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2020-07-31-accounts

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i Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
aos- Period start date Period end date |
From 01 08 2019 to 31 07 2020
Section A Reference and administration details
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Charity name| First Steps Playgroup

Registered charity number (if any) 1167009

Charity's principal address |The Old School Hall

Church Road Barlestone Postcode —SSCSC=id@T OE

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

_— Dates acted ifnotforwhole Dates acted ifnotforwhole Name ofperson (orbody) entitled
2 [ChiosCarrington [Secretary
5 Vicki Stoddart Fundraising Co-
ordinator

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees) [Name ———C—C—C_C_| Dates acted iff not for whole year

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address Business Development |Praksha Bathia Leicestershire County Council Adviser nna eel

a eel

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

‘Alison Blackery, Manager

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— Section B Structure, governance and management Description of the Charity’s trusts How the charity is constituted Charitable Incorporated Organisation Trustee . Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General selection methods Meeting held in October through election of members present. Up to 3 trustees can be co-opted during the year, again through election by members. Additional governance issues (Optional information) You may choose to include : : , . relevant.additionalir about:information,. : where andSafeguarding,mitigateni allfinancial significantake and perceivedoperating; risks.3proceduresWhere neware in risksplaceariseto. addressor are ° highlighted, procedures are strengthened accordingly and other remedial policies and procedures action (e.g. training) considered as appropriate. A comprehensive adopted for the induction and_ [insurance policy, including employer and trustee liability insurance, is in training of trustees: place with the Early Years Alliance. * the charity's organisational DBS and local authority checks are performed for all trustees and structure and any wider {members of staff prior to commencement of trusteeship or employment. works;tnk with which the charity |These are repeated as required by the relevant regulations. ¢ relationship with any related Employees receive regular training updates on health and safety, parties: safeguarding and EYFS requirements in line with the relevant regulations. 9 Trustees’ consideration of First Steps Playgroup is a member of the Early Years Alliance, which major risks and the system provides helpful advice, guidance, resources and training support. It is and procedures to manage also in regular contact with the Leicestershire County Council Business them. Development support team. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits for carrying out their role. Ifa member of staff is also a trustee, the constitution is worded and followed to ensure that potential conflicts of interest and / or trustee benefits do not arise.

Section C Objectives and activities The charity works for the public benefit, having as its objects the development and education of children primarily under statutory school age by: Summary of the objects of the (1) promoting their care and safety; 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; 2 March 2012 2012

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(5) providing services to individuals holding membership of the CIO;
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In planning our activities throughout the year, our charitable aims and the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit are at the core of all decisions made by the trustees. These, along with the safeguarding, EYFS and other regulatory obligations on us as a childcare setting, are factored into everything we do. Summary of the main activities undertaken for the Our main activity is the provision of an early years pre-school setting, public benefit in relation to which is open every weekday during school term time. Four days a week these objects (include within it was open for morning and afternoon sessions, and one day a week this section the statutory (Tuesdays) for the morning session only. In addition, during this year we declaration that trustees have | visited the local church on a number of occasions, took the children to had regard to the guidance sing songs at a day centre for older residents in the community, and held issued by the Charity a Valentines disco for the children and their families to enjoy. Commission on public benefit) We welcome all children from the locality, regardless of family circumstances, age, disability, gender, race, nationality, religion or belief. Where a child’s attendance is not paid for by the government’s Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) scheme, we set fees as low as possible, whilst ensuring sufficient funds are maintained, to make the setting as affordable as possible. Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information) You may choose to include further statements, where No grant-making or investment activities. relevant, about: e policy on grantmaking;; Acontributing written policyunpaidis intimeplace towardsto handlefundraisingvolunteers.activitiesApartandfromCommitteestaff ° policy programme related members carrying out their trustee and fundraising duties, we received | investment: support this year from a student volunteering for two days per week as work experience towards her college course. e contribution made by volunteers.

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Section D Achievements and performance
achievementsofthecharity
during the year		 (Covid-19) pandemic
SI
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COVID-19 — From 23 March 2020, early years settings were closed with
the introduction of national lockdown. However, undergovernment
guidelineswe were able to remain open forkeyworkerfamilies and
vulnerable children only. Weoperated with a minimum level ofstaffing
and the rest ofthe staffwere placed on furlough.
On 1 June 2020, we re-opened for all children, but at only halfourusual
Staffing and Training—We had an eventful and busy year, with one
staffmemberon maternity leave, two leavers andtwo new recruits, plus
anothernewstarterwhowas onlywith us for a month before sadly
having to leave again for personal reasons.
In addition, we alsowelcomed two newapprentices to the team, one of
them studying for a Level 3 in Childcare and the other for Level 2.
Priorto lockdown in March, we had a student undertaking hercollege
placementwith us fortwo days aweek, working towards her Level3 in
Childcare.
Atotal of7 staffmembers were furloughed between March and May
2020. Wewelcomed5 ofthese staffbacktotheworkplace inJune2020,
with the other2 remaining on furlough.
Wewere unable to undertake as much training aswe would have liked
this yeardueto staffshortages, togetherwith ourforced closure during
lockdown. Nevertheless, we kept core training up-to-date and used our
weekly staffmeetings to provide in-house training as appropriate. Any
areas ofweakness identifiedwerefollowed upthrough additional sharing
of information from the managementteam, arranging external training, or
supervisionmeetings.

Outings — We started off the year well, visiting St Giles Day Centre and the local churches at Christmas time to sing some festive songs. These were greatly appreciated by all involved and provided valuable learning opportunities for the children, who were able to identify sights and sounds in the local environment as we walked there. Unfortunately we did not manage any further outings due to lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions. We look forward to a time when we can get | back to making visits and taking the children out into the local community, _ which we believe really enhances their learning experience. The Setting — We had 30 children transfer to local schools in July 2020 and began the Autumn Term 2020 with 41 children on roll.

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Section D

Achievements and performance

We held parents evenings in November and February to keep families informed of their children’s progress, which generated positive feedback. Over the past year, the children have made good progress in their learning through play opportunities and adult-led activities. Those children with an additional need have also shown steady progress, thanks to a key person working closely with the children and families using strategies from their targeted plan. Learning Journeys — We continue to use online learning journeys to make the children’s experiences with us more accessible to parents. There is also the facility for families to give feedback and share achievements that the children have made outside of the setting — for example, uploading photographs of holidays or trips the children have enjoyed, and of drawings or crafts the children have made. All of this can aid the staff to tailor each child’s learning to their particular likes and dislikes, thereby enriching their experience within the setting. The process is running smoothly and is well received by parents. We do also continue with the traditional paper learning journeys as well. The Finances — Our main source of income is session fees received via the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) scheme from Leicestershire County Council (for funded sessions) and from parents / carers (for unfunded sessions). In addition, we carry out a number of fundraising activities throughout the year to boost our income. This year’s fundraising was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and we also sawa significant reduction in our parent-paid fees during lockdown, when we were closed to all except key worker and vulnerable children. Fortunately, our government funding was unaffected, which has helped to keep our overall financial position stable. Staff salaries form the majority of our outgoings, as might be expected for a childcare setting, and this expenditure continues to rise each year with statutory increases to minimum wage rates. We had to furlough a number of staff when we were forced to close for lockdown in March. We were able to benefit from the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to recover some of this money, although specific government guidelines for early years providers meant that we could only claim for a certain percentage of our wage bill. In spite of this, we were pleased to be able to continue paying 100% of normal salaries to all our staff. The uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and its potential impact on cash flow meant that we had to cut back on non-essential purchases, apart from items which could be financed from our designated Garden Project Fund. We were very grateful that one of our charity trustees kindly volunteered his time and expertise to undertake tasks such as painting and repairing the sheds.

During this financial year, we completed the transition of our bank accounts from HSBC to Yorkshire Bank. We now have three accounts with Yorkshire Bank: a main current account, plus two savings accounts — one for our reserves and one for our Garden Project restricted funds.

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section D Achievements and performance
Fundraising —We have been unable to carry out many of our normal
fundraising activities this yeardue to the Covid-19 situation. However,
the events that were held prior to thiswere very profitable, particularly the
Christmas Fayre in November.
We are grateful to all the staffand Committee memberswho helped with
the organisation and manning ofthese events, and to the parents and
local communitywho supported them.
Ourevent incomewas supplemented by otherfundraising initiatives,
particularly the sale of uniform items embroidered with our First Steps
logo, as well as commission generated from children’s DVD sessions
held at the setting.
During the yearwe also received donations from a number of local
organisations, including Market Bosworth Rotary Club and Mind, Body &
Soles, which were greatly appreciated.
Moving forward — Looking ahead to the next year, we hope to continue
to build our charity.
We aim to keep enhancing the setting by implementing new ideas and
activities, to include some stay and play sessions which have been
requested by parents, whenwe are able to do this safely.
We intend to evaluate howwe can improve our service in line with Ofsted
requirements and set up a revised improvement plan.
We will continue to support staff in their professional development by
using more peer and paired observations. We hope this will further
enhance the quality of provision at First Steps so thatwe can offerthe
best possible learning environment for all the children.
Future fundraising methods may require some imagination aswe seek to
work within ongoing restrictions. We hope to raise some additional funds
by applying for grants.
We will continue to publicise First Steps in the immediate and
surrounding areas and focus on keeping staffing levels as low as
possible, without compromising the quality of care, to help minimise our
outgoings.

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Section F Other optional information

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Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trusteesf\ i n
Full name(s) |Mark Lickess Cathie Watkins |
etc)
Date[ZSfosf2e2QS8/ Zd2_\ 2Q\2\202\ |
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eres First Steps Playgroup 1167009 COMMISSIONReceipts and payments accounts CC16a XU | For the period 01/08/2019 Boer enee ee from mi 31/07/2020 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestrictedfunds Restrictedfunds Endowmentfunds Tae bikie inst your Ai Receipis to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ a cy ___ey || ee Fundraising SSCdtTSSSSt ST)a0 | | es |es P08 |[ P=] ee | | 2,655 | Other receipts a) |* sere ee Sub(Gross income for AR) GCE | Pes |Eo A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).

A3 Payments

Other Expenses a as) Pa | Sub] 113,637] oS) Eee ere - Asset and investment purchases, (see table) Total payments [113,637] EES] EE AS net of recelpts(payments) Gia] iia (Eee cases Ge AG Transfers between funds ee|eee | ea | Cash fundsCash last year end 41,760] | 2,020] __——SSS?| 43,780] |[__73,369] funds this year end| 4,181 FS |er |Ey 43,760

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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Details funds funds funds
B1 to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
Cash funds (en |asst] [tea] [SSCS
Totalcash SA |eeEc |ees
funds |___45,151] [1,163] Piha 1
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Details funds funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
Details Fund to which Cost (optional) Current value
asset belongs ost (Options optional
Details Fund to which Cost ti ; Current value
B4 asset belongs ost (optional) optional
Assets retained for the charity’s
own use
Details Fund to which Amount due When due
liability relates optional optional
theSignedtrusteesby one or two irustees on behalf of all Signature; Print.; Name approvalDate of
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eee

i L | CHARITY COMMISSION Independent examiner's FOR ENGLAND AND WALES report on the accounts

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Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
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Report to the trustees/ | First Step Playgroup
members of
On accounts for the year | 31 July 2020
ended
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Charity no | 1167009
(if any)
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| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 3

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

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signee: | [Wiig ———«diSC(tat: [2006208
Name: | Marzena Wright
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Working Week Ltd

Section B

Disclosure

IER

meena

1

October 2018

aaNe

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.

IER

2

October 2018