Fl C "scw Annual General Meeting Ditton Church Pre-school Management Commlttee Held on Monday 16th October 2023 At 8.00pm Venue: The Church Centre Attendees: Ross Terranova Jane Barwick Wendy Caldicott Mike Stevens Caroline Gibbon5 Tom Kitchen Alan Warner Amy Lee Lyn Taylor Megan Payne Richard Payne Rosie Campbell Chloe Ovenden Chair Secretary/Minute Taker Pre-school Supervisor Committee-Treasurer Vice Chair Committee Committee Deputy Supervisor staff Parent Parent Parent Staff Staff staff Parent Laurenjump Sa ndie Thomas Katie Swaffer Stacey Mannell Lauren Parker Declan Murphy Becky Pepper Dan Pepper Catherine Kitchen David Woollard Kirsty Zweck Staff Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent
les Sean Smith, Kirsty Letham, Sheri McKeever ChalrfsWel¢omÈ and Re ort Please see attached report. Ross gave his tha nk5 to Ruth Campbell, lenny Stout and Heather Watts for their help with refreshments. Thanks were also given to the staff, committee, frlends fundraising group and parents for their continued support. Pre School Su ervisorfs Re ort - Please see attached report. Treasurees Re ort- Please see attached report. Election Re-Elertion of Commlttee Members Please see attached Nominations List. Alan Warner will be stepping down from his position at PCC committee member. Ross thanked him for all his efforts on the committee. Comments uestions f rom Parents Guests Rosie Payne announced that the Friends of DCPS group will be havit)g a meeting to set out a fundraising plan for the year ahead. They would love some more parents to join the group. The meeting will take place on Thursday 9th Novernber, 7.30pm at the Wealden Hall. Matters for the PCC None An Other Business None Ross thanked staff and parents for attending the meeting.
C& .ScHO th Chairfs AGM Report October 16 2023 It ha5 been my privilege to chair the Management Committee of Ditton Church Pre-school since we opened in january 2001. The past twenty-two years have seen the Pre-school develop in so many ways and 5 pay tribute to the hard work, dedication and profe55ionalism of the staff. Wendy Caldicott leads the team wh great skill and passion. I would also like to thank Mike Stevens our treasurer for his hard work over the past year. H is attention to detail is legendary and we are truly grateful for the service he offers. We are also very grateful for all the hard work he continues to put in to the ongoing development of the garden. There is a increasing focus with in early learn ing 5etting5 on the use of outdoors for learning and development. At Ditton Church Pre-school we are always striving to develop the setting 50 that the children get the best possible start at the beginning of the journey of learning. We look forward to the challenges of the comin8 year knowing that with a superb staff team and strong Committee we are well equipped to face the future. It is tremendous to contlnually hear how the Pre- Schools reputation goes before it and that is the best testimony we have. Ross Terranova Chair Ditton Church Pre-school
tl C .scH ervisols re ortfor Ottober 2023 AGM I have been talking to some of the staff about the13St year and what information would be relevant to sh3 re with everyone at tonight's meeting and we all had the same feelin& In that we aren't Sure where the last year has gone. This may be in part due to last yearfs AGM being delayed until slightly laterthan usual due to the outbreak of Covid we had which resulted in many staff and children being taken ill and a brief period of closure for recovery and a deep clean. Christmas was then upon us and despite the heavy snow on nativity day, we went ahead with our performance, but in the preschool hal I rather than the chu rch. Th is actually proved to be a positive experience as the children seemed more relaxed in their familiar environment where they had been practicing and sung their hearts out. After discussing this with Ross recently we have therefore agreed to do the same for nativity services, but to continue with our Harvest and Easter services in the church. The children also loved Magic Martin who ca me to perform at our children's Christmas party and our tha nks go to Father Christmas who continues to fit in a visit to Preschool in his busy Schedule. Staff After a period of ten years with no staff changes at all r( was inevitable that at some time this would change and sadly it was the impact of Covid that forced the hand of some staff who needed to seek more financially rewarding careers. We are proud to say that these staff remain close friends who continue to show an interest in the ongoing success of our Preschool. l am a firm believer that our staff team are our most valuable resource and that without a good team the highest quality toys and equipment and envi ronment would mean nothing. Despite having to say a few sad farewells to staff who moved on l also believe that weScoming new staff to our team, who are at the beginning of the journey that many of us have been on for a very long time is a positive step forward, bringing new enthusiasm, motivation, skills and fresh ideas. Kirsty and Stacey are working hard on their Level 3 apprenticeships, Jane has brought her C31mness and efficiency to the role of Administrator and Chloe is keenly available for bank staff work. As always, the rest of my team remain hard working, supportive friends who make my job much easier. Committee We are grateful to have successfLJlly recrulted two new committee members over the last year and also grateful to our continuing members, but equally we always welcome new parent members if anyone is interested in joining us. Admlssions Admissions remain high. Last year we were full and we have reached that point again this year. We did notice that this year we received a large amount of very late admissions which makes budgeting and planning staff hours difficult, 50 we would encourage everyone to spread the word to please register your
children early. This also helps to avoid disappointment as we are again in a position where we can no longer take on any more children this year. Garden develo ment ro ect Back in 20181 approached ou r committee with some ideas for enhancing our large outdoor area. After much discussion, planning and fundraisinE we began the first stage of garden clearing and preparation work in Term 2 of 2020, but then the pandemic shut us down a nd the project was put on hold. Si nce then, with continued support a nd dedication, work proceeded as funds were raised and grant applications were accepted. I know that every member of our staff team and cornmittee will want me to mention that none of this would have happened without the exemplary dedication and devotion of ou r highly va lued treasurer, M ike. M ike says h is moto is 'what Wendy wants Wendy gets,, but joking aside, he listens and supports my visions and does his utmost to ma ke sure we get there. We are conscious that many parents have supported fundraising over the years and progres5, for one reason or another, has not always been as quick as we would like, but we can honestly confi rm that every penny of fundraising monev is used directly for the benefit of the children who attend our setting. To recap, Mike has built us an amazing covered outdoor reading area. We have an a Ilotment where the children can grow, tend to and harvest their own produce (which tied in nicely with our Haest celebrations and tractor visit) and we have a wooden 'beach hut, for sand play. Mike spent two weeks of the surnmer holidays in the preschool garden buildlng sand troughs for the beach hut, erecting a gate, painting and mowing the lawn. The next stage 15 to replace the plastic climbing frame with a sturdy, wooden climbing tower which will be sunk i nto the ground. The ground needs to be prepared and new turf laid prior to this happening, which we hope will be during May half term, so any offers of help with levelling and turfingwould be much appreciated nearer the time. Please see the photos of the garden on display on the laptop computer and please remember to put your blue Tesco tokens into our tube in the West Mall ing branch between now and January. Any money received wlll go towards the ongoing development of the beach hut. Frlends of Dltton Church Preschool Alongside the garden project we decided to ask for volunteers to form a fund raising group to help raise funds for the ongoing garden development as well as ongoing replacement of toys and equipment. We are immensely grateful for the work they have done a nd the money they have raised, as well as the enjoyment we have had from the two quiz evenings they orga nised. Some of our'Friends' have now moved on as their children have moved on to Infant school, so we are always on the look out for more willing helpers. It Is also a lovely way to get to know other parents. If th is is somethi ng you wou Id be interested in please let me know and I can put you in touch with our group. s and successes of the last ear I will leave M ike to answer any questions about finances, but in a nutshell, the main challenges of the last year were.. al Finances. Early Years remains a greatly underfunded sector. We were therefore grateful to have received a Government gra nt this term which has helped us enormously and we are hopefully that more realistic f und ing rate will be set when it Is reviewed next April.
bl Recruitment. Having lost some of our Level 3 qualified staff we have had to work hard to uti lize our qualified staff where needed to ensure we continue to meet legal ratios. There is a severe shortage countywide of qualified Early Year5 Staff looking for work as sadly this is due to the lack of financial reward and again, probably the impact of covid and the cost of living crisis. Successes of the last year also link closely to the challenges we faced, whlch shows the dedication of everyone involved in the continuing success of our Preschool. al Finances- we have the support of an outstanding treasurer who works closely with me to cont nually review the budget so I can make changes where needed. We have had the 5UPPOrt of amazing parents who have supported our fundraising efforts and those who have worked hard as pa rt of ou r Friends of Ditton Church Preschool group. We have also successfully achieved grants towards projects. bl Recruitment- despite not recruiti ng qualified staff we successfij Ily recruited the right people with the qualities to becomè exemp58ry practitioners, Wlth the motivation and enthusiasm needed for ongoing training and development. cl Change in opening hour5- as we rent the premises from the Church we are not able to open for live full days per week as the hall is needed for other activities. However, we are grateful that the PCC agreed to Us changing our opening hours slightly so that we can open for four full days per week, rather than three full day5 and two half days, wh ieh helps to meet the needs of our working parents. Golng forward, I hope that thi5 time next year I will be reporting on successfu I progress towards or completion of Level 3 apprenticeships for Kirsty and Staceyi successful completion of an eight month intensive training programme called the Early Years Professional Development Programme, by me and Amy and the final stage of our garden development project being cDmpSeted. Wendy Caldicott Preschool Supervisor
rl C "SCH Treasurer's Re ort October2023 Overvsew Pre-school reports in different ways to two separatè bodies. We have to report in a prescribed manner to the Charities Commission Icc) and the enclosed financial statement (Appendlx il shows our Income and Expenditure for the year (to 31 August 20231. For the CC we are required to show how mlsch money we receive in the year and how much we spend IReceipts and Payments). However, this means that we can receive andlor spend money in one financial year that is actually intended for the next. We also report to the pre-school membershipi but here we show our performance against budget. Income and Ex endlture endix i In terms of receipts and payments pre-school had £13,358.89 more in its accounts at the 31" August 2023 than it did on the 31, August 2022. At I" September 2022 our balance at bank (all account51 was £95,881.85. Receipts for the year were £138,634.05 and expenditure amounted to £125,275.16. The balance at bank (all accounts) at 31, August 2023 was £109,240.74. There was no cash-in-hand. Appendix I shows a more detailed breakdown of Pre-school's income and expenditure for the year ended 31, August 2023. Shopping Fund Cashbook Retonciliation FY22 23 Current CEposlt Total Opening Balance at Bank 01/0912022 30,301.86 65,179.99 4(K),(M) 95,881.85 Income forthe year 138,361.87 168,663.73 272.18 65,452.17 138.S34.05 234,515.9) ExpereS for the year Transfers betw&en accounts Clos5 Balance at Bank 3110812023 1123,935.211 121,339.951 23,388.57 11,339.951 1,339.95 (125,275.161 0.00 109,240.74 20,C(K).C 85,4S2.17 Change in cash position 1£6,913.291 £20,272.18 £0.00 £13,358.89 Appendix li shows a Staiement of Assets and knabilitie5 as at 31, August 2023. As can be seen from the statement pre-school holds very few assets (other than cash at bank) and has no creditors.
Performance inst bud et Performance against budget shows how well Pre-school has performed finanaally after allowing for rtain adjustments to our receipts and payments. Pre-gchool's income has been adjusted so that cash received in advance of the financial year to which it relates is removed. Pre-school originally budgeted for a deflcit of £4,438 for 2022- 23 with an additional £3,450 being required to top up contingency funds leaving a potential deficit of £7,sgg. Ag matters progressed into the start of the year this budget was revised to take account of changing child attendance and staff alterations that showed a surplu5 of £265 this being devoid of the requirement for an additional ,450 to top up contingency funds. The artual result for the year was a surplus of £12,900. This is a excellènt result which is testimony to the hard work put in by preschool staff and its 'Friends', being ever conscious of the Treed to grow income and kèÈp control of expenses. However, the analysis below shows that the majority of the surplu5 comes from sources over which pre- school has little or no control and cannot, therefore, be relied upon goir)g forward. Appendix iii shows a more detailed breakdown. Income Local Authority Funding This is £15,516 favourable, There were more funded Sessions taken up than budgeted which provided £1,223. Presthool received unbudgeted funding of £14,293 from SENIF, SENCO, DAF and FF2 Fee Payers This is £1,849 adverse. £975 came about as a consequence of fewer Sessions taken up than were originally budgeted and £916 wa5 returned to parents for the two times that preschool had unplanned closures. Fundraising This is £1,343 favourable and was brought about by increased uniform sales and Superb efforts from our 'Friends' and staff. other This is £1,282 favourable and comes from two grants, donations from group5 and the luxury of increased bank interest rates. Expenditure Staff CDSts Staff costs were £1,598 favourable. £1.482 of this camé from an under-utilised training budget. Preschool Costs Preschool costs were £2,787 adverse. However, the cost of improvement work to the garden1£6131 is shown here and preschool spent £2,20g on Senif related matters which are offset by the Senif income. Actual expenditure within preschool was slightly less than budgeted. Administration Costs Admin costs were £2.105 èdverse. However, £2,250 was spent replacing out of date and slow laptops. This was unbudgeted. Fundraising Costs Fundraising costs were £364 adverse. This Is because rnore unlforms were sold than budgeted and other fundraising activities had minor expenses.
The £13,358.89 increase in cash available for FY2022_23 will be rolled over into specific funds with the rnajoritv made available to preschool in the coming year. The table below highlights where the money will be distributed. OpenlDg Balance Input £10.556.41 £7.983.07 £0.00 £1,478.22 £0.00 £2,594.69 £851.IL -£119.64 Chsins Balance Purpose £18,539.48 Day to day running costs £1,478.22 Unfunded SEN £2.594.69 Rear door rarnp £731.47 Garden plants etc £45,(. Redundancy cortingencv Fund General SEN Disabilrfcy Access Forest School C105ure Cortingenry £45,OCO.( £0.00 k3llL" Other Contingency Holding Fee5 Prepaid Fee5 Garden FundlSIng contlngen¢y Balance at Bank £17.558.95 £2,441.05 £425.( -£150.00 £20,OCO. Preschool closures etc £275.W Returnable to parents £3,274.( £131.50 £3,405.50 Tran5fer5to General Fund on 1st 5epternber £17,216.38 £O.QO E17,216.38 Garden refurbishment project £i.ocx).w -£i.tho.00 EO.m No longer requirèd £95,881.85 £13,358.89 £1,240.74 Financial Year 2023- 2024 There have been many iteratlOn5 of the budget for the coming year. When the initial budget was prepared preschool were showing a deficit of £23,OOQ for the coming year. This was happening because the level of government funding lon which we rely) ha5 not kept pace with inflationary costs over the past few year5 and there comes a point where making ends meet becomes impossible. To try and reduce the impact of a substantial deficit Wendy and her team went to work on increasing the numbers of children attending preschool and the overall number5 of sessions being taken up. At the same time we looked to reduce costs where we could and reduced staffing levels to a bare minimum. By June the deficit was down to around £4,500 and knowing that we would make a surplus in FY2022_23 we felt comfortable that preschool could continue as it has for over 20 years and the Fund pot5 above would not need to be raided. In July the Government announced that Early Years were to be given supplementary grants to make up for the years of underfunding and in late August the Local Authority increased funding rates significantly, allowing us to budget once again. The revised budgèt now shows a surplus of £6,701 IAppendix iv) which is a far healthier picture. The increased funding allowed us to increase staffin8 leve15 at the Start of Term I where we were struggling. There is some uncertainty as to whether the increase funding will continue past April 2024 but we are hopeful that this will be the case.
Garden Refurbishment Project Wèll before Covid and the Lockdowns lin fact in 20181 Wendy came to the committee with her vision for the garden. Thank5 to the Parochlal Church Council IPCCI, preschool has exclusive use of the garden to the rear of the main building and Wendy thought it wa5 time for a makeover. The 'Vision' was to.. turn the grassed area into an all-wealher surface build a climbing frame create an allotment build an outdoor covered reading area generally sort out the garden so It was lit for our young people to play and learn. create a wild planting area The vision would require funds and a ball park figure of £20,000 was our initial estimate to complete the works and this has subsequently been raised to £25,000. We have managed to gather funds from grants, fundraising activities, donations, rebates of overpaid tax and in some years surplus income. TD date we have spent in the region of £8,000 and some of the completed works include.. the a51otment the reading area wild planting are3 a Gruffalo mural and an indoor outdoor sandpit. We have had to change tack Slightly on the all-weather surface as the PCC has asked us Mot to put down an all- weather surface. Instead next March we are going to dig up the grassed area and re-turf it. We'll be calling on our parents, staff and volunteers (without whom this project would never have been where it IS today) to come and help with the grass. Next May we are having our climbing frame professionally instslled along Wlth some rubber matting to protect the grass and at some point in the near future we would like to call upon willing volunteers to come and help us paint six sheds and a fence. M T Stevens Treasurer
DIThON CHURCH PRESCHOOL Financial Statements fjoN E4CHOOL For thè perlod from 0110912022 3110812023 Receipts and Payments (to the nearest pound) Unrestrlrted Funds Gener&1 Fund Deslgnated Funds Rèstrlcted Funds Totol funds Last year Total funds R•c•ipts Local Authority Funding e P3yers Fundraising Activitles Other income Garden Projert Forest School 89,661 30,979 3,318 1,067 10,857 2,468 l(XJ,518 33,447 3,318 1,351 77,987 27,089 3.064 248 2,623 1,0 Sub tot&l(Gr05s incomeforARJ 125,025 13.325 284 138.634 112,011 A2 Asset and Investment sales Sub totul Totol reeelpts 125.025 13,325 284 138,634 112,011 Payments Staff Expen5e5 "Q5chool Expenses Admin Expens Fundraising Expenses Garden Project Forest School 103,495 4,002 9.663 927 3.971 2,813 284 107.750 6,815 9,663 927 104,053 3,565 7,502 438 5.406 149 121,113 120 404 120 125,275 Totolpuyments 118,087 6,784 Net oAreeeipts/{puymnt5J Transfers betwèen fund5 Cash funds last year end Ct75h fvnds thls yeor end 6,938 6,541 120 13,359 9.103 1.045 10,556 1,045 39.474 45.851 95,882 104,984 95.882 18.539 44,970 45,731 109,241 Piep8red by mhal Stevens 0410912023 P38e I p nTE TAX CONSULTANTS LTD 286 IRON MILL LANE CRAYFORD DAI 4RW TEL No. 01322 5582
s10N CHu&c PRE.SCHOOL Statement of Assets and Liabilltles at 31st August 2023 Unrestrlctedfunds Gon•ral Fund D@Enated Fynd$ Restrlct•d Funds Totsl All Funds La51 year All Fund5 Cash fuTrdJ Current Account 18,139 4,518 40,452 731 23,389 3D.302 Deposir Account 45.0 85,452 65,180 Shopping Account 400 400 4( rottslcushfvnds 18,539 44,970 45,731 109,241 95,882 Ggn*ral FLbnd Deslenated Restricted Funds Totsl All Fund$ La5tyear All FuThds setstor re-sal• Stock of unrforms 648 648 513 Fund tr) whlth asset belongs Detsils Cost Curreni value Assets rétsined forthe ¢harl5 own use Laptops General 2.250 1,508 FuTrdto whlch Ilabllity relates Detslls Amount due When due Signed by one or trustees on behaK of all the trustees Signatuie Print Name Date of approval J ÉAewicl lQlzg Prepared by Michael Steven5 04]12023 Page 2 P TITE TAX CONSULTANTS LTD 28B IRON MILL LANE CRAYFORD DAI TEL No. 07322 58
Appendlx lil Budget v Actuals (Summary) Period Ending 31st August 2023 RE.SCHOOL Actuals Bud8et Vartance Full Year Full Year Full Year Income Local Authority Fundin9 Fee P(yyer FunclrJising other Total Income £100,518 £33,466 £3,318 El,351 £138,653 £85,002 £35,315 £1,975 £69 £15,516 1£1.8491 £1,343 £1,282 £16,292 £122.361 enditurè staff Preschool Admin Funrlruising Total Expenditure £107,750 £7,548 £9,663 £792 £125,753 £1(,349 E4,762 E7,558 £428 £122.096 £1,598 1£2,7871 1£2.1051 1£3641 1£3,6571 suIlt5/1DefeCIt) £12,9 £265 £12,635
Appendix Iv FY2023_24 Budget TI&T2 Budget T3&T4 Budget T5&T6 Full Year Last Year Budget Budgèt Budget Income Funded Income Fee Payer Income Fundraising Income Miscellaneou5 Income Total Income £30.633 £13,30S £i,ioo £50 £45.090 £28,770 £9,778 £250 £35,939 £10.018 £175 £95.342 £33,103 £1,525 £150 £85,002 £35,315 £1,975 £69 £50 £38,848 £50 £46,183 £130.120 £122,861 TI&T2 Budget T3&T4 Budget T5&T6 Budget Full Year Budget Last Year Budget Ex enditure Stsff Preschool Charhy Expenses Fundraisrng Expenses Total Expenditure £36,698 £1,754 £2,226 £315 £26,088 £1,649 £3,705 £46,895 £1,597 £2,380 £23 £109,681 £5,CX)O £8,311 £428 £123,419 £109,349 £4,762 £7,558 £428 £122,096 £40,993 £31,532 £50,894 SurplusllDeftcltl £4,097 £7,316 (£4,711 £6,701 £265
AGM NOMINATIONS LIST- 2023 Election/Re-Election of Committee Members "SCHO MEMBER NOMINATED SECONDED PREFERRED ROLE BY BY Chair- The Rector (Ross Terranoval Vice Chair and 2. Parochial Churd) Council Member (Caroline Gibbon51 Officer.. Treasurer (Mike Stevens) Secretarv (Jane Barwickl I" Elected Member (Thomas Kitchen) NIA NIA Mike Stevens Tom Kitchen Caroline Gibbons Torn Kitchen Mike Stevens Tom Kitchen Rosie Campbell Megan Payne hd 2 Elected Member Isean Smith) 3rd Elected Member Tom Kitchen Mike Steven5 4, Elected Member 5, Elected Member 6, Elected Member
P TITE TAX CONSULTANTS LTD 17b Iron Mill Lane Crayford Kent DAI 4RN Tel.. 01322 559386 Ref No: Your Ref No: DITtON CHURCH PRE-S L MANAGEMENT GROUP I have as requested examined the books and records for the year ended 31.08.23. The records and petty cash ledger are full and comprehensive. I have not carried out a full audit and do not consider one is necessary. In the areas I selected for examination and in the spot checks I made I did not find anything unsatisfactory. In my opinion the financial statement for the year fairly represents the affairs and transactions of the year and the closing bank balances totalling £109240. 74p corCtIY state the balances held at the end of the year and I have accordingly countersigned the statement. Peter Registered in the UK No: 3968625