## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 1/9/2024 Period start date To 31/8/2025 Period end date**
## **Charity name: Slip End Playgroup**
## **Charity registration number: 1029599**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|**To enhance the development and**
**education of children under statutory**
**school age by encouraging parents to**
**understand and provide for the needs of**
**their children through community**
**groups**|
|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 1.17 and
1.19|**Provide supervised preschool sessions**
**for children aged between 2 and 4 years**
**following the aims and principles of the**
**EYFS framework. Funding is provided**
**by a combination of Local Authority**
**funding and parental contribution.**|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|**The trustees have had due regard to the**
**Charity Commission guidance on public**
**benefit.**|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38||
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38||
|Other|||
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|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|**The charity has provided a high quality**
**of childcare for both working and non-**
**working parents.**
**Through a varied programme of**
**activities and experiences, the charity**
**has enhanced children’s learning**
**experiences preparing them for entry to**
**full time education.**
**Significant improvements to equipment**
**have been made during the year.**|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41||
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41||
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|**The charity continues to operate where**
**income exceeds outgoings**|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|**The Charity holds a reserve to cover**
**running costs in the event of a major**
**unforeseen circumstance.**|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|**£20,000**|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22||
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24||
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23||
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|
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||
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|**Constitution adopted 9th November**
**1993 as amended 16th March 2023**|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|**Unincorporated**|
|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 more
trustees|Para 1.25|**Elected by committee of trustees**|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|
Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|
Para 1.51||
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51||
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Slip End Playgroup|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charity number|1029599|
|Charity’s principal address|Slip End Village Hall, Markyate Road, Slip End, Luton,
Bedfordshire|
||**LU1 4BX**|
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
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20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||HayleyBolton|Treasurer||Committee of Trustees|
||Abbie Collin|Chair||Committee of Trustees|
||Charlotte Oakley|Secretary||Committee of Trustees|
||Helen McCone|||Committee of Trustees|
||Sandra Pantling|||Committee of Trustees|
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## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
## **Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **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
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
**Type of Name Address adviser**
## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
> **Signature(s)** H Bolton
**Full name(s)** Hayley Bolton
**Position (eg Secretary,** Treasurer **Chair, etc)**
**Date**
6/6/25
**Profit and Loss Report from 31/08/2024 to 31/08/2025**
|||**£**|
|---|---|---|
|**Sales**|||
|Child Fees||24,378.93|
|Interest Received||155.46|
|Government Funding||128,387.45|
||**Total Sales**|152,921.84|
|**Direct Costs**|||
|Educational Activity||9,806.24|
||**Total Direct Costs**|9,806.24|
||**Gross Profit**|143,115.60|
|**Expenses**|||
|Food||2,178.70|
|Expensed Equipment||5,601.69|
|Educational Supplies & Toys||6,668.85|
|Cleaning & Hardware||611.98|
|Total wages||98,248.06|
|Employer's Pension Contributions||1,765.38|
|Travel and Subsistence||677.44|
|Staff & Trustee Welfare||733.31|
|Rent||7,236.00|
|Telephone Costs||313.35|
|Stationery||523.23|
|Subscriptions||250.98|
|Bank Charges and Interest Paid||142.41|
|Business Insurance||1,275.67|
|Website & Software Costs||2,912.23|
|Accountancy Fees||1,344.00|
|Advertising||460.00|
|Sundry Expenses||568.06|
|Work Clothing||1,795.90|
|Training||69.50|
||**Total Expenses**|133,376.74|
||**Net Profit**|9,738.86|
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43 Summer Street Slip End Luton LU1 4BL
17[th] June, 2026
## REPORT FOR THE TRUSTEES
## - RE: Slip End Preschool aka Slip End Playgroup Charity No 1029599 1 st September 2024 to 31 st August 2025
Thank you for asking me to undertake an Independent Examination of the accounts for the above period.
As you are aware, I have previously examined the accounting periods: 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] January 2023
1[st] February 2023 to 31[st ] August 2023
1[st] September 2023 to 31[st] August 2024
In reviewing the most recent set of accounts, I am pleased to find that the significant improvements in financial management and control, established in the more recent audits, have been maintained and built upon.
## Charity Commission’s Directions:
1. I can confirm that the Charity exceeds the threshhold (£25,000) for requiring an independent examination. Gross income for the period under review exceeds £152,000.
2. Conflict of interests. I confirm that there is no conflict of interest regarding my appointment. I am fully independent of the charity and its trustees.
3 & 4. A timetable for this review was agreed between Paul Cooper and myself and he Hayley Bolton who manages the setting, have provided all the information which I requested, both in advance of the review and by answering any questions I raised during the review.
5. “Check the Accounting Records are kept to the required standard”. I have checked incoming and outgoing transactions on the Accountancy Software spreadsheet against the bank statements. I have also cross-checked receipts and invoices against those transactions. The transactions tally accurately with the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet summaries.
I had a small number of queries these have all been satisfactorily resolved. Receipts are now scanned instead of being hard-copy and I recommended that the scanned copy is checked for clarity before the original is disposed of.
It is evident that staff wages are being properly managed. Expenditure is correctly allocated and is in line with expectations for a pre-school playgroup of this size.
6. “Check that the accounts are consistent with the accounting records”. I am fully satisfied that the records are consistent with the accounts.
## 7. Not applicable
8. “Check the reasonableness of the significant estimates and judgments and accounting policies used in accounting for the types of fund held and in the preparation of the accounts”
The Playgroup is managing expenditure well. Staff remuneration, hall hire, staff training, insurance etc are all covered by incoming fees and government payments. The remaining income is thoughtfully spent to provide a wide range of educational toys and visiting specialist educators to provide a stimulating learning environment both within the hall and in the exterior garden area. There is an impressive selection of resources and a commitment to offering a wide range of learning opportunities for the children.
It is good to see a growing, but not excessive amount of savings for contingency. This was one of my recommendations from the year before last, and it is good to know that funds are now available should the group need to rent alternative premises or invest in additional space. It is evident that any “profit” is being sensibly split between providing good educational resources for the current cohort of children and a sensible contingency fund. There is a clear focus on purchasing good quality resources that will have a longer lifespan.
9. “The examiner must check whether the trustees have considered the financial circumstances of the charity at the end of the reporting period and, if the accounts are prepared on an accruals basis, check whether the trustees have made an assessment of the charity’s position as a going concern when approving the accounts”
I believe this is evident from the minutes of the meetings I have read. There is an ongoing focus on headcount & expected intake of new pupils. Numbers can fluctuate significantly from term to term and are hard to predict. Pupil numbers and the government funding of places wholly influence the charity’s income and the management team have a nimble and flexible approach to staffing and resources that reflects this unpredictability.
10. “Check the form and content of the accounts” I am satisfied that all is in order. I have flagged up a suggested improvement in managing the receipts for payments, for the benefit of any future inspection.
11. “Identify items from the analytical review of the accounts that need to be followed up for further explanation or evidence” I am happy to confirm that I have no unanswered queries for the period under review.
12. “Compare the trustees’ annual report with the accounts” The annual trustees’ report is a clear and accurate summary of the period under review. I am pleased to see that more details has been included in this year’s report.
13. Signed by …………………………………………………Date…………………………….. Nicola E West – Independent Officer.
## Suggestions for improvements going forward:
1. There has been a huge improvement in the quality of the minutes from the meetings.
I have just two suggestions for changes for the minutes. Firstly, before listing any apologies, please could you list the names of who is present at the meeting, and ideally their role – eg Chair, Staff Member, Trustee, Accountant, Apprentice. This can be really useful for when you are looking back at old minutes to find who made a decision etc
And secondly, it’s really helpful if you can start the meeting with everyone reviewing the minutes of the previous meeting – just in case of any errors – and then just put something like “All present reviewed the minutes. They were proposed as a true record by Jane and seconded by Ann and signed by the Chair” and then just have a file of signed-off hard copies. You never know what decisions may be queried further down the line and it’s just useful to have this record.
## Receipts
It would be great if the file name for each scanned receipt reflected the contents in some way – eg the total amount & provider “£52.34 Tesco”. If you are working back from the accounts and looking for a particular receipt you have to open each pdf in turn in that month’s section to find it.
Also some of the photos of the receipts were just the corner of the receipt and someone’s fingers holding it!! See June 2025 14.pdf and 24.pdf
Whilst significant improvements have been made, if everyone could continue to work towards reducing the amount of transactions without a receipt, that would be great. From an audit perspective, you need to be able to select a number of receipts at random and then follow them through the accounts and then do the same thing in reverse from the bank statement back to the receipt.
There were a small number of discrepancies in the allocation of some expenses to different cost centres – for example Spotify sometimes appeared in subscriptions (which in my view is the right place for it) and sometimes appeared in Website & Software.
This has been a really positive year and the improvements over the last few years have been remarkable. Well done to everyone involved. It’s been a pleasure to carry out this inspection and see such positive change.
Nikki West 17/6/2025