PIED PIPER PRE-SCHOOL
ANNUAL REPORT
18 OCTOBER 2021
www.piedpiperpreschool.org.uk
Chairperson’s Report
It has been a challenging and successful year in equal measure. The Corona virus pandemic has continued to create pressures and concerns and add to workloads; however, the staff at Pied Piper have handled the last year with the same professionalism and the trademark ‘Pied Piper Calm’ that I have come to expect of them. If they felt apprehensive about working through the pandemic then they did an excellent job of disguising that with their usual cheer.
The preschool created a lovely, safe (excuse the buzzword) bubble for the children to exist in during the lockdowns. There was a real drive to allow them as much normality as possible and yet this was carefully balanced with well thought through risk assessment. For example, it was lovely to offer the children the chance to do a nativity over Christmas time; however, this needed to be filmed as audience mixing was not a safe option in December when virus case numbers were very high. Yet in July case numbers were low and so the school decided to run a Sports Day as per normal. In this way the preschool did a great job of navigating the changeable situation and adapting accordingly in order to allow the children to enjoy as many wonderful experiences as far as possible.
What impressed me the most over the last year, both as Chairperson and as a parent, was that there was consistency in terms of care and attention towards the children. The preschool continued to focus on nurturing them and offering them a happy, fun environment. This created a lot of work for the teachers, especially in terms of cleaning the toys and equipment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all that they have done and continue to do to keep the Preschool open and the people in it as safe as possible. Thank you also for being the most wonderful team of teachers and staff. I have been thinking about what it is that I most appreciate about you. The way that you interact with our children, the way you encourage them, look out for them and play with them is what I most value about you as teachers. The children are happy to come to preschool, they feel safe with you and cared for by you and because of this, parents find it easier to entrust their littles ones to you. Thank you for all the good things that you sow into our children’s lives and the big, big part that you are playing in this chapter of them. Alison, I know that your role is outside the classroom, thank you for being reliable, quick to respond and always helpful. You are also a star.
I would also like to thank Eva for her excellent leadership over the last year. It was a stressful year for her in many ways as she shouldered the responsibility of navigating us through this pandemic. There have been many unknowns and many unknowable things over the last year and therefore, there has been a need for some educated guesswork and decisive leadership. Eva is good at both of these things and she’s done a great job of guiding us through. She has made good judgement calls and kept the key stakeholders informed and/or consulted along the way. This has resulted in the preschool remaining open throughout the last year. We have also finished this year in a financially strong position. Thank you for all your hard work Eva: your lovely calm ways, sensible head and smiley face all a great asset to Pied Piper.
I would also like to thank the Committee for their work and support. The Zoom meetings were not much fun, but you continued to show up and offer your time and efforts. Special thanks to Nicola for being a fabulous Secretary. You have been very reliable and very cheerful in equal measure. Also, special thanks to Sharon for taking on the Treasurer role and running with it so brilliantly. You are just fabulous Sharon and your work on the numbers has really enhanced my grasp of the finances. Ray and Janice, thank you for providing years of Committee expertise which is a great help to us in steering the group and providing continuity within it.
Manager’s Report
Looking back over the last year I think it’s fair to say that we have survived the various lockdowns and managed to keep staff, children and families as safe as possible. We had some lovely feedback from parents at the end of the academic year, saying that they felt our measures had made them feel safe. The children proved to be very resilient with all the changes that had to be made and the impact of the safety measures was minimal, which I believe is a result of the support that all staff have given them.
We were all very pleased to be able to return to preschool in the autumn term on reduced safety measures, bringing back the feeling that we could once again welcome parents and visitors into the building and we hope this will continue across the year so we can hold all of our events, trips and visitor weeks. We have certainly missed those opportunities to build relationships with our families.
The year ahead will start with a focus on the changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and implementing them, we will also be evaluating our planning system to ensure we continue to provide an interesting range of activities that support the children’s learning and development.
For several years now, we have filled our places for the academic year by the start of the autumn term. This is very reassuring for us and the positive feedback that we receive from parents will give me confidence when we finally get our Ofsted inspection.
Administrator’s Report
Enrolments: The pre-school continues to be popular in the area with a lot of new parents telling me that it had been recommended to them. We changed the session availability slightly for September 2020, prioritising younger children for the morning sessions (where a half-day was requested). This has been successful as it keeps spaces available for younger children who will probably stay on at the pre-school for 1½ to 2 years. As always, parents change their minds about which sessions they want and a few picked-up extra sessions in the Summer term. We continue to encourage enquirers to join the waiting list. The ability to do this on-line still means it’s difficult to insist on the registration fee.
The general admin jobs continued through the year as usual.
Treasurer’s Report (Sharon Eldred)
| Account Balances (as at 31st August | 2021): |
|---|---|
| Current Account Balance: | £250 |
| Business Res. Account Balance: | £13,400.62 |
| Bonus Saver Account Balance: | £0.00 |
| Nationwide Savings Account: | £25,770.62 |
| Total: | £39,421.24 |
2020/21 Summary:
The pre-school has ended the 2020/21 academic year with surplus finances excluding reserves of £12,891.00 from an income of £87,764. The 2019/20 budget had forecasted a £50.00 out-turn. The surplus is the result of controlled spending, receipt of grants and fundraising, lower than expected wages costs and an increase in WBDC funding as a result of new children joining Pied Piper throughout the year.
Reserve and Investment Policy:
The Pre-school currently holds £25,770.62 in reserve funds to cover approximately one terms-worth of costs in the event of a significant, unforeseen event or where a smaller instance occurs, such as the requirement for redundancy or recruitment in a given year. It was advised in the previous AGM that this amount would be increased to £26.5k but with an uncertain year due to the pandemic the reserve fund was not increased. The reserve fund will be increased in 2021/22 to £29,112 to cover one terms worth of costs set out in the 2021/22 budget. Expenditure against these funds is at the express permission of the committee only and, whilst not in use, these funds have been allocated to a high-street bank to generate what interest is available as per the pre-schools Combined Reserve and Investment Policy.
Funds in Deficit:
The pre-school does not have any funds materially in deficit.
2021/22 Final Budget:
The budget for the next academic year has been approved for use by the committee following meetings with the treasurer, chair and Pied Piper Manager. The budget does not include any income that is not guaranteed and allowed for all foreseeable expenses based on experiences gained from the previous financial year. The budget doesn’t include any surplus funds from previous years so long term decisions on costs could be made independently from assumptions of surplus funds that can not be guaranteed year after year.
Income from West Berkshire District Council has been incorporated and includes standard funding as well as additional inclusion and disability funding. With a few places left available at the beginning of the year, we can expect the funding to increase as these places are filled.
Salaries have remained the same for the coming year as per agreement at the committee meeting in September 2021. This will be reviewed next year should the preschools financial position change.
The budget for the new academic year, not taking in to account the surplus funds from 2020/21, is showing a -£2269.00 position at the end of the academic year. By allocating the surplus funds from last year, Pied Piper is in a position to forecast a £0 position at the end of the academic year and will be allocating last year’s surplus funds to the purchase of IT equipment, the maintenance and development of IT systems, increasing the reserve fund, marketing, purchasing resources for the children and supporting the loss currently budgeted.
Further meetings of the treasurer/chair/manager will be held in January and May to review receipts and expenditure for the spring and summer terms.
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Fundraising Report
Fundraising was challenging this year as we needed to be sensitive to the risks surrounding Covid. We dialed back much of our typical fundraising activities; however, we did try to make the most of opportunities where possible. At Christmas time we sold the nativity DVDs for a small profit. We also ran a raffle as usual and created a one off Guess the Name of the Bear stall around that time.
It was very exciting to be able to run a market at the Sports Days this year. It was lovely to be able to sell baked goods and to run the games stalls again. We felt that it was important to offer these things at that time as Covid case numbers had declined and we wanted to give the children a fun, memorable experience of their Preschool Sports Day. The Teddy Bear Tombola was particularly successful if not a little distracting for the children during their races!
Overall, given the bigger picture, fundraising took a back seat this year; however, we did still manage to raise £1,100.89 (after expenses).
Summary from the monthly finance report, August 2021:
| Summary from the monthly finance report, | Summary from the monthly finance report, | August 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| FundraisingEvents2020-21 | 534.00 24.59 77.00 116.60 105.00 225.00 30.00 1,112.19 11.30 |
|
| Apple Fun Day Waitrose Toddle Waddle Amazon Smile Sponsored obstacle course Thatcham fun day West Berks Lottery Thatcham Lights Xmas nativity DVD Leavers Photos Photos Raffle Money Sports Day 2nd Hand Books Easter fayre Easter Bonnets Santa Letter Name the Bear Total Expenses TOTAL |
||
| TOTAL | £1,100.89 |
Grants Report
Pied Piper had a successful year in terms of grants. We benefited from the generosity of both the Greenham Trust and the Town Council who each contributed approximately £400 to the purchasing of IT equipment for the children. We also secured a grant for purchasing new story sacks for the Preschool. This was for the sum of £600. It is also worth mentioning that the garden and the pergola were tended to by a parent who donated their services to us for free.
| Current Assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stock - Clothes | ||
| Bank balances | ||
| Current | ||
| Reserve | ||
| Bonus Saver | ||
| Current liabilities | ||
| Creditors | ||
| Net Assets less liabilities | ||
| Financed by: | ||
| General Fund | ||
| Balance at 1 September 2020 | ||
| Add: Surplus/Deficit for year | ||
| Balance at 31 August 2021 | 39,026 | 27,808 |
| Clothing Fund | ||
| Balance at 1 September 2020 | ||
| Clothing purchases | ||
| Clothing sales | ||
| Balance at 31 August 2021 | ||
| Total Funds |
| INCOME | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | ||
| Fees WBDC | 75,093 | |
| Fees -Parents | 4,798 | |
| Interest | 18 | |
| Enrolment | 100 | |
| Clothing | 44 | |
| Snacks/Cooking | ||
| Children's special events | ||
| Fundraising | ||
| Other funding | ||
| Donations | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||
| Total income | ||
| EXPENSES | ||
| Rent | ||
| Wages | ||
| Insurance | ||
| Annual subscriptions | ||
| Courses | ||
| Stationery/postage/Consumables | ||
| Clothing | ||
| Snacks/Cooking | ||
| Children's special events | ||
| Fundraising expenditure | ||
| Fundraising expenses | ||
| Equipment | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||
| CRB checks | ||
| Grant expenditure | ||
| Total expenditure | ||
| Excess of income over expenditure | -9,588 |