2025-08-31-accounts - Little Stars Christian Preschool

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL

Little Stars Christian Preschool Report for the 2024/25 Period Charity Number: 1070709

Trustees’ Annual Report 2024/25

Little Stars Christian Preschool is a volunteer-led charity governed by its constitution. Its primary objective is to provide high-quality early years education within a nurturing Christian environment.

Overview of the Year

During 2024/25, the Preschool identified a significant increase in the level of support required by families. Parents and carers required additional guidance on children’s basic developmental needs, including toileting, sleep routines, independent eating, listening skills, and language development. This placed additional demands on daily routines, with staff providing increased time and support to help children and families address these needs.

Board of Trustees

Throughout the academic year, the Board of Trustees remained stable and effective, with a minimum of five dedicated trustees providing oversight of governance, strategic direction and organisational development.

Constitution and Policies

The Preschool’s policies and procedures remain up to date and aligned with Ofsted and Early Years Alliance expectations. Trustees and staff remain committed to continuous improvement and regularly review practice to ensure a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for children, families and staff.

In line with the Business Plan, the Preschool continued to strengthen its visibility within the local community, including through regular updates shared via Facebook and other outreach activity.

Finance and Fundraising

The Preschool’s core funding continued to be provided through Warwickshire County Council and parental contributions. Enrolment levels improved gradually during the year following a quiet first term, and the Preschool was full by the final term. The Rainbow Room experienced particularly low numbers at the start of the year after five families moved away unexpectedly in September. The Trustees also recognise the wider national challenges associated with the expansion of government-funded childcare entitlements. While these entitlements provide important support for families, published sector evidence continues to highlight pressure on early years providers, as funding rates, staffing costs, inflation, and delivery requirements are not always fully aligned. Locally, this has led more families to choose funded hours only, reducing parent-paid hours and placing additional pressure on the Preschool’s income. The Trustees remain grateful to Leamington Spa Baptist Church for its continued subsidy of premises costs.

Address: Leamington Spa Baptist Church, Chandos Street, Leamington Spa CV32 4RN

Trustees for the Period 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025: Ian Doncaster, Amanda Kilgour, Sara Rouse, Blessing Simango and Karen Barge

CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL

Little Stars Christian Preschool Report for the 2024/25 Period Charity Number: 1070709

Fundraising activity made an important contribution to the Preschool’s finances. Events included wreath-making, a sponsored sports day and marshalling at the local Regency Run, generating net income of £3,283.

The Trustees are very grateful for the generosity of the wider community. Philanthropic donations totalled £1,531 from friends of the Preschool.

Reserves Policy

The Preschool’s reserves policy is intended to ensure that Little Stars Christian Preschool maintains adequate funds to continue operating as a going concern. The Trustees review financial performance against budget at termly trustee meetings.

Reserves support the Preschool by enabling it to:

Bridge funding delays
Cover unforeseen staff training needs
Supplement underfunded operational costs
Respond to fluctuating enrolment

Financial pressures continued during the year, driven by rising wage costs, inflationary increases and the continuing challenge of delivering high-quality early years provision within available funding levels. These pressures were compounded by the unexpected reduction in enrolment during the first term, increased demand for additional support for children and families, and the wider sector challenge that funded entitlement income does not always reflect the full cost of provision.

Staffing

Staffing remained broadly stable, with three staff members in each room, support from bank staff and the Manager, weekly administrative assistance, and a new volunteer joining from June 2025. One practitioner left in April 2025 due to family relocation, and a new practitioner with a Level 6 qualification was successfully recruited in June 2025. The leadership of the Preschool continued to be strengthened by the effective collaboration of the Manager, Deputy and Room Leader. The Preschool also continued to benefit from the support of a teacher one day each week, focused on targeted letters and sounds work with the children.

The Preschool supported a significant number of children with additional educational, health and developmental needs. This had a direct impact on staffing and finances, as additional staffing support was required and only part of these costs was covered by local authority funding.

Address: Leamington Spa Baptist Church, Chandos Street, Leamington Spa CV32 4RN Trustees for the Period 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025: Ian Doncaster, Amanda Kilgour, Sara Rouse, Blessing Simango and Karen Barge

CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL

Little Stars Christian Preschool Report for the 2024/25 Period Charity Number: 1070709

Children on Roll

The Preschool continued to welcome families from diverse faiths, cultures and language backgrounds.

Sunshine Room , ages 2 – 3 : The year ended with 24 children, of whom 13 had English as an additional language. The children made notable progress over the course of the year.

Rainbow Room : The year ended with 17 children, after two children left partway through the year. Eight children had English as an additional language. Many children required significant support with social skills, independence and communication, and meaningful progress was evident by the end of the year.

During the year, some older children from Sunshine Room moved into Rainbow Room when they were developmentally ready. This supported their progression and created additional capacity within Sunshine Room.

Among the children on roll, three had significant special educational needs, including one child with Down’s syndrome. A further child had complex health needs requiring community nurses to be present during attendance at the Preschool, and another child had significant developmental delay. The Preschool also supported a child with serious social needs who required substantial family support and provided assistance to families facing immigration-related issues. Two children had severe food allergies and required individual healthcare plans.

The Trustees remain grateful to Leamington Spa Baptist Church for enabling daily outdoor play, except on Thursday mornings. Access to outdoor space has been particularly valuable for children with limited opportunities for outdoor play at home. The Preschool also benefited from a donation of small barriers, which helped separate the more physical play area from quieter learning spaces and supported the safety of more vulnerable children.

The Preschool continued to provide wider support to families, including guidance on parenting skills, feeding, toileting and debt management. Staff also signposted families to relevant professionals and courses, and helped arrange food parcels, clothing and other essential supplies where needed. Demand for this support was significantly higher than in previous years, and the Trustees are grateful to those who supported the Preschool and its families with clothing, food and other practical assistance.

The continued preference for funded-only hours affected income during the year. This appears to reflect a combination of wider cost-of-living pressures, financial challenges faced by families, and changing employment patterns. The increased prevalence of hybrid and home working has also influenced childcare choices, with some parents requiring fewer paid hours or more flexible arrangements than in previous years. The Preschool was also affected by families’ employment

CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL

Little Stars Christian Preschool Report for the 2024/25 Period Charity Number: 1070709

circumstances, with some parents working on short-term local contracts and leaving at short notice when their contracts were not renewed.

The Preschool was pleased to receive Gold status in the Warwickshire Inclusion Award (WIncKS) for the third consecutive year. This recognition reflects the considerable commitment of staff, who worked exceptionally hard during a demanding year and undertook additional learning to support a range of health and inclusion needs.

Looking Ahead

The Trustees’ priorities for the coming year are to:

Carefully balancing budgets with staffing needs
Increasing enrolment through outreach, social media, and community engagement
Strengthening communication with families and encouraging fundraising participation
Supporting our dedicated staff team and prioritising wellbeing amid increasing Special Educational Needs (SEN), health and behavioural demands
Providing ongoing training and building staff confidence in providing enabling environments for our children with staff engaged in play and learning alongside the children to extend their learning.

Training and Development

All staff completed required training, including safeguarding and first aid. In-house training focused on safeguarding, curriculum development, autism awareness, healthcare needs such as anaphylaxis, tracheostomy support and dysphagia, as well as Makaton, speech sounds and behaviour strategies. Planning remained child-centred, with small learning groups and one-to-one support used to address individual developmental needs.

Community Engagement

The Preschool continued to engage actively with the local community. Children had opportunities to attend church and share songs with the congregation, visit a local care home to support intergenerational relationships, meet local police officers and see a police car, and visit local shops and a garage to develop their understanding of the wider community. The Preschool also remained active in organising Summer Stay and Play.

The Trustees extend their sincere thanks to Leamington Spa Baptist Church, families, staff, trustees, volunteers and friends of the Preschool for their continued support throughout the year.

Yours sincerely,

CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL

Little Stars Christian Preschool Report for the 2024/25 Period Charity Number: 1070709

The Trustees

Little Stars Christian Preschool

CLASSIFICATION: OFFICIAL

Littlestars Christian Preschool Income and Expenditure Statement for the Period 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025 Charity Number: 107070

2023-24 Receipts £ 103,283 Grants Warwickshire CC 14,454 Fees 3,011 Fundraising 6,765 Donations 2,026 Other 129,539 Expenses 118,325 Salaries 1,690 Administration 353 Cleaning 1,003 Insurance 2,418 Playgroups Materials & Equipment 1,046 Printing, postage Postage & Stationery 4,230 Contribution to Church 481 Training & Development 4,957 Other Costs 134,503 4,964 - Net Deficit (-)/Surplus 30,606 Balance b/f 25,642 Balance c/f	2024-25 £ 111,596 24,760 3,283 1,531 1,429
	142,600
	- - 121,587 1,664 275 1,236 2,580 701 3,000 449 3,605
	135,097
	7,503 25,642
	33,145

Signed by: Board of Trustees of Little Stars Christian Preschool

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees Charity Name LITTLE STARS CHRISTIAN PRESCHOOL On accounts for the year 31[ST] AUGUST 2025 Charity no 1070709 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/08/2025. Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 28/06/2026

Signed: Name: ADAM VARNEY Relevant professional AAT - LEVEL 4 qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 7 BROOKSIDE WAY, BLOXHAM, OXFORDSHIRE, OX15 4HY

Oct 2018

IER