Trustees Annual Report
For the period 01 April 2023-31 March 2024
Cylch Meithrin Creigiau
Charity No: 1056147
Scout Hall, Castle Close, Creigiau, Cardiff, CF15 9NJ
Charity Committee
Chair: Richard Nelmes Treasurer: Victoria Jones Secretary: Rhiannon Richards Vice Secretary: Holly Davidson
Structure, governance and management
Cylch Meithrin Creigiau is a non-maintained Early Years education provider and playgroup which caters for children aged 2-5 through the medium of Welsh in the small village of Creigiau in Cardiff. It is well received in this area in which Welsh is spoken widely, and where a there is a Welsh stream within the local primary school. Cylch Meithrin Creigiau is governed by a Constitution which was adopted at the inception of the Cylch, and was reviewed by the current Committee in January 2024.
Cylch Meithrin Creigiau is run on a day to day basis by one Leader who is responsible for the smooth running of the playgroup and for the childcare assistants. She is assisted by a Committee who are appointed from the parents of children who currently/previously attended the Cylch, and an administrator who is employed on a part time basis; they organise fundraising events, collect fees, pay staff wages, and provide additional information to families through regular contact and newsletters. Committee Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting held in the Autumn. Regular meetings of the Committee and Staff are held to discuss matters regarding the Cylch and to make important decisions.
The Committee and Staff are also supported by Mudiad Meithrin and Cardiff County Council who provide advice and guidance.
Disclosure and Barring checks are carried out on all members of staff (including students) prior to commencement of employment, and are renewed in a timely fashion.
We work closely with the local Scout group from whom we rent the hall for the Cylch.
All Committee members give their time voluntarily and received no remuneration or other benefits.
Objectives and activities
Cylch Meithrin Creigiau aims to provide high quality early year’s education and childcare for children aged 2-5 through the medium of Welsh. We continue to offer sessions which work around the local school times, are reasonably priced and which have the best interests of local children and their families at heart.
Our activities are designed to stimulate and engage young children, and encourage them to socialise with their peers. We work within the framework for early year’s education to provide a challenging curriculum with achievable goals. Young children benefit from the immersion into the Welsh language and get used to routines similar to those used in school. Our hours work in tandem with those of the local school, including a wraparound service for the nursery and Meithrin sections, which allows a full day’s childcare for working parents.
Cylch Meithrin Creigiau welcomes all young children regardless of background, faith, language, or disability.
Achievements and performance
2023-2024 has seen a continuation of our success in providing sessional care to children in the area, in particular the wraparound service with the local school Nursery/Meithrin which remains highly popular with working parents. Providing full daycare for 2-year-olds saw a decrease as children turned 3 and moved to wraparound rather than full daycare. The Wraparound Scheme is permanently full in both language streams, and we continue to hold a waiting list for wraparound places well in advance of children receiving a school place. Demand for individual sessions and full daycare for 2 year olds has seen a decrease as parents look for longer days or less sessions due to the cost of living.
Demand for early year’s provision in the area remains constant and we work hard to meet that demand. We have found that most children retain their place with us by taking advantage of the wraparound scheme once they have a part time place at school, and therefore they remain with us for at least an extra academic year, though this impacts the amount of full day places we can offer.
Fundraising has gone back to our normal attendance, including a successful Sports Day and Christmas Concert. Plans to use the funds raised to build a designated external play area for the children in the grounds has been successfully completed with our outdoor classroom, the children have been using in all weathers and love the outdoors
Financial review
2023-2024 saw Cylch suffer a deficit for the first time. Despite continuing good attendance many children moved from full day sessions as 2-year-olds to wraparound care as 3-year-olds. This led to a decrease in income as they qualified for 30 hours funding which is significantly less than the charges for full day care for 2-year-olds. We have found the 30 Hours child Childcare offer for Wales continues to be popular with working parents of children once they are 3, and this income increased slightly as our base consisted of an increased amount of 3-year-olds. Our expenses also increased significantly, as expected, due to increased staff costs and planned capital costs. The combination of decreased income and increased expenses resulted in a deficit, which was funded by reserves. We anticipate further increased costs in 2024-25 as wages increase due to both the increase in minimum wage and wage increases required to retain staff. We plan on increasing session rates to cover these increased costs, while using some reserves to absorb the remainder.
Our current reserves policy is to maintain a reserve equivalent to 3 month’s operating costs, along with a designated reserve for redundancy costs should they become necessary. All income through children’s fees, Early Year’s Funding and fundraising/donations is put towards the general running of the Cylch, with general reserves fluctuating depending on occupancy levels.
We aim to hold at least £10,000 cash in bank above the reserves detailed above to cover wages in times of low occupancy. As we utilise reserves to cover current deficits, we will continually monitor reserve levels to ensure sufficient funds are kept to ensure the continued running of the Cylch. If necessary, we will consider further fee increases or increased fundraising.
Public benefit statement
The charity trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the commission in exercising their powers or duties.
Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees
Signature Richard Nelmes
Full Name Richard Nelmes
Position Chair
Date Jan 2025
Income and Expenditure Account 2023/2024 Financial year 01/04/23-31/03/24
| Income Mudiad Grant Others Grants Children's fees 30 Hours free childcare funding Fundraising Interest Training Incentve Educ8 Donatons and sundries Total Expenses Salaries Rent and heatng costs Registratons and PAYE scheme fees Administraton and training costs Equipment, materials and resources Fundraising Other Total Surplus/(defcit) for the year Cash in bank at year end Unallocated cash at year end Cash held in bank increase (decrease) 2023/24: Less: surplus/(defcit) Diference: |
2023/2024 £ 0 0 38,825 36,819 354 1,371 77,369 £ 79,781 6,016 125 553 4,004 0 1,830 92,309 -14,940 99,293 99,293 -14,940 -14,940 0 |
2022/202 3 £ 0 1,178 52,041 33,930 786 1,000 478 |
|---|---|---|
| 89,413 | ||
| £ 66,743 6,080 125 391 2,387 0 1,173 |
||
| 76,899 | ||
| 12,514 | ||
| 114,233 | ||
| 114,233 | ||
| 12,514 12,514 |
||
| 0 |
Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts Report to the Trustees/members of Cylch Meithrin Creigiau On accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 The Charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act)) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to.. Examine the accounts (under section 43 of the Act) to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 43(7)(b) of the Act), and to state whether pariicular matters have come to my attention. My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given to the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that wou5d be required in an audit. and consequently no opinion is gNen as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention l. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in. any material respect. the requirernents: To keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act. and To prepare accounts which accord with the accountin8 records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 1993 Act; have not been met; or 2. to which. in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the acc s to be reached. Signe Name: Date: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body lif any): Address". c£aGI4LI IC 9eL.