CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Trustees, Annual Report for the period From 1st September 2023 31 St August 2024 Period start date Period end date Charity name: Harpsden Pre School Playgroup Charity registration number: 1029269 Objectives and Activities SORP reference Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document Para 1.17 The pre-school aims to provide a safe and caring learning environment, free from prejudice and discrimination, for children aged 2 to 5 years old. Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular. the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts. Para 1.17and 1.19 The pre-school provides supervised sessions for pre-school children five days a week, Mon-Fri There are also Forest School sessions which run on Tuesdays with our Forest School Leader which is available to any children in their last year before primary school. We additionally provide woodland sessions for all children including our younger children every day. The pre-school plans and provides activities and play opportunities to develop the children's emotional. physical, social, and intellectual capabilities. in line with the Govemment's EYFS framework. Appropriate facilities and equipment are provided to achieve this. Additionally, the Pre-school now provides holiday club care for children aged 3-5 which is open to all eligible children in the local area. Statement confinning whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit Par8 1.18 The Trustees continue to have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Additlonal Information (optional) You ma choose to include further statements where relevant about: SORP reference The Committee is responsible for fundraising on behalf of the pre-school. This is done in accordance with the policy on 8rant making. Para 1.38 Policy on grant making nla Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment The committee is run by volunteers and there are no volunteers working directly with the children. Para 1.38 Contribution made by volunteers Other Achievements and Performance SORP rgferenc£ The pre-school continues to provide high quality care and education to all the children attending. We continue to operate with more teachers per session than the government guidelines recommend, which enables the pre-school to run smoothly but also ensures there are plenty of staff on hand to meet the children's needs and adapt throughout the day as a true free- flow setting. The Pre-school prides itself on being an inclusive setting and therefore we seek to accommodate children from all financial backgrounds and do our best to provide the necessary learning and social environment for children with additional needs. Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity's work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. Para 1.20 We continue to provide a very special woodland and Forest School setting which we are using increasingly and the daily access to the woodland setting has been enjoyed by the children and offers a facility that is particularly attractive to enquiring parents or guardians. We also identified a need for an early years holiday club provision in the local area to support working parents in the pre-school and local community. Most local holiday clubs only accept from reception or year l. As a result, we introduced the Harpsden Woodland Holiday Club in the Summer holidays of 2024, run by the pre-school, which was highly successful and spaces sold out very quickly. This covers a need for not only our current children but also the wider community and parents were highly complimentary. Due to this succe55 we plan to offer Easter and Summer holiday clubs in 2025. Additional information (optional) You ma choose to include further statements where relevant about: Achievements against objectives set Para 1.41 Due to its popularity. our now annual Christmas Wreath making event and raffle - an event open to the general public (expanding our fundraising target audience away from just the parents and families of the pre school) and some smaller Christmas and Easter events for parents to enjoy with the children. We succeeded in raising just in excess of £1400 which was a fantsstic achievement for a small pre school setting not attached to any local school. Perfonnance of fundraising activities against objectives set Para 1.41 We are also using the new holiday club as a fundraising opportunity since this provides for families outside of our term-time only provision and for additional local families. As non-temi time sessions, these are also not funded by the government. Before staff costs, we raised in the region of £3800 for the pre- school over two weeks. NIA Snvestment performance against objectives P8ra 1.41 Financial Review Review of the charity's financial position at the end of the period Para 1.21 The 2023/2024 Academic Year was a year of real progress whilst also presenting various financial challenges along the way. Crucially, there was a c. IO% increase in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in April 2024 which, for a childcare setting and the salary bands associated with this sector, presents a large increase to our biggest cost centre. The number of children on roll reached 32 by the end of the academic year, double that of the start of the 23/24 financial and academic year. For the first time numbers were higher than pre-pandemic figures, which was very encouraging and shows the positive growth and attraction of this unique setting. Support from OCC was maintained throughout the year while the pre-school was open. Working parent funding was introduced for two-year-olds as well as extended working parent fundin& meaning more children were in receipt of government fundin8. The 3 and 4-year-old funding remained significantly below running costs of the pre-school and as we are in Oxfordshire, we are in receipt of one of the lowest % top ups to the national base rates in the country, despite some of the highest staff living costs. Our biggest cost centre remains staff salaries. As a smaller setting, we cannot further reduce staff numbers without compromising on staff:child ratio and child safety. As a charity, we ensure that all needs of the children are met, even if this means providin I:1 or much smaller ratios for SEN children over and above the funding available from the government. We believe this approach is essential for the well-being of those children and all children and staff at the setting. We end the financial year wlth a profit of £11,530.68. Some of our profit from last year had been earmarked by the Committee for renovations of a space which has now been converted into a fantastic area which now enables us to operate in a non-pack-away basis. This has added space for the children due to still having access to all the previous areas. The pre-school also intends to direct some of these funds in to a further project to provide additional toileting facilities for the pre-school. This is an ongoing project since the Trustees of the village hall agreed to a trial of a new setup before any building works could commence. We have also invested in Famly App which has enabled us to much more efficiently communicate with parents, track attendance, update a child's progress and log any accidents or incidents which has proved a huge efficiency for the pre-school staff. Our profit this year is £20,681.20 above our previously-stated resendes, leaving us in stable position giving us security in case of future enforced closures which we now know is a risk after the pandemic of 2020. However it should be noted that due to the sharp increase in salaries and applicable pension and NIC, due to the NMW increase, and increases to hall hire and other running costs over the past 12 months, the Committee has since amended its Financial Reserves Policy to a contingency of £45,CK)O. Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held Para 1.22 The policy of the pre-school continues to be to have a reserve, which would allow it to operate for up to six months without income. This would ensure that fixed overhead costs could be honoured, staff could be paid, and staff and children would have sufficient time to make other arrangements should the Pre-school need to close in the short or long term. Amount of reserves held Reasons for holding zero reserves Details of fund materially in deficit Explanation of any uncertainties about the harity continuing as a going concern Para 1.22 £32 000 NIA reviewed u wards in FY 24125 Para 1.22 Para 1.24 Para 1.23 As a pre school, we continue to be affected by a large number of school leavers at the end of each academic year but due to our increasing strong reputation and diversified offering to the public, we remain stable. Being a pre school without any primary school affiliation means we have to appeal to parents as an outdoor-focused, free-flow setting with fantastic space and staffing. Changing our working name to Harpsden Woodland Pre-school helps to highlight this. We are now offering a full 5 days of education which is serving the need of parents. This helps us to have a more secure future as a pre school. We continue to work with the Trust who run the village hall we operate from and are working on using the site even more effectively in the next financial/academic year. We continue to operate on a financially conservative basis and prioritise fundraising campaigns to boost our financial position at the start of the new academic year and to expand our outdoor offering. Additional information (optlonal) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: We now receive Government funding for 2 year olds eligible for working parent funding as well as children in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium and all 3-4 year olds (including the increased funding hours via the Government 30-hour working parent programme where applicable for 3- 4-year-olds), fee income for 2-3 year-olds as well as fee income for chidren attending more than their funded hours (15-30 accordingly) and voluntary contributions from the parents form the largest proportion of the pre-school income. Our fundraising activities have increased this year with a very successful wreath making night, Easter event and two raffles.As previously mentioned, Holiday Club5 are a new sources of income and fundraising. The charity's principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) Para 1.47 Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted Para 1.46 The hourly rate for government funding continues to be significantly lower than the running costs of the pre-school therefore to cover costs we did ask for a voluntary contribution. We have reviewed the hours we offer at our setting to meet the needs of our parents and prospective parents. A description of the principal risks facing the charity Para 1.46 Note that later Government legislation effective the following April 2025 means the Committee has fully reviewed any request for voluntary contributions. Other Structure, Governance and Management Description of charity's trusts: Type of governing document Para 1.25 Constitution How is the charity constituted? Ic., q I Iii iiicorpfji.ated .4tr￿)0{,.4￿1buI), (-IC) Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or mo trustees Para 1.25 Unincorporated Association Parn 1.25 Trustees are nominated and seconded at the AGM in September, in accordance with the Pre-school Learning Alliance Model Constitution {2011) (section 5). Additional infomiatlon (optional) You ma choose to include further statements Whe￿ relevant about: Trustees are provided with a 'new member information document, on joining the Committee for induction purposes. They are required to read and sign a: A self nomination and declaration form for election as a Trustee b: A Trustee code of conduct and c: A declaration of self interest form. Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees Para 1.51 A Committee which meets six-weekly during term time to discuss the bigger items of the running of the pre-school and support the management in the implementation of positive improvements to the pre school. The committee is also responsible for organising and leading the various fundraising events and hosting families at regular events such as the nativity, sports day, etc. The charity's organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works Para 1.51 The staff are managed by our Pre-school Manager and supported by the Deputy Teaching Manager. The Forest School is lead by our fully qualified Forest School Leader with previous management responsibilities. The pre-school continues to have strong links with Harpsden Hall (John Hod8es' Trust) management. The Committee and Staff continue to carry out regular Health and Safety Risk assessments to ensure the Relationship with any related parties Pafa 1.51 safety of the children is maintained at all times. Other Reference and Administrative details Chari name Other name the chari uses RegiSte￿d charity number Ha sden Pre School Pla rou Ha sden Woodland Pre School 1029269 Charity's principal address Harpsden Village Hall, Harpsden, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 4HH Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Dates acted if not for whole ear th Trustee name Offlce (If any) Name of person (or body) entitled to appolnt trustee (if any) Elizabeth Eldridge Chair 4 March 2025 - Present 17 Septemb er 2024 - Present Elinor Williams Treasure th Elizabeth Chamber Secretar th Decemb er 2022 - present th 29 April 2025 - Present Brigitta Bano General Deborah Bruwer General (Chair until 04103120 25) General th October 2022 - present Suzanne Rundle th October 2022 - present 23° April 2024 - Present Lucy Brewster General Jemma Phillimor General (Retired) th October 2022 - 23° April 2024 Ruth Piercy Treasure Retired 23rd April 2024 10 (Retired) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 10 orate trustees - names of the directors at the date the re Director name ortwasa roved Name of trustees holding title to propety belonging to the charity Trustee name Datos acted if not for whole ear 11 Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity's objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity's own assets Addltlonal Inforniation (optional) Names and addresses of advisers (Optlonal information) Type of Name Address adviser Name of chief executlve or names of senior staff members (Optional infonnatlon) Exemptions from disclosure Reason for non-disclosure of ke ersonnel details Other o tional information 12 Declarations The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees. report above. Slgned on behalf of the charlty's trustees Signature 1 Full name 1 kifsb Positlon e.g. Chair OT (Co￿￿ ISV klOtr- 2oVt Date £* /06/Loz5 Slgnature 2 Full name 2 Position e.g. Chair Date £¥/../ £0 13 i) Pr•.5chool 5¥mffl•ryofR•c*lsand P•ym•ntslorth• Y*i•nd•a31Iwstio24 p41st￿0￿rIty￿. 1029169 EIPT rentsand Occfundirrf Rewstrètbn & admln fees Subtotsl (Feelncomel 98.830.71 t i.S70.00 £ 100OQO.71 £ 57J70.fj5 57,220.55 750.00 t4tsmm*r Htylidly aub Fundrnlsl 226.94 2 6.X6.21 E 1.879.EO £ 73 È 100.02 1679.15 &77>.17 Otherlrt¢om¢ TOTAL INCQMERECEIVED £ 6Z207J2 Satsries Payrdladmini5tr•t Tr4lnin¥ -£80582.68 -E50M3.16 4588.00 4W.20 -£341.45 Hill rental lex(lud•$hdi43vtlubfor Ft 2¥241 Inxura￿eS