2025-07-31-accounts - Bridge Village Playgroup

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Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year From 1 August 2024 To 31 July 2025

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Bridge Village Playgroup Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) 1029286 Charity's principal address Bridge Village Hall 28 High Street Bridge Postcode CT4 5JZ

Bridge Village Playgroup

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any)
	Julia Lewis	Chair
	Alexandra Allchurch	Secretary
	Kate Marshall
	LayHwa Sie	Treasurer
	Catherine Powell
	EmmyBocaege

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

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Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

School Learning Alliance Type of governing document 1 May 2018 (eg. trust deed, constitution)

Unincorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted

(eg. trust, association, company)

We ask parents if they would like to join, and then we nominate them to Trustee selection methods become trustees in a Committee Meeting (eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Section C Objectives and activities

The aims of the Pre-school are to enhance the development and education

of children primarily under statutory school age by encouraging parents to

Summary of the objects of the to charity set out in its understand and provide for the needs of their children through community governing document groups and by:

(a) offering appropriate play, education and care facilities, family learning and extended hours groups, together with the right of parents to take responsibility for and to become involve in the activities of such groups,

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ensuring that such groups offer opportunities for all children whatever their race, culture, religion, means or ability; (b) encouraging the study of the needs of such children and their families and promoting public interest in and recognition of such needs in the local areas; (c) instigating and adhering to and furthering the aims and objects of the Preschool Learning Alliance. Bridge Village Playgroup is a charity-run pre-school that operates out of the Village Hall in Bridge. We employ 6 members of staff who have all been with the Pre-school for many years, and are very experienced and well-regarded in the community. Our primary activity is to provide earlyyears education for children aged 2 to 4.

As a charity-run pre-school we actively encourage parents to get involved in the running of the pre-school through the Committee, which includes current and ex-parents of children at the pre-school.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

The pre-school Manager keeps in close contact with the Early Years specialist team at Kent County Council to ensure that we are compliant with all requirements from Ofsted and are meeting the needs of all children attending the setting. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and use the local authority tracking system to track and follow the children’s progress. Monitoring/ tracking kids An indication of some of the activities undertaken at the pre-school are as follows: - walks around the village and trips to the local recreation ground for outdoor play activities. These are aimed at allowing the children to develop their gross motor skills and give them an opportunity to run, climb and explore their natural environment. - trips to the local allotment to grow vegetables, observe growth and changes and to develop their Understanding of the World; one of the areas of the curriculum. - sensory play activities to encourage discussion around the child’s experience of engaging in these activities, to help develop their verbal skills - role-play activities including dressing up, and setting up different themed areas such as a travel agent, shop, etc. - numeracy activities to aid early development of counting and general understanding of number as well as shape and space. Many of these activities are also explored in our outdoor environment where we have access to sand and water play; activities which also extend their scientific understanding. - early phonics activities with stories which also focus on developing all aspects of Phase one phonics ie alliteration, voice sounds, rhythm and rhyme. - those children who will be attending Primary School the following September, also have a focused morning carpet session which are planned because of observations carried out over the week and target their specific needs. These sessions are also aimed at providing them with small challenges and extend their learning, as well as preparing them for school readiness.

We offer places for SEN children and the staff undertake the period training to ensure they have the required skills to meet the needs of these children.

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Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when planning the charity’s activities

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grantmaking;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.

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Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Summary of the Year: The past year at Playgroup has been incredibly successful. Sarah Hinton became our permanent manager in July, 2024 and under her management, the charity has gone from strength to strength. We hear from our families that the children at Playgroup enjoy their time in our setting and have formed strong bonds with their keyworkers and the other staff members. The new position of administrator has worked well to support Sarah in her role and frees her up to spend more time on the floor, where her skills best serve Playgroup. Sue, our deputy manager has taken on more responsibility and has led a programme of enriching activities for the children throughout the year.

We have improved our provision for SEND children and ensured that our provision is inclusive and accessible to all.

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

The Playgroup has restricted funds in a savings account that are added to each month as we build towards sufficient funds to cover 6-months’ worth of expenses. These would be use to sustain the charity during any unforeseen events such as a pandemic.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Lay Hwe Sie Signature(s) Julia Lewis Lay Hwe Sie Full name(s) Julia Lewis Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Chair Treasurer etc)

Date 29/05/26

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Registered Charity #1029286

AGM – Chair's report

10[th] June, 2025

Welcome everyone, staff, trustees, and parents/carers.

Summary of the Year:

The past year at Playgroup has been incredibly successful. Sarah Hinton became our permanent manager in July, 2024 and under her management, the charity has gone from strength to strength. Our finances are healthy, as we build our savings each month to reach our goal of 6-months operational costs in reserves. We hear from our families that the children at Playgroup enjoy their time in our setting and have formed strong bonds with their keyworkers and the other staff members. The new position of administrator has worked well to support Sarah in her role and frees her up to spend more time on the floor, where her skills best serve Playgroup. Sue, our deputy manager has taken on more responsibility and has led a programme of enriching activities for the children throughout the year.

Committee

This year has seen a period of stability for the committee, which is a relief after the turbulent previous year. Our treasurer, Helen Groombridge, resigned in July and was succeeded by Rebecca Sie. We recruited two new trustees - Kate Marshall, who has a child in the setting, and Emmy Bocaege. The role of the committee has been reduced significantly this year and going forward, the committee will strive to focus on the oversight of the charity, rather than taking on tasks for the everyday running of the Playgroup. Our positive financial position has meant we do not need to fundraise, which, in the past, has been a substantial burden on the committee. Many of the tasks that were done by the committee, such as invoicing and bookkeeping have been handed over to the administrator role and to a bookkeeper. It is hoped that with a reduced workload on committee members, that recruitment in the future will be easier. The committee did continue the tradition of the Christmas Raffle, which brought in less funds than previous years, but was still a success. These funds were used to bring in the

Registered Charity #1029286

external providers Little Music Stars and Little Kickers to enrich the experience of the children at Playgroup.

Staffing

Sarah Hinton took on the role of manager in July 2024. In August, we recruited for the new part-time role of administrator, which was filled by Philippa Ashenden. Sarah and Pippa have been working effectively as a team, with the additional support of our deputy manager Sue. Tracey Talbot took on the role of SENco and completed substantial training to fulfil the role. Sadly, for Playgroup, Tracey decided to leave us to take on a new role in April. This vacancy has been partially filled by bank staff and an increase in hours by Jeanine. The current needs of the Playgroup have meant we have had more staff than will be needed in the next academic year. There are no current plans for recruitment.

Finances:

Rebecca Sie (treasurer) to present in a separate report.

Fees:

We increased the fees in April to £6.50 an hour in line with other local nurseries. We plan to increase the fees to £7 for 2-year-olds in the next academic year, to stay in line with the increase in government funding for this age group. The care package has also been extended to all children attending Playgroup, rather than just the 3-4-year-olds.

The New Village Hall

Sarah Hinton and I attended a Village Hall Committee meeting in May, and we found that the plans for the new hall are not progressing as previously expected. The future of the new hall and the Playgroup’s move to new premises is not likely to have an impact on the coming year. It is possible that some fundraising may need to be undertaken in subsequent years.

Thank you to all the staff, parents and committee members who contributed to the success of Playgroup this year.

Julia Lewis

(Chair)

Registered Charity #1029286

Charity No: 1029286

BRIDGE VILLAGE PLAYGROUP

INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Ackland Webb Chartered Certified Accountants Suite 1, First Floor

3 Jubilee Way Faversham Kent ME13 8GD

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

BRIDGE VILLAGE PLAYGROUP

The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the trust for the year ended 31 July 2025

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document

The trustees are responsible for managing the Trust in accordance with the constitution adopted on 9 November 1993 as amended by the scheme document dated 1 May 2018.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Administrative office

Bridge Village Hall High Street Bridge Canterbury Kent CT4 5JY

TRUSTEES

The trustees serving during the year were:

L Hwa Sie E Bocaege C Powell K Marshall J Lewis A Allchurch

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Ackland Webb Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants Suite 1, First Floor 3 Jubilee Way Faversham Kent ME13 8GD

Approved by order of the trustees on and signed on its behalf by:

……………….... ……………………..

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF OF BRIDGE VILLAGE PLAYGROUP

I report to the Committee on my examination of the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 July 2025

Responsibilities and basis of report

As trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Trust's governing document and generally accepted accounting principles.

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Club are not required to be audited under the Club's governing document and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Club's accounts. In carrying out my examination I have followed the principles laid down by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the Charities Act 2011.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Club; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or

I have no concerns 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 understanding of the accounts to be reached.

David Muggridge Ackland Webb Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants Suite 1, First Floor 3 Jubilee Way Faversham Kent ME13 8GD

Date: .............................................

BRIDGE VILLAGE PLAYGROUP INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Income Fees Raffles Interest Coffee mornings Cards/clothing Other events Donations Milk rebates Expenditure Supervisors Employer pension contributions Hire of Hall Equipment, materials , resources & fundraising costs Parties & outings Refreshments Sundries Legal fees Printing, postage & stationery Ofsted fees, PSLA subscription & insurance Advertising Training Cleaning & PPE Telephone & computer Repairs, renewals & garden maintenance Accountancy charges Bank charges Depreciation Surplus/(deficit) for the year	31-Jul-25 31-Jul-24 £ £ 133,462 138,458 778 1,510 417 336 - - - 9 768 1,105 620 3,949 - -
	136,045 145,367
	122,566 96,109 1,483 999 5,307 4,452 4,875 5,444 369 - 1,054 987 366 103 96 953 244 640 1,836 997 93 106 970 1,826 848 310 1,283 845 2,081 11,576 1,276 713 60 69 277 490
	145,083 126,619
	(9,038) 18,748

BRIDGE VILLAGE PLAYGROUP BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2025

		31-Jul-25		31-Jul-24
	£	£	£		£
Assets
Computer equipment		87		227
Fixtures & fittings		162		300
Trade debtors		-	1,047
Prepayments		-		706
Other debtors		150		299
Bank current account	23,749		38,420
Bank deposit account	27,970		20,359
Paypal account		333
Cash in hand		51		51
		52,503			61,409
Liabilities
Accruals		500		438
Other creditors		289		218
		(789)			(656)
Net assets		51,714			60,753
Represented by:
Surplus brought forward		60,752			42,005
Surplus/(deficit) for the year		(9,038)			18,748
Surplus carried forward		51,714			60,753
Accepted and approved on behalf	of the Trustee on………………………...by:

………………………

Treasurer/Trustee