1r1eFo (M& Éyam PI(¥8 P fou Annual Report 2022
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 2021-22 | page 5 |
| Trustee’s Report 2021-22 | page 7 |
| Treasurer’s Report 2021-22 | 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 2022 Annual Report
About our Annual Report
2021-22 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 2021-22 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
The cloud of Covid still very much hung over us as our new year started but we were excited to be back and able to welcome friends old and new into Playgroup. Precautionary measures remained in place meaning we had to continue with our drop off policy at the door. It was tough but the children were super resilient, and all settled in so well.
Karen started her Early Years teacher training which took her off to different placements during the year but it was interesting to hear about her experiences and examples of good practice. We also benefitted from her time at Hallam University where she had the opportunity to develop her knowledge and skills which could be shared with the whole team.
We were able to restart mud kitchen in the October which bought a slice of normality to proceedings. It provided a chance for local families to meet and children to socialise and play which was much needed. Unfortunately, rising cases of Covid meant the group had to be paused in December, re-opening in March. We would like to thank the parent volunteers who ran the group this year.
The weather played a part in our year with a one-day closure in November due to snow - the children were excited by the snowman that appeared on the field – it was even taller than Pauline. Flooding in February brought temporary disruption as equipment was rescued from the understore. New racking has allowed us to bring much of our equipment upstairs which will help reduce the impact of any future floods.
This was our first full year at our new forest school site which was really exciting. Pauline, Rachel and the team worked hard throughout the year to introduce structures such as a fire circle, dens and tree train for children to enjoy. Memories were made, masterpieces created and lots of fun had up there over the course of 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).
5
We were really pleased to start our Monday baking session again. It is wonderful to see the enjoyment and enthusiasm the children bring to each new recipe. Often linked to a seasonal theme or story the children made bread; fruit skewers and vegetable crips – healthy and fun.
One of the highlights of the year was being able to invite Hope Valley Honey in to visit the children. Of course, they didn’t come alone! They bought the bees with them! They explained to us all about hives, honeycomb and honey. The children absolutely loved learning new things and watching as the bees got busy. We followed up the visit with lots of activities, from honeycomb candles to bee spotting at the allotment. We would love to continue this initiative and invite other local groups in to talk to the children.
One of our favourite activities is story telling; snuggled up in our cosy book corner the children enjoy much-loved classics such as Room on the Broom, The Hungry Caterpillar, and The Gruffalo. Inspired by stories such as The Little Red Hen and the Enormous Turnip the Autumn term saw the children using pestles and mortars to grind grain and helping to make delicious soup using the vegetables from the allotment. Our story at the end of the session is also a very special time. The children are invited to join us in storyland with a song and treated to a snack and drink as the staff member tells the story. These traditional fairy tales and nature stories often have a simple moral encouraging kindness, generosity, fairness and respect for others.
In preparation for the end of year the children made the wooden sword which would be used in the Knighting Ceremony. This event and our Sport’s Day are really special occasions and we treasure the times when parents join us to celebrate the end of the year and the children leaving us for school. The sun shone making them special days for everyone.
The end of the year also meant we had to say goodbye to Karen. She had been with us for 4 years, bringing enthusiasm every day and some ambitious new recipes to our baking sessions. She had a new chapter to begin and we wish her all the best.
As always, fundraising was a huge part of our year. We held the soggiest ball race in history, a hugely successful cream tea morning, as well as a quiz night and raffle, clothing collections, football cards and many more. We are extremely grateful for all of the support and generosity of our families and local community. We are so lucky to have the community we do. Friends, family, neighbours, committee, staff 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 2022
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 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) |
| Karen Entwisle | Assistant |
| Kirsty Fish | Assistant |
| Libby Eaton | FS assistant |
| Paula Pawson | FS assistant (Supply cover) |
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./
8 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).
Pupil numbers and fees
In 2021-22 we had 33 children from 33 families accessing our pre-school.
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:
“It is an excellent play group and we were sad to leave! Both children thrived there and grew in confidence. They were known as individuals and well cared for. The outdoors ethos is brilliant for children and enabled them to explore and love family walks too.”
“Playgroup is a wonderful place to be. My daughter was so happy there. The staff were the best ever and cared so much about the children and their learning.”
“They have been amazing, my son was always excited to be going, he loved all the staff there and always ran off happy and ready to get stuck in.”
“Going out in all weathers. Forest school. Simple routines, rituals, calmness. Singing. Long serving staff.”
Our fees for children aged two to three years (up to the term of their 3[rd] birthday) were set at £5.00 per hour. In May 2022, the Committee agreed to increase the rate to £5.50 per hour with effect from September 2022.
Fees for children in receipt of the Early Years Free Entitlement are determined by Derbyshire County Council. The year started with a rate of £4.16 per hour which increased to £4.30 per hour with effect from the Summer term. The rate for funded two-year olds increased to £5.57 in April 2022. The rate charged for hours taken in addition to the 15-hour free entitlement was set at £5.00 per hour, the Committee agreed to increase this figure to £6.00 per hour with effect from September 2022.
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 Safeguarding, 1[st] aid, SENCO training, Exploring & developing each child’s cultural capital, Behaviour – strategies that work, Child Development, Supporting Children with SEN and Assessment.
At the end of the year we said goodbye to Karen, we wish her well in her new role training the early years practitioners of the future.
Volunteers
We had four volunteers during the year who helped to run our mud kitchen toddler group. This popular dropin session is a good fundraiser and also enables parents and children to visit the setting which helps with settling in the future. We would like to thank the parents who shared the task 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
Planning for the future
A child’s early years are the foundation for his or her future development, providing a strong base for lifelong learning and learning abilities, including cognitive and social development. Well-established research continues to emphasize the importance of early childhood education as an essential building block of a child’s future success. 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 create the caring environment that makes the group so special. 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 maintain our support through grant applications and our own fundraising efforts.
I would like to thank our local community for their ongoing support; including the GPFA, the Parish Council, Grindleford PTA and Eyam Half Marathon committee.
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
This was a particularly challenging year as income from fees dropped by £7,548. Once again income from donations, fundraising and an employers incentive payment from Sheffield Hallam was needed to cover the significant shortfall in our budget.
Our fee income for the year was £53,604, a decrease from last year of 12.3%. The decrease is in part due to delayed uptake of places throughout the year and the high number of children attending half days. It is difficult to find the correct balance between filling places versus meeting the needs of our families. 56.5% of our fee income comes from the Early Year’s Free Entitlement, a total of £30,283. Our fees from self-funded children totalled £23,321.
Our fundraising was very successful thanks to the support of our local community and families. The events relied on their generosity and willingness to help run events.
£739 was raised by our Ball Race. Our thanks to Castlegate Farm for the use of the equipment and to local businesses and parents for donating prizes.
£473 was raised by a cream tea held in Eyam. This event was made possible by the donation of jam and cream from The Cream Tea Society. We would also like to thank everyone who donated prizes for the tombola stall and everyone who helped on the day.
£445 was raised by our quiz night and raffle. Many thanks to everyone who supported the event.
£353 was raised by our regular mud kitchen group, our thanks to the team of volunteers who kept it running throughout the year.
£341 was raised by the clothes/ink cartridge collection scheme, many thanks to everyone who has contributed. £166 was raised by our water or wine stall at the Grindleford Show. Our thanks to everyone who donated wine for the stall.
£55 was raised by our coconut shy at Grindleford Carnival.
£183 was raised by our collection tins. This year our tins have been placed in the Miners Arms, Eyam Post Office, Stoney Middleton Chip Shop and The Queen Anne pub.
£27 was raised through Amazon Smile. This scheme has now closed so we should encourage parents to sign up to Easyfundraising.
£40 was raised through football card games.
£79 was raised by selling quiz sheets, £20 from selling reindeer food and £8 from the sale of Hill Climb T-shirts.
Our fundraising total for the year was £2,929 (£2,817 net of expenses) a great improvement on last years figure.
This year we ran one holiday club in the Summer break which raised £740 (£290 net of wages and sundry expenses) compared with £890 (£154 net of wages and sundry expenses). The holiday club was very popular and we were full on all three sessions; a volunteer helper at each session kept our wage bill low.
Donations and grants received during the year totalled £6,481; this figure includes a grant of £2,000 held for use in 2022-23 so this is significantly lower than last year’s total £7,757.
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).
We received the following donations and grants this year:
£1,000 was received from the Pigeon Club/Queen Anne Pub
£500 was received from Grindleford Parish Council
£500 was received from Grindleford PTA
£992 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.
£500 was donated by preschool families
£3 via Benevity, a scheme which enables employees to support charities through their employer. In addition, we received £324 Gift Aid on donations made during 2020-21.
The following grants were restricted to a specific purpose.
We received £500 from the Eyam Half Marathon to purchase play equipment including a new dressing up trolley. The trolley cost £368 leaving £132 to be spent in 2022-23.
We received our second payment of £468 from the Co-op community fund. The total amount £843 was spent supporting our forest school costs over the year as well as purchasing equipment to improve the provision. We are fortunate enough to have been selected as a Co-op charity again in 2022-23 with funds raised supporting our aim of helping the children learn how to grow their own produce and to prepare, cook and provide a healthy diet. Funds received from Kinder Kids preschool to enhance the playgroup has been used this year to purchase and install racking in the storeroom, a storage box for outdoor equipment and a new outdoor cloakroom; a total of £1,889. The remaining £826 has carried forward to 2022-23.
A grant of £2,000 to cover the cost of employing a forest school assistant during 2022-23 was received from the Growing Golden Opportunity Award.
We received an incentive payment of £7,000 to contribute towards costs incurred by the playgroup in supporting and employing a trainee during their training.
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 £71,938.
Our combined staff and forest school leader costs of £58,578 account for 81% of our total costs.
Our rental costs of £6,239 accounts for 9% of our costs; our hourly rate remained the same throughout the year.
We spent £2,629 on equipment during the year. Items purchased with grants amounted to £2,389 including £1,056 for outdoor storage; £616 for racking in store room; £368 for a new dressing up trolley; £248 for Forest school and £101 for a new outdoor cloakroom. Other purchases included new fencing for patio (£47); replacement wooden vehicles (£40); wooden rainbows (£34) ; bird feeder for the allotment (£24) and a new toaster (£21).
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 £685. £429 was spent on refreshing statutory training in 1[st] aid, including outdoor; food hygiene and safeguarding. A further £75 was spent on SENCO training; £50 to send two staff on Exploring & developing each child’s cultural capital, £50 to send two staff on an Assessment training course; £ 25 on Behaviour – strategies that work; £28 on Child Development and £28 on Supporting Children with SEN.
Fundraising costs have decreased from £252 to £93. We paid £40 to rent the room used for the cream tea; renewed our lottery license for £20 and spent £19 on printing raffle tickets. Prizes for Carnival Day cost £10. All expenditure on fundraising has seen a good return on the expenditure with events raising much needed funds.
Our sundry costs are £1,886; down on last year’s expenditure. Our largest outgoings are snacks (£545); hygiene products (£286); baking (£171) and new staff uniform (£129). Other costs included our membership of the Early Years Alliance (£115); National Trust site licence (£72); Ofsted registration (£50); Wordpress renewal (£36) and mobile phone top-ups (£40). A card payment made to Amazon Prime in error has been refunded.
Our costs on materials have increased to £381. Printer ink is a major part of this at £156.
We end the year with a closing cash balance of £34,340, of which £2,958 are restricted funds. We will monitor the level of our reserve where we keep sufficient funds to cover costs such as redundancy and final salary payments and top up as necessary. 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.
Planning for the future
If we compare our business income and expenditure less the purchases made using our restricted grants we see that the group was facing a loss of £6,687. We are fortunate enough to have funds to cover this loss including the discretionary grant from Derbyshire County Council; donations from parents and local organisations and our fundraising.
We can attribute some of this shortfall to the spaces we had during the Autumn term as well as the number of children attending half days. When we are completing admissions for a school year it is a difficult balance between meeting parents needs and budgets. Often families want to wait to take up a place until they are eligible for the free entitlement but this can leave the playgroup with an empty space for a term. There is also the balance of supporting local families or filling spaces with families from further afield; I hope we get the balance right but the underlying problem of underfunding of the early years sector will keep budgets at the forefront of our thinking.
In the current climate of rising costs putting a strain on individuals budgets fundraising may 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).
| zfJ22 | 2A2L | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | |||
| Fees | 53,604 | 6L,L52 | |
| Fundraising | 2,929 | 1,811 | |
| Milk Grant | 236 | 246 | |
| Grants/Donations-Restricted | 2,996 | 5,045 | |
| GrantsIDonations-Unrestricted | 3,494 | 2,712 | |
| Holiday club | A | 800 | 830 |
| Sundries | B | 8,253 | 3,!37 |
| BankInterest | 6 | 2 | |
| TotalReceipts | 72,308 | 74,935 | |
| Payments | |||
| Wages | 57,058 | 53,300 | |
| Forest SchoolLeaders | L,52O | 7,524 | |
| Rent | 6,239 | 6,698 | |
| Milk | 236 | 246 | |
| Equipment | 2,629 | 824 | |
| Materials | 381 | 298 | |
| Fundraising | 93 | 2s2 | |
| Training | 685 | 334 | |
| Sundries | c | 2,266 | 2,681 |
| Insurance | 7L9 | 7Lt | |
| Holiday club | D | 113 | t7B |
| TotalPayments | 71,938 | 67,042 | |
| Increase incash | 37L | 7$94 | |
| Cashbalance | |||
| Openingcashbalance | 33,97O | 26,O76 | |
| Closing cash balance | 34,340 | 33,970 | |
| Increase incash | 371 | 71894 |
| Statementofass | ets andliabilitiesasat31 | August2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | 2422 | 2021 | |
| Assets | |||
| Cash | |||
| Pettycash | 45L | 215 | |
| Reserveaccount | 24,0O4 | 21,001 | |
| Currentaccount | 9,885 | t2,753 | |
| Totalcash | 34.340 | 33.970 | |
| Notes |
| Receivables | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weare also duethe followingreceipts/incurredexpenses: | ||
| HMRC-Gift Aid (estimated) | 270 | 320 |
| Totalreceivables | 270 | 320 |
| Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Trainingcosts | 0 | |
| Payables | ||
| Thefollowingpaymentsare outstanding: | ||
| Sundrycreditors | 317 | 338 |
| Totalpayables | 3L7 | 338 |
| Additional analysisforthe | year ending31A | ugust2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | 2022 | 2A2L | |
| Receipts-Fundraising | |||
| EasyFundraising/Amazon Smile | 27 | 43 | |
| CarnivalStall/GrindlefordShow | 22t | 55 | |
| Mud Kitchen | 353 | 0 | |
| Saleofgoods | r07 | 25 | |
| Collectiontins | 183 | 56 | |
| Clothes/inkcollection | 34t | 436 | |
| Teatowelsales | 0 | 360 | |
| Ballracelraffle | !,t84 | 836 | |
| Cream tea | 473 | 0 | |
| Footballcards | 40 | 0 | |
| Total | 2,929 | t,B1t | |
| Payments-Sundries | |||
| Snacks | 545 | 584 | |
| Gifts | A | 170 | 238 |
| Hygiene | 286 | 564 | |
| Baking | t7t | 29 | |
| DBS | 0 | 145 | |
| Payroll | L73 | 173 | |
| Fire | 61 | 7 | |
| Annual ofsted fee | 50 | 50 | |
| Pre-schoollearningaltiance membership | 115 | 108 | |
| Recruitment | 0 | 0 | |
| Other sundries | B | 567 | 696 |
| Staff uniforms | t29 | 86 | |
| Total | 2.266 | 2.681 |
| Notes | 2022 | 2ll2L | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grants/Donations-Restricted | |||
| Local projects fund | 0 | 126 | |
| CommunityLeadershipScheme | 0 | 0 | |
| Foundation Derbyshire | 0 | 1,500 | |
| Co-opCommunityFund | B | 486 | 357 |
| KinderKids | C | 0 | 3,062 |
| Eyam Half Marathon | D | 500 | 0 |
| Growing GoldenOpportunity TotalRestricted Grants/Donations |
E | 2000 2,986 |
0 5,045 |
| Grants/Donations-Unrestricted | |||
| QueenAnne/Pigeon club | 1000 | 0 | |
| GrindlefordSchoolPTA | 500 | 0 | |
| DonationstoGEP | 503 | 630 | |
| HMRC.GiftAid | s89 | ||
| Snack Donations | 992 | 1082 | |
| Parish council | s00 | 0 | |
| Tescobagsfor life community grant | 0 | 1,000 | |
| TotalUnrestricted Grants/Donations | 3,495 | 3,301 |