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2020-08-31-accounts

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Annual Report
September 2019- August 2020
Stowey Bears Commitments
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Stowey Bears Highlights

Parents Testimonials

”My daughter loves coming and all of the activities and use of outdoor space has been great. Having the pictures on Tapestry everyday gives me so much to be able to talk to her about and I learn far more about her day. Thank you!"

"The pre-school is fantastic, my son has settled in really quickly, the resources are brilliant and we have been very impressed with the activities and learning he has done so far."

1/5

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Annual Report
A Message from the Management Committee
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As a consequence of Covid-19 Stowey Bears has had a challenging time, but despite this we are delighted to report that as we close the year, Stowey Bears is now financially secure and has an extremely strong and committed staff team.

In September 2019, we were delighted to see Lisa Cripwell stepping up to take on leadership of the setting as our new Manager. We also welcomed Rachel Rich to the team as an early year’s educator and Nicola Rigby as our financial administrator. Lisa stepped up initially as interim manager and we were delighted to secure her as a permanent Manager in November 2019. Sarah Grubb also took a step up and was appointed Deputy Manager and designated Safeguarding Officer. Under Lisa’s leadership, the initial focus was to develop the preschool environment through the use of more natural and open-ended materials. This has seen the setting gradually replacing many of the plastic resources, the introduction of regular yoga sessions and thanks to the generous support of Homes in Sedgemoor we were able to train staff and launch our ‘Little Bear Woodland Sessions’ which have proved popular with both children and parents.

In January, Lisa welcomed the birth of her daughter Lottie, and we were delighted that Tina Miller joined us as acting Preschool Manager to cover Lisa’s maternity leave. We sadly said goodbye to Lianne Field in January, a much-loved key worker, and we welcomed Haley Gardner as key person and SENCO. Rachel also secured a permanent role as key person. The Spring term proved to be exceptionally challenging with the unprecedented events that unfolded in March 2020. However, Tina and the team have done a fantastic job of managing everything in very challenging circumstances with the Covid-19 impact and it’s complexities. We were extremely proud of the staff team who enabled us to reopen early following the lockdown period. We are very proud of the staff team who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to bring positive learning experiences and a safe and friendly space to the children in our setting in this period of uncertainty.

As we closed the doors for Summer, we were extremely pleased to be able give the garden a much needed update with very special thanks to the support of the HPC Community Fund who awarded us a £5,000 grant to undertake much needed ground works. This has enabled us to replace the old artificial grass area that had started to flood and caused the garden to be out of use in bad weather. We have also been able to buy some new resources for the garden including a new willow bower, tool station, mud kitchen and much more. In response to Covid-19 and the need for social distancing the council has given us access to the back garden, so we now have additional outdoor space. This has enabled us to create a new play park area with tree swing, a garden area with raised beds and a nature corner to extend our learning about growing and nature.

Sadly, despite increasing numbers and our best efforts to try and enrol more children we have continued to remain closed on Tuesdays and Friday afternoons as it has not been financially sustainable for us, but we are delighted that after the financial challenges in 2019 our hard work has seen Stowey Bears return to a much more secure financial position. Other positive developments have seen us offering up to 30 hours free funded childcare for families who qualify.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new 2020-1 cohort and supporting the team in the year ahead. We warmly encouraged others to take an active role to make a strong dedicated Committee in order for the preschool to continue running and raise much needed funds.

Rosie and Zoe

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Annual Report
Financial Statement
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2018/2019 Opening Balances

2019/20 Closing Balances

£10,000 Reserve Account

Overheads, financial liability and wages have been significantly reduced, and coupled with robust financial planning we are able to place £10,000 funds back into our reserves building the future security of Stowey Bears.

In Autumn 2019 we were awarded a further £2,000 from SCC as part of our sustainability grant due to cash flow challenges in November 2019, however this was a direct result of starting the year with a balance of less than £500. Our closing balance in 2020 left £5,159 in the current account at the start of September 2020.

We received £5,000 grant from the HPC Community Fund to replace the all weather surface in the garden together with flood prevention groundwork and other improvements. We also secured a £2,000 Covid mitigation grant from Somerset County Council to assist with additional costs incurred when the setting reopened voluntarily in June 2020 following earlier closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic..

We have also raised £1,618 from our own fundraising events.

3/5

The Stowey Bears Team

Management Committee Zoe Hick, Co-Chair Rosie Aubrey, Co- Chair Lucy Carpenter, Secretary Kirsty Wishart, Treasurer Victoria Blake Jackie Banks Vanessa Malen Lucy Mayhew Angela U’dell Keely Hicks

Staff Team Lisa Cripwell, Pre-School Manager Tina Miller, acting Pre-school Manager (maternity cover) Nicola Rigby, Finance Administrator Sarah Grubb, Deputy Manager Hayley Gardner, Key Worker Rachel Rich, Key Worker

Fundraising and Social Events

From September 2019- July 2020, we delivered a number of fundraising and social events for parents including:

Thanks to our supporters

Homes in Sedgemoor Nether Stowey Parish Council Hinkley Point C Somerset Community Foundation Little stores Nether Stowey Post Office Tropiquaria Zoo Keystone Pizzeria The Carew Arms Combe House Hotel, Bar & Restaurant Plowright Organic we the curious

Quantock Lodge Leisure Blackmore Farm Quayside Trampoline and Gymnastics Club Notley Arms. Exmoor National Park Dunster Castle & Gardens Hunstile Organic Farm Taunton Tesco Asda Morrisons Paperboat Consulting

4/5

Mrs Donna Richards 7 Harry Prowse Close Nether Stowey Bridgwater Somerset TA5 1BF 23/06/2021

Mrs Tina Miller Stowey Bears Pre-School Nether Stowey

Dear Mrs Miller,

As requested, I have reviewed the accounts you prepared for Stowey Bears Pre-School, in conjunction with the supporting documentation you supplied.

After reviewing the paperwork submitted to me, I can confirm the following:

On this basis, I can confirm that the accounts you have prepared are an accurate reflection of the financial transactions which took place during the financial year.

Regards

Donna Richards.