fou QftdJeFO Éyoffi Ploy8 P Annual Report 2021
2 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
Contents
| Welcome to the GEP Annual Report | page 4 |
|---|---|
| Supervisor’s Report 2020-21 | page 5 |
| Trustee’s Report 2020-21 | page 7 |
| Treasurer’s Report 2020-21 | page 11 |
| Thank you | page 14 |
3 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
Welcome to Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup’s 2021 Annual Report
About our Annual Report
2020-21 has been another exciting year for us and we look forward to sharing this with you. Our Annual Report provides you with information about GEP’s activities for the 2020-21 academic year through the Supervisor’s, Trustee’s and Treasurer’s reports including our financial statements.
Thanks for reading, thanks for being part of
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
4
We were so excited to return in September, after almost six months off for some children it was lovely to be reunited as a group. A new start beckoned. Government guidance meant that we had to make a few tweaks to our routine and set up but it was all worth it to be open. We welcomed new faces who all settled in seamlessly, familiar friends returned and it was like nothing had changed.
Unfortunately, one of our biggest losses was that a lot of our regular events could not go ahead. Our Christmas woodland nativities were the biggest miss. It’s always a lovely way to celebrate the festive season and a welcome excuse to invite families along for a morning in the woods. Hopefully we will be able to hold them this year and make up for the last couple of years.
Luckily restrictions had relaxed enough to allow us to go ahead with our Knighting Ceremonies and Sports Day at the end of the year. The weather delivered warmth and sunshine as temperatures soared and ice lollies were needed! A great time was had as we celebrated our leavers and set them off onto their new adventure.
One of our biggest projects over the year was our display board. We wanted something to brighten up the room and put a smile on everyone’s face as they arrived.
We decided to link in with a National theme and produce a rainbow. Week by week families collected different coloured materials to contribute and children got busy collaging. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the end product is amazing!!
Cont./
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
5
Staffing wise it was a pretty stable year. We welcomed Libby in as a forest school assistant who bought a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to our woodland sessions. Additional funding also allowed us to employ Paula to provide some extra help on Fridays. We are incredibly lucky to have the staffing team that we do; a diverse mix of age, experience and knowledge. I’m sure you’ll agree it is one of our strengths as a setting.
Another big change was in Forest school. We said goodbye to our beloved site of many years, it had served us well and helped us make wonderful memories over the last few years. With National Trust rangers on furlough we spent some time in the Autumn term exploring local woodland. The children embraced the new challenge of crossing streams and navigating the new terrain.
We stayed in close contact with the National Trust who suggested we merge with Grindleford School and share their site. We knew this would mean a little bit of work but thank you to Team Bowman we have settled in there beautifully.
As always, there are SO many people to thank for their support, time and guidance throughout the year. Being part of such a close knit community is an important contribution to our success. Local businesses and people play a massive part in helping Playgroup continue to thrive. We are well aware how lucky we are to have all of this. To our committee, families, friends and children; thank you.
Sophie and Pauline
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
6
Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 August 2021
Chair’s report
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup (GEP) is a registered charity, No. 1036608. Our trustees for the year were:
Helen Wakerley Chair Elizabeth Tiplady Treasurer Lizzy Latimer Clare Harley Ruth Nuttall
The role of Secretary was shared during the year.
Structure, governance, and management
The pre-school operates under the Pre-school Learning Alliance Model Constitution 2011 which was approved by the Charity Commission on 29[th] October 2014.
Membership of the Pre-school is divided into two kinds:
(a) Family Membership - Parents or guardians of all children who attend the group.
(b) Affiliate Membership - Affiliate Membership is open to those individuals, organisations or other bodies interested in supporting the aims of the Pre-school.
The overall management and control of the Pre-school rests with the Pre-school’s management committee (“the committee”). As well as being responsible for the management of the Pre-school the Committee members are also the charity trustees of the Preschool. Committee member are elected for one year at the Annual General Meeting.
The Committee consists of:
A Chair, a Treasurer, and a Secretary (“the Officers”); and
Not less than 2 nor more than 9 other elected Members; and
If the Committee decides it can co-opt up to 3 further Members onto the Committee at any time after the AGM.
Together, the committee are the ‘registered person’ with Ofsted and have overall responsibility for ensuring the childcare provision meets the terms of Ofsted registration and the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. To comply with safeguarding requirements all new Committee members are required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check online before they can be added to an Ofsted registration. We have a trustee induction programme and support new committee members during this process.
All trustees give their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid in the year.
Cont./
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
7
The day-to-day running of the pre-school is delegated to our Supervisors and the team:
| Sophie Grant | Supervisor (Monday/Tuesday), Deputy Supervisor (Wednesday/Friday) |
|---|---|
| Pauline Bowman | Supervisor (Wednesday/Friday), Deputy Supervisor (Monday/Tuesday) |
| Donna Booth | SENCO |
| Rachel Wright | Forest school leader (Wednesday) |
| Caroline Greenwood | On maternity leave |
| Karen Entwisle | Assistant |
| Kirsty Fish | Assistant |
| Libby Eaton | FS assistant (maternity cover for Caroline Greenwood) |
| Hannah Mansell | FS assistant (Friday) |
| Paula Pawson | FS assistant (Friday) |
The high number of staff reflects our commitment to offering outdoor opportunities such as forest school and woodland adventure. We meet or exceed the ratio and qualification requirements as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
Our aims
The aims of the pre-school are to enhance the development and education of children primarily under statutory school age by offering appropriate play, education, and care.
We provide an environment where each child can develop and fulfil their potential; build their self-confidence and gain the skills and experience they need to make the most of their early years in school.
Our ethos
GEP is a rural Peak District pre-school which provides a forward thinking, unhurried and playful approach to early learning. We have eight core principles that we apply every day:
We believe that children learn best through play
We prepare children for school, but we don’t mimic school
We promote child-led play as an essential part of children’s learning
We balance free play with focussed, adult led group learning
We believe that children should be engaged, not occupied, at pre-school
We provide experiences which are meaningful to our children
We manage behaviour positively
We value outdoor play as a valuable childhood experience
“Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
Cont./
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
8
Pupil numbers and fees
In 2020-21 we had 29 children from 27 families accessing our pre-school. One child left the setting during the Autumn term and some families delayed starting as concerns about the spread of Covid-19 continued.
A recent survey of families who left at the end of this year has brought in some wonderful feedback about the setting and the staff:
“Their kindness, empathy and understanding. Teaching and taking the time that ALL the children need. No matter how great or small that need is. I know I leave my children there and they are safe and within a family. Their treatment of the children is perfect, they seem to gently guide them, but have consistent boundaries and the children know what is expected of them.”
“Experiences given to the children; the allotment, the forest. Having fires. Getting dirty. Going out in all weather; the nurturing experiences given to each child form such important foundations. No other playgroup locally offers anything like that level of ‘value’.”
“The people who run it are the nicest people ever. So welcoming and accommodating. My child loved everyone there and misses them still.”
“I’ve had two children attend the setting and the staff have always been brilliant. They knew my child well and appeared to care about them personally and their happiness.”
Our fees for children aged two to three years (up to the term of their 3[rd] birthday) were set at £4.45 per hour. In March 2021, the Committee agreed to increase the rate to £5.00 per hour with effect from September 2021.
Fees for children in receipt of the Early Years Free Entitlement are determined by Derbyshire County Council. The year started with a rate of £4.11 per hour which increased to £4.16 per hour with effect from the Summer term. The rate for funded two-year olds increased to £5.36 in April 2021. The rate charged for hours taken in addition to the 15-hour free entitlement was set at £4.95 per hour, the Committee agreed to increase this figure to £5.00 per hour with effect from September 2021.
Staffing
We invested in staff training courses throughout the year demonstrating our commitment to meeting our statutory requirements and supporting our staff’s professional development. Subjects covered included H&S; food hygiene; safeguarding; creating a curriculum and training in behaviour and attitudes. We also booked a place on the EYFS conference which considered the changes to be brought in by the new statutory framework in September 2021.
During the year we said goodbye to Hannah and Caroline; we wish them success in their future endeavours.
Volunteers
We did not have any additional volunteers in setting because of concerns about spreading Covid-19 within the community. Our regular volunteer/trustee helped out as required throughout the year.
Cont./
Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
9
Impact of the Covid-19 lockdown
We were happy to welcome children back to the setting when we opened in September 2020. There were changes in our routines and operating practices as we worked to keep everyone safe. Our parents have embraced the one-way drop off and pick up system and we thank them for their patience.
We were unable to run mud kitchen and this has had an impact on admissions as families have been unable to visit the setting. Once again community events such as the woodland nativities were cancelled.
The ongoing impact on children’s development and well-being has been well documented and we were fortunate to receive a donation from Foundation Derbyshire which enabled us to rent the extension room at the pavilion. This extra space allowed us to do small group work with children transitioning to school this year.
I believe special mention should be made about our staff this year and recognize the impact on their well-being. We should not underestimate the stress they experienced as they kept the playgroup running throughout the year, coping with positive tests and isolating. Plus, there was the increased workload as additional cleaning was required at the start and end of sessions. It was an extraordinary situation and they should be recognized for their efforts.
Planning for the future
The importance of children’s education has been highlighted throughout the pandemic and the impact it has on their future life chances. So, it is imperative we safeguard the future of our group as we believe that what we offer is special and worth protecting
We are committed to continue to offer these wonderful opportunities but we recognize they come at a cost with the high staff levels required to keep the children safe. The trustees will continue to support the group and find ways to supplement our income.
Next year we need to look at how we can continue our fundraising efforts whilst remaining safe with any restrictions that may be in place.
I would like to thank our local community for their ongoing support, in particular the GPFA for their support while we were the sole users of the pavilion.
Finally, I would like to thank our trustees and staff team for their continued hard work and dedication – your enthusiasm for providing high quality early years education remains our greatest strength.
10 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
Our finances
Our income and expenditure for the year has once again been affected by Covid-19. Child numbers were impacted as families cancelled or delayed taking up places as they balanced their childcare needs with keeping their family safe; and once again many of our regular fundraising events could not go ahead as restrictions remained in place for much of the year.
Our fee income for the year was £61,152, an increase from last year of 21%. The increase is in part due to good attendance throughout the year and remaining open for the majority of the year. 74% of our fee income comes from the Early Year’s Free Entitlement, a total of £45,998. Our fees from self-funded children totalled £15,154. We closed twice during the year as a result of a positive test within the group.
Our fundraising year looked very different with events such as the Hill Climb, quiz night and comedy night cancelled once again. Despite this setback we devised new activities and events which have been well supported by families and the local community.
£436 was raised by the clothes collection scheme, many thanks to everyone who has contributed.
£369 was raised by our November raffle. Prizes were donated by local businesses and parents.
£467 was raised by our July raffle. Many thanks to Jonathan Fish for donating the fabulous Chatsworth hamper. £360 was raised by tea-towel sales.
£56 was raised by our collection tins. This year our tins have been placed in the Grindleford Community shop, the Miners Arms, Sickleholme golf club and Eyam Post Office.
£55 was raised by our water or wine stall at the Grindleford show. It was lovely to be out and about within the community again and we thank everyone who donated wine for the stall.
£15 was raised through the EasyFundraising Scheme and £28 was raised through Amazon Smile. These figures are an improvement on last year but we need to increase parental participation.
A further £25 was raised through the sale of small items.
Our fundraising total for the year was £1,811 (£1,560 net of expenses) a further drop on last year’s figure of £2,375 (£2,142 net of expenses). We have done well to find new sources of income when our usual events are unavailable.
Easter and summer holiday clubs raised £890 (£154 net of wages and sundry expenses) compared with £1,040 (£210 net of wages and sundry expenses). The profitability of the holiday club sessions has been reduced since we limited attendance to pre-school age children.
Donations and grants received during the year totalled £7,757; lower than last year’s figure of £12,201 but still a very good amount.
We received the following donations and grants this year: £1,000 was received from the Tesco Bags for Life scheme.
£1,082 in snack donations – a very generous contribution which covered our snack and hygiene costs; thank you so much to our parents for embracing this voluntary donation.
£600 from preschool families.
£30 via Benevity, a scheme which enables employees to support charities through their employer.
Cont./
11 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
The following grants were restricted to a specific purpose.
£1,500 from Foundation Derbyshire to help with rental costs. This money has proved very useful as it allowed us to hire the extension room on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
We received £3,062 from Kinder Kids preschool to enhance the playgroup for our children and the staff. Kinder Kids was a local group based in Hayfield which was forced to close down due to falling numbers, as a member of the Early Years Alliance they were required to donate toys, resources and any remaining money to a charitable Early Years Provider. A major part of this grant will be used to improve our storage as we have to find a solution to the ongoing possibility of flooding in our main storage space. We are working with the GPFA to look at raising the height of shelving in the undercroft as well as installing racking in our store room to hold more of our equipment and materials inside. We have spent £180 on new storage boxes to ensure items are protected from mice and damp; and £131 on a new filing cabinet and £36 on suspension files to provide secure storage for our records. £2,715 will be carried forward to next year.
We were delighted when the Co-op took us on as one of their local charities. They have supported us throughout the year with donations of snack and baking items as well as being part of their local community fund. We received £357 this year which will be carried forward to support our forest school sessions.
£126 was received to reward our staff for their hard work throughout the year.
We received an incentive payment of £1,500 to switch our bank account from Natwest to Co-operative and £589 gift aid on donations made during 2019-2020. We were able to recover £697 of SSP paid to staff during Covid related absence.
The £1,000 donated by the Duke of Devonshire Trust (received in 2019-20 financial year) has helped to pay staff for additional PPA time and for the open days held in the Summer to allow new parents to visit the setting.
A huge debt of gratitude is owed to everyone who contributes by donating or volunteering; our pre-school is very special, and we thank everyone who helps to protect it’s future.
Our costs this year were £67,042.
Our combined staff and forest school leader costs of £54,820 account for 82% of our total costs.
Our rental costs of £6,698 accounts for 10% of our costs; the increase in this figure is due to the extension rental.
We spent £824 on equipment during the year. The two items purchased with the donation from Kinder Kids accounted for £311 of this. We had previously purchased storage boxes of various sizes at a cost of £97. In October we purchased sand timers, electronic timers and a set of different sized pestle and mortars for a total of £164. We purchased new sets of wooden cars, diggers and tractors with trailers at a cost of £42. We bought replacement cups and plates for snack/lunch costing £35. We purchased copies of the new EYFS, Development matters and Birth to 5 for the staff at a cost of £54. Smaller items purchased throughout the year such as bug magnifiers, yard broom and yoga cards make up the rest of the expense.
Cont./
12 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
Our training costs for the year were £334. £179 was spent on refreshing statutory training in food hygiene, H&S and safeguarding. A further £75 was spent attending the EYFS conference, £40 on Creating a curriculum in the early years training and £40 on training in behaviour and attitudes.
Fundraising costs have increased from £176 to £252. The majority of this was the £202 to purchase the tea-towels sold at Christmas. We renewed our lottery license for £20 and spent £30 on printing raffle tickets. All expenditure on fundraising has seen a good return on the expenditure with events raising much needed funds.
Our sundry costs are £2,681; £2331 with the £350 grant refund deducted. Our outgoings are similar to last year with snacks (£584) and hygiene products (£564) our largest outgoings. Expenditure on hygiene products has increased again this year, in part due to an increased use of items such as paper towels and disposable gloves but also due to an increase in prices as products were in short supply. £145 was spent on DBS checks for 3 staff members.
Our costs on materials have increased slightly to £298. Once again stationery is a major part of this at £150.
We end the year with a closing cash balance of £33,970, of which £3,243 are restricted funds. We will add to our reserve where we keep sufficient funds to cover costs such as redundancy and final salary payments. In addition, we assign a portion of our reserves to cover any budget shortfall during the year this additional money puts us in a strong position for the coming year.
Impact of Covid-19 and planning for the future
If we compare our business income and expenditure we see that the group was facing a shortfall of £4,877. While we can attribute some of this to the ongoing impact of the pandemic the underlying problem is the underfunding of the early years sector.
We have already seen that our wages bill represents over 80% of our expenditure as the playgroup employs a high number of staff in order to offer our outdoor, play based curriculum. As a result, any rise in the minimum wage has a greater impact on our budget. While 2021 saw a smaller increase in minimum wage (2.2%), a recognition of the hardship many small employers were experiencing, 2022 will see an increase of 6.6%. We welcome any increase which rewards the hard work of our staff but would argue that the Early Years National Funding rate needs to keep pace.
In the coming year we face another significant budget shortfall which has been exacerbated by starting the year with low child numbers Our belief in our outdoor based curriculum and the wonderful opportunities it presents to our children means we are committed to maintaining our brilliant staff team and we must face up to finding the funds to meet the shortfall.
Fundraising will continue to be a challenge and we will need to find new and innovative ways to bring in extra money as well as seeking out grants and donations to make up the difference.
I believe we are in a strong position for next year thanks to the efforts of the trustees to bring in funding through local grants but we must continue these efforts to maintain our reserve fund and protect the playgroup’s future.
13 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
14 Grindleford and Eyam Playgroup is registered with Ofsted (URN206778), is a registered charity in England and Wales (1036608) and a member of the Early Years Alliance (33927).
| Analysisofreceiptsandpaymen | tsfortheyear | ending31Augu | st 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | 202L | 2020 | |
| Receipts | |||
| Fees | 61,L52 | 50,556 | |
| Fundraising | 1,811 | 2,375 | |
| Milk Grant | 246 | L40 | |
| Grants/Donations-Restricted | 5,045 | 816 | |
| Grants/Donations-Unrestricted | 2,7L2 | 11,386 | |
| Holidayclub | A | 830 | 1,040 |
| Sundries | B | 3,L37 | 160 |
| BankInterest | 2 | 22 | |
| TotalReceipts | 74 935 | 66 494 | |
| Payments | |||
| Wages | 53,300 | 47,986 | |
| ForestSchoolLeaders | t,520 | L,433 | |
| Rent | 5,698 | 4,072 | |
| Milk | 246 | 139 | |
| Equipment | 824 | 1,484 | |
| Materials | 298 | 239 | |
| Fundraising | 252 | L76 | |
| Training | 334 | 514 | |
| Sundries | 2,68L | 2,256 | |
| Insurance | 7tt | 7to | |
| Holidayclub | D | 178 | 191 |
| TotalPayments | 67 o42 | 59 200 | |
| Increase incash | 71894 | 71294 | |
| Cashbalance | |||
| Openingcash balance | 26,076 | LB,7B2 | |
| Closingcashbalance | 33,97A | 26,076 | |
| fncrease incash | 7rgg4 | 7,294 |
| Statement ofassets andliabilitiesasat31 | August2O2r. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| Assets | ||
| Cash | ||
| Pettycash | 215 | 306 |
| Reserveaccount | 21,001 | 16,008 |
| Current account | L2,753 | 9,762 |
| Totalcash | 33,970 | 26,476 |
| Notes | ||
| Receivables | ||
| Wearealsoduethe followingreceipts/incurredexpenses: | ||
| Holiday clubfees | 60 | 0 |
| HMRC-GiftAid (estimated) | 320 | 580 |
| Totalreceivables | 380 | 580 |
| Payables | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thefollowingpayments are outstanding: | ||
| Sundry creditors | 305 | |
| Totalpayables | 338 | 305 |
| Notes |
| Additionalanalysisforthe year end | ing31August 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| Receipts-Fundraising | ||
| EasyFundraising/Amazon Smile | 43 | 22 |
| FamilyForestSchool/Party | 0 | 0 |
| Carnival Stall/GrindlefordShow | 55 | 0 |
| Comedy Night | 0 | 0 |
| MudKitchen | 0 | 255 |
| Sir WilliamHill Climb | 0 | 776 |
| Xmasfair | 0 | 0 |
| Saleofgoods | 25 | 0 |
| Partyinpavilion | 0 | 0 |
| Smartietubecollection | 0 | 0 |
| SirWilliamcreamtea | 0 | 0 |
| Maynardfunday | 0 | 0 |
| Currynightand raffle | 0 | 1,055 |
| Cook books | 0 | 95 |
| Collectiontins | 56 | L72 |
| Clothescollection | 436 | |
| Teatowelsales | 360 | |
| RafflesheldinNovember and July | 836 | |
| Total | 1,811 | 2,375 |
| Payments-Sundries | ||
| Snacks | 584 | 468 |
| Gifts | 238 | 274 |
| Hygiene | 564 | 407 |
| Baking | 29 | 56 |
| DBS | 145 | 48 |
| Payroll | L73 | 166 |
| Fire | 7 | 60 |
| Annual ofstedfee | 50 | 50 |
| Pre-schoollearning alliance membership | 108 | 108 |
| Recruitment | 0 | 0 |
| Other sundries | 696 | 565 |
| Staffuniforms | 86 | 60 |
| Total | 2.681 | 2.256 |
| Notes | 202L | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grants/Donations-Restricted | |||
| Localprojects fund | 126 | t26 | |
| EyamBook Barn | 0 | 200 | |
| ActiveDerbyshire | 0 | 240 | |
| Blakemore foundation | 0 | 50 | |
| CommunityLeadership Scheme | 0 | 200 | |
| GPFA(1staid equipment) | 0 | 25 | |
| Foundation Derbyshire | 1500 | 0 | |
| Co-opCommunityFund | 357 | 0 | |
| KinderKids | 3062 | 0 | |
| TotalRestrictedGrants/Donations | 5,045 | 841 | |
| Grants/Donations-Unrestricted | |||
| Grindleford SchoolPTA | 0 | 0 | |
| DonationstoGEP | 630 | 510 | |
| HMRC.GiftAid | 589 | 135 | |
| Snack Donations | 1082 | 656 | |
| DerbyshireDales-Covid-19 discretionary grant | 0 | 7,500 | |
| DukeofDevonshire Charitable Trust | 0 | 1,000 | |
| Crowdfundingpage | 0 | L,720 | |
| Tesco bagsforlife communitygrant | 1000 | 0 | |
| TotalUnrestrictedGrants/Donations | 3.301 | 11 52L |