This has got to be the longest post ever on mumsnet! - it's the stuff i typed up for the people taking over from me. Lots of it will be gobbledegook as it's only relevant to them - but maybe you'll pick out one or 2 ideas and there are a couple of website addresses you may find helpful.
FRIENDS OF TWO WATERS SCHOOL
Registered Charity No. 1096501
The first question that many people ask is ?Why Friends of Two Waters?? The reason is simple and it?s all set out in our constitution. If we were called the ?PTA? then membership would have to be restricted to just that - Parents and Teachers of children currently pupils at the school. By calling ourselves ?Friends of? we can extend our membership to grandparents, other family members, former pupils and their parents or even anyone just wishing to help the school.
Martin Greeves is happy to continue as Treasurer, though in practice his wife, Shani, does most of the accounts and prepares a spreadsheet after each event detailing expenditure, income & profit.
We need to fill the following positions before July?
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Secretary
Please don?t be put off by the fact that the current holders of these positions run around doing everything! This need not be the case in future - these positions could be held by people with basic administrative skills who don?t even need to attend any events, let alone organise them!
An ?Event Co-ordinator? could be appointed for each event, with a ?sub-committee? of organisers, each responsible for one aspect of organising the event.
USEFUL INFORMATION
General
All flyers sent out to parents must be vetted by a senior member of staff before photocopying. We must never endorse any commercial product or service. If you have vouchers etc to tell people about then put in a disclaimer, e.g.?
?The Friends of Two Waters committee are unable to endorse any particular commercial organisation, product or service. You must satisfy yourself as to the suitability of the (product/service etc - specify what) for your child.?
Also? it is very important that everyone understands that we can NEVER accept any claims for loss or personal injury unless caused by the negligence of an FTW committee member. I usually add this to flyers from time to time, being particularly careful to do so before the sponsored event and Fun Day as this is when injuries would be most likely to occur.
The Charity Commission
Charity return deadline is 30th June each year, but you should aim to return it at least 3 weeks beforehand. Shani arranges independent auditing of accounts etc. - this is a legal requirement in any 12 month period in which profit or income exceeds £10,000 (which it always does!) Shani is now the official ?contact point? for the Charity Commission.
Our Financial Year runs from 1st Sept to 31st Aug. An AGM must be held to report on the events of the previous year and to appoint new Officers and Committee members. The AGM must be held before 31st March.
All committee members & officers are Trustees of the charity. There should be at least 5 trustees, but there must never be fewer than two. If ever the number of trustees dropped to two then by law they cannot resign until either new trustees are appointed or FTW is wound up following the procedure laid out in our constitution.
Information on the role of a Charity Trustee:
www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/ccpubs3.asp
The NCPTA (National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations)
Definitely our friend and ally. They provide our £10 million Public Liability Insurance - and for this reason alone you must make sure that our membership is paid for on time (i.e. by 31st December each year - especially as there is a discount for prompt payment.)
This would be the only way that you could leave yourself open to personal financial loss - so make sure the premium gets paid! Similarly, make sure that any commercial activity that you hire has 3rd Party Insurance - ask for a copy of the certificate.
We also have cover for financial losses - though this is limited to just £300 if the cash is left unattended - even in a locked car or house.
Again, Shani deals with this at present.
There is a helpline that you can ring for any advice re: our membership - insurance queries, food hygiene regs etc etc. If ever you are in any doubt then
RING - 01732 748850 or take a look at www.ncpta.org.uk/faq and search under ?insurance?.
Information on the roles of committee members and officers of a PTA.
www.ncpta.org.uk/info/
Criminal Records Bureau
Anyone helping in the school during the normal school day must have undergone a CRB check. You can check this with the school office.
Events held outside school hours do not require helpers to be CRB checked as parents send their children along voluntarily.
Having said this, it would probably be wise to ask for a check on anyone who is not a parent of a child in the school if they approached the school offering to help- though this has never happened so far.
First Aiders
You must ensure that a trained first aider is on duty at all your events involving children.
Ms Phillips has offered to run a course for those who would be interested - I know several of you have put your names forward for this already.
You don?t need to worry about first aiders if event is held during school hours - several members of staff are first aid trained. If for any reason you are unable to get a volunteer first aider at events outside school time then Ms Phillips will pay one of the staff overtime to attend.
Christmas Presents for Colin & Barbara
We always buy a present for Colin and Barbara to thank them for all their help over the year. We usually spend £20 - 25 on Colin and £15 - 20 on Barbara.
Colin?s wife Joan is always happy to choose something for him - there?s usually a shirt or a couple of CDs that he?s had his eye on! Just ask her to buy it and keep the receipt - then I always give her cash.
Barbara?s favourite shops are ?Itzomi? in Berkhamsted and ?Agapanthus? in Kings Langley. She likes unusual jewellery and items for the home - she is very creative and just likes lovely things. We?ve scored one or two great successes over the years - anyone who likes ?different? things will be great to choose her present - though I always enclose the receipt in a sealed envelope just in case - after all, it?s not always easy to choose for someone you don?t know well.
Colin also likes a nice drop of red wine! He gets up at 5am on a school day, so if we have an evening event during the week that keeps him up past 9pm then I give him a bottle of wine as a thank you. Please never have an event that can?t be cleared up in time for Colin to lock up by 11pm.
DISCOS
We usually have one disco per term: Halloween, Valentine and Summer. They have earned us stacks of money since we started having a pocket money toy stall at each one - just take a trip to Bowman?s and spend about £100 - £150 depending on what?s in stock already.
The company providing the music & DJ is a commercial concern so must have its own insurance. For some while we've used Dave Bull who has kids at the school so gives us a discounted rate of £120.
The children love him - he does games etc, which a lot of discos don't, so if you ever book anyone else then check that - as well as checking the insurance, of course!
(Dave has a 12'x12' bouncy castle that he would lend to the school free of charge on a school day. It?s rather old and grotty but the kids don?t seem to mind. He also has a marquee for hire and is just setting up a child photography business.)
He has a website - www.1-stop.org
His phone no. is HH402770 - contact him well in advance as he's very busy. I've already booked him for the Summer Disco on 14th July.
He's a pleasant person and often drops off and collects the children at school so you can deal with him face to face most of the time.
Before the event?
Distribute flyers/posters reminding everyone that sweets, drinks and pocket money toys are on sale. Shani and Jude have both offered to produce flyers & posters for you.
You will need to recruit the following helpers for both KS1 & KS2:
2 to take entrance money - 1 of whom can be a ?floater? after about the first 20 mins.
2 or 3 to sell sweets & drinks.
2 or 3 to sell pocket money toys & the lucky dip if you?re having one.
1 to circulate with a damp cloth - encouraging the kids to put their rubbish in the bin and monitoring the hall and the toilets.
Don?t forget to set everything up in advance (before school pick-up time is best as there will usually be plenty of people available.)
What to buy
Bowman?s usually have a good range of very cheap toys - you can normally double the price that you pay and you?ll still be cheaper than the shops.
Good sellers in the past have been Alien Eggs @ £1, Harmonicas @ £1.50, Wooden Pop Guns @ £1.50, Stretchy Lizards @ 30p, Flashing Aliens (squeeze its head!) @ £1.20, Sticky toys @ 30p, Glitter Batons @ £1.50, Glitter skipping ropes @ £1.20, Parachutists @ 20p, Combination locks @ £1.20, Gliders @ £1 for two, various Bouncy Balls - especially the ones with flashing lights inside.
Be wary of ?crazes? in case you get left with unsold stock.
When it comes to sweets & drinks?
Avoid chocolate as it makes such a mess, the children don?t buy it and it all melts in the shed and has to be thrown away.
The best bet (sadly!) is to stick to ?jelly? sweets sealed inside their own bags - Haribo or similar. Also very popular are snakes and ?Trolli? brand pizzas/hamburgers/hotdogs all made from brightly coloured jelly - YUK!
Anything that consists of small bits is best avoided - ?Millions? are the worst - I?ve spent ages crawling around on my hands and knees scraping them off the floor with a credit card! Those necklaces made of little sweet rings are popular but actually very dangerous - it?s easy to miss a child wearing a sweet necklace going into the hall and the individual sweets invariably don?t all make it into the little mouth - those that end up on the floor cause children to skid and fall.
You can just about get away with the ?sherbet dip? sweets - white powder & a lolly - but probably best not to get them out for KS1.
We have had problems with the damp in the shed - even rolls of ?Love Hearts? go soggy and have to be thrown away.
Loose jelly type sweets in plastic boxes seem to be ok - e.g. snakes, lips and ?Dynastix? which come in lots of different colours & flavours.
It?s almost too obvious to mention, but believe it or not it has happened in the past? NEVER BUY CHEWING GUM OR BUBBLE GUM.
Buy a selection of normal and diet fizzy drinks in cans. We usually go to Booker in North Watford - you will need to take our card or quote our account no., which is
319 474106 2082. Take a look to see what special offers they?ve got - there can be huge variations in the price of different brands. We sell cans @ 50p each. Sometimes you will see a special offer in Sainsbury?s that is cheaper than the wholesaler. Kids are brand conscious, so don?t buy supermarket own brand cans unless they?re dirt cheap - in which case you could sell them @ 40p.
POGS? for some reason this is what we call the plastic cup drinks. They are totally disgusting, but the kids like them, they cost us 4.5p and we sell them for 20p. Always keep 6 or 8 cartons in stock - orange and red are the favourite colours, though green, blue (bubblegum flavour - BLEEURCH!!) and purple also sell. Don?t bother with the cola flavour - you?ll end up throwing most of them away.
Don?t buy bottles of pop with screw lids - the little darlings shake them up!
Similarly, don?t give them water in a cup - tell them to use the drinking fountain next to the boys? loo. If you get a really tiny child who can?t use it, then just give them one of the red plastic cups from the kitchen and then wash it up. Don?t give them a plastic or polystyrene cup, because even if they don?t use it to throw water at their friends, chew it into tiny pieces and spread them all round the floor, or investigate how well jelly sweets dissolve into unrecognisable goo - SOMEONE ELSE WILL!
NEVER ALLOW SWEETS & DRINKS IN THE HALL due to the obvious slipping and choking hazards.
Make sure you have someone regulating the traffic flow in and out of the loos - no more than 3 at a time in there and don?t let them linger. They?re not into sex, drugs and alcohol yet, but a small minority will get up to just about every other sort of mischief if you let them - and it?s usually the quiet little girls that are the worst!
Don?t allow children to play on either set of stairs - the ones leading down to KS1 and the ones leading up to the office etc. Keep an eye out to make sure they don?t hang over the banister rail, either - it would be easy to topple over and fall head first to the bottom of the steps.
No children in the kitchen at any time - including children of parent helpers.
Don?t forget to pay the disco!
Selling Alcohol & Raffle Tickets.
The rules concerning applying for a licence to sell alcohol have very recently changed. An officer of FTW now has to apply for an ?Event Licence?, which costs £21 and includes the right to perform ?Live Entertainment?, which includes playing CD?s etc to the public. Jude Hardcastle has the details - she applied for the Fun Day Licence. You now need to obtain it from Dacorum Borough Council, whereas previously it was dealt with via the Magistrates? Court.
You must not sell alcohol without a licence, but you can get round this to a certain extent by including a drink in your ticket price. If anyone wishes to have another drink, explain that you are unable to sell alcohol but that you will be happy to pour another in exchange for a small donation. You will never be given less than £1 - often £2-£5!
In practice, we have found that it?s not worth the expense of obtaining a licence for any event apart from the Summer Fun Day - and that was when it only cost £10!
We tried selling mulled wine at our Christmas Fair on several occasion, but it was a waste of time as most adults drive up and won?t buy alcohol. You can buy bottles of non-alcoholic mulled wine and sell it without a licence.
Raffles/Prize Draws etc?
The rules are simple - you may sell raffle tickets to people attending during the course of any event. You MUST NOT sell any tickets in advance or away from the premises without first obtaining a licence from the local authority. Someone has to have their name & address printed on the tickets as the ?promoter?.
Years ago, FTW used to have a Christmas Draw every year and make a fortune, but it died a death with the advent of the National Lottery and scratch cards. Might be worth resurrecting every 3 or 4 years as a novelty.
FUN DAY
The biggest event of the year. Loads of stuff to remember!
Sharon Ford (Daniel Yr 5 & Paige Yr 1 I think) kindly produces the programme for us. Lots of local businesses will pay for an advert. Sharon needs to have all the artwork in about a month before the event. Sue Morris and Jo Smith have co-ordinated selling advertising space and getting the programme printed. Hemel Copy Print have offered to do it at cost price.
For the past few years we?ve held Fun Day on a Sunday - better attendance and more time to set up.
We?ve found it convenient to set up some stalls in the main hall the day before.
Gazebos live in the shed. Assemble the roof section the day before, and then put on the cover and the legs on the morning of the event. Don?t be tempted to assemble them completely the day before - if it?s at all windy overnight they will all get broken. Perks of the job - committee members may borrow our gazebos free of charge.
Barbecue
Martin Greeves and Mark Simpson (Zennor?s Dad - Sourie Gittins? partner) will cook all day because they are SUPERHEROES!
The sausages and burgers come from Hedges Farm near London Colney. They taste brilliant and we get a 10% discount if you remember to ask in advance.
We?ve used this farm a couple of times now and everyone loves the meat so we make a fortune on the barbecue.
Keep all the meat in the Nursery fridge on the day - that way you can share out the surplus at the end of the day and buy it at cost price - that way you?ll all be getting the 10% discount, too.
Don?t bother with vegetarian food on the barbie - you have to have a whole separate one going to avoid contamination from meat. The most we EVER sold was 4 veggie meals - so sorry to the vegetarians amongst you, but market forces have prevailed - we will sell you a tasty filled crusty baguette, instead!
Don?t forget to check Food Hygiene Regs if anyone else takes over the barbecue in the future - it?s all common sense, really.
My personal opinion is don?t cook chicken - too risky!
Also? NEVER COOK FROZEN FOOD ON A BARBECUE.
Bar
MAKE SURE YOUR LICENCE TO SELL ALCOHOL IS DISPLAYED PROMINENTLY - IT IS AN OFFENCE NOT TO DO SO.
You will always have people who will wander into the bar are with their children. If you do have a bar - fence off the area around it and put up signs stating that no-one under the age of 18 may enter. This is made easier if you sell alcoholic drinks only - not soft drinks/crisps etc, which should be available elsewhere - eg on the tea/cake/sweet stall.
Cake Stall
Send out a flyer asking everyone to bake a cake for the stall. If you get a particularly fine specimen, don?t cut it up but offer it for sale at about £5 for a sponge or up to £10 for a large fruit cake. You will be amazed how quickly someone will buy it!
One year someone made a huge chocolate sponge decorated with a Two Waters theme - we raffled it on the cake stall for 50p a ticket and made £18!
Always display a sign stating ?Allergy Advice - these cakes are home made and may contain nuts? or whatever someone ?in the know? thinks is appropriate.
The all-important Tea Urn
Best positioned so that the tap points over the edge of the sink - not only safer but easier to empty at the end of the day.
Turn it on FULL until it boils then lower the temperature to about 80o
There is a large teapot in the school kitchen - about 8 teabags per brew seems to please most people!
Tea & Coffee currently 40p per cup - buy polystyrene cups from Booker or Costco. We usually keep a few lids in case anyone wants them.
Rinse the urn out afterwards with clean water to minimise the build-up of scale.
We also often provide refreshments at the school?s evening events such as the school play. You may find that on these occasions it is best not to charge a fixed price - just ask for donations and you will often get about £1 per cup.
Take every opportunity to have a raffle - you will always take £70 - £100, even when the prize is something like a box of chocs and a bottle of Cava! There are at least 3 quiet people happy to dip their hand in their pocket to support the school for every one who moans about ?they?re always after our money?!
BOUNCY CASTLES
For several years now we have used a local company - Abbotts Bouncy Castle Hire - for any events requiring large bouncy castles.
They are NOT the cheapest but they have a large selection of well-maintained castles, slides etc. When I first used them I checked out their Public Liability insurance, as required in the terms & conditions of our own insurance through the NCPTA.
Their current Insurance runs till 30/6/06 - I have a photocopy of the certificate.
Website as follows...
www.bouncy-castle.com/tohire.htm
I have made the necessary bookings for next term - we're having the largest bouncy castle (18'x18') for the sponsored bounce on 17th May. She will do a discounted rate as its a school day - we're getting it for £80 instead of £100 - but if you book her again next year you need to ask for the discount as she won't offer it up front!
For Fun Day we are having the whole Jungle Run @ £230 and the Giraffe Slide @ £40
RISK ASSESSMENTS
Should be carried out on all activities. Basically common sense - assess the risk and detail what action is required to minimise it. Further info on the NCPTA website
MAGIC POTS
Send home a plastic pot with each child and ask them to decorate it according to the theme of the event and fill it with wrapped sweets or novelties to the value of 50p. Draw attention to the fact that the prize might be won by either a boy or a girl, so should be suitable for both.
The pots are donated either by Tesco or Sainsbury?s deli counter - ask for 260 and make up a few extra ones.
Print off two sets of corresponding numbers on your computer, cut them up and stick one on each pot and it?s partner gets folded up and put into a container. TIP - cut up the numbers one at a time or you?ll get confused - TRUST ME!
Then the children pay 50p to pick a random number out of the container and win the corresponding numbered pot - they love it!
This is a real money spinner - usually about £75 for no effort.
BUT? Check the contents of each pot, even if it means unwrapping it a little. Some people have no understanding of the phrase ?wrapped sweets or novelties to the value of 50p?. We have had some BIZARRE offerings in the past - loose marshmallows & raisins, bath cubes and on one memorable occasion a tin of sweet corn!
COCONUT SHY (or is it ?shie??!)
I think there?d be a lynch mob if we didn?t have a coconut shy at Fun Day. Angela Price has been responsible for buying a sack of coconuts from Kennealy?s for several years - she will do so again this year, but like me won?t be around after that. Maybe give her a call - 217668 to ask for details. Similarly, she has booked the ?hardware? for the stall @ £15 a time, but I also have a contact at Belswains Primary School - they will lend us theirs this year for nothing.
In the past we?ve given away left over coconuts at the end of the day, but this does seem a bit daft - they?re juicy fresh ones better than you?d buy in the supermarket, so I reckon we should put up a sign to say that any left overs will be sold off at the end of the day.
PHOTOGRAPHER
For a number of years we have run a Family Photo Session at our autumn or Christmas Fair, though as we didn't have a Fair this year I organised the Photo Session separately.
The guy we use has retired now, but will still come to us as it's quite good business for him. He charges £20 up front for a selection of 9 wallet size (about 2"x3") photos from which the customer can choose two to be enlarged to 5x7".
It's a great deal - I've never found a better one, anyhow!
His name is Alan Whitehead - HH215817.
We get 10% commission on the initial orders plus any further orders for enlargements/reprints etc. We usually make £60 - £70 for doing very little - just send out a flyer and make the appointments 15 minutes apart.
SANTA?S GROTTO
Nursery have always arranged their own party - but best to check just in case they want to change things and come to the main school?s grotto instead.
We have the grotto in the reference library - start off by blacking out all the windows with black paper from the store room opposite the office.
Make sure all the shelves are covered - ask to borrow suitable sheets & duvet covers. There is a cupboard in one corner that contains some old backdrops for Christmas plays etc - so if you borrow one of those it will make your job much easier. After that - it?s fairy lights by the hundred (low voltage only, of course) and a Christmas tree in one corner, switch the main lights off and the magic begins!
Goes without saying that you need a willing male the right shape! We have a slightly crummy suit & beard - Santa brings his own wellies.
There are some felt sacks for the presents lurking somewhere in the shed - label them clearly before you put the presents in them, as of course none of the gifts will have name labels.
The past couple of years we?ve charged £2.50 per child, which includes the privilege of dressing up in party clothes for the day. Probably time to up it to £3?
Go well in advance to Bowman?s - about the end of September, Choose a selection of suitable gifts - no guns/tanks etc of course. You can buy wrap there @ 40p + VAT for 10 sheets, or Poundland is another good option.
Try to choose a selection of 3 or 4 different gifts for the boys and girls in each class - otherwise everyone will know what they?re getting as soon as the first child of the same sex opens their gift! You can, however, often get away with the same selection of gifts across several year groups. ?Megabloks? are popular up to years 2/3, dolls etc probably only up to year2, soft toys almost any age - especially for the girls. Bags/purses etc are well received. Older girls like stationery, glitter pens etc. We bought make up sets one year suitable for age 7+, but a few of the ?tomboys? weren?t impressed! Sometimes you will see hand-held games, personal radios etc which seem to go down well. Another popular gift one year was a table-tennis set. Binoculars or ?Spy? kits seem to go down well at least up to about year 4.
It?s probably easiest to buy enough presents for the whole school - any left-overs can be unwrapped and sold at the next disco.
Best advice is to go to the wholesalers as a group - and make sure that you take people who between them have got girls & boys in most year groups - that way you?ll be sure to please!
Lots of people who don?t normally help at events will wrap the presents for you - e.g. Wendy Holmes who works in Nursery and Jayne & Barbara in the office.
TEA TOWELS/CALENDARS/CHRISTMAS CARDS
Christmas Cards
I?ve ordered a pack for every child to design their own Christmas card. This is in the office and will need to be tackled the first week back in September. Every child submits a drawing , which will be printed up into two sets of 8 cards. Parents may buy their own child?s design for £5 per pack - the school receives £1 for each pack sold.
Tea Towels
We use a company called Mapac in Watford for our school Tea Towels. They are the same firm that we use for the school book bags etc. Every child does a self-portrait on a little slip of self adhesive paper, which is then laid out on a template and printed up as a tea towel. Best to do one every 3 years and buy 200. We tried doing one every year but sold very few and got left with a lot of stock. Oh? and don?t forget to ask year 6 to do portraits of the staff!
Calendars
This is a job for someone with plenty of time on their hands! I think Shani already has it in hand for this year. You can find a calendar template on some Windows applications. Useful to give term dates etc. We?ve always done a month for each class plus some children?s drawings of summer, Christmas, Easter etc to fill in the other months. Another school I know mixes the children up - each child appears in the month of their birthday.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
There is a separate folder for this - I?m intending that it will live in the uniform cupboard unless there is one person who would take on responsibility for placing orders with our suppliers. The current suggestion is that a rota of volunteers could run the shop - either taking a week at a time or maybe half a term at a time. What do you think?