Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 August 2021
The Committee of Leaside Under Fives Kindergarten present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021 and confirm they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
Leaside Under Fives Kindergarten is a committee-led, non-profit making preschool which was founded in 1994 to provide excellent early education for two and a half to five-year-olds. The Kindergarten runs during school term times only.
We are registered and inspected by Ofsted and full insurance is provided by our membership of the pre-school learning alliance.
Our mission
Our mission is to work in the community alongside parents and carers to provide a high-quality educational experience for children under statutory school age in a relaxed and happy environment.
In order to achieve this our aims are to
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Provide children with a safe, secure and stimulating environment
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Provide children with opportunities to learn and develop through play
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Support children’s learning and development by following the early years foundation stage
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Encourage parents and carers to take an active role in the kindergarten
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promote a caring environment, through the highest standards of professional practice, in which children can flourish, physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually.
Chairs report
This is my fourth chairs report and covers 2020-2021
At the beginning of the academic year we were still very much in the grip of the pandemic and had to operate with various restrictions. Parents were not able to enter the Kindergarten so our new arrivals were taken into the garden to separate from their parents. This went well and was again adopted for this year. At the end of September Hazel Ryan left us to be the manager at Tewin. It was decided that as hours had been cut for all staff previously, her hours would be shared out among the existing team. This has proved to be a good decision as the existing staff have relished taking on their new responsibilities and have more ownership of what is happening.
During October it was decided to buy into an HR and health and safety package to ensure we are complying with the law and are always up to date.
In November our administrator left and by this time we were in lockdown so I took over temporarily as we did not want to recruit remotely. Unfortunately, the lockdown went on for far longer than was anticipated so the position was not filled until the summer.
At the end of the year, Elaine Milton our Deputy Manager decided to retire. I would like to thank her for all her work over the years she has been here and wish her well for the future. We were fortunate to employ Joanne Cordwell as our new deputy and we wish her well in her new post
We also welcomed Catherine Sibthorpe as our new administrator and again wish her well.
Despite the restrictions, the Kindergarten has continued to deliver a high quality education for its children and I would like to thank the staff, parents and committee for their continued hard work.
Leaders Report
Thank you Lynne, I would also like to welcome you all to our AGM and to thank you for making the effort to come and support your child’s Kindergarten. I would like to thank Lynne and the committee for the support they have given to the Kindergarten over this past year. Without the support of the management committee and the fundraising committee, Leaside Kindergarten would not be able to continue.
I also want to thank The Rev Kathryn Taylor and Steve Brazier from Leaside Church, all our parents and especially to all the staff for their continued support and commitment given to me this past year. The staff work extremely hard to enhance the children’s development through play and learning. I feel very proud to have a professional, supportive and dedicated team to work with.
Due to Covid 19, and in accordance with the Government’s guidance, we had to temporarily close the Kindergarten for a week in January 2021, we reopened on
Monday 25 January. We have been very fortunate to have been able to remain open since then.
Unfortunately, we were unable to hold our annual Christmas Fair in 2020 or our Summer Fair, due to Covid. However, we were able to take the children to visit the “Ware Bear” at Christmas. We took photos of the children with the bear and made Christmas cards to give to their parents. We had a Christmas party for all the children at the end of term. For “Mother’s Day” each mum received a plant and for “Father’s Day” the children designed their own mug to give to their dad’s. In the Summer term, the children made hand prints which were then printed onto Eco Tote Bags and were then sold as part of our fundraising activities. I would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Jina, one of our parents, who kindly organized the Tote bags. All money raised from our fundraising events goes straight into buying new equipment and toys for the children.
At the start of the Autumn term, we had 16 new children start at the Kindergarten and we have more children starting after the October half term. The introduction of an additional date for parent consultations has been successful. We offer parent consultations term. These meetings are a chance for parents to talk about their child’s development, with their key person.
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Name of staff member Job title Full/part time
Carmel Chapman Leader Full time
Elaine Milton Deputy/key person Full time
Kym Woodley Key person Part time
Paige Farnham Key person Full time
Barbara Conway-Baker Key person Part time
Amanda Wasylycyzn Key person Part time
Niamh Spendiff Key person Part time
Ching Howitt Key person Part time
Hazel Ryan Key Person Part time
Adam Berthoud Administrator Part time
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We had Louise the photographer visit us to take some beautiful individual and group photos of the children, this is always very popular with the parents. Unfortunately, we were unable to arrange our Easter performance or organize any of our normal outings in the Spring and Summer this year due to Covid.
We said goodbye to 3 members of staff, Miss Ryan (key person) who left to manage her own nursery, Mr Adam Berthoud (admin) who left to spend more time with his young family and Mrs Elaine Milton (deputy/keyworker) who retired in July. We would like to say thank you to each of them for their hard work and dedication and wish them well for the future. In particular, I would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Milton who worked at Leaside for 19 years and was also on the committee, she will be sorely missed, and we wish her a long, happy and healthy retirement.
I would like to welcome 2 new members of staff to Leaside, Mrs Joanne Cordwell, deputy/key person to red group and Mrs Catherine Sibthorpe, our new administrator.
Last Year’s Curriculum
Our themes last year included “All about me” children learnt about where they live, whose in their family, if they have pets. We looked at family photos and explored what we look like. We started our phonics, looking at numbers, shapes and sizes and discovered how our seasons change.
Sessions filled: (current number)
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Stage Boys Girls Total
EYFS:
Pre school 5 6 11
Nursery 6 10 16
EYFS Total 11 16 27
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Kindergarten: We can offer up to 33 places in any one session in the Kindergarten.
Preschool: The intake for preschool is 13 in any one session.
Nursery: The intake for Nursery is 20 in any one session.
CURRENT SEN REGISTER: (Special Educational Needs)
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Stage Number Boys Girls
EHC 1 0 1
Other SEN Support 0 0 0
Totals 0 0 0
Number 0 0 0
as %
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CURRENT EAL REGISTER: (English as Additional Language)
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Stage Number Boys Girls
Preschool 2 1 1
Nursery 4 2 2
Totals 6 3 3
Number
as %
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Treasurer’s report – Donna Swann
During the year, the audited accounts for 2019/20 were submitted and accepted by the Charities Commission .
The Annual Accounts for 2020/21 are finalised and once they are audited will be submitted to the Charities Commission by June 2022
The ending balances for 20/21 were;
Main Account - £11,334.94
Fundraising Account – £1,536.11 Reserves Account - £15,024.76
Total Assets - £27,905.81 Operating Surplus – £5,765.46
Stafng Costs
During the year 20/21 Leaside were 2 members of staff down. This was a key person and an administrator. The key worker hours were distributed to existing staff to top up hours reduced due to the pandemic. The administrator’s job was covered by the Chair. Both posts have now been filled and budgeted for.
Additional Costs
Since Nov 2020 we have had a contract with Croner which specialised in Employment Law, HR and Health & Safety Services. This ensures that Leaside comply with regulations and legal requirements. This is at a cost of £275 a month.
Payroll
National Living Wage increased to £8.91 from April 2021 and this was applied to all support workers.
Savings 19/20
The Management team in conjunction with the Chair and Treasurer and have reviewed the outgoings and have made savings where possible. This includes changing office suppliers.
Accounting Procedures
We are now using a single system for accounting. The accountancy package (WAVE) is being used to help keep our financial records.
Cash Flow
Leaside Under Fives Kindergarten
Date Range: Sep 01, 2020 to Aug 31, 2021
| CASH INFLOW AND OUTFLOW | Sep 01, 2020 to Aug 31, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Operating Activities | |
| Sales | £106,668.21 |
| Purchases | -£29,517.91 |
| Payroll | -£71,384.84 |
| Net Cash from Operating Activities | £5,765.46 |
| Investing Activities | |
| Net Cash from Investing Activities | £0.00 |
| Financing Activities | |
| Net Cash from Financing Activities | £0.00 |
OVERVIEW
| Starting Balance | £22,140.35 As of 2020-09-01 |
|---|---|
| Gross Cash Inflow | £106,668.21 |
| Gross Cash Outflow | £100,902.75 |
| Net Cash Change | £5,765.46 |
| Ending Balance | £27,905.81 As of 2021-08-31 |
Cash Flow - Leaside Under Fives Kindergarten Date Range: Sep 01, 2020 to Aug 31, 2021
Created on: Jun 09, 2022
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Report to the trusteesl members of Leaside Under Fives Kindergarten On accounts for the year ended 318t August 2021 Charlty no (if any) 1142831 Set out on pages IrÉmÈmber 10 inLlude the Daoe nurnber5 ofaddilional shee I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ('the Trust.) for the year ended 3110812020. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Ac*°). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts Caled out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions giv8n by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Indepond•nt I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matter5 have •xaminorfs statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below ") which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respe¢t'. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records., or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with th8 examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the brackets rf they do not apply. Signed: Dats: Name: Margaret Davis Relevant professlonal qualifi¢ation(sl or body IA
(see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Glve here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.