## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
# **Registered Charity Number 1164257**
## **ANNUAL REPORT AND**
**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024**
## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **INDEX TO ACCOUNTS**
||Page|
|---|---|
|Trustees Annual Report|2-5|
|Independent Examiner’s Report|6|
|Receipts and Payments Accounts|7|
|Balance Sheet|8|
|Notes|9|
1
## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2024**
The Trustees present their report together with the financial statements of Sunningwell Pre-School for the year ended 31[st] March 2024.
## **Reference and Administrative Details**
The charity is registered with the Charity Commission, number 1164257. It operates under the name Sunningwell Pre-School.
## Trustees
The following Trustees served throughout the period under review:
Leila Rawes-Barton (Chair) (resigned 30 April 2024) Louise Douglas (Chair) (appointed April 2024) Elizabeth Fletcher (Secretary) Rebecca Myatt (Treasurer) Sharlene Matharu Jamie Smith Rebecca Hall (appointed 8 November 2023) Leigh Wilkinson (appointed 11 March 2024) Lisa Thornton Bet Knight
## Principal Address
Dark Lane Sunningwell Oxon OX13 6RB
## **Introduction and Overview**
The Charity constituted under the Pre-School Learning Alliance Constitution
## **Appointment of Trustees**
New Trustees are identified and appointed by existing Trustees, having been selected by virtue of their suitability. All Trustees are made aware of their responsibility to the Trust.
2
## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 (continued)**
## **Summary of the Main Achievements of the Charity During the Year**
We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aim and objectives and in planning our future activities.
The Pre-school aims to:
- Stimulate the development of local children aged 2 to 4 through play and early education
- Help these children to gain social skills
- Create a sense of belonging to the local community.
## **Summary of the Main Achievements of the Charity During the Year**
The pre-school’s purpose is to nurture happy, confident, independent learners who are excited to discover the world around them. The pre-school continues to receive excellent feedback from parents and each year, we are proud to send our leaving class off to primary school knowing that they are well prepared. Our forest school sessions remain very popular and well-enjoyed by the children and we have benefited significantly in past years from MOD grants to improve this space. We work closely with our neighbouring primary school to collaborate on relevant topics. We engage our parents informally at pick-up and drop-off, we ask for feedback when we issue the children’s annual reports, and we invite parents to join the AGM to express their views.
Our key achievements of the year have been:
## **1. A Good rating at our Ofsted Inspection**
The Preschool was inspected by Ofsted in October 2023. We are delighted to report that we achieved a “Good” rating across all areas. We are exceptionally proud of our staff for this achievement, showcasing their dedication to providing a happy, nurturing, educational and safe environment for the children in our care.
Here are some excerpts from our Ofsted report:
- _The care, kindness and encouragement staff give these children has a very positive impact on how quickly children settle in their new environment._
- _Children benefit from a suitably ambitious, and well-delivered, curriculum of learning, with a strong emphasis on their personal, physical and language development_
- _Parents are full of praise for the manager, the staff and the pre-school in general. They appreciate the priority staff give to keeping them informed about their children's progress and well-being_
3
## **SUNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 (continued)**
- _The key-person arrangements are a real strength of the setting. Staff know how important these can be for children's sense of security and well-being. Staff are very attentive to all children, and especially so to their key children_
- _The manager is ably supported by the committee in her endeavours to provide high-quality care and education. Any additional funding is put to effective use to help close gaps in learning. Staff feel valued and appreciated. This leads to a happy work environment, which in turn leads to a happy learning environment for children._
A small number of development areas were identified. We are pleased to receive suggestions on how we can improve further and are actively implementing the recommendations.
## **2. Improvement of the financial health of the pre-school**
As noted in our previous year’s report, the pre-school made a small financial loss last year. This was due to low pupil numbers, which had not fully recovered post-Covid. Furthermore, the inflationary environment in the macro-economy increased costs which we were not able to recover through fees.
The Pre-School Committee recognised this issue and put in place a number of measures to attract more pupils and avoid the need to reduce staffing. Specific measures that were taken included:
- More active promotion of the pre-school on social media and other channels
- Opening a tots-play session after school on Friday to better connect with local parents who will be looking for pre-school provision in future
- Increasing the duration of the school day by 30 mins (optionally) to better align with the neighbouring primary school to make it easier for parents at pick up. This measure also increases our revenue
We are pleased to report that pupil numbers have recovered well and we are now reporting a small surplus of £21,069. Any surplus will be used to invest back into the pre-school and its staff and to build up our cash reserves in case of downturns in future years.
In the next financial year, we also expect to benefit from changes in the government policy on free childcare which is expected to increase the number of children applying to join our pre-school.
Fees were increased moderately for the school year starting Sep 2023, after considering inflation and benchmarking against other local pre-schools. The Committee is committed to keeping fees affordable for our local parents
4
## **SUNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 (continued)**
## **3. Improvement of the physical environment of the pre-school, including fund-raising activity**
We held a number of fund-raising activities this year. The highlight of the year was the pre-school Christmas Fair. This was well attended by members of the public – both parents of the school but also people from the wider community. We also benefited from generous donations from local businesses of food and raffle prizes. We raised over £1,000 from the Christmas Fair alone. All fund-raising has been reserved for improving the physical environment of the school. A specific focus for this year has been to further improve our outdoor space, creating a new garden area and also improving the storage for outdoor play equipment. We have an ongoing programme to renovate the inside of the preschool and replace tired furnishing and play equipment.
## **4. Staff**
Staff development and opportunities for ongoing learning is important to the Preschool. We are delighted to report that a staff member working towards her apprenticeship passed with Distinction.
We increased wages in line with the minimum wage for most staff, or in line with historic inflation. Appropriate pay and talent retention is a key priority for the Committee.
## **Policy on Reserves**
The Trustees aim to hold a reserve of £50,000 to cover staffing costs during the summer holidays and to meet unexpected expenditure.
## **Declaration**
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees
……………………………………………..
Louise Douglas (Chair)
Date: 28 January 2025
**SUNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
5
## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Sunningwell Pre-School**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Sunningwell Pre-School for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 which are set out on pages 6 to 8.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity trustees of the Trust 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 Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 or the Act; or
2. The accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
S J Bates FCA CTA 10 Broad Street Abingdon Oxon OX14 3LH
Date: 28 January 2025
6
## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Receipts and Payments Accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2024**
|**Receipts**
Fees received
Interest
Donations/Fundraising
Other
**Total receipts**
**Payments**
Uniform
Salaries
Pensions
Rent
Insurance
Telephone
Meals
Snacks
Teaching supplies
Training
Fundraising costs
Accountancy
Repairs
Bank Charges
Cleaning
Printing, Postage and
Stationery
Outdoor classroom
Ofsted
Petty cash/sundries
**Total payments**
**Net surplus / (deficit)**
**Funds transferred**
**Funds brought forward**
**Funds carried forward**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**2024**
**2023**
121,003
1,987
122,990
87,755
-
-
-
1
2,084
-
2,084
1,067
260
-
260
-|
|---|---|
||123,347
1,987
125,334
88,823|
||235
-
235
-
78,944
1,184
80,128
72,301
2,222
-
2,222
1,937
6,055
-
6,055
5,293
1,042
-
1,042
994
807
-
807
885
4,354
-
4,354
1,682
1,159
45
1,204
1,205
2,852
300
3,152
2,365
110
-
110
325
442
-
442
590
1,356
-
1,356
1,140
501
-
501
293
72
-
72
-
409
36
445
-
148
-
148
-
-
-
-
11,381
113
-
113
192
1,307
572
1,879
1,804|
||102,128
2,137
104,265
91,006|
||21,219
(150)
21,069
(2,183)
-
-
-
-
69,667
3,751
73,418
75,601|
||90,886
3,601
94,487
73,418|
7
## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Balance Sheet for the year ended 31[st] March 2024**
|**Current Assets**
Cash at Bank and in Hand
**Net Current Assets**
**Net Assets**
**Funds**
General Funds|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**Total Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total Funds**
**2023**
**£**
90,886
3,601
94,487
73,418|
|---|---|
|||
||90,886
3,601
94,487
73,418|
||90,886
3,601
94,487
73,418|
||90,886
3,601
94,487
73,418|
||90,886
3,601
94,487
73,418|
Approved on behalf of the trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Louise Douglas (Chair)
8
## **SUNNINGWELL PRE-SCHOOL**
## **Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2024**
1. These accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
2. **Restricted funds**
|OCC DAF
funding
OCC
Household
Support
Grant
Other OCC
Funding
MOD Grant
OCC DAF
funding
OCC
Deprivation
funding
Other OCC
Funding
MOD Grant|**Balance at**
**01.04.2023**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Outgoing**
**resources**
**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**
**Balance at**
**31.03.2024**
-
881
(881)
-
-
-
135
(135)
-
-
-
971
(971)
-
-
3,751
-
(150)
-
3,601|
|---|---|
||**3,751**
**1,987**
**(2,137)**
**-**
**3,601**|
||**Balance at**
**01.04.2022**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Outgoing**
**resources**
**Transfer**
**between**
**funds**
**Balance at**
**31.03.2023**
-
1,449
(1,449)
-
-
-
347
(347)
-
-
-
315
(315)
-
-
3,776
-
(25)
-
3,751|
||**3,776**
**2,111**
**(2,136)**
**-**
**3,751**|
9