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← Crowle Pre-School

2025-04-06-accounts

~~Minutes of Crowle Preschool Management Committee AGM~~

~~Tuesday 7~~ " ~~October 2025 - 7.30pm~~

Present

Kate Wilkins, Caroline Dunne, Sally Silk, Nicole Grey, Katie Mill ~~er~~ -Symmonds, Jade Gardner, Stephanie Robinson, Yvonne Smith, Victoria Cooper, Louise Marsh Katherine Burd and Rebecca Murphy ~~.~~

~~Apologies~~

Michelle Sangster

~~Minutes of previous AGM~~

The minutes of the last AGM held on Thursday 19" September 2024 were reviewed and approved as a true and accurate record by the PSMC ~~.~~ No amendments were made ~~.~~

Minutes Proposed by: Kate Wilkins

Minutes Seconded by: Caroline Dunne

~~Chairpersons Annual Report — Kate Wilkins~~

Good evening everyone ~~.~~ Thank you for attending and continuing to support our Preschool.

We are an independent committee run preschool in a small, rural village ~~.~~ We are very proud of all we achieve in the current challenging environment ~~.~~ The staff are continuing to strive to create an interesting, stimulating and fun environment in which all children can grow and develop ~~.~~

As usual we started the academic year with a low number of children having said goodbye to a lot of school leavers in the previous July ~~.~~ This gradually improved over the year with increased numbers of 2 year olds and increasing hours and sessions for the older children. We are seeing the usual pattern this September and currently have 23 children on roll with more due to start in the New Year ~~.~~ We have our fingers crossed that as usual this will continue to improve over the coming months ~~.~~

Our staff have shown themselves again to be dedicated and hard working ensuring our children have the best possible start to their education. We have Tor as our Early Years Manager and Louise as the Administration Manager ~~.~~ Katherine and Becky are Co ~~-~~ Deputy Managers and Amy is an Early Years Assistant. Molly, who is a level 3 practitioner, joined us earlier this year and became a personal favorite of my daughter. We had Sarah leave us at Easter this year after a long period of illness and we wish her all the best. Maggie was back again earlier in the year to save the day and then left again to continue her Australian adventure. Needless to say, the door will always be open and we say a special thank you to her for helping out. We would like to thank all the staff for their ongoing and exceptional contributions.

Our financial position has improved from the previous year and ended the year in credit ~~.~~ We have had a couple of grants come through ~~—~~ in particular the Public Health Innovation Grant in which the staff made a new beautiful sensory garden. Fundraising continued and the usual 10K and football events were well attended ~~.~~ Sally will follow shortly with the

financial report.

There were many challenges facing Preschool this year.

Firstly, the recent introduction of new DfE legislation relating to early years funding which ensures financial transparency ~~.~~ This required us to change the way we were charging and hence the way our invoices were laid out to parents. This created a lot of admin work, especially number crunching, but once implemented it seems to be working well. Thank you in particular to Louise and Sally for reacting to this quickly and efficiently and therefore being able to implement this well within the extremely short time frame given ~~.~~

Updates to the EYFS framework this year, while aiming to improve the quality of early education has also increased the workload on the staff to keep abreast of these changes and start to implement them. This is primarily falling to Tor as Early Years manager. Tor is also managing the SEND role within preschool and is now supported by Molly as we have more than the usual number of children with high level needs ~~.~~ This is all alongside her normal managerial duties ~~.~~ Despite the volumes of paperwork she is working through and generating Tor has had a successful application for an EHCP (Education, health and care plan) to support a child with their ongoing education. She has also managed along with Louise and Caroline to update some more policies though still more to go ~~—~~ of course! Following on from the changes to the EYFS Ofsted have also updated the way inspections are carried out and laid out new grading levels. It has been indicated that OFSTED inspections may become more frequent under the new guidelines which may mean we are due another inspection in as little as 2 years ~~.~~

From September this year working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can access 30 hours of funded childcare for 38 weeks of the year ~~.~~ This again has had an impact on Louise and how we claim the NEF funding. For the first time ever, nearly all of our children on roll are fully funded. We receive a higher hourly rate for our 2 year old children as compared to our 3 & 4 year old children due to the staffing ratios. However, the lower rate for the 3 & 4 year old children doesn’t cover our costs hence the introduction of the voluntary sustainability fee. Although voluntary, we have received a very positive response from our families in supporting this change ~~.~~

Conclusions

While areas of improvement always need to occur, | think this year should be about consolidating the changes that the industry are imposing on Preschools. The balance between keeping our education standards high and fulfilling new requirements expected from us should be our goal.

| would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to the staff, parents and committee members for their continuing hard work and dedication this year. Together we will continue to provide a safe nurturing environment for all children who pass through our doors. | have learnt so much through my role as chairperson and hope that | have brought something to the role. | have no doubt my successor will make the job her own and | wish her the best of luck.

~~Treasurer’s Annual Report 2024/25 — Sally Silk~~

Introduction Overall this financial year was positive.

Accounts for Financial Year to 6 April 2025

Thank you to Kate Hall for preparing this year’s accounts; they are in their first draft state before being independently examined ~~.~~ The accounts are done on a receipts and payments basis,

meaning that income and costs are shown when received and paid, not necessarily in the period in which they were incurred ~~.~~

This year’s results show an overall surplus of approximately £14,000, including a cash receipt of approximately £7,600 which relates to prior year funding giving us an approximate surplus of £8,500 for this financial year. A variance on last year’s surplus of £12,413 of ~~-~~ £4,000. Whilst not as large a surplus as the prior financial year still an extremely positive result that reflects the hard work and dedication of all within preschool.

Income

Fees income was £32,883 which is lower than last year (£45,831) and more in line with the 22/23 (£34,573) ~~.~~ Our nursery grant income received was £92,772, which is higher than last year (£81,618) and a significant increase on the prior year (£64,165).

Fundraising activity produced £1,167 and we also secured grant funding of £3,000 to invest in new equipment and extra curricular activities for the children ~~.~~ Thank you to all preschool staff and the fundraising committee for all of your hard work and dedication to maintaining our fundraising efforts ~~.~~

Expenditure

Expenditure for the year stayed fairly in line with last year, £122,364 against £120,424 ~~.~~ The main increase is salaries/staff costs and new equipment purchases using the received grant funding ~~.~~ Staff costs are, as expected, the largest single cost at £97,331 (including pension/PAYE and payroll costs) ~~.~~

All other costs have remained fairly consistent to last year ~~.~~

Reserves

As stated in previous years statements, we must retain reserves to cover redundancy provision as this risk is not covered by our insurance, the figure needed for this is approximately £15,000. However, ideally we also need to have reserves of no less than 2 terms running costs to cover periods of reduced income or any loss of funding, this would be around £60,000 ~~.~~ Taking into account the £15,000 needed for redundancy provision we currently have “free” reserves of around £15,000, unfortunatelyjustover one month's running costs ~~.~~

Looking forward

2024/2025 saw our largest cohort of Bears leave us and start their new journeys to school in September which had a big impact on our numbers ~~.~~ We have seen a steady increase of new starters but we are having to dip into our reserves from time to time. Hopefully with gradually increasing numbers 25/26 will see things continue to improve ~~.~~

And finally thank you to all of our staff, parents and my fellow committee members for your continued support.

~~Managers Annual Report — Victoria Cooper~~

It is my pleasure to present the Early Years Manager’s report for the academic year 2024/2025. This year has been one of growth, reflection, and continued commitment to providing high ~~-q~~ uality early education and care to all of the children who attend our Preschool.

Quality of Provision

Here at Crowle we have continued to deliver a nurturing, inclusive, and stimulating environment where children feel safe, confident, and are supported in their development. We have maintained a strong focus on child-led learning, underpinned by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, with particular emphasis on the prime areas of communication and language, physical development, and personal, social, and emotional development ~~.~~

Regular observations and assessments have informed our planning to ensure each child receives

personalised learning opportunities. We are particularly proud of the progress made by children transitioning into school this year, with positive feedback received from both families and local primary schools ~~.~~

Staff Team and Professional Development

| am always incredibly proud of the dedication and professionalism that each and every one of our team demonstrates and would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work, support and commitment to Preschool.

Within the 24/25 academic year we said goodbye to some of our team as they made the move to pastures new but we also said hello to some new ones. It has been great to welcome Molly to our team and | am pleased to share that she has settled amazingly well and has embraced her role as early years practitioner and Sendco support.

We remain committed to our team's personal development and have therefore continued to invest in training ~~.~~ During the 24/25 academic year all of our team completed:

In addition to training courses there has also been an opportunity for all team members to re familiarise themselves with specific guidance such as Information Sharing a guide for practitioners, What to do if you are worried a child is being abused, Whistleblowing for employees and the revised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage effective from 1st September 2025.

Inclusion and SEND Support

We have continued to work closely with families and external agencies to support children with additional needs ~~.~~ As a team, we really do pride ourselves on our commitment to this and feel that it is an area in which we have made significant progress ~~.~~ Within the last academic year we have successfully supported a child and their family through the EHCNA (Educational Health Care Needs Assessment) and as a result obtained an EHCP (Education Health Care Plan) which will provide significant support to the child and family for the next step of education. In addition we worked closely with S&L (Speech and Language) to facilitate and provide intensive support and interventions for another child attending our setting ~~.~~ This journey has opened up opportunities to experience JAM (joint assessment meetings) for the first time and gain a greater understanding of this particular process. The knowledge and experiences that we have gained along the way will enable us to support even more children and families in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for them all. We have also had the opportunity to work with an extended team of professionals such as the Area Senco, Educational psychologists and specialist provision staff. We look forward to working with and supporting many more families as we enter the 25/26 academic year ~~.~~

Parent/Carer and Community Engagement

Parental involvement remains central to our ethos ~~.~~ We were incredibly pleased with the success of our Mothers Day/Fathers Day stay and play sessions, our Sports Day and Graduation ~~.~~ We also hosted a stay and play morning for all of our new starters which was another huge success ~~.~~ Feedback from families indicates high levels of satisfaction with these opportunities to join us within Preschool.

We have also been working hard to enhance the quality of our Tapestry updates for our families and the feedback from this has also been really positive ~~.~~ Within our Crowle Preschool Curriculum we felt it was important to also focus on our settings relationships within our village Community ~~.~~ We have continued to strengthen our relationship with Crowle Primary School, facilitating a number of visits to the setting from their Reception teacher and also from their Reception class ~~.~~ We hosted a pancake party within Preschool and a trip to our

Allotment for all of the children. We also visited the school where the children were able to explore the outdoor learning provisions and enjoy a story time.

In addition, we are pleased to report that Reverend Rich is visiting us for story/songs and activity mornings each month and the children really look forward to his visits ~~.~~

We have taken trips over to the shop to purchase resources that have then been used for cooking opportunities within Preschool and we have also contributed to the shop's displays and decorations ~~.~~

We continued to welcome Coach Sam from Rugby Tots into the setting each week ~~.~~ Environment and Resources

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Committee our fundraising pot has seen quite a boost ~~.~~ These funds, alongside grant support, have enabled us to work in partnership with the Hall Trust to construct a designated space within the garden that, once complete, will be accessible to all children for the purpose of sensory exploration with the aim to support emotional regulation ~~.~~ This project is ongoing and forms part of our priorities for 25/26.

We have also invested in resources such as an egg chair, wobble board and therapy ball to further enhance our interventions to support children with their emotional regulation ~~.~~ Moving forward, and forming part of our priorities for 25/26, we will be auditing our current environment in line with the ordinarily available guidance from local authorities ~~.~~ Ordinarily available means existing resources, used consistently, to create our provisions and environment ~~.~~ We felt that through the evaluation of our resources and provisions in line with recommendations it would enable us to direct our fundraising spending on identified areas doe enhancement ~~.~~

Challenges and Reflections

Like many early years settings, we faced challenges around staff recruitment, retention and illness ~~.~~ While we managed to maintain appropriate ratios throughout the year, it has required a great deal of commitment, flexibility and effort from our small staff team ~~.~~

Within the last academic year we were introduced to the revised EYFS which has seen increased focus on safer recruitment, more frequent and robust Safeguarding training for staff, children’s attendance, Safer sleeping and Safer eating requirements, particularly in relation to choking and allergies/intolerances ~~.~~ We continue to review, assess and develop our policies and procedures as well as staff's knowledge and understanding in order to support these requirements. The previous academic year also brought about significant changes in relation to funding and invoicing. This was an incredibly turbulent time for many early years settings and a great deal of time, perseverance and effort was required on behalf of Louise and our Treasurer Sally in order to successfully navigate these changes. | would like to thank them both for their continued commitment to managing the Preschool’s finances and ensuring that we remain viable and are able to continue offering our services to our children and families.

Priorities for 2025/2026

Looking ahead, our key focus areas will include:

our lovely setting ~~.~~

Conclusion

In summary, this has been a positive and productive year for our early years setting ~~.~~ Our achievements would not be possible without the incredible commitment of our team, the trust of our families, and the strategic support of the committee. | look forward to building on our successes in the year ahead ~~.~~

Thank you for your continued support ~~. The Resignation of the current Committee Members~~

All members of the current PSMC officially resigned from the committee.

The Election of New Committee Members

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~~|Seconded~~|||| |~~[Peston | ~~||||~~nome | ~~|||~~Proposes |~~||~~| Seconded~~|||| |Vice Chairperson|||||||Nicole Grey||Sally Silk|||| |||||||||||||| |||||||||||||| |General
Member||||Kate Wilkins|||Caroline Dunne||Sally Silk|||| |General
Member||||Katie Mill~~er~~-Symmonds ||||| Caroline Dunne||Sally Silk|||| |General
Member||||Jade Gardner|||Caroline Dunne||Sally Silk|||| |General
Member||||Stephanie Robinson|||Caroline Dunne||Sally Silk|||| |General
Member||||Yvonne Smith|||Caroline Dunne||Sally Silk||||

AOB

The next meeting of the PSMT will be held on Thursday 20 November 2025 at 7.30pm ~~—~~

Venue to be confirmed ~~.~~

|

CROWLE PRESCHOOL

RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 6TH APRIL 2025

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|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |YEAR|ENDED|YEAR|ENDED| |06/04/2025|06/04/2024| |OPERATING|RECEIPTS| |FEES|33,101|45,831| |NURSERY GRANT|RECEIVED|100,453|81,618| |TOTAL OPERATING|RECEIPTS|133,554|127,449| |OTHER|RECEIPTS| |OTHER|GRANTS|RECEIVED|3,000|4,000| |FUNDRAISING|INCOME|1,168|1,006| |INTEREST|1,045|547| |OTHER|INCOME|-|30| |TOTAL OTHER|RECEIPTS|5,213|5,583| |TOTAL RECEIPTS|138,767|133,032| |OPERATING|PAYMENTS| |RENT|13,776|13,708| |CONSUMABLES/NEW|EQUIPMENT|4,177|5,423| |REFRESHMENTS|1,061|1,430| |SALARY COSTS|96,881|91,793| |STAFF|TRAINING|584|377| |INSURANCE|1,429|1,610| |OFSTED|50|50| |EDUCATIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS|526|324| |CHILDREN'S ACTITIVITES|2,652|951| |GIFTS &|FLOWERS|515|403| |RECRUITMENT,|OFFICE|& ADMIN|2,608|4,430| |CONSULTANCY|-|-| |BANK|CHARGES|120|120| |OTHER|38| |TOTAL OPERATING|PAYMENTS|124,417|120,619| |SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)|FOR THE YEAR|14,350|12,413|

----- End of picture text -----

4

CROWLE PRESCHOOL

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 6 APRIL 2025

RESERVES 2025 2024
OPENING BALANCE 45,975 33,562
SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR THEYEAR 14,350 12,413
CLOSING BALANCE 60,326
————————____—		 45,975
are
re aT aTREED
REPRESENTED BY
BANK -GENERAL 9,848 6,685
BANK - FUNDRAISING 5,244 5,852
SHORTTERM DEPOSITS 44,877 32,865
CASH 356 573
60,326 45,975

The receipts and payments accounts for the Year Ended 6th April 2025 and the Balance Sheet as at the 6th April 2025 were approved by the committee of Crowle Pre-School on

S Silk Treasurer

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