## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period** Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year **From** 01 September 2020 **To** 31 August 2021 ## Section A Reference and administration details ## **Charity name Potten End Pre-School Association** |**Other names charity is known by**
**Registered charity number (if any)**
**Charity's principal address**||| |---|---|---| ||
1168430|| ||
The June Farmery Building|| ||Water End Road, Potten End|| ||Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire|| ||**Postcode**|HP4 2QW| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee(if any)**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Ian Geddes|Secretary||| ||Rebecca Geddes|||| ||Lisa Hardy|||| ||Steven Haydon|Treasurer|Appointed at GCM 05/01/21|| ||Tom Gough|Chair|Appointed at AGM 21/01/21|| ||Victoria O’Sullivan||Appointed at AGM 21/01/21|| ||Nykkol Phillips||Appointed at AGM 21/01/21|| ||Darren Herbert||Appointed at AGM 21/01/21|| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| **TAR** March **2012** 1 **Section B Structure, governance and management** ## **Description of the charity’s trusts** Type of governing document Constitution - (eg. trust deed, constitution) How the charity is constituted Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) (eg. trust, association, company) Trustee selection methods Elected by Trustees at any time, or by Members at a General Meeting (eg. appointed by, elected by) ## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)** You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about: N/A - policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees; - the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works; - relationship with any related parties; - trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them. ## **Section C Objectives and activities** The charity works for the public benefit having as its objects the development and education of children and young people in particular by: 1. promoting their care and safety **Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document** 2. promoting their education and promoting parental involvement 3. promoting their health and wellbeing 4. providing services to support them and their families and carers 5. providing services to individuals holding membership of the CIO and 6. furthering the aims of the Pre-school Learning Alliance **TAR** March **2012** 2 The development and education of children and young people in particular by: 1. promoting their care and safety **Summary of the main** 2. promoting their education and promoting parental involvement **activities undertaken for the** 3. promoting their health and wellbeing **public benefit in relation to** 4. providing services to support them and their families and carers **these objects (include within** 5. providing services to individuals holding membership of the CIO **this section the statutory** and **declaration that trustees have** 6. furthering the aims of the Pre-school Learning Alliance **had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity** In considering these activities the **trustees have had regard to the Commission on public guidance issued by the charity commission on public benefit. benefit)** 2. promoting their education and promoting parental involvement 3. promoting their health and wellbeing 4. providing services to support them and their families and carers 5. providing services to individuals holding membership of the CIO and **Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)** N/A You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about: - policy on grantmaking; - policy programme related investment; - contribution made by volunteers. **TAR** March **2012** 3 Section D Achievements and performance ## **Trustees of Potten End Pre-School Association Annual Report for the period 1[st] September 2020 to 31[st] August 2021** ## **Committee Chair’s Report** It’s been another unprecedented year for the Pre-School. We’ve had the continued impact of Covid restrictions throughout the year, the challenges of fundraising in a restricted environment, the search and recruitment for a new manager and trustees stepping into new roles. Our year started with Kay Dibben doing an exemplary job as interim manager, alongside her work as deputy manager and SENCO. Kay entered this role in the midst of Covid restrictions, a national lockdown, a new trustee committee and with the Pre-School stabilising after the concerns regarding financial stability following the lockdowns and financial impact of this in 2020. I want to personally thank Kay for her commitment to keeping the Pre-School running so well and ensuring the children had an enriching experience. The early months were a voyage of discovery for both Kay and I with a steep learning curve, which I don’t think would have been achievable without her clear passion and commitment to the PreSchool. It also involved other members of staff taking on additional responsibilities to help Kay, and the whole trustee committee is grateful for this hard work too. I would also like to thank all of the staff at the Pre-School, firstly for their support of Kay in the Spring and Summer term, in committing to all the safety measures we put in place to keep the pre-school running and to keeping all the stress and worry of life outside the doors away from the children, and providing a wonderful environment for all of the children. I’d say that it was miraculous that while other early years settings had to close bubbles, we managed to stay open fully through both terms, but that would be a disservice to the hard work of all the staff. So a big thanks to Kay, Sharon, Beth, Gaynor, Carly, Kellie, Rachael and Claire. Earlier this year I attended a staff meeting to better understand the day to day running of the school. It was a lovely experience, as I got to see the passion and effort all of the staff have for the PreSchool and giving the children the best experience possible. In September 2021 we welcomed Sarah Dalton as our new manager. Sarah stood out in interview as an excellent fit for the Pre-school, demonstrating a real interest and commitment to early years settings and good understanding of the Preschool. Since starting, Sarah has got stuck in to every aspect of her duties and has been wonderful to work with. In only 4 months she is already making real improvements to the running of the Pre-School and I am very excited for what the future holds with her as manager. I thank her for all her hard work to date and look forward to continuing to work with her. Our initial work as a trustee committee involved building a better understanding and relationship with Herts County Council to understand what appeared to be an erratic free hours funding payment process, with in-term adjustments and varied payments. Treasurer Steve Haydon and I met remotely with HCC to understand this process, which has helped us create better forward financial planning and budgeting. We are now able to anticipate term and annual budgets in better detail, which in turn provides financial security and stability for the setting. I want to personally thank Steve for the experience and hard work he’s brought to the position of Treasurer. It is arguably the most vital position on the committee and he’s had to take on a considerable amount of work, whilst also balancing his day job and family life. His regular spreadsheets and adjusted forecasts have been a constant reassurance to me in understanding what steps we need to take to secure the financial health of the Pre-School, which I’m happy to say is in a good and improving place. There are challenges ahead, as he alludes to in his section of this report, but I feel we are able to meet these. As part of understanding these challenges and how the Pre-school evolves going forward, we had to take the difficult decision to make the role of administrator redundant and as such said goodbye to Julie Bruvelis in December 2021. It was not a decision that was taken lightly and did not reflect the excellent support and service she has provided to the PreSchool in her many years. On behalf of everyone at the Pre-school, I would like to thank her for her hard work and help she has provided to staff and trustees alike over the years. I would like to thank all of the trustees for their work this year. I’m very grateful to Ian and Beccy Geddes, Committee Secretary and Ofsted Nominated Individual, for all their advice and support in welcoming new trustees to the committee. Having a continued presence of trustee members helps the Pre-school work to its full potential, and from a personal point of view having both to call on for information has been invaluable. Beccy is stepping down as Ofsted Nominated Individual at the end of this year, with Sarah Dalton taking up this role. I’d like to thank Lisa Wilson Hardy for her work as Health and Safety officer, particularly given the challenges of this role in light of Covid restrictions. Lisa will be stepping down from her role at the end of this year, with fellow trustee Darren Herbert taking up the position. I’d like to thank him for taking up this responsibility and look forward to his work in this role. A big thanks to Victoria, Lauren, Nykkol and Lisa as well in all of your support and work this year. Fundraising has been difficult in 2021 as we’ve been unable to have the larger events that we usually host due to Covid restrictions. I want to thank Nykkol and Lisa and all those involved in the PEPS fundraising groups and contacts in **TAR** 4 March **2012** March **2012** working with the school to find opportunities to continue fundraising efforts. Although the significant portion of the £10,441 fundraising for the last year (alongside £6,143 donations) was down to the crowd funding efforts in November and December 2020, there have been pyjama days, mothers and fathers day shops, smarties challenges, colouring competitions, book sales and many more. We received £3,500 in council grants this year and currently have two further grant applications pending. Going forward we are looking to have a better relationship with the council to arrange for financial support and grant funding when it is available. Both myself and Sarah Dalton are looking at improvements to the Pre-school as part of funded initiatives. These include improvements in resources, such as smart boards, new play equipment, improved storage facilities and improved monitoring of development and access for parents to these improvements. Looking forward, we’re going to be working on these improvements and looking to develop the Pre-school community network further once Covid restrictions allow. As ever we welcome any more volunteers to become General Members and will continue to actively seek new members to the trustee committee. If you have any skills or experience that would benefit the Pre-school generally, we would also love to hear from you. ## **Tom Gough Committee Chair** ## **Pre-School Manager’s Report** The Pre-school reopened for the Autumn term, with Covid-19 still impacting as well as the difficulties the pre-school finances were under. The room was split into 2 bubbles, to minimise further the risks associated with Covid-19. The team worked extremely hard to enable this change and limit the disruption for the children. By Spring term, the team were back together as a whole group and 1 single bubble. This was a very positive step for the pre-school as a whole and encouraged a better working environment for staff as well as a rich learning environment for the children as one group. This wouldn’t have been achieved without the support and hard work of the whole team working together to ensure the pre-school looked its best and was inviting for all children. We welcomed back existing children and families who have continued to support the pre-school and staff. It was wonderful to see the children return and happy to all be back together in the room itself without restrictions. We also welcomed new families to the setting; the children settling well and enjoying their pre-school experience. During the Spring and Summer term, Kay took on responsibility for the day to day running of the pre-school, doing a fantastic job under difficult circumstances. All staff pulled together, taking on further responsibilities to support Kay and the pre-school; the feeling amongst the team was to enable the pre-school to remain open and ensure an enjoyable experience for the children. Kay received continued support from the Committee during this time and was very appreciative of this. Summer term brought transitions for the children in preparation for their leaving to attend school, the staff continuing to provide a stimulating, learning experience and enjoying the time left with the leavers as well as those we wouldn’t see until the new term. I was appointed as manager of the pre-school, with a start date of autumn 21. During the summer, I visited the setting several times to introduce myself and become more familiar with the pre-school, staff and environment. Kay was extremely welcoming and supportive during this period, and I felt confident of a positive transition. I joined the Pre-school from September with a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve for the autumn term; in particular getting to know the children and families, staff and their way of working as well as looking at the overall running of the setting and areas that can be improved upon further. My intention was to observe this term, with a view of pushing forward from Spring 22. We continue to have policies and procedures in place regarding Covid-19 and updates are monitored and implemented where necessary. We have had 2 cases of Covid-19 amongst children but with minimal disruption due to plans in place. There have been no safeguarding cases. ## **Sarah Dalton** ## **Pre-School Manager** ## **Section E Financial review** **TAR** March **2012** 5 **Brief statement of the** The charity keeps sufficient reserves to fund the orderly closure of the **charity’s policy on reserves** Pre-School in the event its ongoing operation ceases to remain financially viable. ## **Details of any funds materially in deficit** N/A. ## **Treasurers Report For the period 1[st] September 2020 – 31[st] August 2021** The Pre-School has - a Main fund which is used for collection of fees and to pay salaries and ongoing running costs; and - a Friends fund which is built using fundraising activities and used to pay for ad-hoc investment in the Pre School. As a result of the financial pressures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friends remains as the reserve account ## **Main Fund** For the year ending 31 August 2021 the Main fund opened with a balance of **£14,534** and closing balance of **£33,997** , this represents a net income generated of **£19,463.** Overall fee income was still low in comparison to pre covid levels, but the threat of closure in December 2020 resulted in phenomenal support from parents, staff and the local community resulting in additional fund donation incomes of £10,080. The Pre School children numbers increased to 37 after being as low as 31 in prior year, The school operated without a full time manager in place allowing us to keep staff costs lower in year. Fee income overall was £106,198, compared to £100,792 for the prior year and £116,837 pre covid, a increase of £5,406 vs prior year but still a decrease of £10,639 vs pre covid. Total income was £128,905, compared to £102,684 in prior year and £124,449 pre covid, an increase of £26,221 in year and an increase of £4,456 vs pre covid. As previously mentioned, £12,755 income was generated in December 2020 and was invaluable in the pre-schools survival. We were impacted by the National Living Wage increases, however the pre school operated without a replacement Manager in place for the remainder of the school year, resulting in a reduction in staff costs overall. Staff costs for the year were £92,656, compared to £97,726 for the prior year, an decrease of £4,570. Total expenditure was £105,108 compared to £113,127 for the prior year, a decrease of £8,019. The main account closed with a balance of **£33,997.** ## **Friends Fund** For the year ending 31 August 2021 the Friends fund opened with a balance of £16,017 and increased by £4,290 which was above prior year at £1,376. This included a further £2,668 of fundraising income in December 2020. Fundraising income was kept in reserve. The Friends account closed with a balance of £20,307. We were again unable to hold a summer fete this year which severely impacted our fundraising income. ## **Year Ahead** We now have a detailed understanding of all our costs and have established our break-even point. We have determined that we need to be provisioning 195 sessions per week to fully cover our cost base. Based on numbers at the start of September we forecast to make a loss of £18,490 in year however this includes circa £5k of one-off costs and £2.5k of missed income opportunities, which have now identified for future years. We have already seen additional **TAR** March **2012** 6 intake in the current year which will mitigate some of the remaining loss, we will continue to try and drive further intake and we have also applied for additional local government grants which are under review. I believe that although we are likely to post a deficit in the year 2021/22, we have adequate financial reserves and will go into 2022/23 which a much more predictable view of the financial commitments we have, and the ongoing steps needed to ensure the pre-school continues to remain financially stable for the future. We are about to appoint a new Independent Examiner who will also offer us financial advice and support during the upcoming year/s ## **Steven Haydon Treasurer** ## **Section F Other optional information** N/A ## **Section G Declaration** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **Signature** **Full Name(s)** Thomas Gough Steven Haydon **Position (e.g. Chair, etc.)** Committee Chair Treasurer **Date** 09/12/2021 07/12/2021 **TAR** March **2012** 7 **----- Start of picture text -----**
Potten End Preschool No (if any)
1164830
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period 01st September 31st August
To
from 2020 2021
Section A Receipts and payments
Main fund Social fund Petty cash Total funds Last year
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Fee income 106,198 - - 3 106,196 100,792
Donations 6,143 6,143 -
Grants 5,550 5,550 -
Fundraising Income 6,083 4,358 10,441 1,322
Uniform Income 344 80 424 208
Other Income 150 2 0 152 361
Sub total 124,467 4,360 78 128,905 102,684
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 124,467 4,360 78 128,905 102,684
A3 Payments
Insurance & Subscriptions 2,500 2,500 2,501
Uniform Expenditure 564 564 -
Consumables/Stationary/Cleaning 2,489 35 2,524 5,211
Buildings and garden maintenance 2,114 2,114 692
Rent and rates incl. council tax 74 74 870
Payroll and policy services 668 668 6,111
Staff costs 91,757 231 91,988 91,615
Staff training 1,237 1,237 493
Telephone and internet 866 866 768
Electricity and water rates 1,781 1,781 3,273
Fundraising costs 163 163 503
Other expenses 630 630 1,089
Sub total [ 104,843 ] 231 35 105,108 113,127
A4 equipment, purchases, etc
Building, office & subsidies work - - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total payments 104,843 231 35 105,108 113,127
Net of receipts/(payments) 19,624 4,129 43 23,796 - 10,443
A5 Transfers between funds - 161 161 - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 14,534 16,017 48 30,598 41,041
Cash funds this year end 33,997 20,307 91 54,395 30,598
**----- End of picture text -----**
CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 13/05/2022 1 |**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**the end of the period**|**the end of the period**|| |---|---|---|---|---| |**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**_Total cash funds_**
Current Account
Savings account
Cash in Hand|**Main fund**
**to nearest £**
**33,997**
**-**
**-**
**33,997**
OK|**Social fund**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**20,307**
**-**
**20,307**
OK|**Petty cash**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**91**| |||||**91**| |||||OK| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 13/05/2022 2 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the Irusteesl members of Pollen End Pre School Association On accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021 Charity no lif any) 1164830 Set out on pages 1 to9 I report to Ihe trustees on rny examination of the accounts of the above charity I'lhe Trust") for the year ended 3110812021. Responsibilities and As the charity truslees of the Trust, you are responsible for Ihe preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('Ihe Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounls carried out under section 145 of Ihe 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charily Commission under section 14515)Ib) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm thal no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ') in connection with the examination which gives me cause lo believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concerns and have come across no other malters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of Ihe accounts to be reached. Please del&te the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 13/oS oi Name: Alan Endersby Relevanl professional qualificationlsl or body lif any): ACA Address: Slreets S J Males Limited, Basepoinl Business & Innovation Centre, 110 Bulterfield, Luton LU2 8DL IER October 2018 Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts- directions and guidance for examiners). None. Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER October 2018