## **Trustees Annual Report for the Period – 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024** ## **Charity Name – St Clare’s Pre-School** ## **Charity Registration Number – 1038772** ## **Principal Address –** St Clare’s Pre-School Hawthorn Rd Lache Chester CH4 8HX ## **Charity Trustees –** Serving Within the Year C Archer – Chair J Gilmartin - Treasurer G Bailey – Secretary & Fundraising Senior Nursery Staff – L Humphreys / B Cross ## **The Charity Trusts Constitution Details** Governing Document – Pre-School Learning Alliance Constitution. Charity Constitution – Committee of 12 (Maximum) Trustees (Minimum 5) with 50% + 2 Officers to be Quorate. Trustees Nomination / Selection Process – Existing Trustees to Confirm Nominations. ## **Additional Governance Issues –** The Childcare Act 2006, DfE EYFS Guidance 2014, Local Safeguarding Board Guidance. ## **Summary Objectives of the Charity –** To provide high quality childcare to the local community at a non-commercial cost within the confines of the DfE EYFS Guidance. ## **Summary of the Main Activities Undertaken for Public Benefit -** In planning the Charities’ activities within this year, the Trustees were mindful of the Charity Commission’s requirement to deliver public benefit and as such: St Clare’s seeks to always offer a quality setting environment (Ofsted ‘Good’) that is priced below local commercial Nursery operators, enabling access to parents and children of ‘low income’ families. Additionally, St Clare’s actively foster engagement with the local community and through prudent financial management we offer several outings to children each year, thus providing ‘wider world’ experiences that typically are unaffordable to relevant parents. The setting actively encourages the children to explore, celebrate and learn in relation to other local cultures and beliefs that are represented in the Lache and surrounding community. ## **Summary of the Main Achievements and Activities of the Charity Within the Year –** St Clare’s has continued to be an affordable childcare option for families in the local community thus giving a lot of parents the opportunity to gain employment / training knowing their children are in a safe environment. Fees are £15.00 for a three-hour session which is lower than other commercial childcare operators in the local area. St Clare’s continues to be at near maximum occupancy numbers with a short waiting list. We continue to maintain strong links with the linked Primary School, with the rising school children visiting regularly for activities to gain confidence in the new environment. This provides a smoother transition when they start reception. The children also visit St Clare’s Church once a month for “messy play” sessions, helped by a key Trustee, who also forms the link with the Church and on the Board of Governors at the Primary School. St Clare’s had an Ofsted inspection in January 2019 – maintaining its GOOD status. The most significant development for SCPS within the year was the ‘taking-over’ of the Before / After School Club from the Primary School in September 2022. Other activities have included in chronological order – - Please Refer to Annex 1 All the Operating Policies and Procedures continue to be updated on a regular basis in line with PSLA Guidance. ## **Statement on the Charities Policy on Reserves -** Within the Financial Statements a figure of £44.1k is presented as Total Funds, of which £30.0k is Designated Funds – Reserves. This is the figure as agreed by the Trustees to be held in Reserve to meet specific Statutory / Contractual costs should the Charity cease to operate – Staff Redundancy, Premises Rent Notice and other recognised ‘winding-up’ costs. The Charity is not in deficit after making such a Reserve. **NB: The Charity Commission should note that the Trustees of St Clare’s Pre School (SCPS) have decided to change the accounting date to the end of August in any given future year. Thus, the next accounting date will be the end of August 2025 – hence, YE 2025 will represent an initial ‘long’ year in compliance with recognised accounting convention. This decision has been taken for several reasons 1) it represents the Funding Year from the Local Authority (Cheshire West & Chester) from which SCPS derives the majority of its income, 2) SCPS operates within St Clare’s Primary School and as such the adoption of the scholastic year is logical, 3) the date co-insides with most other ‘like local Pre Schools’.** **Declaration –** The Trustees confirm that they have approved this Trustees Report: Signed on behalf of the Charities Trustees – Signature Name – C Archer Position – Chair of Trustees Date – 30/09/2024 ## **Section B Balance sheet** |**Fixed assets**
**Tangible assets (Note 8)**
**Investments (Note 9)**
**_Total fixed assets_**
**Current assets**
**Stock and work in progress**
**Debtors (Note 10)**
**(Short term) investments**
**Cash at bank and in hand**
**_Total current assets_**
**Creditors: amounts falling due within one**
**year (Note 11)**
**_Net current assets/(liabilities)_**
**_Total assets less current liabilities_**
**Creditors: amounts falling due after one year**
**(Note 11)**
**Provisions for liabilities and charges**
**_Net assets_**
**Funds of the Charity**
**Unrestricted funds**
**Designated funds**
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Restricted income funds (Note 12)**
**Endowment funds(Note 12)**
**_Total funds_**
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the
trustees
C Archer, Chairperson|Note
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B13
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B20|**Total this year**
**Total last year**
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**Total last year**
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F02| |---|---|---|---| |||3,496|3,245| ||||| |||-|-| |||3,496|3,245| ||||| |||270|310| |||225|345| |||20,000|10,000| |||20,405|26,832| |||40,900|37,487| ||||| |||250|300| ||||| |||40,650|37,187| ||||| |||44,146|40,432| ||||| |||-|-| |||-|-| ||||| |||44,146|40,432| ||||| |||14,146|20,432| |||30,000|20,000| |||44,146|40,432| |||-|-| |||-|-| ||||| |||44,146|40,432| ||||| |||Signature
Date of approval|| ||||| |||C Archer|**30/09/2024**| CC17a (Excel) 23/01/2025 1 ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** |**Report to the trustees/**
**members of**|Charity Name
St Clare’s Pre-School||| |---|---|---|---| ||||| |**On accounts for the year**|31/03/24|**Charity no**|1038772| |**ended**||**(if any)**|| ||||| |**Set out on pages**|CC39a||| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **31/03/2024.** **Responsibilties and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## **Independent examiner's statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. * _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ |**Signed:**|N Oates|**Date:**|30/09/2024| |---|---|---|---| ||||| |**Name:**|Mr N Oates – ACMA / GCMA||| ||||| |**Relevant professional**|Institutes of Chartered Management Accountants||| |**qualification(s) or body**|+ Global Corporate Management Accountants||| |**(if any):**|||| **Oct 2018** 1 **IER** **Address:** Greenfield Lock, Christleton, Chester, CH3 5PN ## **Section B Disclosure** Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). **Give here brief details of any items that the** None **examiner wishes to disclose** . **Oct 2018** 2 **IER**