**Registered Charity No. 1077895** 

## **STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL** 

**ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 

**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 



**STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 

|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Important Data|2|
|Trustee`s Report|3|
|Independent Examiner`s Report|4|
|Statement of the Financial Activities|5 - 6|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|7|



**1** 



**STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 

## **Important Data** 

Charity Number 1077895 

Trust Deed 

Constitution was adopted on 18 February 1999 

Custodian Trustee 

Tina Gibbons ( Chairperson ) 

Appointed November 2015 

Committee of Trustees: Ruth Swinbourne ( Treasurer ) 

Sophie Sellwood ( Secretary ) Christian Fowler Tina Casburn Alice Poynton Emma Jackson Ashley Smith 

Appointed November 2018 and Treasurer from July 2019 Appointed November 2017 Appointed November 2016 Appointed November 2015 Appointed July 2019 Appointed December 2020 Appointed November 2021 

Charity`s Principal Office Stepping Stones Pre-School Aldborough Primary School Alby Hill Norwich Norfolk NR11 7PH 

Bankers The Co-operative Bank plc PO Box 101 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP 

Independent Examiner K A Eke FCCA Oak Cottage Bridge Road Colby Aylsham Norfolk NR11 7EA 

**2** 



**STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 

The committee presents their annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2023. 

## **Status** 

Stepping Stones Pre-School is a registered charity ( no. 1077895 ) established by a constitution document dated 18 February 1999. The accounts are compliant with current statutory requirements in accordance with the constitution document. 

## **Principal Activities** 

The principal activity of the trust is that of a nursery school. This is achieved by fees paid for attendance together with fund raising, grants and donations. 

## **Review of Development, Activities and Achievements made during the Year** 

The committee believes the trust`s affairs to be disappointing with a deficit this year of £12,798. The deficit has arisen because the subsidies received from Norfolk County Council have fallen significantly, while the fees are also lower as a result of the lower number of pupils attending the school. This fall in income has not been fully matched by the reduction in employment costs. 

The trust continues to rely upon the unpaid services of several individuals who live within the locality. 

The finances of the trust however, remains secure with funds of £35,065 being held in bank accounts with The co-operative bank plc. 

## **Reserves Policy** 

The financial security of the pre-school is dependent on the number of children moving into the locality and upon the birth rates, which have been falling in recent times and are expected to continue to fall for the next few years. We need reserves to keep services running in times of lower children numbers attending. We would like to maintain the current reserve levels which roughly equate to six months expenditure. 

.......................................... 

## **Secretary** 

**3** 



## **STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 

||**Unrestricted **|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**2023**|**2022**|
|**RECEIPTS**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Fees|22,443|0|22,443|25,130|
|Fund Raising|0|0|0|206|
||______|______|______|______|
||22,443|0|22,443|25,336|
|**OTHER RECEIPTS**|||||
|NCC Subsidy|20,971|0|20,971|64,119|
|Bank Interest|170|0|170|9|
|Donations|377|0|377|0|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
||21,518|0|21,518|64,128|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**|43,961|0|43,961|89,464|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**DIRECT CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE**|||||
|Wages, NIC and Pension|43,667|0|43,667|79,458|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES**|||||
|Refreshments|500|0|500|870|
|Professional Fees and Registration Fees|3,012|0|3,012|2,505|
|Postage, Stationery and Computer Cons|295|0|295|763|
|Telephone and Internet|897|0|897|645|
|Light, Heat, Rates and Water|2,236|0|2,236|2,017|
|Insurance|717|0|717|747|
|Equipment and Maintenance|3,291|0|3,291|3,315|
|Training and Courses|212|0|212|769|
|Sundry|974|0|974|1,164|
|Fund Raising Expenses|0|0|0|0|
|Cleaning|958|0|958|1,040|
|Bad Debts|0|0|0|0|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
||13,092|0|13,092|13,835|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**TOTAL PAYMENTS**|56,759|0|56,759|93,293|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**NET DEFICIT OF INCOMING**|||||
|**RESOURCES OVER PAYMENTS**|-12,798|0|-12,798|-3,829|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|



**5** 



## **STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 

||**Unrestricted **|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**2023**|**2022**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**NET DEFICIT OF INCOMING**|||||
|**RESOURCES OVER PAYMENTS**|-12,798|0|-12,798|-3,829|
|**Fund Balances Brought Forward**|||||
|**at 1 September 2022**|47,396|0|47,396|51,225|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**Fund Balances Carried Forward**|||||
|**at 31 August 2023**|34,598|0|34,598|47,396|
||_______|_______|_______|_______|
|**REPRESENTED BY:**|||||
|**CURRENT ASSETS**|||||
|Debtors and Prepayments|342|0|342|290|
|Business Select Instant Access Account|30,246|0|30,246|30,076|
|Community Directplus Account|4,819|0|4,819|18,330|
|Cash in Hand|2|0|2|2|
||_______|________|_______|_______|
||35,409|0|35,409|48,698|
||_______|________|_______|_______|
|**CURRENT LIABILITIES**|||||
|Creditors and Accruals|811|0|811|1,302|
||________|________|_______|_______|
|**NET ASSETS**|34,598|0|34,598|47,396|
||_______|________|_______|_______|



The financial statements on pages 5 - 7 were approved by the trustees on and are signed on its behalf, below. We confirm that the records together with the information and explanations provided to K A Eke constitute a true and correct record of all the transactions of the Trust for the year ended 31 August 2023. 

........................................ Chairperson 

............................................. Treasurer 

**6** 



**STEPPING STONES PRE-SCHOOL NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023** 

## **1 General Notes** 

## **Basis of Accounting** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting by Charities. 

## **2 Interest Received** 

Interest received consists of interest received on the charity`s bank deposit account. 

## **3 Trustees** 

No remuneration or other benefits were paid to the trustees or people connected with them by the charity. 

No transactions were undertaken by the charity in which a trustee or connected person has a material interest. 

## **4 Expenditure** 

The amount paid for the independent examiner`s fee is £325. 

- **5** There were no grants to institutions. 

- **6** The charity does not have any endowment funds. 

- **7** The charity does not have any investment assets. 

## **8 Employees Number of Employees** 

The average monthly number of employees during the year was: 

||||||||**2023**|**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||**Number**|**Number**|
|Trustees ( of whom|3|are officers:|2022|-|3|)|8|10|
|Officers|||||||3|3|
|Staff|||||||5|10|



**7**