Committee Meeting

1. Welcome.

• Sally welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Agree and sign minutes from last meeting.

• These were signed and agreed.

3. Matters arising from last meeting.

• Role of Helper: This has been changed from Helper to Assistant as it was felt that this term better described the work and responsibilities carried out by staff and was more reputable. All documentation is being changed, but should anyone notice something that requires updating, please advise Sally a.s.a.p.

• New Contracts: To be issued shortly with the new job titles. 

• New Staff Members: A huge welcome to Caroline and Sally as new staff members.

• Burglar Alarm: Nothing has been done as yet, but Sally is to contact ADT regards a new maintenance contract. The current company is not providing sufficient support and Rose was disturbed several times over the summer to reset the alarm. It is hoped that ADT will take over the contract once a survey is complete.

• Big Fundraiser Book: This was a great success and raised £180. Excellent feedback and will definitely be repeated in the New Year.

4. Chair's Report.

• Welcome: A warm welcome was given to Lisa Morgan who is considering becoming treasurer from the next AGM. It should also be noted that Rachel Hollier is interested in becoming a committee member, however she sends her apologies for tonight's meeting.

• Role of the Committee: Due to the presence of new staff and a potential new committee member, Sally restated the role of the committee as:

• A group of volunteer parents who are in charge of the day to day running of the playgroup. They do not make any personal profit and are paid £10 per half term to cover expenses.

• The responsibilities of the committee are vast and include:

• First line of support and contact for Rose and Carol
• Administer the finances of the playgroups, i.e. Set the fees, apply for grants, fundraise.
• Determine the policies - identify, write, review and update policies as necessary.
• The Chairperson is the accountable person in the eyes of OFSTED.
• Ensure that insurance is in place and current.
• Delegate actions to staff as appropriate and necessary.
• Ensure all staff and committee members are CRB checked.
• Liaise with the pre-school learning alliance.
• Fundraise

• Tesco Vouchers: The latest vouchers are to provide sports equipment for schools and playschools. It was proposed that we collect these vouchers at both sites. The amount collected will then be collated and divided equally to buy equipment.

• Photographer: The new style photographer will be attending Hilltop on 7th November 2006 from 8.45am until the latest appointment time. Although he will be at Hilltop, all Brampton children are welcome to attend. An appointment system will be deployed with 10 minute slots to be pre-booked by parents. It was suggested that Hilltop have the morning slots and Brampton the afternoon ones.

• It was also suggested that a committee member should attend to assist with opening the door during the Hilltop session.

• AGM: 

• The AGM will take place on Monday 13th November 2006 at 8pm.
• Rose and Carol will give a small speech to highlight all the good things that were achieved over the last year.
• A letter is required to go out to the parents.
• The Trustees are to be invited.
• There will not be a speaker this year from the Pre-School Learning Alliance
• A Nominees board for the new committee members will be displayed at Hilltop this year. This will be put up a few weeks prior to the AGM to gain two signatures from parents for each of the nominees.

[SM]
[SM]

• Half Term Dates: Playgroup will finish on 20th October and restart on 30th October 2006.

• Half Term Dates: Playgroup will finish on 20th October and restart on 30th October 2006. This is not in line with the schools, but maximises the number of funded weeks that can be attended during the Autumn term. Should a staff member have difficulty working one of these days due to family commitments, please be aware that there are Bank staff available.

• Railings: The railings outside Hilltop have finally been painted, but as yet not mended. Also the kitchen window has been cleaned.

• Website: Please send any website updates to Sally. We've had over 793 hits! We generally receive 2 or 3 enquiries a week through the website and Sally endeavours to answer all emails within 12 hours which is excellent.

• Victorian Evening:  This will take place on Friday 15th December 2006. It was decided to keep the format the same and do trays and sweets again. We will hopefully secure a pitch outside of Boots.

5. Treasurer's Report.

• Julia advised that the end of year finances were as follows:

• Although Julia had been seriously worried at Christmas that this loss would be worse, it has been due to the efforts of all staff and committee who have pulled together and minimised the loss experienced.

• The fundraising has increased substantially, which has also helped to offset the loss.

• Julia has detailed copies of the Expenditure (apart from salary information) available for anyone who wishes to take a closer look.

• The largest expense has been the wages, which increased this year by £5,168, all other expenses have actually reduced. That said, the wage bill is difficult to control since it is important to have the right staff at the right level.

• The key reasons for the increase in wages were:

• Pay rises awarded last year
• Increase in the monies paid to key workers and admin hours
• Sickness pay (3 months paid this year)
• We were open 38 weeks, which was more than last year but provided a true reflection of the costs.

• Going forward to meet future expenditure, we do need more income as we cannot break even every year or dip into our reserves on a regular basis. It is essential that we invest now for the long term maintenance of the Brampton building and also for the St. Barnabas project should it go ahead. To achieve this the following were suggested:

• Continue promoting the group as widely as possible
• Increase the charge per session from January to £7 from the current rate of £6.50. (We currently receive over £8 for funded children).
• Re-introduce the administration charge for non-funded children.
• Having considered the finances, a wage increase of 3% to the hourly rate has been awarded to staff this year in line with inflation.
• Need to keep numbers high. The extra 2-3 session at Hilltop is excellent for this an also ensures that the children start attending at an earlier age and will hopefully stay with us for the duration.

• Hilary then raised the point that she thought that as a registered charity we should receive reduced rate electricity. Julia and Lisa to find out more.

6. Brampton Report.

• Uniform is required for Caroline.

• The pin board has been purchased and fitted. It looks lovely and will really assist with wall displays.

• New road has been printed on the playground outside.

7. Brampton Parent Rep's Report.

• None.
  

8. Hilltop Report.

• Hilltop will not be supporting Web Ivory this year.

• Wednesday and Friday afternoon sessions going well.

9. Hilltop Parent Rep's Report.

• None.

10. Any Other Business.

• A cheque for £17.19 has been received from Yellow Moon. Undecided whether we shall continue with this initiative for this year.
  

• Good luck to Julie with her baby.
  

• Quiz Night: Same format as last time. Although the comment from the parents was noted to hold it in the pub and encourage more husbands to attend, more profit can be made from hosting it at our own premises.

• It will be on Thursday 28th September 2006 at 7.30pm.
• Teams of 4 to be entered at a cost of £10 per team. Max number of teams is 10.
• Flyers to be sent out to all parents.
  

11. Next Meeting.

• Next committee meeting will be held at Brampton on Monday 13th November.