Annual General Meeting
“Just for Fun” – Pre School, Nursery and Out of School Club Minutes
6.30pm Wednesday 10[th] November 2021
Management members, staff, committee, parents and carers.
Committee
Carolyn Barlow - Secretary Sarah Rowbottom - Chairperson Davinia Simpson- Accounts/Manager
Staff
Zoe Sloan Elaine Cooper Tracey Nutton Leanne Dyson Emma Buckley Jeanette Storrie Kiera Riley Apologies Katie Higgins Zoe Youds
Welcome and Apologies
All welcomed by Carolyn and apologies noted. Meeting was opened to all parents and carers, supporters, staff, and committee members.
Previous minutes approved by all committee members
Election of Chairperson, Secretary, and other committee members
CB remains employed Secretary
Sarah Rowbottom remains as Chairperson proposed by DS and CB
CB and SR confirmed other committee members:
Davinia Simpson
Davinia proposed that we create a fund raising subcommittee involving parents and carers and this was agreed.
Manager’s Report
When writing and reflecting upon the last twelve months, I have found it easier to break this report down into quarters as we have spent so much time stating ‘Let’s just get to the end of this week or month’ due to COVID, its restrictions, isolation periods, a second wave and closure, staff leaving, changes to EYFS & many more unprecedented challenges
September-December 2020
September posed many challenges as we opened our doors and had to adapt to many changes in routines, procedures and maintaining bubbles. Whilst bearing in mind the mental and emotional
impact of COVID upon the children, we found that they were very receptive and settled well into a new version of normality. Parents also adapted well, and confidence grew in our new way of living.
October brought a meeting with school who explained that they would be offering 30 hours in nursery from September 2021. Whilst this had been premeditated, it still felt like a sting and looking at things negatively could have been devastating to the traditional preschool day, but a positive business plan was formed which would change our setting and bring us in line with other local nurseries. We also saw our ‘Kirsti Higgins’ begin working two days in the school nursery, a journey which would have dramatic consequences later in the year.
As the winter months progressed, the spread of COVID began to take its toll on staff and children as we saw an increase in positive cases, isolating families, and staff members.
Whilst December is a month for the children to be filled with awe & wonder, as adults we were battling with the unknown as Boris discussed Christmas or No Christmas as COVID continued to spread. The children had a great time within school and at the setting, enjoying festive activities within their bubbles. Vini adapted her persona to bring Santa to life whilst Leanne jumped into elf mode and we all ensured the kids made happy memories in a time of uncertainty.
January-March 2021
Happy New Year!! I’ll never forget shouting at the TV which such anger when Boris closed schools for a second time having opened for just one day! The exception to the rule being that early year’s settings could remain open, so due to demand from parents, it was agreed that staff hours would be reduced to oversee the running of the preschool day 9am-3.30pm. Again, we used the financial support of the government to pay wages.
March-July 2021
Schools returned and with the roll out of the vaccine programme we slowly began to return to some form of normality as bubbles were dissolved, siblings no longer needed to isolate, outdoor activities were encouraged, and larger gatherings began to take place.
We delivered a successful open day in June 2021 which allowed new families to come and visit the setting whilst meeting the staff and successfully enrolled some new children including the first of our babies.
Radical changes within the EYFS and adopting an online system called FAMLY brought lots of learning, planning, teaching, and adapting our practice throughout the preschool setting. This FAMLY app has allowed us to communicate effectively with families, produce quality observations and assessments whilst planning next steps. In turn this has reduce workloads allowing staff to spend more time with the children and promoting learning through a variety of pedagogies.
Who said anything about having a break over summer? Yet again we challenged ourselves, lost a wall, gained new flooring, decorated, ran around like headless chickens, made more flatpack furniture than is currently stocked in IKEA and stressed over timescales and completion but guess what…WE DID IT!! What a fabulous transformation to the bungalow! Our baby room was all ready to welcome our new little ones.
The JFF crew are a tight team who are very much a loving family and feel the pain when others are hurting. This year, there have been some traumatic life changing occurrences with the passing of Micheal, Leannes brother at Christmas, shortly followed by James, Tracey’s Son in May. My pure
admiration goes to both Leanne & Tracey as they have bravely mourned lost ones whilst maintaining professionalism and decorum within their roles.
Sadly our ‘Kirsti Higgins’ was successful in securing a job within school and informed us she would be leaving at the end of the academic year which made us all sad, but we wish her all the luck and know she will shine in her new role.
September welcomed another apprentice, Zoe Youds and also Zoe Sloan who is Level 3 qualified. Keira has successfully come to the end of her Level 2 and preparing for her EPA before beginning her Level 3
As a manager I am lucky to have such a fantastic staff team, Leanne is my right arm & Elaine is my left arm, they prop me up on bad days, they listen to me whinge or rant, they help to make informed decisions, I couldn’t wish for better deputies. The whole staff team bring knowledge and experience which they are happy to share and guide decisions. The staff are compassionate about their roles and always go above and beyond to deliver quality learning experiences to the children. I genuinely don’t have enough words to express how much I value and praise every one of you for your hard work, dedication, and commitment.
You are all superstars and deserve a huge applaud.
TREASURERS REPORT by Davinia Simpson
YEAR - 1[ST] September 2020 – 31[st] August 2021
The final accounts are circulated to all attending the AGM. The accounts are currently being externally audited by Mr Steve Conley of Waterloo Road, Huddersfield.
Corporation tax has been submitted for the last couple of years and submission was successful.
INCOME
Our income for this financial year is £135402.98 which is an increase on last year’s figures but still far from where we would like them to be, particularly looking at figures for 2019. We have faced periods of closure due to COVID over the financial period which saw us opening part time to early years children. This enabled us to continue claiming funding for children aged 2–4-year-olds and the government helped by subsidising staff wages.
We were also successful in applying for discretionary business grants available via the council and awarded £13248.86
EXPENDITURE
Rent – This figure remains the same this year
Wages – Wages remained low as staff were given their minimal contract hours and overtime kept to a minimal throughout the year. Wages were substituted by the government from January 2021–March 2021 whilst JFF topped up wages by 20%.
Refreshments, Activities, Stationery, Telephone, Internet – The menu was simplified to allow staff the additional time needed to keep children in required bubbles and safe. On evaluating the new menu, we found that it allowed staff to spend more quality time with the children whilst reducing the costs significantly. Spend on activities was suspended and staff were asked to use available resources.
We had to purchase a new printer in January 2021 and have been using cheaper inks which prove more efficient and cost effective.
Utilities – This figure decreased due to shorter periods being spent in the bungalow and we received a rebate from the previous year due to overpayment.
Insurance & Professional Fees – Paid to the PLA to cover Public Liability, ICO, OFSTED Registration, Auditors fees & DBS Checks.
Equipment – this figure was kept minimal to reduce spend.
Training –We continue to use Noodle Now which is an online training package with up-to-date courses applicable for childcare and our setting
Uniform costs – This figure represents uniform ordered and budgeted in the previous year as was delivered and paid for late.
Maintenance – This figure relates to cleaning, cleaning products and maintenance of the gardens. Minimal costs due to reduced income and budget despite increased cleaning, had washing etc due to COVID.
Bad Debts Provision – This figure has been abolished this year due to the minimal level of bad debtors and the continued monitoring.
| PROFIT & LOSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| FEES | £135,402.98 | £124,621.04 | £174,969.17 |
| £135,402.98 | £124,621.04 | £174,969.17 | |
| EXPENDITURE | |||
| RENT | -£3,000.00 | -£3,000.00 | -£3,000.00 |
| WAGES | -£114,478.12 | -£100,007.86 | -£144,314.12 |
| REFRESHMENTS | -£5,381.67 | -£5,280.22 | -£9,227.76 |
| ACTIVITIES | -£890.86 | -£1,240.72 | -£2,612.92 |
| STATIONERY,TELEPHONE & INTERNET | -£1,719.62 | -£1,926.99 | -£2,580.95 |
| COMPUTER SOFTWARE | -£503.97 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| INSURANCES & PROFESSIONAL FEES | -£1,838.37 | -£2,151.08 | -£2,334.58 |
| EQUIPMENT | -£1,118.58 | -£3,759.49 | -£1,710.33 |
| UTILITIES | -£1,254.52 | -£1,806.82 | -£1,685.12 |
| TRAINING | -£1,048.28 | -£1,220.75 | -£3,179.00 |
| UNIFORM COSTS | -£308.04 | -£63.84 | -£711.00 |
| MAINTENANCE & GARDENNING | -£1,432.29 | -£4,118.10 | -£3,606.78 |
| CLEANING | -£2,431.90 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| INTEREST ACCRUED SEP20-AUG21 | £4.02 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| **-£135,402.20 ** | **-£124,575.87 ** | -£174,962.56 | |
| PROFIT | £0.78 | £45.17 | £6.61 |
Chairpersons Report
What a year! But a year for us to be so proud of!
I’d like to thank everyone for coming this evening and for the dedication of staff this last year. I will come back to staffing later in my report.
Going back to September 2020 we hadn’t been in the setting since March 2020! When we could we had a productive week of painting, cleaning, tidying, sorting, jet washing the list goes on we all mucked in where and when we could. The exciting part for me out of this was getting the outside tap installed, a much needed utility for the outside area.
In September 2020 we opened our Just For Fun doors to our children of the setting with a lovely balloon structure, that each child had their photo taken with, we took temperatures recorded temperatures, washed hands etc parents weren’t allowed in, visitors wore masks, it was the most unusual times I think we will ever have at JFF.
Vini lead the team amazingly her planning and prepping was tireless. We supported a very protracted settling in phase for school with reception children starting their first day on the 30[th]
September, we know this was invaluable to parents who had to bridge the child care gap. Just one of many examples of seeing Vini and the setting adapting to support children.
Between you all you made the children feel settled and safe after being home for so so many long months.
We opened our doors to holiday club in October which was warmly welcomed by parents who needed to work.
The term up to Christmas you brought some fun and normality to the children in Christmas activities. Leanne dedicated her time and resources to making goodies to sell for the much-needed fundraising pot. She made hot chocolate reindeer cones and Santa beard calendars. Thank you, Leanne, for your creativity and hard work here.
We provided a Christmas holiday club with a Christmas movie and PJ Day a cosy and relaxing day for children.
4[th] January 2021 we all returned to school, feeling a tad glum after Christmas and some sadness and perhaps with bated breath at what Boris might say come 8pm that night. As we all remember it, we went into another lock down. Emotions running high. Vini did what Vini does best she sprang into action that evening by contacting school and parents. Sadly, another sleepless night for Vini.
It was felt that Just For Fun needed to stay open. On one hand it was a simple decision if we closed our doors once more it is highly likely we would not be sat here today celebrating our AGM. We would not have survived. On the other hand, we wanted to protect the setting and children from the virus and do what was classed the right thing as being at home. We decided to open for the under 5’s only on a shorter day 9 -.3.30. We used the furlough scheme legally and to our advantage and had staff put on part furlough. Without our team coming into work and supporting this we would not have been able to survive. I cannot acknowledge enough the sacrifice our team made during the extremely uncertain times in coming into work. Thank you.
We returned to a more normal setting when lockdown was eased in March 2021. Again, the team all just got on with things - all wanting the same goal of giving our children in this setting an outstanding quality to their little lives.
Easter seemed to come upon us quite quickly and our Leanne got her creative head on once more and got super giddy about easter craft packs for children to take home. Cute little bears to name a few her creativity and enthusiasm again helped fill up our fundraising pot.
At this time, we knew that we had some serious work to do in order to sustain our future. School had announced that they were changing their early years provision and offering 30 hours to parents. This was to have a big impact on JFF.
We had to go into survival mode. We needed to start taking in 12-month-old babies. But how, space, staffing etc? It was a scary time behind the scenes. It seemed a huge mountain to climb after and or still during covid. In true Vini style she embraced it all. She rolled up her sleeves and came up with solutions. We looked at extending the building, moving Vini and Leanne out of the office into a metal shipping container, building upwards, getting an old bus and putting that in the garden area the options discussed were endless. We finally settled on knocking a wall down. Vini was like a whirlwind. She liaised with school as they own the building, she got building quotes in, she jobbed Carolyn with getting on with applying for grants and bids as well as Vini putting in a successful bid for a business grant.
And because this was not enough to be going on Vini suggested a fun day to get JFF on the local map. Again, Vini had the vision and enthusiasm and can-do attitude. Well, what a success it was. It was not about raising money simply putting us on the map in the local community. We raised over £600 and Vini secured new parents wanting their little 12-month-old babies to start with us in September when we’d not even started on the building work for parents to see!
Then in July this 4 ft wonder just seemed to perfectly project manage everything to turn the building around from the old building to this wonderful fresh new look building. She organised flooring, joiners, builders, plumbers, electricians, painters, ordering furniture, liaising with school, calling in favours. She was constantly finding solutions. She was determined that the work would be done, and that holiday club would not run for the last week of the school holidays to give staff some re energising time ready to hit the ground running in September 2021. And blooming heck she did it with bells on we’ve babies in highchairs, cots, a washing machine, tumble dryer new storage, and a much needed re vamp of the office to name but a few things. Never underestimate this lady.
Absolutely this would never have happened without each one of you supporting. You are what makes this setting not only Fun but outstanding and what it is, and no one can take that away from you. You pull together, you came back last September and welcomed Keira with warm open arms. A child herself who had gone through a crazy year 11 at school, not doing GCSEs. The setting had not had an apprentice in a while you have made her feel like part of the family. Coming from a large public sector organisation where people can become lost in the numbers this makes me really proud of you all.
I do want to acknowledge that as a staff group and putting covid to one side there has been some traumatic and deeply sad personal circumstances happen that are life changing and without going into detail you have astounded me. You have many more difficult waves to ride but I know that you have the support here at any time within JFF to help you if you need it. Not forgetting that all of us have family commitments, children, elderly parents, and life in general to get through. We do appreciate and acknowledge that some days it is really hard to come into work, thank you.
We have welcomed both Zoe’s to the setting. Zoe S has come to us with many years of childcare experience and has just slotted in. Zoe Y has commenced with us on her apprentice and is building her confidence within the setting and children.
We did lose a fabulous practitioner in July 2021. Kirsty had worked with us for many years and was wonderful with the children. We had a lovely send off and we wish her well in her new adventures over in school, and it’s still nice to see her face around the school.
Vini has continued to be an amazing asset to the setting. She works so hard with our vulnerable children and families, working tirelessly with school, social services, specialists and using her passion and background of social services. I feel this is particularly poignant to acknowledge this very emotional side of the role this week as this week should have been Victoria Columbia’s 30[th] birthday. Yes 30[th] birthday. We all have a role and responsibility to play in ensuring all our children in this setting are the centre and holistically cared for by all of us.
Moving forward I would like us to continue to be an outstanding setting with staff that have the attitude and skills to keep children safe, engaged, and keen to come each day. We need staff that can effectively liaise with parents who have questions and concerns, staff that do want to keep up to date, adapt with the times, use their initiatives, and try new things. Let keep being creative it’s so important.
It would be nice for the future to open our doors to 9-month-old babies when the time is right. It would be nice to provide some further flexibility for parents with the session times across the board from 7.30-6pm. We need to continue putting ourselves on the map, reminding the local community who we are and where we are and that we are not just here for school we are here 7.30-6pm including school holidays.
Sarah Rowbottom
AOB
We were thankful for the grants which were awarded this year. The Community Grant came through the Almondbury Ward and the General Grant from Kirkburton Parish Council. Without these we would not have been able to open to babies and toddlers this Autumn thus extending our offer to the community.
Meeting closed 8.30pm
Signed
Sarah Rowbottom – Chairperson……………………………………. Date ……………………………… Carolyn Barlow - Secretary ………………………………………………. Date ………………………………