**ANNUAL REPORT 2022** Registered Charity Number: 1064759 Registration Ofsted Number: EY337731 **SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’, Ockendon Children’s Centre, 2a Afton Drive, South Ockendon, Essex, RM15 5PA** Tel **: 01708 670011** Mobile **: 07587 005472** E-mail **: surestart1@aol.com** **Our Charitable Aims for our work with Children and Families** Our main aim is ‘“to provide quality care and early education through a curriculum that uses the Early Years Foundation Stage as a basis to ensure children leave our care equipped for future learning and life”. We will deliver this by meeting children’s individual needs and interests by providing them with opportunities to LEARN THROUGH PLAY in a stimulating and exciting environment with resources and interactions that support, challenge and extend their learning. We also wish to support families and encourage their involvement in their children’s education at nursery and at home by working in close partnership with them for the best interests of the child and family. ## **Our Services and Charges from April 2022-March 2023** **----- Start of picture text -----**
GROUPS AGE TIME COST DAY
Breakfast Club Rising 5 to 7.30am to 8.45 £6.35 Monday to Friday
12yrs am Term time only
Pre-School 2 to 5yrs 8.30am to £19.20 or free Monday to Friday
Morning 11.30am entitlement Term time only
Sessions
Pre-School 2 to 5yrs 11.30am to £19.20 or free Monday to Friday
Afternoon 2.30pm entitlement Term time only
Sessions
Full-Day Care 0 to 5yrs 8.00am to £31.80 Monday to Friday
Morning 1.00pm 38/51 weeks per year
Sessions
Full-Day Care 0 to 5yrs 1.00pm to £31.80 Monday to Friday
Afternoon 6.00pm 38/51 weeks per year
Sessions
Full-Day Care 0 to 5yrs 8.00am to £60.45 Monday to Friday
Full Day 6.00pm 38/51 weeks per year
After School Rising 5 to 3.00pm to £16.80 Monday to Friday
Kids Club 12yrs 6.00pm Term time only
Holiday Club Rising 5 to 8.00am to £31.80 Monday to Friday
12yrs 6.00pm using Thurrock
Council school
calendar
Holiday Club Rising 5 to 8.00am to £15.90 Monday to Friday
12yrs 1.00pm OR using Thurrock
1.00pm to £15.90 Council school
6.00pm calendar
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DETAILS OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS
STAFF JOB ROLE START EXPERIENCE/TRAINING/
MEMBERS DATE QUALIFICATIONS
Lucy Pollock Manager/Safeguar March NNEB III/First Aid/Child
ding 1993 Protection
Officer/Keyworker
Tanya Gould Deputy Manager/ Jan Cache III/First Aid /Child
Room Leader/ 2000 Protection
Keyworker/Behavi
our Officer
Tammy Marsh Playworker/ June NOCN in Childcare II/First
Keyworker/Speech 2002 Aid/Safeguarding
& Language
Officer
Jackie Goulden SENCO/ June NVQ III in Childcare and
Playworker/Keywo 2007 Education/ First
rker Aid/Safeguarding
Rita Town Playworker/Cook April First Aid/Food
2002 Hygiene/Safeguarding
Kirsten Regan Administrator/Coo July First Aid/Safeguarding/A
k 2003 number of day courses
Maggie Pollock Deputy Cover (on March Cache III Childcare and
standby) 1993 Education/Safeguarding
Rachel Wood Playworker/Keywo Sept Cache III Childcare and
(left February rker 2012 Education/ First
2022) Aid/Safeguarding
Joanne Spillett Playworker/Keywo Feb Food Hygiene/First
rker 2015 Aid/Safeguarding
Lorraine Playworker/Keywo June Safeguarding/First Aid/A
Latham rker 2017 number of online courses
Laura Dove Cleaner July
2017
Angel Jolly Playworker/Keywo Sept Children and Young
rker 2018 People Level II/First Aid/
Safeguarding
Kay Henderson Playworker/Keywo Sept BA Honours in Childhood
rker 2021 and Youth Studies
Suma Deb Playworker/Keywo Sept NNEB III
rker 2021
Amber Room Leader Oct Cache III/First Aid
Arrowsmith 2021
Rachel Enguell Playworker Nov Cache III Children and
(maternity 2021 Young People Workforce
leave)
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Tina Bottjer Playworker/Keywo Feb Cache Level 4/First Aid rker 2022 ## TRUSTEES ON THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE **Maggie Pollock – Secretary Founder & Community representative** I am Maggie Pollock, co-founder of Surestart in 1993, retired Manager and now Properly Trustee. I meet regularly with other Trustees to ensure good governance of Surestart. Helping to build Surestart over the years has been one of my proudest achievements. There are many challenges for us all going forward, but working with OUR amazing staff team and YOU, our parents and carers, we can continue to provide top quality care in a fun and educational way. ## **Terri Daniels - Chairperson Community** ## **representative** My background spans across 30 years of Childcare with 19 years working at various levels in nurseries. I spent 16 years in senior nursery management roles and now work as an early year’s advisor for Thurrock. My skills and interests are in early years training and development, leadership & management and performance management. I also know a little bit about the EYFS and Ofsted!! I see my role as ensuring good governance and making sure the charity abide to its Constitution whilst bringing challenge and support. I am in my 6[th] year as Chair of Surestart after saying I would help for a year or two! I am immensely proud of the work the setting does in the local community and I enjoy the challenge of supporting Lucy and the Team in their work. **Kirsten Regan Staff representative** I have lived in South Ockendon all my life. Upon leaving school I worked in the City, having a short break from work to have my children, before starting here at SURESTART in 2003. I have seen lots of changes in Ockendon over the years and have a keen interest in our local community. **Pricila Zanini Parent representative** My oldest daughter has attended SURESTART for nearly 3.5 years, until she started school in September 2021, but she still attends the Holiday Clubs and love them! And my youngest daughter has been a SURESTART child for the last 2.5 years. She was very shy for the first 1.5 years and has developed so much her confidence in the last year! She loves attending nursery! I have complete confidence that SURESTART staff are dedicated and passionate for what they do and I can see how much my children have learned. I joined the Committee in 2020 as a parent representative and hope to help support continued communication between parents and staff. My role is to bring a parental perspective to support the nursery to achieve its highest aims and standards. **Louise Adlington - Treasurer Parent representative** Hi my name is Louise Adlington and I am a full-time mum to Ronnie, who used to attend SURESTART until he started school September before last, and his older sister Emma. Ronnie has now returned to SURESTART, attending Kids Club. I have few hobbies but I love baking as my children can get involved. Starting as a Committee member and becoming a Treasurer has given me the opportunity to help SURESTART in helping our children develop and learn. **Samara Tor** ## **Parent representative** Hello, I'm Samara and I have two children who attend SURESTART. I am a Committee member and now Vice Chair. I attended SURESTART when I was young so this nursery is a part of my family. My eldest started with SURESTART when he was 10 months old and is now in primary school and attends the After School Kids Club and my youngest attends the nursery during the day. This nursery and the fantastic staff go above and beyond each day to make a home away from home for your children and therefore I am committed to helping keep this wonderful nursery going. **Lisa Cornwell Parent representative** I’m Lisa a current SURESTART Committee member as a parent representative and Mummy to my 4 year old Son. Ollie has attended the nursery since January 2020. I joined the Committee following the 2020 AGM. I decided to join to help support the nursery as they need to have enough Committee members being a charity run organisation. I wanted to help support where possible as the support they provide to parents and families is invaluable. As a working parent knowing my child was safe and being well cared for whilst in someone else’s care was a priority. I knew as soon as I met the ladies Ollie would be that. Ollie loves going to nursery and not only has lots of fun but has formed great friendships/relationships and continues to develop during his time there. The last few years have been a challenge for most and through those challenging times the SURESTART team have continued to support all children and families and I personally would like to say a big thank you for continuing to play a big part of our children’s lives and upbringing. **Chairpersons Report SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’ – 2022** Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome and thank you for attending the SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’ Annual General Meeting. This meeting is being held on TEAMS this year as we grow in our capacity and skills for virtual meetings and is anticipated to last for 90 minutes The AGM is a legal requirement under our charitable status and Constitution and is held around this time each year. We have to make sure we report on the business side of the charity and its operations and this year covers the financial matters from 2021/22, as accounts are always a year behind. The rest of the report and information will pertain to this operational year 2022. I’ll start with introductions to the current Committee members. Chair - Terri Daniels Secretary – Maggie Pollock Staff representative – Kirsten Regan Vice Chair – Samara Coombes – Treasurer Louise Adlington Parent representatives – Samara Coombes, Louise Adlington, Pricila Zanini, and Lisa Cornwell Community representatives – Maggie Pollock and Terri Daniels I have been on the Committee for over 7 years and Chair for six of them. I am, with regret, this year standing down as Chair from this evening. Since joining over 7 years ago, the Committee has gone from strength to strength and we have found ways to evolve and change, even during the most difficult and unprecedented times, to ensure that we can fulfil our duties and continue to meet the requirements of our Constitution. I would like to thank the current Committee members for their continuing hard work for the charity this past year. We are currently at 7 members but will reduce to six, so we still need further members to join us so that we can always ensure we have the right level of support and challenge to keep us on our path of continuous improvement and remain operating in line with our Constitution and charitable status. We must continue to recruit to the Committee and grow numbers so that we can succession plan effectively for the future, always ensuring SURESTART can continue to offer their unrivalled services to the children and families in our local area. We will need to quickly find a new Chairperson and would like to urge you all to consider if you would like to stand for the Committee or if you know someone who may be interested in joining the Committee. A role on the Committee is very rewarding and valuable with opportunities to get involved in sustaining and developing the business and it will give you the chance to have input into the running of the setting. You would need to be able to attend 4-5 meetings per year, with at least 50% of them held virtually to make attending easier. You may be occasionally asked to take on a specific task such as helping with quality audits, recruitment, marketing or fundraising and events **(** only a few hours every few months). As outgoing Chair I would like to thank Lucy, Kirsten and the staff team as well as the Committee members for working alongside me and for putting up with me for the past 7 years. We have faced difficult times and had to make some tough decisions but regardless of that I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with you all and I leave confident that the great work will continue. Lucy and Kirsten know that I will always be at the end of the phone or email for them We all hoped that 2022/23 would be an easier year for us after the impact of COVID but we are now facing a cost of living crisis and financial pressures that we have never faced before. We know that the next year will be difficult for families and our own staff team and we anticipate a tough financial year ahead with increasing costs and minimal funding increases, the Trustees are committed to overseeing the financial processes of the charity and we have recently reviewed our financial policy and procedures to ensure robust management and accounting is in place. The last couple of years have also seen a Recruitment crisis across many sectors but Early Years has really struggled. We have waved goodbye to staff and welcomed others and the staff TEAM at Surestart have continued to work hard to re-build the team and they are all committed to caring for your children and providing them with high quality care and education. The efforts of Lucy, Kirsten, Tanya and the whole team have been second to none and I would just like to say how much they are all appreciated. Some of the highlights for the Staff and Committee this year have been; 1. Keeping the nursery operating sustainably and closely monitoring income and expenditure 2. Seeing the hard work, commitment and determination of Lucy, Kirsten, Tanya and Committee to recruit new staff and support them to settle into the team 3. The continuing quality of care and education provided to the children 4. The recruitment of a new Trustee Mackenzie Klessa Smith 5. Finally getting a fundraising strategy in place Despite the immense challenges we have faced in the last financial year, we have been able to close the financial year without any losses so a huge well done to everyone. We are concerned that this current financial year will not be as positive and we are predicting a deficit in the region of £40,000 although we are sure this will reduce further as grant funding has been better than predicted. We will also start to use our charitable status to help us apply for funding that we may be eligible for. We have continued to deal with all the business that has been asked of us as a small group. Running a successful and sustainable nursery continues to be a huge challenge and the team at SURESTART continue to deliver an excellent service for the children and families in South Ockendon and beyond. We continue to work in partnership with the Children’s Centre and other local community organisations to ensure that we support the local community as best we can. We have been lucky to receive help and donations from local businesses, including Nisa. Some of the Committee aims for the future include: 1. Continuing to encourage new members to join to increase membership and longevity of Committee. 2. Setting up regular Committee learning walks and audits to support an improved oversight and accountability for nursery operations, the curriculum and the quality of teaching and learning. 3. Using our new Fundraising strategy to identify grant funding sources that can support projects we identify to be beneficial to the children and families (for example, speech and language, SEND, emotional well-being and behaviour). We need to use our fundraising strategy to strengthen our financial sustainability. 4. Creating a succession plan to ensure SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’ is future proof and sustainable. 5. Setting a Committee Management Task Plan so the Committee know what duties are required, by when and by whom. 6. Setting up two parent forums per year so that we have more involvement and can share more information with parent. 7. Building a website is on our wish list too. If anyone has any good ideas and suggestions, please let us know Thanks again everyone for your help and support. Regards Terri Daniels Chairperson TREASURER’S REPORT 2022 I am Louise Adlington and have still continued in my role as Treasurer this year after stepping into it in November 2019. Again, I have mostly supported remotely this year after COVID. Just to remind you, the accounts in this report are from April 2021-March 2022. As you will see we are lucky to have finished the year with a credit instead of a deficit. As many parents slowly return to work, we have seen a slow increase for Wrap Around Care as shown in income for After School Kids Club and have had a reduction in Breakfast Club. As you can see food costs have increased considerably; this not just due to children returning back to Pre-school/Full Day Care and After school Kids Club but a big inflation in food prices. Can we remind parents again to complete the relevant sections on their funding forms when they complete their initial paperwork, ticking the box to allow us to check eligibility for us to claim Early Years Pupil Premium? This enables us to buy equipment and support children better. We continue to increase the use of our Babysdays system more and more… to keep families updated and to share photographs of the children enjoying their time at nursery. It helps to share relevant information quickly and efficiently with you, including our Annual Reports. We have continued to improve our predictions in relation to income and expenditure, helping us to continue to make informed decisions regarding fee increases and the impact of National Living Wage salary increases on salaries. Along with the Early Years sector as a whole, are expecting a tough year ahead financially; increases to the National Living Wage and the effects of the cost of living crisis will impact us greatly. We continue to remain as transparent as possible with our finances and hopefully our annual accounts reflect this. Louise Adlington Treasurer Sure Start Registered Charity- 10647590 Income & Expenditure Summary for The Years Ended 31 March Income 2021 2022 Furlough Received Grant Funding Full Day Less refunds. Kid's/ holiday club Pre-school & grants Fundraising Breakfast club Lunch / Dinner club Other incomeldonations 18,106 7.239 81,282 26,IlS 149,932 365 1,756 2.660 139,782 31,203 103,749 517 3,766 701 279 718 'full doy incomeodjusted byunpoidcheques & yyfvnds Expenditure Equipment& fittings Fundraising/ photographs Sundry/ food & supplies Wage, Nat. Ins., pensions & Voucher5 Rent, rates & cleaning Postagelstationary & ofFice Telephone, mobile & Internet Bank charges Insurances Subscriptions, trainin& travel Legal & prof. Fees 1.745 3,702 10,456 209,326 12,766 1.477 1,031 3.808 276 18,223 205,035 2,974 1,741 815 1,598 576 1,390 990 247 143 247 758 Surplus (Deficit) Balb fvid. Balc fwd. 43,180 31.960 105 397 137 357 105 397 'Represeored by bonk$ 05 Ot31.3.2022, petty coshflouts. occruols ond creditors cljeckedondverifted 10.1.2023. BodelL& Co Accountants ACCA Tel.. 01708 852505 Ernail.. bodellfinance@8mail.com MANAGER’S REPORT 2022 ## Dear Parents Firstly, can I say thank you so much for choosing to join our setting. Whether your children attend our Holiday Club, our Kids Club, our Full-Day Care or our three-hour Pre-school sessions, I am so pleased we can help you and you trust us to support you in the rearing of your children. YOU are the most important person in their life, and we want to be sure we are supporting you in the best way we know how. We want happy, confident and sociable children who are enthusiastic to learn and grow with us. Over this last year the setting has seen a few changes: the Kids Club is shrinking now with more families working from home – our Calm Cove room is getting back on its feet having had a dip in take up of baby spaces – our bigger room, Blustery Bay, has seen a large amount of 2 year olds as well as children with additional needs, especially with speech & language delay - one staff member has left, one staff member has re-joined the team and one staff member is on maternity, caring for her beautiful baby daughter - we have spent the year implementing the new Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework that saw a huge update in Sept 2021 - and now we come to the end of an era with our Chairperson Terri resigning after many years of volunteering for us. She will be sorely missed by all the Committee trustees and the staff team for her organisation skills, safeguarding knowledge and great support as well as the drive she has for continuous improvements; luckily, she will still be on hand if we need advice as she works for the Early Years Team at Thurrock Council. But in true SURESTART fashion we have another ‘Surestarter’ joining our Committee (Samara being the present one)… in the form of Mackenzie who attended our Pre-school back in 1999. These changes to our setting, our life path, is captured in each Annual Report and as I read them back from previous years, I have to smile with pride at the memories they evoke. This time last year I was unwell and am so grateful that all the staff team and the Committee trustees have supported me to get back to better health, proving SURESTART is a true family setting where the most vulnerable are cared for in their hour of need. It has only been via a huge team effort that we have managed through this previous year and have 2023 to look forward to. Additional thanks go to Wendy and all her staff in Ockendon Children’s Centre, the Early Years Team at Thurrock Council for their local advice and training, Peter/Stoil/Rhys from Property Services for maintenance, Glynis/Wendy from Belhus and Ockendon Community Forum for pulling the community together, the Council for Voluntary Services and the Early Years Alliance for their national advice and training, the Pyramid & Scrap Project for their free/discounted art materials… and each of you parents who have donated books, toys or resources to keep us ticking over, as well as following all our covid rules… which we are continuously grateful for. Finally, let’s have a few “ahhhh”s as I want you to look at all the photos we took in the month of November 2022 to give you an insight of nursery life. They have not been selected or planned for today but are just the ordinary photos we take of your children… that will be fixed into their Learning Journals and given to you when they leave us. This coming year I hope to see you parents/carers visiting nursery to volunteer, read, do cooking etc and YOU will be in next year’s photos… that’s my plan. Lucy Pollock Setting Manager **The SURESTART Staff 2022 (and Task Group names)** **Tanya (Terrapins) Rachel (Rainbow Fish) Rita Jackie (Jellyfish)** **Tina (Turtles) Kirsten (Killer Whales) Joanne (Jewelfish) Tammy (Tuna’s)** **Lucy (Limpets) Lorraine (Lobsters) Angel (Angelfish) Laura-Cleaner** **Kay (Krills) Suma (Starfish) Amber (Amberjack) Rachel E** ## OUR THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT AND ALSO TO: - James from Bodell & Co, our Accountants - Zoe our photographer (Smile Studios) - Wendy Walker and all her team in Ockendon Children’s Centre, including Sue the cleaner and Elaine at the front desk who is indispensable! - Thurrock Council Early Years Team, especially Terri, Colette, Katie, Jenny, Paul and Dawn - Jonathan, Julieta and the team at The Nursery Kitchen in Basildon - All the Head Teachers, Early Years and office staff at our six local primary schools - Angela Lewis, the Training Assessor for our Apprentice since Oct 2019 - The team of volunteers and library staff at the South Ockendon Centre - Dr. Keith Cranwell, as well as Maggie Pollock – Property Trustees - And to YOU for the donations of toys and equipment your children no longer use, for your support during this year, and for choosing us as your childcare provider!