Chair Report AGM 2020-2021
What a year we have had this year! In our previous AGM we had low expectations of our ability to push forward and end this year in the black following to a very poor 2019-2020 with the impact of COVID and the continued inability to fundraise effectively. It has most definitely been a reflective year and one which has still seen the lingering and seemingly never ending effects of the pandemic on the preschool. Our staff have been asked to report, reassure, revisit and review lots of government modifications to the way we usually operate. As a team they have stood strong and resilient in the face of yet another year of adversity and have done so whilst creating a reliable, safe and supportive environment for not only our children but their families too.
Some of the measures the preschool still have to adopt have been difficult to manage and navigate and the preschool staff have skilfully ensured that parents have been given information, have been supported to understand the reasons why measures have remained and have kept families on side in the quest to keep the children and staff safe. We have managed to maintain hygiene standards well and have ensured that all the safety and safeguarding measures have been adhered to which has allowed us to continue through the last year without closure and with minimal positive cases and no outbreaks.
Once again I have been happy to support the staff appraisals this year and am proud to report on a very strong management team and extremely highly skilled and experienced and reliable staff who move forward with us into our next academic year. This success, skill and experience was recognised in the extremely strong and positive OFSTED inspection in the summer term. The inspection really did reflect the amazing and consistently high standard of input from our management and team and we have ended the year with a real sense of achievement and validation of all the hard work being very much worthwhile.
We have been advised of a few staff notices over the last couple of months and the 2021-2022 academic year will see us lose some of our key players in the staff and management teams. We will see Karen Skinner leave us after almost 15 years, Karen Kinch leaves us after 1 year service, Claire Foster will leave the management team after a successful 3 year period and after 11 years Vicki Drinkwater will also be hanging up her preschool shoes. We wish all our leavers a very successful next move and thank them for their time and investment in our preschool.
With these changes, there has been a very successful move to a restructure within preschool which will see some fantastic opportunity of professional development within both the junior team and management structures. We have effectively created a series of development moves from unqualified play assistants to qualified staff moving through to trainee room leads, room leads, supervisors, deputies, assistant managers and senior management roles. We have also moved to source administration staff to support a duo of senior management to free up the funding for salaries to ensure not only a strong management support element but also movement within the preschool roles to ensure staff retention and development opportunities within the preschool team. We are very excited for a productive and numbers permitting, prosperous 2021-2022 academic year.
Ilw14
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner'5 Report Roport to tho tru•tee81 mombors of LYMPSTONE PRESCHOOL On accounts for th• y•ar nded 31 August 2021 Charity no Ilf any) 1038447 S•t out on pag•8 SOFA. B4heet, N1, N2. N3, N4, N5, N6, N11, N12, N14, N19. N20, N24, N27, N28, N29 I report to the trustee8 on my examination of the accounts of the abt)ve charity (Yhe Trust.) for the year ended 3110812021. R••ponslblltlos and ba818 of report A8 the charity'8 trustees, you are re8ponsibl8 for the preparation of the account8 In accordance wlth the requlrements of the Charities Act 2011 ('Ihe Act"). I report In respect of my examlnation ol the Tru8f8 accounts carrl•d out undar 8ection 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination. I have followed all the appllcable Directions glven by the Charliy Commission under 88ction 145(5){b) of the Act. Ind•p•nd•nt I have complotod my examlnatlon. I confirni that no material matters have •xamln•r'8 8tat•m•nt come to my attentlon In connectlon wlth the examinatlon which giv•• m• cau88 to believe that in, any material respe(*'. the accounting records were not kept in arxordance with 88ction 130 of the Charitie8 Ad; or the account8 dld not acmrd with the accounting recordi: or the accounts dld not comply with the applicable requirem•nt8 concemlng the fom and contant of a¢count8 set out in th8 Charities {Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any r8quSrement that the account8 give a 'true and fair, view whlch Is not a matter consldered a8 part of an Indapendent examination. I have no concerns and have come a085 no other mattern in conn•ctlon wth the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Pleas8 delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Slgn•d: li Nam•: Howard Cookes FCA Relevant profe88lonal quallflcatlon(•) or body (If any): HNC ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS LTD. Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) Addre88: Higher Greenhill, Burgmann8 Hill, Lympstone, Devon, EX8 5HP IER Oct 2018