**Mayfield Pre-School** (A company limited by guarantee) 

## **Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements Year ending 31 August 2023** 

Registered Charity no: 1044859 




## **Trustees’ Annual Report** 

for the period from 1[st] September 2022 to 31[st] August 2023 

## **Reference and Administrative details** 

## **Charity name:** Mayfield Pre-School 

## **Charity registration number:** 1044859 

**Our address:** Mayfield Pre-School, Court Meadow, Tunbridge Wells Road, Mayfield, East Sussex, TN20 6PJ 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

Mayfield Pre-School is an Ofsted registered, 'Outstanding' rated setting, situated in the heart of our beautiful East Sussex community. We are open to all children between the ages of 2 to school age. We are run by a caring and compassionate team who believe in a nurturing and 'hands on' approach to learning for all. 

Mayfield Pre-School is governed by its constitution, which is based on the Early Years Alliance model. We are a registered charity, first constituted on 23[rd] May 1994 and amended on 18[th] January 1995, and again on 12[th] April 2000. 

As a registered charity, Mayfield Pre-School is led by a Committee of voluntary members (our Trustees). The Committee is elected once a year, just after the start of each school year (November) at our Annual General Meeting (AGM). Each Member of the committee brings enthusiasm, passion and a different set of skills. This helps contribute to the annual goals of the Pre-School, as well as taking important decisions on how the Pre-School is run and moved forward. Committee Members are usually parents of those children attending the Pre-School, but we also very much welcome grandparents, family members and other members of the local community. 

## **Committee / Charity Trustees** 

Shailja Bihari (Chair) Hermione Cross (Treasurer) Alice Aldridge (Secretary) Victoria Ash Rebecca Pearce 

## **Financial Adviser and Independent Examiner** 

Trish Lawson, Chartered Accountant 

## **Name of senior staff members** 

Mayfield Pre-School is managed day-to-day by our Manager, Charlie Cranch, who is supported by our Deputy Manager, Paige Merrick. Our Finance & Administration Manager is Kathryn Brotherton. The Management Staff are supported by a dedicated team of other Early Years and Childcare professionals from across the local area. 

**2** 



## **Objectives and Activities** 

As set out in our governing document, Mayfield Pre-School provides early years education to children between the age of 2 years and school age in the parish of Mayfield and Five Ashes, East Sussex. Our Charitable objectives are to advance the education of children below the compulsory school age in the following order of priority (1) children resident in the parish of Mayfield and Five Ashes (2) children resident outside the parish of Mayfield and Five Ashes. 

We confirm that the Trustees (Committee) have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit (SORP Para 1.18), with regard to all of Mayfield PreSchool’s activities, and in the compilation of this annual report. In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year, we have kept Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in mind at all of our Trustee (Committee) meetings. The focus of our activities remains to enhance the education of local young children in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework. 

## **Additional information** 

The Committee would like to say a huge thank you for all contributions made by parents and volunteers, and particularly to all those who have raised and donated funds for the PreSchool, in the past financial year. We remain reliant on the fundraising activities of our volunteer Committee, without which we would not be able to offer the same level of care and education we currently provide. We would like to give additional thanks to the members of our Committee and Trustees who will stand down at our next AGM in November 2024. We are truly grateful to all of our supporters. 

## **Achievements and Performance** 

Mayfield Pre-School is pleased to report another good year. During a challenging time, with uncertainty post-Covid and the combined cost-of-living and energy crises, Mayfield Pre-School was delighted to once again be rated an 'Outstanding' setting by Ofsted, following our reinspection on 17th January 2023. This was a fantastic result and the culmination of the hard work and dedication of the entire Staff team and the Committee. 

Financially speaking, we have made a small surplus and remain a well-run concern as a charity, controlling our finances carefully to ensure value for money, affordability for parents, and a wonderful, nurturing experience for the children we support. 

We continue to believe that PSED (personal, social and emotional development) is the most important aspect, and the foundation of, every child’s learning. Alongside our day-to-day care, nurture and support, we offered a number of rewarding extra-curricular activities including countryside walks, ‘Bike-ability’ balance-bike cycle training, and Cooking Bear to help children start to learn about making food at home. We were also pleased to be awarded a HALO (Healthy, Active, Little Ones) Excellence Award by East Sussex County Council. This Award recognises our commitment to supporting the health and wellbeing of our children, families and our staff, as part of a whole-setting approach. 

Partnership with parents and carers is key to our continuing success. In order to improve this, we fully rolled out the Famly app, aiding our parent/carer- staff communication, and enabling us to give more detailed updates about the children’s progress and development. 

Our work continues to bring life and colour to the village, and we have partnered with a number of other local charities, groups, and organisations to benefit the children’s experiences. These include Mayfield Primary School, MAYFACS, the Parish Council, Mayfield School, Sussex Open Gardens, Scouts, and with other local people as part of ‘The Village Project’. 

**3** 



As our financial year concludes, we are already looking forward to the new academic year beginning, with a new roll of children having successfully helped 18 children in their transition to move up to ‘big school’ at the end of the Summer term. 

For the forthcoming academic year, the Pre-School will be focused on continuing to offer the very best early years education through play. The key focus will be on continuing to develop the outdoor area so that the Pre-School can provide the best outside learning that it can. The Committee are now looking at how best to support this in terms of storage, suitable equipment and resources, and funding opportunities, including through grants and donations. 

## **Financial Review** 

At the end of the financial year, the charity retained a sustainable financial position, finishing the year with a small surplus of £3,725.57 (a slight increase on the position this time last year). 

We were fortunate last September (2022) to start the school year with 32 children on the register and finished the year with 37. This meant that we were able to absorb the 9.69% increase in the national minimum wage, whilst still offering the range of activities that reflect an Outstanding setting, and keeping our resources new and interesting. None of this could be achieved without the dedication of our amazing Staff; our Committee, and the hard work they collectively put in to ensure we fundraise at a great level, year- round. We continue to rely on the monthly contributions we receive from the community via the scheme set up a few years ago; the voluntary contributions added on to parent invoices and some very generous individuals who choose to support us year in, year out. 

We continue to hold a small amount of reserves, which has reduced slightly over the past 12 months. The Pre-School’s policy on this is to maintain sufficient reserves to cover the basic annual running costs, in case of loss of government or other core funding. Reserves are reviewed continuously throughout the year. 

The Committee, Manager and Finance & Administration Manager regularly review the PreSchool’s reserves, finances, budget (and spend against budget), in the Committee meetings, as part of the effective management of the Pre-School. We can confirm that Mayfield PreSchool charity remains a healthy, going concern. 

The Committee reviews the main risks facing Mayfield Pre-School at each meeting. The principal risks facing Mayfield Pre-School as a charity are: uncertainty of demand across each Academic Year; uncertainty from changes to government funding levels and what might change in 2023-4; and the ongoing effects of the costs of living and energy crises adding to the costs of our operations, and limiting our abilities to begin new initiatives. 

**4** 



Annual Accounls
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CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examinerfs
report on the accounts
Sèction A
Indepoiitloiil Exrfiininpr's Reporl
Rèport to the tru8tO981
Mayfield Pr8-School
On ae¢ounts for th• y￿1
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31 August 2023
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Addr•so.'
Beech Hurst
Stonèhurst Lane
Mayfield