||Trustee name|Office (ifany)||Dates acted ifnot for whole
year|Name ofperson (or body)
entitled to appoint trustee (if
an )|Name ofperson (or body)
entitled to appoint trustee (if
an )| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||Mark Lickess|Chairperson||||| ||Rachael Caiman|Secretary||to O'" March 2022||| ||Christine
Hayes|Secretary||from 6s April 2022||| ||Philip Hayes|Treasurer|,,~|from 6'" April 2022||| ||Ashleigh
Chapman|||||| ||Emma Taylor|||||| ||Alicia Hunt|||from 17
February 2022||| ||Joanna West|||from 6'" April 2022||| ||Patricia Mahon|Treasurer||to 1"March 2022||| |10|Alison Blackery|Manager||to 31"October 2021||| ||Names ofthe trustees for the charity,||ifany, {forexample, any custodian|||trustees)| ||Name|||Dates acted ifnot for whole|year|| ## ## ## |~|~||~
~
~|| |---|---|---|---|---| |Summary
ofthe main
achievements
ofthe charity
during the year|||This was another
unusual
year which saw First Steps, like so many
charities and businesses,
significantly
impacted
by the coronavirus
(Covid-19) pandemic.|| ||||COVID-19 —After restrictions
had been eased during summer 2021,a|| ||||new variant
(Omicron) appeared,
which gave rise to the reintroduction|of| ||||measures
in December 2021, including
the requirement
to wear face|| ||||masks.
We adapted
with the implementation
of procedures
which|| ||||included
parents
waiting
outside the setting and children
being collected|| ||||and returned
by staff.|| ||||Lateral flow tests were made available to staff and twice weekly testing|| ||||was encouraged.|| ||||The setting was unfortunately
forced to close for one week during|| ||||February 2022 and operated
with reduced
child numbers
for a further|| ||||week due to severe staff shortages caused by a combination
ofCovid-19|| ||||and other illness Iabsences.|| ||||The government's
Coronavirus
Statutory Sick Pay Rebate scheme was|| ||||used where possible to recover some salary costs for staff members
whc|| ||||were obliged to isolate.|| ||||Our Covid-19 policy, contingency
plan and risk assessments
were|| ||||updated
regularly
throughout
the year.|| ||||Staffing and Training —Itwas another busy and unusual
year at First|| ||||Steps. We experienced
high levels ofstaff sickness,
including
Covid-19|| ||||related absences.|| ||||One member ofstaff was on long term sickness absence from November|| ||||2021, but began a phased
return to work in April 2022.|| ||||Alison Blackery resigned
from her post as Playgroup
Manager
and left|in| ||||October 2021. Elaine Belcher acted as temporary
manager
until January|| ||||2022, when she resumed
her position as.Deputy Manager
and existing|| ||||staff member
Emma Gadsby (nee Peeve) was promoted
to the|| ||||Manager's
role.|| ||||We welcomed
two new apprentices
to the team, one ofthem studying|for| ||||a Level 3 qualification
and the other for Level 2. We also recruited a|| ||||newly qualified
practitioner
who had previously
worked
within the setting|| ||||as a trainee during
her college course.|| ||||This year training
was received via a combination
of in person and|| ||||remote methods.
Paediatric
First Aid training
was delivered
to the|| ||||majority ofstaff members
in November 2021. One ofour practitioners|| ||||successfully
undertook
training to become a SENCO (Special|| ||||Educational
Needs Co-ordinator)
for the setting.|| ||||Other core training
was kept up-to-date
and weekly staff meetings
were|| ||||used to provide in-house
training as appropriate.
Any areas ofweakness|| ||||identified were followed
up through
additional
sharing
of information
from|| ||||the management
team, arranging
external
training,
or supervision|| ||||meetings.|| |~|~|~
~
~||| |---|---|---|---|---| |||Outings —Visits were curtailed
during the early part ofthe academic||year| |||due to ongoing
Covid-19 restrictions.
However,
we were pleased to|be|| |||able to resume some ofour usual outings as the year progressed,||| |||including
a visit to a local farm, walks around the village and a picnic|at|| |||the park for children
and families.
These were greatly appreciated
by||all| |||involved
and provided
valuable
learning
opportunities
for the children.||| |||The Setting —We had 20 children transfer to local schools
in July 2021||| |||and began the Autumn
Term 2021 with 47 children
on roll.||| |||We held parents evenings
in June to keep families
informed
oftheir||| |||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.||| |||Ofsted —A reportable
incident occurred at the setting on 3February||| |||2022, in which a child was injured and received hospital treatment.|An|| |||investigation
was conducted
by our Chairperson
and a detailed
report||| |||was prepared.
Some improvements
and. learning
points were identified||| |||and implemented.
A complaint was made to Ofsted by the child's parent,||| |||but after receipt ofthe investigation
report, Ofsted were satisfied that||no| |||further action was required.
A copy ofthe response
from Ofsted is||| |||available
from their website.||| |||We arranged for an improvement
adviser from the Local Authority
to||| |||conduct a mock Ofsted inspection
in May 2022. The following
report||and| |||feedback given to the management
team was extremely
positive.||| |||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 lcarers (for||| |||unfunded
sessions).||| |||In addition,
we usually
carry out a number offundraising
activities||| |||throughout
the year to boost our income.||| |||This year's fundraising
was somewhat
curtailed
due tothe Covid-19||| |||pandemic.
Fortunately
early years settings were permitted
to remain||| |||open throughout
the year, which meant that our government
funding||was| |||unaffected
and helped to keep our overall financial
position stable.||| |||Staff salaries form the majority ofour 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 were able to recover a small amount of money for Covid-related||| |||sickness absences
via the government's
Coronavirus
Statutory-Sick||Pay| |||Rebate scheme.||| |||Most other expenses are directly related tothe number ofsessions||| |||provided,
including
rent, snack costs, session resources and toiletffies.||| |~
~
~| |---| |Rent continued
to be paid on a monthly
basis,
in line with our rental| |agreement
with The Old School Hall, and saw only a minimal
increase| |during
this financial year.| |Fundraising
—We were unable to carry out all ofour usual fundraising| |activities due tothe impact ofCovid-19.
However,
the events that went| |ahead were very profitable,
particularly
the Christmas
Fayre, Halloween| |and Easter discos, and our Summer BBQ.| |We are grateful to all the staff and Committee
members
who helped
with| |the organisation
and manning
ofthese events,
arid to the parents
and| |local community
who supported
them.| |Our event income was supplemented
by other fundraising
initiatives,| |which included
the sale of uniform
items embroidered
with our First Steps| |logo, car boot sales, selling Christmas
baubles
and donated toys, and the| |introduction
ofa large collecting
bottle
in the setting.| |During the year we also received donations
from a number ofsupporters.| |including
Market Bosworth Rotary Club, which were greatly appreciated.| |Nloving 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
learning
walks around the village,
along with stay| |and play sessions to involve parents
and carers.| |We intend to evaluate
how we 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 peer and paired observations
and regular supervision
meetings.| |We hope this will further enhance the quality of provision
at First Steps so| |that we can offer the best possible
learning
environment
for all the| |children.| |We will continue
with our fuhdraising
activities throughout
the year, as| |they are vital to the success of First Steps and enjoyed
by all who attend,| |and we also 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 ofcare, to help minimise
our| |outgoings.| ## ## ## ## ## ||||||||||||F|irst Steps|Playgroup|||||1167009||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||||||||Receipts||and|payments||accounts|||||CC18a| |||||||||||||Forthe period
from||01/06/2021||To||31/07/2022||||| |||'||||||||||||||||||||| |||||-|-|||||||||||||||||| |~|||||||~||~|~||||||||||||| |||||||||||||Unrestricted
funds||Restricted
funds||Endowment
funds||Total|funds|||Last year| |||||||||||||to nesnmt6||to nearest|5|to nearest 2||to nearest||8||to nearest 5| |A1 Receipts||||||||||||||||||||||| |Donsfions|||||||||||||136|||||||'l36||| |Parents
/ Csrers'||Fees|||||||||||26,055||||||26,055|||29,362| |Government|Funded Fees|||||||||||107,712||||||.I|167712|||77,473| |Fundrsising|||||||||||||2,776||||||2,776|||2,530| |Grants||||||||||||||||||||||13,924| |Event income||||||||||||||||||||||| |Other receipts|||||||||||||27|||||||||| ||Slfb(Gross|||||income|||for|AR)|||||||||137,545|||123,635| |P
Asset|and||investment|||||sales, (see table)||||||||||||||| |||||||||||Sub||||||||||||| |||||||||7otai|receipts|||137,544||||1||-|237A45|||123,635| |A3 Payments||||||||||||||||||||||| |Fundraising|Costs||||||||||||461|||||||||337| |Salaries &NIC||||||||||||115,342||||||||||110,097| |Premises Costs|||||||||||||8,855,||||||87855|||3,770| |Consumshlss|&|Equipment|||||||||||1,759||||||'/,|759||1,912| |Catering|||||||||||||1,449|||||||||1,532| |Oflice Expenses|||||||||||||5,398||||||5,398|||3,590| |Event Costs|||||||||||||215|||||||215||135| |Staff Training|etc||||||||||||||||||1,863|||| |Insurance|||||||||||||731|||||||||723| |Other Expenses|||||||||||||926|||||||926||636| |||||||||||Sub||136,799|||||||136.799|||128,281| |Asset|and||investment|||||purchases,||(see||table)||||||||||| |||||||I'||I ip|7|Stfb
I|~136789~~~138;7I||||||||||~12/PS|| ||Net ofreceiptsl(payments)|||||||||||||||||||745|-|4,645| |A5Transfers|||between|||funds||||||||||||||||| |ABCash funds last year|||||||end||||||40,526||1,142||||412668|||46,314| |||Cash||funds||||this year||end|||41,27'I||||||42/41'4|||41,668| ||||~||~|~||~|~||||~ ~||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||||Unrestricted||||Restricted|||Endowment|| |||Categories|||Details|||||funds|||funds||||funds| ||||||||||to|ooamct 6|||to nearest 6|||to|nearest 6| |B1Cash funds|||||Bank|||||||||1,143|||| ||||||Cash|||||||66|||||| ||||||Miscellaneous|debtors Icreditors||||||21|||||| ||||||||Total cash funds||||41,269|||$,143|||| ||||||||||Unrestricted||||Restricted|||Endowment|| |||||||||||funds|||funds||||funds| ||||||Details||||to|nearest 6|||to nearest 6|||to|nearest 6| |B2Other monetary assets|||||||||||||||||| ||||||Details||||Fund
asset||to which
boloo 6|||.
W|9|Currontvalue
o lioual|| |B3Investment||assets|||||||||||||||| ||||||||||Fund||towhich||||||| ||||||Details||||asset||helen|6|||||| |B4Assets retained forthe|||charity's||||||||||||||| |r|n use||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||Fund||towhich||Amount due|||When due|| ||||||Details||||aabili||relates||o|onal||o lional|| |B5Liabilities|||||||||||||||||| |Signed by one or
the trustees||lwo trustees on|behalf|of all||Si|nature||||Print||Name|||Date of
a
reval|| |||||Chair|||||||M|S|Lickess|||l0|/K 2''| ## ## ## ##