Stoke Gabriel Pre-School A.G.M.

9^th May 2005

Present: Kate Hill, Alex Dunn, Carolyn Sharp, Sue Stacey, Julie Goodall, Thomas Goodall, Jo Sedgeman, Bryony Saffery, Laura Kies, Sam Marney,

Lynette Dewis, Kirsty

Apologies: Caroline Ridge

Chairs Report: see attached

Voting on the Pre-School Committee

Role	Standing	Proposed	Seconded
Chair Person	Helen Tattersall	Claire Turner	Julie Goodall
Vice Chair	Laura Kies	Claire Turner	Helen Tattersall
Treasurer	Thomas Goodall	Sue Stacey	Jo Sedgeman
Secretary	Luke Peakman	Carolyn Sharp	Jo Sedgeman
Health and Safety	Sue Stacey	Bryony Saffery	Jo Sedgeman
Fundraisers	Alex Dunn	Luke Peakman	Julie Goodall
Committee	Carloyn Sharp	Helen Tattersall	Jo Sedgeman
	Bryony Saffery
	Sam Marney
Public Relations	Vicky Porter	Luke Peakman	Helen Tattersall

Carnival

A Carnival Sub-Committee was arranged consisting of:

Kirsty, Carolyn Sharp, Alex Dunn, Lynette Dewis, Bryony Saffery, Sam Marney, Kate Hill.

Laura Kies is going to do the music.

The theme for this year’s carnival is Alphabet Bus. We are hoping to have the trailer to use as a float however we do need a driver with a 4x4 to pull the float and insurance needs to be arranged.

The carnival committee will also arrange the fancy dress and pet show, which goes on in carnival week.

Fundraising

Kate Peakman is in the process of organising an Auction of Promises.

£366 that has been raised by the various fundraisers is going to be spent on soft play equipment. This was brought up and agreed upon at the meeting.

Finally

Thanks to all the people who came along to the meeting and showed their support for our pre-school. We will be busy preparing for the carnival soon - an event which the children love and with everyone’s support will be very successful.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 8^th June at 7.45pm at the V & A. It would be great to see you there.

CHAIRS REPORT AGM 2005

Good evening and welcome to this years A.G.M. In my first report as Chair, I would like to start by summarising some of the developments over the last 12 months.

Staffing

Following Janet’s departure, Sarah gained promotion to Supervisor and has now successfully completed her probationary period in this role. Sarah brings a huge amount of energy and fun to the pre-school and ensures there is never a dull moment, organising masses of fun activities and learning opportunities for the children.

Kate joined us as deputy. With excellent credentials and being naturally brilliant with children, Kate is a valuable asset to the preschool. She is also fulfilling the SENCO role.

We were sorry to see Carolyn leave, but obviously, pleased that she was moving onto a new, challenging position. Carolyn, however has continued to provide valuable support as a committee member and has stepped in on numerous occasions to provide staff cover for which we are extremely grateful.

We were delighted to hear that Rachael is expecting a baby. Rachael has continued to work during quite awful morning sickness, but is now blooming and preparing to go on maternity leave after the May half term. We send her our very best wishes for the birth, and can’t wait to meet the new baby.

I would also like to send a massive THANKYOUUUU! To all parents who have stepped in to cover at short notice due to staff illness. We had a “termus horriblus” during Spring with regards to sickness. Well done to staff and parents alike for mucking in and keeping the preschool going.

Children

Our maximum capacity is 17 children per session. Vacancies are limited at the moment, with both Monday and Thursday morning being full. It’s best to shout now if you want to book additional sessions.

Many of our children go on to Stoke Gabriel school and we continue to have strong links with the school. We have had feedback from the rising 5’s who moved on over the last 12months that the transition has been smooth and all have settled in well. Mrs Witcher says that you can easily tell which children have attended preschool.

Committee

The officer appointments of Treasurer (Thomas), Health & Safety (Sue) and Fundraising (Julie) have been of enormous benefit to the committee. Each of the officers have taken on these roles with great commitment, and being the newcomer, I feel extremely reassured to have had such dedicated support. The treasurer role, in particular, is big and Thomas has done masses of work and is producing fantastic statistics, forecasts, graphs and charts which will help the committee to make financial decisions and to ensure the organisation continues to be financially viable.

Luke continues to be a fantastic support in the role of secretary.

Fundraising activities - The Carnival was great fun. The children and the bus looked fantastic. The Xmas Bazaar raised £245. The sponsored Guy Fawkes push raised a good amount too and got great PR. Several other activities organised by Julie have also contributed to the pot. Julie is stepping down as fundraiser and I would like to thank her for all of her efforts over the last year. She has recommended that for the new election, it would be better to have two people to share the fundraising role.

Claire stepped down as chair at the beginning of the year after a three year appointment. What can I say – big shoes to fill! We owe so much to Claire, for bringing our preschool into the 21^st Century and achieving all she has with OFSTED accreditation. Claire’s legacy will help to carry us forward for a long time to come.

Whilst I admit, I still have a long way to go before I reach the top of the learning curve and I physically do not have as much time as I would like to do this role. I do commit to doing everything possible to ensure our preschool provides a stimulating, happy, fun-filled environment for our children; fulfilling all OFSTED requirements; with financial stability; being inclusive of parents/guardians; and fostering strong links with SG school.