Minutes of the PTAF Meeting
Held on Monday 14th November 2011
Present: Lorna Barraclough, Cheri Boucher, Sarah Cuthill, Susan Eaves, Chuck Elliott, Ann Fevyer, Emma Gledhill, Mel Jady, Alex Loftus, Maddy Kent, Nick Pepper, Ali Poynter, Gail Reid, Celia Witchard, Ronnie Wright
Apologies: Ronelle Miller, Nicky Hatton-Williams, Kirstey Yates, Bronwen Wright, Nick Mayfield, Sarah Bray, James Brazier
Minutes: Gail Reid. Please contact gailybelle@blueyonder.co.uk with any corrections. Items marked with a * give rise to actions. Items in italics are Post Meeting notes.
Minutes of meeting held 29th Sept 2011 were confirmed.
Correction to minutes of PTAF meeting on 20th June:
1.1. Ronelle Miller was both marked as present and sending apologies, Ronnie Wright was marked as present, but wasn’t there.
1.2. The section of AOB was omitted, and should read:
The autumn’s big event was undoubtedly the Spooky Disco, which was a resounding success both socially and financially, with a glorious new range of decorations thanks to Kirstey. The planning and execution is really labour-intensive, so it has been pleasing to hear and see how many parents got involved in whatever way they could. Special thanks to Lou Thraves and Kirstey Yates for pulling it off spectacularly. We have also had Year 6 Tea & Cakes, which did very well. The teachers are going to put some of the money towards a class trip.
Upcoming events include the Christmas Fair (November 26th) and Colston’s Carols (formerly Carols by Candlelight) (December 14th). As coordinator of the former, I would like to invite any and all offers of help, especially on the day, and would like to remind all reps to ensure that they have sufficient rotas to cover help in setting up and clearing up as well as supervising their stalls.
Charlotte Berger is coordinating the latter, and will have more information nearer the time. Meanwhile, if you would like to contribute musically to the event, in a thoroughly informal way, you can contact Helen MacDowall helen.stanley.musicteacher@googlemail.com if you play an instrument and Mark Smalley markosmalley@googlemail.com if you can hold a tune. The more people who get involved, the more fun it will be (honest!).
I am really grateful to all the people who have come forward since the last meeting to fill committee roles, and we will vote them in shortly. I would however like to highlight the gaping void that is the role of Vice Chair and repeat that I will be standing down as Chair next year. Having a Vice Chair would be a good way to make a smoothish transition. Please think about it!
4.1. Academies
The issue of the school's future status is ongoing and further consultation is being planned. In the meantime if you would like to find out more about academies, there are a lot of websites, including www.colstons.bristol.sch.uk (school website), www.education.gov.uk (department of education), www.bbc.co.uk/news/, www.guardian.co.uk, www.teachers.org.uk . The survey carried out during the summer raised some good questions, although there were only 16 respondents. Responses to these questions can be found on the website and will be put up on the Governors' noticeboard on the railings by the adventure playground. Lorna invited people to talk to her if they have questions or comments.
4.2. Eco-Schools update (see action)
Attached is a summary of the accounts as they stand at the current time including a forecast to the year end. The forecast is based on estimated takings from a typical calendar of PTAF events and on costs committed at the present time. On this basis, the projected bank/cash balance at the end of the year is around £13k.
The PTAF year started with a very successful Spooky Disco just after half term which made £1,380, roughly the same as last year. The only other event, Year 6 Tea and Cakes, took place in term 1 and made £211.
The bank and cash balance currently stands at £13.7k, however there are a number of items that have been committed but not yet paid for this year. These include Mathletics, Parentmail, Library books and 1st Aid training, for which costs are expected to come through during the next few months, plus the Hardship Fund to subsidise the year 4, 5 and 6 camps which is normally paid around June when two of the camps take place.
In 2010, PTAF agreed to fund costs of £200 for the Secret Garden. So far, only £50 has been spent as Riverside Garden Centre has kindly donated some of the priority equipment that has been needed up until now. The remaining £150 is expected to be drawn down this Autumn/Winter. The other remaining commitment is the £2,500 reserved for funding Eco-schools but this is not included in the 2011/12 forecast attached as there are no specific plans to spend it at the current time.
In summary, of the estimated £13k bank/cash balance at the year end, £2.5k will still need to be kept aside to honour the Eco-schools commitment and a further £2k kept in hand as the recommended ‘buffer’ on the account. This would leave a maximum of £8.5k which is available to fund school priority items during this year.
Ali Poynter – Treasurer (SC nominated, EG seconded)
Hannah – 1h (GR nominated, SC seconded)
Sally Pheasant – 4w (SC nominated, GR seconded)
Sarah Bray – 3R (SC nominated, LB seconded)
Charlotte Berger – 5T (EG nominated, LB seconded)
Susan Eaves – General Committee (place vacated by Charlotte) – SC nominated, GR seconded
Emma Gledhill – 5w (SC nominated GR seconded)
The PTAF has 3 bank accounts. Amendments to the administration of these must be approved by committee meeting. Signing rules are documented in current mandate of accounts. Proposed signatories to be SC, GR, AP (unanimously agreed by the meeting).
8.1. Lifeskills Centre (request from Alex Jarman)
"I'm writing to you in your capacity as Chair of the Colston's Trust. Each year in Year 6 the children are given the opportunity to visit the Lifeskills Centre. Lifeskills is an interactive safety education centre, built as a realistic village, which has been developed to teach people how to deal with potentially difficult or dangerous situations. This trip forms an essential part of the PSHE curriculum in Year 6, and is a rich learning experience for the children. The problem we have is that because of the nature of the trip- the children work in small groups, each with a guide- it is quite expensive. The total cost works out at approximately £10 per child. Whilst we see this as excellent value in terms of the experience the children enjoy, it is a lot to ask of parents for a half-day trip. We have written to the PTAF asking for a contribution of £100 and were hoping that the Trust would be able to contribute the same amount. This, together with our 'tea and cakes' money, would mean that we would only need a £5 parental contribution per child."
SC proposed the PTAF donate £200, on the understanding that the parental contribution is optional and voluntary, so no children would be excluded. Unanimously approved by vote.
8.2. Christmas tree, and class presents
The school tree has historically been taken from the PTAF Christmas tree sale, so has been implicitly funded by the PTAF. This year trees won’t be sold until December, so won’t be there in time for the (November) Christmas Fair. The meeting unanimously approved a budget of £100 for Nick Pepper or MK to purchase a tree for the hall in time for the Christmas Fair. The meeting also approved the spend of £250 to fund Christmas presents to be delivered by Father Christmas to the classrooms. It was also agreed that this amount of funding of these two items (Christmas tree and class presents) would by default be approved for future years without further debate, until/unless challenged.
8.3. Planters for Year 3
Lorna Barraclough requested funding for planters for Year 3, to be set up in time for Spring Half Term. NP raised the issue of maintenance (that’s Caretakers for you). A unanimous vote approved £250 budget, on the understanding that they would be substantial enough to last 5 years without maintenance.
9.1. Remaining Tea & Cakes dates (nb SEN date changed)
(n.b. some of the dates being considered clash with Tea & Cakes, but this is not thought to be a problem)
9.2. Christmas Fair
9.3. Xmas Tree sale – 10th December
9.4. Christmas Cards (CE) – very good takeup and anticipated profits. Could be advertised more widely next year, to encourage, for example, other family members. Images could go on school website.
9.5. Quiz Night (NHW) – February 3rd/24th
9.6. Barn Dance (MS) – March 9th/16th/23rd?
9.7. Colston’s Carols – 14th December in playground, being organized by Charlotte Berger. 6.15/6.30. Helen McDowell is recruiting musicians, Mark Smalley singers.
9.8. PTAF Xmas Drinks – Sara Stocks kindly hosting at her house 15th December
It was raised that hard copies of the newsletter should only be sent home with one (the youngest) sibling per family, and that the newsletter should go automatically onto the website.
Outstanding actions from the previous meeting were reviewed at the start of the meeting (updates in bold).
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Action |
Owner |
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Email and publicize next meeting date, including newsletter and website (16th Jan) |
GR |
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14/11/11 – request Rough Guide be put on website |
GR |
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Contact List privacy 29/09/11 - SC/EG confirmed to new reception class reps that it needed to be made clear that class contact lists could only be used for contacting those on the list for school related matters and personal addresses and details could not be passed on to others. 14/11/11 – notify reps and put reminder with minutes |
SC (wording) GR (minutes) |
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Scooter park 29/9/11 - Claire Burston wondered whether it might be possible to extend the scooter park. It was generally agreed that this would be welcomed by the parent body. Rob Davies said that he would raise it at the Finance Committee meeting. Emma Gledhill confirmed that there were several thousand pounds available in PTAF funds after last year’s successful events 14/11/11 - SC mailed Rob, has also been mentioned by School Council. Was brought up at Premises and STAG. Especially now cycling proficiency courses mean more bikes spaces needed. MK will raise at Premises meeting on Friday |
MK |
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Use of the title ‘Learning Zone’ instead of ‘Special Educational Needs’ 8/11/10 – (ref minutes) – Sara to feed back confusion about Learning Zone title 17/3/11 – SS spoke with Sara Goldhawk who said it was a title that the children had chosen and any changes would need to be OK'd by MK. SS will speak to MK. 20/6/11 – it was proposed that as SEN is still used, the source of the objection is unknown, those present were generally happier with SEN than LZ, perhaps the LZ title should just be allowed to dwindle through lack of use. MK will check with staff. 14/11/11 – carried forward (apparently some people still prefer Learning Zone) |
SS, MK |
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Teaching staff on PTAF committee John Gavaghan to seek 4 teaching staff members for the committee. 8/11/10 – Reportedly no teachers other than Helen Wood. Possibly support staff could be involved. 31/1/11 – MK agreed to follow up 14/3/11 – MK will continue to follow this up. Staff are put off by evening meetings. Will consider building this into a teacher’s role, as and when these are reviewed in the future. 9/5/11 – ongoing 20/6/11 – MK will raise again 14/11/11 MK proposed that she ask teaching staff to attend PTAF meetings in rotation, as it was thought too much to ask four staff to come regularly, but that some might be happy to come on an occasional basis. The meeting was generally positive about this, although it may require a constitutional change. |
MK |
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Eco-Schools, Biodiversity Program, Solar PV Cells 31/1/11 - Flora McMorrin and Alex Loftus have met Amanda Davies (who was key staff member when the scheme was running 3 years ago). Whilst many staff support the objectives, availability is an issue. AD now has curriculum responsibility for science, but has undertaken to raise at the next staff meeting. Maddy Kent will raise again with staff the possibility of this being a paid role (the £2,5k set aside by PTAF for Eco Schools could fund a couple of hours a week for a year to get this off the ground) 14/3/11 –LB will contact the governing body to discuss how Solar Panels might be financed - MK will consider whether Eco-Schools responsibility might be built into a teacher’s role, as and when these are reviewed in the future. 9/5/11 – LB to send document. There was a premises meeting last week, but full agenda and no time to discuss Panels 20/6/11 – MP (governor head of premises cttee) passed comment to meeting via GR: “After the last Premises meeting it was thought best to hold off on further discussion of the Solar Panel initiatives pending the ongoing review of the school boilers and general heating system. The review has obviously been affected by the current economic climate, as well as discussions on academy status, and the untimely loss of the school caretaker. Until we are sure of the state of the existing plant and associated equipment, it would be unwise to link into a scheme which sets to offset any future energy savings against initial installation costs”. LB, NH-W thought it still worth looking into funding, as the energy to be generated by Solar PV cells would be independent of boilers/heating system supply. It was also felt this could have an educational benefit, and could be of financial benefit to the school. It was mooted that the £2.5k already allocated to Eco-Schools by PTAF might be available (subject to funding request and vote), and that external sources of funding are being investigated. MK is taking the issue back to the school to see if it comes back to the PTAF as a funding priority 14/11/11 - The school is still considering its energy efficiency options and one possibility might be to fundraise for pv cells. (post meeting note - the feed-in tariff has been reduced with a further review due in April, when it will probably go altogether so there is now no time to fundraise for this, and the payback time is too long. An option of entering a BCC scheme which would give us panels (and therefore electricity bill savings) at no cost but not the feed in tariff, is being investigated and its feasibility will depend largely on whether structural surveys deem the roof strong enough to take the load of the panels. Panels would have to be installed by April, or the BCC scheme would not be financially viable). |
LB, AL, FMM, NHW, AD, MK |
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Literacy equivalent of Mathletics 31/1/11 – investigate literacy equivalent of Mathletics 20/6/11, 14/11/11 – carried forward |
AG |
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School Banner 31/1/11 - investigate prices on a school banner saying Colston’s Primary School PTAF (so that PTAF logo could be folded over if not relevant) 9/5/11 – banner is done, with Velcro sections that can be used to add extra panels. SC will find out where other banners are kept, and write a thank you to supplier on behalf of PTAF. 20/6/11 – Banner will be kept in Parents’ Room. SC to thank supplier. SC/NHW to liaise on suitable variations for event panels. 14/11/11 – SC and NHW met and made decisions, but notes from meeting mislaid. SC to muddle on for Xmas Fair |
N H-W, SC |
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9/5/11 – Contact St John’s ambulance about training sessions for first aiders 20/6/11 – KY has done broad research, and reported on various options. Red Cross/St John’s. With/without HSE accreditation (lasts for 3 years), open/closed to children. On/off premises. SC to check with H&S governor EG to check NCPTA website for advice MK to ask school staff to bump up numbers 14/11/11 – carried forward - CG & KY went, school will pay for it. EG found from NCPTA that it is Good Practice but not essential for the insurance policy held by Colston’s PTAF to have a first aider at all events. It is only essential at fireworks and swimming events. GR to note in Rough Guide.
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CG, KY SC, EG, MK |
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9/5/11 – follow up whether license can be transferred from previous school for film club 20/6/11 – MK reported back that funding has gone, so license cannot be transferred. Could possibly do it ourselves. Some DVDs are already shown on school premises, so maybe there is already a license around. SW thought a different license would be needed for film club activity. GR to send SW a link to online gov license application website MK to look into any existing license EG to check NCPTA for advice 14/11/11 – funding for film club has gone with extended schools funding. Check with Bishop Road about how they do their license |
MK, GR, EG, SW |
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14/11/11 - Rob Davies agreed to make available pro-formas for those wishing to give regularly to the Trust |
R |
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Stage Lighting 20/6/11 – MK to consult Chris (Cotham) about maintenance cost associated with stage lighting
MK consulted Mr Insall, who responded as follows: |
MK, SC |
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PA System 20/6/11 – MK to investigate the extent to which our needs are/are not met by what is currently in the hall, and get back to PTAF 14/11/11 – Mr Higgins bought new cables, but it’s a big fiddle, and unreliable/unfathomable, so people don’t always use it. Would be nice for assemblies etc. In theory it worked , but not in practice. MK to investigate how to operate the PA system, with a view to producing and A4 sheet of intstuctions |
MK |
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Actions Closed 14/11/11 |
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20/6/11 DVDs for school performances 29/9/11 - SC said she would try to find someone within the parent body who might be willing and able to do this. 14/11/11 – Kirstey Yates’ husband might be able to lend. Nobody currently available to follow this up, it is to be closed as a potential fundraising project. |
SC, KY, JG, NHW, CB(?) |
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29/9/11 Photo of world school day in a card 14/11/11 - on hold while we do Christmas cards but could still be done as a card - but non-Christmas - the great advantage of the cards we're doing this year - no outlay, and no surplus stocks. Nobody currently available to follow this up, it is to be closed as a potential fundraising project. |
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Carols at Colson’s 29/9/11 - Ronnie Wright suggested that it would be nice to invite the residents of the old-people’s home opposite to attend if they wished. Ronnie would get in contact with the home. 14/11/11 – Closed - RW has been in touch with a contact |
RW |
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Parentmail 14/3/11 – Data Protection Officer has advised that access by non-school staff (e.g. class reps) to Parentmail data from a remote computer would be problematic. Therefore Parentmail administration will have to be done by the school office in future. MK is keen to introduce text messaging service, which can be accommodated by Parentmail system. GR to draft letter to all parents inviting them to join, and/or extend details to include additional contacts, and mobile phone numbers. 9/5/11 – GR drafted letter (with MK for consideration). 20/6/11 – GR to resend to MK 14/11/11 – Closed - Done |
GR, CB, MK |
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Christmas Cards 14/3/11 – several possible pupil-designed Christmas card schemes in operation. CE to follow up 20/6/11 – to be carried forward until Autumn 14/11/11 – Closed - in hand, brilliant response |
CE |
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Maths Homework Library 14/3/11 – follow up what has happened to Maths Homework Library resources, and whether this is being actively promoted. 9/5/11 – MK spoke to Mr Higgins, who has the resources. These could be held in the library. 20/6/11 – The intention is to move the MHL resources to the library in September. Nb the office will be temporarily relocated to the library at the end of term. 14/11/11 – Closed (MK has emailed Steve Higgins) |
MK, SH |
