St. Laurence's Church of England

St Laurence’s School, Ludlow PTA 

Minutes of AGM Meeting 

1.  Welcome

Introductions were made, new members were welcomed, and SM thanked the PTA for their hard work and fundraising over the last year.

2.   Chairs Report

PN summarised PTA fundraising activity during last year, and confirmed that after 5 years as Chair, she was stepping down from the role. 

SM and everyone at the meeting thanked Phoebe for all of her hard work and commitment over the last few years. Everyone was relieved to hear that Phoebe will continue to be part of the PTA! 

3.  Committee elections

The following roles were confirmed for 2024/5:

Chair – Christine Hopfgarten

Treasurer – Katherine Hunt and Kate Crouch

Secretary and Marketing – Rachel Grantham

Thank you to Emily Sanders for her work as Secretary over the last year.

4.  Treasurer’s report

2023/4 was a successful year with the PTA raising £5,093. The main fundraising events were the Winter Market and the Summer Fete which made a profit of £1,221 and £1,781 respectively. 

In addition to the usual support to school trips, the PTA also purchased an interactive flat screen for the school hall. SM expressed how useful the screen had already been to the school and the benefit that it was bringing to children and staff.

It was discussed that Easy Fundraising should be advertised widely to parents. A regular advertisement in the school newsletter would be useful, and perhaps an email and leaflet to every parent explaining the process. ACTION – RG

Savings had been made to the PTA contribution to Year 6 hoodies by asking Year 6 parents for a small contribution (£7) and also by Year 6 running a cake sale, which raised £130. It was agreed that this approach had been a success and should be continued in the future. Additional savings might be made by using a different hoodie supplier. Options to be reviewed and forwarded to RG. ACTION – ALL

The proposed process for future PTA spend was agreed, as set out in the Treasurers Report.

It was discussed that the PTA should make a contribution to the main annual school trip for each class. SM suggested that a sum of up to approximately £100 per class would be of great support. SM agreed to raise this at the next Staff Meeting. It would be useful for the PTA to have an idea of when these trips will take place, so that we can plan PTA account cashflow. ACTION – SM

The PTA has previously contributed towards larger school projects including books, laptops, outdoor furniture and the adventure playground. Rather than the PTA accumulating funds, it was agreed that a new project for the PTA to support should be identified. SM noted that proposals for a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on the school field behind the adventure play area had been investigated, but found to be prohibitively expensive. The benefits of an area of astro turf which would provide a year round area for play and games, whether as part of a MUGA, or more simply an area of astro turf with a fence around, were discussed. Members considered whether there might be parents within the school with links to builders and/or businesses providing this type of facility, who could be able to provide support to a project. It was agreed that this should be discussed further. ACTION - ALL

5.  Meetings going forward

A rota of teachers to attend PTA meetings was set up last year so that there would be a member of staff present at every meeting. This has worked well, and will continue.

It has been raised that some parents would like to attend PTA meetings but are unable to attend meetings at 3.30pm. SM confirmed that it would not be possible to guarantee that school staff attend evening meetings. It was suggested that one evening PTA meeting should take place every term, and that the AGM should always be an evening meeting.

A crèche should be arranged for every PTA meeting at 3.30pm.

6.  Fundraising activity for the year ahead

The following events will take place this term:

          Film night (KS1) – Tuesday 12 November, 5-7pm. Hot chocolate and popcorn will be served       Film night (KS2) – Thursday 14 November, 5-7pm. Hot chocolate and popcorn will be served         Winter Market – Friday 6 December, 3.45-6pm. 

There is currently no fundraising event planned to take place during the spring term. Ideas for an event are to be considered, e.g. family bingo, quiz, band at the Brewery. ACTION - ALL

The Summer Fete will take place as usual in July. Date TBA.

The Year 6 Cake Sale was a great success last year. It was discussed that perhaps every class could arrange one small fundraising event every year. SM to raise at the next Staff Meeting. PTA members to consider options for their child’s class. ACTION – SM and ALL

7.  Any other business

Means of circulating PTA information to parents was discussed. The PTA Facebook page hasn’t been used for some time. Investigate whether this can be used better for advertising PTA events etc. ACTION RG and SB

8.  Next meeting

Monday 4 November at 3.30pm in the DeLacy Room. Room and crèche to be booked. ACTION - RG