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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.

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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 w￿h 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

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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 Ha￿est
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

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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)
Exper￿eS 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
Fund￿lSIng 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 Expen*s
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/{puym*nt5J
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 m￿ha￿l 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 ¢harl￿5 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
su￿Ilt5/1DefeCIt)
£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
cor￿CtIY state the balances held at the end of the year and I have accordingly
countersigned the statement.
Peter
Registered in the UK No: 3968625