The Friends of Ashdown Primary School

Trustees Annual Report for the year September 2016 / July 2017

The Friends of Ashdown Primary School (FoAPS) is a registered charity number 296583.

Correspondence address:
c/o Ashdown Primary School Infant Site
Luxford Road
Crowborough
East Sussex
TN6 2HW

The Governing Instrument is a Constitution adopted September 2015 in line with the model
constitution provided by PTA UK.

The Charity Officers and committee members for 2016/2017 were:

Chairperson Ali Keyes
Vice Chairperson Steve Smith
Treasurer Nicola Bavin
Minutes Secretary Tracie White (vacated the post 9th March 2017, position has
remained vacant)
Other Members Jennifer Allen, Michelle Page, Alex Willingale, Tracy Taylor, Sandra
Jones.

All members are trustees of the charity and are logged on the charities commission.
Kate Owbridge (Head of school) is also a trustee of the charity and as such is part of the committee.
All other staff members rotate attendance at every meeting.
All positions are held on a voluntary basis. Members are elected annual at the AGM.

Banks
There is a current account held at Barclays for the PTA.
Barclays Bank
High Street
Crowborough
East Sussex

Our objectives as an Association

To advance the education of pupils in the school. The Association will develop more extended
relationships between staff, parents and others associated with the school. Engage in activities,
which support the school and advance the education of pupils attending it. Provide and assist in the
provision of such facilities and items for education at the school (not provided by statutory funds), as
the Committee in consultation with the Governing body shall from time to time determine.

The working structure is that:

The Committee meets at least once each term and event meetings are held as and when required
throughout the year.
Annual General Meetings are held within the first term of the new school year, giving 21 days notice
to all parents.

Fund raising and Purchases:

Many events were staged throughout the year, including three new events to the calendar. All were
well supported by families from within the school community. The total profit generated from all
activities in this financial year was 12,667.18 (2015/2016 raised 10,551.89). Up 20% versus
previous year. Profits from each event are detailed below:

Event 2016/2017 2015/2016

Family Disco 1,010.16 419.82

Halloween Disco 1,870.37 2,138.50
Xmas Cards 94.62 348.85
Xmas Fair 2,669.59 2,488.38
Mud Run Sponsors 2,325.21 n/a
Mud Run 454.52 n/a
Comedy Night 222.87 n/a
Easter Cakes 381.25 458.15
Spring Disco 572.73 668.95
Travelling Trends 302.44 n/a
Summer Fair 3,215.82 4,277.71
Bags for school n/a 200.00
Pamper evening n/a 220.48

Purchases:

Purchases for this academic year have focussed on coaches per child per year group and admission
into the Childrens University. Details of all purchases can be found within the Treasurers report.

As an ongoing commitment FoAPS will continue with the funding for coaches into the 2017/2018
year as per previous years (7 per child per year). This will be built into the accounts by our
Treasurer Nicola Bavin on an annual basis.

Chairperson conclusion

The fundraising efforts this year have been very successful. Three new events have driven good
profits, with the Mud Run equally raising the schools profile and successfully launching a multi PTA
event for the local community. Looking at the wider picture, these events have been staged by a
Committee of 8 people. We need to remain aware however, that our fundraising is often supported
by the same families event after event, meaning we have reached a natural ceiling in the levels of
income expected from the events.
Looking ahead to future events, the key profit makers are the Xmas Fair, Summer Fair, Halloween
Disco and Family Disco. These events are key ongoing. Although the Mud Run raised a large sum of
money, the outlay was significant, so this event needs to be assessed ongoing. Although, we as a
committee exist to raise money for the school however, it is important to recognise that sometimes
an event can be about fun rather than maximising profit. This however, can only be true if the effort
to stage the event isnt substantial.

At the start of this new academic year FoAPS have now invested the excess money from the merging
of the charities (21,138.54) into the new screens for Junior classes. FoAPS are very proud to have
been able to support the school with this, however, we need to be aware we are now running on the
minimum level of cash to stage a lot of the events. Each request for funding has to be for the benefit
of the children within the school and is agreed by all members with debate.