Home –Start Westminster Board of Trustees Meeting
10th November 2010
10:00-12:00
St Paul’s Church Centre
Present
Briony Hallam (BH) Chair
Gillian Henchley (GH)Trustee
Ama Ampofo (AA)Volunteer representative
Yvonne Bailey-Smith (YBS)Trustee
Catherine Churchard (CC) Trustee
Emily Henderson (EH)Family Support Co-ordinator
Sunissa Walker(SW) Office Manager
Miriam Philip (MP)Co-Ordinator
Peter Morrison (PM)Fundraiser/Advisor
Anne Heath (AH) Vice Chair
Christa Scholtz (CS) Scheme Manager
Rebecca Grieve (RG) Social work student
Gemma Eden (GE)Social work student
Emma Richards (ER)Regional Consultant
Signing of the Previous Minutes
An alteration was made to the final page of the minutes, clarifying BNP as Bank Nationale Paribas. The minutes were signed by BH as an accurate record of the previous meeting.
Matters Arising from the previous Minutes
Signing of the May Minutes
These had been posted and Signed.
Cost of Supporting Families
This had been followed up, however no figure found.
Outsourcing of Payroll
This had been done, and payroll was now being provided by Jackson and Jackson.
Direct Debits
Action carried forward: CS and SW still to look at which payments could be made by direct debit, to save time.
Logging of the Complexity of Families Supported
Ways of logging this were being explored. Once family support had ceased, very few cases required further support and those who did usually had a change in circumstance. The new
MESH mentoring system, due to be implemented by Home-Start in April would be better at managing family progress.
Marsh Towers
PM had contacted Marsh, however felt that this was not worth pursuing.
Co-Ordinator’s Report
Bowlby Talk
Pricing was discussed for the upcoming workshop, which would be held in January in the Church Hall. Lunch would be provided, the cost of catering per person would be £3.63. It was agreed that volunteers and unwaged would receive a concessionary rate, as would those who booked early.
City of Westminster
HSW had been nominated as the City of Westminster’s best partner. This nomination would strengthen future funding applications.
St Giles In the Field Funding
Following a meeting with CS, St Giles in the field provided twice the amount they originally agreed to fund us this year.
Save The Children
Work with save the children was going well.
CSV
CS to talk to Catherine and Peter about this.
Housing Changes
HSW were currently contacting families to see how many had Housing benefit concerns and would be affected. Once the information had been compiled HSW would discuss their findings with Karen Buck.
Outing
The half term family outing arranged by the social work Students to the Museum of London was a success. 8 Families and a total of 13 children attended.
Waiting List
The numbers on the waiting list are misleading as not all the families listed are waiting to be matched. Action: Staff to look at numbers in next staff meeting.
Volunteer Report
A group of visitors from Home-Start Hungary were due in December. The volunteer Christmas party would take place during their visit. The last volunteer forum was well attended and the next was due to take place in January.
Commissioning – Led by Emma Richards from Home-Start London Region
Emma Richards from Home-Start London Region presented information on commissioning. Following this presentation it was agreed that a further meeting would be arranged specifically to discuss this. Action: Meeting to be arranged.
Development Plan
Halfway through the year, the development plan was making progress. Maternity cover had been found and a smooth transition had been made. Under families, and working in other ways with families – the Maximising income project was going well, 16 families had been supported so far, double the expected number.
Finance & Funding
Finance
The payment of practice assessor fees was discussed, the possibility of paying Christine Cave at different intervals was raised as the universities only paid the placement fee at the end of the placement. Due to lunch not being provided at the prep course, less would be spent on volunteer training. Taking into account recent income, the deficit had now been reduced to approximately £60k. CS to meet with Graham from the church to discuss the possibility of reduced rent payments,
Funding & Fundraising
It should be noted that the there are two separate groups. The fundraising committee and the funding committee. The fundraising committee deal with arranging of specific events, such as the House of Lords and the funding committee looks at the bigger picture and the overall funding situation. The funding committee would meet every 8 weeks, 2 weeks prior to the BOT meetings. The funding target for next year was £250k.
Waitrose
HSW was due to be one of the 3 charities for December in the Edgware road branch.
Raffle
The signed, under 21’s football shirt would be raffled and the possibility of purchasing and raffling (at a later date) tickets to the Olympic 2012 opening were discussed.
Policy Review
The draft disability discrimination policy was reviewed and agreed by the BOT and signed by BH.
AOB
BOT performance Review
Following the arrival of Peter Morrison, it was felt that the board was operating well, and that someone with experience of PR and fundraising had now been recruited. Finding a treasurer was still a priority.
VIMS
HS-UK had received funding to evaluate and measure how volunteering benefited volunteers in the long run.
Date for the Next BOT meeting
The next BOT meeting would be held on the 12th January, 10-12
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