## PIED PIPER PRE-SCHOOL ## ANNUAL REPORT ## 8 OCTOBER 2024 www.piedpiperpreschool.org.uk ## **Chairperson’s Report** ## **By Rebecca Weaver** Looking back on the past year, I feel incredibly proud of what the Committee has achieved. Despite facing different challenges, I feel we have worked well together and have proactively and positively found solutions to the challenges we have faced. We have had to see how the Preschool would work with a change to opening hours this year, and I feel we have seen that this has been a success. I want to thank everyone who made it possible for this to happen, and all the hard work it took. We have had some really successful fundraising events, the Nativity and Sports Day were my personal highlights, and seeing so many families attend was fantastic to see. We have also seen some big changes to the garden area which will provide a better space for the children to enjoy. I look forward to seeing how it looks when all the work is completed! Pied Piper is known for being brilliant at making sure children are ‘school ready’, and I feel it really does this best. But it would not be the Preschool it is without its fantastic staff. Eva has been a huge asset to the Preschool, and her hard work and dedication helps to make the Preschool what it is. Despite the challenges of changing the Preschool hours, Eva has made the changes seem seamless, even though behind the scenes she worked incredibly hard to make it a reality. All of the staff at Pied Piper, I would like to thank you all for your constant hard work, and enthusiasm you have for all the children passing through the Preschool. It would not be the Preschool it is without all of you. I would also like to thank all of the Committee members for their hard work, dedication, and commitment throughout this past year. Becky and Sara have been fantastic in your roles as Treasurer and Secretary, and I really appreciate the time you have given to the Preschool. Nicki and Vicki, thank you for all of your help with fundraising and the time you have both given. And a big thank you to Jo and Sharon for giving your time to help support the Preschool. Lastly, thank you to Ray and Janice for being valuable sources of knowledge, and for giving your time also. All of your contributions have been invaluable, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside a fantastic group of people. As I get ready to step down as Chair, reflecting on the past year has been quite emotional! Both of my daughters have now attended Pied Piper, and this last year was my ‘last’ year with the Preschool. My daughters have both moved on from Preschool with confidence, independence and a firm foundation to start ‘big’ school. Pied Piper gave them the tools to do this. I am really sad to be saying goodbye to this chapter on my life and am so grateful for everything Preschool has done not just for me, but for Luna and Aria also. I hope the next Committee will continue the work this Committee has done, and also ensure it continues to be an open, proactive and supportive space to ensure the Preschool can be the best it can be. ## **Manager’s Report** We have now had a full year with our new opening hours, and have successfully managed to adapt our preschool practices to ensure that children continue to be supported and staff feel settled in the new routines. This change in hours, along with the high number of children starting in the autumn term had a huge impact on our finances and it was a relief to end the year in a more positive way after the financial difficulties we’d had the year before. Alison and Emily have been working through their training; I’m impressed with how they have managed their courses and been so motivated to complete them. Their confidence is growing as they move towards completing their NVQ3 and becoming fully qualified. Alongside Sara, Fiona and Sandra, the team has adapted to changes and each member of staff brings their own set of skills to preschool, which helps to build a calm and supportive environment. We are about to have significant staff changes to preschool, as Sara will retire at the end of the spring term, after 26 years at preschool. I am very grateful for the support that she has given to me in her role as Deputy Manager, and we have worked so well together. Although I will be leaving next term, I feel confident that the team will support a new manager in settling in and enable the preschool to carry on providing a fantastic environment for the children to learn and grow in. I feel particularly proud of the way that we have supported our SEND children and their families. We have been lucky to have the continued support from Sylvia and she enables us to meet the needs of all our SEND children. We used fundraising money for some fun and interesting events, such as the hatching ducklings and Zoo Lab, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. The fundraising money also meant we could get started on the garden project and this term we are purchasing equipment and using grants to continue the garden work. This will improve the learning outcomes for children outdoors and make it more accessible all year round. ## **Administrator’s Report** We had a busy start to the year as several children stayed on from the previous year. This was good for the pre-school’s income and also meant there were fewer children joining through the year. We have continued to prioritise younger children for the morning sessions; this enables us to make sure we have a steady intake of younger children while allowing us to help the older children with their ‘school readiness’. The pre-school remains popular in the area and often seems to be recommended by previous families. I continued to support the manager with general admin throughout the year and to produce monthly accounts for the treasurer and committee. As the pre-school contact for the Charity Commission, I upload the annual reports and accounts to their website and update trustee details after our AGM. For the first time this year, we were required by HMRC to fill in a Company Tax Return which, after discussions with the treasurer, I did to the best of my knowledge. ## **Treasurer’s Report** ## **By Rebecca Elsmere** ## **Account Balances at 31/08/2024** |**Account Balances at 31/08/2024**|| |---|---| |Current Account Balance (60502460):|£250| |Business Res. Account Balance (60502479):|£33,276.97| |Bonus Saver Account Balance (60512091):|£0.00| |Nationwide Savings Account:|£29,474.78 (The reserves
account)| ||| |**Total:**|**£63,001.75**| ## **Summary of the year** The pre-school has ended the 2023/24 academic year with surplus finances excluding the reserve account and fundraising of £27,598.97 from an income of £125,846. The 2023/24 budget had forecasted a profit £8,724; the actual profit was £19,102. The surplus is the result of unspent income from previous years and a miscalculation in the budget for WBDC funding, with regards to how they calculate the figures and EYPP funding that was not anticipated in the budget. From Fundraising income and grants we have a remaining surplus of £5,928. ## **Reserves and Investment Policy** A large amount of the extra surplus that we now have will be moved into the reserves account as the updated calculation is much higher than in previous years and has been agreed by the committee. The Pre-school currently holds £29,474.78 in reserves to cover one term’s-worth of costs in the event of a significant, unforeseen event where a smaller instance occurs and in a worst-case scenario a fund to cover redundancy. This year the committee has agreed that these funds are going to be upped as much as possible without affecting our day to day running costs to cover the newly recalculated redundancy costs plus updated running costs to a total of £56,397. The committee have agreed that the £29,183 set aside for redundancy payment will be placed in a new 30-day access savings account to earn the pre-school some extra interest and the rest will go into the instant access reserve savings account. Expenditure against these funds is at the express permission of the committee only as per the pre-school’s Combined Reserve and Investment Policy. ## **Funds in Defcit** The pre-school does not have any funds materially in deficit. ## **2024/25 Final Budget** The budget for the next academic year has been approved for use by the committee following reviews with the Treasurer 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 cannot be guaranteed year after year. Income from West Berkshire District Council has been incorporated and includes standard funding only. With a few places left available at the beginning of the year, there is a possibility of additional new joiners meaning more funding. Salaries have increased in line with the minimum wage rise and hourly rate reviews have taken place outside the necessary changes required. The budget for the new academic year, not taking into account the surplus funds from 2023/24, is showing a -£7,075 position at the end of the academic year. We will be allocating last year’s surplus funds to covering any negatives at the end of year and increasing the reserve fund, any surplus funds and fundraising income will then be used for purchasing resources for the children and updating the garden to allow for better usage. Further meetings of the Treasurer/Chair/Manager will be held during the year to review receipts and expenditure for the spring and summer terms. ## **Fundraising 2023/2024** ||2022/23|2023/2024| |---|---|---| |**Receipts**||| |FundraisingFundspreviousyear|1384|1628| |FundraisingIncome currentyear|1482|2199| |Donation Fundspreviousyear|0|0| |Donation Income currentyear|0|| |Grant Fundspreviousyear|1000|128| |Grants Income currentyear|0|3130| |**Payments**||| |Fundraising Expenditure|1238|1032| |Grant Expenditure|872|125| |**Total Receipts**|**3866**|**7085**| |**Total Payments**|**2110**|**1157**| |**Total remaining**|**£1,756.00**|**5928.00**| ## **Budget vs Actuals for 2023/2024** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Forecasted Bank Balance vs Actual Bank Balance
2023-2024
£60,000
£40,000
£20,000
£-
Month
Forecasted Balance Actual Balance
Sep-23 Oct-23 Nov-23 Dec-23 Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24
Total in £ sterling
**----- End of picture text -----**
|||**Annual**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**|**Forecast**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Budget**|**Sep-23**|**Oct-23**|**Nov-23**|**Dec-23**|**Jan-24**|**Feb-24**|**Mar-24**|**Apr-24**|**May-24**|**Jun-24**|**Jul-24**|**Aug-24**| |R|**RECIEPTS**|||||||||||||| ||Starting
Cash|

10811.94||||||||||||| |R|WBDC|93252.49|15154.12|15154.12|0|0|13173.78|13173.78|0|18298.35|18298.35|0|0|0| |R|Actual|109845.23|14397.91|18935.94|405.88|1500|13040.29|16257.11|1590.4|20049.57|21458.13|0|2210|0| |R|Parental
Income|

8970|577.5|577.5|577.5|577.5|900|900|900|990|990|990|990|0| |R|Actual|7093.5|690|285|555|780|825|420|510|1530|373.5|255|870|| |R|Enrol
Deposits|

420|35|35|35|35|35|35|35|35|35|35|35|35| |R|Actual|380|0|40|20|20|20|80|20|0|100|20|40|20| |R|Clothing|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |R|Actual|140|0|34|0|0|0|34|8|16|8|0|40|0| |R|Snacks &
Cooking|

400|40|40|40|40|40|40|40|20|40|40|20|0| |R|Snacks &
Cooking|

0|0|34.64|0|87.03|28.65|0|85|49.1|0|82.46|56.7|0| |R|Events|845|0|0|0|0|0|0|422.5|0|0|422.5|0|0| |R|Actual|1393.25|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|278|654.25|461|0| |R|Fundraising
Income|

0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |R|Actual|2198.75|10|459|581.85|337.69|8.5|5|430.8|0|0|87.7|273.21|5| |R|Donations|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |R|Actual|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |R|Interest|400|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.33|33.37| |R|Actual|1056.86|23.77|26.38|35.34|26.34|36.59|34.99|597.4|48.63|51.73|58.99|65.23|51.47| |R|Grants
Income|

0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |R|Actual|3130|0|1000|0|0|0|0|130|0|0|0|0|2000| |R|Misc.|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |R|Actual|185.13|0|0|44.2|0|0|0|32.93|0|0|0|0|108| |||104287.49||||||||||||| |P|**PAYMENTS**|||||||||||||| |P|Wages|78624.79|6617.08|6121.22|6121.22|6121.22|6617.08|6121.22|6121.22|7397.13|6846.85|6846.85|6846.85|6846.85| |P|Actual|78466.96|6665.18|6139.95|5794.98|6137.1|6508.4|6384.69|6413.69|6925.75|7039.84|7051.37|7101.78|6304.23| |P|Rent &
Services|

10769.5|1799.42|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.71|899.69|0| |P|Actual|11150.6|1650.91|1010.43|1043.36|870.25|868.45|870.61|882.18|1022.23|915.69|1000.37|997.63|18.49| |P|Insurance|950|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|950|0|0|0|0| |P|Actual|848.48|0|0|0|0|0|0|848.48|0|0|0|0|0| |P|Staff
Courses|

600|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.55|54.5|0| |P|Actual|155|0|0|47|0|0|0|60|0|12|12|24|0| |P|Subscriptio
ns|354.2|154.2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|150|50|0|0| |P|Actual|346.2|134.2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|162|50|0|0| |P|CRB
Checks|

145|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.08|12.12| |P|Actual|94.2|0|13|29.2|13|0|26|13|0|0|0|0|0| |P|Clothing|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |P|Actual|130.82|10.86|0|0|0|0|0|84.5|0|0|0|35.46|0| |P|Stationary
&
Consumabl
es|



1000|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.91|90.9|0| |P|Actual|788.05|85.22|69.48|125.54|43.76|66.42|61.68|92.98|47.38|30.41|124.16|18.83|22.19| |P|Snacks
&Cooking|

400|40|40|40|40|40|40|40|40|40|40|0|0| |P|Actual|558.63|45.49|33.6|70.82|31.1|78.91|41.15|39.95|68.58|54.28|71|23.75|0| |P|Equipment
purchase|

350|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.82|31.8|0| |P|Actual|467.99|89.94|62.02|123.35|20.98|28.16|0|17.85|30.98|12.94|69.78|11.99|0| |P|Fundraising
Expenditure|

0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |P|Actual|1031.96|6.89|76.64|384.42|40.99|15.97|200.9|0|7.35|0|298.8|0|0| |P|Grant
Expenditure|

0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |P|Actual||0|0|0|0|0|0|0|125.34|0|0|0|0| |P|Events|1690|85|85|85|30|85|85|200|85|85|585|280|0| |P|Actual|2160.74|50|50|28|50|85|85|85|50|50|851.4|204.84|571.5| |P|Fundraising
Costs|

30|3|3|3|3|3|3|3|3|3|3|0|0| |P|Actual|58.99|0|12|19.99|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|27|0| |P|Misc|300|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|0|0| |P|Actual|5940.59|82.7|68.27|21|4.99|10|0|49.23|0|0|19.4|0|5685| |P|Marketing &
Signage|

300|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|30|0|0| |P|Actual|240|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|240|0|0| |P|Information
Technology|

50|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|0|0| |P|Actual|8.26|0|0|0|0|0|0|8.26|0|0|0|0|0| |||95563.49||||||||||||| ||**TOTALS**|||||||||||||| ||Total
Forecasted
Income|

|15839.95|15839.95|685.83|685.83|14182.11|14182.11|1430.83|19376.68|19396.68|1520.83|1078.33|68.37| ||Total Actual
Income|
|15121.68|20814.96|1642.27|2751.06|13959.03|16831.1|3404.53|21693.3|22269.36|1158.4|4016.14|2184.47| ||Total
Forecasted
Outgoings|

|8953.06|7403.29|7403.29|7348.29|7899.15|7403.29|7518.29|9629.2|8278.92|8678.92|8215.82|6858.97| ||Total Actual
Outgoings|
|8821.39|7535.39|7687.66|7212.17|7661.31|7670.03|8595.12|8277.61|8277.16|9788.28|8445.28|12601.41| ||||**Sep-23**|**Oct-23**|**Nov-23**|**Dec-23**|**Jan-24**|**Feb-24**|**Mar-24**|**Apr-24**|**May-24**|**Jun-24**|**Jul-24**|**Aug-24**| |||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||| ## **Budget for 2024/2025** ||**2024- 20**|**25 Draft Budget**|**25 Draft Budget**||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |||2023-24
Budget|2023-24
Actuals|
2024-25
Budget|Variance of
received in
previousyear| |RECEIPTS|||||| ||WBDC|£93,252|109845|£86,038|-£23,807| ||Parental Income|£8,970|7094|£6,345|-£749| ||Enrol Deposits|£420|380|£420|£40| ||Clothing|£0|140|£50|-£90| ||Snacks & Cooking|£400|424|£350|-£74| ||Events|£845|1393|£1,390|-£3| ||Interest|£400|1057|£1,000|-£57| ||Misc.|£0|185|£0|-£185| |PAYMENTS|||||| ||Wages|£78,624.79|78467|£84,815.04|£6,348| ||Rent & Services|£10,770|11151|£10,974|-£178| ||Insurance|£950|848|£900|£52| ||Staff Courses|£600|155|£600|£445| ||Subscriptions|£354|346|£354|£8| ||CRB Checks|£145|94|£145|£51| ||Clothing|£0|131|£0|-£131| ||Snacks & Cooking|£400|559|£500|-£59| ||Stationary & Consumables|£1,000|788|£1,000|£212| ||Equipment purchase|£350|468|£400|-£68| ||Events|£1,690|2161|£2,300|£139| ||Fundraising Costs|£30|59|£30|-£29| ||Misc|£300|5941|£300|-£5,641| ||Marketing|£300|240|£300|£60| ||Information Technology|£50|8|£50|£42| ||**Total Receipts**|£104,287|120518|£95,593|-23807| ||**Total Payments**|£95,563|101416|£102,668|1252| |||£8,724|£19,102|-£7,075|| ||||||| ||2024/25 Reserve Policy||||| ||Rent (1 Term)|£3,717|||| ||Salary (1 Term)|£22,836|||| ||Stationary/Ink (1 Term)|£263|||| ||Subscriptions|£115|||| ||Insurance|£283|||| ||Redundancy Funds|£29,183|||| ||Total|£56,397|||| |Balances|||||| ||Current Account|£250|||| ||Savings Account|£33,277|||| ||Old Reserve Account|£0|||| ||Reserve Fund Account|£29,475|||| ||||||| |TOTALS|||||| ||Total Receipts|£95,593|||| ||Total Payments|£102,668|||| ||Total 23/24 Reserve Fund|£35,085|||| ||Total Starting Cash|£33,526.97|||| ||||||| ## **Fundraising Report** Fundraising for the year got off to its usual fun start with the Toddle Waddle in October, which raised an amazing £712 from the families who took part. This is a lovely opportunity for families to chat to each other and to the staff. We also received Gift Aid of £108 from this event. At the Thatcham Lights in December, the staff once again filled gift bags with donated toys and books, which were sold alongside our usual favourite children’s games, raising £306.35. Also in December, the raffle and stalls following the Nativity performance raised £307.70. A big thank you to Vicky and Nicky for sourcing the raffle prizes. We held our annual Easter bonnet parade and Easter Fayre in the pre-school hall in March, raising £126, and the raffle and stalls after the Sports Day in July raised £240. It was decided not to take part in the Thatcham Fun Day this year as it is a lot of work and doesn’t usually raise much money. We have also continued to fundraise through the West Berks Lottery. Thanks goes to all the staff for their efforts and to Vicky, Nicky and Rebecca from the committee for their help and to all the pre-school families for their generosity. Fundraising Events 2023-24 Toddle Waddle £712.00 Thatcham Fun Day £0.00 West Berks Lottery £81.00 Thatcham Lights £306.35 Xmas Nativity £307.70 Leavers Photos £30.00 Sports Day £240.21 Easter fayre £126.81 Bags 2 School £74.80 Amazon Refund £19.99 Playhouse deposit refund £300.00 £2,198. Total 86 Expenses £58.99 £2,139. TOTAL 87 ## **Grants Report** We received £1,000 from Moto through a parent who works at Chieveley Services. This was put towards a new playhouse for the garden. Unfortunately, we were unable to use the money this year, but the playhouse has now been ordered. The old playhouse was taken down in the Summer holidays and the area paved ready for the new house. We received a grant of £2,000 from Greenham Trust in August which was put towards the cost of the garden work. Pled Plpèr Pre-sthool liellstered Charlty 1115893 Income and EXpendI￿re account Forthe year ended 31 August 2024 INCOAIE 2024 2023 Fees WBDC Fees- Parent5 Interest Enrolment Clothlng Chlldren's special events Fundralsing Snackslcookin Other fundln8 Miscellaneous 109,845 7.093 1,057 380 140 1.393 2,199 424 3,130 185 71,7(x 7.356 350 115 42 1,198 1,482 233 85 Iotri income 125,846 EXPENSES Rent 11,150 78.343 10,234 69,149 878 273 500 surance Annual subsulptlons Courses Statlon?rvlnostag•lcnnsumablps IT SnackslCookin8 Chlldren's specSal events Fundraisin6 expenditure Fundra151ng expenses Equlprnent Miscellaneous criB checks Grant expenditure Marketin8 and 518na8e Clothing Totsl expendrture 346 155 7R 48 282 2,143 1,238 26 352 758 137 872 281 20b 88,18> 559 2.161 1.032 59 5.941 125 240 131 102.443 Excess oi Income over expen0￿￿re J,Jy¥ ed Plper Pffrschotsl Reglstered Ch*lty 1115893 Bal•nce Sheet as at 31 Au8USt 2Q24 2024 2023 Current Assets Stock. Clothes 671 662 8•nk balances Current Reserve 8onus Saver 250 33.277 29,474 250 10,562 28,916 63.001 39,728 63,672 40,390 Current Ilabllltles itors 394 519 rfet Assets less IlJbllltle$ 63.278 39,871 Flnanced by., General Fund Balance at I September 2023 39.209 44,833 Add: SurplLssIDeficlt for year 23,398 -5,624 Balance at 31 August 2024 62,607 39,209 Uothin8 Fund Balance at I September 2023 662 498 Clothlng purchases 140 206 Clothlng sales 131 42 Balance at 31 August 2024 671 662 iotsl Funds 63.278 39,871 lfidwndènt Ac(ountant statement A5 described below. I have approved the finJnclJl Statements for the year ended 315t August 2024 ET Out In the Income & Empendlture Account and Balance Sheet. In accordancÈ wlth your Instruction5. I have complled these unèudited finandal statements from the accourtin8 ￿cOrdS and explanatlons prthlded to me. Gllllan Do 23-Sep-24 Treasurers appro¥al cerdficate "dviy*r li Ir ikib¢ii*¥iai SLtlle*fteiil5 di)a LUIITiiin inai vieo vipef vrescnooi nas maae avaiiaDle ill rcthlevant recofds an(1 information for thelr preparation. RtrB&ccA &-SMOR