2024-03-31-accounts - Blue Coat Pre-School Unit And Busy Bees

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BLUE COAT PRE-SCHOOL UNIT AND BUSY BEES

Annual Report for year ending 31 March 2024

Name: Blue Coat Pre-School and Busy Bees Address: Symn Lane, Wotton under Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 7BD

Registration number: 1092513

Trustee Details: The following were trustees on the date that this report was approved:

Mark Gilling Chairperson Jo Jess Secretary Jo Stansfield Finance Officer / Treasurer Anna Yarker Management Trustee Esther Beeby Management Trustee Kat Potts Management Trustee Gemma Lawson Management Trustee Delegated roles: Victoria Starling Head of Pre School and Busy Bees Jo Bell Administrator

Other relevant roles:

Independent examiner Jo Roberts, Willow Accountancy Bankers Lloyds, Stroud

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Report of the Trustees

The Trustees present their report along, with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

Committee

No new Trustees were elected at the AGM in 2023. Mark Gilling was re-elected as Chairperson, Jo Jess as Secretary and Jo Stansfield as Finance Officer/Treasurer.

Structure, Governance & Management Constitution

The Charity is constituted using the Gloucestershire PATA Constitution, with no further amendments as approved at the AGM in 2020.

Organisational Structure

Meetings are every half term where committee members are kept up to date by the Head of the Unit and Administrator, who attend the meetings in an advisory capacity. Committee members make decisions based on the information received regarding staffing issues, financial matters and taking the Unit forward.

Trustee Appointment

The trustees are appointed at the Annual general meeting held in the autumn term by members who attend the meeting. The committee currently consists of a Chairperson, a Secretary, a Finance Officer, at least 3 elected members and 2 delegated members.

Trustee Induction and Training

New committee members are able to attend a Management Committee training course run by PATA. In addition, the Head of the Unit provides all trustees with an overview of the Early Years Foundation Stage – The Statutory Framework and a summary look at the requirements set out in the Childcare Register. All Trustees have undertaken a Level 2 Safeguarding training course.

Management

Day to day decisions are made by the Head of the Unit and the Administrator with input from other members of staff, and regular contact with the Finance Officer and Chair. The management committee makes major financial and staffing decisions that affect the structure of the unit at committee meetings.

Trustees are kept well informed by the Head of the Unit and Administrator as to any potential issues or risks, e.g., safeguarding concerns, cash flow, managing expenditure, legal and administrative changes and staffing.

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Objectives

The main objectives for this financial year were:

To continue careful financial control to ensure stability of the Unit
Maintain a safe & stable environment for our Children, Staff and parents/carers
Review and update all staff employment contracts with support of newly appointed HR consultant
Maintain a high standard of provision in line with OFSTED framework
Continue the successful management of the 30 hours funding
Re-invest funds into the Unit
Improvements to the playground/outdoor area surface and fencing
A smooth transition to Famly, the admin platform for early educators
To move from Tapestry to Famly for Children’s Learning Journeys
Maintain our strong relationship with the school

Highlights

The following report outlines the highlights of Blue Coat Pre School and Busy Bees business for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Staffing changes

There have been some staffing changes to the Unit, but they continue to work cohesively.

Whilst we continue to support and be supported by 6[th] form students from Katharine Lady Berkeley School and other local colleges, whose role is to play with and care for the Busy Bees children, we have aimed to have a higher ratio of qualified staff to students in Busy Bees this year to enable more planned activities to be undertaken with the children.

Investment in IT

This financial year, the Unit continued to use Famly, an online admin system for early educators. We are utilising Famly for checking children in and out of the unit and for invoices and communication with parents/carer about their children’s activities and progress, and other general admin. This has resulted in improved efficiencies and, we believe, benefits for parents/carers. Staff and trustees use social media to promote the excellent work of the Unit and connect with parents and carers.

Re-investment of funds into the Unit

The Unit continues to invest to improve the indoor and outdoor space for our children, as well as the purchase of new indoor and outdoor toys for the Unit to ensure that the children are able to benefit from a wide range of equipment in a safe and comfortable environment. We also built a new staffroom/garden office to give our staff space to enjoy their lunch break, which also serves as a meeting room for staff if needed, plus breakout space for small group work with the children.

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Other Achievements

Achieved Millie’s Mark accreditation, for excellence paediatric first aid.
We provided first aid courses to our Busy Bees students and parents/carers.
Continued building relationships with the local community - in particular The Keepers.
Supported our Toggles children to give them a positive transition into full time education.
Held a successful open day to show existing and new parents/carers our wonderful setting.
Reviewed and updated the employment contracts for all staff to ensure they remain fair and clear.
Expansion of the Busy Bees Out of School provision to take up to 65 children after school
Invested in staff training
Took on an Apprentice
Invested in Garden Room, Gazebo, New Toys, IT (Laptops), storage units and kitting out the kitchen with proper storage and equipment
Partnership with parents – Lending Library, Mother’s Day Tea, Summer Trip

Once again, our main achievement is the teamwork of the staff. Everyone continues to go over and above their job role in the last year, during these very difficult times. New staff have been welcomed and help us improve our practice day to day

Attendance

It was a good year for Toggles and Busy Bees. We are running at near capacity in preschool – even with the new staff – with a large number of 2-year-olds attending. Busy Bees remains busy, both morning and evening

Forthcoming Objectives and Highlights

Continue to support children and families in need with the provision of subsidised childcare
Restructure the toilets in the Buttons room
Ensure readiness for possible OFSTED visit

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Chairs report:

As I come to the end of my 6th and final year as a Trustee, with 5 of those as chair. I am continuously blown away by management of the unit and the staff who show their commitment, enthusiasm, care and passion on a daily basis that makes the whole unit so popular, lively and such a great place for our children to be.

The team continue to provide a first-class service to the children, and this is more than evident in the atmosphere and noise levels coming from the unit throughout the day. On behalf of all the trustees I would like to thank all our staff who always go over and above, and especially our Unit Manager Vicky, and Administrators Jo & Esther.

This year we continued to invest into the unit, we have (hopefully) addressed the outdoor space and have invested considerably in a new building to allow for our staff to have their breaks in comfort but also a private space for meetings such as SEN and parent updates. We now have a new fence, no more escape from Alcatraz type attempts, and I think it makes a massive different to the look and feel of the unit. In 24/25 I hope we can start to develop our inside space a bit more – and the trustees will share more on this over the coming months.

We continue to support our fund that allows us to provide preschool and Busy Bees care for children whose parents/carers are experiencing financial difficulties or perhaps for safeguarding reasons. And have been able to provide 1,299 hours over the past year, 2,843 in total since we started to record. To me this is a fantastic achievement and one that I am proud to have been able to support in my time as chair.

We are always looking at ways that we can reinvest funds into the unit and to support our children, parents and carers, and are hoping to be able to do more trips next year, similar to the Cattle Country event last year.

Our numbers continue to remain high with us often being full in both Pre-school & Busy Bees, we continue to recruit new and experienced staff to increase our ability and sometimes to unfortunately replace team members who move on to further their career.

The relationship we have with the school and governors grows each year and this will continue.

We are continuing to review our pay & reward policy within Preschool & Busy Bees and have made amends to our pay and reward this year which will, we hope, be seen as further evidence of our commitment as Trustees to the wellbeing of our employees.

As always, it is important that we have a well-rounded and involved group of trustees on board to support the unit across preschool & Busy Bees. so please, if you are on the fence about volunteering, throw caution to the wind and put your hand up later in the session, I promise you won’t regret it.

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Financial Review – 2023-2024

The attached accounts show the financial position of Blue Coat Pre-School and Busy Bees for the year ended 31[st] March 2024. Note: this year, our income exceeded a £250,000 threshold, requiring us to move to an accruals accounting basis (previously we were able to use a simpler “receipts and payments” approach).

The principal sources of funding for the Unit are Fees, paid by parents, and Nursery Education Funding (Nursery Grant), paid by the local authority. This is supplemented by Fundraising Income.
This year has seen a net expenditure of £26,239 (2023: net income of £4,446).
Total income in the year was £275,341 (2023: £246,209), up by £29,132 on the previous year. The primary driver for the increase in income was having more children using the unit in busy bees.
Total expenditure for the period was £301,580 (2023: £241,763), an increase on the previous year of £59,817. The principal driver was an increase in salary costs. The main reason for this is higher staffing levels to support the higher numbers of children using the unit. However, in addition our hourly rates have increased in line with increases to the national living wage.
We have continued to progress our goal of investing to improve the unit for our children. Over and above the day-to-day costs of running the Pre-School and Busy Bees (which include staff costs, training, materials, food, occupancy of the building, insurances and administration costs), we have invested £41,143 in the unit over the course of the year. Notable investments include:
£27,900 on our new garden office
£7,800 on new fencing for the Unit
£2,800 on new laptops for staff
Note: under the new accounting policy, these investments are classed as “tangible fixed assets” on our balance sheet, with an allowance for the depreciation of these assets included in the total expenditure.
We are proud to have continued supporting families in difficulty through providing free regular or emergency childcare in the Unit. Under this policy we have provided nearly 1,300 free pre-school and busy bees hours to a value of over £5,000.
Rent is paid quarterly to Blue Coat Primary School for the use of the Pre-School and Busy Bees facilities. There is no formal agreement in place with the school, but we have a good informal relationship with the school and rent payable to the school is agreed annually. There was an 11% increase to this occupancy cost this year, driven by increases to costs faced by the school.

Reserves Policy

In line with guidance from the Charity Commission and our independent examiner, in have a reserves policy, which we review annually. It's important we hold reserves so we can keep

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going during period of lower income or temporary closure (due to a global pandemic, for example!), carry out necessary repairs to or replacement of equipment and the buildings, and meet redundancy costs.

Under our reserves policy the Unit aims to hold reserves consisting of:
Reserves to meet possible redundancy liabilities
General contingency reserves equal to three months total expenditure
A full review of reserves is carried out annually. Based on the most recent review, our target reserves are £111,791 (2023: £85,771.84 / 2022: £58,544). Under our current reserves policy, we aim to meet this target using only our cash balance. As of 31 March 2024, our cash balance was £166,745 , (2023: £227,153) therefore our extra cash assets on top of this target reserve were £54,954 (2023: £141,381). As planned, we have successfully reduced our excess reserves through investments, to the benefit of the children using the Unit, their families and our staff.

Fundraising

£2,947 was raised through fundraising during the period via several events and sources including our ever-popular jam jar tombola at the Christmas Under-The-Edge street event, commission we earn when families buy pre-school photos and Christmas cards, and at the Wotton institution that is Town Hall Teas. Thank you to all our staff and families for supporting these events and sales by baking cakes, helping serve teas and of course buying what we’ve been selling!
Our fundraising allows us to subsidise our annual pre-school trip – this year a fun-filled day in cattle country.

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Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Independent Examiners Report Independent Examiner's Report to the trustee of Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees for the year ended 31 March 2024. Responslbllltles and basls of report As the charity's trustee you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {'the Act'l. I report in respect of my examination of the charity's financial statements 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(5llbl of the Act. Independent examlner's statement As the charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that l am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of ACMA. I have completed my examination. I can confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or the financial statements do not accord with those records; or the financial statements do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of financial statements set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the financial statements 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 financial statements to be reached. Jo Roberts signed on 0311012024, 13.'54.'22 BST Jo Roberts ACMA Willow Accountancy Willow Accountancy Ltd Willow Cottage, Valley Road Wotton Under Edge Glos GL12 7NP 03 October 2024 Page 8

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2024 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds Total funds 2024 2024 2024 2023 Notes Income and endowments from: Charitable activities Investments 269,143 291 2,838 271,981 291 242,684 69 Other 3,069 3,069 3,456 Total 272,503 2,838 275,341 246,209 Expendlture on: Raising funds Charitable activities Other 2,459 12,108 284,175 2,459 13,826 285,295 1,610 9,394 230,759 1,718 1,120 Total 298,742 2,838 301,580 241,763 Net gains on investments Net (expendlture)Ilncome Transfers between funds 126,2391 126,239) 4,446 Net (expendlture)/lncome before other galns/(losses} 126,2391 126,239} 4,446 Other galns and losses Net movement In funds 126,2391 126,239} 4,446 Reconclllatlon of funds: Total funds brought forward 234,692 234,692 230,246 Total funds carrled forward 208,453 208,453 234,692 Page 9

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Balance Sheet at 31 March 2024 Charity No. 1092513 2024 2023 Flxed assets Tangible assets 10 37,084 37,084 2,377 2,377 Current assets Stocks Debtors Cash at bank and in hand 11 12 300 8,011 166,745 175,056 {3,6871 171,369 7,384 227,153 234,537 12,222) 232,315 Credltors: Amount falling due within one year Net current assets 13 Total assets less current Ilabllltles 208,453 234,692 Net assets excludln8 penslon asset or Ilabllltv 208,453 234,692 Total net assets 208,453 234,692 The funds of the charlty Restrlcted funds Unrestrlcted funds General funds 14 14 208,453 234,692 208,453 234,692 Reserves 14 Total funds 208,453 234,692 Approved by the trustees on 16 October 2024 And signed on their behalf bv: M. Gilling Trustee 16 October 2024 Page 10

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 l Accounting policies Basls of preparatlon The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Statement of Recommended Practice.. Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic if Ireland IFRS 1021 issued on 16 July 2014 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of I reland {FRS 1021 and the Charities Act 2011. Change In basls of accountlng or to prevlous accounts The threshold for receipts and payments accounting was exceeded in the current accounting period. There has therefore been a change to the accounting policy. These accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and the accounts for the prior year 2022/23 have been restated on an accruals basis having previously been reported on a receipts and payments basis. Fund accountln8 U nrestricted funds These are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the charity. These are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes. These are unrestricted funds which include a revaluation reserve representing the restatement of investment assets at their market values. These are available for use subject to restrictions imposed by the donor or through terms of an appeal. Designated funds Revaluation f unds Restricted f unds Page 11

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts Income Recognition of income Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities {SoFAI when the charity becomes entitled to, and virtually certain to receive, the income and the amount of the income can be measured with sufficient reliability. Income with related Where income has related expenditure the income and related expenditure is expenditure reported gross in the SOFA. Donations and legacies Voluntary income received by way of grants, donations and gifts is included in the the SOFA when receivable and only when the Charity has unconditional entitlement to the income. Tax reclaims on Income from tax reclaims is included in the SOFA at the same time as the donations and gifts gift/donation to which it relates. Donated services These are only included in income (with an equivalent amount in expenditure) and facilities where the benefit to the Charity is reasonably quantifiable, measurable and material. Volunteer help The value of any volunteer help received is not included in the accounts. Investment income This is included in the accounts when receivable. Gains/llosses1 on This includes any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value revaluation of fixed at the end of the year. assets Gains/llossesl on investment assets This includes any gain or Ioss on the sale of investments. Expendlture Recognition of expenditure Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates. Expenditure on These comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income, fundraising raising funds trading costs and investment management costs. Expenditure on These comprise the costs incurred by the Charity in the delivery of its activitie5 and charitable activities services in the furtherance of its objects, including the making of grants and governance costs. Al I grant expenditure is accounted for on an actual paid basis plus an accrual for grants that have been approved by the trustees at the end of the year but not yet paid, These include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the Charity, including any audit/independent examination fee5, costs linked to the strategic management of the Charity, together with a share of other administration costs. These are support costs not allocated to a particular activity. Grants payable Governance costs Other expenditure Taxatlon The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities. Page 12

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts Tangible fixed assets and depreciation Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life: Fixtures, Fittings & Equipment 25% Straight line Stock Stock is included at the lower of cost or net realisable value. Donated items of stock are recognised at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market, Trade and other debtors Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. Cash and cash equlvalentS Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and on hand, demand deposits with banks and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts, I n the statement of f inancial position, bank overdrafts are shown withi n borrowings or current lia bilities. In the Statement of Cash Flows, cash and cash equivalents are shown net of bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral part of the company's cash management. Trade and other credltors Short term creditors are measured at the transaction price. Other creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due. Penslon costs The charity operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is pension plan under which the charity pays fixed contributions into a separate entity, Once the contributions have been paid the charity has no further payments obligations. The contributions are recognised as expenses when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals in the balance sheet. The assets of the plan are held separately from the charity in independently administered funds. 2 Income from charltable actlvltles Unrestrlcted Restrlcted Total Total 2024 2023 Fees- Pre School 48,184 48,184 46,575 Fees- Busy Bees Nursery Grants Other Grants 96,958 122,671 1,330 269,143 96,958 122,671 4,168 271,981 71,280 115,578 9,251 242,684 2,838 2,838 Page 13

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts 3 Income from investments Unrestricted Total Total 2024 2023 Bank I nterest 291 291 69 291 291 69 4 Other Income Unrestrlcted Total Total 2024 2023 Misc Income 122 122 1,244 2,212 3,456 Fundraising Income 2,947 3,069 2,947 3,069 5 Expendlture on ralslng funds Unrestrlcted Total Total 2024 2023 Fundraising payments 2,459 2,459 2,459 2,459 1,610 1,610 6 Expendlture on charltable actlvltles Unrestrlcted Restrlcted Total Total 2024 2023 Expenditure on charitable activities Materials and Equipment Busy Bees Snacks Grant Expenditure Governance costs 4,788 4,331 4,788 4,331 1,718 4,164 2,969 880 1,718 Staff salaries 1,000 1,039 950 1,000 1,039 950 1,000 381 Licenses & memberships Independent review 12,108 1,718 13,826 9,394 Page 14

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts 7 Other expenditure Unrestricted Restricted Total Total 2024 2023 Employee costs Premises costs Amortisation, depreciation, impairment, profit/loss on disposal of fixed assets General administrative costs 254,737 6,880 1,120 255,857 6,880 201,591 5,025 6,436 6,436 388 14,532 1,590 284,175 14,532 1,590 285,295 22,915 840 Legal and professional costs 1,120 230,759 8 Net (expendlture)/lncome before transfers 2024 2023 This is stated after charging: Depreciation of owned fixed assets 6,436 388 9 Staff costs 2024 249,143 4,025 253,168 2023 193,071 6,546 199,617 Salaries and wages Pension costs No employee received emoluments in excess of £60,000. 10 Tan8lble flxed assets Flxtures, Flttlngs & Equlpment Total Cost or revaluatlon At l April 2023 Additions At 31 March 2024 Depreclatlon and Impalrment At l April 2023 Depreciation charge for the year At 31 March 2024 2,765 41,143 43,908 2,765 41,143 43,908 388 388 6,436 6,436 6,824 6,824 Net book values At 31 March 2024 At 31 March 2023 37,084 2,377 37,084 2,377 Page 15

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts 11 Stocks 2024 2023 Raw materials and consumables 300 300 Carryln8 value analysed by actlvltles 2024 2023 Preschool 300 300 12 Debtors 2024 2023 Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued income 186 7,825 8,011 7,384 7,384 13 Credltors: amounts falling due within one year 2024 2023 Other taxes and social security Accruals 2,587 I,ioo 3,687 2,173 49 2,222 Page 16

Blue Coat Pre-school Unit & Busy Bees Notes to the Accounts 14 Movement In funds Incomlng resources At31 March 2024 (Includlng At l Aprll other 2023 galns/losses) Resources expended Restrlrted funds: Restrlcted Income funds: Disability Access Fund Inclusion Fund 1,718 1,120 11,7181 11,1201 Total 2,838 12,8381 Unrestrlcted funds: General funds 234,692 272,503 1298,7421 208,453 Total funds 234,692 275,341 1301,5801 208,453 Purposes and restrictions in relation to the f unds: Restricted f unds: Disability Access Fund To purchase items beneficial to children who are entitled to receive Disability Living Allowance To support a specific child requiring I:1 support Inclusion Fund 15 Analysls of net assets between funds Unrestrlcte d funds Total Fixed assets 37,084 171,369 208,453 37,084 171,369 208,453 Net current assets 16 Reconclllatlon of net debt At31 At l Aprll 2023 March Cash flows 2024 Cash and cash equivalents 227,153 227,153 160,4081 (60,4081 166,745 166,745 Net debt 227,153 160,4081 166,745 Page 17

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