(HARITY COMMISSION Trustees. Annual Report for the period Period start date 19 Jul Period end date 20 Nov 2024 From 2025 Section A Reference and ad20inistration details Charity name Horsmonden Kindergarten Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) 1168296 Charity's principal address Frances Austen Memorial Hall Back Lane Horsmonden Postcode TN12 8NJ Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if an Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for whole year Helene Murphy Alice Perfect Sarah Field Chair Treasurer Appointed Nov 2022 Appointed 12 Jan 2021 Appointed Jul 2019 Appointed 10 July 2023 Appointed 22 April 2024 Appointed 21 Nov 2023 Louise Creasy Melissa Kapoor Rebecca Finch Secretary Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees) Name Dates acted if not for whole ear Name of chief executive or names of senlor staff members (Optional information) Sarah Parsons, Supervisor Becky Painter, Business Manager Section B Structure, overnance and management Description of the charity's trusts CONSTITUTION Type of governing document (eg trust deed, Lonstitution) How the charity is constituted eg truot, association, company) CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION Trustee selection methods eg appoinieu oy, eleciea DV) ELECTED BY MEMBERS AT AGM Additional governance issues (Optional information) You may choose to include additional infomation, where relevant, about: 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 prO￿dureS 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 by: (1) promoting their care and safety. (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 Early Years Alliance Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit) At Horsmonden Kindergarten, our aims are to: Enhance the development and education of children under statutory school age in a nurturing pre-school setting. Provide a safe, stimulating, and happy environment where every child can thrive. Work within a framework that ensures equality of opportunity for all children in our community. We are proud to play a key role within the Horsmonden community and to maintain strong links with Horsmonden Primary School and other local organisations such as the Social Club, who generously host our fundraising events Commitment to ualit and Trainin In the ever-changing world of Early Years education, It Is vltal that we remain up to date with current regulations and best practices. We are fortunate that our dedicated staff regularly attend training sessions, enhancing both their own professional development and the quality of care and education we provide. Recent staff training has included: Pre-Phonics Paediatric First Aid SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) Training Safeguarding Following training, we review and reflect on our practice to ensure that we continue to deliver the highest standards for the children in our care. Learnin Pla and Develo ment Our wide variety of activities and stimulating environment support children's communication, social interaction, creativity, decision-making, and emotional development. This year, we have celebrated many festivals, including Diwali, Remembrance Day, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, and Easter. These celebrations offer children wonderful opportunities to leam about different cultures and family traditions through stories, food tasting, and creative activities. Children have enjoyed physical play on the large field tackling obstacle courses, engaging in open-ended play with natural reSoUr￿s, and exploring the mud kitchen and garden area. Sensory and messy play have continued to be particular favourites! The children's imaginations flourish during story time, music sessions, and role play in our home and creative corners. We are continuing to develop our 'Curiosity Approach,. which promotes child-led leaming. This approach allows children to make their own choices and explore independently, fostering confidence, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Our environment reflects this ethos-calm, natural, and filled with open- ended materials that encourage children to use all their senses to discover, experiment, and think creatively. We have seen how this has positively impacted social skills, communication, and overall wellbeing. Curriculum and Individualised Plannin Our curriculum is carefully planned to support each child's individual development and learning journey. Each key person designs plans that reflect the child's interests, ideas, and stage of development, ensuring every child is supported and challenged appropriately. We also work closely with a specialist teacher, who provides strategies and support for children with speech and language delay. This partnership has greatly benefited our children, particularly during their transition to primary school, which we strengthen through regular visits from the reception teachers. Communit and Enrichment Activities This year, our staff team has been particularly keen to take learning beyond the classroom and into the local community. Forest School: Our Butterfly group have attended weekly Forest School sessions on Wednesdays, developing curiosity, problem- solving skills, confidence, and an appreclation for nature and the changing seasons. Library Bus Visits: On Friday aftemoons, we visit the Library Bus to nurture a love of reading, listening, and storytelling. Our Committee has continued to support our events, including Sports Day and our Christmas celebrations. Sports Day was full of excitement and friendly competition, and the children's singing during the Nativity was truly outstanding. Staffin This year we welcomed Jess to our staff team. She has fitted in wonderfully, and we are delighted to have her. We also said a fond farewell to Tina, who has left after 25 years at Horsmonden Kindergarten. Her contribution over the years has been invaluable, and she will be greatly missed. Aims for the Forthcomin Year Looking ahead, our goals for the coming year are to: Continue to enhance the development and education of children under statutory school age, following Ofsted regulations. Strengthen parent partnerships through Facebook updates, our parent board, and the new resources box. Continue to develop our enviorment to reflect the Curiosity approach. Plan more small outings around our local enviorment. Continue to promote and advertise our setting to new families. Maintain and develop strong links with Horsmonden Primary School and the wider community. Conclusion This has been a busy but highly productive year at Horsmonden Kindergarten. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our hardworking, committed, and dedicated staff team without their passion and care, our Kindergarten would not be the wonderful setting it is today. We also extend our gratitude to our parents for their ongoing support and involvement. We look forward with enthusiasm to the year ahead and all the new opportunities it will bring. Thank you. Becky & Sarah Section D Achievements and performance Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year Despite another challenging financial year, during which many early years settings have been forced to close, Horsmonden Kindergarten has continued to provide high-quality care and education for young children in our community. We successfully recruited a new member of staff, strengthening our dedicated and experienced team. Through our fundraising efforts, we raised sufficient funds to install a much-needed new gate on Locket Green, improving safety and accessibility for the children. Our annual parent survey produced excellent results, reflecting the confidence and satisfaction of our families. In addition, our recent Ofsted inspection provided great feedback, recognising the high standards of care, education, and leadership within the setting. Section E Financial review Reserves policy 1. Horsmonden Kindergarten is a registered charity, offering pre-school education and nursery pla￿S for children aged 2 to school age. The Kindergarten is run by a Management Committee, which actively undertakes fund-raising activities to create extra income towards play equipment, improvements and ongoing improvements and investment. Brief ststement of the charity's policy on reserves 2. Annual income from fees should, in general, meet the annual budgeted costs of the Kindergarten. In years of low numbers of children (largely determined by local population), reserves may be used (supplemented by additional fundraising) to meet the general running costs of the kindergarten. 3. The Committee has reviewed the Kindergarten's need for reserves in line with guidance issued by the Charity Commission and the Early Years Alliance. The Kindergarten needs reserves to: i) Meet statutory redundancy liabilities should the Kindergarten have to close. ii) Ensure there are sufficient cash reserves in the current account to cover day to day running costs; iii) Ensure continuity of service provision by: a. meeting unexpected costs such as cover for illness or maternity leave ' b. covering running costs during periods of lower income iv) Maintain the building and Locket Green in a safe and secure manner for the protection and enjoyment of the children, and to maintain play resources and equipment v) Meet the cost of repairs to the fabric of the building which are essential to retain the building's integrity (it is the committee's desire that such expenditure could be immediately met without prejudicing the day-to- day running of the Kindergarten). 4. The Committee are committed to keeping the equivalent of 34 months operating expense in reserve. The Committee believes that this level of reserves is prudent and necessary to ensure that the Kindergarten can run efficiently and meet future needs. 5. Horsmonden Kindergarten has no restricted funds, and therefore all cash balances can be considered to be art of reserves. In the event of reserves fallin si nificantl below the target level, the Kindergarten will aim to restore the reserves as soon as possible by increasing fundraising, increasing earned income, or reducing expenditure. 6. Similarly, if reserves are significantly above the target level, the Committee will put in place a plan as soon as possible, aiming to eliminate the excess within four years by spending money to enhance the quality of Kindergarten provision, or otherwise further the aims of the Kindergarten, or by reducing fundraising. The Committee will not, however, take any steps that might call into question the ability of the Kindergarten to continue as a financially viable operation in the long term. 7. The Committee will monitor the level of reserves regularly, and review the reserve policy and position at least annually. Details of any funds materially in deficit None Further financial review details (Optional information) You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about: the charity's principal sources of funds (including any fundraising); how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity; investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted. 2024-2025 has been a very good year, ending with a surplus of £15,509. This is slightly down on the previous year due to an extra £7k being spent on some much-needed renovations. This money was raised in previous years so should not really be considered part of this year's expenses. The number of child hours, and therefore fee income, was slightly higher than the previous year. This has been a huge factor in the positive result for this year. The number of child hours is the key indicator of financial outcome in any year, as a certain level of fee income will cover our fixed costs and anything above this will help to build a surplus. Additional funding received from KCC for EYPP and SEN has been used to provide equipment etc to assist with these children's development. Fundraising, which is a major requirement for Kindergarten, has improved again this year with us raising £3,207, which is more than the previous two years. The child numbers have decreased slightly for the new financial year. However we are hopeful of a positive outcome once again. We must remain vigilant in respect of our costs, given the financial challenges that the UK is facing, to ensure that Horsmonden Kindergarten remains a viable operation for the future children of Horsmonden. We will continue to identify ways to increase income to create a more sustainable business model for the future including: Increased use of our website and social media to promote our setting A sustained programme of fundraising events Wherever possible we add Ad-hoc sessions that come available on our Facebook page and also use this medium to promote any vacancies we have. How did we achieve our income? 2024~25 2023-24 2022-23 Fees 179,693 155,907 104,587 EYPP Funding 1,068 186 671 SEN Funding 444 398 1,302 Collaboration Funding Deprivation Funding Fundraising Income Donations 3,027 3,205 332 67 3,207 2,937 1,860 593 809 227 Interest Received 424 430 231 Merchandise Sales 407 466 380 Miscellaneous Income 346 85 659 Toddler Group Total 1069 893 189,541 165,559 110,810 What costs did we incur? 2024-25 2023-24 2022-23 Wages EYPP Expenses SEN Expenses Collaboration Expenses Accounts & Payroll Advertising 133,616 112,977 86,799 130 55 485 53 1,270 1,102 918 2,971 2,965 2,366 70 Bank Charges 60 60 60 Cleaning Equipment 5,882 5,520 4,909 569 322 182 Fundraising Expenses Gifts 15 149 98 744 497 502 Insurance 2,022 2,356 1,738 Mis￿lIaneOUS Expenses 695 299 255 Phone & Broadband 872 770 677 Play Resources 2,341 1,387 1,181 Printing, Postsge & Stationery Refreshments 862 576 616 825 578 350 Repairs & Maintenance 9,897 2,793 12,069 Subscriptions Training Uniform 1,220 1,101 767 2,487 1,462 1,279 796 811 1,069 Utilities 6,783 5,920 5,848 Village Hall Hire 144 408 360 Total 174,032 15,509 141,977 23,582 122,950 (12,140) Surplusl(Deflclt) for year The reconciled closing balances in the accounts were as follows: 2024-25 2023-24 2022-23 Cash Account Santander Current Account CAF Current Account Santander Deposit Account (reserves) 0.00 66,503.89 698.94 41,685,72 40.50 50,980.32 1,096.67 41,261.91 141.30 28,808.75 14.32 40,832.76 Total funds 108 888.55 93 379.40 69 797.13 Section F Other optional information" We are very grateful for all of the donations we receive, for the help we re￿1ve with cleaning of toys and support with fundraising. The committee, parents, and staff are so valuable to us to enable the smooth running of Kindergarten and for this we are truly thankful. Section G Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees, report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretsry, Chair, etc) AUC£ FEEfEa . Date OLloi 1201 ## **Horsmonden Kindergarten Year ended: 31st August 2025** |**INCOME**
Fees
EYPP Funding
SEN Funding
Deprivation Funding
Collaboration Funding
Donations
Fundraising income
Interest
Merchandise
Miscellaneous
Toddler Group
**TOTAL INCOME**
**EXPENSES**
Wages
Accounts and Payroll
Bank Charges
Cleaning
Collaboration Expenses
Equipment
EYPP Expenses
Fundraising Expenses
Gifts
Insurances
Miscellaneous Expenses
Phone and Broadband Cost
Play Resources
Printing, Postage & Statione
Refreshments
Repairs and Maintenance
SEN Expenses
Subscriptions
Training
Uniform
Utilities
Village Hall Hire
**TOTAL EXPENSES**
**OVERALL TOTAL**|Actual Results
**Budgeted ReVariance**
179,692
175,986
3,706
1,068
0
1,068
444
300
144
332
0
332
3,027
3,027
0
593
36
557
3,207
1,500
1,707
424
420
4
407
300
107
346
60
286
0
0
0
**189,540**
**181,629**
**7,911**
133,616
130,918
-2,698
2,971
2,530
-441
60
60
0
5,882
5,600
-282
1,102
3,000
1,898
569
240
-329
130
0
-130
15
100
85
744
500
-244
2,022
2,400
378
694
260
-434
s
872
810
-62
2,341
1,440
-901
862
615
-247
825
580
-245
9,897
3,600
-6,297
0
0
0
1,220
980
-240
2,487
1,500
-987
796
1,020
224
6,783
6,000
-783
144
144
0
**174,031**
**162,297**
**-11,734**
**15,509**
**19,332**
**-3,823**
**Year to Date**|**Actual**
**Variance**
155,907
23,785
186
882
398
46
67
266
3,205
-178
809
-216
2,937
270
430
-6
466
-59
85
261
1,069
-1,069
**165,559**
**23,980**
112,977
20,639
2,965
6
60
0
5,520
362
918
184
322
247
55
75
149
-134
497
247
2,356
-334
299
395
770
102
1,387
954
576
286
578
247
2,793
7,103
53
-53
1,101
119
1,462
1,025
811
-16
5,920
863
408
-264
**141,977**
**32,054**
**23,582**
**-8,074**
**Prior year**|**Actual**
**Variance**
155,907
23,785
186
882
398
46
67
266
3,205
-178
809
-216
2,937
270
430
-6
466
-59
85
261
1,069
-1,069
**165,559**
**23,980**
112,977
20,639
2,965
6
60
0
5,520
362
918
184
322
247
55
75
149
-134
497
247
2,356
-334
299
395
770
102
1,387
954
576
286
578
247
2,793
7,103
53
-53
1,101
119
1,462
1,025
811
-16
5,920
863
408
-264
**141,977**
**32,054**
**23,582**
**-8,074**
**Prior year**| |---|---|---|---| ||||**23,980**
20,639
6
0
362
184
247
75
-134
247
-334
395
102
954
286
247
7,103
-53
119
1,025
-16
863
-264| ||||**32,054**| ||||**-8,074**| **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** ## **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** **Report to the trustees** Charity Name Horsmonden Kindergarten **On accounts for the year** 31[st] August 2025 **Charity no** 1168296 **ended (if any) Set out on pages** (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) **Report to the trustees** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/08/2025. **Responsibilities and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** 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** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's statement** come to my attention in connection with the examination, which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - • the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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. 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. * _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ **Signed: Date:** 28 May 2025 **Name:** Paula Veysey-Smith **Relevant professional** Institute of Certified Bookkeepers **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** 2 Oast View, Horsmonden Tonbridge, Kent TN12 8LE 1 **Oct 2018** **IER** ## **Section B Disclosure** Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). **Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . 2 **Oct 2018** **IER**