TIGGERS PLAYGROUP BALCOMBE
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1091348
YOUR VOLUNTEER,
COMMITTEE-RUN PLAYGROUP NEEDS YOU NOW!
NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE
NEEDED FOR YOUR PLAYGROUP AS SEVERAL MEMBERS WILL HAVE NO CHILDREN AT TIGGERS
FROM SEPTEMBER, OR CHILDREN JOINING IN THE FUTURE
The present chair will be
stepping down at the Annual General Meeting (to be held on Wednesday 28th
September) to become the Committee Support Officer.
Please read the document
called Restructuring of Tiggers Management Committee and Staff that comes with
this newsletter
WHY WE NEED TO MAKE THESE CHANGES
We want more people to understand how the whole group runs, rather than the present system where the treasurer and chair carry all the responsibilities. We need to make the volunteer management of Tiggers more evenly spread as nobody can reasonably be expected to do so much unpaid work. We believe the new structure will make the committee’s roles far more manageable within everyone’s busy lives.
Collectively we
can do a better job, using more of the talents of all our children’s parents.
During
a meeting with two outreach workers from the Local Network Fund Rural Action in
Sussex I was describing what I was doing as chair and how much else there was
to be done when they said very simply that it was too much for one person and
that ultimately the playgroup would suffer if there wasn’t a greater spread of
responsibility and use of everyone’s talents. A copy of their letter can be
seen on the notice board. As a result we have drawn up the enclosed
restructuring plan, which was proposed and agreed at the last committee
meeting. Please read it carefully as it
will also demonstrate clearly that the management committee is not simply a
fund raising body. All comments will be gratefully received.
There
is no single factor or people to blame for the present committee workload. It
has come about over time with the Government paying for sessions for three and
four year olds. With the “professionalisation” of playgroups and greater legal
and curricular responsibilities it was bound to occur. In the end it is in the best interests of
all our children. Tiggers is a small community playgroup that saves vast
amounts of money by having a volunteer management committee; indeed we are not
allowed to run any other way without becoming a private nursery, like Buttercup
Barn.
We
are also facing a drop in numbers due to people having fewer children and more
parents requiring all day child care. We face a drop in child numbers from 37
this summer to 24 this autumn with only 4 new starters during the autumn term.
A factor in this has been Balcombe School changing from a pm session for
part-timers to an am session, much better for all the children concerned
though. Predictions for September 2006 are that our numbers drop sharply. It is
therefore particularly important that parents who have children starting soon
and attending in the year 2006/7 try to join the committee. Similarly if your
child starts school in September 2006 and you have not been involved so far it
is now your turn to join in. We all understand that so many people are working
but I hope we all agree Tiggers is an important part of community life. IF YOU
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND OR WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER PLEASE CONTACT CAROLINE RIX
819210, JULIE TURNER 811503, CHRIS NAPPER 811872 OR JACKIE BURKE 819290. TIGGERS
NEEDS AND WILL VALUE YOU WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO OFFER.
This has occurred because of Vanessa Oecken leaving after four years of dedicated work. Vanessa became Deputy Supervisor in the spring/summer 2004 and took on a lot of the paper work so that the Supervisor could spend more time on planning, and co-ordinating child observations and developmental records. Our new staff structure will allow us to continue spreading the workload, so that there is an even greater spread of knowledge and responsibility. It means that we will have greater cover if our Supervisor is ill and our Team Leaders will gain in their professional development and experience. It is also aimed at further encouraging a collaborative approach to planning, communication and good staff moral, all of which cannot be underestimated when dealing with our children and their individual needs. We hope to start the new structure in September 2005.
FEE
INCREASE
This
September we want to raise our fee per session to ₤6.75. This of course
only applies to children between the ages two and half and three because
vouchers are then available from the government until school. So it is only for
a relatively short period. This fee increase is very much needed as in
September 2004 the staff each received a pay increase of more than 10% per
session. This was because there had been no pay increase in more than three
years in a job that is generally not that well paid but carries great
responsibilities. Our staff are also paid their hourly rate for training and
out-of-hours staff meetings. They also receive childcare costs when this is
required for them to carry out training during the day. It should be noted that
all our staff try very hard to organise childcare to avoid incurring Tiggers
extra costs, and this is much appreciated. If anyone is experiencing hardship
with fees please do not hesitate to contact the Chair (819210) and or the
Treasurer (811314) and we will try to work something out. Please do not leave
the fees unpaid as this just puts pressure on Tiggers as a whole and may lead
to your child being excluded – which nobody wishes to happen.
You are now probably thinking what a lot of paper I have just received from the playgroup where I drop my child off to play for a couple of hours!! Bear with us. There are two further Action Plans. These are required actions as a result of the “key issues” reported from our Ofsted inspection in September 2004. You will have received the most important one in January 2005 that dealt with observations and the subsequent developmental records of our children, informing short term and long term planning. A “key issue” set out by Ofsted means that these are areas where the playgroup is under-performing. We are required to write an Action Plan and put this into practice. This is extremely important as Ofsted judge our response, which must be demonstrated during their next inspection.
Please
close and bolt the gate – this is a safety issue.
Please
try and remember to bring in some fruit.
Please
try and sign up to PARENT HELPER SESSIONS!
Please
try and remember to put suntan lotion on your children (on sunny days!)
Please
try and attend all fundraising functions!
Due
to other events being held in the Parish Rooms the committee suggest that you
take your child’s bag home with you over the weekend.
AND…
Remember
to make cakes for the Balcombe School Fete. Please contact Leonie Dolly-Sparkes
(819229) or Jackie Burke (819290). The Fete is on 25th June. Leonie
has organised, with the School PTA, a prime site and we keep the money we raise
so please make lots of cakes, as this is a very well attended school
fundraiser. Thank you.
As
ever, if you have any queries or worries please do not hesitate to contact me,
(Caroline Rix 819210) or any other member of the committee.