Charity Number: 1086476
Cobnuts Steiner Kindergarten
AGM Minutes
AGM: Wednesday 15th October 2025, 7.30pm – Cobnuts Kindergarten
Trustees in Attendance
Apologies:
Welcome
Minutes and Matter Arising
Minutes agreed from the last AGM.
Chairman’s Report (Rosa)
We have had a steady and stable year at the kindergarten. With almost every space filled, financial pressures have decreased. Staffing has remained constant and reliable, including occasional cover and regular voluntary work.
Our traditional festivals and public events have been successful and well attended, very much by new faces and old. It feels (perhaps especially from my perspective) as though in a busy, ever changing world, Cobnuts quietly and predictably holds its place and plays its part. This is a great comfort to me and I believe to many others, and something to be valued today more than ever. Children who left Cobnuts years ago still walk through the gate and feel connected to Cobnuts’ unique spirit.
Despite our public events being popular, we continue to struggle with parent engagement. We observe time pressures on parents which were not so acute when Cobnuts opened 20 years ago. We no longer have any current parents on the committee and our work feels increasingly disconnected from the day-to-day life of kindergarten. Having said this, we are very fortunate to have found two new trustees to keep the committee going.
We commit to keeping the ship steady and being welcoming to new members, whatever skills and time they are able to offer.
Teacher’s Report (Diane)
Well gold coins were definitely the things to have in play for last year's cohort. We found them hidden in all sorts of places, you know the usual, under shelves, under the settee cushions,
bags, pockets, slippers, in the dolls house bed and in socks, yes socks!
Charity Number: 1086476
Cobnuts Steiner Kindergarten
But Lauren was on the case, she could spot a child with an odd demeanor or limp, at home time from the other side of the room. These children warranted a pat down before leaving Cobnuts to find the hoard they were trying to smuggle out! Gold coins managed to go home, some returned, some didn’t as I’m sure they were such a special commodity to have and admire. Play evolved and we were aware of some children who enjoyed quiet play alone or with others but withdrew if it became too boisterous around them.
The nine children with English as a Second Language (ESL) from the cohort of 16 by the end of term all made progress. This amount has dropped this year to three children at the moment. We said goodbye to our school leavers at our end of term festival and busy parents were determined to be there on the day and all expressed their gratitude for Cobnuts, which is very special to hear.
So onto this term, play was a little harder at the beginning without those bigger children but I can now see ideas being shared and friendships forming. They enjoy being busy and “doing” which inspires the imagination and play is instigated.
It is so rewarding to see a huge smile on a little one’s face who last week you wondered if they would ever settle!
Lauren completed her Designated Safeguarding Lead Training (DSL) in May. She also had odd days training/updates for her role as SendCo. I still attend Steiner online collaborations and a local one too.
We meet together ( Lauren and I continue to meet on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon) to discuss, share observations, update, consider, chat and learn together. When Eileen, Anne or Ailish are in they too contribute. We also have a supervision meeting once a term and if Anne or Ailish are around they too might join us. So Lauren, Eileen, Anne and Ailish continue to be the best Cob nutters!! They really do.
Parent and Child Group Report (Jacky)
The parent and child group has continued to meet every Friday morning during term time at the kindergarten. The number of families attending has ranged from 2 to 8, with an average of 5 families per session.
Cobnuts Steiner Kindergarten
Charity Number: 1086476
Several children have moved on from the parent and child group to the kindergarten, with others planning to do so when they are old enough. There is a friendly core group of families attending, with new attendees being welcomed. Once again I have enjoyed running the group over the year.
Treasurer’s Report (Rosa)
Jacky continues to do an excellent job on the bookkeeping, and takes on much of the role of treasurer (this post has not been officially filled).
We finished our financial year with a healthy profit of around £5.5k. This is in contrast to the previous few years, where we have struggled to break even and had to use savings to cover modest losses. The change in situation is entirely due to the kindergarten being full! Credit to Diane and Cassie for skillfully managing new applications and the waiting list.
In April we increased the staff salaries again in line with the increase in the national minimum wage (£11.44 to £12.21), which increased our staff sessional rate from £51.50 to £55. The funding rate increased only slightly this year to £5.34 ph. We continue to require at least 10 children per day to cover our basic salaries, plus three more to cover the cost of an additional adult. We are pleased to have been able to keep an additional adult on at least 2 days per week.
We intend to increase the cost of the kindergarten sessions so that it is in line with the funding rate; however we’ve issued no invoices this year, possibly due to increased funding entitlements which are now available to working parents.
Compared to last year, other costs (e.g. utilities and food) have increased marginally. Our income from events and fundraising has been remarkably consistent!
Accounts accepted:
Seconded:
Election of Officers
Chair: Rosalie Townsend
Treasurer: To Be elected
Secretary: Cassandra Callaghan
Proposed: Seconded:
Election of Trustees
Rosalie Townsend, Cassandra Callaghan, Anne Gillespie and Tansy Watts
Proposed: Seconded:
Charity Number: 1086476
Cobnuts Steiner Kindergarten
Any Other Business
Signed: Date:
Maidstone Steiner Kindergarten Initiative
Registered Charity No 1086476
Income and Expenditure Account to 31.08.2025
| INCOME | Year End 31/08/25 |
Year End 31/08/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten fees | 0.00 | 4,014.00 |
| Parent and toddler fees | 896.20 | 1,025.00 |
| Kent CountyCouncil funding (fees) | 42,029.51 | 28,021.17 |
| Interest on deposits | 182.77 | 190.59 |
| Regular donatons | 5,160.00 | 5,160.00 |
| Irregular donatons | 64.10 | 250.30 |
| Actvites | 373.20 | 379.40 |
| Gif aid repayments(I.R) | 1,330.31 | 1,341.55 |
| Fundraising | 106.00 | 182.00 |
| Other | 100.00 | 300.00 |
| Total | 50,242.09 | 40,864.01 |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Wages | 33,809.43 | 31,939.13 |
| Rent | 4,800.00 | 4,800.00 |
| Gas and Electricity | 989.52 | 975.97 |
| Water | 695.22 | 414.77 |
| Telephone andpost | 351.79 | 332.35 |
| Printngand Statonery | 142.46 | 169.81 |
| Equipment | 343.86 | 195.33 |
| Food | 792.57 | 716.33 |
| Materials(craf andgarden) | 238.16 | 375.04 |
| Publicity | 405.51 | 82.00 |
| Cleaningand Maintenance | 506.97 | 373.82 |
| Staf Training | 288.60 | 280.00 |
| Memberships & subscriptons | 784.80 | 547.00 |
| Insurance | 573.44 | 561.13 |
| Miscellaneous | 0.00 | 33.60 |
| Bank Charges | 60.00 | 60.00 |
| Total | 44,782.33 | 41,856.28 |
| Surplus for theyear | 5,459.76 | -992.27 |
| Bank Balance brought forward | 3,467.18 | 4,634.78 |
| CAF Gold A/C brought forward | 7,271.00 | 7,095.67 |
| 16,197.94 | 10,738.18 | |
| Carried forward | ||
| Current account | 8,763.18 | 3,467.18 |
| CAF Gold A/C | 7,434.76 | 7,271.00 |
| 16,197.94 | 10,738.18 |
1/2/26, 4:54 PM
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