2021-03-31-accounts

Exminster Pre-school - Annual General Meeting 2021

Minutes

_____________ Date/Time of Meeting: Thursday 14[th] October @ 7.45pm

Location: Immanuel church, Exminster

Daniel North (Chair), Charlotte Stone (treasurer), Clair Reed (Secretary), Leah Barnes (Manager), Karen Beal (Administrator), Jo Hobbs (pink lady),

Apologies: Michalea

1. Welcome & Apologies

DN welcomed committee members, staff and parents to the AGM and explained the voting procedures in the Pre-school Constitution.

2. Accept Minutes from last AGM

The minutes from the last AGM held on the Wednesday 9[th] December 2021 were distributed to the attendees via email prior to AGM. DN proposed that these minutes were accepted. Members voted to accept the minutes and there were no objections. DN and CS signed the minutes off as a true and accurate reflection of the last AGM.

3. Matters arising from minutes

There were no matters arising

4. Staff Report

Leah Barnes read the following report.

This report is for the period December 2020 until September 2021. It has been another unusual year, in and out of Lockdown and the various social restrictions but a new normal was achieved. Unfortunately, restrictions meant we were not able to run our annual Christmas Bazaar, but we couldn’t let Christmas go by with out a visit from Santa. Sean and his team at Berrybrook motors saved the day by fully immersing themselves in the Santa tour and it felt almost like a carnival. We were so grateful for all their time and effort to provide a wonderful community event. Thinking outside the box we decided to ask Santa to come to Pre-school and record a little message for each child. For a small fee, children were sent a personal recording from Santa along with a

small gift and this proved very popular. We were pleased that we managed to raise over half our usual amount, which in Covid times we class as a real success!

We finished the term by recording our Christmas performance and sending it out on Tapestry. This was the next best thing to having parents in person to see the show.

The year has passed by without too many hiccups. We haven’t had to close and neither have we had any positive cases. I can’t thank the staff enough for being flexible with their time, adaptable with their practices and the care and attention they have given to the children and each other. The children’s health and wellbeing has been our priority and our curriculum has been full of fun activities to distract from the difficult times. Sadly, the Cygnets were unable to spend time at the Primary school again this year but the teaching staff did come to us and spent time getting to know the children. I’m sure this positive approach really helped with a smooth transition to school.

We ran with very good numbers throughout the year. We continued with our new room layout and the 3 groupings, each having their own space and staff team. We have continued with our enhanced cleaning of the hall and wearing indoor shoes. These have been a great success and we really appreciate parents support in helping this to work. We are always looking at ways to improve and be more environmentally friendly and this year we have been using washable individual hand towels instead of paper towels. This has so far been very successful and hopefully saved some trees!

Training has always played an important role in the development of our Pre-School. This summer staff have been focused on completing lots of training on the new EYFS 2021, which came in force this September. The staff have all embraced the changes and we are navigating around the changes to Tapestry, our online system. Staff are excellent at discussing, debating and implementing change to the way we deliver the curriculum and we are very proud that the staff team are so professional in their attitude towards the children’s learning. We continue to support staff in their own professional development. Fiona is in her last year of her degree. Congratulations to Martha on completing her degree, she has remained with us on our bank staff whilst she is doing her PGCE year. We wish them both good luck! Congratulations to Teresa and Jo Lovell on completing the Level 3 in Early years and Jo Hobbs on completing the Level 2 in Early years. Well, done, it’s not easy to balance work, family and study! Jo Hobbs is now studying for the Level 3!

In January we welcomed two new staff members Kirsty and Katy. They are a great addition to the team. Kirsty has began studying the Level 3 in Early Years and Katy is studying the Level 2 in Early Years. We wish them all good luck.

Sadly, we said goodbye to Helen, who has been absolutely wonderful throughout her time with us. We welcome Jess who takes up the challenge to keep us all financially sound!

We have purchased new equipment, generously funded by parents from various fundraising events. A great hit was a much larger climbing frame with climbing wall! Unfortunately, a sad point in the holidays was the wreckage left by the Travellers who came to visit. We were overwhelmed by the support from the community, it really was amazing! The gofund me page couldn’t have been better. We were so grateful; it made an awful situation so much better.

We are delighted to announce that we have begun working in partnership with the Baby and Toddler group based in the Victory Hall. Fi has been running their craft table and music session at the end of the morning. We hope this will be a positive relationship that will help children become familiar with the Pink ladies before they start with us. Staff will be available to offer advice and support to parents and families. We are really excited about this new venture and how it will grow over the coming year.

We look forward to a new year and new achievements. Working towards becoming a CIO and a space of our own to expand and develop.

I thank all the staff for their hard work, support, enthusiasm, friendship and fantastic team work! Every Pink lady plays their part in making Exminster Pre-school a really great Pre-school.

I would also like to thank all the committee for all the hard work they do for free. Without the support of the committee, we would not be able to run and they have really worked hard to make my job and Pre-school run efficiently.

Thank you very much.

Leah Barnes

5. Treasurer’s Report

1. Financial Summary – DN broke down the main points of the end of year accounts. Accounts for the year ending March 2021. Deficit - £10,334 which mainly came from wages and the furlough scheme.

2. Accept accounts for financial year 2020-2021: Due to be externally audited. The Accounts were accepted

6. Chair’s Report

Daniel North read out the following report:

If you search for Exminster Pre-School on the charity commission website, our charity’s goal is clearly stated: Offering appropriate play, education and care facilities for pre-school children in the local community. This has been made possible by the contribution of many, across the last year. Firstly, with thanks to the committee, who have continued to offer leadership to the charity on a voluntary basis. However, the most significant, heartfelt thanks must go to Leah and all of the Pink Ladies, who offer so much to our young people every day. Since the AGM of December 2020, some of the

toughest moments of the coronavirus pandemic have been faced. Against this backdrop, all staff have shown humbling levels of commitment to the work, and to the children. Thank you.

Even without considering the impact of coronavirus, this has been a busy year for the pre-school. In order to offer an update to members, I will mention some of the projects and achievements of the year:

• The charity has taken time to set up new ways to receive donations, via PayPal and Amazon Smile. These are easy ways for everyone, not just members, to support the charity.

• We have seen the Pink Ladies begin to offer planned, bespoke support to the toddler group that runs at the Victory Hall on Wednesday mornings.

• The ever-popular ‘Santa Tour’ was able to run and offer some relief and joy to the village at a difficult time in the winter

• We continued to liaise with the Parish Council in regards to the possibility of a new building, in order to start offering nursery provision. Although this was ultimately not possible, the committee considers 0-2 provision to be a critical next step for the village and will consider what alternatives may be viable across the next year.

• Finally, we must place on record once more our thanks to the community of Exminster who raised an incredible sum of money in order for the pre-school to purchase new play equipment, when so much was destroyed in the summer by the group that temporarily took residence at Deepway.

During this year, the pre-school took a double-page spread in the Exminster Scene magazine, to celebrate the 40[th] anniversary. The committee have spent much time discussing the future of the pre-school and the steps that may need to be taken in order to see the pre-school thrive across the next 40 years. At the heart of this discussion is a desire to best serve local families. Across the next year, the committee will actively pursue this goal by

• Continuing to investigate the possibility of providing much needed 0-2 years old provision to the parish

• Proceeding to amend the charity’s status to that of a CIO (charitable incorporated organisation)

• Supporting staff to embrace the new EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) Curriculum

• Continuing to play an active role in the community

So, clearly there is much to consider across the next year. I am coming to the end of my first year on the committee, and hope to continue. It is a welcoming group, with a culture of encouragement and support for anyone who wishes to contribute to the success of this crucial first step of education for local children. The charity relies on support from its members, which includes all of us who have children at the pre-school. Hopefully, we can count on the support of some of you here present this evening. The time commitment is small, but the impact is mighty. However, the most critical, most important goal is always the same: to enhance the development and education of our local children. Therefore, I would like to finish by once more thanking all staff at the pre-school for the focus and determination they show towards this.

7. Election of 2021-2022 Committee

Clair Reed and Charlotte Stone would like to stand down: Accepted

Daniel North

Laura Tranchant

Heidi Davey

Vicki Beeble

Bianca

Leah Barnes

1. Any Other Business

Exminster Pre-school

Year End Accounts

Year Ending Santander current account Barclays deposit account Cambridge & Counties account Receipts Fees and subscriptions Early Years' Grant Fundraising Grants and Donations Interest Other Payments Staff Wages Tax and NI Rent Materials and consumables Equipment Insurance and registrations Administration Snacks Cost of fundraising Staff uniform and costs Training Educational visits and visitors Other Surplus (Receipts-Payments) Represented by account balances at Santander current account Barclays deposit account Cambridge and Counties account

31-Mar-20 31-Mar-21 Notes £ £ 95787 89122 30023 35379 85595 87215 211405 211715 24150 29449 164186 142571 2291 406 100 0 1676 1520 4957 Furlough reclaimed and income from Exeter College for apprentice 192402 178904 143451 150185 11748 9028 18707 19242 1560 2764 4194 2847 1840 1844 999 317 1642 648 978 169 1615 806 3108 832 2252 245 311 192092 189238 310 -10334 211715 201381 89122 77268 35379 35395 87215 88718 211715 201381

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on accounts Section A Independent Exafflfti"8k's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Exminster Pre-school On accounts for the year ended Charity no (rfany) 1024111 3110312021 Set out on pages I report to the tmstees on my examination of the accourrts of the above tharity {'the Trusfi for the year ended 3110312021 1 As the charity's truste8s. you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordan￿ with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Acr). Responsibilities and basis of report I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed all the applirAble Directions given by the Charity Commission under sedion 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent I have completed my examination. I confirni that no material matters have examinerfs statsment come to my attention in connection with the examinats'on (other than that disclosed below.) which gives me Cause to believe that in, any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or Ihe accounts did not accord véith the accounting records; or I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the braGkets rfthey do not ap￿y. Signed: Date: Name: IER Oct 2018

Relevant professional qualification{s) or body (if any): Address: Section B Dis¢losure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matenal matters of concern {see CC32, Independenl examination of chanty accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). IER Oct 2018