Sarah Ali -  Level 3

Committee

Thinking of joining your Preschool committee?

Our Pre-School is run by an elected Committee.  The Committee is responsible for making sure that the pre-school runs efficiently, safely, within the law and meets the needs of the children and parents that use it.  By being a member of the Committee you, as a parent or carer, are in an ideal position to help make this happen.  There are a few restrictions, but basically any parent or carer of a child who attends pre-school can offer to be on the Committee.  You do not need to be high flying business person or an ex-bank manager!  For most roles you do not need to be able to type or use a computer.  But you do need to be enthusiastic and enjoy working as part of a team.

The Pre-School Committee is elected each year. It must have at least five members including a Chairperson, a Treasurer, and a Secretary (known as the officers.)

Chairperson

• S/he takes charge of committee meetings and open meetings, making sure that they are effective and that decisions are taken and carried out in a way that reflects the needs and wishes of the Preschool members.
• S/he represents the pre-school where necessary at public events and sometimes at meetings of other organisations.
• S/he is the line manager of the pre-school staff.
• S/he supports and authorises the work of the treasurer.

Secretary

The Secretary deals with all the groups official paperwork, except for keeping the accounts. This work includes:

• Writing and receiving letters for the groups and keeping records of all the correspondence.
• Working with the Chairperson to arrange meetings and draw up an agenda.
• Keeping paper records or minutes at meetings.

Treasurer 

The Committee as a whole are responsible for making financial decisions, but the Treasurer is the one who keeps the records of the groups financial transactions. The Treasurer’s job covers four main areas:

• Planning – eg preparing a receipts & expenditure budget.
• Day to day management of accounts including issuing bills and receipts on behalf of the group and making payments.
• Reporting – keeping a record of money received and spent and presenting this information at Committee meetings.
• Applying for the Nursery Education Funding Grant from Oxfordshire County Council.

Our additional Committee roles & responsibilities include:

• Fundraising
• Supplies/Purchasing
• Parent Rota
• Benson Bulletin
• Event Bookings

The work of managing the pre-school is shared among the committee.  In addition to being jointly responsible for all decision-taking, members of the committee arrange for the following work to be done: 

• Keeping the whole group in touch with each others decisions and activities by means of a newsletter to parents/carers.
• Administering the Preschool waiting list in line with the group's admissions policies.
• Fundraising.
• Buying equipment for the group, in consultation with the staff
• Ensuring that all registration requirements are met, in consultation with the staff
• Arranging insurance and maintaining an inventory
• Making sure that the group is a safe place to be for both children and adults.

Join us and share the load! Make a difference!

If you are interested in joining the committee please talk to one of the current committee members and find out what it’s like to be a part of the team !