory. For those parents interested the new toilet is in the larger toilet room next to the toilet that was already in there. Special thanks are here offered to the PCC for allowing us to complete this work which has meant a great deal to us (and I’m sure to all the parents and staff involved with pre-school) because we would have had to greatly change our operations in the absence of this toilet. The final cost of the work was £640 and we have money left over from the “toilet funds” that will now be transferred over to be spent on other equipment for the pre-school.
Parent Meetings These meetings between parents/carers and staff have felt to have been very useful and well done according to parents and staff. The aim is to have an official meeting termly for each parent who wishes it to discuss your child at pre-school. Please just see a member of staff if you wish to have a meeting this term if you have not already had one. However, do not feel that this is the only channel of communication please raise any concerns you have about pre-school with Kate or any member of staff at the end of any session.
New Equipment Due to the extremely successful year we have had for fundraising new equipment is in the process of being bought. Primarily we are buying a new computer for the pre-school. This has been a wish from the staff and something the committee felt was important in order for us to be in a position now and in the future to pursue the newest software and computer peripherals that are being developed for use in pre-schools. We have voted to spend around £500 to buy the best computer we can. This will hopefully future proof the pre-school for a while. Within a week or two a new computer should be installed with new software on the way. New furniture has been desperately needed and we have already bought a new cupboard and will buy a new computer workstation/desk.
Fundraising Update
Carnival Week We arranged an event jointly with FOSS based around a fancy dress competition and pet show. The weather just about held up and we were lucky enough to run the whole event out doors. The fancy dress went well and was featured in the paper (we managed to get a little good PR for the Pre-School) and the pet show was great fun especially the new dog agility class (despite our lack of experience). To help raise extra funds we provided refreshments and a bric-a-brac stall. Ice-creams sold very well. The only downside is that FOSS were reluctant to offer any help in organisation till the last minute and took some convincing to help on the day…….and we are still waiting for the money.
Murder Mystery This event was great success, from a financial point of view as well as a social. Our most adventurous idea yet, it did take a lot of planning, 3 nights a week in the last month but it was all worth it. We hired professional caterers and provided a sit down meal with entertainment for nearly70 people, many from outside the pre-school circle. The auction raised a welcome boost to the profits which are close to £450. Special thanks to Ken and Laura for the music and emergency lighting! Also special thanks to Clare Macdonald and Sarah Cornish for being bunny girl waitresses. Not sure how we are going to top this next year…..any suggestions!!!!
Forthcoming Events Christmas Bazaar - Sat Nov 25th 10am-12pm Request for extra help for this as Alex is away and Stacey is unable to arrange as much as usual. Christmas Social Any suggestions for a parents and staff Christmas outing Valentines Pamper Evening To be arranged Spring Social Possibly a barn dance theme
NB: Alex and Vicky are prepared to carry on for another year as fundraisers (even though Ollie will have left) but they are looking for someone to join them in this fun role with a view to spreading the load and taking over the following year.
A.O.B.
Ø Unfortunately Bryony S is unable to continue as a committee member and we thank her now for her help with the pre-school. Ø Laura is going to find out about applying for a Gemini FM Charitable Trust grant. Ø Please contact Kate at the end of any session to make or adjust any session bookings. Ø We are currently awaiting a return OFSTED inspection.
Wednesday 1st November 2006
Chair’s Update
Fundraising Our fundraising co-ordinators, Vicky and Alex have been doing a fantastic job and after many nights planning (and many bottles of wine!) held the recent Murder mystery night. It was great to see so many people there, and not all directly connected to Pre-school. It got the whole village talking about the pre-school and raised the fantastic sum of £450. Thank you to everyone who supported the event in any way and a huge thank you to Vicki and Alex.
New Equipment With the money left over from the toilet project and the murder mystery funds plus carnival and football money still to come in, the fundraising account t is looking very healthy. Top of the wish list is a new computer. Currently we have a borrowed computer which Luke has kindly spent much time improving to try and keep up with the demands. Luke has been researching various models and has found one priced at £550 which will suit our needs and be future proof. The staff would also like a new desk for it to go on as our current one is quite unstable and too big for the children. We need to measure up the space in the cupboard and have a look at some catalogues.
Toilets Hooray!!! After 5 years of waiting we now have our new toilet! Total cost for the project was £639.96. Thank you to the many people who have put time and effort into this project over the 5 years. I will be writing to the PCC before their next meeting to officially thank them for allowing us to proceed.
To fully meet the standards we need to put up a curtain to separate the two toilets. Luke and Vicki are sorting this out.
Parent consultations Feedback has been very positive about these meetings and it has been an opportunity for the staff to demonstrate how well they know the children and the parents to ask questions and find how their children get on at pre-school. Any parents that have not yet met with the child’s keyworker are welcome to make an appointment to do so.
Welcome Pack & Numbers Welcome packs have now been distributed to all children due to start up to February 2007. Numbers are very healthy but we are not in danger of not having enough sessions so please reassure anyone that voices any concerns. The recent booking spree for new year starters should be seen as a real compliment to everyone involved in Pre-school.
Committee change Lynette has decided to stand down as joint treasurer for pre-school. Lynette kindly offered to help out with the role but as her children no longer attend Stoke Gabriel school and consequently she does not spend time in the village it hasn’t worked out as anticipated. Thank you Lynette.
Emma is currently tackling this massive task on her own and doing a great job. We will review the situation to see if Emma would like some assistance in the future. Thank you for your hard work Emma.
Health and safety Kelvey has carried out the 2nd health and safety audit which didn’t highlight any major problems. With Norman’s permission we have put a bolt on the inside of the door to his house so we can show Ofsted that there is no access to the building during pre-school hours other than by ringing the bell. This also protects Norman and any other keyholders of his house.
Rubbish Collection Due to Pre-school being charged to have rubbish taken away from the School Rooms, a rota has been set up to take away a paper sack each week to cut down the waste. This has been significantly reducing the number of black sacks. The school is kindly letting us put our waste in their bins to avoid us being charged for collection and the staff take the bags up during the week. Thank you to the everyone involved for helping out with this issue.
Ofsted update We are currently waiting our inspection and willing it to be soon. The staff are happy that they know what documentation to give the inspector when they arrive. If you wish to find out more about the inspection process please ask to see the document ‘Are You Ready For Your Inspection?’ which is held at Pre-school.
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