## Fowey Preschool AGM Trustees Report ## 10[th] November 2021 Welcome everyone to this year’s AGM. What a lot of changes there has been since this time last year! We have continued to navigate the ever-changing and ever-challenging situation that is Covid-19, we have said goodbye to valued staff members, we have had a management reshuffle and the garden overhaul has become an ongoing labour of love! However, the staff have returned to the setting in September looking forward, still smiling and very positive! We would very much like to start our toddler group again as we feel the reason we may be quiet is because there are families who just don’t know we exist or what we do. This is definitely something we are wanting to pursue, it is just trying to make sure it is safe to run alongside a normal session. Hopefully when the outdoor classroom is up and running then this is something we can do. ## Stafng Julie handed in her managerial resignation and wanted to become a key worker. The committee decided to initially recruit from within the existing staff team if possible. Jo and Stacey became Manager and Deputy Manager respectively. Unfortunately we did have to say goodbye to Julie and Tracey. When Julie made the decision to step down from the manager role, her decision led to Tracey feeling unsupported in her role and eventually led to them both handing in their resignation. Although no one would have predicted or chosen the events surrounding their decision or the bad feeling that was spread to all members of the team we think that for the longevity of the current staff team and also for Julie and Tracey this was the best possible outcome although it was very sad. Phil was promoted to Room Leader on a probationary contract for the Autumn Term. So far this is going very well, Phil seems to be enjoying and rising to the challenge and Jo and Stacey are very happy with his work. Due to losing two members of staff we made the decision to employ Lucy on a regular contract. She has also started an apprenticeship to get her full Level 3 qualification. She currently works a 13.5hr week and does 6hrs at college each week. This is also going well and we love having Lucy with us. This does of course make it tricky that we no longer have a member of bank staff but due to numbers being lower this year, we are not in need of anyone at the moment. ## Fundraising Obviously fundraising has not been possible again this year. We have however got big plans for a Christmas fundraiser this December. We have got stalls for preschool, we have opened up to traders in our community to have stalls at £15 per stall. We have also arranged for Father Christmas to read a Christmas Story and deliver presents. Local businesses in our community have also been extremely generous and we have some truly amazing raffle prizes. Amazon Smile has proven to be very popular and a good source of steady fundraising income. We have also restarted the ink cartridge scheme and the RagBag scheme so will see how those go. ## Finances Unfortunately finances have been down this year but understandably so. Hopefully this year will see some improvements in our finances as restrictions continue to lift and fundraising events can start up again. ## COVID and lockdown So November saw us enter another lockdown with some staff and children remaining at home. Luckily by January we were open again as normal. From Easter we made the decision to open to all children regardless of dual settings as we felt it was better for the children to get some sense of normality back and at that time cases were decreasing so we felt that it was a risk we could manage. This went well and we were so happy to be able to reopen links with other settings again and work in partnership once more. ## Excursions We have not managed any trips this year due to the ongoing risks associated with Covid-19. However since reopening in September Fowey Pre-School can be seen once more on excursions around our community. We are attempting to go ‘out out’ at least once a week if not more. We have lots of plans on how to utilise the wonderful areas around us as well as what we already do. We are looking at the possibility of teaming up with either the secondary school or the primary school to be able to borrow the minibus to get to Coombe, thinking of ending the leavers trip in July with a trip to the bookshop to choose their leavers present, visits to the Aquarium and MAD Museum among many others. ## Space This requires a business plan. We have started this and have been in contact with the National Lottery re. funding. We know which funding scheme best suits our project now and are looking at how best to make an application. It requires input from the community so we are currently drafting a google form to be sent out for people to fill in. We have also been in contact with companies that provide pre-fab and modular buildings for costings to help inform any funding applications we make. This is a work in progress and definitely something that will not come to fruition overnight, but it is something we feel incredibly passionate about and we want it to impact the whole community. ## Garden The garden has undergone a massive transformation (still ongoing) this year. We have removed the old climbing frame that was unsafe as we had a very generous donation from a local family to purchase a new climbing frame. This has now been built and is much loved by the children. We also removed the inner fence to make one large open space for the children to explore. We have purchased a new shed which is smaller to store our garden tools in and the plan is to turn the large shed into an outdoor classroom with doors that open out on to the decking. We also received a DAF payment of £615 this term to benefit one of our SEND children. Due to her sensory needs we decided the money would be best spent on some lightbox resources (already proving to be a massive asset) and the development of a sensory garden. We approached several local garden centres and Bodmin Nursery were brilliant and offered us a massive discount on some plants that would be perfect for a sensory garden. We have now collected these, along with some windchimes and spinners, and work will start on the sensory garden as soon as possible. We also collected some river cobbles from Cornish Lime Company in order to make a textured path through our garden. We cannot wait. This garden will be able to be added to in the spring when there will be more plant options. ## Committee This year Amy Fernie has asked to step down from her position as Treasurer and Julia Provis has asked to step down from her position as Secretary. Julia has also decided to step down from the committee along with Ita Hirst. Amy Fernie will remain on the committee as a regular trustee. Preschool is looking for any members of the community who would like to also join our enthusiastic, happy team to help shape the future of the Preschool but as yet have only had one response from Issy Hughes who has also said she would be happy to be considered for the Secretary Role. Rhianna Cooke has put herself forward for consideration for the Treasurer Role. We are looking forward to a productive and positive year and would like to thank the staff and staffing team for their continued and endless enthusiasm for making Fowey Preschool such a special place for our children to grow and learn. We would also like to thank our management committee for your continued support and assistance. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of f Pht£L7 31- e77- &zi On accounts for the year ended Charity no (if any) Set out on pages It=, tTr, Ir¥ li..L. i.. I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent tThe charity's gross income excqe ed £250,000 and l am qualified to examiner's statement undertake the examination eing a qualified member of [insert name of applicable listed body]] elete [ ] if not applicable. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination dis81@￿) 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 the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 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. Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body , 4SKL, IER Oct 2018 (if any): Address: Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018 FOWEY PRE-SCHOOL ACCUMULATIVE FUND For the st ear ended 31 Au ust 2021 enin Balance Barclays Current Account Barclays Deposit Account CAF Bank 50133.04 40227.51 4109.07 Total 94469.62 Minus Excess of Income over Expenditure 27556.87 Total £ 66912.75 REPRESENTED BY: Closin Balance Barclays Current Account Barclays Deposit Account CAF Bank Account 25118.02 40236.08 1558.65 Total £ 66912.75 I have examined the accounts and records of Fowey Pre-school as provided to me, and hereby certify that the accounting statement fairly represents the accounts and transactions for the year ending 31 St August 2019. Auditor's Signature Date . Auditor's Name . Address Auditor's Occupation