Committee

Our Committee

           The Management Committee is made up of current and previous parents or carer’s. By becoming a member of the Management Committee, you also become a trustee of the registered charity.                                               .

Our trustees are extremely important to us and we give thanks to the dedication of those who contribute their time and skills. The Trustees are responsible for the effective running of the pre-school and making decisions regarding its management. They have an overriding duty to act lawfully and in the best interest of the pre-school.

Why Volunteer?

Being involved offers you the opportunity to become more practically involved and to influence the learning and development opportunities of your child. By having a dedicated Management Committee who work together with the pre school staff, we have been able to achieve some major improvements to the resources and equipment that are available to your child/ren.

You may have skills and ideas that you can bring to the Management Committee to offer more wonderful ideas and further improve our setting.

Volunteering for the committee helps you to become more actively involved in this aspect of your child’s life.

Fundraising

As a charity run pre school we usually run fundraising events throughout the year. Some events are held within the pre-school sessions, which are organised and managed by staff; other events happen outside of the pre school hours and reply on the support of the local community, staff, parents and committee members.

Who can be a Charity Trustee?

To be a trustee of our pre school you must be over the age of 18. A few individuals may be disqualified from acting as a trustee and the role is subject to suitability checks by Ofsted and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All our trustee’s names are available to see on the Charity Commission Register of Charities.

Appointing Charity Trustees as Committee Members

The Trustees are elected each year at the Pre School’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). There are two types of members, those who are family member of children who currently attend and affiliate members with no family connection. Members are entitled to have one vote each at the AGM. There are 12 member places, if not all places are filled at the AGM then further members can be elected at Committee Meetings during the year. However, we must meet the minimum required number to meet the regulations set out in our Governing Document.

Our Governing Document

We are registered as an ‘unincorporated charitable association’ with the Charity Commission, which is the body that regulates charities in England and Wales. We are also members of ‘Early Years Alliance (EYA)’. The legal Governing Document we use which is set by EYA is the Model Pre School Constitution 2011. This outlines the rules that the trustees must follow to run the charity in the correct legal manner.

Expenses

Trustees will be reimbursed for any reasonable, approved expenses they may incur whilst acting as a Trustee to carry out their role.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

As a Trustee you may come into contact with confidential personal information about staff, children, families and other volunteers. You must ensure that this information is treated with the absolute confidentiality at all times and not shared unless you are legally required to do so or have obtained necessary consents. Our Confidentiality and Data sharing policies must be followed at all times.

Liability

Provided that Trustees act honestly, reasonably and in accordance with the provisions of the constitution then the liabilities they incur are normally met out of the charity’s resources. However, as an unincorporated association the Trustees may be liable for actions they take in the charity’s name if they have acted wrongly or if the charity does not have sufficient funds to meet a liability.

The roles and responsibilities

The trustees are jointly responsible for the effective running of the Pre School. Although there are some specific roles within the Management Committee, you do not have to be one. The ‘Officer’ roles are Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer must always be filled and often are given certain key tasks, but as a team we support one another and work together to achieve our common goals. Where necessary we use professional skills and knowledge, and committee members are not expected to know everything.

We seek independent advice from our Local Authority and our Legal Team ‘Lawcall’.

Chairperson: The Chairperson has the leadership role and represents the pre school at meetings. They work in partnership with the Manager. They act as the ‘nominated person’ for Ofsted purposes and ensures that the Early Years Alliance membership is updated each year. They ensure that the staff are supervised and are involved with any recruitment, disciplinary or dismissal processes. They will help handle complaints and support the Manager in their role.

Secretary: The Secretary deals with the group’s official paperwork. In consultation with the Chairperson they will organise committee meetings and Annual General Meetings and keep minutes.

Treasurer: The Committee as a whole are responsible for making financial decisions. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping records, arranging audits or accounts, invoicing and receipts and setting budgets.

As well as the main roles within the Committee, collectively the responsibilities include:

Managing the Finances: As an organisation we must ensure that the charity’s finances comply with financial requirements and are managed in accordance with the Constitution. This involves ensuring that accurate records are kept, end of year accounts and reports are completed and submitted on time with the Charity Commission.

Managing Employees: The Committee are the employer of the staff who work for the charity and must comply with Employment Law.

Safeguarding Children: We are committed to safeguarding and to ensure children have a safe and positive environment where they can learn and develop.

Policies and Procedures: In order to ensure that we meet our obligations to children, parents, careers, staff, and other organisations we have in place a set of policies and procedures. It is the joint responsibility of the Committee along with the staff to keep them up to date and ensure they are followed.

We employ a Manager who overseas the day to day running of the pre school and a Finance & Admin officer who completes the majority of the Secretary and Treasurer Role. Both the Manager and Finance & Admin officer work very closely with the Main Officers of the Management Committee and we have procedures in place for checks.

We would love for you to join our Committee. For more information please speak to our Pre School Manager or a Current member of our Management Committee who will be able to give you more information how to join

Please click this link.