All parents, guardians, carers and staff are automatically members of the PTA and are invited to attend PTA meetings and contribute ideas.

What happens at a PTA meeting?

During PTA meetings, elected committee members make decisions on behalf of the association, such as how funds will be spent, and what events will be held. Only elected committee members can vote at a PTA meeting, but the PTA Chair will ask for a show of hands from all members to inform the committee and help them with their decision making.

When are PTA meetings?

PTA meetings happen once a term. Meeting dates are advertised on our events page and are shared on our social media and the school newsletter, or you can contact us to find out when the next meeting will be held.

If you can’t attend a meeting but would like to contribute ‘by proxy’ you can email [email protected].

How are committee members elected?

Committee members are elected and/​or re-appointed by a formal vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM is held in September and is an opportunity to formally report on the association’s activities during the preceding year and share plans for the coming year. A summary of accounts is also presented by the Treasurer.

Can I become a committee member?

If you are a parent/guardian/carer/staff member currently at the school and are interested in becoming a committee member take a look at the role profiles on the committee page and get in touch to register your interest. Some roles are available during the year and can be appointed outside of the AGM so you don’t need to wait until September to register your interest. By informing the PTA of your interest in an elected role you will also have the opportunity to shadow the committee member ahead of the AGM.

2023/24 Minutes

  • Meeting Minutes (taken by OT)

    Wednesday, 15th November 2023

    Present: Sian Corr (Chair), Debbie O’ Neill (Treasurer), Olga Tsoulaki (Secretary), Nicki O’Donoghue (Communications Officer), Sian Evans (Deputy Head), Ian van der Heyden, Deborah Kennedy, Rachael Pardoe

    Apologies: Berihan Donald (Co-Chair)

    Welcome and Introductions by PTA Chair

    Actions from AGM 27.9.23:

    Feedback survey regarding tote bags (why was the uptake low, any preference over tea towels?) SC/NO

    Not done yet. ACTION: for SC/NO to organise survey.

    Robin Wood (£4000): SE to check in with Corinne about extra funds.

    Completed: only £1827 spent

    Book Vending Machine (£1000): SE to inform PTA how many books are given out to children over the year.

    Completed: PTA can give £500

    SE to implement the payment window on School Gateway to be extended for a week after events/trips.

    Completed

    Another film night in Spring Term: SC to look at when this could be added into the calendar of events.

    Decision has not been made yet. It is possible, but the PTA needs to sort out ticketing first. ACTION: spring term film night to be considered following completion of upcoming events and sort out ticketing plan

    Could the PTA sell hot drinks/food at Sports Day: SE would look into it but it should be feasible if we were in the car park.

    SE thinks it is possible; need to consider back up days depending on weather conditions. SC highlighted not viable to outsource drinks. OT suggested to approach Rusticas (cafe opposite the school), if they would be willing to offer a deal. Action: SE to check logistics (e.g wiring). PTA to consider approaching Rusticas.

    Elect new treasurer

    DO is stepping down as treasurer this year. IH has shadowed DO during Bonfire - IH remained interested to be considered for the role. IH elected as treasurer (SC, DO, DK). ACTION: (i) IH to provide a photo for the newsletter. (ii) PTA poster to be laminated (SE)

    Treasurer update

    Total raised: £27,500

    Pre-approved funds: £11,500

    Need to keep a buffer of: £5,000

    Bonfire night: £12,700 raised plus waiting payments from Kiosk+BRSK. ACTION: to chase payments from Kiosk and BRSK and pay deposit for next year’s fireworks and first aiders.

    Bonfire date for next year: different week day was suggested by NO, perhaps Tuesday the 5th of November 2024. If not, 8th of November. It will depend on next year’s school calendar. ACTION: SE to raise with school whether Tuesday is a possibility and notify PTA when school calendar is available.

    Push the plunger: £100 raised

    Raffle tickets: a total of 150 prizes (few more to come in, inc ManUnited who did not pay postage of £2.5). Currently at ~£1,600. Last year ~4K was raised, but most money came in during the final week.

    Go cashless: ideally in the near future, but cannot implement this fully at present - needs to be introduced gradually. DO has kept back some of the money for Christmas. Cash will remain an option for now with encouragement to make card payments during events. ACTION: PTA to consider investing in at least another 4 zettles going forward.

    Equality Week: total cost for this year was ~£900. Funding target varies depending on needs/experience per year group (e.g. challenging gender etc). School was hoping to fund Equality Week from Racism Red card day, which sadly raised only £400. PTA covered additional funds (£?) for Equality Week to run as planned. Discussion over ways the school could cut the cost down (e.g. ask parents with relevant professions to volunteer for the event via newsletter). ACTION: (i) PTA to set aside £1000 per year for Equality Week. (ii) SE/school to consider asking for parents to volunteer early in the year to keep costs down.

    Reception trip (14.12): £502 given to pay the invoice - awaiting final figure (due date was 14.11)

    Y5&6 event: £1,000 paid

    Festive Film Night update (24.11.23)

    208 tickets so far, ~£1,400 raised. Film voting on 15.11. No tuck shop. Carry on using cones for water, but children can bring own water bottles. Offer popcorn.

    As decision was made to split into 3 halls - we will need 3 prime account log ins

    Projector ?overheating in previous event - ?needs fixing- ACTION: SE to check state of projector.

    Christmas at Cavendish update (8.12.23)

    Reindeers, elves, Santa - booked for 2hrs.

    Decision made not to charge for the event to allow more children to experience. No grotto due to time/capacity issues etc. Cavendish singers and school children plus live music last year, but decision made to use Jo’s speaker for this year and play Christmas songs. ACTION: SC to confirm with provider reindeer requirements and PTA to discuss offline how the event will flow.

    Sleigh not available. RP suggested approaching the Met as they may have a sleigh. ACTION: to check with MET if we could borrow their sleigh.

    Event start time discussed - SE said 15.30 likely ok as people can enter through the carpark. ACTION: SE to check if event can start at 15.30 - likely ok.

    Set up time discussed - PTA will need access to the Rhodes building for crafts, seating. Can also use the Gazebos outside. ACTION: SE to check Rhodes building timetable.

    Cavendish calendar

    September entry is elected

    Awaiting October entries - winner to be notified end of next month

    Communications officer update

    Can names of children be included on the school newsletter?: SE said just the first name can be included, but not Year group or other information. NO would ideally like to have permission in writing. SE could get permission via email/over the phone. NO highlighted that T&Cs re photos are now on the PTA website.

    PTA is keen to help families who can’t afford to pay for school trips/events?: school should use a template for every trip to make families aware how the costs are covered and that help is available for families who can’t afford to pay - SE confirmed that a template is used. Previous Head was aware of families in financial difficulties and used to contact families to offer their children a free ticket or free school trip as a prize. School is aware of some families, but not all. School/PTA needs to make families aware of availability of sponsored tickets - families can then choose to opt in by contacting the PTA or school. ACTION: NO to Include on website and next newsletter that sponsored tickets for events/trips are available for families in need.

    NO would like school to send photos of school trips / other events where PTA money were spent to share via social media/whatsapp groups etc.

    NO sent out volunteers feedback form - generally positive feedback. Could potentially seek feedback from parents who do not volunteer regularly to assess reasons and see how PTA can motivate more parents to engage.

    NO suggested the creation of a PTA video to increase involvement: to interview committee members, volunteers and staff about the role of PTA, why we fundraise, why it is needed by the school, school’s financial struggles, make parents aware of the enrichment provision by school etc. Need to reach out to parents - PTA involvement means you are part of the school community, highlighting the social aspect of it as motivator. Video can be shared via school and PTA website and at new parents' talks/nursery intake. Ben Hirsch (school dad who is a producer) can help with filming/editing. SE said the school is happy for staff to take part, if they wish to do so. Ideally video to be ready for September 2024 nursery/reception intake? ACTION: SC due to meet with Ben next week to discuss above.

    Teacher request for funds

    SE explained that formal process/governance exists where SLT pre-approves requests.

    Beatrix Potter Y2 trip in March (over 3 days) - geography curriculum: PTA offers £1,000 per year group for school trips. Total of £1620 required. PTA approved £620

    Reception - outdoor learning (several items listed): PTA approved £396.12

    Nursery+reception (Ms Worth): £1,500 for computing (e.g. to purchase a number of IT-related items). Difficult for school to support curriculum as zero funds currently available. DO highlighted that some equipment don’t last long. SE mentioned that school has 11 subjects in total - but what priority of curriculum subjects. DT and science usually ask for £ plus RE. Guidance from SLT: core subjects have usually more. DO: we should not treat as first come first served. SE and leadership team oversees all subjects. Need across all subjects. Option: pass back to SLT - pot of £ what would it look like? how are you going to manage ? prioritise needs. SE to discuss and present at next PTA meeting their forecast. Pots of £ per curriculum - easier to plan/prioritise for leadership team. Proposal: £500 per subject leader, if needed. Need to be led by SLT.

    1.5K approved!

    Badge machine. ACTION: SE to buy from Equality Week left over money

    Request of ~£700: not itemised - need to be brought back to PTA meeting

    New speaker for school events and dance classes: cost not provided yet - Jo to get back with specific costs

    AOB

    Playground improvement project: 2 quotes, need a 3rd quote to make application (by Krystal as Grant officer). Possibly ~10K++ - figure in mind will help to match-fund ?. Deliver in stages. Fund separate items.

    Need PR - kids do individual fundraisers

    Separate fundraiser via PTA/banking - crowdfunding. Individual approached Jo at Bonfire night - willing to sponsor/donate for playground project.

    How each year group can fundraise -

    Peoples names who donate to be included/named

    PTA registered charity - Link to bank account should be ok

    SE: has a poster/visual of the project (ongoing) - each year group to decide on type of fundraiser - lead on it.

    Step 1: make donations (via newsletter) - school initiative/joint with PTA as registered charity (will come to PTA’s account)

    Examples: car wash - local news to promote

    ACTION: what is the best mechanism to collect donations

  • Cavendish PTA AGM Minutes

    27th September 2023

    Present: Sian Corr (Chair), Berihan Donald (Co-Chair), Debbie O’ Neill (Treasurer), Nusayba Agil (Secretary), Nicki O’Donoghue (Communications Officer), Sian Evans (Deputy Head), Olga Tsoulaki, Zareen Asad, Debbie Kennedy, Sophia Kariotaki, Saria Edwards, Hayley Limmer, Noelle Hankinson, Racheal Pardoe

    Welcome and Introductions

    Funds Raised last year

    DO explained that income this past academic year was higher than previous years and this is in part due to expenditure overall being lower. There is a hope this will continue this year.

    SC - a large outgoing in previous years has been on novelty light up toys which we are going to discontinue for future events, starting with bonfire night. Explained that it doesn't align with our values on sustainability and that there is a large amount of returns as they are quick to break so our profit on these items is low. Looking to replace it with non-UV items. Removal of disposable water bottles at children’s events to reduce plastic waste and reduction of tuck shop.

    Bonfire expecting the profit to stay the same as last year

    Raffle is the second highest earner due to no outgoings.

    Tote bags made a large loss this year but SC explained this was down to a supplier issue and would be rectified for next year. Plan to do a feedback survey to find out why uptake was low in some year groups and to understand if tote bags would be preferred to tea towels for next year. ACTION: SC/NO to coordinate survey.

    Feedback from NH that PTA comms aren’t being sent out to class groups on WhatsApp. ACTION: NO to coordinate class reps to fill the gaps and ensure future comms are sent out to all groups.

    Whatsapp groups aren’t currently populated for reception and nursery. ACTION: SC/NO to send group links to SE to send on to teachers so they can share with parents on Class Dojo

    Additional costs - website and insurance

    NO talked about increasing engagement with sharing photos of activities and equipment funded by PTA money. ACTION: NO and SE to coordinate.

    Pre-approved fund requests

    Robin Wood (£4000). ACTION: SE to check in with Connie about extra funds

    Mad Science (£2000)

    Chicks (£500) - money already sent to school

    School Trips (£8000) set aside and approved for the year. SE shared that the trips had been planned for the year as part of a new enrichment activities timetable for each year group. PTA have agreed to a new system whereby teachers get approval from SMT for school trips and they can allocate money that the PTA has ring-fenced for them without every individual trip needing PTA approval. Trips are approved by experience rather than cost so there won’t necessarily be an equal spend for each year group. The PTA funds will only be used for trips that are £13 and over for parents. Sarah Lynch will be the contact for the PTA for this and will be the one who will coordinate when money will be transferred to the school.

    World Book Day (£500). ACTION: NO to recommend authors to SE

    Book Vending Machine (£1000). Books to help children with their mental health are distributed from the vending machine dependent on who the teachers feel needs them. It is not a reward system but is a way to help children navigate their emotions. ACTION: SE to inform PTA how many books are given out to children over the year.

    Christmas Books (£1000)

    Panto/Cinema trip (£2000)

    Request for Funds

    Poetry Week (£500) - Matt Goodfellow engaged. The school are asking parents to contribute £2 per child. Discussed that parents often forget to pay for activities and so it would be beneficial for the payment window on gateway to be extended for a week after the event. ACTION: SE to implement.

    Equality Day 13th October - request to come. Agreed that anything leftover from the £500 allocated for World Book Day

    Reading Gems (£465) - books are needed to supplement the reading scheme. Approved.

    Election of 2023/24 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair - SC re-elected. Proposed by BD, seconded by DO

    Vice Chair - BD re-elected. Proposed by SC, seconded by NA

    Treasurer - DO wants to step down but has agreed to carry on as interim until a replacement is found. DO will handover until Christmas. A parent has shown an interest in the treasurer role and will be working with DO to see if it’s for them, an election of the role will take place at the next meeting. Proposed by SC, seconded by BD

    Communications Officer - a new committee role is being created for this year. NO elected. Proposed by SC, seconded by BD

    Secretary - NA stepped down. OT elected as an interim. Proposed by SC, seconded by BD

    Additional roles not to be elected. Krystal to stay on as Grants Officer.

    Upcoming Events

    SC shared a calendar of upcoming events. These are subject to change.

    Bonfire Night - 3rd November

    Festive Film Night - 24th November

    Christmas at Cavendish - 1st December

    Food Bank Collection - January (date TBC)

    KS1 & KS2 Disco - 2nd February

    EYFS Disco - 1st March

    Easter Crafternoon - 22nd March

    Eid Event - 19th April

    Adults Quiz Night - 1st May

    Didsbury Festival Crafternoon - June (date TBC)

    Summer Fete - 5th or 12th July

    AOB

    DO - we normally have another film night in Spring Term. ACTION: SC to look at when this could be added into the calendar of events

    NO - questioned if PTA could sell hot drinks/food at Sports Day. ACTION: SE would look into it but it should be feasible if we were in the car park.

2022/23 Minutes

  • Present: Sian Corr (Chair), Berihan Donald (Co-Chair), Debbie O’ Neill (Treasurer), Jo Taylor (Head Teacher), Sian Evans (Deputy Head), Nicki O’Donoghue, Nic Kennedy (Business Manager), Kirsty Davies, Jodie Potter Apologies: Nusayba Agil (Secretary)

    Summer Fete – Friday, 7th July 2023

    • SC wanted to ensure that everyone understood that this was in hand. This is the third largest fundraiser of the year after BonFire Night and the Raffle. There was a detailed discussion about how this would run as a Summer Fete and the name would change from Sausage Sizzle to Summer Fete. There will some new stalls such as Coconut Shy. Other stalls are Splatt a Teacher, Hook a Duck. There will also be a glitter station.

    • There was a discussion about the bouncy castle that has been in the PTA lock up for some time but has not been used for a number of years because Manchester City Council banned bouncy castle at events following a serious incident involving a bouncy castle. For the games we have everything we need.

    • A further discussion about the food and drink. There will be a cake bake stall, tuck shop sweets, BBQ which will include pork sausages and vegan sausages. SC has applied for the alcohol licence and subject to that coming through we will sell prosecco, beer and Pimms. SC has also engaged live entertainment in the form of a band (a singer and guitarist) which is a great addition everything agreed. The cost of that is £300 which is a bargain. SC has applied for a Live entertainment licence. As it is the first time having a band SC noted that we can see how this goes on the day.

    • A discussion took place about engaging an Ice cream van to attend. PTA will look into this and look into how best to engage the seller, most likely a pitch fee as previously did this with Proove (pizza restaurant on Burton Road). Also timing of the ice cream van should be the last hour so it’s a leaving treat rather than where folks pay out their money first.

    • Other stalls will include the bottle tombola, preloved uniform, a chill out area.

    • Discussion on the preloved uniform and noting that the non school branded clothes will be priced cheaper than the branded stuff. Discussion about the fact that previously this has not sold well and perhaps to just ask people to make a donation to the PTA rather than price every item. All the uniform in the lock up needs cleaning again. This will be dealt with by the PTA. Whatever is not sold then there was a suggestion that the charity Wood Street Mission need school uniform. School will donate whatever is left.

    • The bottle tombola parents/carers only need to bring these with them on the day of the event. The school will arrange a collection of the bottles as they did the food donations with trolleys etc.

    • The school will have their sports days on 7th July 2023 and therefore a further discussion took place how set up was going to take place for the event with sports day taking place. It was noted that the bottle tombola was the most time consuming stall to set up as you need to put a raffle ticket on each bottle and this takes 3 hours. School confirmed sports day will be done by 11.45am. However, school confirmed there will be part of the field PTA can start setting up. It was important to set up the bottle tombola area which is between nursery and the mugger so that part of the field won’t be used for sports day. It was agreed on the day of the event that part of the field will be coned off. The last stall is a stall by a year 6 student who has been sewing with her mum and will be selling bags and scrunchies and all proceeds to the PTA.

    School trips/coaches

    • SC noting that the cost of the coaches is very high and wanted to discuss how this could be reduced so that more money that is being raised is going to the kids experiences rather than bus companies.

    • There was a discussion about the use of public transport and whether as well as the tram which the school uses, buses were considered.

    • The school confirmed that they could not fit 90 kids (the number of kids in the year). There were also concerns from some parents/carers about taking children on a bus.

    • The PTA wanted to query whether the school do annual trip planning and then could go to bus companies with 3-4 trips and negotiate a better deal with the coach journeys on the basis that they have more than on trip. Rather than each trip negotiating on that one trip.

    • The school confirmed that the curriculum changes so school is still finding its feet with what trips to support the curriculum.

    • Discussion about how much money parents/carers contribute to each trip. Whether this will go up from £12 to £15. School would not like to raise the contribution but will encourage parents/carers who can pay more to do so on the app.

    Bonfire night merchandise

    The PTA in their role in acting responsibly will not be selling flashy plastic items at bon fire. It was agreed across the group that this was the right move. There are other items such as glow in the dark items (gloves, hats, nail varnish, face paint). Everyone agreed that this was the right move, especially due to the higher costs of these items and the fact that a lot of the plastic flashy items are broken/don’t work and we have a lot of complaints. The PTA have a few boxes left which we will get rid of at the summer fete.

    Tote bags

    PTA thanks the school for supporting this new endeavour in place of the tea towels. There is a slight problem with one class in year 3 who have done their pictures completely differently. Should get a mock up soon to send round to sell.

    Ticketing/booking systems

    NK advising that the PTA should not be using the app, school gateway for PTA events such as film night etc. School advised of this by their organisations. PTA noting this and advising that we have been using for the upcoming nursery/reception disco the People’s Fundraising (PF) page and this is working well. DO noting that PF page can give us more functionality such as doing questionnaires, selling tickets and selling the tote bags. The example used was we can ask for dietary requirements for movie night so we can use that information to buy the right amount of sweets etc. There are some downsides which is that they charge us more for payments by PayPal so we have removed that option now. There is an offline payment option if someone does want to pay in cash for those who do not want to pay on card. It was agreed going forward for all PTA events tickets would be sold via PF.

    Upcoming Events

    There is a nursery/reception disco coming up and he DJ is coming to set up and Disco will be 1 hour and 15 minutes given the ages of the children.

    Website and comms hub date

    It was agreed that NO would take over the social media page. NO would like to develop this to include some profiles in the community and for the Instagram page to be telling stories to get more people involved. This was all agreed and a great idea.

    Fundraising

    • Total amount raised so far this academic year is around £18,150 although waiting for Claire to give DO the figures. It needs doing urgently. There are a couple more events but year on year it looks like the raffle and bon fire this academic year made similar amounts to last year.

    • DO noting that movie and disco nights raise around £1400-£1500.

    • Eid event in April 2023 raised a good amount although we can do better with that event with thinking how we can have more savoury items to sell. It was note that the reason meat could not be sold is to do with the Kitchen the food is coming from. For Summer Fete the food is cooked in the school kitchen so if food can be brought in from restaurants that would be fine.

    • Noting that we have had about £4,500 donations through easyfundrisiing Centrica, amazon etc.

    • £25.541 has been donated to school so far.

    Requests for funds

    • £1,000 requested by Liz Brants this would be for all year groups as this is to update the Kitchen used by the children for food economic activities. This would be to purchase jugs, aprons, knives, chopping boards etc.

    • £800 requested by Sarah Mulderrig for early years. The request was to purchase clay soil seeds tools, pots and sand fabric 2 x size up of jacket and rain pants. There was a discussion about the amount previously marked for use for the allotment/forest school. Request was made for a breakdown of what the school has spent of the money marked for this previously requested by Carla (£2,500). NK noted that she was not aware of the £2,500 as only £500 had been spent so need to return £2,000 to the PTA. Noting that any grant applications need to be shared with school so when successful the school know what the money can be used for. Agreed that the school cannot be given money on loan and therefore anything not spent needs to be returned. It was agreed that the £800 requested can be paid using the grant money given what it was received for.

    • Discussion around the big project which is the playground and noting that the food company has given the school money to improve the playground, but we need to make other grant applications to cover the costs of this. The hot weather has made it clear that the children need more shaded areas to escape to.

    AOB

    AGM date will need to be in September to try and grab the new parents and engage them. Date needs to be arranged soon. School suggested the PTA have a stall at the parents evening which will be 8/9 November 2023. Movie night going forward notice will be given to parents that children are NOT to bring mobile phones to the movie night.

  • Present; Berihan Donald (Co-Chair), Debbie O’ Neill (Treasurer) Heidi Exell (Secretary), Jo Taylor (Head Teacher), Sian Evans (Deputy Head), Nic Kennedy (School Business Manager) Nicki O’Donoghue, Clare Stapleton, Nusayba Agil Apologies: Sian Corr (Chair)

    Updates on events and funding since last meeting

    • Christmas Carols - £380 – First time this event was run. It went well but will need some changes if it decided to go ahead again next year.

    • Christmas Raffle - £4180 - It would be great to have this as a project for one or more volunteers to take on as their own. Committee to look into recruiting volunteers for this next year.

    • Disco - £1433 – Went well but concerns raised by SLT about Brain Lickers as some children had worked out how to split them open and they caused damaged to the school walls and carpet. PTA Committee agreed to find an alternative for next event.

    • Foodbank Collection – 411kg donated, equivalent 979 meals – Great response from the school community. Collection bins at the entrances worked well.

    • Donations - £100

    • Amazon Smile - £61 – This scheme is no longer running.

    • Easy Fundraising - £140 - need to advertise this out again along with the other giving platform “The Giving Machine”. STL and Committee to promote through newsletter and website.

    • Amazon Grant - £3000 – awarded and allocated towards the school allotment.

    Accounts Balance - £26,592

    Reserves need to be held back to cover the running costs of sausage sizzle, bonfire night and Robinwood YR 6 trip (£12,000) School Budget update and proposed teacher request process for PTA Funds Nic Kennedy (School Business Manager) attended the meeting to give the PTA a better understanding of the school’s financial situation and how the PTA funds could best support the school at this time. In previous years the school budget has been healthy which has afforded the teachers the opportunity to request PTA funds for enrichment activities and trips. Whilst this is still extremely important, the school (like all schools across the country) is currently in a position where has been so stretched that it is just covering the essentials needed. This is predominantly due to an unexpected increase in teacher salaries and energy bills. Due to this the SLT would like to propose that the requests for PTA funds are used to cover activities and resources that the school really need to help with the education of the children. It was acknowledged that this might not always be exciting requests but it is very much needed. It was discussed how we would ensure we are supporting all year groups. With the curriculum changes this might not always be possible all the time and there may be a focus which would mean school needs to support in a specific area. For example, presently, the government focus is Early Years. The proposed process for teacher requests would be for all requests to be sent to the SLT team prior to the PTA meetings. The SLT would then confirm if this was a request that should be covered through school budget, be approved for PTA funds or put on hold due to other priorities. A discussion around school trips was also had with the concerns of consistency for trips across year groups being raised. SLT committed to mapping out the trips based on the curriculum so the PTA could potentially ring fence money at the start of each school year. It was also discussed about ring fencing money at the beginning of the school year for activities that the PTA would like to support each year.

    Grant Applications

    PTA had intended to apply for National Lottery Funding, it was discussed that due to the size of the school and it’s preserved budget we might not qualify. Debbie to confirm.

    An application for Manchester Airport has been submitted and the decision will be made on March 15th. This is for £3000 and will help cover the cost of any outdoor equipment/resources.

    Upcoming events

    • EID Event – Friday 28th April TBC This was an incredible event last year and the school and PTA would love to run it again. SLT to confirm the date and arrange a planning meeting with the relevant staff and PTA members.

    • Mural Unveiling – Wednesday 8th March 3:30 to 4:30 Sian unable to support as has Covid, other PTA committee have work commitments. SLT, Gary and Mark to set up and lead event. Debbie has sorted settles and float. Bakers arranged to bring cake by midday.

    • Easter Crafternoon – Friday 24th March TBC Berihan to chat with Nessa about the previous events and scope out what is needed and if it is possible to run.

    • Movie Night – Friday 12th May Couldn’t do on last day of term as cleaners are on annual leave. It has been agreed that no events will be planned for the last day of term due to school staff not being available.

    • Didsbury Festival and Crafternoon Festival on Saturday 10th June. This is the first weekend back after the half term so need to look at school diary to see if there is a date that we can run a Crafternoon. Was discussed that this might be able to happen on a day other than Friday. PTA to follow up with SLT.

    • Sausage Sizzle – Friday 7th July (14th as back up) 3.

    Teachers Requests for Funds

    • Geographic maps for playground £1000 – It was discussed that this could be a bigger project and cover more of the playground area which would be done during the summer holiday. SLT agreed to go away and price up the playground marking and come back to PTA with total figure. Not funded

    • World book day Author visit. £350 agreed and paid

    • Mad science week £1620 with parents to pay £3 contribution. £1620 agreed

    • Pantomime for Christmas £650. £650 agreed and paid

    • Crocky Trail yr6 last trip £700. £700 agreed

    • Art and DT equipment £2000 (all years) and YR6 DT electricity kits £300. As it was unclear from the ask what equipment was needed and which budget it should come from. It was agreed to ringfence £1000 and for SLT to go back to Ms Brants to get a detailed breakdown of equipment needed. £1000 ringfenced

    • Library dual language books £200. SLT would like more thought to go into what is needed for the library and possibly ask parents to donate preloved books. Not funded

    • Well-being books for vending machine £500. This has been a great addition for the children. One child from each class each term is chosen to receive a book from the vending machine. £500 agreed

    • Reception outdoor play area, £1470 for renovation, £120 for turf, £2200 for mud kitchen £3790 agreed

    • Reception pedal bikes, £1139 for 6 and bike shed, £360. By having a bike shed all the bikes can be stored which will free up space in the reception area for an indoor cloakroom. Not enough money to support both at them moment so it was agreed that the shed was the best use of funds for now. £360 agreed • Year 5 Halle orchestra trip, £585. Parents will be asked to cover the tram fare of £1. £585 agreed

    • Nursery and Reception requests totalling £6588 needing authorisation from SLT and to be considered through school budget. Not funded Total Request for Funds: £ 18,643 Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £9555 to the school (£1000 already paid).

    New PTA Website

    Nicki showed the committee the new PTA website which is fantastic. Nicki will be heading up the management of the site but it was discussed that content would need to be fed to her. Pictures of projects the PTA have supported would be great alongside events. Discussed the need to add volunteer roles so that potential new volunteers knew what was available and what the commitment was. Volunteer expenses policy is on the old website, Heidi will check through this before it is added to the new site.

    A.O.B Parent/teacher partnership

    Query raised about the survey parents and carers were asked to fill out at the start of the year. This was to gather information for the school to achieve a parent/teacher partnership award. The teacher heading this up has changed which has delayed things. Sian Evans is now taking the lead and will be moving things forward.

    Acting Responsibly

    The PTA would like to move towards running more sustainable events. For example, reducing the amount of plastic. Water stations will be trialled at the next Movie Night to eradicate single use plastic bottles of water. Plastic flashing toys will not be purchased for the Bonfire. Asked the SLT to feed in any learning they are doing with the children so it can be reinforced at the events.

    Secretary Role

    Due to increased work commitments Heidi would like to stand down as Secretary. The role of Secretary is open to our school parent/carer community. If anyone would like to know more about the role or put themselves forward for the role, please contact the PTA committee.

    Date of Next Meeting Wednesday 14th or 21st June TBC

  • Present; Sian Corr (Chair), Berihan Donald (Co-Chair), Debbie O’ Neill (Treasurer) Heidi Exell (Secretary), Jo Taylor (Head Teacher), Sian Evans (Deputy Head), Paige Doyle, Olga Tsoulaki, Nicky, Louise, Laura

    1) Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    • Film night: Friday 7th October. Raised £1460.90. Great event, need to make sure mobile phones are not brought by KS2. Talked about using 3 halls for the next event so that more tickets available for each year group.

    -Bonfire and Firework Night: Friday 4th November. Raised £8174.13. Great feedback but some areas that might need changing, rethinking. Wristbands have been historically used to track people coming in and out during the event. This is time consuming at the gate and costly. Use of a stamp if people leave during the event suggested. Phones used to check people in were running out of battery so battery packs to be made available to anyone using a mobile to check people in or use a card machine. Positive feedback on number of stewards and their presence at the end of the event to make sure no children got lost or separated from their families. A lot of hot food stock left at the end so this figure needs to be reduced for next year. Making seating available in the MUGA was suggested as a way to encourage more people to arrive early and purchase food. A children’s entertainer was also suggested for the hour before the fireworks. Light the bonfire at 5pm. Cake stall had an amazing selection this year and is always very popular. Flashy toys will not be on sale next year as the PTA want to make their events at environmentally friendly as possible. An alternative will be sourced. Volunteer up take for the actual event was lower than would have wanted. Need to think about recruitment strategy so that people are happy to help if they can. Suggested guaranteed family ticket for all volunteers, can join family for firework display. Do in person recruitment in September.

    2) Upcoming events

    Christmas Carol Sing along. Friday 9th Dec TBC Talked about having a free event with carol singing, hot drinks, mulled wine and mince pies. Suggested have chocolate mini rolls and soft drinks for the children. This would need to be outside next to the Rhodes building so gazebos would need putting up and a power supply Jo and Sian said happy to help lead the singing. Discussed inviting an adult choir to sing and provide background entertainment whilst people buy at the stalls and have a chat. Couldn’t organise the school choir as the teacher is not available so thought a sing a long of carols would be a good idea. Potential start time of 3:45pm with sing a long at 4:15pm and finishing at 5:15pm. Lots of good input but not full decided and confirmed on the details due to time. Sian and Berihan to go away and finalise with the school. Christmas Raffle. Tickets on sale now on people’s fundraiser. Great top prizes but still need more little prizes so more people have the chance to win something. Raffle will be drawn at 8pm on Friday 9th December. Winners will be notified by email.

    3. Future events (not discussed due to time)

    4. Teachers Requests for Funds • Glynis

    • Whole school Christmas decorations for Christmas Dinner Day £150

    • Gary – Preschool bikes in need of repairing and a few replacements £300

    • Mr Foster – Year 4 Trip to Chester for their Romans topic work, includes parent contribution £540

    • Jo Taylor – Commission a professional librarian to categorise the school library so that it can be better used and maintained. Nicky (parent) offered to help with this maintenance role. Debbie put forward a Year 3 contact who may also be able to do the categorisation £540

    • PTA Website – Nicky (parent) will be looking after the PTA website but the platform needs to be changed. The hope is it will become a destination site that provides information about businesses and events in the local area £150

    • Jo Taylor – Year 6 Robin Wood Trip. Cost has increased to £261. Asking the PTA to cover £50 per child but parents will be asked to cover the full amount if they can £4000 Total Request for Funds: £5680 Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £5680 to the school.

    5. AOB Discussed the possibility of supporting our local foodbanks again, Chorlton and Didsbury and Fallowfield and Withington. Agreed this would be done in the new year with the support of the Rights Respecting Team

    6. Date of Next Meeting TBC

  • Present; Krystal Kerr (Chair) Debbie O’ Neill (Treasurer) Heidi Exell (Secretary), Jo Taylor (head Teacher), Sian Corr, Paige Doyle, Jodie Potter, Fareem Akhtar, Beriham Donald, Rachael Pardoe, Sarah Conway, Lara Bannister, Rachel Marsden, Kavita Sharma, Graham Beaver, Carla Smith, Kirsty Davies, Rebecca Nazareth, Sinead Brennan, Stuart Hankinson, Zareen Assad, Olga Tsoulaki, Sian Evans

    Apologies; Laura Coleman, Clare Northern, Nicki O’Donoghue

    Annual General Meeting

    • Election of 2022/2023 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Krystal stood down after 5 years as Chair. Sian Corr put forward.

    Proposed by Krystal Kerr, seconded by Debbie O’Neill

    Co-Chair – Beriham Donald put forward. Proposed by Heidi Exell, seconded by Krystal Kerr Treasurer – Debbie O’Neill happy to carry on but happy if anyone else wants to take over. No one at this stage so Debbie O’Neill proposed by Krystal Kerr, seconded by Heidi Exell

    Secretary – Heidi Exell stated that she happy to continue but happy if anyone else wants to take over role of secretary. No one at this stage so Heidi Exell proposed by Krystal Kerr, seconded by Sian Corr

    Communications role – Someone to look after social media posts, advertising for events. Website redesign which would be a separate role. Nobody came forward during meeting. Contact Sian Corr if interested

    Year Reps – A member of each class to filter down information via a what’s app group. Several people came forward. Please contact Sian Corr if interested.

    Grants role – A member of the PTA who will apply for grant funding to help with bigger items/projects. Krystal Kerr happy to continue working on this. Contact Sian Corr if interested

    • Trustees of the Charity

    Remove David Griffiths and Krystal Kerr. Add Jo Taylor and Sian Corr

    • Treasurers Report/Financial Update

    Opening balance for 2021/22 was £19,892. Total income for the year £35,555.21. Expenses

    £17,788.80. Donations to school projects £13,372.00

    PTA current Bank Balance - £24,286

    Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members

    General Meeting

    1. Teachers Requests for Funds

    • Jo Taylor – Rec to Y6. Poetry workshop. Workshops and performances over 3 days. Total cost £2,500. Discussed parent contribution on £2.50 per child. Agreed to fund £1200

    • Mrs Marsden – Whole School. Chicks for Spring Term to live in Reception. £415+vat. Agreed to fund £415

    • Mrs Smith – Gardening project. Rejuvenate the existing garden, create and allotment and make it sustainable by making their own compost. Children will be able to get involved at lunchtimes. Great space for quiet time and covers curriculum of Eco School and sustainability. £520.94. Krystal and Jodie will look into getting some items for free or reduced rate. Agreed to fund up to £520.94

    • Nursery – Middle area of nursery building becoming a new library space that can be used across the school, to encourage a love of reading. Lending library for EYFS and space for small group intervention. School covering cost of decoration, asking for help with bookcases and furniture. Total cost £7,000. Krystal to help look into funding opportunities.

    Agreed to contribute £2500

    • Reception – YR4 – Christmas in school pantomime. £595. Agreed to fund £595

    • YR5&YR6 – Christmas cinema trip. Cover Metrolink. £600 Agreed to fund £600

    • Mrs Brant – YR3. Egyptian project. Manchester Museum come to school with inflatable museum and artifacts. £500 Agreed to fund £500

    • Miss Flitcroft – Afterschool Athletics. Need new Bull nosed javelins. £275

    Agreed to fund £275

    • Sarah Mulridge – Reception Forest School needs new shelter tarp and fixings. £400 Agreed to fund £400

    • Science Club - £1000 grant ringfenced for bird boxes to be placed on the field

    Agreed to fund £1000

    Total Request for Funds: £13805.94

    Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £8005.94 to the school.

    2. Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    EID Celebration – this was a great event, very well support by volunteers and a great attendance at the event. It did get crowded in the hall so would suggest having some tables outside. Agreed that this is an event that we would like to continue supporting. EID will fall in June this school year.

    Sausage Sizzle – Great event, well supported and attended. Bouncy Castle will no longer be allowed due to new Council rules. Need to think of a replacement activity for this year. Raised £6000

    2 Upcoming events

    Film Night – Friday 7th October. Teachers arranged to support. Still need a few volunteers for

    KS1. Children are picking the film in assembly.

    Bonfire – Friday 4th November. Biggest event of the year. Need upward of 70 volunteers to make it happen. Variety of jobs that need doing before, during and after the event. Please let us know if you can help. Pete booked to do lights and bonfire; this will be his last year so we need someone to replace him for future years. Teachers will be asked to support at the event. Heidi will advertise to Manchester University Students again. Set up is 9:30am to 4pm. Event 5pm to 7pm. Close and clean up 7pm to 8pm.

    3. Future events

    • Christmas – Market was hard work and didn’t make much profit. Discussed focusing on on-line raffle and a smaller event involving the choir.

    • Disco – suggested doing this in first term back after Christmas 4. AOB

    5. Date of Next Meeting

    Date of next meeting set as the Tuesday 15th November 2022 TBC

Previous AGM Minutes

  • Present; David Griffith (Deputy Head) Krystal Kerr (Chair) Clare Northern (Co Treasurer) Heidi Exell (Secretary) Rachael Myers (Teacher) Helen Devine (Teacher) Debbie O’ Niell, Catherine McKinnon, Clare Stepleton, Paige Doyle, Sian Corr, Juwairiah Patel, Marley Hague, Richard Adelsberg

    Apologies; Nessa Green, Laura C, Gita, Elisia, Jodie Potter

    Annual General Meeting

    • Election of 2021/2022 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Krystal stated that she is happy to continue in the Chair role. Looking for someone to shadow her this year to stand down next year. Sian said she would be interested in shadowing. Proposed by Claire Northern, Seconded by Cathrine McKinnon

    Treasurer – Clare Northern and Iwona Derezinska (not present) stood down. Debbie O’Neill put her name forward. Proposed by Krystal Kerr, Seconded by Heidi Exell

    Secretary – Heidi Exell stated that she happy to continue in role of secretary. Proposed by Clare Northern, Seconded by Krystal Kerr

    • Trustees of the Charity

    Will rollover and continue with David Griffiths and Krystal Kerr. Remove Clare Northern and add Jo

    Taylor.

    • Treasurers Report/Financial Update

    It was noted that the closing balance from 2020/2021 was £19,892. This is consistent to the previous year despite the school closure as even though not all the usual events happened, no requests for the school year.

    PTA current Bank Balance - £19,892

    Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members [email protected]

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    General Meeting

    1. UpdatesonEventsSinceLastMeeting

    Tea Towels raised £1312. Agreed it was easy to do for PTA and Teachers. Feedback from parents good. Look to do it again after Easter. Look at other products like Tote Bags as well as Tea Towels.

    Parent donation via Gateway raised £1665. First time this has been done. Put in place because parents wanted to donate despite events not running. Decided it would be good to keep this option available for parents on the gateway system. Will work like dinner money so parents can add money multiple times throughout the year or do one off donations. Discussed that money raised could go towards the big project the children vote for following on from the survey the PTA did at the end of 2020/21. Results of the survey have been passed to school so that the student council can set up a vote for the children to decide what they would like some of the PTA money to go towards. Top ideas included playground resurfacing (done over summer), shelter in the playground, playground equipment, markings for the playground.

    Small amount from Easy Fundraising and Amazon Smile, this needs readvertising to parents.

    2 Events for 2021

    • Pumpkin Trail – Pupils are encouraged to design their own pumpkin either draw, painted or

    carved. A picture is sent into the PTA and prizes are awarded. Pupils display their pumpkins at the front of the house and can take part in a pumpkin hunt during the half term holiday (like the rainbow hunt)

    • Cinema Night – Friday 15th October 2021 KS1 in downstairs Hall, KS2 in dinner Hall. Need volunteers at 9:15am to make popcorn packets. Need volunteers at 4:30pm to help set up tuck shops. Need volunteers at 5:30pm to help supervise the event. Children will be sent a list of films to vote for in their classes.

    • Bonfire and Firework Event – Friday 5th November 2021 One of our biggest events – Need at least 70 volunteers! This year will have to be ticket only to comply with COVID safety. Waiting for Manchester City Council to confirm capacity. Once we know, tickets will be available via ticket tailor Cavendish Students and Families. Release to public a week before event. Volunteers need for set up from 9:15am on the day of the event. This will include setting up stalls, gazebos, prepping food and drinks, putting up signage. Volunteers needed from 5pm to help run stalls, steward and clean down. Teachers and Manchester

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    University Students will also be helping. There will be a cake stall too so need to advertise for bakers.

    • Christmas Fair – Friday 10th December 2021 TBC. Big event so need lots of volunteers! Raffle is a big money maker. This year going to do digital tickets so hoping we will get loads of interest. Krystal has started contacting companies for prizes but this is a good one for parents to help with. Going to ask parents to approach their places of work and ask if they will either donate a prize or donate money towards a prize. Companies also do match funding for volunteer hours. Bottle and Chocolate tombola’s popular and need to organise collections in the weeks leading up to event (2nd Dec chocolate/ 10th Dec bottles). Volunteers needed all day for this one. Setting up stalls, grotto, tombola, cake stall. Running stalls and cleaning down.

    3. Eventsfor2022

    • Disco

    • Quiz night – Albert Tennis Club offered to host

    • Easter Crafternoon – Nessa will be looking for someone to shadow her as she would like

    to step down from running these events after this year

    • T ea T owels

    • Didsbury Fair and Crafternoon

    • Sausage Sizzle – Agreed to include a preloved uniform stall

    4. Studentideasforevents

    • Break the rules day – Prearrange 8 rules that can be broken for the day. Students

    pay 50p for every rule they want to break. Rules might include, wear own clothes, wear

    nail varnish, juice in the water bottles, coloured hair

    • Fancy Dress Swap Shop – could do this before world book day

    • Ice lolly stall after school in summer

    • Family volunteer event

    5. TeachersRequestsforFunds

    • •

    Mrs Devine – YR 1 to YR 6. African dance workshop. To celebrate Black History Month, this company comes into school and does a workshop and dance performance for each year group over three days. £1257 total (£2.32 per child) Agreed to fund full £1257 Mrs Myers – Nursery. Hot composting bin to recycle fruit and cardboard. This will then be used to fill the nursery planters. Waterplay equipment including trolley, water trays and

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    covers. Reading shed. Emotion cushions. Canopy over the outside play area. Costings need

    to be finalised but in region of £1400 Agreed to fund full £1400

    • Kym Johnson – YR4 and YR5. Theatre show in school. To celebrate Black History Month, this is a show celebrating diversity and features a deaf character and BSL sign language. Total £600 (£3.30 per child) Agreed to fund £234 with

    parents contributing £2

    • Mrs Cooper – Nursery to YR6. Book prizes for students who completed the summer reading challenge set by Manchester City Libraries. £300 Agreed to fund full £300

    • Ms Flitcroft – Film Club, Library and Therapy room. Bean bags for use in all three areas. 10 requested at £26.95. Total £269.50 Agreed to fund full £269.50

    • Ms Marsden – YR1. Trip to Eureka. Asked for help with coaches. £430

    Pre agreed £430

    Total Request for Funds: £4256.50

    Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £3890.50 to the school.

    6. AOB

    • Mural funding: Need to raise £3300 to complete the mural of Margret Ashton. Krystal looking into grants to pay for this. Need to see how bonfire event goes before we can commit any PTA funds. Krystal to look at possible grants. Ms Devine to liaise with Ali Ronan the local historian who first approached us with the opportunity.

    • Drop off and pick up: Concerns were raised about the safety of the children under the current procedure of not going into the school grounds. It was also highlight that the school community feel was reduced. Concerns noted by Mr Griffith but felt that these concerns need to be addressed either at the next PTA meeting as an agenda point or setting up a separate forum.

    7. DateofNextMeeting

    Date of next meeting set as the Tuesday 16th November 2021 TBC

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

  • Present; Jo Taylor (Head) Krystal Kerr (Chair) Clare Northern (Co Treasurer) Heidi Exell (Secretary) Kelly Midgley, Jill Barton, Nessa Green, Elicia Walsh Gemma McCorkell, Debbie O’ Niell, Laura Coleman, Lou Gelder, Sian, Eliana Vasques, Farheem, Guy Kilty, Lisa Micklewright, Mylaymies,

    Apologies; Catherine Mckinnon, Chris Wearing, Medda

    Annual General Meeting

    • Election of 2020/2021 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Krystal stated that she is happy to continue in the Chair role. Proposed by Claire Northern, Seconded by Laura Coleman

    Treasurer – Clare Northern stated happy to stand for one more year only Proposed by Krystal Kerr, Seconded by Nessa Green

    Iwona Derezinska (Co Treasurer) not present.

    Secretary – Heidi Exell stated that she happy to continue in role of secretary. Proposed by Clare Northern, Seconded by Elicia Walsh

    • Trustees of the Charity

    Will rollover and continue to be Clare Northern, David Griffiths and Krystal Kerr.

    • Treasurers Report/Financial Update

    It was noted that the opening balance for the PTA in 2019/20 was £14,702. A total of £15,139 was raised and donations of £7,793 were given to the school. Closing balance is £19,926. This is consistent to the previous year despite the school closure as even though not all the usual events happened, many of the requests were not funded for the second half of the school year.

    PTA current Bank Balance - £19,926

    Noted that we have still paid the bonfire 2020 deposit of £4000 despite it not going ahead this year. Krystal has agreed with Chorlton Fire Works to roll the money over for November 2021. Hoping that for a slight increase in price we can secure Friday 5th November 2021. Krystal will follow this up in the new year.

    Despite having a healthy bank account it must be noted that many event will not be taking place this year due to Covid restriction. This will be reviewed in January 2021.

    Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members [email protected] Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    General Meeting

    1. Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    Cinema Night – March 2020. Raised £1,509. Always a great event but must be put on hold until the new year. Review after Christmas.

    2.

    Ideas for future events

    Monetary donations – In the past some of our parents have given a one-off donation to the PTA as due to work commitments they are unable to volunteer at the events. It has been suggested that we could make it more widely known that we are happy to accept one off or monthly donations from our parents.

    o Suggested that we could set up a prize draw for those parents donating money, along the same line as the 100 Club. Krystal will investigate this as we have to be careful to adhere to the guidance around gambling.

    Pumpkin Trail – Pupils are encouraged to design their own pumpkin either draw, painted or carved. A picture is sent into the PTA and prizes are awarded. Pupils display their pumpkins at the front of the house and can take part in a pumpkin hunt during the half term holiday (like the rainbow hunt)

    Inviting outside agencies into school, for example authors. Agreed this would be lovely for the children but at the moment no outside agencies are allowed into the school. Review after Christmas.

    Bring in your own board game day – agreed it is a good idea but Covid restrictions make it hard to do at the moment. Review after Christmas.

    Own clothes day/fancy dress day – all agreed the children love doing this and it is an easy event to organise.

    Year Group Tea Towels – agreed this is a good idea. Heidi has agreed to organise this. Charging £4 per tea towel would see profit of nearly £2,000 if all parents bought one per child. Big Project Fundraiser – discussed that PTA looks to funding some assets for the school. Ideas included resurfacing the playground, more attractive reading spaces within school, updating all the reception areas. All these are big money projects so started thinking about how we can encourage parents and children to get involved.

    o It was agreed that a survey should be done to get feedback from the children and the parents about what they would like to invest the money. The PTA and school can then look at what would be viable to fundraise for.

    o Gemma McCorkell and Nessa Green agreed to work on the survey to be ready to distribute before the Christmas break via School Spider platform.

    o Laura Coleman agreed to help with the marketing of this project.

    o Suggested that the children can also get involved with fundraising by doing

    something sponsored.

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    • Grant applications – There are several grants available for the PTA to apply for on behalf of the school. Looking to find someone who would like to help with this. If anyone would like ot help with this please contact us at [email protected]

    Concerns raised about the collection of money at this time. Gemma McCorkell said she is happy to work on the school spider platform to allow payments to be collected digitally.

    3. Teachers Requests for Funds

    • It was raised that due to current restriction now is a good time to look at the way requests are raised. It was proposed that requests are centralised and signed off by Jo Taylor (Head) before being requested at the PTA Meetings. A form will be created for teachers to use.

    • It was proposed that some of the PTA money be spent on a thank you to the teachers for all their work during the pandemic. It was confirmed that parents can make requests. Any requests would be followed up with the school and then if the need is there the form would be filled out and signed off before the next PTA meeting.

    • It was discussed that the PTA might move away from funding as many trips and instead the school may introduce a payment scheme which offers different payment points for parents to pay what they can.

    No requests were made.

    Total Request for Funds: £0

    Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £0 to the school.

    4. AOB

    • Heritage fund: This is ongoing. Due to companies struggling we need more quotes before the application can be submitted and a payment plan would need to be agreed. Krystal is heading this up and will continue to update us.

    • Mural funding: this is currently on hold as we have not had the adequate information from the artist to complete the application.

    5. Date of Next Meeting

    Date of next meeting set as the Tuesday 8th December 2020

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

  • Present; David Griffiths (Deputy Head) Krystal Kerr (Chair) Clare Northen (Co Treasurer) Iwona Derezinska (Co Treasurer), Catherine Mckinnon (Secretary) Rob King, Claire Seneviratne, Naomi Regan, Heidi Excell, Kelly Midgley, Nicola Merry, Jill Barton, Nessa Green

    Apologies; Jen Barnes, Helen Cooper, Lou Gelder (Deputy Chair), Elicia Walsh, Vicky Brown

    Annual General Meeting

    • Election of 2019/2020 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Krystal stated that she is happy to continue in the Chair role for one more year only.

    Proposed by Catherine Mckinnon, Seconded by Clare Northern

    Treasurer – Clare Northern and Iwona Derezinska both stated that they are happy to stand for another year

    Proposed by Krystal Kerr, Seconded by Kelly Midgley

    Secretary - Catherine Mckinnon stated that she is standing down after 5 years in the role. Heidi Excell stated that she is happy to step into the role

    Proposed by Catherine Mckinnon, Seconded by Claire Seneviratne

    • Trustees of the Charity

    This has now been updated to name Clare Northern, David Griffiths and Krystal Kerr

    as trustees.

    • Treasurers Report/Financial Update

    It was noted that the turnover for the PTA in 2018/2019 was £31,685 generating an operating profit of £18,627. This was fairly consistent to the previous year. Our expenses were higher at £13,000 but this is due to a grant won for £5,000 which had to be spent on PTA equipment which should help make future events easier to run. Once again bonfire was the biggest fundraiser.

    PTA current Bank Balance - £15,568.70

    Noted that we needed to keep around £4,000 in the bank to finance Bonfire Night. Clare Northern proposed keeping a contingency at all times of £2,000 in the bank for any emergency spend.

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    Current available balance for teacher requests is £6,500

    Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members -

    [email protected]

    General Meeting

    1. Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    Didsbury Festival/Crafternoon – The crafternoon was run by Nessa Green and was again a really popular event and certainly helped boost parade numbers. The festival itself was again a wet one but as we are no longer allowed to take the bouncy castle we saved a pitch fee and the hire of a generator so made £170 profit on the day. Does bring into question how worth while it is having a stall as it’s a full day with minimal financial reward.

    Disco – Heidi and Naomi ran both KS1 and KS2 discos and both were popular. KS1 didn’t have a tuck shop, a drink and bag of sweets were included in the price. Combined the 2 disco’s raised £1075.

    Sausages Sizzle – The weather was good and we sold out of food and drink. A good number of morning volunteers meant that we were set up by lunch time. We didn’t have enough volunteers for stalls and had to cut back on what we could run as a result. We didn’t have any external providers this year which didn’t seem a problem. The event raised £2,900. Really need to look at how we can increase the number of stall volunteers to keep this event successful.

    2. Events

    We have pre-set all dates for events for the year. People often say that if they had more notice on dates then they could have volunteered so have decided to publish all event dates now – see end of minutes for the list

    Bonfire Night – This is set for Monday 4th since the previous week is half term. Concerns raised about a struggle on volunteers with it being a Monday and the first day back after half term. This is the biggest fun raiser of the year and really need to get support from a new set of volunteers. We are looking at preselling tickets to ease the flow of people into the event. Chorlton Fire works are looking at using quieter fireworks especially at the start of the event and we will consider setting up an area at the back of the car park for those with smaller children. A few comments last year on the darkness of the back of the field so look at additional lighting in this area.

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    Christmas Cards – If we do Christmas cards this year the designs would have to be in for the 4th October to have back by the beginning of December. General agreement that the effort involved is not worth financial gain. It’s a nice to do event but very labour intensive and general preference is to use volunteers on bigger events. Agree not to do Christmas Cards.

    Christmas Fair – Date set for 13th December as the 6th is an inset day. Have already started the letters to local businesses for Raffle prizes but if anyone has any connections to get anything it would be much appreciated.

    3. Teachers Requests for Funds

    Nicola Merry – Year 1 want to do a trip to Woodland hideaway in Wigan, ideally only want to charge £6/head. Requests £652.

    Nicola Merry – Would like to create some art baskets that children can take home. Need to purchase the baskets and materials to fill them. Requests £300.

    Helen Cooper – The Reading Challenge was popular again this summer, requests up to £500 for prizes for those children that took part. Requests up to £500.

    David Griffiths – Lower KS2 need to update their resources for Golden Time/Wet Play, they need new games etc. It was noted that they would also do a call out for parents having a clear out and write to Hasbro to see if they would donate, games need to be short enough to play during break time. Requests £900.

    David Griffiths – it has previously been agreed but not formally requested for £1000 to support this year’s Big Adventure. Requests £1000

    Total Request for Funds: £3,352

    Agree to fund the following;

    Y1 Woodland trip £652 Art Baskets £300 Reading Challenge £500 KS2 Golden Time £900 2019 Big Adventure £1000

    Cavendish PTA

    @CavendishPTA

    www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £3,352 to the school, to fund the above projects.

    4. AOB

    PTA Kids – Nessa would like to run the idea of PTA Kids. The members of the PTA Kids would come up with an idea of something to fundraise for and run an event to raise money for it. This fits in with the social responsibility and will hopefully help drive the children and more parents to become involved with the PTA. Nessa to head up.

    Funding – Krystal has been looking at funding over the summer, there are a couple of grants to apply for that would help enhance the field area with bird boxes etc. We are still looking at the Heritage fund to repair the front railings. Getting a company to do the work in situ is proving more difficult than expected. Work needs to be done between April-Aug. We need to get the application in by February.

    5. DateofNextMeeting

    Date of next meeting set as the 20th November 2019

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    PTA DATES FOR THE YEAR 2019/2020

    Film Night - KS1 and KS2 Friday Oct 11th 2019 Bonfire Night - Monday 4th November 2019 PTA Meeting - 20th November 2019 Christmas Crafternoon - 29th November 2019 Christmas Film Night - Thurs 5th Dec 2019 Christmas Fair - 13th December 2019

    Film Night - 31st January 2019

    PTA Meeting - 18th February 2019

    Easter Crafternoon - 27th March 2020

    Disco KS1 - Friday 1st May

    Disco KS2 - Weds 6th May* may change

    PTA Meeting - 13th May 2020

    Didsbury Festival Crafternoon - 12th June 2020 Didsbury Festival - 13th June 2020

    Summer Fair - 3rd July 2020

    If you

    the event then please let us know, we are grateful for every hour you can give.

    All dates are agreed at time of publication

    are able to volunteer at any of the above events for set up or during

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

  • Present; David Griffiths (Deputy Head) Krystal Kerr (Current Co Chair) Louise Gelder (Current Co Chair) Jen Barnes (Current Treasurer) Catherine Mckinnon (Current Secretary) Rob King, Gita Clark, Vicky Brown, Claire Seneviratne, Joanna Charnock, Heidi Excell, Clare Northen, Iwona Derezinska, Mina Patel, Elicia Walsh, Naomi Reagan, Elaine Clements, Rachel Okolie

    Apologies; Laura Coleman, Caroline McGillard, Nessa Green, Debbie O’Neil, Lisa Micklewright, Rachel Marsden

    Annual General Meeting

    • Election of 2018/2019 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Krystal stated that she is happy to continue in the Chair role

    Proposed by Catherine Mckinnon, Seconded by Louise Gelder

    Co Chair - Louise has taken a full time job and is stepping down but happy to hold a deputy position (non official committee role).

    Treasurer – Jen Barnes stated that she is standing down after 3 years of treasurer and 4 years on the committee. Clare Northern and Iwona Derezinska are happy to jointly take over the role of Treasurer.

    Proposed by Krystal Kerr, Seconded by Louise Gelder

    Marketing – Laura Coleman is standing down from this position due to personal commitments. No one willing to stand into the role, look at removing as a committee role.

    Secretary - Catherine Mckinnon stated that she was happy to stand for another year.

    Proposed by Krystal Kerr, Seconded by Jen Barnes

    The committee would like it stated in the minutes that we are very grateful to Jen for all the hard work she has put in for the last 4 years and would like to say a massive thank you.

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    • Trustees of the Charity

    There are currently 3 Trustees listed against the charity (Dawn Lappin, Jen Barnes,

    David Griffiths). These need to be changed to reflect committee for 2018/19 • Treasurers Report 2017/2018

    It was noted that the turn over for the PTA in 2017/2018 was £29,962 generating an operating profit of £18,885.

    PTA current Bank Balance - £5,393.17

    Note there is a movie night this month which will show an increase in these figures for the month end.

    Accounts were circulated showing break down for the last 7 years. General observations were;

    • In 2017/2018 we raised £18,885 profit this was up on the previous year mainly due to Bonfire night which was also the most successful to date raising just under £6,300 profit and the Co-op Reading shed campaign which resulted in a donation on £3,439 (will also increase slightly after Movie night)

    • Overall Expenses were £14,779.14 (this will increase due to Movie Night) which are significantly up on last year (by around 3k) but reflective to increase in income and the PTA have invested in a new gazebo for events and other assets and replenished stocks on items such as face paints and craft.

    • Spent over £15,000 on School projects

    Noted that we needed to keep around £4,000 in the bank to finance Bonfire Night.

    Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members - [email protected]

    General Meeting

    1. Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    Didsbury Festival Crafternoon – This was a very popular event and resulted in a large turnout for the parade itself.

    Didsbury Festival – The day was mostly dry meaning that the bouncy castle could be put up. The biggest achievement was winning the cup for best school in the parade for the third year in a row. We made £370 profit.

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    Sausage Sizzle – A really successful event raising £2,250. Little Sports Coaching ran the zorbing football again. Sausages came from Axons and were popular but with the addition of pizza from Prove and curry from Indique the sausages didn’t sell out as quickly as last year although they were all sold.

    2. Events

    Movie Night – This has been confirmed for the 28th September for KS1 and KS2 children, 5.00 – 7.15. We need volunteers to help run this event and need to get the teachers to run a vote on movies in assembly as from previous experience we know that this helps to get the children involved and tickets sell quicker.

    Bonfire Night – This has been confirmed for the 2nd November, deposit for Chorlton Fireworks has already been paid and North West First Aid have been booked to attend. Last year the event took 75 volunteers to run the event, including bakers and pre event organisation. It was noted that this clashes again with the Year 6 weekend away which means we may be down on teacher numbers. Heidi will approach the university again for student volunteers.

    Christmas Cards – We have done these for the last 3 years. They don’t raise much money but are liked by the parents. Need to look for a different company to provide these after the mess up by the existing company last 2 years. Noted that it isn’t that labour intensive and doesn’t need to be done from school premises. Look at doing a crafternoon to support again but noted that to get cards back by Christmas they need to be sent off by the end of October. Need to make it very clear in comms that we are using a new company as it was felt that problems from 2 years ago affected uptake last year.

    Christmas Fair – Date is confirmed at the 7th December. The Christmas Raffle is always a big money maker but requires donations from local businesses and any businesses that parents have contacts with. Krystal Kerr has already started contacting the bigger companies, but we will need to start contacting local businesses as well. Need to do a parent call out for any contacts that may exist within the school (KK)

    Disco – Always popular but with the size of the school need to do separate age groups. Naomi Reagan said she is happy to head up another disco after running one last year for KS1. With the number of big events pre-Christmas probably need to plan this for the New Year

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

    3. Teachers Requests for Funds

    Helen Cooper – There was an amazing response from the Summer Reading Challenge. HC promised a book to everyone that brought in their certificate. Requests £500 to buy books

    Rob King – Stocks of branded t-shirts for the children when they participate in school sports competitions are running low and need replenishing. Requests £365 to replace stocks

    Total Request for Funds: £865

    Agree to fund the following;

    Reading Books for Reading Challenge £500

    Sports T-Shirts £365

    Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £865 to the school, to fund the above projects.

    4. AOB

    Lottery Funding – After failing with our application for lottery funding last year we are relooking at this but need to carry out a survey with parents to back up the application.

    West Fest – Joanna Charnock commented on the absence of the school presence at West Fest and how if we were involved with the playground space that it would help make the whole event more family friendly. Look to get more details for next year but also noted that it normally takes place the first weekend September before the school is back which could make logistics difficult.

    5. DateofNextMeeting

    Date of next meeting set as the 14th November

    Cavendish PTA @CavendishPTA www.cavendishpta.org.uk

  • Present; Janet Marland (Head) Dawn Lappin (Current Chair) Jen Barnes (Current Treasurer) Catherine Mckinnon (Current Secretary) Rob King, Helen Cooper, Krystal Kerr, Lorna Cook, Richard Bray, Fran Bray, Carly Borne, Gita Clark, Cat Mullett, Laura Coleman, Jill Barton, Louise Gelder, Rachel Marsden, Edward Swinden, Annie Illing, Helen Boanas, Faheem Akhtar, Vicky Brown, Claire Seneviratne, Joanna Charnock, Ellie Hespe, Heidi Excell, Lucy Lovatt, Clare Northen, Nicola Merry, Leanne Johnson, Vino Broomfield, Caroline McGillard

    Annual General Meeting

    • Election of 2017/2018 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Dawn Lappin stated that she would not be standing for another year and therefore the position was open. Krystal Kerr said she would be happy to stand in a co chair position, Louise Gelder happy to co chair.

    Proposed by Jen Barnes, Seconded by Catherine Mckinnon

    Treasurer – Jen Barnes stated that she was happy to stand for another year

    Proposed by Jen Barnes, Seconded by Catherine Mckinnon

    Marketing – This position has been empty for the last year. Laura Coleman stated that she would be happy to fill this role.

    Proposed by Catherine Mckinnon, Seconded by Krystal Kerr

    Secretary - Catherine Mckinnon stated that she was happy to stand for another year Proposed by Jen Barnes, Seconded by Laura Coleman

    Janet Marland would like it stated in the minutes that all of the staff at Cavendish are very grateful to Dawn for all the hard work she has put in for the last 3 years and would like to say a massive thank you.

    1|Page

    • Trustees of the Charity

    There are currently 3 Trustees listed against the charity (Dawn Lappin, Jen Barnes, David Griffiths) Dawn to check that she can remain as a trustee or if it needs to be transferred over to the current chair.

    • Treasurers Report 2016/2017

    It was noted that the turn over for the PTA in 2016/2017 was £19,651 generating an

    operating profit of £12,247

    PTA current Bank Balance - £4,268 (includes float in cash being held for bonfire)

    Note there is a KS2 disco this month which will show an increase in these figures for the month end.

    Accounts were circulated showing break down for the last 7 years. General observations were;

    • In 2016/2017 we raised £12,247 profit this was up on the previous year mainly due the re instatement of Bonfire night which was also the most successful to date raising just under £3,600 profit

    • The Sausage Sizzle was also the best to date raising £2,880

    • Overall Expenses were £7,404.78 (this will increase due to KS2 Disco)

    • Spent over £11,000 on School projects

    Noted that we needed to keep around £2,000 in the bank to finance Bonfire Night. Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members -

    [email protected]

    General Meeting

    1. Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    Didsbury Festival – Once again this was a wash out although we made more profit than the previous year at £400. The biggest achievement was winning the cup for best school in the parade for the second year in a row. It was felt that the make and do session held prior to the festival really helped

    Sausage Sizzle – A really successful event raising £2,880. We had external input into some of the activities at the event this year from the likes of Rock Over Climbing and Little Sports Coaching giving activities that aren’t normally available and all helped

    2|Page

    to create a really good vibe on the school field. We increased the sausage order from “The 3 Little Pigs” and still sold out in an hour. Despite the rain the Cavendish parents still came out to support the event.

    Co-op Local Funding Project – This is due to come to an end in October so still a few more weeks for the fund to increase but it currently stands at £1,759.92. It was noted that this value can only increase and will hopefully provide for more items than just the Reading Sheds that we hoped for

    2. Events

    School Disco – This has been confirmed for the 28th September for KS2 children, 5.30 – 7.15. We need volunteers to help run this event. Paul Holloway has agreed to be the DJ.

    Bonfire Night – This has been confirmed for the 3rd November, deposit for Chorlton Fireworks has already been paid and North West First Aid have been booked to attend. Last year the event took 35 volunteers to run the event. It was noted that this clashes with the Year 6 weekend away which means we may be down on teacher numbers.

    Sub-committee to be formed; Helen Boanas, Lou Gelder, Krystal Kerr, Jen Barnes, Ellie Hespe, Laura Coleman, Gita Clark, Caroline McGillard, Lorna Cook, Claire Seneviratne, Vicky Brown, Catherine Mckinnon.

    Christmas Cards – We have done these for the last 2 years. They don’t raise much money but are liked by the parents. Need to look for a different company to provide these after the computer mess up of existing company last year. Noted that it isn’t that labour intensive and doesn’t need to be done from school premises.

    Christmas Fair – Dates of the 1st and 8th December to be suggested to school as possible dates. The Christmas Raffle is always a big money maker but requires donations from local businesses and any businesses that parents have contacts with. Caroline McGillard has already started contacting the bigger companies but we will need to start contacting local businesses as well. Need to do a parent call out for any contacts that may exist within the school (LC)

    Cinema Nights – always a good fund raiser, look at running another double film night. Date set as 26th January.

    3|Page

    3. Teachers Requests for Funds

    Helen Cooper – There was a amazing response from the Summer Reading Challenge. HC promised a book to everyone that brought in their certificate. Numbers current stand at 118. Requests £300 to buy books

    Rachel Marsden – Would like to bring eggs in to hatch for year 1 but would also benefit the rest of the school. She needs to commit to the project now but funds not needed until March. Requests £415.

    Rachel Marsden – Would like to buy a set of 15 lab coats and goggles for the Science Club. Requests £182.10

    Rachel Marsden – Would like 3 sets of 4 light up boards to help reluctant writers. Requests £344.70.

    Rob King – A couple of teachers would like to start an after school running club. It still has several Health and Safety assessments to go through as they would be leaving the school grounds. They would also need High-Vis Jackets and clip on lights and would like to know if the PTA would be willing to support. Request £150, to be finalised at next meeting

    Nikki Merry – Has been talking with a Street Art Project about brightening up the playground. Looking at getting the Art Foundation in to work with the children to create stencils from their drawings and then applying them to the wall around the football pitch. Requests £300 for paint. The question was asked if this could go towards the Art Mark Award. Need to look if paint can be sourced from B&Q for free KK

    Total Request for Funds: £1691.80

    Agree to fund the following;

    Reading Books for Reading Challenge

    Science Club Lab Coats and Goggles

    Light up Writing Boards

    Paint for Street Art

    Hatching Chicks for Year 1

    £300

    £182.10

    £344.70

    £300

    £415 (to be paid at a later date)

    Cavendish PTA have agreed to donate a total of £1,126.80 now to the school, to fund

    the above projects, and £415 at a later date to cover hatching chicks.

    4|Page

    4. AOB

    Notice Boards – Louise Gelder has got a quote for a water/finger proof notice board for the PTA. Agreed to invest in the board at £140.

    Christmas Plays – it was suggested that an easy fund raiser would be to ask parents to bake cakes and leave on a table with an honesty for when parents are queuing for Christmas plays. It was agreed that buying mince pies in bulk and selling these would be easier due to the demand on bakes for other events around this time.

    Lottery Funding – the PTA could do with some new equipment. Caroline McGillard is currently filling in some paperwork to apply for lottery funds to purchase a range of equipment (gazebos, storage, popcorn machine, candy floss machine) The turn- around is normally 12 weeks.

    Manchester University Leadership Programme – it was suggested that this would be a good place to get volunteers for events like Bonfire Night. Students need to complete a certain number of voluntary hours to complete their course. Heidi Excell to give details to Krystal.

    Email Database – The meeting flagged up the ongoing problem with low subscription rates to the PTA database. All those present were encouraged to subscribe by visiting the Cavendish PTA website and it was stressed that more focus needs to be placed on improving the database via communication.

    Dawn Lappin informed the meeting that she was already liaising with school about how and whether the PTA could share the school database. Suggestions currently involve Cavendish PTA sending out an email/letter to all parents requesting whether they're happy for their email to be shared by school to the PTA (with an opt out action). In the meantime, Cavendish PTA will continue to share information between the PTA database (mail chimp) and the school database (the latter seeing school sending out content via their database).

    5. DateofNextMeeting

    Date of next meeting set as the 15th November

    5|Page

  • Attendees; David Griffiths (DG), Rob King (RK), Dawn Lappin (DL), Jen Barnes (JB), Helen Burton (HB),

    Si Manning (SM), Nessa Green (NG), Kirsty Leigh Jones (KL), Catherine Mckinnon (CM)

    Annual General Meeting

     Apologies; Nicola Sherlock, Gemma McCorkell, Caroline McGilliard, Petra Lewis, Lucy Lovett

     Election of 2016/2017 PTA Committee Roles

    Chair – Dawn Lappin stated that she was happy to stand for one more year but would be intending

    to stand down at the next AGM.

    Proposed by Simon Manning, Seconded by Jen Barnes

    Treasurer – Jen Barnes stated that she was happy to stand for another year. Proposed by Dawn Lappin, Seconded by Rob King

    Marketing – Helen Burton stated that she was stepping down from the Marketing role. No one present able to pick up the role. Role to be a publicised as being available or role to be split between other committee members. HB to draw up a list of activities.

    Secretary – Catherine Mckinnon stated that she was happy to stand for another year. Proposed by Helen Burton, seconded by Jen Barnes

     Trustees of the Charity

    These were confirmed as David Griffiths, Dawn Lappin and Jen Barnes and all the paper is in order.

     Treasurers Report

    PTA current Bank Balance - £4,257

    Accounts were circulated showing break down for the last 6 years. General observations were;

     In 2015/2016 we raised £8,294 this was down on the previous year but mainly due to not being able to do Bonfire Night due to building works.

     Biggest fund raiser was the Christmas Fair (£2,852) followed by the Sausage Sizzle (£1,957)

     We added a few new events (cinema night and Christmas cards) which added about £1,000

     Overall Expenses were £4,019

     Spent £8,361 on School projects, slightly higher than the income due to existing balance

    from previous year.

    There was a general feeling that we need to push the value of Easyfundraising to parents as it’s an easy way for people to help raise money for the school and doesn’t cost them anything. Maybe look at giving an incentive to the parent that raises the most in this academic year.

    1|Page

    Breakdown of Accounts available on request to PTA members [email protected] JB to discuss with SM how to submit the accounts for 2015/2016 to the charity commission.

    General Meeting

     Updates on Events Since Last Meeting

    Didsbury Festival – Due to really bad weather this event was not successful financially, although we did win the cup for the best school in the parade. We made a small profit (£100) but this was mainly due to not having to pay for the generator which arrived but didn’t work.

    SausageSizzle–Thiswasagoodeventdespitetheweather. Itdidn’tmakeasmuchastheprevious year. Due to the bad weather the bar didn't do well at all, in comparison to the year before, when it was one of our main profit stalls. The BBQ did really well with positive comments on the sausages from 3 Little Pigs in Didsbury.

    Nemaste Nepal also had a stall, last year they split their profit with us. Still waiting for a contribution from them this year – DL to query contribution level.

     Up Coming Events

    Bonfire – This will be the 10th year of Cavendish running the bonfire and fireworks event and has become a real community event drawing in people from other primary schools. We missed last year with the building works so really want to get it re-instated this year.

    Ste is a contact of SM and he has done all the fireworks in previous events with a budget of £1500 (ex VAT). He requested at the last event to increase this to put on a better display. SM to check with him that he can do the fireworks this year.

    Capacity was discussed as the last event was very popular and with a pay on the door policy control can be difficult. Agreed that we need to look at some pre pay ticketed system so that numbers can be controlled. Paypal/Eventbrite both could offer this but would also take a fee so needs to be looked at and maximum capacity agreed (probably around 2000). Also to possibly consider the use of the carpark for capacity rather than use as a carpark on the evening. Risk Assessment has been done, DL to request a copy

    Agreed potential date of the 4th November, bonfire lighting at 5.30 and fireworks at 6.30

    Peter Web normally organises the bonfire and electrics – RK to approach to check that he is happy to do this again this year.

    Need to notify the fire brigade and St johns Ambulance of event and request 4 people (cost around £200) – DL to action

    Flashing toys sell really well at this event and sold out in half an hour at the last event. Look at doubling the order this year.

    2|Page

    It is noted that we need the current balance in the PTA bank to cover the set up costs for this event, each area high value and difficult to ask people to cover this on personal accounts.

    Sub Committee to be made – DL, CM, HB, NG, NS, KL

    Christmas Cards – Expecting the pack to arrive at any time. Collection dates all booked in. This year it should be much simpler as parents can order directly on line. Details to be communicated once pack arrives.

    Christmas Fair – Agreed for the 9th December. To be discussed further and sub-committee made. CM to head.

    Cinema Night – These were a new event last year and proved to be popular. Look at running 2 or 3 in January, maybe 2 in one night using both halls.

    Quiz Night – Also well received last year, look at doing another one in the Spring.  Teacher Requests

    Big Adventure – DG asked for £500 to cover the costs of the marquee. This was agreed in principle but with the set up costs for the bonfire night it will be paid after this event.

     Date of Next Meeting

    Date agreed as Wednesday 16th November.

    3|Page

  • Present: Dawn Lappin (DL - Chair), Jen Barnes (Secretary), Cath Alnuamaani (CA), Janet Marland, Nicola Sherlock, Simon Manning (SM - Treasurer), Catherine McKinnon (CM), Lorna Cook, Petra Lewis (PL), Helen Burton

    Apologies: Caroline McGilliard, Helen Boanas, Vino Bromfield, Rob King

    AGM Committee Roles:

    Chair: Dawn Lappin (DL) agreed to continue as Chair and was voted back in. Proposed by SM, Seconded by CA

    Treasurer: Simon Manning (SM) stepped down as the Treasurer.

    Jen Barnes Proposed by DL, seconded by CM

    Secretary: Jen Barnes (JB) stepped down

    Catherine McKinnon proposed by HB, seconded by NS

    Marketing role (new): Previously this has been done by the Chair, but due to the size of the school this is now taking significant input on top of other responsibilities (FB, emails, posters, etc). All present agreed this was a good idea.

    Helen Burton (HB) was proposed by DL and seconded by PL.

    Non-committee position – Vice-Chair: to shadow the elected chair and provide support. None committee as need to amend constitution of PTA to state committee positions & felt it may be a challenge to fill five positions every year.

    Caroline McGilliard is happy to act in this role for 2015/16.

    Trustees of Charity

    Clare McCarron still named, as is Rachel Boyd and David Griffiths. Rachel no longer has children at the school. Agreed that this needs updating and this information updating on the TAR. Need clarification on roles of the trustees. DL and JB happy to step in, need to check with DG. Action DL.

    Treasurer’s Report

    The PTA bank balance is currently £4,257.

    1|Page

    SM circulated year end accounts for 2014-2015, highlighting the biggest fundraising events as bonfire night (£6,545), followed by Xmas fair (£2,870) and summer fair (£2,866).

    SM made the following observations;

     £14,303 raised in year in total – step up from previous year.

     Expenses £5,152 (bonfire night costs ~ £2,000 to put on so profit is around £4,000)

     The PTA spent less to deliver the events in 2014/15 compared to previous years.

     Have also invested £700 into new assets (gazebos, banners etc)

     Spend £9,703 on projects for the school – slightly higher than the income as some funds

    carried over from CavFest.

    SM stated that the accounts are available to any PTA member on request –

    [email protected]

    DL observed that in 2014-15 there seemed to be less teacher requests than the previous year. Very rarely Y5 and Y6 teachers. Suggested could e.g. help to fund the Y6 leavers hoodies. JM suggested that the PTA advertise this directly to teachers once a term.

    A summary of PTA expenditure is going to be made into a flyer for book bags to publicise the PTA work to parents (group by category e.g. sport, art etc) and show the wide range of activities supported – ask for soundbites from teachers who received funds last year. This flyer will also be sent to teachers to raise their awareness of the availability of PTA funding for teacher-led projects to advertise that new requests are welcomed – in 2014/14 one third of our fundraising was effectively unclaimed. Action DL.

    ‘News stand’ for the playground – ask Gary if he can make one up. Action DL.

    TAR update & 2013-14 accounts. SM to speak to Andrea Csanyi re auditing CavFest accounts by end of September. Can’t submit subsequent years until these have been submitted. Deadline for submitting accounts is end of October. Action: SM.

    2014/15 EOY accounts to be submitted to the Charity Commission. Action: SM

    Events:

    Rock Over Climbing: (via parent at the school) opened up a weekend event with the opportunity to have taster sessions for £1 per person, proceeds to Cavendish PTA. Funds raised to be confirmed to DL and a cheque sent. Happy to support other school events (e.g. Christmas raffle)

    Cake bake: 2014 held a cake bake as a welcome event and fundraiser for PTA / McMillan. Previously raised about £200 in an hour. Suggest for Friday 25th September and split with McMillan again. JM to advertise in newsletter.

    2|Page

    Bonfire Night: currently unknown as to what state the playground will be in following October half- term. May still have restricted access on Thursday 5th Nov due to building works. Need double gates to be open for emergency exit and into a safe space. If not possible then advertise that bonfire night not happening in 2015 but will be back, and identify an alternative fund-raiser (e.g. Halloween event, Fri 6th Nov (Y6 away on residential) depending on hall availability), or hold a reduced size fire work event ticketed only. JM will have a better idea as to state of play with respect to field/playground next week and will report back to committee, also regarding hall availability. Action JM.

    Christmas fair: Friday 4th December. Need raffle tickets printing by Nov 13th to sell in the week before the event so need to start identifying raffle prizes. CM has sent a prize request letter out to Manchester businesses (e.g. Legoland, Chill Factore etc) need also to request from local shops, CA happy to approach. SM has a list of local businesses that have previously been happy to support. Claire Howarth will have good suggestions for big businesses, CA to speak to her. Action: CA

    Last year reindeers were suggested, DL asked if could use the nursery ‘polka dots’ room with reindeers outside. DL has called for availability & currently 4th Dec is possible, at a cost of £495 (1 hour) or £595 (2 hours) for two reindeer with elf and/or handler. Could sell combined Santa/reindeer rickets or reindeer only. CA suggested music/outdoor speakers would be nice. All present supported the idea to book reindeer, DL to book. Action DL

    Cavendish cinema: good fundraiser for other PTAs. Parents drop children for 2 hours, show a film on a whiteboard, say £2.50 a ticket including drink and popcorn. Need to do when dark outside. Could hold separate events for different ages throughout the year. Thursday or Friday best night re hall availability. Need to confirm ratio of adults to children. Trial event for Y4-6 suggested in Autumn 1, Thursday 22nd Oct. Committee: DL, NS, JB.

    Quiz night: consider at next meeting, suggest run after Christmas

    Clarins evening: approached by Clarins House of Fraser regarding hosting a Clarins night at school, no cost to school but could put on e.g. cheese and wine. Early Feb 2016 suggested. DL to speak to Clarins re dates. Action DL.

    Bop Cavendish: parent suggested similar event to Bop Local, e.g. couple of bands or a DJ for the night. Consider for 2016.

    Brake Road Safety Event: Rob King to outline in the next PTA meeting with respect to road safety week in November.

    Other initiatives

    Christmas cards: have previously tried but JM thinks money was lost, need to check prices as quite expensive – DL has been quoted £5.00 for 12 cards, RRP £6.00, £8.40 for 24 cards RRP £10.00 (APFS). Could send out a flyer asking parents who want to do it to provide a design to school (similar to school photo pack) along with money. Seems low risk, DL to confirm no PTA outlay. NS offered to help DL organise. JM to advertise in newsletter. Action DL/NS.

    3|Page

    One Family Award: award scheme for community support initiatives/projects, DL has discussed with JM, JM suggested creating seating areas for playground or front of school. DL has asked the parent who suggested it to provide more info, then DL will populate it. Action: DL

    Easy Fundraising: HB to promote this, especially before Christmas shopping begins (explain that this can be anonymous). Action: HB

    Teachers Requests for Funds

    No official requests but Clare Powell would like to replace the climbing frame for nursery. Has negotiated a 20% discount on a new frame and safety surface, price TBC, JM asked if PTA happy in principle to hear a request probably of the order of £1,000-£1,500 – confirmed this is very welcome.

    AOB

    No update regarding the school build project, there has been a delay and demolition did not take place over the summer holidays as planned, JM awaiting further update from the building contractor.

    Next Meeting – Tuesday 10th November 2015 at 7pm.

    4|Page

  • Present: Clare McCarron (CMc), Paul Tempest (PT), Kayvan Moinian, Dawn Lappin (DL), Caroline McGillard, Jen Barnes (JB), Helen Boanas, Catherine Alnuamaani, Maggie McManus, Nicola Sherlock, Virve Vihman, Janet Marland (JM), Simon Manning (SM), Rob King (RK), Nadeem Ahmed, Bridget Moss

    Apologies: Carole Spiller, Helen Burton

    AGM Committee Roles:

    Chair: Clare McCarrron (CMc) stepped down as the Chair, Dawn Lappin (DL) was voted in. Proposed

    by CMc, Seconded by SM.

    Treasurer: Simon Manning (SM) agreed to continue as Treasurer and was voted back in. Proposed by CMc, Seconded by PT.

    Secretary: Vanessa Watt stepped down as Secretary and Jen Barnes was voted in. Proposed by DL. Seconded by RK.

    Treasurer’s Report:

    The PTA bank balance is currently £5,458.

    SM circulated year end accounts for 2013-2014, highlighting that the biggest fundraising events were Bonfire Night (£4,470), Summer Fair (£2,260) and the Christmas Fair (£1,686).

    SM made the following observations;

    • £9k income represented a very good income for a non-CavFest year, around 50% higher than 2011-2012 and highlighted the key events.

    • Christmas fair, ran last year by teachers, was a very successful event as was the new Sausage Sizzle event.

    • Expenses were higher than normal due to some legacy CavFest expenses that required payment.

    A summary of the PTA expenditure is going to be made into a flyer for book-bags to publicise the PTA work to parents. Suggestion that the expenditure could be grouped by category (e.g. sport, art etc) to show the wide range of activities that are supported. Action: DL/SM

    Dawn Lappin is preparing some ‘soundbites’ from the September cake event that can also be used to advertise the work of the PTA. Action: DL

    1|Page

    PTA noticeboard needs refreshing, and it was suggested that teachers who have previously received funds from the PTA should provide feedback about what they have done with the money. Action: DL

    There was the suggestion that a ‘news-stand’ could be used to advertise events etc in the playground. DL said she would look into costs to buy one. Action: DL

    SM added that details should not be put into the public domain but that a full detailed report is available for any PTA member via SM if required.

    Accounts to be filed with the Charity Commission. Action: SM

    Events:

    Bonfire Night 2014

    Preparation is already underway. Fireworks have been ordered for approx. £1,500 + VAT and St John Ambulance have been booked. No more wood required for the bonfire.

    Fireworks have been selected carefully this year after a coat was damaged by a rogue firework at last year’s event – it was also suggested that the cordon be moved back slightly. Need 1 steward for every 250 attendees. PT suggested that at least 4 people should be on the cordon this year.

    Gate entry was also an issue in 2013, DL suggested that this year could have two gates into the field.

    Committee formed to lead this event.

    There is a banner for the fireworks night in the PTA cupboard, needs putting on railings to advertise.

    Action: Bonfire committee

    Door entry price will again be £2 per adult and 50p per child. No price increase since 2010.

    Glynis has agreed to do the food, but PTA need to order the food for her (jacket potatoes and hot

    dogs). Action: Bonfire committee

    Tuck run needed. Action: Bonfire committee

    Fire Brigade to be informed. Action: DL

    Insurers to be informed. Action: SM

    Flashing toys to be ordered, CMc offered to order 2013 quantities +25% more as sold out last year.

    Action: CMc

    Sub-committee for making final arrangements formed: Dawn, Caroline, Helen, Nicola, Catherine and Maggie all offered.

    2|Page

    Christmas Fair

    Suggested that the teachers again run this event, as per 2013.

    Proposed to hold the event on Friday 5th December straight after school. Janet Marland to check

    with staff and confirm the date. Action: JM

    Santa to start at 3pm for Nursery children. Big queues last year and now have 30 more children. Janet suggested a 2FC approach but need to think of the logistics of managing that. Was also suggested that a little tuck stall by the entrance to the grotto could be a good idea. Still some books in the PTA cupboard from 2013 but more need buying (Book People multipacks). Probably only need another £100 more spending to top up. Action: Christmas fair committee

    A mulled wine stall was suggested and agreed. Need to buy an alcohol licence for £21, required 10 working day’s notice, obtain via city council website as a ‘temporary event’. Action: Christmas fair committee

    A heated urn for the mulled wine would also be useful - Sarah Lynch Barret has done mulled wine previously so could be useful to talk to her, Janet also said she would ask St Paul’s if they had an urn that could be used. Action: JM

    DL suggested emailing around to get volunteers for a Christmas fair committee, as the next PTA meeting would be too close to the event. Bridget offered to be on this committee.

    Teachers Requests for Funds: a) Request from Mrs El Harabi:

    Mrs El Harabi requested funds to be used to augment the ‘Draw Therapy’ scheme that she runs with ‘Sand Play’ equipment. The Draw Therapy scheme is used to help support children who are dealing with challenging situations, such as bereavement for example. Sand Play requires a lidded tray along with a range of supplementary figures (people, animals etc). Janey Marland estimated that this would require £350 as a maximum, but said that the school would top this up if the final sum was in excess of £350.

    All agreed and £350 request approved.

    b) Request from Rob King

    Rob requested funds to purchase more Cavendish red sports T-shorts – currently has around 20 off but would like more for school team competition events. Requested £385 for 30 off. SM commented that the high initial set-up cost might make it more economic to get a higher number, say 50-60. It was also suggested that Rob could get a quote for the same T-shirts but with ‘Cavendish’ on the back in white. Loomland was the supplier used previously, SM said that Cath Jones might also know of suppliers.

    3|Page

    It was also suggested that it might be worth buying a number of the T-shirts in white and making them available to buy by the children, could be used in PE.

    All agreed and funds request approved in principle to fund £385, Rob to confirm relative costs when quote obtained. Action: RK

    Cavendish PTA agreed to donate a total of £735 to the school to fund the above projects.

    AOB

    Still need the lock replacing on the PTA cupboard after the combination lock jammed. Porposed to use a key padlock this time, one key to kept at school and spares with DL and possibly one other PTA committee member. Action: Steve Hanley

    Janet Marland (JM) thanked Clare McCarron for her many years of service to the PTA, as secretary, treasurer and finally Chair.

    Meeting closed at 20:10

    Next Meeting - Tuesday 11th November 2014 at 7pm.

    4|Page

  • Present: Carolyne Allmark,, Rob King, Janet Marland, Jen Barnes, Dawn Lappin, Catherine Jones, Debbie Roberts, Terri Cloake, Carla Smith, Si Manning, Caroline McGilliard, Nicola Tatton, Vino Bromfield

    Apologies: Rachel Boyd, David Griffiths, Paul Tempest, Vanessa Watt

    1. Roles

    CMc voted back in as Chair.

    SM voted back in as Treasurer.

    CA stepped down from role as Secretary and Vanessa Watt was voted in.

    2. Treasurer’s Report

    SM circulated provisional figures for 2012-2013. PTA bank balance is currently £21,509 although £7,000 is from a cash grant and ring-fenced for Gardening Project and a small element is owing to CavFest suppliers – an amazing fundraising achievement from Cavfest 2013! Final figures for 2012-2013 available on request from SM.

    CMc queried how much the PTA is going to have to contribute to make up the JM parental shortfall forMathletics. JMto confirm.

    3. Teacher’s Requests.

    a) Request from David Griffiths:

    £6626 to spend on 16 iPads, protector cases and a synch and charge trolley for school (school will be purchasing another 16 to make a full class set of i Pads). Tablets represent the IT future for our children so the purchase of one per child for a full class is important and can be used for art programmes such as the new David Hockney art app, music tech, sound programmes like Garageboard as well as an unlimited amount of extra-curricular programmes.

    SM asked whether they would be insured and replaced if lost / damaged / stolen. JM confirmed this would be the case.

    All agreed and full funds request approved.

    b. Request from Carla Smith:

    Requested £360 to fund an extra four days and four more tiles to work with the CS childrentofinishtheTimelineproject. Allagreedandfullfundsrequest

    approved. PhotostobesuppliedforPTAwebsiteandnoticeboard!

    Requested £300 for two sets of arts materials to support upcoming topic work such as the year 6 ‘Wind Rush’ topic and Sound Scapes ‘Zed Art’. All agreed and funds approved.

    Requested£100fornewkilnglazes. Allagreedandfundsapproved.

    c. Request from Janet Marland:

    Would like to look into purchasing either better staging or tiered seating for the schoolhallforclassproductions. Thiswouldmeananenhancedexperiencefor both parents keen to see their children perform and children keen to see their parents are watching them rather than it just being the few parents who are seated at the front row able to see, with most others not really being able to. Seating would have to be collapsible for storage purposes.

    SM says he knows the Deaf Institute are looking to get rid of both some staging SM and tiered seating so he will follow up with his contact.

    JM also raised the issue of the attendance numbers for Samba being significantly down. All agreed this is a vibrant, worthwhile activity at the school that we wouldn’t want to lose.

    The absence of a proper Samba teacher since the last one left and the fact that its mainly just Samba drums now will be having an impact and possibly the fact that its on a Friday after school?

    JM has a contact from Margaret Hales that she will follow up to see if they’re JM interested in teaching.

    Pam Cavanagh has a contact at Didsbury Dance School so worth asking Pam to CMc followupwiththemiftheyhaveanyoneinterestedinteaching. CMctofollow

    up.

    CJ has a dance teacher friend who may be interested and will follow up her and CJ report back.

    In case numbers continue to dwindle in the meantime, all agreed to fund £700

    to pay to keep the current teacher until the end of term in case we need it.

    d. Request from Rob King:

    RK would like to purchase a Cavendish PTA House Sport Trophy set which includes the trophy itself, a set of coloured chips for the children to earn plus the clear Perspex boxes to collect the chips in.

    The House scheme would be introduced to reward involvement, excellence and improvement in sports in school and would be aimed at particularly encouraging children who might not normally be engaged in sports to try harder and be rewarded for their efforts amongst their peers.

    Classes across the school would be split into House colours to a group of children from each year group would form one House colour and would remain in this

    groupuntiltheendoftheirPrimaryyears. Thiswouldencouragesupportand engagement of children across the year groups united in their House sporting achievements as they all earn chips in their own House colours.

    The House with the most coloured chips at the end of each term would be presented with the trophy adorned in the col our ribbon of their House at Assembly.

    DL and others raised the issue of singling out just sport to base this on and the JM possibilityofopeningituptoachievementsandsuccessinotherareas. JM

    suggested they put this up for discussion at the next te achers’ inset day but it

    will initially be rolled out as a sports-based programme.

    Funds of £400 agreed to purchase the “Cavendish PTA House Trophy”, chips and boxes.

    e. Request from Terri Cloake:

    Request for two full sets of Percussion Instruments including a bongo drum, gathering drum and two storage trolleys for Foundation, KS1 and KS2.

    Some percussion instruments went missing after CavFest and haven’t been recovered and TC noted they don’t currently have a full set of musical equipment to service one full class and this is important.

    Requested a total of £908 to purchase the two sets. All agreed and funds

    approved.

    TC agreed to take photographs of the children using the new instruments and TC put them up on the PTA notice board in the playground and to use in the school newsletter.

    Cavendish PTA agreed to donate a total of £ 9394 to the school to fund the SM above projects. SM to transfer funds to Nic Kennedy.

    PTA requested photos and text from the above projects to promote the PTA on the website and noticeboards.

    4. Bonfire Night

    Agreed to keep the firework spend of £1250 the same as last year and also the

    door entry price of £2 per adult and 50p per child the same.

    CJ suggested luminous face painting to raise funds and agreed to face paint until CJ/CS/JL thefireworksstartedalongwithCS,JennyLawandanyothervolunteers. Would

    need to be need power supply for lighting so could base this inside one of our

    new gazeebos for shelter and position near the nursery building.

    Not doing baked potatoes this year as too time consuming – Frosts Butchers

    supplying sausages for hotdogs and burgers with a veggie sausage option.

    CMc and CA to do a tuck and merchandise run. CMc/CA

    As always we will need help on the day to collect the firewood and build th e fire. All

    Paul Tempest to coordinate fireworks display.

    SM to check PTA insurance cover and contact St Johns Ambulance. PT

    SM

    CMcG suggested drafting a leaflet to go into book bags for all parents about

    ‘How you can help your PTA’ to encourage more people to come along and stay informed about PTA events and how to help out at them.

    SM agreed to cut and paste the flyer he drafted last year with a tear-off SM attachment at the bottom for parents to return with their email addresses if they

    want to be added to the PTA email list.

    5. Christmas Fair

    Friday6th Decemberstraightafterschool. HoldingafterschoolontheFridaylast

    year as opposed to the usual Saturday afternoon drew a bigger crowd and raised

    more funds.

    Less parent volunteers able to help but JMagreed this would be a teacher-led JM, eventagainandanyavailableparentswouldhelp. CMcGandVBvolunteered. teaching

    staff, CMcG & VB

    6. AOB

    Agreed to hold another Quiz Night in school following the success of the last two. This is a fairly easy fundraiser. Date set for 21st November. Need to confirm quizmaster, selling tickets, promotion and other details neare r the time.

    PTA has paid Pete Webb £800 for the installation of the multi -sport equipment relocated from The Birches school as previously agreed.

    DateofnextPTAmeeting–Wednesday13th November2013at7pm.