2022-08-31-accounts

Treasurer’s Report September 2021-August 2022 (Academic Year 2021/22)

This report is the first that aligns Playgroup’s financial year with the academic year. This has worked well and has enabled clarity in planning. The period has been one of stability for the Playgroup setting. We have remained able to respond flexibly to the requirements of the community with our slimmed-down staffing model and have once again built up our financial reserves throughout the year such that we had £65, 931 in the bank at the end of this period. This is a healthy position, taking us back to the level of reserves held before the reduction suffered in Financial Year 19/20. Our bank balance remains commensurate with our reserves policy that we should hold between three and six months’ operating expenses.

Income

• Income for the period totalled £103,600 which is in broadly line with that from the previous financial period. We had set our budget at significantly lower than this number (£91,000) but managed to achieve the higher level due to higher than anticipated attendance in the Spring and Summer terms which resulted in increased funding from both NCC and parents. Additionally our fundraising endeavours were successful once again this year – see below.

• The hourly fee payable by parents for unfunded hours remained at £4.95 for the second year running. The Committee has now taken the decision to increase this to £5.25 from September 2022. In taking this decision the Committee gave consideration to the overall public benefit provided – setting the services that Playgroup offers against the ability of parents/carers to pay for those services. This also remains in line with other local providers. This small increase will help to ensure that Playgroup is able to support required wage increases, including the recent change to minimum wage, going forward.

• Funding from NCC increased this year which has helped Playgroup to cover the rising costs in running the setting and some of the increases to our wage bill. At the end of the last reporting period hourly funding for 3 and 4 year-olds was £4.31, from April 2022 this increased to £4.48 with a further increase being agreed recently taking the rate to £4.53 – this is also being backdated by NCC to April 2022. Some of these increases were received from NCC during the Summer term which contributed to the setting having a greater than forecasted income. Similarly funding for those 2 year-olds entitled to it was £5.39 in 2021 and increased to £5.60 in April 2022.

• We have continued to take a pragmatic approach to our wraparound care. As reported last year, standard afternoon sessions now finish at 4pm which gives many parents/carers the hours they require. On days when sessions are required to 5pm or where breakfast club is requested, we have continued to offer this as long as it is financially viable. At the end of the reporting period breakfast club ran Tuesday-Thursday offering start times of either 8am or 8.30am and this was utilised by up to 6 children daily. After-school club ran on a Tuesday and Thursday during this period and was attended by between 2 and 4 children. Our approach has worked well for the playgroup community and is kept under close review.

Fundraising

• We had been very cautious in our budgeting for income achieved by fundraising in case Covid prevented the events upon which we rely. However we were delighted to run a successful Ladies’ Night in 2021 which raised well over £1,000. We also participated in community events

such as the Radcliffe Fireworks Fiesta, the carnival and the local community café. These events raise the profile of Playgroup as well as raising funds and contribute to the local community spirit too. Alongside ongoing fundraising such as the eco party kit hire and stikins label sales we managed to raise over £2,000 this year.

• There have been no separate grants or donations this year but we have made further purchases with the funds received in the previous financial year adding to our arts and crafts and outdoor play equipment.

Expenditure

• Expenditure has remained in line with the reduced level we achieved in the last reporting period. Our expenses for the year were £93,492. We have continued to have tight controls on spending across the board and are operating a lean set-up to ensure that we remain finically viable. Having achieved another increase in our reserves this year however we hope to be able to be in the position to spend a little more, particularly on staffing, in the next financial/academic year.

Staff Expenditure

• The staff and leadership team at Playgroup remain our biggest asset. This year has embedded the streamlined shift patterns and working hours previously implemented that ensure we are operating in a lean and economical fashion whilst always maintaining the care and attention that children and parents/carers have come to expect from Playgroup. Lesley, one of our assistant supervisors, left Playgroup in July 2022. We were sad to see her go and very grateful for her contribution over the years. Emma will take on the full-time role of Assistant Supervisor going forward and permanent staffing requirements in Lesley’s absence will be kept under review. Our supervisor June continues to spend more of her time in ratio in Playgroup than in previous years, fitting her managerial workload around that; we remain very grateful for June’s flexibility in this regard.

• Staffing was tight towards the end of the Summer term. Despite having some funds available it was difficult to significantly increase staffing within the constraints of the permanent team available to us. Plans are now in place to ensure that we have more staff available through our ‘bank’ to allow us to staff the setting appropriately as attendance grows and/or in the case of staff absence. Nevertheless we remain mindful that there may be a need to cautiously increase the permanent team in the next academic year.

• Our staffing expenditure remained in line with that achieved last year and we spent £76,280 (including pension, tax, NI and training). We also successfully incorporated an increase in wages in line with national living wage requirements once again this year and a small uplift for managerial staff. This will need to be looked at once again in 2023 and Committee will try to ensure that staff are paid and treated fairly in the light of all ongoing challenges.

• We remain committed to training our team to a high standard and have budgeted for ongoing training in the setting around working hours and in the agreed Inset Days. This approach worked well for us in the current reporting period.

Non-staff Expenditure

• Non-staff expenditure has remained well controlled this year. Our overall spend was £17,212 which is a slight increase on the previous period but remains in line with our agreed approach. The attached report on financial activity is largely self-explanatory and covers on-going running costs in the vast majority of cases; there have been no significant individual items of expenditure. For clarity:

• Activities and materials - £250 of this expenditure was funded by the money raised for Playgroup at the Community Café

• Annual fixed costs include items such as licences for our financial system (Quickbooks), Tapestry, Ofsted registration etc

• Children’s Equipment – this expenditure was funded by the Co-Op Grant awarded previously. We have plans to complete the expenditure under this grant with the purchase of indoor storage cupboards in the next reporting period.

• Contractor Fees include expenditure on items such as fire equipment checks, legionella testing, PAT testing, grass cutting etc

Conclusion and Future Planning

• The Playgroup setting is in a good financial position and it is our intention to maintain the stability we have achieved over the next academic year. Having increased our reserves over the last two reporting periods we are now in a position to allocate slightly more spending to staffing over the coming year. This is likely to take the shape of extra staffing at pinch points in the first instance. We need to retain the overall staffing model that we have implemented to keep Playgroup viable and able to respond to the ebbs and flows in attendance figures that we continue to see. However where necessary next year’s Committee may wish to support some increase in staff numbers in some sessions to ensure that Playgroup remains a great place to work for all of our team and that we are able to offer the best possible experience to children and parents/carers.

• The budget for FY 2022/23 is in place and the first term has gone broadly according to plan. As usual, our intention in setting the budget is to break-even. If additional spend is required it should be no greater than the additional reserves built up during this reporting period and we must be mindful of the sustainability of increased spending. The Committee intends to continue to support Playgroup with fundraising activities in the coming period and, at the time of writing this report (December 2022), it is pleasing to note that both Ladies’ Night and the Fireworks event have gone ahead with great success.

Financial Activities	Financial Activities
1 September 2021 -	31 August 2022
Bank balance as at 1 September 2021	£55,823.30
Income
HMRC SSPgrant	211.97
Fundraising	2,731.51
NCC Government Funding	82,724.48
Parent Fees	17,900.25
Refunds	32.00
Total Income	£103,600.21
Expenses
Activities & Materials	708.95
Administration	1,242.81
Advertising	84.00
Annual Fixed Costs	860.31
BuildingRepairs/Maintenance	379.23
Children's Equipment	527.89
Children's T shirts	268.24
Contractor Fees	858.84
DBS & Update Service	85.89
Equipment Purchases & Repairs	121.96
Food & Household	2,663.08
FundraisingSpending	702.86
Insurance	1,820.46
Utilities	6,887.50
Staff
Pension Payment	2,121.28
Tax & NI	3,505.72
Wages	70,623.28
Sundries	30.00
Total Expenses	£93,492.30
Net Profit/Deficit	£10,107.91
Bank balance as at 31 August 2022	£65,931.21

Radcliffe on Trent Pre-School Playgroup Financial Activities

1 September 2021 - 31 August 2022

Bank balance as at 1 September 2021 Income HMRC SSP grant Fundraising NCC Government Funding Parent Fees Refunds Total Income Expenses Activities & Materials Administration Advertising Annual Fixed Costs Building Repairs/Maintenance Children's Equipment Children's T shirts Contractor Fees DBS & Update Service Equipment Purchases & Repairs Food & Household Fundraising Spending Insurance Utilities Staff Pension Payment Tax & NI Wages Sundries Total Expenses Net Profit/Deficit Bank balance as at 31 August 2022	£55,823.30 211.97 2,731.51 82,724.48 17,900.25 32.00
	£ 103,600.21 708.95 1,242.81 84.00 860.31 379.23 527.89 268.24 858.84 85.89 121.96 2,663.08 702.86 1,820.46 6,887.50 2,121.28 3,505.72 70,623.28 30.00
	£ 93,492.30
	£ 10,107.91 £65,931.21

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Exarninerfs Report Report to the tru$tee$l members of On accounts fortha year ended Charity no Ilf any) S¢t ou¢ on pages l ￿port lo the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the abov8 charity I'the Trusl'l for th& y8ar ended R¢spon$ibilities and basls of rèport A5 the charitls trustee5, you are responsible forthe preparation of the a¢tounls In a¢¢ordante wth the requirem8nls of the Charities Act 2011 I'lhe Acl'l. I report in re5pe¢l tsl my examination of the Trust's 8ccount8 carried out under s&¢lion 145 of th8 2011 Act and in carrying out rny exarnination, I have followed all the applicab18 Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the A¢t. Indep&ndent tTh8 charit18 gross incom8 8XC88d8d £250.000 and l am qualrfied to examinerfs statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member ol linsert name of applicable listed bodyll. Delele I I If not 8pplic8bl&. I hav8 completed my examination. I confirm that no Tnaterial mattèrs have come to tny attention in wnne¢tion with the examination lolher than that disclos8d b8low'l which giv68 me cause to believe that in. any tnat&rial respecl.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act.. or the accounts did not accord wth th8 accounting record5'. or the accounts did not comply with the appli¢able ￿qUIreMents ¢on¢erning th8 fom and tonl8nt of account8 S8t out in th8 Charities (Accounts and Reportsl Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view whi¢h is not a matter ¢on$idered as part of an independent examination. I have con￿[￿$ and hav& come across no othgr matters in conn8Ction th th8 8xaminalion to which alt8ntion should be drawn in thi5 report in orderto enable a proper understanding of thè ac(￿U￿tS to ￿ rèach8d. P188s8 d818te th8 words in the brackets rfthey do nol apply. Slgned.. DatO'. Name: Relevant prot¢$slonal quallficatlonlsl or body IER Oct 2018

Ilf any).. Addr8SS'. //Q g//U64Ary E O/V T￿E￿r 12 Section B Disclosure Only Complete If Ihè examiner needs lo highlight material matlers of con¢e (see CC32, Independent examination of charity a¢counts'. ¢lredlons and guidance for 8x8rninersl. Give here brief details of any items that th xamlner wlshes to disclose. IER Oet 2018