PENHILL PLAYGROUP STEERING COMMITTEE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON
Wednesday 28[th] September 2022
AT PENHILL PLAYGROUP, PENHILL ROAD, LANCING
PRESENT
Judith Atkinson, Katie Ayling, Sabrina Back, Sarah Brake, Nicola Kirk, Leena Tucker,
Meeting commenced at approximately 8pm
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Zoe Brown and Gemma Griffiths
2. WELCOME BY THE ACTING CHAIRPERSON
Everyone was welcomed to the meeting and thanked for coming.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting, held on Tuesday 28[th] September 2021 were agreed as correct, proposed by Leena Tucker and seconded by Judith Atkinson.
4. MATTERS ARISING
Point 7 – Leena was going to check that as a Charity we are legally allowed to have virtual evidence and we are.
Point 10 – Gill and Judith were concerned that their names were still on the lease from the Guides. Katie did explain this to Christine Marchant, our contact from Girlguiding, but was told this was in hand.
5. CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
No report.
6. MANAGER’S REPORT
Last September we only had 12 children registered with us, but this rose to 24 by the end of July 2022, with 8 children leaving to take up places at local schools.
During the year, we referred two children to speech and Language therapy, completed a referral report for the Child Development Centre and carried on supporting another 3 children who had already been receiving speech and language therapy support. One child was discharged from therapy during the year.
We applied for Inclusion funding to support two of the children and were awarded funding from April 2022 for one child and from September 2022 for the other. This money is being used to pay for an additional member of staff for two mornings, plus staff time to complete SEN paperwork and creation of resources.
Only one child was eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium this year and the small amount of money received helped pay towards the cost of our outing on the train, our transition to school information and our Leaver’s party at Wot a Mess. This year, there was a second hand uniform shop at FABRIC (at the Old Police Station) and it was good to be able to let
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families know about it so that they didn’t have to spend a fortune on purchasing new uniform. The Councillor who set it up, offered to reimburse us for any uniform costs we incurred, but as we did not need to purchase any this year, it wasn’t needed and the money can be kept for supporting the families most in need next year, of which there will probably be many more.
Our themes over the year ranged from Toys, Harvest and Polar animals, to Space, traditional tales and The Platinum Jubilee. We welcomed visitors from Sompting Wildlife Rescue, Keep Lancing Lovely and our committee member Nicola, who told us all about being a hairdresser. We were also visited by a number of pets, including a hamster, tortoise and stick insects, which the children really enjoyed seeing. Now the Covid restrictions have gone, we hope to be able to have more visitors to the setting to enable the children to learn more about the world and community around them.
We offered our Thursday afternoon outings again from January 2022. Initially we kept to local parks, shops and short walks around the neighbourhood as Covid was still a concern, although we were able to visit the library for World Book Day. After Easter we were able to take the children on two afternoon visits to Seaside Primary, which is always a beneficial experience for them and managed a short train trip to Shoreham, which the children all enjoyed. We had planned a bus trip, but it was due to take place during a heatwave, so we took the decision not to go as we felt it would put the children at too much risk from sun and heat exposure, so had a water fight in the garden instead, which went down a treat. Next year, we hope to return to offering a wide range of outings, including bus and train trips further afield.
Covid hit again during the year, resulting in staff and child absences, which we managed as well as we could, without having to close. The end of the summer term saw half the staff off with it and we were lucky that Nicky who we had recruited to join us in September, was able to come in and help for a day, as was Leena, which meant we didn’t have to close or reduce the places on offer.
We continued to offer individual meetings with parents this year but were also able to organise group events again and held a Healthy Eating Picnic, an Open Day and Christmas Craft and Fundraising afternoon in the Autumn term, followed by an opportunity to join in the singing and ring games at the end of one of our sessions (attended by 15 adults and 12 children) and an Easter Craft Afternoon (attended by 18 adults and 12 children) in the Spring term. In the summer term, we held a Royal Lunch Party to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (attended by 11 adults, 10 children and 4 siblings) as well as a Saturday Dad’s Day (attended 6 dads, 6 children and 2 siblings) and summer fundraising afternoon. Attendance at these varied but were generally well supported and worthwhile and the craft and fundraising afternoons brought in non-Playgroup families too.
We didn’t hold a Christmas songs morning in December as we had a confirmed case of Covid and didn’t want to put any families at risk so close to Christmas. We also found that the cohort of children were not confident to sing in front of each other, let alone in front of an audience, so did not want to put any pressure on them to perform as it would not have put their needs and interests first.
Training
During the Academic year, Katie was involved in a project for West Sussex which involved providing training, alongside a colleague from Boundstone Nursery School for Reception and Early Years staff in the Adur area. There were four sessions, focused on the Transition to school, Communication, Physical Development and Personal Social and Emotional
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Development (PSED). Although the sessions were not particularly well attended, they were appreciated and valued by those who came along and it is hoped that it will lead to closer working with schools. The Playgroup was paid £600 for Katie to take part in this year long project.
In January 2022, Katie committed to complete the Early Years Professional Development Programme, which ran between January and June, focusing on Speech, Language and Communication, Maths and PSED. The course was funded by the Government, which meant it was free to attend and every practitioner who took part received £1000 funding for their setting, some of which went towards paying Katie for the extra hours she worked to complete the course. It was a valuable training opportunity, which has been shared with other staff, but implementing all that was learned, will take time to do.
West Sussex have continued to provide online training at an additional cost, which we have accessed several times, including Katie, Hannah and Sarah completing their First Aid. All staff (and committee members) can access free online training through our subscription to Flick (which is now free as part of our Insurance deal) and also through Educare as part of our membership package with the Early Years Alliance.
This year we have also taken part in some Early Years Alliance online training, some of which has been free, others have cost a small fee and Katie has also taken advantage of some of the Anna Freud Centre free Early Years training, focusing on issues around children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Staffing
Hannah joined us last September and has fitted in really well. She began her Level 2 apprenticeship with Best Practice Network in December and has regular online review meetings with her tutor, who has also been into the setting to observe her.
Phillippa was unable to complete her Level 3 Apprenticeship before the deadline in July and also took the decision to leave Playgroup at the end of the summer term.
Due to being awarded Inclusion Funding, we were able to appoint Hayley Ellaway in May as an additional member of staff, for two mornings a week, to ensure that every session has five staff members available. We have two children who require close supervision and ensuring we have five staff members available at each session, enables this to happen, without detriment to the other children attending.
Safeguarding
All staff are up to date with their safeguarding training and every staff meeting contains a safeguarding issue to discuss in order to ensure all that staff keep safeguarding at the front of their minds. One incident was reported to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) during the year but was recommended to be dealt with as an internal disciplinary action and resulted in a written warning being issued.
Fundraising
We held two Saturday Table Sales in the Autumn Term which were well attended and supported. In the Spring term, we relied on our Easter chocolate raffle and uniform sales to raise money and in the Summer term, held another Saturday Table sale, as well as a raffle and fundraising afternoon. Zoe also sold plants she had cultivated and we held additional cake sales.
Stay and Play
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This has continued to take place just on a Tuesday afternoon and numbers appear to have stabilised now, although it can fluctuate depending on the weather. We have had a number of children register for places with the Playgroup as a direct result of coming to Stay and Play, which is very positive. We had an issue with some parents/carers not keeping an eye on their child, which was raised as a concern by a couple of parents attending. Katie spoke to the parent/carer concerned offering support from herself or Sabrina, if needed during the session. Unfortunately the family decided not to return and some of their friends followed suit. There were also reports of the Stay and Play group being bad mouthed on social media, but as these weren’t directly linked to Penhill, they were not responded to and no-one has raised any further issues or complaints that we are aware of.
Thanks must go to the staff and committee who have continued to support the Playgroup through some challenging times, including the resignation of our Chairperson earlier this year. Thank you to Leena for stepping up to take on this role temporarily. We are sad to be losing Zoe who has moved to Scotland, but who has contributed so much in her year with us and whose energy and enthusiasm will be missed. We desperately need more people willing to join the committee, so please speak to other parents or ask friends and family in the community if they would be interested in supporting our group in some way.
Where we are now – we started this term with 21 children on the register and two more have started this week, with another three due to start in November and 4 due to start after Christmas, so numbers wise, things are looking much healthier this year, although we need to re-look at our Admissions Policy and decide whether we feel it would be appropriate to have more 2 year olds per session. We have been lucky that several local childminders have recommended us to their parents, which we are very grateful for and it is good to be able to work in partnership with them, as we share their children’s progress and development.
7. TREASURER’S REPORT
The accounts have been audited and approved and show the biggest loss to date of £11, 443. Leena went through the Profit/Loss and Balance sheets (attached).
The funding from West Sussex was less this year as we had less children. Parent fees were slightly less, but there is an outstanding debt of about £300 which is slowly being paid off in chunks.
There was a discussion over the fact that the milk money was not able to be recouped in full. The Milk Scheme will be changing the way they deal with claims and will want to see copies of the register (with the names blanked out), but this has been put on hold for a year. The children are entitled to 1/3 pint of milk a day and despite our increased numbers are only getting through 4 pints a week, which is a lot less than the children are entitled to, yet we are still not able to claim the full cost back. There is a company called Cool Milk who can deal with the milk scheme on our behalf. Katie will send the details to Leena for further investigation.
Katie has agreed to become a bank signatory and is currently using Zoe’s log in details to approve payments until she receives her own. Another bank signatory would be ideal so that there are three of us able to process payments.
Having discovered that we are now charged for paying in cash at the bank, as well as cheques, Leena will have another look at other Charity accounts to see if savings can be made by changing accounts. We are encouraging the use of BACS payments for paying fees and it can be used for Stay and Play payments but is more difficult to keep track of.
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Now Katie can access viewing the accounts online, she should be able to keep an eye on payments made in more easily, without having to contact Leena to do it for her.
It was suggested charging accompanying adults to Stay and Play for their drink (50p). It may also be worth putting out a donations pot for drinks too.
Outings are not charged for, but we could ask for a voluntary donation to help with the cost of bus and train fares but make it clear that no child will be stopped from going if they do not contribute anything.
We have a parent/carer afternoon on October 13[th] and could hold a cake sale to raise a bit of money and perhaps put out any left over uniform for sale too. Judith has offered to make cakes for this.
We need to look at whether there are other areas where we could make savings, but our biggest expenditure is wages and with rising numbers, we need to hold on to our staff.
8. APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR
Katie Wastell has agreed to be auditor for another year. Committee are all happy for her to continue in this role. Proposed by Katie Ayling and seconded by Leena Tucker.
9. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE
Members staying on:
Leena Tucker, Nicola Kirk, Judith Atkinson, Katie Ayling as Manager, Zoe Brown (until a replacement is found and has been approved)
Resignations:
Sophie Adams
New members:
Gemma Griffiths has expressed interest in joining the committee but was unable to attend the AGM, so will be proposed and seconded at the next meeting and will hopefully complete the required forms in readiness before then.
| Officers: | |
|---|---|
| Acting Chairperson | Leena Tucker |
| Vice Chair | Judith Atkinson |
| Secretary | Katie Ayling |
| Treasurer | Leena Tucker |
We still desperately need to recruit more committee members. Nicola will speak to other parents and Katie will try and identify parents from Playgroup and Stay and Play that may be interested in joining. Leena has a friend who may be interested and would be able to support her with the financial side of things.
10. MEETING OPEN TO THE FLOOR
Christmas Table Sale – Katie will find out about booking the hall in November (26[th] ). Agreed we should charge £10 a table.
11. DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
Next meeting: Tuesday 16[th] November 2022, 7.30pm at Leena’s house (10 Rogate Close).
MEETING CLOSED AT APPROXIMATELY 9.10pm.
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of PCINJ trl ILL PLBw6TeoL4R Charfty no (rf any) On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above harity {Yhe Trust") for the year ended Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Aci"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 ofthe 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity CommissiDn under section 14515){b) of the Act. Independent tThe charity's gross income exeded £250,000 and l am qualified to examlnerfs statement undertake the examination by being a qualrfied member of [insert name of applicable listed tKyJyll. Delete [ ] rf not applicable. have Gompleted my examination. I confirm that no material matters have me to my attention in rx)nnedion the examination (other than that disdosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in aGrdancE with section 130 of Ihe Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord wsth the accounting records,. or the accounts did not ci)mply wth the applicable requirements conceming the form and contenl of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is nol a matter considered as part of an independent examinatTron. I have no (Xm$ and have come arxoss no other matters in conneclion with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the ac(xJunts to be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 2211122 Name: LA Ii t g7EDL Relevant professional qualification{s) or body fCL41 IER Oct 2018
(if any): Address: Picc .giNJ Section B Disclosure Qnly complete if the examiner needs to highli9ht ffiaterial fflalters of GOnrn {see CC32, Independent examinats'on of charity accounts: directions and guidan for examiners). Glve here brfef detalls of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018
Profit and Loss Penhill Playgroup Forthe year ended 31 August 2022 2021 Tvrnover Clothingsales rjonations iU60 $1.50 3,741. 287.50 Sundratyngfrom Raffle5 General Fundraising Interestlncome 204.00 125.OD 1.188.26 539.60 o.ol Mllk ReimbursemÈnt 71.65 3553 OtherRevenue 11.OD Parent Paid Fees 1662.65 2,956.15 Stsyand Play Fees Stayand Play Party's West Su5sexCountyCounol FndIng TotslTurnover 836.xs 267.1YJ 73.60 41150.62 48.5%.08 52.06214 52.868.37 Gross Profrt 51062.24 52W.37 Administrative Costs ve>8&marketing Audit&ACUnta0CyffeeS Bank Fee5 45.00 313.xl 117.55 96.16 Empltyer$ 14ational Insurante EntertaInMr 1,718.65 I,L96.78 EntertainMent-Scl Trips Equipment General Supplies Gifts 13.95 )2.26 829.CKI 690 &25 110.38 Insurance 318.78 278.2 IT5oftY43reandConsumable5 245.35 148.50 klembetship5and Subxrlpl)ns 397.11 285.12 77.27 83.66 mUC License 9627 pens1 Costs .45 Postage. FrelEht&Couvier PDrting Reni 29.70 2036 75.20 6.919.¢XI 5.957.00 Salarie5 51.925.68 4Q747.22 StèffTraitting stationery TelephonÈ& Internet TtstalAdministrativeCosts 480.00 243. 87.18 Il736 455.05 488.78 6SJ24.20 58,023.71 Operating Profit 114161.961 I5.134) ProfitJna Loss PnMIPknyywp
Profitand Lo 2022 2921 otherlncome EmployersNI Re(Vable Total Qtherintoffte 1.7L8.65 1,196.78 1.718AS 1.19&78 Profit on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation 111.443Jil 13,958.561 Profrt after Taxation 111.443.311 13,958.561 ProfltandL0S5 PtrAlI Playy
Balance Sheet Penhill Playgroup As at 31 August 2022 31AUG2022 jIAUGlI CurrentAssets Cash at bankand In hand Penhill Play8roup Pewcè5hktotsnt Totaltashatbank and lrthand 72,962.23 75.73 73.O37.96 84523.35 TotslCurrefftAsse 73,037. 84A23.35 Creditors: amounts fallin Accounts Payable NIC Payable PettyCa5hkcount Tot41Creditor&'amourrtsfalbng&within ¢Jneye•r due wTrthin one ear 217.sl 1284.6&1 151W).291 40.18 1284.611 1241.fAII Net CuThent Assets (Liabilities) 73J2164 84.765.95 Total Assets less Current Liatrxlttie5 74322.64 84,765.95 Net Assets 71322.64 84.765.95 Ca itsl and ResetVè5 cU[nty3rEaning5 Retalned Eamings TotalCapitald Reserves IEIW211 84.765.95 13,958.S61 88,n4.Sl 73J22.64 84,765.95 8alarKee* P¢nhltPkwwp
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of PCINJ trl ILL PLBw6TeoL4R Charfty no (rf any) On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above harity {Yhe Trust") for the year ended Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Aci"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 ofthe 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity CommissiDn under section 14515){b) of the Act. Independent tThe charity's gross income exeded £250,000 and l am qualified to examlnerfs statement undertake the examination by being a qualrfied member of [insert name of applicable listed tKyJyll. Delete [ ] rf not applicable. have Gompleted my examination. I confirm that no material matters have me to my attention in rx)nnedion the examination (other than that disdosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in aGrdancE with section 130 of Ihe Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord wsth the accounting records,. or the accounts did not ci)mply wth the applicable requirements conceming the form and contenl of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is nol a matter considered as part of an independent examinatTron. I have no (Xm$ and have come arxoss no other matters in conneclion with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the ac(xJunts to be reached. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 2211122 Name: LA Ii t g7EDL Relevant professional qualification{s) or body fCL41 IER Oct 2018
(if any): Address: Picc .giNJ Section B Disclosure Qnly complete if the examiner needs to highli9ht ffiaterial fflalters of GOnrn {see CC32, Independent examinats'on of charity accounts: directions and guidan for examiners). Glve here brfef detalls of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018
Profit and Loss Penhill Playgroup Forthe year ended 31 August 2022 2021 Tvrnover Clothingsales rjonations iU60 $1.50 3,741. 287.50 Sundratyngfrom Raffle5 General Fundraising Interestlncome 204.00 125.OD 1.188.26 539.60 o.ol Mllk ReimbursemÈnt 71.65 3553 OtherRevenue 11.OD Parent Paid Fees 1662.65 2,956.15 Stsyand Play Fees Stayand Play Party's West Su5sexCountyCounol FndIng TotslTurnover 836.xs 267.1YJ 73.60 41150.62 48.5%.08 52.06214 52.868.37 Gross Profrt 51062.24 52W.37 Administrative Costs ve>8&marketing Audit&ACUnta0CyffeeS Bank Fee5 45.00 313.xl 117.55 96.16 Empltyer$ 14ational Insurante EntertaInMr 1,718.65 I,L96.78 EntertainMent-Scl Trips Equipment General Supplies Gifts 13.95 )2.26 829.CKI 690 &25 110.38 Insurance 318.78 278.2 IT5oftY43reandConsumable5 245.35 148.50 klembetship5and Subxrlpl)ns 397.11 285.12 77.27 83.66 mUC License 9627 pens1 Costs .45 Postage. FrelEht&Couvier PDrting Reni 29.70 2036 75.20 6.919.¢XI 5.957.00 Salarie5 51.925.68 4Q747.22 StèffTraitting stationery TelephonÈ& Internet TtstalAdministrativeCosts 480.00 243. 87.18 Il736 455.05 488.78 6SJ24.20 58,023.71 Operating Profit 114161.961 I5.134) ProfitJna Loss PnMIPknyywp
Profitand Lo 2022 2921 otherlncome EmployersNI Re(Vable Total Qtherintoffte 1.7L8.65 1,196.78 1.718AS 1.19&78 Profit on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation 111.443Jil 13,958.561 Profrt after Taxation 111.443.311 13,958.561 ProfltandL0S5 PtrAlI Playy
Balance Sheet Penhill Playgroup As at 31 August 2022 31AUG2022 jIAUGlI CurrentAssets Cash at bankand In hand Penhill Play8roup Pewcè5hktotsnt Totaltashatbank and lrthand 72,962.23 75.73 73.O37.96 84523.35 TotslCurrefftAsse 73,037. 84A23.35 Creditors: amounts fallin Accounts Payable NIC Payable PettyCa5hkcount Tot41Creditor&'amourrtsfalbng&within ¢Jneye•r due wTrthin one ear 217.sl 1284.6&1 151W).291 40.18 1284.611 1241.fAII Net CuThent Assets (Liabilities) 73J2164 84.765.95 Total Assets less Current Liatrxlttie5 74322.64 84,765.95 Net Assets 71322.64 84.765.95 Ca itsl and ResetVè5 cU[nty3rEaning5 Retalned Eamings TotalCapitald Reserves IEIW211 84.765.95 13,958.S61 88,n4.Sl 73J22.64 84,765.95 8alarKee* P¢nhltPkwwp