Parklands Playgroup Trustees’ Annual Report Sept 2020 – Aug 2021 Charity number 1169508
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## Contents
Section 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Section 2: Review of activities and achievements ............................................................................. 3 Section 3: Pupil Numbers and Fees .................................................................................................... 4 Section 4: Finances ............................................................................................................................. 4 Section 5: Policies & Procedures ........................................................................................................ 5 Section 6: Future Plans....................................................................................................................... 5 Section 7: Our Statutory Duty as a Charity ........................................................................................ 5 Section 8: Appendix ~ Names and Addresses of Advisors ................................................................. 7
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## Section 1: Introduction
Parklands Playgroup is run as a charity for the public benefit of the children in the local area with the purpose of advancing their education, specifically during their preschool years, so that they are well prepared for statutory schooling.
The organisation was registered as a Charity on 6[th] October 2016. The Trustees, together with the Playgroup Committee, are responsible for the work of Parklands Playgroup.
## **Trustees**
Parklands Playgroup trustees are as follows:--
- Lyndsey Barnett, Executive Headteacher of Foundations for Children Nursery Schools Federation
- Lauren Jacques, Senior Family Worker, Parklands Nursery School
- Victoria Rollins, Parklands Playgroup Leader
- Nancy Fitzmaurice, Trustee & Treasurer
The trustees will serve the charity until they choose to resign or the charity closes. Members are appointed for a term of two years by a resolution passed at a properly constituted meeting of charity trustees. Members are eligible for re-election. In electing trustees, the charity gives due regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. All trustees complete DBS checks in line with statutory requirements.
## **Aims**
Parklands Playgroup aims to advance the development and education of children aged five and under in such ways as the charity’s trustees think fit, including:
- Giving young children the best start in life
- Ensuring children’s safety
- Promoting children’s education and promoting parental involvement
- Promoting children’s health and wellbeing
- Providing services to support children and their families and carers
- Working with other agencies in order to provide services, care and education pertinent to the child and their family.
- Providing each child with a keyworker to work with them throughout their time at Playgroup.
For the public benefit, the charity may carry out such other charitable activities as the trustees think fit.
In accordance with the Charity Commission’s requirements, trustees have agreed to:-
- Be a non-profit making organisation where any profits made are used to extend and develop the preschool provision;
- Work with Parklands Nursery School, local Children’s Centres and other agencies to ensure that the education given by the playgroup links to the children’s future learning and supports other areas of their development.
## **Structure, Governance & Management**
Parklands Playgroup is registered with Ofsted and complies with the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The day-to-day running of Parklands Playgroup is the responsibility of the staff team, led by the Playgroup Leader, who in turn reports to the nursery school’s Senior Family Worker. The committee oversees the running of the playgroup and makes decisions about when the Playgroup is open, the
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fees charged to parents, staffing levels and appointments. The committee oversees the quality of the provision ensuring every child and their family are able to access a high quality provision. The committee’s Ofsted Nominated Person is still registered as Sarah Brooking, the previous Headteacher of Parklands Nursery School; however, the process is underway to transfer this to Lyndsey Barnett. Lyndsey is the Executive Headteacher of the Foundation for Children Nursery Schools Federation, of which Parklands Nursery School is a member.
There are two management groups; the main committee on which the following people serve:-
- Lyndsey Barnett (Trustee)
- Lauren Jacques, Chair, Senior Family Worker, Parklands Nursery School (Trustee & Chair)
- Victoria Rollins, Playgroup Leader (Trustee)
- Sarah Brooking (Committee Member & Ofsted nominated person)
and the Finance Committee which comprises:-
- Lyndsey Barnett (Trustee)
- Lauren Jacques, Senior Family Worker, Parklands Nursery School (Trustee & Chair)
- Nancy Fitzmaurice (Trustee & Treasurer)
Both groups have historically met termly, every 12 weeks, a minimum of 3 times per year; however, throughout the pandemic, this has not been the case, but communication has been made through virtual means to ensure the committee is informed of any relevant developments.
All trustees give their time freely and no remuneration nor expenses were paid in the year.
## **Playgroup Team**
We believe the Playgroup team to be coherent and effective. Staff turnover is extremely low. Due to the relatively low numbers the team currently consists:-
- Playgroup Leader
- Early Years Assistant
These members of staff hold a relevant level 3 qualification.
The Family Support Worker for Parklands Nursery School oversees Playgroup and has line management responsibility for the Playgroup Leader.
The trustees ensure that staff have regular supervision and Performance Management reviews where clear targets are agreed. There are also opportunities for CPD.
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## Section 2: Review of activities and achievements
Numbers in September 2020 were relatively low; and this in part can be put down to the impact of the pandemic. The Playgroup closed for the whole of the summer term 2020 due to Covid-19 and many families continued to keep their children at home to reduce risk of infection. Strict Covid-19 protocols and procedures were in place for September 2020 to reduce risk as far as reasonably possible, and Playgroup continued to provide a range of activities to provide experiences across the whole Early Years’ curriculum. The range of activities had to necessarily change, for example, water play, sand play and the use of resources that could not be regularly hygienically cleaned were suspended for a while, then gradually reintroduced in line with government guidelines. Staff continued to plan activities to ensure the individual needs of children were catered for and resources purchased that were more easily utilised in the circumstances.
As Playgroup operates from the premises of Parklands Nursery School, to successfully operate within government guidelines and the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the Playgroup children amalgamated with a relatively small number of nursery school children. This allowed both settings to operate in separate ‘bubbles’, whilst providing the necessary staffing numbers; crucial as neither setting was able to allow staff to work outside of their designated bubble due to the increase risk of infection this imposed. The Playgroup staff quickly got used to this way of working and were able to share their expertise with nursery school staff, and in turn learn from them; a great benefit for both parties. Whilst challenging at times to share space and cater for the wider age range, there were benefits for the children too and this way of working was deemed to be overall extremely successful.
Whilst children’s emotional wellbeing continued to be well supported with, for example, a robust settling in programme, home visits which had historically been part of this programme, had to cease as part of the Covid-19 risk assessment, and other means of working alongside parents and children and facilitating the sharing of information had to be sought. “Getting to Know You” sessions were held at the Playgroup premises with just one parent/carer and the child present. Voice of the Child documentation was completed, but instead of this being alongside the parent/carer, to capture the many aspects of a child’s life, and to collect medical and health needs etc, this valuable information was collected via telephone consultations.
The clear emphasis on learning through play continued with much of this taking place outside, in line with the Covid-19 risk assessments. In line with government guidelines, indoor areas were well ventilated.
Children’s development continued to be observed and assessed, enabling early intervention where necessary. Procedures for planning and ‘next steps’ continued to be in place and worked effectively to plan for both individual children’s needs and the needs of the group as whole.
The ‘Playing Together Group’, held once a week during term time, for parents with babies and young children was suspended throughout the year due to the pandemic with plans to reintroduce once the situation allowed. This group has been a huge success in the past, funding the services of a Speech and Language Therapist, able to provide support and advice to parents and staff. Baby massage courses, led by the Family Support Worker of Parklands Nursery School but aimed at all parents of the community with babies, were also suspended throughout the year due to the pandemic. Invaluable family support continued to be offered to all families, whether from the community groups or from Playgroup.
The normal celebrations and activities that take place throughout the year to include the celebration of special occasions and religious festivals; community walks and other trips out, to which parents and
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carers are normally invited, were also curtailed but we very much look forward to being in a position to instigate these activities.
## Section 3: Pupil Numbers and Fees
The 2020-2021 year began with 15 children on roll.
Fees were increased to £17.25 per session with session times being 08:30 - 11:30 and 12:30 – 15:30, to fall in line with the session times of Parklands Nursery School. The increase in fees was felt to bring the charges in line with fees charged by other settings and necessary to meet the cost of salaries, rent and services and other associated costs.
The Nursery School operates a Lunch Club to which Playgroup children may attend. This provides wraparound care for parents; and for the children the opportunity to enjoy the social aspects of mealtimes with their peers and carers. Lunch Club prices remained at £7.00 per session. Lunch Club was supported by Playgroup staff when necessary, and this is in part the reason the rent and service charge made by the nursery school has remained relatively low.
## Section 4: Finances
Playgroup made a loss in the 2020-2021 academic year of £6,692.48. The financial statement for 20202021 shows an income of £36,583.37. This is made up of fees paid by parents for the sessions their child attends and funding received from the local authority for those children entitled to either universal/extended funding that are aged 3 and above and those 2 year olds entitled to funded sessions. One child in Playgroup was eligible for High Needs Funding.
In addition, Playgroup received £2,353.39 in grant payments relating to the Retention Scheme Grant funding, and a £10 donation.
The greatest expenditure was salaries (including employer pension payments) which amounted to £36,432.79. The second largest expense was rent & services which amounted to £5,333 for the year (vastly reduced by Parklands Nursery School due to the Playgroup closure in the summer term, and the support provided by Playgroup staff to the nursery throughout the pandemic). Playgroup were able to absorb this deficit with reserves, though these reserves were much depleted due to the summer term closure.
Increases in staff salaries was implemented in April 2021 to account for the increase to the National Living Wage.
The Playgroup continues to operate its pension scheme through NEST.
As already mentioned, the Playgroup operates out of the Nursery School premises and pays rent and services for the facility. This arrangement, and the close working arrangements between Nursery and Playgroup staff is extremely beneficial. It allows for the shared use of resources and a smooth transition for the children when they progress from playgroup to nursery school.
## **Fundraising**
Due to the pandemic, no major fundraising activities took place with the plan being to revive the fundraising committee once things returned to normal, post pandemic.
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## Section 5: Policies & Procedures
Policies and procedures are in place for all aspects of safeguarding, child protection and health & safety. Policies are reviewed and updated regularly. Policies and procedures around the pandemic were made available to staff and parents and these were updated in a timely manner in light of emerging government guidance. Ad hoc training days were planned to ensure all staff were completely conversant with the new Covid-19 related policies. Weekly staff meetings and staff training days are used to ensure staff are trained and fluent in all policies and procedures.
Staff attend Ofsted recognised 2-day paediatric first aid training on a rota basis to ensure that at any one time, at least one staff member will have the most up to date knowledge and skills in this area. All Playgroup staff attend annual safeguarding training and updates. Throughout the year they also receive supervision to support and to be aware of individual children’s needs
Risk assessments are carried out for activities and trips as appropriate. An annual risk assessment of premises and equipment is normally undertaken; however, this has not happened due to the pandemic. Health & safety is a regular agenda item for Parklands Nursery School’s senior leadership team meetings regular checks carried out by the premises team and termly checks by the Headteacher or a governor and School Business Manager. No major works have been undertaken for this period.
## Section 6: Future Plans
External funding opportunities are sought as and when this is feasible though the pandemic has curtailed such activities; in part due to the challenges of additional workload that has resulted from the effects of the pandemic (e.g. staff cover needs, particularly where we are unable to cross bubbles/staff shielding or isolating, robust sanitising regimes etc.).
The committee intends to continue with previous strategies of investing in the provision of high quality care and education with a strong emphasis on learning through discovery; together with the provision of meaningful family support.
## Section 7: Our Statutory Duty as a Charity
As trustees, we are confident that we have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission.
The trustees and committee thank Parklands Nursery School who have hosted the Playgroup since its incorporation; the Playgroup staff for their hard work and commitment, and the parents who put their trust in the Playgroup for the care and education of their children.
## **Declaration**
The trustees declare that they have approved the Trustee’s Annual Report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:-
Nancy Fitzmaurice Trustee & Treasurer
Date:
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Contact details:Parklands Playgroup Spinney Hill Northampton Northamptonshire NN3 6DW
01604 642118 head@croyland-nur.northants-ecl.gov.uk senco@parklands-nur.northants-ecl.gov.uk - https://www.facebook.com/Parklands Playgroup
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Section 8: Appendix ~ Names and Addresses of Advisors
|Bankers:|Barclays||
|---|---|---|
||Leicester||
||LE87 2BB||
|Independent Examiners|Cobley Desborough - Accountants||
||Artisans House||
||7 Queensbridge||
||Northampton||
||NN4 7BF||
|Insurance Brokers|Pre-School Learning Alliance||
||50 Featherstone Street||
||London||
||EC1Y 8RT||
|Advisors|Early Years Team||
||Northamptonshire County Council||
||One Angel Square||
||Angel Street||
||Northampton||
||NN1 1ED||
|Date Protection Officer|Lyndsey Barnett||
||Parklands Nursery School & Playgroup||
||Spinney Hill Road||
||Spinney Hill||
||Northampton||
||NN3 6DE||
||head@croyland-nur.northants-ecl.gov.uk||
||01604 642118||
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## **PARKLANDS PLAYGROUP**
## **Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 August 2021**
|**Income**|**Income**|||**Expenses**|**Expenses**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**||||**£**|
|Fees||16,323.00||Rent||5,333.00|
|NCC Headcount funding||20,260.37||Wages/PAYE||35,038.08|
|Grants||2,353.39||Pension||1,394.71|
|Miscellaneous||10.00||Training||-|
|||||Equipment||1,271.73|
|||||Marketing||150.00|
|||||Insurance||510.61|
|||||Misc||1,941.11|
|||||Projects||-|
|||||Deficit||6,692.48
-|
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
|||**38,946.76**
**£**
**Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2020**|||||
|||||||**38,946.76**
**£**|
||||||||
|Accumlated Fund B/fwd
Surplus/(Decifit) for Year|28,970.69
Cash at Bank
6,692.48
-
Cash in hand
**22,278.21**
**£**|22,278.21|
|---|---|---|
|||**22,278.21**
**£**|
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Income
ExpeThliture
Fee5
NCC Headcount fundFn8
Grants
Mlscellaneous
16.323.IMJ
20.260.37
2.353.39
io.
Rent
Wages IPAYE
Pension
Equipment
Mat*eti08
Insuran
Mlst
5,333.1
35.038.08
1,394.71
1.271.73
Iso.ry)
510.61
1,941.11
Deftctt
-6,692.48
38.946.76
38,946.76
Accumlated fund Blfwd
26.855.72
Cash at bank
10,163.24
surplus / (DerltI frsr the year
.692.48
20,163.24
20,163.24