2023-08-31-accounts

Minutes – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

22[ND] NOVEMBER 2023

7.30PM

In attendance were: Ade Atkinson (Chair), Vicky Perry (Treasurer), Danielle Light (Manager), Rosie China (Committee Member), Rachel Hart (Committee Member) Peternell Carder (Staff), Rachel Bell (Staff), Jess Borg (Staff), Tara Chalkley (Staff) Veronika Boda (Staff), Claire Lock (Staff), Pete Hawkins (Co-opted Member), Alex Copsey (Member of public), Sarah Barford (Member of public).

Apologies: Lauren Goves (committee member), Emma Hancock (Staff), Ruth Jarvis (Staff). Kim Lock (Staff) . Rebecca Pepperrell (Standing down from Secretary)

1. Welcome and Chair’s report: Ade Atkinson –Chair of Committee See below

2. Manager’s report: Danielle light- Manager See below.

3. Treasurer’s report: Vicky Perry See below.

4. Projection for 2024. See attached report.

5. Voting in of new Chair and committee members: Ade Atkinson New members for the committee were.

	Nominated by	seconded	Positon
Alex Copsey	Danielle Light	Rachel Hart	Secretary

1. A.O.B

Ideas for fundraising were discussed: Dog Show, Sky Dive. Date for fundraising meeting to create a list/schedule of events: Thursday 30[th] November. Lauren Goves had sent word that she agreed to be fundraising lead.

Chair’s Report

Hello, good evening my name is Ade Atkinson and I have now been functional Chair of the Modbury Preschool Committee for 18 months, formally taking-over responsibility from Becky Phelan this time last year. Vicky Perry has now been our Treasurer for over a year and has done a fantastic job of keeping us on the financial straight and narrow on a monthbymonth basis along with being a member of the leadership team.

I’d initially like to mention a few apologies. From the staff; Kim and Ruth and from the Committee Lauren Goves as well as Becca Pepperell who has recently tendered her resignation as Secretary and Fundraising Lead. Whilst expressing huge thanks to her in her absence for her imagination and hard work we are enthusiastically hoping to recruit 2 individuals to fill those positions this evening. Being involved with MPS for the last 18 months has been a hugely rewarding experience for me and I’ve particularly enjoyed working with the management team to overcome some anticipated and occasionally highly unexpected challenges along the way…we seem to have survived with our sanity intact!

I’ve really enjoyed working alongside Nell as well as other long serving members of staff and during this time have had great pleasure in seeing Danielle flourish from a newby Deputy Manager to a highly regarded and capable Manager of the setting.

As Vicky will soon speak in greater detail about, we have had more than our fair share of funding dramas over the course of the last 12 months and also some staffing challenges which preceded that, all of which have seem to have been resolved by the tight team which we’ve created since Danielles appointment. Speaking of staff, where would we be without the fantastically dedicated team who keep this place running and keep our children safe, happy and learning! Of note this year I would like to: • Celebrate Ruths 20 year anniversary which fell on 7th Nov . Huge thanks from us for her service in her absence…could you please pass that on from me personally Danielle? • Thanks to Jackie, who sadly left us in Sept to work in Modbury pharmacy after 7 years of dedicated service • Congratulate Veronika on achieving a distinction in your level 2 childcare qualification back in April • …and wish her and Emma good luck as they progress through their level 3 qualification, the completion of which will give us even greater capacity and resilience within the team • Claire recently joined us in Sept in a perfectly choreographed ‘revolving door’ recruitment arrangement to replace Jackie… nice work Danielle! • And of course how could I forget Tara who I first met last Dec whilst standing in the doorway to the butterflies room in my winter wetsuit post cold, winter evening surf! I hope the lovely vibe that you enjoy working here makes your daily commute from Torquay worthwhile!

Finally, a BIG thanks you to Pete for his key work in assessing and forecasting our ongoing financial situation with reassuring accuracy, thus enabling us to strike delicate balances when required, to assure the long term prosperity of the setting while ensuring we don’t burden parents more than necessary….and of course to Nell for providing us all with the figures and the intimate knowledge of the business to help us make those decisions in as informed a way as possible. And a personal thanks from me for asking me to get involved here, its been great fun…most of the time!!

This rather unintentionally lengthy speech wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Team MPSs performance in the highly anticipated Ofsted inspection which took place, after months of panic at every incoming phone call, on May 16th this year. I was so proud to be part of this team when the staff pulled-off a ‘Good’ rating which, as further qualified by the inspector was very much in the upper tier of ‘Good’. I remember only too well the quiet dread that descended over the setting the night before as we sat and ate fish & chips together and was so thankful for Danielles and Kim’s calm leadership the next morning when the chips were definitely down!

So after 18 months of some pretty challenging times, I had a moment to reflect last week after Danielle’s frantic phone call to tell me that the Butterflies room was almost an inch a deep in water following a burst water pipe that such a relatively dramatic occurrence, whilst troublesome, was perfectly within our capabilities to deal with as we continue to work as the team that has come together, weathered far worse challenges and grown in resilience as a result. Thank you to all of the staff from all of the parents and committee, and thanks to fellow committee members for your hard work and diligence in the background. You are all very much appreciated.

Managers’ report Modbury Preschool 2022 – 23

At the beginning of this term, we had a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 28 children per day over the two room (butterflies and caterpillars) Breakfast and Afterschool ran with a maximum of 10 children per session.

During October Half term, we extended our provision and opened for 4 days opposed to 3 which we had opened in the summer holidays, we offered a range of different activities and trips.it was lovely to see familiar faces but also welcomed new friends/children/families from the local areas.

After the October half term – we officially opened the garden which the children love. As you will remember, the cost of this was obtained by fundraising efforts

In November we ran the Christmas Grotto. Though not a big fundraiser it was great to be present in the community and offer a service our own children can access and enjoy. We will be running this again this next week – Friday 1[st] December at the Curator. (I will be looking for helpers to manage the queue to keep everyone safe and happy whilst they wait – anyone here to say that too). Massive Thank you to Lauren and her family’s help who have been so enthusiastic about this event and have been working hard behind the scenes.

December, we held our first Nativity play in the school Hall, this was the first ‘Live ‘Performance since covid 19 hit in 2020. The children loved performing and it was lovely to have parents back on the premises. Don’t forget this year’s Nativity will be on Tuesday 5[th] December at 9:30am in the school hall.

Tara – joined us just in time for the Christmas madness, but it didn’t put her off. Tara works in the Butterfly room; she has fitted in perfectly and brought some fab ideas to the preschool and is always showing willing to better the provision/classroom. Thank you, Tara.

One off Christmas holiday club day for those last-minute jobs. What a huge success we were full, so with that in mind this year we are opening 3 days over Christmas and again we were full within 3 days of opening the bookings.

Spring Term 2023

We averaged about 18 children per session in our Butterfly Classroom and between 8 – 12 a day in our butterfly room which is slightly higher than the previous year.

Schools out averaged 10 per session which is higher than the previous year, Wednesday being our Busiest day where we saw `12 children use the BC and up to 18 children use the ASC. Unfortunately, we did have to make some changes to our opening hours due to staffing and the need for the sessions. Tuesdays and Fridays we closed at 16:30pm and we didn’t open BC on Fridays. Im happy to say that this soon changed. We now only offer a shorter day on Tuesdays.

Feb half term holiday club only ran for 4 days and between 15 -20 a day which is slightly Higher than the previous year.

Summer Term 2023

Easter holiday club ran 4 days for full two weeks.

Once we returned after the easter break, we got the phone call, the phone call we had been waiting for, for nearly 12 months OFSTED, We had prepared ourselves well but as the outcome is so important, it is natural to be concerned about the day, but the whole team pulled together. Tuesday 16[th] May – hopefully you would have all read the report, an amazing report of a day at preschool. :

Cake Sale was a success as always, reminding the community of our families’ baking capabilities.

We entered the carnival procession and won second prize.

Parents came in for keyworker sessions, we received lots of lovely, positive feedback.

Fundraising continued, this year we aimed to plug the gap – and we did! Toddler toddle Community Christmas card Christmas hamper Mayfair cake sale Summer raffle Knighton Daze Wesley big adventure Christine Pope’s party kit

Community grant for resources – Mayfair committee (Maths resources)

The yearly graduation event was held on a Tuesday evening and was a lovely way to end the summer term and celebrate the school leavers.

By the end of the summer term, most sessions in the butterfly room were running at capacity or not far off. And most sessions in the caterpillar room had over 8 children per day, meaning we required 3 members of staff (running at capacity)

Holiday Club ran 4/5, all summer hols. We had lots of lovely trips. Supertramp, Cinema, Park,

We had between 16 and 22 children per day, which was an improvement on numbers compared to the previous summer. It would be amazing to work towards opening 5 days per week next summer.

Sadly, at the end of the summer term, Jacqui handed her notice in due to an opportunity to work less hours/days in a job she had previously done before she joined us in 2016. You may have seen Jacqui in her new workplace – The pharmacy. This job opportunity also meant Jacqui was able spend more time with her grandchildren. Jacqui is missed by all. Within the same week along came Clare, Clare has previous experience working with children in a nursery setting, she has a 4-year-old son who also comes to the setting. Clare grew up in Modbury and attended both MPS and Primary school. Clare is a confident, enthusiastic member of staff that already in such a short term has left a positive print within the caterpillar classroom. Clare would like to further her training and when the time is right, we will support her to do so.

I now need to thank a lot of people.

Firstly.

I would like to thank the staff team, I’m sure you will agree that the children love coming into their care daily. As the Ofsted report mentioned the staff in the caterpillar room are very sensitive to their needs. The butterfly staff provide creative and stimulating activities daily. The breakfast and afterschool team continue to provide a welcoming and interactive environment. Thank you team.

We need to thank Rebecca Pepperrell for her unfaltering fundraising ability and support within the preschool. Rebecca helped raise nearly £5000 in the year 2021-22 and played a huge role in making the garden become what it is today. She helped contribute to the fundraising figure 2022-23. Rebecca has decided to step down from the committee as secretary, due to other commitments.

Thank you for all your hard work, Rebecca.

Its real evidence that when parents/families get involved with the preschool they can improve the everyday experience of their child and others for the future.

Next, we need to show our appreciation to Ade, Ade stepped into Rebecca Phelans shoes last year at the AGM. In just 12 months Ade has given so much of his time at events, meetings, many discussions with the management to help preschool run smoothly. And not forgetting all the hard work/time and prep that goes into Knighton Daze – Roll on Knighton Daze 4. Ade is approachable, professional, caring, supportive and funny. Which is a great mix for a chair. So, Thank you Ade.

You may remember that at the last AGM Kate Miller stood down as treasurer, we were extremely lucky when Vicky Perry kindly offered to step in as her replacement. Vicky has already spent a lot of time working with management team and is very committed. We must also thank Kate Miller again for overseeing a smooth transition period for Vicky this was very useful and I know Vicky was very grateful.

Somebody sat amongst us has achieved something very special this month and we would like to recognise this here today; this person has provided 20 years’ service which is the equivalent to 7305 days or 240 Mondays. So, Ruth this is for you…(present gift) .

Lastly a big thank you to all the children, their joy, wonder, and curiosity is a privilege to see day by day. We work with such amazing children so thank you parents for entrusting us with their care and education.

Modbury Preschool Treasurer’s Report

22[nd] November 2023

I am happy and very relieved to be able to report that the Preschool is financially secure and fulfils all the Charity Commissions requirements.

When I took over the role as Treasurer in December 2022, Preschool was facing some difficult challenges. Having already made a loss of over £22,000 the previous year, we were on course to make another loss unless some urgent action was taken.

Pete Hawkins had already started doing the financial analysis and projections when I joined the team. Thanks to his efforts we determined the first thing to do was to increase the fees. The fees had not been raised for a few years, so it was a justifiable course of action. However the difficult decision to make, was by how much we should increase them. We had to consider the burden this might place on families, the fees at other preschool settings in the area, as well as our own shortfall. I think we hit it correctly and it started us back on the correct trajectory without, I hope, burdening families too greatly. We applied for and received a very generous £5000 grant from Modbury Parish Council and the Modbury Sick and Poor Charity, which provides financial assistance to individuals and groups in Modbury who are struggling. This grant meant we didn’t have to raise the fees even higher.

As well as this, we undertook some serious fundraising, including a very successful Santa’s Grotto, May Fair cake stall, after school discos, a sponsored toddler walk, Wesley Kelley’s bike ride, a percentage of the income from Christina Pope’s Party Kit hire and of course, the

legendary Knighton Daze event. We also applied for and received funding from the Co-op and in total our income from fundraising was an incredible £12,296. Thank you to everyone who helped in a fundraising capacity, who kindly gave their money, time and supported the events.

Expenditure was obviously kept to a minimum. The largest outgoing we have is our wage bill which was £128,583. There was an increase in the minimum wage in April and there will be another one next April. Other than the usual operating costs such as rent, utility bills, insurances etc, there were no other major expenses or purchases as we delayed spending on training, a staff desk area and not buying as many resources as we would have liked but instead, asking the community if they could help supply some, such as small world objects and toys.

I’m pleased to say that down to everyone’s hard work and dedication we finished the year with a profit of £18,210. It is incredible how things turned around this year but it does not mean we can sit back and relax. It’s important to remember that two-thirds of this profit was down to the fundraising efforts and the remaining third was due to tightening the belts, delaying the purchase of some important items and projects and most importantly the income we get from Breakfast Club, After-School Club and Holiday Club. We could not continue to operate without the wrap-around care we provide. Whilst the direct fees we get for 2 year olds cover wages and expenses, 3-4 year old grant funding does not cover wages let alone expenses. To put you in the picture, the current rate for 3-4 year old funding is £4.90/hr but we know that last year it cost us a minimum of £5.25/hr.

There will need to be a small increase in fees again next year and the fundraising needs to continue in order that we don’t fall back into the situation we had last year, which could so easily happen. We want to make this the best Preschool it can be and our priorities for this year are to send staff on various training courses and fit a new kitchen. We are legally obliged to retain a certain amount of money in reserve, but we will try to make this work for us by taking advantage of the higher interest rates. We’ve been accepted for another round of Co-op funding and I am also looking for other sources of grants and funding.

If anyone would like to see the actual figures for a further breakdown, please do speak to me or visit the Charity Commission website where you will be able to download them.

I would like to just add my personal thanks to our previous treasurer, Kate Miller, for her help in the handover, to Pete Hawkins for the hours he spent on the financial analysis and to Phil Jolley for auditing the accounts this year. Also to Danielle, Nell and Ade for welcoming me into the team. I look forward to the coming year and all that it entails for our wonderful Preschool.

Vicky Perry

Treasurer

MODBURY PRESCHOOL

Registered Charity No. 1039616

ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31st August 2023

RECEIPTS and PAYMENTS

Receipts Grants Session Fees Vouchers Donations Fundraising Interest Sundry Income Total Receipts Payments Rents, Rates, Utilities Wages HMRC Telephone/broadband Repairs & Maintenance Training Travel outings Marketing Fundraising EYPP Sundry expenditure Total Payments Net of receipts/(payments) Transfers between funds Cash funds b/fwd at 1st September 2022 TOTAL FUNDS as at 31st August 2023 Represented by: Cash Funds Lloyds Bank Treasurers account Lloyds Bank Treasurers account 2 Lloyds Bank Business Instant account Lloyds Bank Business Instant account TOTAL FUNDS as at 31st August 2023 Insurance, PLA Ofsted, NEST Books, Computer Supplies, Shopping	Total Total Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Funds Funds General Fund Fundraising Reserve Contingency 31 Aug. 2023 31 Aug. 2022 £ £ £ £ £ 78,839 - - -78,83977,640 56,839 - - -56,83944,878 26,911 - - -26,9113,948 818 - - -8187,798 - 12,296 - -12,2963,868 - - 89 721604 363 - - -3631,209
	£ 163,770 £ 12,296 £ 89 £ 72 £ 176,226 £ 139,347
	7,008 - - -7,0084,845 118,357 - - -118,357112,131 10,226 - - -10,2266,488 488 - - -488959 5,425 - - -5,4258,747 8,902 - - -8,9028,803 133 - - -133382 692 - - -6921,344 3,045 - - -3,045641 209 - - -2092,148 915 323 - -1,23813,331 1,834 - - -1,834593 460 - - -4601,228
	£ 157,694 £ 323 £ - £ - £ 158,017 £ 161,640
	6,076 11,974 89 7218,210(22,293) - - - -- 47,472 518 16,002 14,05978,051100,344
	£ 53,548 £ 12,491 £ 16,091 £ 14,131 £ 96,260 £ 78,051
	53,548 - - - 53,548_47,472_ - 12,491 - - 12,491_518_ - - 16,091 - 16,091_16,002_ - - - 14,131 14,131_14,059_
	£ 53,548 £ 12,491 £ 16,091 £ 14,131 £ 96,260 £ 78,051

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Modbury Preschool (Reg Charity No. 1039616) on the Accounts for the year ended 31 st August 2023

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31[st] August 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the 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 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 which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect:

• Accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act, or

• The accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Date: 12[th] November 2023

Name: Philip. M. Jolly Address: ‘Silverhill’, 3, Treveor Gardens, Modbury, PL21 0TE