TREASURER’S AGM REPORT – 13[th] OCTOBER 2020
| Bank Account & Cash Balances | Year Ending 31.8.2020 | Year Ending 31.8.2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Account & Cash | £15,177.76 | £11,271.80 | £3,905.96 |
| Reserves Accounts | £21,509.66 | £26,975.47 | -£5,465.81 |
| TOTAL | £36,687.42 | £38,247.27 | -£1,559.85 |
It has been a different and strange academic year for St Mary’s Pre-School ending on 31[st] August 2020 with a (provisional and unaudited) reported loss of £1,559.85 which compares to a loss of £5,441.45 in 2018/2019. Whilst this seems quite positive given the turbulence caused by the COVID-19 situation it must be noted that many of the effects of the pandemic will not be felt in the reported figures until the 2020/2021 academic year. There are still numerous expenses relating to 2019/2020 to be paid and pupil numbers for 2020/2021 are restricted by the current guidelines which will mean a reduction in income going forward without an associated reduction in costs.
Ordinarily this report would contain an analysis of the year’s financial figures compared to previous years but, as this year has been so different, it does not provide much value. It can be noted however that whilst the preschool was closed for several weeks it benefitted from the Government’s decision to continue with the payment of funding along with a generous holiday from rent payments whilst not using the hall. This enabled the setting to fully support and retain all its valuable staff.
Staff costs – Unrelated to COVID, staff costs accounted for most of the increase in setting expenses for the year as in April 2020, and in line with the National Living Wage, salaries for all staff members were increased by 6.2% which was richly deserved yet represents a significant increase in costs for the setting without an associated increase in income. This also resulted in increased pensions and holiday pay costs for the setting. A further nearly 6% increase in the National Living Wage is anticipated in April 2021.
Fundraising – one of the biggest impacts of the lockdown and new COVID restrictions has been on the ability of the pre-school to fundraise this year. The annual fun day, street fayre and quiz night all had to be cancelled and these events usually raise more than £1500 for the setting. Money was raised by the Christmas raffle (£326), obstacle course (£627.50) and the sale of photographs (£491). In total this year the setting has reported income from fundraising of £1,491.50 which compares to over £3,000 in previous years.
Parent donations – these stood at £1,518.40 which was gratefully received and went towards covering the extra costs incurred buying lots of new cleaning equipment and handwashing facilities when the setting re-opened.
In summary and as stated before it has been a strange year for St Mary’s with the timing of the year end reporting not fully reflecting the financial situation that has arisen due to COVID and we therefore expect to find the 2020/2021 year challenging. It is however important to remember that it is not just St Mary’s that are coping with these hurdles, all pre-schools will be in exactly the same situation and St Mary’s is better placed than many with reserves to fall back on and lots of interest from prospective pupils. It will sadly remain difficult to operate to full potential whilst the COVID restrictions continue and therefore support from fundraising, donations and grants etc will become more crucial than ever.
END OF YEAR ACCOUNTS FOR ST MARY'S PRE-SCHOOL
1st SEPTEMBER 2019 - 31st AUGUST 2020
| Year Ending | Year Ending | |
|---|---|---|
| 31st Aug 2019 | 31st Aug 2020 | |
| INCOME | ||
| Fees | £5,565.00 | £3,530.45 |
| Early Years Funding | £52,082.28 | £63,881.68 |
| SEN funding | £13,781.07 | - |
| Funding received in advance | - | - |
| Fundraising | £3,303.10 | £1,491.50 |
| Grants/Rev/ Training | - | £250.00 |
| Milk subsidy | - | - |
| Interest / other | £76.66 | £109.00 |
| Uniform | £37.00 | - |
| Donations | £250.69 | £1,518.40 |
| TOTAL INCOME | £75,095.80 | £70,781.03 |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Gross Wages | £65,880.20 | £55,528.42 |
| Pension payments | £998.43 | £1,334.95 |
| Rent | £4,600.00 | £5,790.00 |
| Payroll Services | £756.00 | £648.00 |
| Catering | £246.67 | - |
| Milk | £462.80 | £291.46 |
| Insurance | £1,752.82 | - |
| Training | £334.00 | £2,742.26 |
| Committee expenses | - | - |
| Mobile phone & internet | - | - |
| OFSTED | £50.00 | £50.00 |
| Printing | £1,124.21 | - |
| Other staff related | - | - |
| Toys & Materials | £425.29 | £4,431.52 |
| SEN | - | - |
| Fundraising Expenses | £510.06 | - |
| Business Costs | £120.20 | £1,524.27 |
| Stationery / Postage | - | - |
| Transfers to savings account | - | - |
| Transfer to contingency account | - | - |
| Advertising & Recruitment | - | - |
| Uniform | - | - |
| Other | £3,276.57 | |
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE | £80,537.25 | £72,340.88 |
| Profit/Loss for period | (£5,441.45) | (£1,559.85) |
13/10/2020, 8pm
St Mary’s Pre-School
Annual General Meeting
Business - Review of the year
The academic year of September 2019 to 2020 has probably been one of the most challenging to date, for St Mary’s pre-school.
In March we were inspected by OFSTED (on the day they suspended further inspections) and then the following week the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the pre-school had to close as the country went into lockdown. The Government advised that pre-schools and schools could re-open in June, but that strict health and safety guidelines needed to be followed. This meant meticulous planning by Mrs. Brooks, her staff, and the committee to ensure that the setting could offer a nurturing and supportive environment that was safe and adhered to the new guidelines. The Autumn term has started, and these guidelines are still very much in place and being updated frequently, having a big impact on the ways in which the pre-school can run.
Numbers of Children and Staffing
We had 21 children on roll in September 2019. Although 18 left to start school in September 2020, we have had a healthy intake of children since the start of the Autumn term, meaning we now have 28 children on roll. We have waiting lists for both January and April intakes, but due to COVID-19 restrictions on bubble sizes (stating a maximum of 30 children per bubble) it may be difficult to take these children. We are waiting for further guidelines and are in discussion with the County Council with regards to this.
The induction process for the new starters has had to be slower than normal (due to COVID-19 restrictions) but has gone very smoothly and all new children have settled into the pre-school well.
In April we sadly said goodbye to Mrs. Hussey. She started with the pre-school in 2000 and has been a real asset through her role as pre-school assistant, and more latterly she has been of huge help to Mrs. Brooks in her administrative role. She is very much missed, but we wish her all the best in her retirement.
In February we recruited Mrs. Shapland and Mrs. Parkinson. Mrs. Shapland has taken on the role as pre-school assistant and will be starting her NVQ level 2 next year. Mrs. Parkinson has taken on the administrative role. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their induction period was delayed, so they officially joined the staff team on 1[st] September 2020. Both have now settled into the team and we are incredibly pleased to have them.
We currently have 7 members of staff and hope to recruit an additional preschool assistant after half term.
Hours
In September 2019 we had increased our offering of hours to 23 hours per week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9.15-12.15 or 1.15 or 2.15, Wednesday and Friday 9.15-12.15 or 1.15). This had been well received by staff, parents, and children.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown the pre-school took the decision to close from March to June 2020. During this time, Mrs. Brooks and her team continued to provide support and advice to parents through emails and phone calls. They also provided activities and read stories (posted on you tube) and attended ‘zoom lunches’ which was greatly appreciated by the parents and children alike.
When the pre-school re-opened in June, we were required to keep the number of children per bubble to 15. This meant we opened with two bubbles (one on a Monday / Tuesday/Wednesday for the older children and one on a Thursday, Friday for the younger children). To allow time for cleaning, the pre-school initially offered 9.15 am – 12.15pm sessions each day (15 hours per week, in total). This was gradually extended to 15 hours 30 minutes per week (Mon 9.15am – 12.15pm, Tues 9.15am – 1.00pm, Wed 9.15 am – 12.00 pm, Thurs and Fri 9.15 am – 12.15 pm) by the end of the Summer term to allow a lunch session for the older children, but still allowing enough time for all the cleaning that needed to take place.
This September the Government guidelines have allowed bubbles of up to 30 children, meaning that the pre-school can be considered one bubble and has more flexibility with the hours we can offer. We are currently offering 20 hours per week (9.15am to 12.15pm or 1.15pm each day) and aim to offer longer sessions (to 2.15pm on a Tues and Thurs) after half term. This will mean we are offering a total of 22 hours per week.
Pre-School Setting & Building
The pre -school was inspected by OFSTED on 16[th] March 2020 and was awarded a ‘good rating’. This inspection was completed the week before lockdown and on the last day of Inspections before lockdown. This was an incredibly stressful time for staff. Despite this, the pre-school received some very positive comments from the inspection about the ethos of the pre-school, the level of care, the support and nurturing of the children’s development, the working practices, and the safe and inclusive environment. The staff should all be immensely proud of these comments and know this is what draws people to St Mary’s.
To re-open the pre-school in June, a thorough risk assessment had to be completed by Mrs. Brooks, in collaboration with the staff and committee. This included planning for frequent cleaning of the hall, equipment and toys, ensuring good hand hygiene by all and encouraging social distancing of parents at drop off and pick up times, through the clever use of posters to demark the 2m distance while queuing and a one way system to and from the entrance of the pre-school. These plans have been very successfully executed.
Funding
Our fees are £6.50 per hour.
We continued to receive the usual government funding, for children that are eligible, throughout the Spring and Summer terms.
Fundraising
We started September 2019 with many fundraising plans. We had a successful ‘coffee and cards morning’ and Christmas raffle and luck dip raising £369. We then had plans for a quiz, fun day, family bingo and we had booked a stall in the Risborough Summer Festival, but all had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, we created and sold handprint tea towels, which proved to be very popular and raised £178.88. We promoted the use of easyfundraising and the ink cartridge scheme to raise additional funds. Mrs. Brooks and her staff also took photos of the children which were sold to parents raising an amazing £491.00.
We have received just over £1, 500 in monetary donations from parents, which has been incredibly helpful in enabling us to purchase the handwashing stations that were necessary for the re-opening of the pre-school in June. The handwashing stations are £387.00 each. Hand soap, towel holders and cleaning products have also been purchased.
Despite these successes, we have lost out on about £1, 500 that we would normally have been raised through our events if it were not for the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also lost out on fees that we would normally have been received from new children coming into the pre-school in the Spring and Summer terms (where start dates were delayed due to COVID-19 and the restriction on bubble sizes). We have lost over £6000.00 in expected revenue.
This means that this academic year, we will need to have a real focus on fundraising in new and creative ways that are COVID-19 safe. We have a dedicated fundraising team to help make these plans. We are also looking at potential grants that may be available to the pre-school.
We are no longer receiving fresh fruit from Tesco or bread donations from the Coop as due to COVID-19 restrictions, children are required to bring in all food and drink from home.
Election
We will sadly be saying goodbye to two of our committee members – Claire Ashfield and Esther Ruck.
Esther has been committee secretary (and latterly also health and safety officer) for 8 years! She has worked so hard organising committee meetings, writing minutes, being a support to Mrs. Brooks and has helped run many fundraising events over the years.
Claire has been an invaluable member of the committee for the past 3 years with her HR knowledge, organisational skills and positivity. Claire has also dedicated much time to helping organise our fundraising events over the years. In fact, on one year, she recruited almost her entire family to help run stalls at the fun day.
Thank you to Claire and Esther for their contributions to the committee. We wish them all the best for the future.
I would like to thank all the committee members for their time and dedication to the setting and for the support they have given me in the role as the Chairperson, especially during such an unusual and challenging year. We all bring different skills and experiences which enables the committee to run so effectively.
Lastly and most importantly, I would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs. Brooks and the fantastic team of staff who nurture, support, and inspire the children every day in the setting. I have been so impressed by the way in which, despite the obvious stress that closure and re-opening of the setting, will no doubt of caused, they have always remained professional and provided an outstanding level of care for the children. Thank you.