2020-08-10-accounts - St. Helen's Pre-School

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Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Email: preschool.sthelens@gmail.com Email: sthelens.committee@gmail.com Email: sthelens.manager@gmail.com Website: www.sthelenspreschool.org Phone No: 01603 749901 Ofsted No: 2548280 Charity No: 1036697

Chair of Committee Annual Report 19/20

The year 2019-2020 was a year of change, challenge, recognition and success for a number of significant reasons. First of all, we successfully completed a new Ofsted registration and completely moved the setting over the Summer of 2019, we created a fantastic new setting for the children to return to us in September 2019. This was a mammoth task with the staff giving up a tremendous amount of time to work together, with support from the Committee, to create what can only be described as an amazing learning environment. It was all worthwhile when we saw the children coming in on their first week back with inquisitive smiles as they explored their new environment.

As part of our ‘open day launch’ celebrations we had a visit from Norfolk County Council Early Years Team so they could come and see our new setting; our Manager Jane received the following feedback “I wanted to take a moment to thank yourself and your cheerful staff team for the visit to your setting today. The warm and inviting entrance space of neutral colours and places to rest awhile greeted us and supported a moment of stillness as you transition from outdoors into the nursery. Opportunities for children’s and parent’s voices to be documented and listened to through a variety of mini projects was obvious. As children self-selected the rooms they wanted to locate themselves within, it was good to discuss both how the parents were encouraged to step a little further into the nursery and feel confident that this was a shared space for them to access in partnership with the staff team. To also understand how good key person knowledge of the children and their needs gave confidence for this approach to bring benefit for the children. It was within the rooms (the thoughtfully created environments for learning), that we observed children confidently engaging with staff members. As children played alongside, the conversation was flowing back and fore. I was pleased to note that as a younger child found a comfy space to rest away from her friends, her key person was aware to come find her and acknowledge with her, her place of snuggle, so important to combat the nursery fatigue some children can feel. Yoga moments, shaving foam creativity and extension, book exploring, small world interactions, just a few of the opportunities that the children accessed this morning; if only I’d had time to stop and play with the lad who asked confidently if I wanted an ice-cream from under the table he and his friend had commissioned for use.”

This, along with the feedback received from numerous Parents and Carers is testament to the truly fantastic team that we have at St. Helens, a team that work so well together, support one another, learn from one another, encourage one another, challenge one another and together make St. Helen’s the outstanding setting that it is.

In November 2019 we had what I can only say was a truly amazing and memorable Christmas fayre and fundraiser where we welcomed Santa supported by the wonderful team at West Norwich Lions and many Parents and friends joined the Committee and Staff in what was a magical afternoon enjoyed by all.

The team together with the Committee attended a team building day during February half term 2020 where together we explored ourselves, our role in the team and collectively the journey we had been on and our aspirations for the future. The trainer commented on the way in which the staff and committee work together and support one another – she actually said in her 20+ years of working she had never seen a team and committee work so closely together!

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Following this the Covid-19 Pandemic hit and we went into lockdown and the whole way of life for us all was thrown up in the air, the team continued as ever to rise to the challenges put before them, focussed on providing a calm, safe environment for the children and much needed childcare for parents including key-workers and committed to providing the best learning environment and outcomes for the children.

As Kerry will set out in her financial report, we also had a successful year from a financial perspective through careful management, increasing child numbers, grants and so on.

The above is all testament to the team, both staff and committee, that we have at St. Helen’s, a team that as Chair of the Committee I am proud to be part of, a team that are not just well qualified and who bring a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience but also a team that are loyal, committed, supportive, caring and truly professional. No words can express enough how truly grateful I am to those who serve with me on the Committee – Kerry Woodrow, Lisa Burnett, Samantha Goodall and Stuart Beard who each have their own responsibilities as Treasurer, Secretary, for Staff Morale and Safeguarding – to Jane Pears our Manager, who along with Kerry Sturman (Safeguarding Lead), Julie Woodhouse and Emma Barber (Both SENCOs) who together lead our team of 10 childcare professionals supported by Teresa Squires our Administrator – all of whom bring the same passion and are working towards one common goal of providing the best setting and provision we can to encourage and enable children to play, learn and grow together.

Thank you also to all Parents and Children for your contribution to making St. Helen’s Pre-School what it is – the children for giving the staff moments that make them smile, moments to recognise your achievements and Parents for your support throughout the year, your words of thanks and appreciation that mean so much.

Finally, there are always opportunities for Parents/Carers of children within the setting to join our Committee – you don’t have to have a particular skillset, just a desire to be part of a team committed to supporting the work of the Preschool and the team.

Paul Burnett Chairman - Pre-School Committee (January 2015 – present)

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Treasurers AGM Report 19/20

Before sitting down to write this report I have looked back over the previous report I wrote, and I am astounded at the amount of progress we have made and how far we have come! The change in not just the finances, but the sustainability and business model of the Pre-School are beyond what I could have hoped for 2 years ago.

This truly is a testament to the dedication and resilience of everybody involved in St-Helens Pre-School – I know they have all been praised already, but before I start, I also would like to echo what an amazing team we have, and how lucky we are to have them all – did you know that collectively our team have over 120 years of service and experience given to St Helen’s and I am so incredibly proud to be a part of this family!

Now onto the finances, it is my pleasure to report an incredibly positive year following a number of years of losses while we were still over at St Helen’s Church. For the financial year of August 2019 – August 2020 we have made a profit of £31,372 compared to collective losses of over £51,000 for the previous 4 years.

For context, during Spring/Summer 2019 after being served notice from the Church, we worked closely with Norfolk County Council to secure our new location and successfully gain sustainability funding to support running costs and the costs of the relocation before our transformation. Our move over to our new location has meant that the Pre-School could finally break free of the restrictions we were bound by and truly develop and grow further into our setting which now feels like home.

There are a large number of reasons for the turnaround in finances, most notably;

We are no longer a pack away setting, which means saving money paying for the hours a week it took to set up and pack away the equipment while not actually open and offering child care.
We are able to offer more flexibility to our families, offering both breakfast and after school provision. This benefits both our families and helps to generate extra income.
We are also able to open everyday between 8:45 and 2:45. Previously we were constrained on the last Wednesday afternoon of the month, which had huge knock-on effects to numbers of children in the setting on a Wednesday and the number of families who could not join us as they needed childcare on Wednesday.
Lower rent costs – we were in a fortunate position to benefit from lower levels of rent than we had experienced while over at the Church.

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Email: preschool.sthelens@gmail.com Email: sthelens.manager@gmail.com

Phone No: 01603 749901

Email: sthelens.committee@gmail.com Website: www.sthelenspreschool.org Ofsted No: 2548280 Charity No: 1036697

Increasing Government Funding (our main area of income) due to increasing number of sessions sold and the increase in quality and flexibility payments we receive. Historically our levels of government funding have been lower than our staff wage bill on its own, we saw an increase in over £43000 from the previous year. Please note this figure also incudes the money received from our sustainability grant.
We have benefitted from increased income from fee paying families too, due to increased numbers of children joining us and…
After a parent consultation we also changed the way we allocate child places; we used to hold a place during the year until a child joined us when they turned 3, this meant quieter rooms during the Autumn and Spring Terms with lower income and no change to costs. We now aim to fill all of our spaces on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the beginning of the year which is much better for business.
From the consultation we increased childcare fees in September 2019 from £13 per session to £15 per session. This meant we were more in line with the level of Government Funding received and helped to increase income and offset raising wage costs.
Thirdly after parent consultation we increased the amount we asked for in voluntary contributions.

More positives to report include;

Staffing, we have not had to say goodbye to any members of staff for the last 3 years and we have needed to increase the number of staff working with us to facilitate high quality provision and demand.

Increasing wage bill due to increased members of staff and the continued increase in hourly wage – all staff received a 50p wage increase during the financial year 19/20 as we continue to pay fairly based on qualification. We have also seen an increase in pension contributions as more members of staff have opted into the pension scheme. Our increased wage bill is also partly due to being in the financial position to offer overtime again and pay for staff to attend training for their professional development.

During the reporting period we have undertaken a very successful marketing campaign, we have developed and launched our website and have increased the use of our Facebook page to include a weekly blog about the adventures of the Pre-School. This has helped us to benefit from selling more sessions and continuing to operate with a waiting list.

With careful business management, the Job Retention Scheme meant that when we were open to very limited numbers during the original Lockdown, we were able to furlough a number of staff which helped us to save just over £9000.

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Covid 19 has bought about a few financial challenges, most notably the increase in costs associated with ‘additional control measures’ – we will see these increases in costs for a few more years I believe. Also due to coronavirus we naturally put a pause on spending and large investment into the setting – we still have some of the profits set aside from funds received last year to be spent this year as we continue to further increase provision for our families.

We are looking forward getting back the freedom to host more amazing fundraising events with you all and enjoying more ‘team building’ activities too!

It has been my pleasure to continue to serve all at St Helen’s Pre-School

Kerry Woodrow

Treasurer (March 2016 – present)

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Email: preschool.sthelens@gmail.com Email: sthelens.manager@gmail.com

Email: sthelens.committee@gmail.com Website: www.sthelenspreschool.org

Phone No: 01603 749901

Ofsted No: 2548280

Charity No: 1036697

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is Their Future

Address: St Helen’s Pre-School, Beaumont Road, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0HG

Manager’s AGM Report 2019-2020

This year 2019-2020 has been extremely busy and challenging for St Helen’s Pre-School. We have conquered two significant changes;

Firstly, moved premises and changed our business model under a new registration during August 2019. The transformation was tremendous, giving us the opportunity to truly reflect and implement our pedagogy; thus, improving outcomes for all children.

Secondly, overcome all the challenges and new legislation from the impact of the global COVID-19 Pandemic and very proudly remaining open throughout, showing very little adverse effect on our team, our children and their families.

I feel this is solely due to the ethos that St Helen’s Pre-School is totally committed too. ‘Play, Learn and Grow Together – Our Passion is their Future’

I am proud to lead a resilient team that rise to a challenge and I truly appreciate their commitment, dedication and the hard work that they give to St Helen’s Pre-School.

I would also like to personally thank my Committee for their commitment and dedication. I really value and understand how demanding and challenging the Committee roles are, however, you are pivotal to St Helen’s Pre-School existence. I cannot thank you enough for all the time and effort you have put into St Helen’s Pre-School.

Finally, I would like to thank all our parents and their families present and previous for your continued support especially with our fundraising events and feedback. I feel communication with you is essential, to ensure we are all working together to make sure that your children reach their full potential and become lifelong learners. Above all, they are safe, happy and having fun!

Jane Pears – St Helen’s Pre-School Manager (January 2016 – present)

St Helen’s Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ST HELEN'S PRE- SCHOOL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 10 AUGUST 2020 The charity's trustees are responsiblo for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not requirod for this year under 8ectlon 144 of the Charities Act 2011 Ithe Charities Act) and that an independent examination Is needed. 11 is our rèsponsibility lo- examine Ihe accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the procedur8s laid down in the gen6ral Directions glven by the Charity Commission (under section 14515llb) of the Charities Act). and lo stalè whether partlcu18r matters have come to my attention. Our examinallon was carried out in acGordance with general Directions given by thg Charity Commission. An axaminalion includes a revivw of the accounting records kept by the chaiity and a comparison of the accoullts presenled with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosuies in tha accounts. and seeking explanations from the tNstees concerning any such matters. Thg procedures undertaken do not providg all the evidence that would be reqUId in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whethor the accovnls present 2 'lrue and fairf view and the report is limited to those matters sel out in the slalement below. In connection wllh our examinatk)n, no matter has come to (yjr attention lolher than Ihal disclosed below).. which gives us r8asonable cause to believe that in. any material respect, tha requirements.. to ke8p accounting records In accordance with s8Ction 130 of the Charities to prepare accounts which accord th the accounting records and cornply wtth the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been mel,. or {2) to which. in our opinion, atterslion should be drawn in order to enable a proper understandlng of the accounts lo be reached. Hlnes Harvey Woods Ltd Queens Hoad House The Straat Acle Nonlch NR13 3DY Date., 02 June 2021

St. Helen's Pre-school Registered Charity Number: 1036697 Accounts summary 11 August 2019 to 10 August 2020 Receipts HMRC JRS Governm8nl furhdlng Fundraising Child feeslchildc8re vouchers Cash deposits Christmas meal Sundry income Interest Petty cash income Payments 9,009 Staff salaries 156,713 HMRC 1,571 P8yroll costs 26,714 Pension 2,481 ESPO restsurces 207 Training 28 Rent 119 Telephone 1,054 Professional fees 131.909 8,679 1,392 6,281 2.411 837 3.021 532 435 ILI Insurance Parenta group Uniform Fvndralsing Photocopier Sundry expenses Petty cash expénditure Consumables New premises equipment 1,151 1,022 1,036 203 580 3,467 1.244 1,597 727 Total payments 166.524 Surplus for year 31,372 Total receipts 197.896 197,896 Reeoncllaitlon At 11.08.19 Current account Deposit account C88h account 20.403 19,555 294 Add .' surplus for the year 31,372 ReseNes at 10.08.20 71.624 Represented by Current account DèF)OSit account Cash account 51.847 19.674 103 71,624 Approved by the trustees on 12 May 2021 Mr P Burnett