RegIste￿d number. 04603405 Charlty number: 1122036 BEAVER COMMUNITY TRUST LTD (A company limited by guarantee) UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 BEAVER COP•1MUNITY TRUST LTD (A Company Ilmllod by guaranto0) CONTENTS Page Refor•nce and admlnl$lratlve delalls of the company, Its Trn$tse$ and advlBers Truste8$' r•port Indepond•nt •xamln•rf$ rgport Ststoment of flnanclal a¢tlvltl8s 10 Balan¢0 ghaet 11 Nots8 to the flnanclal stat•m•nts 12-26 BEAVER COMMUNITY TRUST LTD (A eompany Ilmlted by 9uarant•o) REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE COMPANY. ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISER8 FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 Trustees Rev J Newson, Chair Mr S Cawte. Trustee Company rogl$t•r•d number 1)4603405 Charlty r•glst•r numbgr 1122036 Regl8ter•d offic• The Willow Centr8 Brookfiekl Road Ashford Kent TN23 4EY Company •6crntary Mr5 Shella M Tong Accountants Magee Gammon Corporate Llmited Chartered Alxountants Henwood House Ashford Kent TN24 80H Bank•rs Barclays Bank 17 North Stre8t Ashford Kent TN24 8LF Page 1 BEAVER COMMUNITY TRUST LTD (A Company Ilmltsd by guaranté•l TRUSTEES. REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 The Trust68s presont Ihelr annual report together wth the finandal 6tatements of the company for thg year 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023. The Annu81 Report serves th9 pury)ose8 of both a Trustees, Report and a DSreclors' Report under company law. The Trusleos confirm that tho Annual Report and finanBial statements of the Char￿able company comply with the ojrrent statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable companys goveming document and the pro￿S1OnS of the Statement of Racommonded Practlce (SORP) applicable to charities preparing Ihelr accounts in accordance the Financial Rep)rting Standard applicable in the UK and Rewblic of Ireknd IFRS1021 leffe￿ve 1 January 2019). Since the cornpany qualifies as small under séction 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Stratgglc report require¢J of medlum and large Companies under the Companies 2006 (Strategic Report and Dlrectors, Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted. Objectlvos and actlvltlts a. Policlgs and obJacllve8 Charltable Obj•ctiv• o enhance the dpvelopmenl 8nd education of children under slafulory school agg by encouraging parents to understand and provide for the needs of iheir children thtvugh communily groups and rgglsletsd settlng$. To support th& wgllbeing of our I￿/ families 8nd their childTrn by pn)motin9 healthy lifestyl• easing poverty and hunger through fvndgdprowsit)ns such asprovit*ng meals and hygiene products." Bongflts The bgnelits to local chiklren. familles and communlty includg.. Making nUtr￿onal meals available to the chlldren Ihrough the Nursery Provision.- Through Ihis [￿vIsion educating and encouraging parents to understand tho importance of nutritFonal meals,. ProvHJing a safe, Inexpensive, nutritional and encouraging community ￿fé for parents and children to sll and eat togethèr.. A charitable and varied community vision,. The benefft of p8rtnership wth Kent County Council Children's Centres and others to help Sustain the vi8ion- Provldlng volunteerfng opportuni￿ets to kncal people; Provide l¢xal employment opportun￿8$ within a u)mmunlty whh the highest levels of unemployment thin the L(￿1 Authorlly area. Future Trust ac11vit￿$ might include.. To work alongside Chlldren Centres and thelr pathers dèlivering the Healthy knfestyes ag6nda,' To promote social responsibility among children. parents and young pèople,- To provido advlce and practical training in childcare to dysfunotional families. To provide help an¢J advice to persons in relation to debt and personal finanLyal management and slmllar m8tters', To help rel￿ve persons who ale in condttFons of need or hardship., To encourage or stimulate employment opportunlties amongst f8mily membgrs,. To promot8 racreallonal facilltios for young paople. In selting oblectives and pLgMing for activities, the Trustees have given due eonsideralron to general guidancè published by the Charity Commissitin r818ting to public benefrt. including the guidance 'Publlc benefft.. running a charity IP82)'. Pagg 2 BEAVER COMMUNiff TRUST LTD (A company Ilml¢ed by guarantse TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 hlov•m•nts and porform*nc . Revi•w of a¢tlvitio¥ The maln oblectlves for tha year eontinuad to focus on Ihe dev8lopment and promotSon ot the Tnjsl's day caro nursery and communlty café. The strategi8s employed by the Trust to meet these objectives Induded lh8 followng.. Provide affordable high-qualty earfy years childcar8 from 7.30- 6pm fiv& days a week and a minimum of 50 weeks a yaar, to a community wtth hHJh levels of deprivation and rxiverty" Support the Govemment initiatives of Wrap Around Education,. 'Every Child Matters, and 'Extended Schools, by widening and enhancing the seNlce provisKm to the wider community. Continue lo develop $grvi¢e provlslon in p8rtnership ￿th Sure Start and in line wth the Chiklren's Centr9 policy, Worklng In p8rtnershlp wrth other agencie$ and seThrces Including Educatlon. Ashford Borough Coun¢il. Kent County Council and FareSh8re, to 8nsure th8 best services ar8 available to help us achleve our objectives and match the needs of the dient population of the communty,. Provldo a high-quallty Community Café provision al the Children's Centrns from 8am- 3.'30pm flve days a weeK 50 wgeks a year.. Empk*y apprentices within the nursery. Provlde volunteerfng opportunities to local peopb that may have been oui of work for a perlod with a view to g8ining the confidence to be ab￿ to consider employment or fvrthgr educ8tion and vulner8ble adults. The current principle activities of the Trust ar8 to delI￿r eady y88rs educ8tion and help support the well belng of chlldren and families in tho communty. We achleve this through th service provlslons. b. Mursory Kld(ile Kapers Nerghbourhood Nursery is based in the Trust bulldlng, The Wlllow Cenlre. 11 is Otsled Registgred EY295433 Isialus.. Inadequate) (Good status was achiaved in December 20231 for 93 full day care children's places for chlKlren agèd from 3 months to 5 years. It currenuy provid8s a numbar of sesslons which means that thera arg over 160 famllles reglstered to Use the nursery and In excess of 170 different children uslng the nursery each week. This ty far exceeds the govemmenl requirements for thls size project. The nursery wnlinues lo be the Trusvs princ4ple fund 9gner8tor and we currentty support a nursery team of 32 personnel which include$ 2 apprenlices. We 8180 have some volunteer support. The nursery partlclpalas in offertng the Deparlment of Edu¢8tion earty education places for tsvo ￿r-oldS lfree for 2} on a sel criterion to bo mèt by the families. These places could be offerfrd as full.lime foe-pawng places but are r￿l￿ed for Iow-lncome families as part of tho charitabbe ethos of Beavar Community Trust. Page 3 BEAVER COMMUNI￿ TRUST LTD (A company Ilmll6d by guorantso) TrUSTEES' REPORT {CONTINVED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 Achi&vament8 and perfornHn¢e {continu•d) The Nursery headllnes for this year incknde.. Nu The Nursery ha5 operated as fully open throughout the year. Folbwing an Otsted vlsil the Nursery was placed Into spgcial mea$ure5 ￿ a reduced gradlng. Thls adion amongst other things en8bled the Nursery to receive weekty freo swcialist support from the Education People wllh a view lo athievlng a Good status onee more. A subsequent •valualion of why the Nursery stslus was marked down revealed a number of probable reasons which included. 11} Post Covld low staff moralo. 121 Children starting post Ihat had lttle or no interaction wlth other people or chlldren from birlh. 131 No fundlng lo offer irtcrease In salories for several years IbariThJ minimum wage increases) 141 Three changes of Nursery Manager In Ihls lim (51 Two chang8s of Administratknn staff in this fjme Slaff training has continued. c. Café The Café headlines for this year have been split into secllon$'. Communil Cafe The Board continues to support our LKJht Brtes Community Café. Athough the café faces Ilmitation due to it5 l¢xation wrthin children's centre in an 8rea of hiqh dgprivalion, its stsff continues to tske full responsibility for their provlsion. The café puls a vital prO￿810n at th8 heart of the community provldlng m8ny es¥enlial beneffts to all users and the Ioc81 nelghbouthood. The beneffts the café provldes includg,. providing nutritious meals to the children attending Klddl6 Kapers Nursery and to families oxperien(4ng flnanaal hardship throughout the school hollday period., provide a safe and wethming venuo to the community ensuring that we are fulty inclusive; share any Su[￿U$ food wlth lo￿1 charities and families in need: provide a safe environment for vulnerable volunteers- signpost café users to othor services provided ￿thin the centre. This SUPPOrt Is reward enough for the hard work nooded to maintaln such provlslon5 to the very highest stsndards. This has also t*8n appreoialed by the Local Authority Environrnental Hgalth Oepartmgnl who through their catering 'Scores on the Doors, aw8rded lop score of five stars to our café. A great achievement ftr all the staff and volunteers involved. The café operalos with a team ol contracted stsff and two casual employees. The ¢8fé offers volunteering experiences lo l¢xal people which has enablod them take on paSd empbymenl, use their vdunteedng experienc& lo undertake adult education courses and, most importantly, feel part of the community. Pag8 4 BEAVER COMMUNITY TRUST LTD IA company Ilmltod by guaraTht￿) TrUSTEES' REPORT ICONTINUED} FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 AGhiov•m•nt$ and porfornia￿• (¢ontinu•d Fare8hare Outreach Service The Café continue8 to operate a For08hare Outreaeh SeNc* for families along with other provisions for free or at a small charge. The resul￿ng public benefit p￿ded by the café Ss judged. by the board. to be extremety valuable in prowding employThent, volunteering, and affordablg heatthy food for a dlverse rangg of Be￿ce users In¢ludlng young children. Through offerlng a safe place lo come to, vgry re8sonablg healthy food choices and thg opportunity for families lo gel around the table and enjoy a meal together. which is ￿$$ like￿ to happen at home, these benefits to such a challenged community remain difficult lo quantlfy bul clearfy are invaluable in supporting the wellbelng, hoalth and devekjpment of children and parents In our Ccfnmunity. Financial r•vl . Golng concern During this period th¢ Trustees had 8 reasonable expectation and Confiden￿ that tha Trust has adequate resources to conlinug in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, we c¢Jntinue to adopt the going concem basis in p￿paring the financial statements. Further details regording the adoption Of the going corKem basis can be found in tho ACCOUn￿n9 Poli¢i9S. b. Rgs0r¥os pollcy 88av8r Communty Trust seeks to m8inlain general re$￿S %thich Is equ￿alent to three monlhs running costs, rrenlly estimated al £110,000. The wmpany maintains a 11ght control ovèr outg)ing resources and the value of the reserves required is reconsFdered annually. c. Fina￿141 rlsk managèment Obj0￿1¥•6 and polici•s Ov8rn11 the financial pgrformance of 8&wer Communlty Trust Ltd saw a surplus In the year of £2,194 compai8d to last yearfs deficit of £31,886. During the year the charfty had thr88 major strgams of Incoming rgsources from tharitablg actfvlU88. The sources of th6 Incom& were from the nursery. café and Sure Start Ashfor(I contsibJtion. Kiddie Kapers has shown a Surplus In the yEar amounting to £5.8K 12022.. £20.1KI. The d8cr8ase in perforniance is due lo an overall decrease in fees for the y88r. The government fvndlng accounted for £259.4K 156.4%} which is an decrnase of £66KK167.5°A} In 2022-, to mitigate Ihls reduction private fees increased from £156.7K {32.5QAI in 2022 to £200.4K143.6V•). The govemance cx)sls have been recognlsed as an Indi￿¢1 cost of the nursery. In addi￿0￿ to the obove. govemance Costs have inGreased sllghlty from £55.5K in 2022 to £56.OK Ihis year. The café has seen a significant increase In lumover in the year lo £45.8K from £23.8K in 2022. Th& respectwo running costs have decreasod sllghlty to £52.SK In comparl8on to £53.3K In 2022. resulliro in cafa's reduc4ng its operating deficit from £29.4k lo £6.6k in the year. This year ha8 seen 8 eontlnuance of the contribution iowards premlses ¢osts from Sure Start Ashford, amounung lo £24.2K12022.' £17.4KI- This contribution is fully gxpended against the running costs (rf the buildlng. The balance of re8tricl8d funds carrl8d forward at 31 August 2023 1$ £209.833 {2022.. È211,753}. The balance of unroslricted fvnds carried forward al 31 AL4U8t 2023 is £132.603 (2022.. £128,489). Page S BEAVER COMMUNITY TRUST LTD IA eompany Ilmlted by guarantoo) TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 Struclur•. govemanu and management a. Constitull¢>n 888ver Communty Trust IBCTI Is a company limit8d by guarantsg and wa8 Incorporated on 28th November 2002. The Trust was gronted Charllable Sta￿$ Dacember 2007 (11220361. The company was 8slablished under a memorandum whl¢h estsbllshed the objects and powers of a ¢harllabl& company designate and is govemed under Its Articlgs of Association. In the event of the company boing wound up members are required to contributg an amount not exceeding £10. b. Prfn¢lpal actlvidos, r•crultm•nt and appointment of Trustvs The trustees of tha company are known as members of'The B08rd' and meet al the Trust's headquarters known as The Wlllow Centre. Undar the Company Artlcles ono third of the members rellre al the Annual Genoral Meating but rf willing to act, Can be re-appointed rf that vacancy is not filled by th8 Board. The Trust's tsvo ourrenl prlncipal acllvilies are: To run 8 93-place full day care nursery knowTr a$ Kiddle Kapers. This me#ns that the Tnjst invarfably fo￿SeS its attention on the Gommunity il seNes a Sp￿la1 emphasls on families with early years children13 nM)nlh8- 5 ￿$) To run a community cafe under the trading name Light Blt88. This means belng abl& lo provide a number of communlty servicos especialty hot nutritional meals lo children vlthln Kiddie Kapers nursery at The Wlllow Centre The Board alwayE seèks to ensure th6 needs of the Community and cliants are approprfately refiècted through the div8rsity of the Iru$19e body. The Board regularty revSews Its represgntalion of these area$ and Individual skllls base. Indiwduals are then i￿rul￿d or approached lo offer themse￿ts for alection to Th& Board whgrg approprlate. Plans for fvturo porlod8 During this period the Charity continued to seèk out approprfate fundlng avenuas to maintain and develop its sefvices. This was ever more ¢hallenging in the current ganeral e￿nDm￿ climate and compalition for funds Is vigorous. The Charity corbtinu￿￿S1Y strived to make the organl8ation more efficient 81 every level and to keep running ￿$ts lo their mlnimum. Our goals for the 202212023 year included: Future development of Kiddie Kapers lOC￿ng Snto the possibility of havlng an additional plece of land to use as a Nursery and Community Garden With the Ofsted downgraded status we were unable to tske on any new funded children until that hanged. The Nursery was also penalised by their Insure￿ who increasèd Ihg premium by £3000 per year. KCC fijnding conlinued albeit with uncertainty about amounts and liming. This uncertainty of fundlng Ilow did cause th8 Board lo work hard lo ensure sufficl8nt cash funds were in place each month lo pay salaries. However, the year onco again proved lo be far morg chaI￿n91ng than expected. It 1$ a ¢redil lo the Trust Business Manager and the Board that ck*$ure has been avoided and 88 a result 2023124 is looking far more encouragiro. We anticipate that the Govemment changes to the rate of fvnding per thild per hour wtll ease the challenggs bul not elimin818 them. The Board continues to Work hard to look to replace the sustslnability funds usad but, like most Charities, is finding il ever more difficult to attract fvndlng 8UPPOrt in this area. Page 6 BEAVER COMMUNITY TRUST LTD (A company Ilmltod by guarantee) TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST2023 Conclu$lon The Trust has once again perfomièd well in this year despilo the challgnges of fvndSng. 0ft8ed and staffing. That said Ihe Trust has maintained rts excellent repulation within thè ttjmmunty, ensuring rls service d81ivery is of the hlghesl standard. The Trust Ss s8en by the communtty BS 8 plgce lo ctrrne for help they are in troublo 8nd we seèk to condnue lo help our oomrnunity in this way whanèvar arKI h¢)wever we can. The Board 15 reviewlng its Trustee structure and Governance proc8dures in Ilne with the Cha￿ty Commissloners current guldance and is currentjy appolntlryJ new Trustees. The outcome of Ihls will gnsure that In fijtu￿ years tho Trust will be led by highly compelenl and rnring individua18 who bring added value and grfting lo the lead8rship. Th8 Trusts commitment lo providing a hl9h stsndard of Care and eéucalion wlthln the nursery is evident in th$ aecounts up until the Pandemic arrived in 2019. Until that time the high quallty of nutsèry provislon had meant that all the child plac8s were taken up and a waiting list was in created and we as a Charity were destined for a brlghl and provldent future. The Impact of th8 Pandgmlc on the Nurs8ry was signmcant and 8UII deliver8 ongoing challanges to this day. However thls has not be&n at the expense of our very high standards of Eady Years provlslon. The profftabllity of the business and benellls to th8 community remain hlgh on the Boards agenda. The Earfy Yèars s8ctor has in the Tnjsts opinion been serlously underfunded for many years and until that chang8$ the Board has to accept that an Earfy Years Provislon, especial one in the Charitsble Sector, is always vulnerable lo dosure. (Over 5000 Early Years provisions have closed during 202210223) Dèspite all the ongoing challengès The Trust continues to try lo achieve the very hw4ha$l standards expected of us by our users and the Chadty Commissionars. Page 7 BEAVER COMMUNITY TRU8T LTD (A cOM￿nY Ilmll•d by gumnte•) TRUSTEES. REPORT (copinNUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST2V23 St•tthenl otThithM' rnspoMlblllUo• The Trust￿ (wtho 8r• a180 th• directors of th8 (¥Anpany for the purp0898 of company18w) are r•w4blo for ' weparfng thg Twslaè8' roport and the ffin8rKial Stster￿ In 8cc¥rdarKe wlth law and Unrt•d ngdom Aceountlng SlaThJar(18 {Un6ted KIngd￿n G8nerally kneptod A¢counllrwJ Ptactk•l. Conwany lknv wulrns thg Tno1868 to rA8paro Iln8ncfal 6tstsmen18 for •ar*b finan¢iél . Undèr company l¥w. Ihè Truste￿ rnu8t not approve thg 1kn8￿jaI $tatements unlo58 they aro s&tl8118d that th8y ts a trua and falrvlew of the statg of affalrn ol the ¢ompany and of tts Irtcomlrw r•8¢Jur¢ts and apocatk)n of indudlTrJ tt8 Incrrfn8 and expondI￿re. for that p￿10d. In proparfng theso fir￿￿141 stknls, the Tru8bo8 arB req￿rnd to: $elè¢t $uitsbfe ac￿vn1[ng pokjos ar￿ then them C￿lS1on1￿. obs8rve the malhod8 aThJ pftnclple$ of the Charfties SORP (FRS 1021: moke judgments and acwintlThJ 8thatss that arn reaeonable and Fxudent. gtate Yth8th8r 8ppllcable uKknOu￿in9 Standoth {FRS 102) havo be•n foiknwed. Sub￿1 to any matsrfal (￿PartureS dlxlosed and expfalnod in the tlnandal ststemenls.. prepare thg )Irwthl 8tsiements ￿ tho golng cgncem unlBss It Is InapweFrftste to pre8ume that tho c4)mpanywNI trMlr*ss. The Tru8t•OS aro r•spcm$lb￿ for k88plrvJ 8¢kqu&ts ac¢y)unting r8cord8 bhat are 8ull&ienl to show th8 ￿MPan￿S transaclJ)nB and . 22. Members. Ilablllty Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assels of the company in the event of it being wound up while helshe is a member. or wilhin one year after helshe ceases to be member, such amount as may be requlred, not exGeedlng £10 for the deblg and liat￿lItieS contracted before helshe ceases lo be a membgr. 23. Rolatod party transactlons Thère w8rg no related party transactlons in Ihe ujrrent or prior perlcd other than those disck)s8d in notè Pag8 26