## **WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD.**
## Trustee’s Report 2023/2024
WAKOOS Centre4Children Ltd. is a charitable company that operates across two main leased nursery sites in West Sussex. A third smaller site is leased on a short-term basis at certain times of the day to provide additional capacity for our Billingshurst out-of-school provision.
- 1) Billingshurst (located in the Children and Family Centre building)
- 2) Petworth (located on the Petworth Primary School site)
- 3) Billingshurst Women’s Hall (High St, Billingshurst)
Each site is registered with OFSTED and runs a breakfast club, day nursery, afterschool club and holiday club; providing flexible, affordable childcare for children aged 3 months to 11 years old.
_Charity registration number: 1137968_
_Company registration number: 7180968_
_Registered office: Wakoos Centre4Children Ltd., Station Road, Billingshurst, RH14 9RY_
_Banker: Barclays, 2 Carfax, Horsham, RH12 1DN_
_Independent Examiner: Galloways Chartered Accountants, 30 New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1BN_
## **Objectives and Aims**
WAKOOS Centre4Children Ltd. (‘Wakoos’, ‘the Charity’) is a not-for-profit organisation which invests in staff and resources to benefit the delivery of quality childcare for the local area. We aim to offer more affordable and flexible childcare in comparison with other local commercial childcare providers.
The Charity, its staff and trustees consider Wakoos to be a vital part of the local community and are committed to both continuing and improving our childcare provision whenever possible. Surveys are also sent out to staff and parents/carers to gain feedback and help achieve this objective. We want Wakoos to be an enjoyable, rewarding place to work and as well as providing a vital childcare service, and, in accordance with the EYFS statutory framework, our nurseries also continue to offer practical early years support and advice to families wherever possible.
Our main aims are to:
- Encourage the emotional, social, physical, creative and intellectual development of children.
- Encourage children to have positive attitudes, develop confidence and self-esteem.
- Provide a safe learning and play environment that stimulates each child's imagination.
- Help parents achieve a work-life balance, by offering flexible, affordable hours, both during the daytime and as school wraparound care.
- Help to reduce fees where possible by accepting Nursery Vouchers, the Childcare Account scheme and assisting with providing information for Working Family Tax Credits and government free entitlement funding.
- Employ and retain motivated and dedicated staff who are either fully qualified nursery practitioners or support them in working towards childcare qualifications.
- Create a friendly, supportive, enjoyable workplace for our employees to care for children.
## _Diversity in Childcare_
Wakoos is fully inclusive and our childcare provision is available to all children whatever their race, culture, religion, means or ability. We continue to accept children who are eligible for both 2 and 3- year-old universal and extended funding and work in partnership with Integrated Prevention and Earliest Help, accepting referrals for children who may be vulnerable learners.
## _Partnerships_
To help achieve our charitable aims, we have partnerships with other front line agencies including health visitors, educational psychologists, community paediatricians, social services and speech and language therapists. Our staff prepare individual support plans for children with special educational needs and provide support to parents whose children are going through the statutory process for Education, Health and Care Assessments/Plans and Early Help Assessments
Wakoos also works in partnership with West Sussex County Council's Early Childhood Services, benefiting from the support of an Early Years Advisor. Additionally, we work with the local primary schools to reflect their teaching methods and ensure a smooth transition for children.
Wakoos offers work experience to students, this includes trainees from local colleges and schools; government-funded training provision (Babcock and Brighter Horizons); and also supports students studying for higher qualifications such as the EYT.
_Forest School_ – Known as “Wakoos in the Woods.”
Due to staffing shortages, we have sadly had to end our provision of a forest school option as part of the services we offer our children. We believe forest school provides a valuable additional element to the regular childcare provision and is something we would hope to offer again in the future.
## **Achievements and Performance**
Both our nursery sites continue to operate as successful nurseries with many local children and their families benefiting greatly from the flexible, affordable childcare that we provide. There are still very
few alternative providers in the local area that offer the equivalent year-round care that we deliver, and we are the sole provider of out-of-school wraparound care for our local primary schools. We will continue to seek improvements and expansion to our provision where possible, but have been constrained recently due to the industry wide staffing shortages. We are constantly reviewing the benefits we offer our employees to make our charity an enjoyable rewarding place to work. We continue to invest surplus funds into staff training and refreshing the nursery environment, equipment and resources in order to continue providing this vital service to the community.
## **Significant activities/ milestones**
Ofsted inspection at Billingshurst Women’s Hall site (Standards Met) – December 2023
Ofsted inspection at Petworth nursery (Good rating) – January 2024
New area management support role created (part time)- January 2024
New deputy managers in place at both sites
Playground equipment in Petworth outdoor area replaced with new structure – September 2023
Numerous new resources purchased to refresh equipment and environment at both sites
Other notable achievements in meeting our charity’s objectives include:
- Managed to remain open with only limited disruption despite the industry wide staff shortages
- Once again held several small fundraising events throughout the year at both sites; raising additional funds and engaging families and the local community
- Continued excellent transition for young children moving on to our local primary schools
- A high percentage of children continue to meet and exceed age related expectations
- Supported vulnerable children and families within the setting through partnership working
- • Conducted staff training sessions, both online and in person at a whole day cross-site training day (held on an INSET day). We intend to repeat this next year.
- Continued to receive referrals from outside agencies to support vulnerable families
- Continued to offer government funded places and benefit from high demand with no marketing required
## **Challenges**
Staffing levels, recruitment and retention has been the main challenge facing us (and the wider industry sector) during the last financial year. Contingency plans have had to be put into place on occasion in order to maintain the required staff:child ratios. This in turn has put pressure on the management teams who have had to spend increased amounts of time ‘on the floor’ instead of completing other office related management tasks. However, the new nursery managers (from
December 2022) have now settled into their roles, with the Petworth nursery now back to a ‘Good’ OFSTED rating. We have also created a new area support manager role (a highly qualified manager to provide support with management tasks and feedback progress and issues to the trustees). This is also the first full year of having an admin assistant in place, and this has proved extremely helpful with office tasks and in supporting our Business/Finance manager. We continue to encourage the sharing of knowledge, training and staff resources between our sites in order to increase efficiency and minimise the impact of staff shortages.
## **Financial Review**
## **Overview**
Wakoos continues in a good financial position and is well placed to continue its aims of providing affordable, flexible childcare services to the local community. The following points are the main changes that have affected our finances during this financial year:
-The National Living Wage increase of 92p per hour (9.7%) from April 2023 has increased our staff salaries. However, due to staff shortages continuing at our nurseries throughout the year, the full cost of these increases is still not yet felt. Another large NLW increase (circa 10%) was also announced for April 2024 which now includes all aged 21+ which will impact our costs going forward.
-Our fees were increased in April 2023 to compensate for the large increase in minimum wage and therefore our salaries.
-Government announced an expansion of its Free Entitlement Funding programme from April 2024 which is good news and will hopefully increase our future income for the funded places. However, the benefit of this will not be felt until later in the 2024-2025 year.
## **Reserves**
In line with guidance issued by the Charity Commission, the Trustees regularly review the Charity’s need for reserves. The Trustees have a policy for keeping a reserve amount which may be needed for any unexpected site maintenance costs and the costs incurred, including redundancies, should the Charity need to be wound down. The current balance of reserves stands at £151,249.31.
## **Risk management**
The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the Charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
The current risks identified that may affect the finances of the charity going forward are:
- Recruitment continues to be difficult and there is a widespread lack of staff across the industry. Staff shortages put strain on our resources and management teams.
- The government hourly funding provision for 2 & 3 yr olds has been very low and doesn’t fully cover the cost of providing free entitlement hours. There are plans for this to gradually increase from April 2024, but its effect will take a while to be felt. The extremely late notice of the government funding changes also makes it difficult to plan ahead.
- As the sole occupier of the Billingshurst Children and Family, obtaining the required building maintenance from our landlord is still very difficult. We have delayed maintenance cost increases as much as possible future lease changes would likely increase some of our maintenance costs in the future.
- The possibility of fraud continues to exist and has been highlighted by a series of scam calls to the nursery (April 2024). Although no money was gained by the attempted fraud, it did cause some distress to our employees involved.
To help mitigate or limit the impact of these risks:
- We are constantly exploring ways (financial and otherwise) of improving staff recruitment, retention and morale. Eg employee benefits such as number of leave days available.
- We will continue to review staff salaries each April to ensure they remain competitive. We will increase our fees if needed to ensure our outgoings are covered.
- We will continue to review the government hourly funding received and the number of funded places we are able to offer. We are hoping future changes will be in our favour.
- We will seek to negotiate and limit our liability for maintenance under any future leases. We have already received building survey reports to back up our position.
- Scam calls were reported to the police and Action Fraud. Systems, passwords, security procedures have been updated on the advice of Action Fraud and an IT specialist, and our bank has been updated with the latest trustee details. We have also written a new AntiFraud policy and discussed the attempted fraud during several of our committee meetings, which has raised everyone’s awareness of the possibility of fraud going forward.
## **Organisational Structure**
## **Organisational structure – Billingshurst**
Wakoos Billingshurst is open Monday to Friday 07.30-18.00 for 51 weeks a year.
The nursery is approved to provide places for up to 60 children as well as offering an additional 40 places for an After School Club and Breakfast Club. The building was purpose built for childcare facilities and has two main rooms for different age groups (3mths to 2years and 2years to 5years). The two rooms are further set up into 'workshop' areas. We encourage free flow within the nursery so that the children can independently access and explore all of the different resources, and also the outside areas. There are separate outside garden areas for each room, with the older age group having access to the larger, open plan space with fixed play equipment including climbing frames, sandpit, mud kitchen and some natural vegetative areas. This greatly enhances their learning environment allowing imaginative play and gross motor skill development.
As well as the main day nursery, Wakoos runs a Breakfast and After School Club for reception-age children up until the age of 11. At the nursery site, we use a separate room for this club with a dedicated outside enclosed space with a range of play equipment. We also use an additional capacity site (at Billingshurst Women’s Hall) for some of our older Afterschool Club children and also a Holiday Club during school holidays. This also benefits from an indoor and outdoor space to provide creative opportunities and the learning of new skills. Staff at the clubs engage children with a full range of activities such as art and craft, sports and trips within the local area.
## _Billingshurst Staff Breakdown: -_
|_urst Staff Breakdown:-_||
|---|---|
|_Level 6 Practitioner_|_1_|
|_Level 5 Practitioner_|
_1_|
|_Level 4 Practitioner_|_0_|
|_Level 3 early years practitioner_|_6_|
|_Level 2 early years practitioner_|
_1_|
|_Unqualified Staff_|_8 (2 working towards qualification)_|
|_Support staff: -_||
|---|---|
|_Kitchen staff_|
_2_|
|_Office Staff_|_2_|
|_Bank staff_|
_4_|
|_Cleaner_|
_2_|
|**_Total_**|
**_27_**|
## **Organisational structure – Petworth**
Wakoos Petworth is open Monday to Friday 07.30-18.00 for 51 weeks a year.
The nursery is approved to provide places for a total of up to 65 children aged between 3 months and 11 years. This includes an After School Club and Breakfast Club provision. We work closely with the adjacent Petworth Primary School and the majority of the children attending our setting will feed into this school. Children here are also divided across 2 rooms depending on their age. There is a courtyard garden area with recently updated outdoor play equipment, a sand pit and we also have access to some of the primary school outside area. We have a separate room with its own facilities for the Breakfast Club and After School Club which is adjacent to the courtyard garden area. We are a one storey building which is fully accessible for disabled users.
## _Petworth Staff Breakdown: -_
|_Level 5_|_1_|
|---|---|
|_Level 3_|_6_|
|_Level 2_|_2_|
|_Unqualified_|_2_|
|_Support staff: -_||
|---|---|
|_Kitchen staff_|_1_|
|_Bank staff Level 3_|_1_|
|_Cleaner_|_1_|
|**_Total_**|**_14_**|
## Totalling 41 staff across both sites.
Occasionally staff are temporarily transferred between sites to provide necessary cover. This is allowed for in their contract of employment.
Wakoos follows the OFSTED Safer Recruiting policy. All staff have DBS checks and have attended the mandatory training within their first 6 months of employment or have a current qualification and good understanding of the mandatory training.
## **Governance and Management**
WAKOOS Centre4Children Ltd. is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee, with an Articles of Association as its governing document. Wakoos is led by a committee of trustees who have regard to The Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.
The committee of trustees is currently made up of six members, two of whom are elected to hold specific roles (Chair, Treasurer). All trustee names are recorded on the Committee Register and are presented at the Charity’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which normally takes place each November. At each AGM, the elected officer roles are voted on for the following year.
The trustees are all volunteers, mostly parents from local families who use their local and professional knowledge for the benefit of the Charity. The committee continues to advertise regularly for the recruitment of new trustees. As most of our trustees are parents of children attending our nurseries, we usually have a relatively high turnover as these children grow older and move on to school. We are likely to have some of our trustees stepping down during the next year, so we will be actively recruiting to ensure committee numbers remain sufficient.
We provide all new members with a ‘Committee Welcome Pack’ which is updated regularly with background Charity Commission Trustee guidance and also an induction from the Chairperson, including a familiarity with the Charity’s procedures, documents and confidentiality requirements. All trustees are required to have an enhanced DBS check, agree to our Trustee Code of Conduct and are subject to additional checks as required by OFSTED.
The members of the Committee of Trustees who have held office during the 2023/24 year and to the date of submitting this report are as follows:
Jean Brown Hayley Colligan Eloise Denchfield Nicole Francis Heather Ramiz (resigned April 2024) Stephen Robinson Melita Shall (appointed March 2024) Stephen Tarr (resigned November 2023) Victoria Worsfold (resigned June 2024)
The above trustees all operate on a voluntary basis and therefore no remuneration or pay has been provided for their time. The Trustees volunteer their time freely and all allowable expenses such as travel and DBS checks have been disclosed in the accounts where applicable.
## _Nursery management team_
The Trustees hold meetings with the Wakoos nursery management team most months in order to assist with decision making and direct the business. The nursery management team are employed by the Charity to operate the nurseries and manage the day to day running of the business. The management team consists of a Business/Finance manager, a Nursery Manager for each site (along with deputies), an area Support Manager and an admin assistant.
The pay of the nursery management team and other staff is reviewed by the Trustees annually each April, which is usually coincides with reviewing our nursery fees. Our fees and employee pay is also regularly benchmarked against other similar organisations in the locality as part of the annual pay review.
## **SUMMARY**
We would once again like to thank all our hardworking staff who continue to work through many challenges, especially in times of staff shortages, to ensure Wakoos meets its charitable aims of providing high quality, affordable childcare for the local community. We also thank our Trustees for volunteering their time to assist the management teams and who dedicate themselves to the ongoing success of Wakoos.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Approved by order of the board of Trustees on
............................................. and signed on its behalf by:
**REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 07180968 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1137968**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND**
## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **FOR**
## **WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
Galloways Accounting Statutory Auditor Atlas Chambers 33 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RE
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
**CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
|||**Page**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Report of the Trustees**|1|to|6|
|**Report of the Independent Auditors**|7|to|8|
|**Statement of Financial Activities**||9||
|**Balance Sheet**||10||
|**Cash Flow Statement**||11||
|**Notes to the Financial Statements**|12|to|19|
|**Detailed Statement of Financial Activities**|20|to|21|
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
WAKOOS Centre4Children Ltd. is a charitable company that operates across two main leased nursery sites in West Sussex. A third smaller site is leased on a short-term basis at certain times of the day to provide additional capacity for our Billingshurst out-of-school provision.
- 1) Billingshurst (located in the Children and Family Centre building)
- 2) Petworth (located on the Petworth Primary School site)
- 3) Billingshurst Women's Hall (High St, Billingshurst)
Each site is registered with OFSTED and runs a breakfast club, day nursery, afterschool club and holiday club; providing flexible, affordable childcare for children aged 3 months to 11 years old.
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
## **Objectives and aims**
WAKOOS Centre4Children Ltd. ('Wakoos', 'the Charity') is a not-for-profit organisation which invests in staff and resources to benefit the delivery of quality childcare for the local area. We aim to offer more affordable and flexible childcare in comparison with other local commercial childcare providers.
The Charity, its staff and trustees consider Wakoos to be a vital part of the local community and are committed to both continuing and improving our childcare provision whenever possible. Surveys are also sent out to staff and parents/carers to gain feedback and help achieve this objective. We want Wakoos to be an enjoyable, rewarding place to work and as well as providing a vital childcare service, and, in accordance with the EYFS statutory framework, our nurseries also continue to offer practical early years support and advice to families wherever possible.
## **Our main aims are to:**
- Encourage the emotional, social, physical, creative and intellectual development of children.
- Encourage children to have positive attitudes, develop confidence and self-esteem.
- Provide a safe learning and play environment that stimulates each child's imagination.
- Help parents achieve a work-life balance, by offering flexible, affordable hours, both during the daytime and as
- school wraparound care.
- Help to reduce fees where possible by accepting Nursery Vouchers, the Childcare Account scheme and assisting with
- providing information for Working Family Tax Credits and government free entitlement funding.
- Employ and retain motivated and dedicated staff who are either fully qualified nursery practitioners or support them in working towards childcare qualifications.
- Create a friendly, supportive, enjoyable workplace for our employees to care for children.
## **Diversity in Childcare** :
Wakoos is fully inclusive and our childcare provision is available to all children whatever their race, culture, religion, means or ability. We continue to accept children who are eligible for both 2 and 3-year-old universal and extended funding and work in partnership with Integrated Prevention and Earliest Help, accepting referrals for children who may be vulnerable learners.
## **Partnerships** :
To help achieve our charitable aims, we have partnerships with other front line agencies including health visitors, educational psychologists, community paediatricians, social services and speech and language therapists. Our staff prepare individual support plans for children with special educational needs and provide support to parents whose children are going through the statutory process for Education, Health and Care Assessments/Plans and Early Help Assessments
Wakoos also works in partnership with West Sussex County Council's Early Childhood Services, benefiting from the support of an Early Years Advisor. Additionally, we work with the local primary schools to reflect their teaching methods and ensure a smooth transition for children.
Wakoos offers work experience to students, this includes trainees from local colleges and schools; government-funded training provision (Babcock and Brighter Horizons); and also supports students studying for higher qualifications such as the EYT.
**Forest School** - Known as "Wakoos in the Woods.":
Due to staffing shortages, we have sadly had to end our provision of a forest school option as part of the services we offer our children. We believe forest school provides a valuable additional element to the regular childcare provision and is something we would hope to offer again in the future.
Page 1
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
**REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
## **Significant activities/milestones**
Ofsted inspection at Billingshurst Women's Hall site (Standards Met) - December 2023
Ofsted inspection at Petworth nursery (Good rating) - January 2024
New area management support role created (part time) - January 2024
New deputy managers in place at both sites
Playground equipment in Petworth outdoor area replaced with new structure - September 2023
Numerous new resources purchased to refresh equipment and environment at both sites
## **Public benefit**
The main activities of the charity are undertaken to further the purposes for the public benefit.
The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities.
## **ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE**
## **Charitable activities**
Both our nursery sites continue to operate as successful nurseries with many local children and their families benefiting greatly from the flexible, affordable childcare that we provide. There are still very few alternative providers in the local area that offer the equivalent year-round care that we deliver, and we are the sole provider of out-of-school wraparound care for our local primary schools. We will continue to seek improvements and expansion to our provision where possible, but have been constrained recently due to the industry wide staffing shortages. We are constantly reviewing the benefits we offer our employees to make our charity an enjoyable rewarding place to work. We continue to invest surplus funds into staff training and refreshing the nursery environment, equipment and resources in order to continue providing this vital service to the community.
## **Other notable achievements in meeting our charity's objectives include:**
- Managed to remain open with only limited disruption despite the industry wide staff shortages
- Once again held several small fundraising events throughout the year at both sites; raising additional funds and engaging families and the local community
- Continued excellent transition for young children moving on to our local primary schools
- A high percentage of children continue to meet and exceed age related expectations
- Supported vulnerable children and families within the setting through partnership working
- Conducted staff training sessions, both online and in person at a whole day cross-site training day (held on an INSET day). We intend to repeat this next year.
- Continued to receive referrals from outside agencies to support vulnerable families
- Continued to offer government funded places and benefit from high demand with no marketing required
## **Challenges:**
Staffing levels, recruitment and retention has been the main challenge facing us (and the wider industry sector) during the last financial year. Contingency plans have had to be put into place on occasion in order to maintain the required staff:child ratios. This in turn has put pressure on the management teams who have had to spend increased amounts of time 'on the floor' instead of completing other office related management tasks. However, the new nursery managers (from December 2022) have now settled into their roles, with the Petworth nursery now back to a 'Good' OFSTED rating. We have also created a new area support manager role (a highly qualified manager to provide support with management tasks and feedback progress and issues to the trustees). This is also the first full year of having an admin assistant in place, and this has proved extremely helpful with office tasks and in supporting our Business/Finance manager. We continue to encourage the sharing of knowledge, training and staff resources between our sites in order to increase efficiency and minimise the impact of staff shortages.
Page 2
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
## **Financial Overview**
Wakoos continues in a good financial position and is well placed to continue its aims of providing affordable, flexible childcare services to the local community. The following points are the main changes that have affected our finances during this financial year:
- The National Living Wage increase of 92p per hour (9.7%) from April 2023 has increased our staff salaries. However, due to staff shortages continuing at our nurseries throughout the year, the full cost of these increases is still not yet felt. Another large NLW increase (circa 10%) was also announced for April 2024 which now includes all aged 21+ which will impact our costs going forward.
- Our fees were increased in April 2023 to compensate for the large increase in minimum wage and therefore our salaries.
- Government announced an expansion of its Free Entitlement Funding programme from April 2024 which is good news and will hopefully increase our future income for the funded places. However, the benefit of this will not be felt until later in the 2024-2025 year.
## **Reserves**
In line with guidance issued by the Charity Commission, the Trustees regularly review the Charity's need for reserves. The Trustees have a policy for keeping a reserve amount which may be needed for any unexpected site maintenance costs and the costs incurred, including redundancies, should the Charity need to be wound down. The current balance of reserves stands at £291,603.
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
## **Governing document**
The charity is a company limited by guarantee having been incorporated on 6 March 2010. It is also a registered charity (number 1137968), and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 6 March 2010.
## **Recruitment and appointment of new trustees**
WAKOOS Centre4Children Ltd. is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee, with an Articles of Association as its governing document. Wakoos is led by a committee of trustees who have regard to The Charity Commission's public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.
The committee of trustees is currently made up of six members, two of whom are elected to hold specific roles (Chair, Treasurer). All trustee names are recorded on the Committee Register and are presented at the Charity's Annual General Meeting (AGM), which normally takes place each November. At each AGM, the elected officer roles are voted on for the following year.
The trustees are all volunteers, mostly parents from local families who use their local and professional knowledge for the benefit of the Charity. The committee continues to advertise regularly for the recruitment of new trustees. As most of our trustees are parents of children attending our nurseries, we usually have a relatively high turnover as these children grow older and move on to school. We are likely to have some of our trustees stepping down during the next year, so we will be actively recruiting to ensure committee numbers remain sufficient.
We provide all new members with a 'Committee Welcome Pack' which is updated regularly with background Charity Commission Trustee guidance and also an induction from the Chairperson, including a familiarity with the Charity's procedures, documents and confidentiality requirements. All trustees are required to have an enhanced DBS check, agree to our Trustee Code of Conduct and are subject to additional checks as required by OFSTED.
Page 3
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Organisational structure Organisational structure - Billingshurst**
Wakoos Billingshurst is open Monday to Friday 07.30-18.00 for 51 weeks a year.
The nursery is approved to provide places for up to 60 children as well as offering an additional 40 places for an After School Club and Breakfast Club. The building was purpose built for childcare facilities and has two main rooms for different age groups (3mths to 2years and 2years to 5years). The two rooms are further set up into 'workshop' areas. We encourage free flow within the nursery so that the children can independently access and explore all of the different resources, and also the outside areas. There are separate outside garden areas for each room, with the older age group having access to the larger, open plan space with fixed play equipment including climbing frames, sandpit, mud kitchen and some natural vegetative areas. This greatly enhances their learning environment allowing imaginative play and gross motor skill development.
As well as the main day nursery, Wakoos runs a Breakfast and After School Club for reception-age children up until the age of 11. At the nursery site, we use a separate room for this club with a dedicated outside enclosed space with a range of play equipment. We also use an additional capacity site (at Billingshurst Women's Hall) for some of our older Afterschool Club children and also a Holiday Club during school holidays. This also benefits from an indoor and outdoor space to provide creative opportunities and the learning of new skills. Staff at the clubs engage children with a full range of activities such as art and craft, sports and trips within the local area.
## **Billingshurst Staff Breakdown:**
|**Billingshurst Staff Breakdown:**||
|---|---|
|Level 6 Practitioner|1|
|Level 5 Practitioner|-|
|Level 4 Practitioner|-|
|Level 3 Early Years Practitioner|7|
|Level 2 Early Years Practitioner|4|
|Unqualified Staff|13|
|**Support Staff:**||
|Kitchen Staff|4|
|Office Staff|2|
|**Total**|**31**|
## **Organisational structure - Petworth**
Wakoos Petworth is open Monday to Friday 07.30-18.00 for 51 weeks a year.
The nursery is approved to provide places for a total of up to 65 children aged between 3 months and 11 years. This includes an After School Club and Breakfast Club provision. We work closely with the adjacent Petworth Primary School and the majority of the children attending our setting will feed into this school. Children here are also divided across 2 rooms depending on their age. There is a courtyard garden area with recently updated outdoor play equipment, a sand pit and we also have access to some of the primary school outside area. We have a separate room with its own facilities for the Breakfast Club and After School Club which is adjacent to the courtyard garden area. We are a one storey building which is fully accessible for disabled users.
## **Petworth Staff Breakdown:**
|**Petworth Staff Breakdown:**||
|---|---|
|Level 5|1|
|Level 3|6|
|Level 2|3|
|Unqualified|3|
|**Total**|**13**|
Totalling 44 staff across both sites.
Occasionally staff are temporarily transferred between sites to provide necessary cover. This is allowed for in their contract of employment.
Page 4
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
Wakoos follows the OFSTED Safer Recruiting policy. All staff have DBS checks and have attended the mandatory training within their first 6 months of employment or have a current qualification and good understanding of the mandatory training
## **Risk management**
The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the Charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
## **The current risks identified that may affect the finances of the charity going forward are:**
- Recruitment continues to be difficult and there is a widespread lack of staff across the industry. Staff shortages put strain on our resources and management teams.
- The government hourly funding provision for 2 & 3 yr olds has been very low and doesn't fully cover the cost of providing free entitlement hours. There are plans for this to gradually increase from April 2024, but its effect will take a while to be felt. The extremely late notice of the government funding changes also makes it difficult to plan ahead.
- As the sole occupier of the Billingshurst Children and Family, obtaining the required building maintenance from our landlord is still very difficult. We have delayed maintenance cost increases as much as possible future lease changes would likely increase some of our maintenance costs in the future.
- The possibility of fraud continues to exist and has been highlighted by a series of scam calls to the nursery (April 2024). Although no money was gained by the attempted fraud, it did cause some distress to our employees involved.
## **To help mitigate or limit the impact of these risks:**
- We are constantly exploring ways (financial and otherwise) of improving staff recruitment, retention and morale. Eg employee benefits such as number of leave days available.
- We will continue to review staff salaries each April to ensure they remain competitive. We will increase our fees if needed to ensure our outgoings are covered.
- We will continue to review the government hourly funding received and the number of funded places we are able to offer. We are hoping future changes will be in our favour.
- We will seek to negotiate and limit our liability for maintenance under any future leases. We have already received building survey reports to back up our position.
- Scam calls were reported to the police and Action Fraud. Systems, passwords, security procedures have been updated on the advice of Action Fraud and an IT specialist, and our bank has been updated with the latest trustee details. We have also written a new Anti-Fraud policy and discussed the attempted fraud during several of our committee meetings, which has raised everyone's awareness of the possibility of fraud going forward.
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number**
07180968 (England and Wales)
## **Registered Charity number**
1137968
## **Registered office**
Station Road Billingshurst West Sussex RH14 9RY
## **Trustees**
S Tarr (resigned 23.11.23) J Brown H Colligan H Ramiz (resigned 4.4.24) V Worsfold (resigned 30.6.24) S Robinson E Baker (resigned 10.10.24) N Francis (appointed 12.4.23) M Shall (appointed 22.3.24) T Baker (appointed 5.9.24) L Charlesworth (appointed 5.9.24) J Ross (appointed 5.9.24)
Page 5
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS**
## **Auditors**
Galloways Accounting Statutory Auditor Atlas Chambers 33 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RE
## **Banker**
Barclays Bank plc 2 Carfax Horsham RH12 1DN
## **SUMMARY**
We would once again like to thank all our hardworking staff who continue to work through many challenges, especially in times of staff shortages, to ensure Wakoos meets its charitable aims of providing high quality, affordable childcare for the local community. We also thank our Trustees for volunteering their time to assist the management teams and who dedicate themselves to the ongoing success of Wakoos.
## **STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES**
The trustees (who are also the directors of Wakoos Centre4Children Ltd for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the trustees are aware:
- there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and
- the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
## **AUDITORS**
The auditors, Galloways Accounting, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:
........................................................................ J Brown - Trustee
Page 6
## **REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Wakoos Centre4Children Ltd (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
- In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- the trustees were not entitled to take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Trustees.
Page 7
## **REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
- Discussion with management, including consideration of known or suspected instances of fraud and non-compliance
- with laws and regulations;
- Review of minutes of Trustees' meetings for discussion of instances of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations;
- Review of legal expenses for evidences of fees related to non-compliance; and
- Review of journal entries for indicators of fraud.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Colin Young (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Galloways Accounting Statutory Auditor Atlas Chambers 33 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RE
Date: .............................................
Page 8
## **WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
|Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM**
Donations and legacies
3
**-**
**Charitable activities**
6
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
**721,322**
Other trading activities
4
**2,274**
Investment income
5
**1,911**
**Total**
**725,507**
**EXPENDITURE ON**
Raising funds
7
**7,339**
**Charitable activities**
8
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
**701,013**
**Total**
**708,352**
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**
**17,155**
**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**
Total funds brought forward
**274,448**
**TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD**
**291,603**|Restricted
funds
£
**-**
**273,607**
**-**
**-**
**273,607**
**-**
**273,607**
**273,607**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**2024**
**Total**
**funds**
**£**
**-**
**994,929**
**2,274**
**1,911**
**999,114**
**7,339**
**974,620**
**981,959**
**17,155**
**274,448**
**291,603**|2023
Total
funds
£
3,300
931,593
6,451
334
941,678
-
965,005
965,005
(23,327)
297,775
274,448|
|---|---|---|---|
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 9
## **WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2024**
|Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
**FIXED ASSETS**
Tangible assets
15
**26,166**
**CURRENT ASSETS**
Debtors
16
**58,182**
Cash at bank and in hand
**258,044**
**316,226**
**CREDITORS**
Amounts falling due within one year
17
**(50,789)**
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**265,437**
**TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES**
**291,603**
**NET ASSETS**
**291,603**
**FUNDS**
19
Unrestricted funds
**TOTAL FUNDS**|Restricted
funds
£
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**2024**
**Total**
**funds**
**£**
**26,166**
**58,182**
**258,044**
**316,226**
**(50,789)**
**265,437**
**291,603**
**291,603**
**291,603**
**291,603**|2023
Total
funds
£
31,380
57,229
234,398
291,627
(48,559)
243,068
274,448
274,448
274,448
274,448|
|---|---|---|---|
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. J Brown - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 10
## **WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
|Notes
**Cash flows from operating activities**
Cash generated from operations
22
Net cash provided by operating activities
**Cash flows from investing activities**
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in**
**the reporting period**
**Cash and cash equivalents at the**
**beginning of the reporting period**
**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of**
**the reporting period**|**2024**
**£**
**21,735**
**21,735**
**-**
**1,911**
**1,911**
**23,646**
**234,398**
**258,044**|2023
£
5,014
5,014
(5,754)
334
(5,420)
(406)
234,804
234,398|
|---|---|---|
The notes form part of these financial statements
Page 11
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
**NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **1. STATUTORY INFORMATION**
Wakoos Centre4children Limited is a charitable company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 5 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity's operations and principal activities are the provision of childcare facilities to enhance the development and education of children.
## **2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
## **Basis of preparing the financial statements**
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
## **Going concern**
The trustees have not identified any events or conditions that are expected to affect the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future and the financial statements are prepared on this basis.
## **Income**
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.
## Donations
For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.
## Nursery fees
Fee income for provision of nursery services is included in incoming resources when the service has been provided, or, if amounts invoiced relate to services both before and after the period end, then in proportion to services provided, with the balance being deferred.
## Government grants
The charity receives government grants in respect of provision of childcare and education. Income from government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.
## Trading activities
Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.
## **Expenditure**
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
All resources are inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
## **Allocation and apportionment of costs**
Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.
Page 12
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued**
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Improvements to property - Straight line over 20 years Nursery equipment - 33% on reducing balance Computer equipment - 25% on cost
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.
## **Taxation**
The company is considered to pass the tests set out in Sch. 6, para. 1 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes; therefore, the charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
## **Fund accounting**
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
## **Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits**
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
## **Debtors and creditors due within one year**
Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.
## **3. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES**
|||**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|£|
||Gifts and grants|**-**|3,300|
|**4.**|**OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES**|||
|||**2024**|2023|
|||**£**|£|
||Fundraising events|**2,274**|2,451|
||Apprenticeship scheme funding|**-**|4,000|
|||**2,274**|6,451|
Page 13
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **5. INVESTMENT INCOME**
|Deposit account interest
**6.**
**INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
Activity
Fee income from Nursery,
after school club and holiday
club
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
Grants
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
The grants are government grants for the following:
3 year olds and over
2 year olds
Inclusion fund
Other
**7.**
**RAISING FUNDS**
**Other trading activities**
Bad debts
**8.**
**CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS**
Direct
Costs
£
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday
clubs
**923,806**||**2024**
**£**
**1,911**
**2024**
**£**
**721,722**
**273,207**
**994,929**||2023
£
334
2023
£
679,917
251,676
931,593|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**2024**||2023|
|||**£**||£|
|||**235,097**||218,291|
|||**32,510**||24,685|
|||**5,600**||8,700|
|||**-**||-|
||||||
||||||
|||**273,207**||251,676|
||||||
|||**2024**
**£**
**7,339**
Support
costs (see
note 9)
£
**50,814**||2023
£
-
Totals
£
**974,620**|
Page 14
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **9. SUPPORT COSTS**
|Management
£
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
**29,408**
**10.**
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation - owned assets
Other operating leases
Deficit on disposal of fixed assets
Independent examiner's remuneration - independent examination
Independent examiner's remuneration - other services
Auditor's remuneration - audit fee
Auditor's remuneration - non audit services
**11.**
**AUDITORS' REMUNERATION**
Auditors' remuneration for non audit work|Governance
Other
costs
£
£
**2,459**
**18,947**
**2024**
**£**
**5,214**
**31,088**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**10,800**
**2,040**
**2024**
**£**
**2,040**|Totals
£
**50,814**|
|---|---|---|
|||2023
£
4,254
32,345
17
1,000
2,720
-
-|
|||2023
£
-|
## **12. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS**
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.
## **Trustees' expenses**
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.
## **13. STAFF COSTS**
|Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs|**2024**
**£**
**692,990**
**35,649**
**20,273**
**748,912**|2023
£
710,530
35,603
14,129|
|---|---|---|
|||760,262|
Page 15
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **13. STAFF COSTS - continued**
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:
## **14.**
|Level 6 early years practitioner
Level 5 early years practitioner
Level 4 early years practitioner
Level 3 early years practitioner
Level 2 or trainee practitioner
Unqualified after-school staff
Bank staff
Office staff
Kitchen staff
Cleaners
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.
**COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES**
Unrestricted
fund
£
**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM**
Donations and legacies
3,300
**Charitable activities**
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
679,917
Other trading activities
6,451
Investment income
334
**Total**
690,002
**EXPENDITURE ON**
**Charitable activities**
Nursery, after-school clubs and holiday clubs
713,329
**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)**
(23,327)
**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**
Total funds brought forward
297,775
**TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD**
274,448|**2024**
**1**
**1**
**-**
**13**
**7**
**16**
**-**
**2**
**4**
**-**
**44**
Restricted
funds
£
-
251,676
-
-
251,676
251,676
-
-
-|2023
1
3
1
17
5
10
4
-
3
3
47
Total
funds
£
3,300
931,593
6,451
334
941,678
965,005
(23,327)
297,775
274,448|
|---|---|---|
Page 16
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **15. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS**
|**15.**|**TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Improvements||||
|||to|Nursery|Computer||
|||property|equipment|equipment|Totals|
|||£|£|£|£|
||**COST**|||||
||At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024|**53,200**|**56,829**|**7,835**|**117,864**|
||**DEPRECIATION**|||||
||At 1 April 2023|**29,260**|**51,023**|**6,201**|**86,484**|
||Charge for year|**2,660**|**1,935**|**619**|**5,214**|
||At 31 March 2024|**31,920**|**52,958**|**6,820**|**91,698**|
||**NET BOOK VALUE**|||||
||At 31 March 2024|**21,280**|**3,871**|**1,015**|**26,166**|
||At 31 March 2023|23,940|5,806|1,634|31,380|
|**16.**|**DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**|||||
|||||**2024**|2023|
|||||**£**|£|
||Trade debtors|||**55,853**|55,016|
||Prepayments and accrued income|||**2,329**|2,213|
|||||**58,182**|57,229|
|**17.**|**CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**|||||
|||||**2024**|2023|
|||||**£**|£|
||Social security and other taxes|||**8,788**|4,478|
||Other creditors|||**6,888**|14,351|
||Fee deposits|||**10,120**|9,250|
||Accrued expenses|||**24,993**|20,480|
|||||**50,789**|48,559|
|**18.**|**LEASING AGREEMENTS**|||||
Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:
|Within one year
Between one and five years|**2024**
**£**
**15,081**
**8,797**
**23,878**|2023
£
15,081
23,878|
|---|---|---|
|||38,959|
Page 17
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**
|**MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|||Net||
|||movement|At|
||At 1.4.23|in funds|31.3.24|
||£|£|£|
|**Unrestricted funds**||||
|General fund|**274,448**|**17,155**|**291,603**|
|**TOTAL FUNDS**|**274,448**|**17,155**|**291,603**|
|Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:||||
||Incoming|Resources|Movement|
||resources|expended|in funds|
||£|£|£|
|**Unrestricted funds**||||
|General fund|**725,507**|**(708,352)**|**17,155**|
|**Restricted funds**||||
|Restricted|**273,607**|**(273,607)**|**-**|
|**TOTAL FUNDS**|**999,114**|**(981,959)**|**17,155**|
|**Comparatives for movement in funds**||||
|||Net||
|||movement|At|
||At 1.4.22|in funds|31.3.23|
||£|£|£|
|**Unrestricted funds**||||
|General fund|297,775|(23,327)|274,448|
|**TOTAL FUNDS**|297,775|(23,327)|274,448|
|Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:||||
||Incoming|Resources|Movement|
||resources|expended|in funds|
||£|£|£|
|**Unrestricted funds**||||
|General fund|690,002|(713,329)|(23,327)|
|**Restricted funds**||||
|Restricted|251,676|(251,676)|-|
|**TOTAL FUNDS**|941,678|(965,005)|(23,327)|
Government grants are allocated to the restricted fund since they are restricted to the provision of places within the nursery for entitled children. The cost of care is allocated to the restricted fund up to the value of the grant.
The unrestricted fund is used to further the aims of the charity at the discretion of the trustees.
Page 18
continued...
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
**NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **20. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT OBLIGATIONS**
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £20,273 (2023: £14,129). The entire pension cost is allocated to nursery fees since it relates to staff employed in running the nurseries.
## **21. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES**
In the year ended 31 March 2024, amounts were received from 5 trustees totalling £33,265, (2023: £16,814) for payment for their children to attend the nursery. These services were charged at the same rate as other users of the service. At the year end, the charity was owed £31 (2023:Nil) from 2 trustees and the charity held £200 (2023:Nil) of deposits related to these services.
No trustees made donations to the charity in the year, (2023: £199).
## **22. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES**
|**Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the**
**Statement of Financial Activities)**
**Adjustments for:**
Depreciation charges
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
Interest received
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
**Net cash provided by operations**|**2024**
**£**
**17,155**
**5,214**
**-**
**(1,911)**
**(953)**
**2,230**
**21,735**|2023
£
(23,327)
4,254
17
(334)
17,819
6,585|
|---|---|---|
|||5,014|
## **23.**
## **ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS**
||At 1.4.23|Cash flow|**At 31.3.24**|
|---|---|---|---|
||£|£|**£**|
|**Net cash**||||
|Cash at bank and in hand|**234,398**|**23,646**|**258,044**|
||**234,398**|**23,646**|**258,044**|
|**Total**|**234,398**|**23,646**|**258,044**|
Page 19
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
|**INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS**
**Donations and legacies**
Gifts and grants
**Other trading activities**
Fundraising events
Apprenticeship scheme funding
**Investment income**
Deposit account interest
**Charitable activities**
Fee income from Nursery, after school club and
holiday club
Grants
**Total incoming resources**
**EXPENDITURE**
**Other trading activities**
Bad debts
**Charitable activities**
Wages
Social security
Pensions
Other operating leases
Rates and water
Light and heat
Sundries
Staff costs
Running costs
Improvements to property
Fixtures and fittings
Loss on sale of tangible fixed assets
Donations
**Support costs**
**Management**
Insurance
Advertising
Office costs
Computer equipment|2024
£
**-**
**2,274**
**-**
**2,274**
**1,911**
**721,722**
**273,207**
**994,929**
**999,114**
**7,339**
**692,990**
**35,649**
**20,273**
**31,088**
**19,575**
**-**
**2,858**
**6,324**
**110,454**
**2,660**
**1,935**
**-**
**-**
**923,806**
**3,342**
**98**
**25,349**
**619**
**29,408**|2023
£
3,300
2,451
4,000|
|---|---|---|
|||6,451
334
679,917
251,676|
|||931,593|
|||941,678
-
710,530
35,603
14,129
32,345
9,110
220
681
15,933
99,829
2,660
984
17
92|
|||922,133
2,297
583
24,407
610|
|||27,897|
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
Page 20
**WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN LTD**
## **DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
|**Management**
**Other**
Bank charges
**Governance costs**
Auditors' remuneration for non audit work
Accountancy and legal fees
Accountancy fees
Legal fees
Total resources expended
**Net income/(expenditure)**|2024
£
**2,459**
**2,040**
**10,800**
**1,565**
**4,542**
**18,947**
**981,959**
**17,155**|2023
£
546
-
-
5,878
8,551
14,429
965,005
(23,327)|
|---|---|---|
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
Page 21
Atlas Chambers 33 West Street Brighton BN1 2RE t: 01273 324163
The Trustees WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN Limited Station Road Billingshurst West Sussex RH14 9RY
www.wearegalloways.com
Our ref: WAK007
18 December 2024
Dear Sirs
## **REPORT TO MANAGEMENT**
During the course of our audit for the year ended 31 March 2024 a number of matters arose which we consider should be brought to your attention.
Accompanying this letter is a memorandum noting these points together with any recommendations we have for possible improvements which could be made.
These matters came to light during the course of our normal audit tests which are designed to assist us in forming our opinion on the financial statements. Our tests may not necessarily disclose all errors or irregularities and should not be relied upon to do so. However, if any irregularity did come to our attention during our audit tests, we would, of course, inform you immediately.
We would be grateful if you could enter management’s comments against each point under the "management response" column of the memorandum and return it to us in due course.
We have complied with the Financial Reporting Council’s Ethical Standard and all threats to our independence, have been properly addressed through appropriate safeguards. No additional facts or matters have arisen during the course of the audit that we wish to draw to your attention and we confirm that we are independent and able to express an objective opinion on the financial statements.
This report has been prepared for the sole use of the Trustees of WAKOOS CENTRE4CHILDREN and must not be shown to third parties without our prior consent. No responsibilities are accepted by Galloways Accounting towards any party acting or refraining from action as a result of this report.
Yours faithfully
**Galloways Accounting**
Galloways is the trading name of Galloways Accounting (Audit) Limited, a company registered in England under company number 11462282 registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Our registered office is Atlas Chambers, 33 West Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2RE where a list of the directors names are available for inspection.
## **SIGNIFICANT MATTERS RELEVANT TO OUR AUDIT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **Summary of significant audit findings**
There were no changes to our audit approach as set out in our planning memorandum dated 13[th] June 2024.
## **Summary of significant audit findings**
|**Significant risk area identified at**
**planning**|**Implications and recommendations**|**Management response**|
|---|---|---|
|Management override of controls.|No issues identified.||
|Trade debtors.|It was identified that the trade debtors
balance at the year end per Xero did not
agree to the trade debtors balance on
the Connect system. This required
additional work to ensure Xero
reconciled to Connect.
Sales invoices in Connect should be
reconciled monthly to those in Xero.
Debtor reports per Connect should
reconcile to debtor reports in Xero.|balance at the year end per Xero did not|
|Revenue recognition.|Due to the above issue with trade
debtors, it was identified incoming
resources was not accurate due to the
material misstatement within Xero.
Sales invoices are revised in Connect
after being issued to the billpayers.
Firstly, credit notes or additional
invoices should be used and issued to
billpayers.
Additionally, any changes to Connect
should be reflected in Xero.||
## **Internal controls**
The purpose of the audit was for us to express an opinion on the financial statements. The audit included consideration of internal controls relevant to the preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control. Our audit is, therefore, not designed to identify all control weaknesses and the matters reported below are limited to those deficiencies that we have identified during the audit.
|**Control weakness identified**|**Potential implications and**
**recommendations**|**Management response**|
|---|---|---|
|Payable invoices are not input to Xero
and marked as payable on the date due,
instead are input at the date paid.|Entering incorrect payable dates could
lead to issues within the bank
reconciliation reports and payments
being included in the incorrect period.
Purchase invoices should be posted as
payable at the date due and payments
then allocated whenpaid.||
Galloways is the trading name of Galloways Accounting (Audit) Limited, a company registered in England under company number 11462282 registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Our registered office is Atlas Chambers, 33 West Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2RE where a list of the directors names are available for inspection.
||Accounting||
|---|---|---|
|**Control weakness identified**|**Potential implications and**
**recommendations**|**Management response**|
|Pension contributions have been
overpaid due to payments to ex-
employees continuing after they have
left.|This is a loss of charity funds and every
effort should be made to recover the
amounts overpaid.
Going forward, information provided to
the charity’s pension provider from
your external payroll provider should be
reconciled to payroll records and
payments each month.||
|Regular reconciliations of key control
accounts on a monthly basis:
•
Banks
•
Credit cards
•
Payroll
•
Debtors|Information on Xero is not up to date to
allow the board of trustees to make
informed decisions on up-to-date
information. This could lead to
uninformed decision making with a
negative impact on charity funds
available.
Trustees are responsible for keeping
proper accounting records that disclose
with accuracy at any time the financial
position of the charity.||
|A number of old debtor balances
suggest that debt collection and bad
debt monitoringis not regular.|This could lead to misstatements in the
financial statements as historical
amounts are not likely to be recovered.||
|Petty cash transactions have not been
recorded in Xero.|This could lead to incomplete financial
statements.
The petty cash book should have all
transactions recorded in Xero and the
physical book should be reconciled to
Xero regularly.||
|A credit card is still held in an ex-
trustee’s name.|This is a potential fraud risk and should
be cancelled, even if not in use.||
## **Anticipated audit report**
We anticipate that we will issue an unmodified audit report for the year, subject to the satisfactory clearance of any outstanding/unresolved matters.
Galloways is the trading name of Galloways Accounting (Audit) Limited, a company registered in England under company number 11462282 registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Our registered office is Atlas Chambers, 33 West Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2RE where a list of the directors names are available for inspection.