Re ort from the Trustees of Priorslee Pre-school for ear endin 31st December 2024 For the past financial year Priorslee Pre-school has continued to fulfil its obligations to the local community by remaining solvent. of good reputation and by providing an invaluable service, not just to the local communtty, but to residents of the wider area of communities of the town of Telford. As a trust we knew that 2024 was to be a challenging year for us. We had enrolled numbers to generate the income we needed to face the rise in National Minimum Wage of 9.80fi and knew that we had to pass this increase through to all our staff to ensure that pay differentials were maintained as the incentive to achieve through personal professional development. The downside of this was that we knew that in July 2024 we had a massive cohort of 21 children making the transition to primary school, leaving us with vacant seats and gaping holes in our revenues. As our income comes predominantly from Government funded children it would serve no purpose to increase our sessional charges, we needed the Government to recognise the funding increase we needed to Gover our outgoings- and were, as usual, severely disappointed, as the increase given fell far short of the wage award. We were frugal in our outgoings, assisted by the volunteered and invaluable services of our Committee members to undertake jobs we could not afford to outsource- caretaking, maintenance of building and grounds, l.T. support, payroll, book keeping and general administration functions to name but a few. We entered September 2024 with £56,000 in the bank due to an average monthly funding award of in excess of £12,000 in the early part of the year, however this fell to £6,000 a month from September and the surplus cash drained away to support our payroll- we ended the year with £45,000 in the bank. Whilst many sectors trim their staffing costs in line with their income this cannot be the case for early years providers- we are governed by the legal requirement of the number of qualified staff to children in our care- separate ratios of staff to 2 year olds than ft)r 3 and 4 year olds, and if we let staff go in the hard times then our business cannot grow back. That is simple logic. The same logic applies that qualified childcare practitioners do not offer their servi$ on a casual basis, they demand a permanent contact of employment. If you have a loyal, hard working and qualified team of staff you have a 'Yamily" dedicated to giving the highest level of care to children that you must keep together at any cost. The Committee decided that we would carry on forward and face the consequences- that of possible closure when the bank was drained, whilst facing the further obstacles of a further increase in both National Minimum Wage, an increase in employer's National Insuran contributions and a new local pre-school opening as part of the new Thomas Telford primary academy in 2025. In conclusion I would like to thank both the staff and the Committee for all their efforts in the past year. They set aside, without question, their families to put their dedication to the children in our care at the forefront of their lives. As the number of children with special needs continues to grow our belief in "Every Child Matters. means that we will continue to offer these children a place where they are cared for, and can flourish and grow, whilst our staff often go unappreciated for their efforts by parents, guardians and politicians. I hope that this year will see our loyalty to the local community recognised and rewarded, so that enrolled numbers grow and we return to profitability. My greatest wish remains that whichever political party governed, then they would value it similarly.
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Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trustees of Prlorslee Pre School I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out herein. Respective responsibilities of trustees and examlner The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: Examine the accounts 9under section 43(3)(a) of the 1993 Act)., To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Act)., and To state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent examiner's report Our examinats'on was carried out in accordance with the General Direction given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and 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 evldence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent examlner's statement In connection with our examination, no matter has come to our attention., which gives us reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the 1993 Act; and to prepare accounts which accord with accounting records and comply with accounting requirements of the 1993 Act have not been met; or 2. to which, in our opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. Apex Chartered Accountsnts 94 Moseley Street Digbeth Birmingham B12 ORT APEX CHARTERED ACcOUNTArS 94 Moseley Street Bimiingham B12 ORT 0121622 6512 emall.. lnfo@apextax.co.uk whw.apextax.co.uk th 18 August 2024