Peter Pan Playgroup

OUR COMMITTEE

 

Peter Pan is a registered charity run by a management committee consisting of our children's parents and occasionally other members of the local community, who may have specific skills to offer. It is very important to the group and all the children that all our parents volunteer to help, in some way, during some time of their child's attendance at the playgroup.

 

Most importantly the committee are the employers of our childcare staff and need to respect and support and to a small extent understand their work with our children. The committee are the Ofsted "registered person" which means that they are collectively responsible for the financial and organisational management of the playgroup. For example it is very important to make sure suitable people are employed to work with our children. Therefore the committee organises the checks (Criminal Records Bureau), Ofsted Declaration and Consent forms, and appropriate measures for the safe recruitment of staff (e.g. staff contracts including confidentiality, full job descriptions and checking references).

 

Within the setting we have a dedicated team of staff working with the children's best interests and early education (learning through play) at heart. This is the very beginning of your child's education and it is interesting, fun and helpful to your child for you to understand some of what lies behind it.

 

The committee must consist of a chairperson, treasurer, secretary (the trustees) and several other committee members (a minimum of two). Committee meetings, lasting for between one to two hours, are usually held somewhere informal once a term, occasionally more often. During the meetings everyone has a chance to express and listen to others views on matters relating to the effective running of the group. Actions that need to be carried out are allocated to individuals and this is recorded in the minutes (notes of the meeting). Committee members have agreed roles and responsibilities allowing for joint decision making and a fairly shared workload.  Once a year an Annual General Meeting is held to elect new trustees.

 

Belonging or supporting the committee at fundraising events brings rewards; it enables you to meet new people, make friends, share your skills and/or learn new skills, is a useful addition to your CV and supports your child's early year's experiences. Volunteering involves some work but it's worth it!