2022-08-31-accounts

CIRENCESTER OPPORTUNITY GROUP LIMITED

(A Company limited by guarantee and not having share capital)

REPORT AND AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31/8/2022

CHARITY NO. 1160184 COMPANY NO. 9210771

1

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

CONTENTS

Year ended 31 August 2022

	Page
Legal and Administratve informaton ..............................................................................................	3
Directors’ annual report ...................................................................................................................	4 - 12
Independent Examiner’s report ........................................................................................................	13
Statement of fnancial actvites .......................................................................................................	14
Balance sheet.....................................................................................................................................	15
Notes to the fnancial statements .......................................................................................................	16 - 21

2

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Legal and Administrative Information

Year ended 31 August 2022

The Trustee Board presents their report, together with the financial statements, for the period from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022.

Reference and administrative details of the charity, its directors and advisors

Cirencester Opportunity Group is a registered charity, number 1160184 and is a charitable company limited by guarantee, number 9210771. The charity number, company number, present Trustees (being directors of the charitable company) and advisors are noted below:

Trustee Board

The members of the Trustee Board (who are also the directors of the charitable company) during the period were as follows:

Chair: Peter Stone Treasurer: Robert Bickerdike Trustees: Jane Burr (Nominated Individual, Safeguarding) Sylwia Duzniak Lynda Draper (appointed April 2021) Matt Hooper (appointed 22 June 2022)

• Russell Jones-Walker (resigned as trustee to become advisor 24 March 2022)

• Advisors: Russell Jones-Walker (from March 2022)

• Kevin Traish (no voting rights, EY2 in progress) Shahedur Rohman

Company registered number: 9210771

Charity number: 1160184

Bankers: HSBC, King Street, Stroud, GL5 3DS

Registered Office: Beeches Road, Cirencester, GL7 1BW

Independent Examiner: Wenn Townsend, Gosditch House ; 5 Gosditch Street Cirencester, Glos. GL7 2AG

3

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report

Year ended 31 August 2022

Structure, governance and management

Cirencester Opportunity Group (COG), operating as a specialist early years and family support centre, is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.

It is governed by Articles of Association, which were approved and adopted on 17 October 1974 (upon registration as a charitable company). COG became a limited company on 9 September 2014, when a new Charities Commission registration was issued. The articles of association were amended to reflect this change and were amended again on 20 June 2019.

We seek volunteers with new skills and experience and, inevitably, we must replace volunteers who can no longer work with us for various reasons. As such, the charity has to “induct” new Trustee Directors on a reasonably regular basis. To provide a consistency and thoroughness of introduction that will maximise the new Trustee Director contribution as quickly as possible, we follow an induction process which is both simple and yet sufficiently flexible to take account of individual's needs and availability. The process is outlined in the Information for New Trustees document dated January 2023, and includes:

• Attending at least one Board Meeting as an observer

• Completing an application form, outlining the contribution that the potential Trustee feels they will make to Cirencester Opportunity Group and completing a skills and experience audit.

• Providing two written references

• Agreeing a written Trustee Role Specification specific to their role on the Board

• Signing the Trustee Code of Conduct detailing their commitment to the organisation, including completion, within 3 months of appointment, of a Safeguarding Children Level 1 course (usually on-line) and the same for the Prevent Duty.

Upon appointment as a Trustee Director, the Chairperson will inform Companies House and The Charity Commission of that appointment and the new Trustee Director will complete the Ofsted EY2 on-line registration process.

When appointing key management, and when reviewing their remuneration packages, external benchmarking is undertaken against directly compatible roles, wherever possible. The Trustee Board is responsible for setting and agreeing the remuneration package of the CEO. The CEO reviews and recommends changes to the remuneration packages of their team (see below), which must be agreed by the Trustee Board.

We adhere to the Charity Governance Code and believe our main principles and processes by which we govern adhere closely to the seven principles of good governance contained within the code. As we develop our Trustee Board and ways of working, we will check our progress against these principles and their underlying directional guidance.

Organisational structure and decision making process

The Trustee Board delegates day-to-day management of the operations of the charity to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/ Centre Manager and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), Catharine Fowler, who was appointed in September 2017. Following a re-organisation of roles in 2018, the CEO has a Senior Leadership Team (SLT) comprising of Sharon Pitts; Pre-School Manager and DSL and Victoria Chase; Outreach Team Lead and DSL.

The wider team is comprised of two Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinators (SENDCos), Jane Pilgrim and Catherine Chidley, both of whom are also part of the pre-school practitioner team alongside Margaret Hartnell, Benjamin Jayne and Rachel Malins; all of whom support the Family Outreach Team to deliver family services through COG’s early intervention programme. Jemima Collishaw works solely within this team, with the Outreach Team Lead, to deliver family services and support.

Supporting these roles are Stephanie Smyth, Charity Fundraiser (SLT member); Mary Forrest, who was replaced by Paul Robertson in February 2022, as Centre Administrator and Sharon Smith, Pre-school Cook.

During 2021/22, to be able to continue to hold full board meetings and to stay in touch with COVID-related issues, the Board met online or as a hybrid meeting of online and physically present, so that decision-making could continue with minimal impact.

4

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

Objectives and activities

We have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing our objectives and activities and in planning for the future.

During this year, the Trustee Board began a review of the aims and objectives of the charity, to feed into a new strategic plan. COG’s vision and mission statements were refreshed and brought up-to-date to reflect the charity's ethos of responding to need in the community, through its support of young children and families living with significant challenges and additional needs.

Vision Statement : Creating Positive Beginnings for Young Children and Families

Mission : Cirencester Opportunity Group provides a warm, welcoming and safe environment for all families. We work in partnership with families and other agencies to promote inclusive care and early years education to all children, delivering both specialist learning through play and family support, by responding to the changing needs of our local community.

Within this framework, our objectives are:

To meet the evolving needs of young children and families in our local community:

• Recognize, respect and support the rights and early childhood development of all children, including those with additional needs (whether through physiological condition or environment), and the aspirations of their families for them.

• Strive for wider inclusion for children in their early years and share best practice and specialist knowledge within our community.

• Foster a sense of belonging where learning can thrive, helping every child to build confidence and resilience throughout their pre -school journey.

• Support the wellbeing of our service users and staff team through training, continuous improvement and following our ethos of care.

• Ensure the best transition for every child to their next stage of education, through understanding their unique learning styles and stages of development.

Additionally, we reviewed and updated our core values, in order to provide a focus for our ongoing strategic review:

• Inclusivity is at the heart of all we do; we respect, value and focus on the needs of the individual.

• We work in partnership with parents, carers and other professionals to ensure positive beginnings for every child and their family.

• We encourage ongoing development of our team, children and families in a caring, enriching and stimulating environment.

• We create enabling environments to support children’s learning and to empower families to make strong, safe and effective choices to help them succeed.

Our Centre at Beeches Road in Cirencester is owned by the charity following a donation of the land by Gloucestershire County Council in 1982.

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees’ risk management process identifies key events or incidents that could affect the charity’s ability to achieve its aims. This process results in a record of the most significant internal and external risks facing the charity, the possible impact or consequence of each risk and the required action to mitigate it. The Board of Trustees seeks reasonable assurance that these risks have been adequately managed, and that appropriate procedures and controls are in place to identify, manage and mitigate the key risks as far as possible.

Post COVID-19, the charity’s risk register is in the process of being reviewed and updated in order to maximise potential opportunities while minimising the adverse effects of risks. At the time of writing, the Board is undergoing a review of roles and responsibilities, and a new risk register committee is being developed. Work is proceeding to ensure that all risk category sections are fully populated, to enable a more focussed and quality-driven approach to recognising and addressing higher priority risk items; identifying whether the anticipated impact may present threats or opportunities, in order to assign appropriate mitigation strategies.

As a charity providing care for children, the trustees recognise that once of the key risks relates to the safety of children whilst in our care. Strong safeguarding controls have been implemented and are regularly reviewed to ensure they mitigate the likelihood of this risk. Training and vetting of staff and clear policies create an effective safeguarding culture. There is a trustee in place with specific oversight of safeguarding policies and procedures, who liaises directly with staff and reports to the Trustee Board.

5

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

Achievements and performance

COG’s activities for the year until 31 August 2022 were still, in part, affected by the covid-19 pandemic, particularly early during the academic year when some restrictions and guidance were still in place. Risk assessments were retained and staff tested twice weekly while tests were still freely available; results recorded until guidance was removed. All staff chose to be fully vaccinated. Toddler groups continued to be held outside until the weather became prohibitive for very small children and babies. Staff and parents continued to wear protective face coverings, as did visitors, and for much of the year parents were still not permitted to enter the building. By the end of the academic year, all restrictions had been removed and parents began re-entering the building. However, this stopped as covid numbers rose significantly again. Parents of new starters were exempt from this as it was deemed more important for children’s mental health/personal, social and emotional development for them to settle their children in the playroom, amid a notable increase in anxieties of young children being left in the care of others, some of whom had never left their parents due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. It is a reflection of the care, commitment and diligence of COG staff, as well as good planning, that toddler groups and pre-school sessions remained open to all throughout the year. This year saw a period of recovery and resilience for COG families and the work of the Centre very much focussed on supporting families to rebuild confidence and navigate the changes and challenges brought about by events of the previous year.

Following the annual safeguarding audit and in discussion with the trustee lead on this subject, a new Safeguarding Leaflet was drawn up and introduced to enable all visitors to the Centre to be briefed on safeguarding expectations and requirements while onsite. DSLs now meet annually with the Safeguarding trustee lead, to complete and submit the Safeguarding Audit.

Points to highlight this year include:

• a) In November 2021, St James Place (SJP), with the support of Splash Community Projects, launched a week-long big build in which 250 SJP volunteers prepared and constructed a new outdoor play area in COG’s grounds. The main area of work transformed the ‘hardstanding play area’ immediately outside the playroom. The problematic gravelled areas were removed and replaced with structures that provide open-ended play opportunities to enable children to develop physically using gross motor skills, and also in many other development areas through being able to engage in imaginative play. These structures included a wooden train engine with four carriages, a bike track with a bridge and two play structures that can be a café, shop, electric charging station; the opportunities are endless. COG’s large sandpit was covered with a big canopy with clear Perspex roof to allow for all-weather play and a ‘water-wall’ was included to enable the children to wet the sand for sandcastles, as well as providing play in its own right. In addition, the small boat on the grassed area was removed and replaced with a much bigger and more exciting ‘ship’ and a gated slide was built over one of the grassy humps. COG’s gratitude for this large-scale donation and investment in its future of providing inclusive care and education to young children cannot be underestimated.

• b) Following a review of staff terms of employment, it was noted that we needed to update these to ensure they were robust, correct and up-to-date with employment law, offering both staff members and the charity the correct levels of contractual protection. This was achieved smoothly in consultation with staff members.

• c) The charity took the decision to review and improve the general accounting system leading to adopting a new, cloud-based approach with the introduction of Xero and Dext. This process is ongoing as we transition to the new system and way of working, which it has been identified will be more a robust and less time-consuming way of managing the charity’s finances.

• d) Our SENDCos have worked hard alongside practitioners to put all support needed in place for SEND children and this year COG was allocated named advisors from GCC and the EHCP team. The Centre Manager now sits on the EY SEND Forum which is led by Dingley’s Promise and includes several other ‘Opportunity Groups’ and other settings specialising in supporting children with SEND. Our hope is that we will be able to share best practice, advice and support particularly in terms of ways to increase support for children with SEND. The Centre Manager and SENDCos formally responded to the green paper SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) review.

• e) The DfE launched the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework in September 2021 with the aims of improving outcomes at age 5, particularly in early language and literacy and reducing workload such as unnecessary paperwork, so practitioners can spend more time with the children in their care. By the end of the year, this had been embraced by all staff who worked hard to scaffold up children’s skills and provide activities to focus strongly on children’s individual

6

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

developmental stages and needs. Feedback from staff is that it has reduced some paperwork time for practitioners when supporting typically developing children but is difficult and, therefore, more time consuming to use to support children with SEND and vulnerable children with significant ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) that have caused developmental delay.

• f) Following a review of our assessment and monitoring of children’s development due to the introduction of the new EYFS, feedback from staff and in discussion with Peter Lang Children’s Trust (PLCT), we introduced the systematic use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for Social and Emotional development (ASQ-SE). Our intention in using this particular questionnaire is to monitor more closely and therefore better support the social and emotional development of children in the wake of the pandemic, to address the shortfalls in assessing that of children with SEND and ACEs through the new EYFS and to provide more opportunities for parental engagement with COG staff includes their child’s key person. We will monitor the success of this with staff and parents as this progresses.

• g) Parent engagement has clearly been impacted by the pandemic. Over the course of this year, we have worked hard to re-engage with parents in meaningful ways to support their children’s development. Parent stay and play sessions were re-introduced successfully, being kept outdoors to keep everyone safe. Father Christmas attended the new outdoor play area to give gifts in a socially distanced way from the new train (decorated as Santa’s sleigh) and our Christmas raffle was held again here. Additionally, parents joined us for the leavers party and the grand opening of our new play area. Our Outreach team were able to re-launch their primary school starters talks amongst other support for parents.

• h) One positive effect coming from national lockdowns has been the changes made to staff training. All training is now almost exclusively online, which has meant vastly increased ease of access and affordability. For example, numerous safeguarding courses were undertaken alongside EYFS training on characteristics of effective teaching and learning; staff wellbeing; training specific to a child such as PEG feed awareness; childhood development training including brain development and supporting anxious children; yoga for children and addressing behaviour to name just some of the training undertaken this year.

• i) Through the new EYFS, there has been a national focus on the oral health of children. We have been able to purchase new resources to help promote our teaching in this area and our outreach family support team have also seen a lot of need in this area. This year, the outreach team have worked hard to get dental appointments for children who have not had access to a dentist due to the pandemic and other reasons. This comes at a time when NHS dental appointments have been difficult to obtain anyway. We have been successful in highlighting this issue to parents and the need to look after their children’s teeth.

• j) The Cotswold Primrose Trust supported COG this year to provide additional communication and language support for children with SEND and which also benefitted all children, as part of our recovery and resilience work following the pandemic. ‘Chatterbugs’ has been successful in supporting children for whom language development has been impacted due a developmental delay and also due to the months of isolation from social situations, which would usually naturally support this side of a child’s development.

• k) COG has received funding this year from Global Make Some Noise to run a programme of recovery and resilience in the wake of the pandemic, to deliver social and emotional support to children, while learning through play, called ‘How do you feel today?’. This has included the introduction of Children’s Yoga amongst other activities which allow children to explore, identify and name their feelings and emotions, learning self-regulation skills and techniques in an age appropriate way. To support parents and carers, this programme also includes training to enable us to trial The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program. This trial works alongside our existing Solihull Approach. Both programmes give parents simple and practical strategies to help them build strong, healthy relationships, confidently manage their children’s behaviour and prevent problems developing.

• l) We continue to work with a wide range of external agencies to support the best outcomes for our children and families, including our local Health Visitor network, who have introduced the roles of Public Health Nurse Practitioners. They will provide support to families of children with SEND and now work closely with our SENDCos, where the Health Visitors will retain those families with Safeguarding challenges, who may be in need of, or are being, supported by Social Care and/or Early Help, and who continue to work closely with our outreach family support team.

• m) Parenting support groups have proved to be of great importance to parents/carers this year, as we emerge from the pandemic, and we have provided several groups to support recovery and resilience while working hard to ensure they remained in place through various changes in restrictions. These proved successful in providing a forum for parents/carers to discuss their feelings

7

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

and emotions around the impact of the pandemic, share experiences and be a source of mutual support. We delivered cooking sessions, as requested by parents/carers, where new skills were learned and opportunities to build confidence in the kitchen were provided. Participants requested that every 6 weeks they play a board game and have chance to ‘chill out and chat’. During one of these events, COG provided a special croissant breakfast as a treat to support mental health.

• n) As part of our wider community work, and to contribute towards the sustainability of the charity, we now provide hire of our Annexe building for Family Group Conferences , to enable families to come together to discuss how and who can help and support them. This building is also now the Cirencester Foodbank Hub on a Thursday afternoon, where clients come to collect food parcels and acquire advice and support with a range of challenges. We are trialling this new relationship this year, and hope to continue it next year. Additionally, we are now collaborating with a group of local childminders who use our woodland learning area to provide safe outdoor learning space for their children. All of this community working adds value to our mission and ethos, enabling us to truly collaborate and provide joint working with other organisations, which benefits the children and families in our local community.

• o) We have started to see an increase in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work again after the pandemic, with a group of colleagues from St James’s Place who cleared and re-marked the spaces in our car park, and re-painted our Therapy Room. We hope that this corporate team building work will continue next year as more companies allow staff to enter premises safely again.

8

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

Financial Review

During the year, the group declared an overall deficit of £33,012 as compared to last year’s surplus of £16,387.

Our reserves at 31/8/2022 were:

• Restricted reserves £4,654

• Designated reserves £40,000

• Unrestricted reserves £44,426

• Value of fixed assets (buildings) £113,546

Income analysis:

----- Start of picture text -----
Income Analysis 2021-22
Restricted
Grants &
Donations -
55%
Unrestricted
Income - 8%
Fee Income -
37%
----- End of picture text -----

Income totalled £209,339 which reflected a decrease of 12% from the previous year.

• Fee income at £78,079 showed a decline of £9959 (11%) from the previous year. Whilst Pre School fees only reduced by 1%, our funding for areas such as Inclusion fell by £8,322 or 46%

• Restricted grants and donations totalled £113,997, down by 11% from last year. These continue to now contribute over 54% of our total income - a continued fantastic result from our fund raising efforts

• Unrestricted income amounted to £17,263 an increase of £4,167 over last year.

9

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

Expenditure analysis:

----- Start of picture text -----
Expenditure analysis 2021-22
180000
160000
140000
120000
100000
£
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
Delivering services (68%) Nursery eqqip & meals (4%) Forest school & garden (4%)
Building operations (5%) Office/administration (12%) Fundraising (5%)
Governance & Audit (1%) Depreciation (1%)
----- End of picture text -----

Total expenditure across the year of £242,351 showed a 10% increase over the previous year. However, a significant proportion of this related to the planned strategy from last year’s establishment of designated reserves (and utilisation of Covid-related funding) to improve our facilities, people traffic flow, cleaning and hygiene regime; and also to undertake a comprehensive Health & Safety and Human Resources (HR) procedures and policy review.

• Delivering services (staffing costs; outsourced Music and Play Therapy; other play activities) at £163,659 reflects that 68% of total expenditure is spent directly on delivering activities

• Nursery materials and equipment; hot lunch time meals; running the building and our Forest School reflect a further £32,569 or 13% of the total

• The total administration; fundraising and office costs of £40,789 represents 17% of total expenditure. This figure does include “one off” infrastructure expenditure including website re-design (ongoing); upgrade to our accounting and HR procedures

• Depreciation and Governance costs (including Inspection fee) make up the remaining £5,338 or 2% of the charity’s total costs. No Trustee received any expenses.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have set a reserves policy which requires that the reserves be maintained at a level which ensures that COG’s core activities could continue during a period of unforeseen difficulty and that these reserves are maintained in a readily realisable form. The calculation of the required level of reserves is an integral part of COG’s planning, budgeting and forecasting cycle. It takes into account the risks associated with unexpected variations in the stream of income and expenditure, given planned activity levels and COG’s future commitments.

The Trustees assess the reserves policy on an annual basis. They monitor and discuss levels of readily realisable reserves and COG’s future commitments. The main risks to both income and expenditure plus the requirements for working capital and adequate cash flow are assessed.

The trustees use this information to ensure an adequate level of readily realisable reserves is maintained. In September 2022 the reserves policy was reviewed and based on this risk analysis, a Free Cash Reserve target of between 3 to 6 months of future annual expenditure (£52,500 and £105,000) was confirmed.

At 31/8/2022, the actual Free cash reserves were £44,426.

In addition the Trustees have set aside £40,000 as Designated reserves, this is made up of:

• £35,000 to be ring fenced as a Staff redundancy liability provision as at 1/9/2022 - should the charity be forced to close during the upcoming year.

• £5,000 to undertake a comprehensive review of premises security - to facilitate an enhanced working environment for staff by updating access controls and lighting.

10

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

Plans for future periods

We will continue to build on the new strategic plan begun this year:

• Evaluate and work to maximise our current assets to optimise and expand, where possible, the direction of the charity to meet the needs of current and new service users; including the launch of a new website, amongst other celebratory plans, to mark COG’s 50th year in 2023.

• Focus on staff wellbeing to ensure physical safety and emotional support for staff members is in place, and continue to try to attract funding to support this outcome

• Continue to try to attract funding for a capital project to improve office space for staff to accommodate a team that has grown in number over the past decade, and outgrown space available—this is very difficult to achieve through fundraising

• Actively seek out and say ‘yes’ to opportunities to get involved in national research and training to extend and enhance our specialist knowledge in order to reach our goals

• Continue to build a robust and effective Board of Trustees through a programme of recruitment, including an analysis of skills needed to provide beneficial areas of expertise

• With new appointments on the Board of Trustees, we plan to review our risk management policy and procedures, including a re-evaluation of the rising need for more comprehensive HR and H&S provision to ensure knowledge and action regarding updates in employment and health and safety law/procedures, to meet staffing needs and enhance wellbeing

• Continually review and evaluate our pre-school provision to ensure we are able to remain sustainable and viable in the face of growing concerns around recruitment and retention in the early years sector, particularly ensuring we continue to meet the needs of children with SEND

• Continually review and evaluate outreach family support provision to ensure we understand and respond to the changing needs of our local community, particularly in the wake of the global pandemic; the known and unforeseen impacts it brings.

Statement of directors’ responsibilities

The Charity Trustees (who are also the Directors of Cirencester Opportunity Group Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and 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 the affairs of the Charitable Company as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the directors should follow best practice and:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.

11

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Director’s Annual Report (continued) Year ended 31 August 2022

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the Charity 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 Charity and the group and hence, taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charitable Company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Signature:

Print name: Robert Bickerdike Date: 28 February 2023

12

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Independent Examiner’s Report

Year ended 31 August 2022

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Cirencester Opportunity Group Limited

I report to the Charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 August 2021 which are set out on pages 14 to 21.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the Charity Trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

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

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act 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; or

4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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

Miss Ruth Herbert FCCA

Signed:

Wenn Townsend Accountants Limited

Gosditch House Gosditch Street

Cirencester GL7 2AG

13

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account

Year ended 31 August 2022

Statement of fnancial actvites

	Unrestricted funds	Designated Funds	Restricted funds	Total funds	2021
	£	£	£	£	£
Income and endowments
Donatons	13623		113997	127620	147262
Earned from charitable actvites	78079		0	78079	88038
Earned from other actvites	2344		0	2344	733
Investment and other income	1296		0	1296	1298
Total	95342		113997	209339	237331
Expenditure
Cost of raising funds	6763		5000	11763	10358
Expenditure on charitable actvites	115057		115531	230588	210586
Other expenditure	0		0	0	0
Total	121820		120531	242351	220944
Net Income/Expenditure	-26478		-6534	-33012	16387
Transfer between funds	0		0	0	0
Net movement in funds	-26478	0	-6534	-33012	16387
Total funds brought forward	184451	40000	11188	235639	219252
Total funds carried forward	157973		4654	202627	235639

The statement of financial activities include all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The notes on pages 15 to 21 form part of these financial statements

14

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Balance Sheet

Year ended 31 August 2022

Note Fixed Assets 8 Current Assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Total Current Assets Creditors (falling within one year) 10 Total Assets less current liabilites Financed by: Unrestricted funds Designated funds Restricted funds Net Assets Funds	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total 2022 Total 2021 £ £ £ £ 113546 0 113546 116398 1731 0 1731 3251 90326 78597 168923 145323	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total 2022 Total 2021 £ £ £ £ 113546 0 113546 116398 1731 0 1731 3251 90326 78597 168923 145323	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total 2022 Total 2021 £ £ £ £ 113546 0 113546 116398 1731 0 1731 3251 90326 78597 168923 145323	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total 2022 Total 2021 £ £ £ £ 113546 0 113546 116398 1731 0 1731 3251 90326 78597 168923 145323
	205603	78597	284200	148574
	7630 73943 81573 29333
	197973	4654	202627	235639
	157973 157973 184451 40000 40000 40000 4654 4654 11188
	197973	4654	202627	235639
	197973 4654 202627 235639

In approving these financial statements as directors of the Company we hereby confirm:

• a) The Company is entitled to the exemption from audit under Section 477(c) of the Companies Act 2006 from the year ended 31/8/2022. The Trustees have not required the Charitable Company to obtain an audit of its financial statement for the year ended 31/8/2022 in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

• b) That we acknowledge our responsibilities for:

• i. ensuring that the Company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

• ii. preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company as at the end of the financial year, and of its profit or loss for the year then ended in accordance with the requirements of section 394 and 395, and which otherwise comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements so far as applicable to the Charitable Company.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime and in accordance with FRS102 and the Charities SORP (FRS102). The notes on the following pages form part of these accounts.

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by:

R. Bickerdike Dated:

Company number 9210771

15

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements

Year ended 31 August 2022

1) Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practice. Cotswold Counselling meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

The Charity has applied Update Bulletin 2 as published on 5th October 2018 and does not include a cash flow statement on the grounds that it is applying FRS 102 Section 1A.

Fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at rates calculate to write off the cost less residual value of each asset over its expected useful life as follows:

• Land and Buildings 2% reducing balance

• Fixtures and Equipment 20% reducing balance

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds comprise those funds which the trustees are free to use in accordance with the charitable objectives. Restricted funds are funds which have been given for particular purposes and projects.

Income

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories income:

Fee income is included in full in the statement of Financial Activities when receivable.

• The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in these accounts.

• Investment income is included when receivable.

• Incoming resources for generating funds are accounted for when earned.

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account activity.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

16

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

Financial instruments

The trust only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as a basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised as a transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Pensions

Since September 2017, employees are automatically enrolled into a defined contribution pension scheme operated by The People’s Pension. Employees can subsequently opt out. Employees joining the scheme, contract directly with the pension company.

The charity made a matching contribution of 3% of qualifying earnings to this pension scheme and acts as an agent in collecting and paying over employee contributions. The contributions made for the accounting period treated as an expense and were £4154 (2021 = £4264)

2) Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity. The charity is registered and incorporated in England and Wales and it’s registered address is : Beeches Road; Cirencester; Glos; GL7 1BW

3) Financial performance of the charity

The statement of Financial Activities states the financial performance of the charity.

4) Income:

4) Income:
A1 – Donatons & Grants	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total 2022	Total 2021
Gloucestershire Funders		4568	4568	1500
Children in Need		10332	10332	15351
St James Place		10000	10000	15833
Global Make Some Noise		12930	12930	20000
Peter LangTrust		40000	40000	40000
SocietyHolyChild Jesus`		22214	22214	22170
Arnold Clark		500	500	0
Ciren Girls Club		500	500	0
Cirencester Town Council		500	500	500
B&Q Neighbourly		3268	3268	0
Soroptmist		500	500	522
Summerfeld		1595	1595	0
Co-opLocal		475	475	0
Comic Relief CommunityFund		1333	1333	2667
Glos CountyCouncil - Spokan		930	930	0
Cotswold Primrose Trust		4352	4352	3000
CAF Resilience Fund			0	12049
Barnwood Trust			0	1245
Woodruf	500		500	500
Kemble Church	500		500	600
Naunton Downs Seniors	3000		3000
Local Answer	1000		1000
P. Marner	1000		1000
RWE Generaton	500		500
Do It	1000		1000
Various donatons &grants	6123		6123	11325
Total	13623	113997	127620	147262

17

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

A2 Earned from charitable actvites	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total 2022	Total 2021
GCC Nurseryfees	71927	0	71927	82560
Parent fees	6152	0	6152	5478
Total	78079	0	78079	88038
A3 Earned from other actvites	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total 2022	Total 2021
Fund raisingactvites	1332	0	1332	733
Buildinghire	1012	0	1012	0
Total	2344	0	2344	733

5) Expenditure:

Expenditure on charitable actvites	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total 2022	Total 2021
Deliveryof services	64083	99576	163659	149116
Nurseryequipment and hot meals	4571	5667	10238	13011
Forest school andgarden	7514	1950	9464	3094
Buildingoperatons	8694	4169	12863	18160
Ofce & administraton	24857	4169	29026	22082
Depreciaton	2852	0	2852	3044
Governance* & Independent examinaton	2486	0	2486	2079
Total	115057	115531	230588	210586

• Trustees received no remuneration and were not reimbursed for any of their expenses in the period.

6) Paid Employees:

6) Paid Employees:
Average number of ‘full tme equivalent’ employees in the year:	2022	2021
Fundraising	1	1
Administraton	1	1
Charitable Actvites	8	8
Governance	0	0

18

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) Year ended 31 August 2022

7) Movements in Funds:

Unrestricted Funds Designated Funds Restricted Funds Arnold Clark Cirencester Girls Club Soroptmist Cots District Council Glos. Funders Glos. Comm Foundaton St James Place RAF Brize Norton Barnwood Trust SHCJ Peter Lang Trust Children in Need Tesco Cotswld Primrose Trust GCC Spokan Global Make Noise Summerfeld Comic Relief . Co-Op Local B&Q Neighbourly Other - public Total Restricted Total Funds		Opening £	Opening £	Incoming Resources £	Incoming Resources £	Outgoing Re- sources £	Outgoing Re- sources £	Outgoing Re- sources £	Transfer Of Funds	Transfer Of Funds	At 31/8/2022_ £
		184451		95342			121820				157973
		40000		0			0				40000
		0 0 0 0 1175 1091 0 600 1245 0 0 3651 876 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2550		500 500 500 500 4568 0 10000 0 0 22214 40000 10332 0 4352 930 12930 1595 1333 475 3268 0			500 500 500 500 5743 1091 10000 600 1245 22214 40000 13539 876 2248 930 12374 1595 1333 475 3268 1000				0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 444 0 2104 0 556 0 0 0 0 1550
		11188		113997			120531				4654
		235639		209339			242351				202627

Designated Reserves:

The Trustees have continued to review areas of the Charity’s operations and aligned with it’s strategic analysis; Centre Development Plan and Risk Register , have decided to identify the following areas of operations that should be defined as “Designated Reserves.

• £35,000 to be ring fenced as a Staff redundancy liability provision as at 31/8/2023 - should the charity be forced to close.

• £5,000 to undertake an IT infrastructure review and subsequently deliver a more secure; reliable and ergonomically effective working environment

19

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

8) Tangible Fixed Assets:

Cost At 1st Sept 2021 Additons in Year Disposals At 31stAugust 2022 Depreciaton Balance brought forward Charge for the Year Disposals At 31stAugust 2022 Net Book Value At 31stAugust 2022 At 31st August 2021	Land & Buildings £ 129405 0 0 __ 129405 _ 15918 2270 0 18188 111217 113487 ___	Fixtures & Fitngs etc. Total £ £ 12110 141515 0 0 0 0 __ _ 12110 141515 9199 25117 582 2852 0 0 9781 27969 2329 113546 2911 116398 ___

9) Taxation:

As a charity, Cirencester Opportunity Group Limited is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within the Section 478 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 to the extent these are applied to its charitable objections.

10) Creditors:

Income in advance Accruals Total	2022 2021 £ £ 73943 21269 7630 8064	2022 2021 £ £ 73943 21269 7630 8064
	81573	29333

11) Capital Commitments

The company had no known capital commitments at the balance sheet date.

20

Cirencester Opportunity Group (Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

Year ended 31 August 2022

13) Government Grants:

The following income was received from government bodies during the year.

	2022	2021
	£	£
Gloucester County Council - Nursery Grant	71927	82560
Cirencester Town Council	500	500
Cotswold County Council – Autsm Community Support	930	4750

21