## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023** Registered Charity Number: 1064759 Registration Ofsted Number: EY337731 **SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’, Ockendon Family Hub, 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 charitable aim is _**“to provide children in our care with opportunities to LEARN THROUGH PLAY in a stimulating and exciting setting. We also wish to support families and encourage their involvement in their children’s education outside of the home. In providing quality care we are committed to developing the full potential of all our children and staff”** ._ **Our Groups and Fees from April 2023-March 2024** |**GROUPS**|**AGE**|**TIME**|**COST**|**DAY**| |---|---|---|---|---| |Breakfast Club|Rising 5 to
12yrs|7.30am to 8.45
am|£6.60|Monday to Friday Term
time only| |Pre-School
MorningSessions|2 to 5yrs|8.30am to
11.30am|£19.95 or free
entitlement|Monday to Friday Term
time only| |Pre-School
Afternoon
Sessions|2 to 5yrs|11.30am to
2.30pm|£19.95 or free
entitlement|Monday to Friday Term
time only| |Full-Day Care
MorningSessions|0 to 5yrs|8.00am to 1.00pm|£33.10|Monday to Friday
38/51 weeksperyear| |Full-Day Care
Afternoon
Sessions|0 to 5yrs|1.00pm to 6.00pm|£33.10|Monday to Friday
38/51 weeks per year| |Full-Day Care
Full Day|
0 to 5yrs|8.00am to 6.00pm|£62.90|Monday to Friday
38/51 weeksperyear| |After School
Kids Club|Rising 5 to
12yrs|3.00pm to 6.00pm|£17.45|Monday to Friday Term
time only| |Holiday Club|Rising 5 to
12yrs|8.00am to 6.00pm|£33.10|Monday to Friday using
Thurrock Council school
calendar| |Holiday Club|Rising 5 to
12yrs|8.00am to 1.00pm
OR
1.00pm to 6.00pm|
£16.55
£16.55|Monday to Friday using
Thurrock Council school
calendar| ## **DETAILS OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS** |**DETAILS OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS**|**DETAILS OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS**|**DETAILS OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS**|**DETAILS OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS**| |---|---|---|---| |STAFF MEMBERS|JOB ROLE|START
DATE|EXPERIENCE/TRAINING/
QUALIFICATIONS| |Maggie Pollock|Deputy Cover (on standby)|March 1993
Passed
away Oct
2023|Cache III Childcare and
Education/Safeguarding| |Lucy Pollock|Manager/Safeguarding
Officer/Keyworker|March 1993|NNEB III/First Aid/Child Protection| |Tanya Gould|Deputy Manager/ Room
Leader/
Keyworker/Behaviour
Officer|Jan 2000|Cache III/First Aid /Child Protection| |Rita Town|Cook|April 2002|Food Hygiene/Safeguarding| |Tammy Marsh|Nursery Practitioner/
Keyworker/Speech &
Language Officer|June 2002|NOCN in Childcare II/First
Aid/Safeguarding| |Kirsten Regan|Administrator/Cook|July 2003|First Aid/Safeguarding/A number of
daycourses| |Jackie Goulden|SENCO/ Nursery
Practitioner/Keyworker|June 2007|NVQ III in Childcare and
Education/First Aid/Safeguarding| |Joanne Spillett|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|Feb 2015
Left Oct
2023|Food Hygiene/First
Aid/Safeguarding| |Lorraine Latham|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|June 2017|Safeguarding/First Aid/A number of
online courses| |Laura Dove|Cleaner|July2017|| |Angel Jolly|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|Sept 2018|Children and Young People Level
II/First Aid/Safeguarding| |Kay Henderson|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|Sept 2021
Left July
2023|BA Honours in Childhood and Youth
Studies| |Suma Deb|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|Sept 2021
Left Mar
2023|NNEB III| |Amber Arrowsmith|Room Leader/ Keyworker|Oct 2021
Left June
2023|Cache III/First Aid| |Rachel Enguell|Nursery Practitioner|Nov 2021
Left July
2023|Cache III Children and Young People
Workforce| |Tina Bottjer|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|Feb 2022|Cache Level 4/First
Aid/Safeguarding| |Katie O’Connell|Nursery Practitioner
/Keyworker|Mar 2023|Level 3 Diploma in Children’s
Learning and Development (Early
Years Educator)/First
Aid/Safeguarding| |HollyMathews|NurseryPractitioner|Sept 2023|| |Munni Islam|Nursery Practitioner|Sept 2023|BA Honours in Childhood and Youth
Studies| ## **The** SURESTART **Staff 2023 (and Task Group names)** **Tanya (Terrapins) Kirsten (Killer whales) Jackie (Jellyfish) Lucy (Limpets) Deputy Manager & Administrator & Cook SENCo Manager & Blustery Bay Room Leader** **Tina (Turtles) Rita - Cook Joanne (Jewelfish) Tammy (Tuna’s) (left in Oct)** **Lorraine (Lobsters) Angel (Angelfish) Laura - Cleaner Amber (Amberjack)** **(left in June)** **Kay (Krills) Suma (Starfish) Rachel (Rainbowfish) Katie (Kingfish) (retired in July) (left in March) (left in July)** **Holly Mathews Munni Islam** TRUSTEES ON THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE **Maggie Pollock – Property Trustee Founder Passed away 1[st] October 2023** 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. ## **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** I have two daughters that have attended Surestart for over 3 years, until they started primary school, in 2021 and 2023. As our first language at home is Portuguese, my girls became fluent in English when attending Surestart. My youngest daughter has also developed so much confidence here, as she was very shy. She is now at Reception, but for a few months she has asked to come to Surestart other than attending school, and often asks me to visit the nursery after school time. My daughters still attend Holiday Club and love them! 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 have now a nearly 3 months old baby, and hopefully he will start attending the nursery in the end of this year. 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 Resigned January 2024** Hi my name is Louise Adlington and I am a full-time mum to Ronnie, who used to attend Surestart until he started school, 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 - Chairperson Parent Representative** Hello, I'm Samara and I have two children who attend Surestart. I am a Committee member and now 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 Holiday 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 Resigned July 2023** I’m Lisa a Surestart Committee member as a parent representative and Mummy to my 5 year old Son. Ollie has attended the setting 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 Surestart 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. **Mackenzie Klessa-Smith Community Representative** Hi my name is Mack and I’m a current member of the Surestart Committee and have been for over a year now. I decided to join because I want to make a difference and help keep this wonderful charity running for another 30 years and beyond! I did also attend Surestart many years ago when I was a child and so I want to continue supporting the fantastic work that they strive for every day. **Chairpersons Report SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’ – 2023** Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome and thank you for attending the SURESTART ‘Where Kids Come First’ Annual General Meeting. This meeting is being held in person this year and is anticipated to last for 60 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 2022/23, as accounts are always a year behind. The rest of the report and information will pertain to the operational year 2023. I’ll start with introductions to the current Committee members. Chair – Samara Tor Secretary – Staff representative – Kirsten Regan Vice Chair – – Treasurer Louise Adlington (until Jan 24) Parent representatives – Pricila Zanini Community representatives – Mackenzie Klessa-Smith I have been on the Committee for about 5 years and have recently become Chair after Terri Daniels left early last year. We were joined be Mackenzie Klessa-Smith who has brought a lot of fresh and exciting new ideas to the table. Lisa Cornwell left us in July 2023 due to moving and we wished her all the happiness in her new home. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, Louise Adlington has had to resign as Treasurer and a Committee Member at the beginning of 2024. We would like to thank Louise for all her hard work over the 5 years she has been a part of the Committee and wish her the best for the future. We also very sadly lost Maggie Pollock in October 2023. The Committee will never be the same without the passion and love Maggie had for SURESTART and how well she guided us through the difficulties SURESTART have faced. We have had many Committee members leave us over this year so we are currently at four members. To be able to run as a Committee for this Charity we need a minimum of five members, so we urgently 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 need to find a Vice Chairperson and a Treasurer immediately 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). This year has been extremely tough with everyone facing the cost-of-living crisis and financial pressures that we have never faced before. This year has been difficult for families and our own staff team, and it has been a tough financial year with increasing costs and minimal funding increases, the Trustees have been and still 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 Kay, Jo, Suma, Amber and Rachel and welcomed Katie, Holly and Munni to the SURESTART family. Although 2023 has been an extremely tough year for many of us, there have been quite a few highlights for SURESTART: 1. Each staff member has had their appraisal and targets set for the year. 2. Tina has been trying her hand at Baby Room Leader since Amber left. 3. Kirsten turned 50! 4. We had seven students from the Harris Academy complete work experience at SURESTART. 5. The garden gained a new large climbing frame for all the children to enjoy. 6. Parent questionnaires were sent out to gain new insights and ideas. 7. Our RAG came back with green in all areas! 8. Pricila gave birth to a beautiful boy, Matteo. 9. SURESTART threw a wonderful Christmas Party hosted by Dinosaurs! 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 Family Hub 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 parents. If anyone has any good ideas and suggestions, please let us know. Thanks again everyone for your help and support. Regards Samara Tor Chairperson TREASURER’S REPORT 2023 I am Kirsten Regan, the Administrator for the setting, and have stepped in to write this report on behalf of Louise Adlington. She has had to leave the Committee with immediate effect, due to ill health. Just to remind you, the accounts in this report are from April 2022-March 2023. As predicated last year, we finished the year on a deficit; although it was estimated to be £40,000, we actually finished on a deficit of only £16,851.00, and this was mainly due to the rent for the previous financial year that Thurrock Council didn’t invoice us for until we chased them towards the end of the last financial year. Demand for Wrap Around Care has dropped slightly; we believe this is due to local schools offering a more competitively priced service and parents making the most of flexible working. Our Holiday Club has remained popular and we hope to build on this. More working families are able to claim the 30-hour free entitlement for 3 & 4 years olds for 38 weeks of the year, so we have seen a drop in Full-Day Care and an increase in sessional Pre-school as a result. Even with the cost-of-living increase, we’ve made a small saving on food costs; this is mainly due to very tight budgeting and a slightly lower demand for hot food. 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 have managed to keep postage and stationery costs lower by continuing to use of our Babysdays system more… informing you of events/any useful updates, as well as reporting on your child’s time here at nursery. We have continued to improve our predictions in relation to income and expenditure, helping us to make informed decisions regarding fee increases and the impact of National Living Wage salary increases on salaries, which is becoming greater year on year. The Early Years sector as a whole faces another difficult year with the introduction of “free” childcare for children from the age of 9 months for working families. Whilst this is good news for our families, the government need to address as a matter of urgency the difference between the funded rates (still not confirmed) and the cost of providing this service. The National Living Wage is increasing by 9.8% in April 2024, which will have an impact on our business too. We will continue to remain as transparent as possible with our finances going forward. Kirsten Regan Administrator & Committee Staff Representative Sure Start Registered Charity- 1064759 Income & Expendlture Summary torThe Years Ended 31" Mèrch Income 2023 2022 Grant Fundlng Full Day Less refunds. id'sl holiday club Pre-school & grants Fundraising Breakfast Club Lunch l Dinner club Other incomeldonations 118,807 27,447 112,921 77 139,782 31,203 103,749 517 3.766 701 279 718 2,639 263 366 yull d(ty￿rLY￿e r￿jUStedbY Unp￿d¢hequÉS & refvnLIs. Irtimbursemefr)t ￿lee$J Expenditure Equipment& fittings Fundraising/ photographs Sundryl food & supplies Wage, Nat. Ins., penslons & Vouchers Rent, rates & cloanin8 Postagelstationary & office Telephone, mobile & Internet Bank charges Insurances Subscrlptions, trainin& travel Legal & prof. Fees 1,753 16 17,446 221,485 32,176 1,423 758 3,808 276 18,223 205,035 2,974 1,741 815 1,398 1,087 1,390 990 247 758 Surplus {Defldtl Balb fwd. Balc 116.8511 137357 120 506 31,960 105 397 137 357 •RepresenteLlbybonks ¢ys ot31.3.2023, }• c05hNoots o¢cruols nnd creditors checked verrfiedlaOI.2024. Bodell & Co A£countants ACCA Td..01708 852505 Ema11.' bDde]￿ln￿ce@gMèN.C0rn ## MANAGER’S REPORT 2023 January was a fresh new year, but we could hardly raise a cheer as our Sharon Gold, she passed away making January even more grey. February, we trained once more, This time ‘ouch’ on our knees on the floor Performing CPR and abdominal thrusts First Aid is an absolute must March was full of celebrations 30yrs of Surestart, the trials and tribulations Although Suma left, we had Katie join our team. And our pants got planted, in Dilkes, on the green April brought us the lovely Collette and Katie From the Early Years Team, our practice to see May Oh May saw The Day of Play, Training for me and Tanya up London way The King’s Coronation was a grand affair But at 80 it was Rita who let down her hair June was staff appraisals with all the Committee And no Administrator for 6 weeks, ourselves we did pity Amber left for Ireland and pastures green And the weather was the hottest we’d ever seen July, July, is the month of goodbyes To all the Surestarters off to school as rising 5’s Little Rachel left the team and Kay had to retire To put up her feet by a nice warm fire August may be the time you think we take rest But Holiday Club mixed with full day care, really is the best We visited the Big Lunch organised in Dilkes park. Kirsten turned 50 and we all had a lark September was more training about the Books we use. Jenny did our Welfare RAG which was GREEN, good news Holly and Munni joined the Surestart Ladies team And new children appeared all shiny and clean October was a terrible month as Maggie passed away Jo-Jo left and we were sad, we wanted her to stay November saw Zoe from SMILE STUDIOS Take photos of everyone, with bare little toes The workmen check the squirrels in our roof Who’d chewed every wire – that’s the truth December was our FANTASTIC Dinosaur Christmas party And in Derwent Parade we decorated the community tree The year has been eventful, but nothing brings us joy Like caring for every Surestarter little girl and boy. ## OUR THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT AND ALSO TO: - Thurrock Council Early Years Team, especially Terri, Colette, Katie, Jenny, Paul and Dawn - Treetops Outreach team for their support - Jonathan, Julieta and the team at Nursery Kitchen in Basildon - James from Bodell & Co, our Accountants - Zoe our photographer (Smile Studios) - Chris Adlington for maintenance jobs - Georgia Regan for plumbing work - Nick Gould for toy repairs - Raffle prizes from Bargain Booze, International Shop, Nisa, Lidl, Smokers Paradise - P D Flooring for their donation of carpet squares for the children to sit on 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!