Holbrook Pre-School Trustees Annual Report 2022-2023
Holbrook Preschool is concerned with the provision of preschool education for the village of Holbrook and surrounding area. Fees are either paid by parents and/or funding from the Local Authority, fundraising may also be used to supplement income and fund activities.
Preschool has continued to thrive since the Coronavirus Pandemic. The number of children attending from in and around the local area has increased during the 2022-2023 period and a result preschool has maintained a healthy position financially, it is anticipated that we will continue to sustain this stability over the coming year.
During this time period Preschool showed a surplus of £9577 as opposed to the deficit of £14801 reported in 2021/2022, this can be accounted for by a number of factors. During 2022-2023 the number of children attending preschool increased, this was in part due to the provision of wrap around care which provides a breakfast and afternoon club. This helped to cater for those parents working 9-5pm or that may be returning to office-based work after a period of working from home. This has resulted in an increase in fees of £38517 compared to 2021/2022. This increase in the number of children attending and extended opening hours has however seen further a further increase in staffing costs as it was necessary to employ more staff. By the end of the 2022/2023 financial period 11 staff were employed at preschool compared to 9 during the previous financial year, resulting in an increase in staff wages from £116779 to £135094.
One noticeable increase in preschool income during this financial period was due to a received donation of £6000. This was during a period when the preschool building was in desperate need of repairs and as a result, we were able to use this donation to secure the long-term future of the building. Despite these improvements taking place the total expenditure on major repairs was significantly less for 2022/2023 than it was for the previous financial year, this was due in large part to a team of volunteers who worked tirelessly on the building repairs saving us the expense of having to pay trades people.
Other changes in expenditure from the previous financial period include an increase in the amount spent on learning resources, general provisions, school dinners, furniture and maintenance and training and professional fees. There was a decrease in the amount spent on rent and rates, cleaning materials and major repairs and improvements.
The amount of money raised through fundraising decreased a little from £4324 in 2021-2022 to £3510, this is despite the preschool staff and committee engaging in a number of fundraising events. Contributions to in house activities were also significantly lower during 2022-2023 than the previous time period.
Our reserve balance going forward has been increased to at £15,380, to account for the increase in staff members now employed by preschool. The value held in our savings account of £21738 continues to cover the balance required, and that, along with the amount of £18316 in our general account, minus our reserves amount leaves remaining funds of £24674.
The Manager and Deputy manager continue to utilise the eyMan system to very good effect which ensures that useful and productive dialogue between them and the treasurer can be maintained. All of preschool’s income and expenditure continues to be reconciled back to the Preschool bank account, ensuring that there is an audit trail for every transaction.
The Year Ending 31.07.23 accounts and records have been externally verified by Martin Coe, an Independent Accountant.
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