Rodborough Playgroup Trustees’ annual report 1 September 2021–31 August 2022
Rodborough Playgroup Tabernacle Walk Rodborough Stroud GLOS GL5 3UJ 01453 756141 Ofsted Reg: 101719 Charity Reg: 1001432
Aims and objectives
As set out in our Governing Document the Aim of the Group is to embody the vision of PATA through the enhancement of the development, care and education of children primarily under statutory school age and also of children and young people of school age by encouraging parents to understand and provide for the needs of their children through community (voluntary managed) groups and by: (a) offering appropriate play facilities and training courses, together with the right of parents to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of such groups, ensuring that such groups offer opportunities for all children and young people, whatever their race, culture, religion, means or ability (b) encouraging the study of the needs of such children and their families and promoting public interest in and recognition of such needs in the local area.
Overview
Rodborough Playgroup provides early years’ childcare for children from 2 years and 6 months until they go to school, between 8.45 and 15.00 every weekday during term time.
Our friendly, neighbourhood playgroup, has been run by parents for parents, for more than sixty years. We are a community-based, parent-led charity. Located on the edge of Rodborough Common, where we are in easy reach of both Gastrells and Rodborough Primary Schools. Our proximity to the Common means children have the opportunity to explore the world outdoors as part of their learning. Our outdoor sessions enrich the children’s experiences further.
Our committee of volunteer parents employs a small team of professional staff to work with the children using the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS). We provide a safe and stimulating environment where children learn through a variety of play-based activities. Our large playroom is equipped with a wide range of play and art equipment. We have a fully equipped kitchen and use of two fully enclosed outside spaces where children can play in our sand pit or mud kitchen, learn about digging and planting, or just enjoy some time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.
Approximately 30 to 50 families make-up playgroup at any one time. Our children, parents and staff develop strong friendships through playgroup year
after year. Parents get fully involved in fundraising, helping in sessions ("duties") once or twice a term, and doing the varied tasks, which keep playgroup running.
We are registered with and inspected by Ofsted and received a rating of 'Good' following our last inspection in February 2018. We are also registered with PATA who provide us with training and guidance in educational matters.
We believe that children benefit most from early years education and care when parents and settings work together in partnership. This partnership is paramount to ensuring children are happy and secure and their needs are being met. Our aim is to support parents as their children’s first and most important educators by involving them in their education at Rodborough Playgroup.
Our trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Structure, governance and management
Our Governing Document is a Group Consititution – affiliated with PATA (UK).
Rodborough Playgroup is made up of members of two kinds. Family Members, parents or guardians of all children who attend any group run by the Group, and other interested individuals, persons or other bodies, excluding paid employees, approved by the Committee who are entitled to become Extra Members of the Group,
Rodborough Playgroup is run by a Management Committee. The Committee consists of the individual members elected at the AGM who are also the charity trustees of the Group.
The Committee consists of at least 5 trustees, and not more than 15, made up of 3 Officers (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer). Committee members are elected at our AGM. The Committee can also coopt no more than 3 members onto the Committee. At least 40 per cent of the Committee are parents or guardians of children in the Group.
The Committee must meet at least three times a year but in practice meets six times during the year. Additional meetings are held by the fundraising team when required.
Trustees for this period Sarah Beaumont (Chair) Sarah Nash (Vice Chair – stepped down November 2021) Kirsty Taylor (Treasurer) Jess Stafford (Secretary) Jane Burrow (Playleader and Trustee) Emily Dolphin (stepped down July 2022) Sian McDonnell (stepped down July 2022) Amy James Hayley Turner (started November 2021)
Jay Swindell (started January 2022) Helen Evans (Started June 2022)
Activities during the year
2021–22 was a year of resilience and recovery for Playgroup. We continued to face enormous challenges over that period relating to the Covid19 pandemic: child and staff illness, continued (albeit reducing) restrictions and financial repercussions. But in so many ways it was a year where playgroup was able to thrive again, with the busiest ever year for playgroup, an engaged parent group and prospects for future growth and change.
We started the school year in September 2021 still under Covid restrictions and adapting our practice to make playgroup safe, but also more open to parents than it had been in the previous 18 months. After a year of extreme financial pressure, a busy playgroup was good news to help balance our books, but also meant our staff had to show considerable resilience and grit to settle and support so many children. We are extremely thankful for their professionalism and care in doing this.
Playgroup had a number of unplanned closures due to circumstances out of our control. We had a wasp infestation, a closure due to Storm Eunice, and a day and a half due to staff shortages as a result of Covid. A decision to close Playgroup is never taken lightly, and we were grateful for how understanding parents were and are always planning where possible to prevent this from happening.
We have continued to work with the Tabernacle to try and make Playgroup as good and safe an environment for our children as possible. We have had constructive conversations with the Tabernacle about increased energy costs. A new thermostat has been installed so that we are able to just heat the playroom when we are using it, rather than the whole church, which should help to reduce some costs.
Over this period the Committee also continued planning for the future and sustainability of playgroup. Partly due to the issues described above, and also due to the nature of the building, the Committee began conversations with Rodborough Parish Council about moving playgroup to the new refurbished Community Hall. This will be something we will continue to have conversations about, but nothing has been formally agreed yet.
We resumed community events this year after Covid. Not only are these a great way to raise funds for playgroup and enrich our children’s experiences, they also promote a wonderful sense of community. A great example of this was at Christmas, when we still managed to have a wonderful Christmas celebration, despite having to limit numbers and just have a ‘fly by’ from Father Christmas. The Spring Trail in May (postponed from March due to Covid) was also a great gathering and we all enjoyed both making and appreciating the little fairies.
Achievements and Performance
We served 43 children and their families in 2021/22, our busiest year ever. At a time when many local early years’ settings and childcare providers were closing we are proud that we continued to provide a vital service and support for so many families.
As Covid was an ever-present threat, we maximised the use of our outdoor space and our great location next to Rodborough Common to promote learning. Playgroup provided crucial socialisation for children and support for their families during such an unprecedented event and helped young children affected by isolation during covid. We recruited a new member of bank staff, who has experience as a speech and language therapist, knowledge which was very much appreciated in dealing with so many children impacted in these areas due to the pandemic.
All staff updated their safeguarding training. One of our Play Assistant completed her level 3 diploma in Early Years Education and another has made great strides towards this. We secured a PATA grant for staff to take part in a well-being workshop to give strategies for working through the stressful time of the pandemic and post-pandemic which staff found really helpful and has equipped them to help children more.
Covid also inevitably provided challenges in maintaining the strong partnership between parents/carers and Rodborough Playgroup in children’s education. As parents were still not allowed into playgroup for part of the year to drop off or collect their children or take part in their usual ‘duties’, we continued the remote contact of the previous year. For example, by making more use of Tapestry – the online learning journal to inform parents of what children were learning and encouraging them to do similar activities at home. Parents were also encouraged to phone or video call staff as required to talk through issues and challenges. By the end of the year, increased face-to-face contact meant that we could hold a parents’ evening, which most parents attended and found very valuable.
Despite the continued challenges faced by Covid, we met our aims this year of enhancing the growth, development and learning of children, encouraging parental involvement in the early years’ development of their children, and in particular, promoting a sense of community and well-being among children and parents after a period of isolation and disengagement more widely in society. For our young children who have been so particularly affected by Covid restrictions, Playgroup has been a vital resource in allowing them to regain some of those essential early building blocks of socialisation and education.
Financial Report for 2021/22
The year 2021/22 was a good financial year for Rodborough Playgroup. It was the first year after several tough years in which RPG achieved a net ‘profit’ of £1,626. However, it was also a disappointing year as RPG looked like making considerably more than it eventually did, as it was such a bumper year in terms
of numbers of children attending. Please see below for a summary of the figures and comparison with the previous year and the budget.
The accounts have been independently examined by Dan Tarr of SLS Accountants Ltd. Dan’s report is also attached below.
Income
Total income for the year was £111,067, £9,236 over budget. Income from fees and the Gloucestershire County Council’s funding grants totalled over £9,000 more than budgeted. RPG also received £910 in additional grants and raised £3,649 through fundraising and donations. Please note that the Rodborough Paris Council grant of £460 is ring-fenced to be spent on a shed in 2022/23.
Fundraising brought in slightly less than budgeted, largely due to Covid hitting RPG families severely in March/April when a large fundraising event had to be postponed until May.
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% of
2021/2 2021/20 Variance budget
INCO 2020/21 2 22 Year yr end– achiev
ME Year end Budget end budget ed
Charitable trading activities
£78,00
Glos CC Grant £66,668 0 £84,031 £6,031 108%
Glos CC Grant Pupil
Premium £858 £858
£19,30
Fees £12,143 8 £21,563 £2,255 112%
Fundraising £2,776 £2,500 £2,288 -£212 92%
Donations £2,523 £773 £1,361 £588 176%
Gift Aid £544 £500 £0 -£500
Bank interest £0 £0 £0 £0
Other grants £12,249 £750 £450 -£300
Milk £0 £0 £0
Rodborough Parish
Council £0 £460 £460
Miscellaneous £10,000 £0 £57 £57
Development £0 £0 £0 £0
£106,9 £101,8 £111,0
Total income 04 31 67 £9,236 109%
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Expenditure
RPG’s expenditure was £9,051 more than budgeted. The vast majority of this - £7,149 was due to staff wages. Some of this was due to Covid hitting several staff during the months of March and April. While we used supply staff at other times of the year, supply staff in April alone cost £2,000! A larger than budgeted increase in the National Living Wage also impacted staff wages more than anticipated.
RPG also spend double what was budgeted for covid supplies which included cleaners. Playgroup events was also well over budget. And perhaps unsurprisingly in the current financial climate, other costs such as rent, and insurance increased.
RPG secured a government backed Bounce Back Loan of £10,000 from the Co-op bank in January 2021 to help with the massive financial challenges of Covid. Since January 2022 we have started repaying this as planned.
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% of
2021/20 Variance budget
EXPENDITURE 2020/21 2021/22 22 Year yr end– achiev
Year end Budget end budget ed
Direct Charitable Expenditure
Rent £7,428 £8,000 £8,201 £201 103%
Insurance £522 £550 £807 £257 147%
Repairs/mainten
ance £477 £300 £268 -£32 89%
Staff Wages £81,816 £80,363 £87,512 £7,149 109%
HMRC £1,472 £0 £0
Training £1,523 £1,177 £1,097 -£80 93%
PATA payroll £477 £553 £532 -£22 96%
OFSTED £50 £650 £50 -£600 8%
PATA
membership £100 £95 £105 £10 111%
Pupil premium
purchases £374 £374
Resources £3,904 £2,725 £2,728 £3 100%
Consumables £663 £1,530 £929 -£601 61%
Covid supplies £2,127 £1,000 £2,072 £1,072 207%
Milk £4 £0 £0
Telephone £753 £502 £515 £13 103%
Subscriptions £420 £50 £277 £227 555%
Playgroup events £135 £380 £1,230 £850 324%
Staff mileage £99 £260 £137 -£123 53%
IT Support £705 £396 £774 £378 195%
Loan
interest/repayme
nt £1,242 £1,242 £0 100%
Miscellaneous £363 £415 £437 £22 105%
Fundraising expenditure £52 £200 £154 -£46 77%
Total charitable
expenditure £103,0 £100,38 £109,4
90 9 40 £9,052 109%
Net of receipts and
payments
£3,814 £1,442 £1,626
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Bank balance, reserves and cash flow
Reserves at the end of the 2021/22 financial year were £23,541 which exceeds our target of £21,724 according to the RPG’s reserves’ report carried out in the autumn term. The reserves target is the sum of closure (notice period, holiday pay and statutory redundancy costs) plus a drop in child numbers (equivalent to one 3/4 year old children doing 15 hours for 38 weeks).
Balance on 1 September £20,665 2021 Net of receipts and £1,626
payments from 1/09/2021 – 30/08/2022 Other income (deposits £1,250 for new starters) Balance on 30 August £23,541 2022
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