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The Willows Preschool Committee

At the Willows Preschool we actively encourage parents to become involved in preschool life. One way in which you can do this is by joining the committee.

The Committee

The Willows is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and therefore has to have a committee to legally be allowed to operate. The committee has to be made up of at least 5 registered members to meet Ofsted minimal requirements and have at least the 3 elected roles of Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary. The committee also needs to have at least 3 elected trustees. Without the committee the preschool would have to close as it is a legal requirement to ensure its operation.

Committee Members

Involvement is voluntary and you don’t need any previous experience to make a difference. You can volunteer for whatever role interests you most, either using the skills you already have or developing new ones you can add to your CV! You may worry that you don’t have any valuable skills to offer but there are always lots of ways that you can contribute to the committee which may include; 

  • Organising fundraising events including welly walks, summer BBQ, Christmas evening, sports days etc – and we are always open to new ideas!
  • Helping at the events
  • Organising preschool trips
  • Deciding what new equipment fundraising monies can buy
  • Helping at the summer sort out (painting walls, light gardening, cleaning toys etc.)!

Roles and Responsibilities of the Committee

The committee is responsible for the overall management and organisation of The Willows. Committee members work closely with The Willows Manager and staff developing a good working relationship to ensure it runs efficiently and fulfills its legal obligations. The committee is responsible for recruitment, staff training, development and appraisal, paying salaries and managing contracts of employment. It also has responsibility for managing the daily accounts and working with staff to ensure the setting follows health and safety, risk assessment, insurance and first aid guidance and procedures. The responsibility for fundraising at The Willows also falls with the committee and this is by far the biggest part of it's role. 

The committee has to have 3 elected roles which are the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary. For a list of duties for each role please ask a committee member for details. Tasks can be shared out between different parents so that all the work need not fall on any one person. Assistant roles of the above are also actively encouraged if membership allows to help share responsibility. Newly created role titles are actively welcomed if members want to direct their efforts in a particular direction i.e. fundraising role. If you do not feel that you would like to commit to an elected role we would still encourage you to join the committee as we always need general committee members too!

Commitment

The Willows committee usually meets once a month but as it is not always possible for all committee members to get to all meetings a Facebook committee page has also been set up to help information sharing and decision making. You can choose to give as much or as little time as you can spare. At committee meetings when making decisions to meet its quorum (the minimum number of members needed to enable decision making) either 4 members or a third of the total committee membership has to be present. The AGM is usually held in September. 

All members will have to undergo a DBS check and registration with Ofsted.

Why should I join?

It is legally essential for the preschool to have a committee of at least 5 members for it to be able to run.

The Pre-School Learning Alliance reports many benefits of joining a committee; 

  • Children achieve more when parents are involved with their learning and development
  • Learn new skills in areas such as management, marketing and recruitment and update existing ones
  • Get more involved/give back to the community
  • Meet other parents and widen your social network 
If you are interested in joining the committee and feel able to share your skills, time and ideas (or know any non-parents whom may be interested) please speak to any of the staff or current committee members at The Willows who will be pleased to give you more details, or email [email protected].

  

Current Elected Committee Members:

Chair                        Lauren Collins

Secretary                Abi Lutskes

Treasurer                 Ruth Jones

Other Members    Melissa Oluwasola, Aimi Jones, Charlotte Turner