## **Chairmans Report 21/10/20**
Due to Covid we weren’t able to hold any regular meetings. Going forward this is something we should aim for each term, especially as we have digital options available.
It has been a difficult year for everyone, I am sure Sarah will cover the challenges in her report. I would like to take this opportunity to Thank Sarah and all the staff at St Chad’s pre school for ensuring everyone has remained safe whilst keeping a ‘normal’ as possible environment for the children, the dedication is inspiring.
I believe we have all now completed the relevant forms and right DBS, we are just waiting confirmation of all of this from Ofsted, once you have this please inform Sarah or myself.
There unfortunately haven’t been any fundraising events or organised trips this year, mainly due to the DBS process delays and Covid. I imagine going forward this will be difficult whilst social distancing guidelines are in place. If anyone had any ideas please let me know.
I was planning on helping Sarah with the appraisal process but unfortunately this didn’t happen this year. I am sure Sarah will update us with staffing in her report.
I would like to conclude with my thanks again to all the staff for their hard work and dedication throughout the year.
Claire Elsworth Chairperson
## Leaders report for AGM 21.10.20
I would like to start my report by thanking my amazing staff team as always they have worked tirelessly this year to create the wonderful atmosphere and learning opportunities that make St Chad’s Pre School the wonderful pre school that it is.
As usual we organised two separate Christmas parties for the children as we have found this works well with activities being able to be organised in an age appropriate way. We also held our annual Nativity which is always a very special occasion and enjoyed by all parents.
We started the new year with plans to further improve our indoor environment, with new flooring throughout and new toilets for the children. The works were planned to take place in the spring term and thankfully despite COVID19 the work was still completed. It has made a huge difference to the environment with everything being easier to clean and maintain. The new flooring has also given us more flexibility with regards to where we position tables for eating etc, we are still continuing to review the way the rooms are set up as we want to create the very best environment possible for the children.
The year has been dominated by COVID19 as has everything else and we continue to work through issues relating to COVID19 as we come across them as the situation is fluid and ever changing. We have risk assessed our activities and the resources we offer the children on a daily basis and feel we have managed to retain the familiar feel for the children whilst being able to clean and sanitise as required by COVID19.
Staff changes have been minimal with Rachael leaving us in July to begin her teacher training and we wish her all the very best with this. We have taken on a new member of staff Sarah Coombs who has settled in beautifully and become a strong member of the team already.
The other major factor this year has been our continued struggle to have the new committee registered with OFSTED and we believe this is now finally almost resolved. With all DBS checks being finalised and all the other relevant paperwork completed by the committee members. I will be contacting OFSTED during the half term week to establish a timeframe for when their checks will be complete.
Moving forward we recently had a meeting with Rachael Webb head of early years in South Gloucestershire, Alan Walters head of Coniston and other senior council members in which we discussed to opportunities and benefits of developing a much closer working relationship with Coniston Primary School. This is an exciting proposal and will enable us to build on and expand the service we already offer. It also links into our ultimate intention to move away from being a committee run pre school as committee members are increasingly hard to recruit due to the fact that many more parents work now than used to be the case. There are several possibilities we are looking into with options to become a CIC/CIO or move to come under the school governance. I will of course keep all committee members updated and informed on the progress of this project as we have another meeting planned for 18[th] of November.
Finally I am pleased to say my deputy Cheryl who now manages the waiting list informs me that we are full for this school tyear, next year and almost full for the year after that so we are in a very strong position moving forward. Special thanks go to both Louise and Cheryl for the work they do and I believe we make a good strong leadership team.
I look forward to another exciting, demanding year as we continue to develop our pre school.
## Treasurers report for AGM 2020
I can confirm that the annual accounts and reports have been submitted to the charity commission for the academic year 2018-2019 and these have been accepted by the commission and can be viewed if needed on their website. I can also confirm that the annual accounts for 2019-2020 are almost ready for submission with just August to be signed off.
We remain in a strong financial position at present despite the impact of COVID19 and we hope to continue being so as our forecasted number of children that will join us is very healthy as mentioned in the leaders report.
Minutes of AGM held 21.10.20
## Present – Claire Tainton, Haidong Li, Melanie Elsworth, Sarah Trussell
Apologies – Alan Walters
- Update on committee position with Ofsted – Haidong confirmed he had received his DBS and had joined the update service today.
Claire not yet received DBS but hopefully it will arrive in next day or so.
Mel not received either and again hope to have in next day or so.
Sarah will contact Ofsted to ascertain the current position with regards to committee suitability checks.
• Discussion regarding COVID19 – we talked about the steps pre school are taking to keep the children, staff and parents safe. Haidong agreed that what was in place was all that could be done, and that if everyone sticks to the rules we have the best chance of keeping the virus at bay.
- Claire said she had nothing to raise.
• We discussed Christmas and the effect of COVID19 on our normal activities. Sarah confirmed that the normal nativity would not take place as it would not be possible to do so safely. She will discuss with staff the possibility of videoing the children in small groups as they sing songs. Also the costumes will be available for the children to use in their play and any videos/pictures that are captured of them wearing them will be put together and posted on the facebook page at an appropriate point. Sarah advised that staff had discussed at their staff meeting the night before the possibility of having parties for the children. Staff felt that two parties could be held one in the morning and one in the afternoon so that the two bubbles can be kept separate. Claire asked if it was possible for Santa (aka her dad) to be present at these, but we all agreed this would not be safe re COVID19. She said she would ask her dad if was available on the day and we felt that if he was he could stand on the path and wave to the children and staff would explain that Santa has left their presents this year but that he could not come in due to the virus.
• We continued with a general discussion regarding the introduction this term of the Hygge Outdoor Pod. Sarah explained to Haidong what this meant and how it is run. He agreed it sounded like a positive move and that the key to its success is good communication and keeping parents well informed. This in turn will help them to feel confident that we take due care of their child. It was suggested that perhaps when a child was due to spend time in the Hygge Outdoor Pod their parents were reminded via facebook/email of this so that they can ensure they send their child appropriately dressed for the weather.
• Financial report – a short financial report was given which confirms the pre schools financial position remains strong. There was some loss of revenue due to COVID19 and it’s effect on the after school club income and loss of income from fee paying children but as already stated the pre school is strong financially and has managed to absorb these losses. Any further closures due to COVID19 and their impact will have to be carefully monitored.
• The opening of the new nursery Snapdragons on the Charlton Hayes estate was discussed and questions raised over the impact it could have on St Chad’s. Sarah explained that it was unlikely to have an effect on children attending the pre school as the cost of attending Snapdragons was significantly higher than the cost of St chad’s. Also as it is a private nursery they operate/charge in a very different way to us and so even though a child may receive the NEG there will still be a cost to parents
meaning sessions are not free as they are with St Chad’s. Also the private nursery make many extra charges and are unlikely to be affordable for families in the local area. Cheryl has researched their prices and they really are very high with charges for paint, pens and many other consumables.
• Sarah explained in brief about the meeting she had with Rachael Webb, Alan Walters etc about creating an Early Years Centre of Excellence. She explained about the possibilities re governance of the pre school and how this might work. It was felt that this was a positive move for the pre school and it was an honour to be considered to be part of the project. All present agreed to pursue the proposal. However we all also agreed that retaining independence in some form for the pre school was important and that we must not lose sight of what we are as a pre school. Sarah said she would contact Alan re a further meeting to discuss the proposal further.
## Actions;
Sarah – contact Ofsted re the progress of Claire, Haidong and Mel’s suitability status.
Update - I have since spoken to a gentleman at Ofsted and he confirms that Claire has just shown as suitable on the system and this will be confirmed in writing in the near future, Haidong and Mel are both showing as their DBS checks are complete and the final suitability checks should be completed in the near future. We now just have to wait for suitability confirmations.
Claire – to confirm that her dad is available to be Santa on Friday 18th December and that he is happy to wave to the children from the path.
Sarah and staff – to film/photograph the children engaged in nativity related activities and then post on facebook page at an appropriate date.
Jo Wright – to email parents re the Hygge Outdoor Pod to keep them fully informed of its purpose and ethos.
Update – Jo emailed all parents the week after this AGM to update them and keep them fully informed.
Sarah – to contact Alan Walters to discuss the Early Years Centre of Excellence.
Update – Sarah has had an email exchange with Alan but due to him having been ill with COVID19 this needs further follow up.
NEXT MEETING 15th DECEMBER 7pm – Zoom invites have been sent please let Sarah know if you have not received an invite.
## St Chad’s Pre School Annual Accounts Statement Financial Year 2019-2020
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||
|**INCOME**||||**EXPENDITURE**|||
|**Balance brought fwd from Aug 2019**|**257,947.18**
**£**||||||
||||||||
|Fees|21,470.39
£|||Telephone|1,394.81
£||
|Early Years Funding|186,669.32
£|||Wages|161,238.60
£||
|Fund Raising|103.00
£|||Catering|1,151.95
£||
|Uniform Sales|166.43
£|||Rent|11,455.05
£||
|Catering|219.80
£|||Equipment|2,240.43
£||
|Other|2,050.00
£|||Admin|2,947.26
£||
||-
£|||Training|1,431.00
£||
|||||Other|44,434.37
£||
|||||Transfer to Resource|15,400.00
£||
|Total|210,678.94
£|||VAT|1,444.47
£||
||||||||
|||||Total|243,137.94
£||
||||||||
|**Total Income ytd**|**£210,678.94**|||**Total Expenditure ytd**|**£243,137.94**||
||||||||
|**Balance carried fwd**|**£225,488.18**|||**Bank @ 28.8.20**|**£225,488.18**||
||||||||
||||||||
|**Signed**||**Date**|||||
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