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2023-08-31-accounts

Charity number: 1140465

PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB (A Charitable Incorporated Organisation)

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the Year Ended 31 AUGUST 2023

PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

CONTENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Page
Report of the trustees 3
Legal and administrative details 10
Report of the Independent Examiner 11
Receipts and Payments 12
Statement of Assets and Liabilities 13
Notes to the financial statements 14

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Trustees present their Report, together with the independently examined financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2023.

Structure, Governance and Management

Prime Time After School and Holiday Club was formed as an unincorporated voluntary organisation in October 1995. Prime Time Kids Club was set up as a company limited by guarantee on 4 January 2011 and became a registered charity on 17 February 2011. The Management Committee of Prime Time After School and Holiday Club agreed with the directors of Prime Time Kids Club to transfer all its assets, liabilities, staff etc. on 6 April 2011. On 12 March 2019 the charity converted from a company limited by guarantee to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

Prime Time Kids Club is a CIO with more members than its trustees. It encourages those who support its aims, particularly the parents and carers who make use of the services, to become members. The members then elect trustees, a third of which must stand down each year. The Board of Trustees during the year had a total of seven trustees of which three were parents/carers of children using Prime Time and three previous users. The Board elect a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. The Board meets at least 6 times a year but uses e-mail to debate issues between meetings, and help inform any decisions taken by the Chair and/or its staff. Each Board member is provided with an induction pack containing the organisation’s Constitution, past minutes and accounts and all the charity’s policies.

All the trustees give their time voluntarily and none received any benefit other than that which any other beneficiary would receive. One trustee is closely related to one member of staff, however approval has been given by the Charity Commission to the employment and the trustee concerned takes no part in decisions relating to staff pay or conditions. These transactions and any expenses reimbursed to trustees by the charity are set out in Note 4 to the accounts.

As Prime Time provides child care services to 4-12 year olds we are registered on the Early Years, Childcare and the Voluntary Childcare Registers. Therefore Prime Time is covered by Ofsted’s regulatory activity, and is subject to regular inspections. Our last Ofsted inspection was in October 2022.

The Board meets to agree policy, pricing, funding, etc. Prime Time employs a Manager who has day to day control of Prime Time’s operations and who attends the Board meetings and receives supervision from a Trustee. The Manager is responsible for all other staff, ensuring that Prime Time’s policies, as agreed by the trustees, are carried out and bringing to the attention of the Board any issues that require a policy decision.

Charitable Objects

The charity’s objects as set out in its Constitution are:

Public Benefit Statement

In considering its future strategy, aims and objectives, Prime Time’s trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on Public Benefit. The trustees are satisfied that through its primary activities the charity provides identifiable benefits consistent with its charitable objects. The trustees do not consider that these activities produce any identifiable detriment or harm. The trustees are satisfied that any private benefit is incidental to its public benefit activity.

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Aims

Prime Time’s main aim is the provision of childcare for 3-12 year olds. It is our mission to provide the highest level of childcare that meets the needs of children and their parents and carers. We aim to employ the highest calibre of staff possible with the appropriate qualifications, to plan provision to best meet the needs of parent/carers at the most affordable price, and to provide for the widest needs and interests of children and involve them, wherever possible, in planning and evaluation.

Our main services are:

Prime Time also aims to improve the skills of its staff and others. Therefore it invests in training for its staff and seeks, where appropriate, finance to support such training.

During the main Covid emergency we, like most educational and care organisations, were closed. In September 2021 all restrictions on childcare settings were lifted. Although Prime Time returned to normal operations numbers of children did not return to pre Covid numbers as many parents and carers were continuing to work from home, or were not returning to the pattern of work they had before Covid. In 2021-22 there were grants from central and local government to cover losses due to Covid. During this year there were no such grants. Therefore Prime Time, during the first six months, was sustaining large losses as numbers did not increase and we were in danger of having to close. However the staff and Trustees increased their community fundraising and grant application efforts to reduce the need for closure. Numbers for the second half of the year started to increase to levels that meant the Trustees did not have to take the decision to close at the end of August.

Achievements and Performance

Over the year from September 2022 to August 2023 Prime Time was open as follows:

Following the removal of all Covid restrictions we returned to being fully open (although we had to close one day due to the school site closure because of high and dangerous winds). Over the year Prime Time provided a service to 114 individual children (2021-22:105, Pre-Covid:130) from 83 families (2021-22:76, Pre-Covid:88). These show a very positive increase in the number of children and families benefitting since the lifting of Covid 19 restrictions.

The Breakfast Club provides a good wholesome breakfast and calm atmosphere before school preparing them for formal learning. We have regular feedback from the local primary school that this is the case. Numbers using it were still much lower at the beginning of the year than pre Covid but then improved for the second half. After school numbers followed a similar pattern to Breakfast Club with a slightly better overall increase on the year before.

This year we successfully applied to Dorset Council for £1,000 to offer free sessions to children on pupil premium and with working parents. We offered 5 families with 6 children support from April to August 2023 with a total of 69 after school sessions and 7 holiday club sessions. One of the parents, a seasonal worker, said:

"The difference it made to me was I was able to work extra shifts, which helped me a great deal to show my job I was a reliable asset to the team and to help secure me a job for the next season"

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Our Manager said: “Having discussed with our local feeder school the grant we were offered there was great excitement that we were able to offer some families subsidised places. It was felt that parents who were working, but receiving pupil premium, were often a group overlooked for help and support and this grant gave us, alongside school, the opportunity to identify families that really needed and deserved some support with subsided sessions. The families that attended were able to work longer days or take extra shifts knowing their children were in a familiar, safe and homely place having fun. The children were able to follow their interests in a play environment trying different crafts and games whilst also having time and freedom to play with peers, using a range of toys and materials.

The school said: “Grants given to after school clubs are invaluable to families of children with pupil premium status. This gives those children a chance to attend a funded afterschool club space which normally they would not be able to due to cost, and to be in a more social setting with their friends. For parents working a peace of mind, as this takes a lot of pressure off them both financially. These grants are really invaluable to some of our families, this makes them feel supported in some way.” This has been such a successful and beneficial scheme we will seek further funds to continue and expand it.

Holiday Club numbers for the first 6 months remained low. However from Easter onwards numbers significantly increased, almost being full each day, resulting in overall average close to pre Covid. For the second year we took part in the Holiday activities and Food programme. This programme is funded by central government and administered by Dorset Council to provide an offer of fun activities and healthy meals free of charge to children who are eligible for benefit-related school meals during school holidays (not half terms). We offered up to 5 half-day places for 5 days at Christmas, 7 places for 8 days at Easter and 6 places for 4 days a week and 4 places 1 day a week for 5 weeks of the Summer holidays. Therefore we offered a total of 221 places over the year which were used by 16 children from 11 families. Some of these families paid extra to stay all day benefitting 2 children at Christmas, 6 at Easter and 10 in the Summer. The trustees greatly value this scheme as it allowed these children and their families to benefit who may well have been unable to afford our fees even though we are much lower than other providers.

We received £2,054 from the Co-operative Local Community Fund and used it to run a number of workshops with staff delivering sessions after school in photography, mindfulness, pottery, cross stitch sewing, Chinese Cookery, Life Skills, Little Tokens build a bear and bird watching. We also used the money to purchase new resources and equipment such as arts and crafts, walkie talkies, footballs, tennis and scrap store goods to help increase our loose parts for independent crafts. It enabled us to purchase enriching materials/resources for children to engage with and explore, and to run workshops we may not have been able to do so without the funding. The materials will last a while and enable children to be creative, imaginative, artistic, physical and social in their environment and with their peers. This funding helped improve the services we offer as a result of better facilities and increased the number of local children participating in our activities. The activities helped to develop the skills of the children, to meet and share skills with one another

We continue to receive very positive feedback from our users. We regularly talk to and survey children and parents/carers about Prime Time. Comments of parents over the summer included: 1. Please tell us what difference it made to your family to be able to use Prime Time's holiday club this summer?

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

  1. What were the highlights for you and your children?

  2. Everything

  3. The cycling day and the bouncy castle day

  4. It gave the children plenty of things to do and they were happy to go back day after day.

  5. The activities that were brought in added some regular extra excitement

  6. L loved taking his bike in and all the craft he did

  7. Do you or your children have any suggestions for improvement?

  8. More of what you did in the summer

  9. Communication of additional activities prior to booking in the summer holidays to ensure they got to experience the whole day

  10. I would like him to have hot lunches but felt the £6.00 charge was too high

  11. Overall what rating would you give us?

  12. Excellent 80%

  13. Good 20%

In October 2022 we had our first Ofsted inspection since 2016. The inspection made some very highly positive statements that reflect the high quality care we provide:

Overall Prime Time provides a safe environment for children out of school hours, with consistent and committed staffing providing routines, fun and purposeful activities that develop their social, physical and cognitive skills. By offering very affordable, and flexible, childcare we are offering parents and carers a childcare service while they work or train which will improve the entire family’s circumstances including the children. This was especially so for families during, and after, the pandemic.

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Prime Time employs 4 contracted staff and a pool of 8 others. Staff are provided with mentoring, experience and training to develop their work with children. Due to our financial situation this year staff were only sent on mandatory training which included FGM, Epilepsy and medication Buccolam administration, Safeguarding L3 and Prevent. Our Manager receives networking ideas and support from online forums. Our staff are, of course, the biggest strength that we have and they have continued to show a high level of dedication and flexibility to meet the needs of Prime Time and the children we care for which was recognised by the Ofsted inspection in October 2022. Helen, our Manager, continues to manage the facility and staff extremely well, and this is backed up by a dedicated committee. To support our Manager, and develop the experience of our Senior Playworker (effectively her deputy), we usually employ her for two administrative hours a week so there is a more shared team effort for planning activities and resourcing them. We continue to offer the National Living Wage to all staff, not just those 23 years old and over, with a slightly better rate for our Playworkers.

Prime Time operates from a self-contained mobile on licence from the Coastal Learning Partnership, which was adapted to our specifications and we moved into it in April 2013. We have access to the primary school’s playground when we are open and some indoor facilities during the holidays which allows for a range of indoor and outdoor activities. In early 2016 we paid for a covered extension with roll up and down walls. It has enabled children to play ‘outside’ in all weathers and has been a great addition to the building. Prime Time is responsible for the internal repairs of the mobile. From September 2023 Coastal Learning Partnership have decided, on financial grounds, that they can no longer maintain the mobile. The Trustees have entered into negotiations to discuss our future responsibility for the building.

Use of volunteers

Very occasionally we have volunteers in the sessions and this year we have attracted a fundraising volunteer from the local community who has supported us in sessions with the children and with fundraising events. All of Prime Time’s trustees give up their time for free, attending half termly committee meetings. Prime Time greatly relies on volunteer time from its trustees for much of its administrative support. Two trustees between them carry out the regular day to day book keeping and banking functions Prime Time requires and two others take on active roles in fundraising. This time, freely given, enables Prime Time to keep its costs down so allowing as many families as possible to afford its childcare services.

Ensuring that services remain relevant

Prime Time constantly seeks the opinions of the children who use its services and their parents/carers. We regularly formally distribute questionnaires to parent/carers and carry out ‘listening and recording’ exercises with the children seeking ways to improve current services, and to see if new ones are required. Three of our current trustees are themselves parents/carers who have contact with many other local parents/carers and so provide valuable feedback from both users and non-users. We work very well with the local primary school which is located on the site.

Ensuring that our services are accessible to the public

Prime Time’s main source of income is from fees charged to parents. The local area has a large proportion of families on low and below the national average income, including seasonal work, and so childcare has to be affordable. We are well aware that the cost of services could prohibit some families, perhaps those in most need of our services. We continue to charge parents/carers different costs for one, two and three hours’ childcare helping to make our care very affordable. We review, at least once a year, the fee structure, balancing fees against cost. This year we had to increase our staff salaries by 6.6% (last year 9.8%) to comply with the National Living Wage. With these increases, and the losses made because of Covid, the trustees reluctantly decided to increase fees for 2022-23. However our fees continue to be much less than the average for after school clubs.

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The charity Coram Family and Childcare, in its annual survey of childcare costs, says the average cost of 3 hours of after school childcare a day in England was £13.35 a day and £12.70 in the south west (average for a childminder was £14.24 for England and £14.04 in the south west). These costs had increased by about 15% on 2021. However Prime Time’s fees after the increases were still only £10 a day. This is evidence of the Trustees’ continuing commitment to ensuring our fees are as affordable as possible. We encourage, and support, parents and carers to use any means available to them that may reduce the cost to themselves such as tax credits, childcare vouchers, etc. If families face difficulties in paying fees then we are prepared to negotiate easy payment plans.

This year we continued to offer holiday places to children for free using the government’s HAF scheme. Also the grant from Dorset Council allowed us to offer free places to children, identified by the school, as in need of after school places. Both of these schemes meant that our services were offered to those who would not otherwise be able to afford our fees, however reasonable they may be.

Prime Time usually engages in fund raising activities to help subsidise the costs. Our three newest trustees have actively engaged in fundraising and the new online lottery has provided a much valued source of regular monthly income. In previous years we combined our AGM with a fundraising quiz night which were both fun and highly successful in raising funds. Unfortunately we had to cancel this for the previous two years because of the lock down but in September 2022 successfully ran the event with many thanks to The Kings Arms, Stoborough. Overall our community fundraising totalled £1,963, a significant increase on the £182 of the previous year. We also made a number of successful grant applications totalling £10,554. Although some of these had to be used on specific activities, £7,500 could be used as the Trustees wished and so were used to close the gap between our income and expenditure. This included a generous grant of £2,200 from the Coastal Learning Partnership, which our local school is part of, as they value the added value we bring to their offer to local children. In 2023-24 we will need to continue these efforts to ensure we stay open and that fees remain affordable, so providing for the needs of local children and their families.

Our services are available to any 4 to 12 year old. However access to the Breakfast and After School sessions are generally limited to available transport from the school to our building, therefore in practice usage of these services is to Wareham St Mary Primary where children can easily walk the short distance between our building and their classrooms, with escorts as needed. We publicise the after school and breakfast club regularly to Wareham St Mary through leaflets, school sharing apps, mentions in the school newsletter, attending school events, etc. Our Holiday Club is publicised through e-mails sent to four schools in the local area for distribution to individual children, our Facebook page, website and posters in local shops, etc.

Future Plans

Our aims for the coming year include:

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Financial Review

As stated above our main source of income are the fees from the parents/carers of the children using our services. Most parents and carers pay their fees on time. Prime Time does understand that parents and carers may face financial difficulties and does enter into easy payment agreements. However if parents/carers refuse to negotiate then reluctantly Prime Time will take legal action. Last year we engaged Chameleon Collections, a debt collection agency recommended by other out of school care clubs, and refer outstanding payments to them when our initial contacts fail to elicit payments.

The following annual accounts are set out using the receipts and payments format, following guidance from the Charity Commission. Because our gross income is more than £25,000 a year the accounts must be examined by someone independent of the Trustees. The following accounts show that we made a small surplus of £3,423 in general funds. This is significantly better than the previous year which showed a deficit of £13,846. We had hoped that with the lifting of Covid restrictions that numbers of children using Prime Time would return to pre-Covid numbers. The first 6 months showed little increase in numbers but the second half of the year was much better, but still less than pre-Covid. Therefore for the first 6 months it was very uncertain if the charity was financially sustainable and a going concern. We had to warn staff and families that we were having to consider closing. However due to the increase in bookings, increased community fundraising and successful grant applications we did reverse last year’s losses, and did not have to issue redundancy notices and start closing procedures. If we had just been reliant on fee income, as in previous years, we would have seen a loss of £9,315 and would have had to close during the summer term.

Therefore at the end of the year the charity’s cash reserves stood at £24,959 (2022:£21,536), all of which is unrestricted. If we take account of money we owe and that owed to Prime Time our reserves as of 31 August 2023 are £27,132 (2022:£22,887), representing an increase of £4,245 (in 2022 a decrease of £11,225). Therefore the free reserves available to the trustees are £27,132 (2022:£22,887).

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have agreed a Reserves Policy which they review each year and note any progress towards meeting the target level of reserves. The main consideration in setting the level of reserves required is the moral commitment the Trustees have to the long term welfare of the children cared for. For 2022-23 they have agreed the following statement for the Annual Report:

Trustees Responsibilities

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law.

Approved by the Trustees on 17 January 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Vicki Limbrick

(Vicki Limbrick, Chair)

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

CHARITY INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Charity trustees:

Charity trustees:
Jim Bennett
Kevin Brookes
Steve Place
Vicki Limbrick
Anna Darling
Jono Darling
Roberta Sturgess
Charity number 1140465
Registered office c/o Wareham St Mary Primary School
Streche Road
Wareham
Dorset
BH20 4PG
Independent Mr Nigel J Maxted, B.Sc.
Examiner 12 Tuckers Mill Close
Stoborough
Wareham
Dorset
BH20 5BS
Bankers Lloyds Bank
Lewisham Branch
PO Box 1000
BX1 1LT
Staff Manager: Helen Pugh
Senior Playworker: Jo Monks
Playworker: Sally Brookes
Cleaner: Lianne Lewis

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2023

Responsibilities and basis of report

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the CIO”) for the year ended 31 August 2023.

As the charity trustees of the CIO, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the CIO’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signature: Max Maxted

Date: 9/5/2024

Max Maxted

12 Tuckers Mill Close , Stoborough , Wareham , Dorset , BH20 5BS

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2023

Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Total
funds		 Last year
to the nearest
£
to the nearest
£		 to the
nearest £		 to the
nearest £
Receipts
Childcare fees 52,174
-		 52,174
38,683
Fundraising 1,963
-		 1,963
182
Donations 221 -
221		 -
Grants 7,500
3,054
10,554
6,612
Sundry - - - -
Total receipts 61,858
3,054		 64,912
45,476
Payments
Staff 51,508
1,874		 53,382
52,130
Rent and services 1,986
-
1,986
1,742
Insurance 866 -
866
649
Phone 350 -
350
303
Fees 823
-
823
1,217
Bank charges 160
-		 160
182
Training 200
-
200
360
Resources 14 1,109 1,123
418
Equipment 53 71
124
174
Stationery/postage 113 - 113
194
Food 1,756
-		 1,756
1,297
Buildingrepairs, etc. -
-
-
-
Cleaningmaterials 552
-		 552
559
Trips/activities -
-		 -
-
Staff travel -
-		 -
-
Childcare fee refund - - - -
Sundry 54 -
54
97
Totalpayments 58,435
3,054		 61,489
59,322
Net of receipts/(payments) 3,423
-
3,423
(13,846)
Transfers between funds -
-
-
-
Cash funds lastyear end 21,536
-
21,536
35,382
Cash funds thisyear end 24,959
-
24,959
21,536

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT THE END OF THE PERIOD AS AT 31 AUGUST 2023

Cash funds
Other monetary assets
Liabilities		 Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
Bank account 24,859
-
Pettycash 100
-
Total cash funds
24,959		 -
Due
Childcare fees owed 4,213
30/09/2023
Total 4,213
Due
Childcare fees in advance 91
HMRC 1,353
30/09/2023
Credit Card 150 16/9/2023
Heating/lighting/waste/rent
(estimate)		 446 31/10/2023
Total
2,040

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 17 January 2024 and signed on its behalf by

Vicki Limbrick (Vicki Limbrick)

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PRIME TIME KIDS CLUB NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

1 Accounting policies

The financial statements of the Charity have been prepared in accordance with the guidance of the Charity Commission using the Receipts and Payments basis.

a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the Charity and rounded to the nearest £.

2 Grants

Grants
Unrestricted Restricted
£ £
Wareham Carnival 300
Dorset Council Community and Culture Project Fund 1,000
NPC 5,000
Co-operative Local Community Fund 2,054
Coastal Learning Partnership 2,200

Purposes of Restricted Funds

Dorset Council Community and Culture Project Fund-to provide free childcare places to low income families receiving pupil premium, nominated by Wareham St Mary Primary School. Co-operative Local Community Fund-provision of new activities to children

3 Unrestricted funds

General Fund
Designated fund (Liabilities)		 Balance
31/8/22
£
20,000
1,536
21,536		 Balance
31/8/23
£
20,000
2,040
22,919

Purposes of Funds

General fund – The ‘free reserves’ after allowing for all designated funds.

Designated fund (Liabilities) – To cover the liabilities due within 3 months of year end

4 Transactions with Trustees and Related Parties

During the year £nil (2022: £nil) expenses were reimbursed to the Trustees.

Mrs Sally Brookes is employed as a part-time Playworker and is the wife of a Trustee, Mr Kevin Brooks. She was appointed by competitive interview and permission was obtained from the Charity Commission for her to be employed as a connected person to a Trustee. Mr Kevin Brooks does not take part in any discussion or decision on rates of pay or staff conditions of service and benefits. This year she was paid a total of £7,568 (2022:£7,196) gross in salaries through PAYE, Employers NI and employer pension contributions.

5 Loans

During the year the CIO did not have a loan in place and:

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