Trustees Report and Accounts 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
A great place to grow
Annual Report of The Maple Tree 2023-24
The Maple Tree Centre continued to flourish during 2023-24. Our activities expanded and we offered sessions each weekday as well as monthly family fun sessions on the third Saturday of each month. The majority of our sessions are drop-in sessions where families can just turn up and are encouraged, if possible, to give a small contribution to the running of the centre. We also offered some booked sessions whenever we needed to know or limit the number of people attending such as our popular cookery sessions or first aid.
We were sad to say goodbye during the year to Chris Sewell, a long-standing trustee and exchair of trustees who had been present since the founding of The Maple Tree as a charitable trust. We also said farewell to Sasha Reed who left us in May 2023 to enjoy time with her young family and to Susie Parker who left us at the end of October 2023 to return to teaching. Thank you to all of you for your work for The Maple Tree.
We were pleased to welcome three new trustees: Dai David joined as our treasurer; Richard Harding who is supporting our income generation and Amy Eastham who is supporting our fundraising. We were also delighted to recruit Becky Webb who joined us as a family support worker in December 2023. We are grateful to Karina Williamson who wants to extend her knowledge and experience by starting to run family sessions at the centre.
Our charitable objectives
During 2023-24 we continued to work towards our strategic priorities and charitable objectives. We hope for the coming year to make some small changes to our objectives to more fully reflect the views of those attending and their geographical location through changes to our charitable constitution.
Our current objectives
- To act as a resource for young children and their families living in Wheatley and the surrounding villages (including Great Milton, Little Milton, Garsington, Cuddesdon, Horspath, The Baldons, Stanton St John, Beckley, Forest Hill, Milton Common and Tiddington), enabling them to be resilient, strong and confident families through the provision of advice and assistance and organising programmes of physical, educational and other activities. Providing such recreational and leisure time activity as the trustees may decide from time to time, in the interests of social welfare for all families and especially those who have need by reason of their age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.
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- To further or benefit the residents of Wheatley and the surrounding villages, without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious or other opinions by associating together the said residents and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the residents.
Proposed changes to our objectives
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To offer opportunities and activities to support young children’s learning and development for all families in the areas we serve and, with the trustees’ discretion, any family who wishes to attend our centre or access our online services.
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To provide support, services, information and guidance for any family with young children who would benefit from these, living in the areas we serve and, with the trustees’ discretion, any family who needs our help.
Strategic plan 2022-2025
We started the second year of our three-year strategic plan in April 2023, developed through consultation with staff, parents and other stakeholders. Our strategic plan helps us focus on our charitable objectives and is organised under three specific aims:
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A sustainable and stable organisation
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Engage and support families with young children in our reach area
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Ensure and enhance the quality and scope of our services.
What we have achieved in 2023 – 24
1. A sustainable and stable organisation
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During the year we ran a successful programme of fundraising events and activities, raising a significant proportion of our income for the year (see Finance section). These included a silent auction and a repeat of a successful Daffodil Day at Shotover House organised jointly with Forest Hill Church.
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Despite the resignation of two staff members and a reduction in hours by a third member of staff, we were able to maintain the hours we work directly with families and their young children offering at least one session every weekday and two sessions on three days a week. We were also able to support Afghan refugees living in hotel accommodation until they were re-housed in August 2023.
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We have trialled a new improved way of collecting data relating to our families in late 2023-24. If successful, this will remove the need for manual input and calculations.
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The number of families registered with us has remained relatively stable and was 441 unique families in 2023-24. The number of Wheatley families has reduced slightly but remains a high proportion at 83 families. We do not yet know if this is a result of a declining birth rate.
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We have continued to successfully promote our organisation to funders and potential funders through direct contact, grant applications, newsletters, distributing the Annual Report and advertising our events. Our income has remained reasonably consistent.
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We have successfully maintained our staffing complement despite some resignations and have increased the number of volunteers at sessions. This has helped us to offer sessions on each weekday and increase the diversity of what we offer.
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We have been successful in recruiting new trustees with three more trustees joining us including a new treasurer. This is helping our continued sustainability as it increases our capacity to generate income and drive forward improvement.
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- We are reviewing our constitution to amend our objectives but also to change the way we operate as a charity to reduce pressure on trustees.
Next steps
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We need to continue to engage with Oxfordshire County Council on renewing our lease and future payment of rent. The limited time left on our current lease is already affecting our ability to apply for some grants.
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Although we have maintained our staffing complement, we need to think about how to retain and grow our staff to try and reduce staff turnover. Nevertheless. this is challenging as we can only offer limited hours.
2. Engage and support families with young children in our reach area
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We have continued to promote The Maple Tree at different community events such as the Wheatley Christmas Fair and through delivering summer activities at four villages - Holton, Forest Hill, Great Milton and Little Milton.
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We have also been very successful at attracting families from beyond our reach area, notably from Oxford City and surrounding areas and Thame.
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.
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We have continued to engage with Asylum Welcome and Oxfordshire County Council to support refugees from Afghanistan until they left The Belfry in August 2023. These families benefitted from both bespoke sessions and integration into our universal stay and play sessions. One refugee became a volunteer. Their appreciation of our services may be summed up by this quote from one parent:
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“I love this place because the people like to love together I am getting power I love this place”
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We have continued with our plans to upgrade our outdoor area with general tidying up of the outdoor space and engaging a local voluntary group, Wheatley Wanderers, to construct the hard standing needed to erect a new Playhouse. We are still awaiting a decision from Oxfordshire County Council about alternative disabled access arrangements. This will help us extend the level play area to provide more allyear round access.
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We have continued to engage with health visitors using our Garden Room for meetings with parents. We are grateful for this continued link as it helps promote complementary working to support families. Nevertheless, the pressure on their service means their attendance is less regular than previously. This affects not only numbers of families coming into The Maple Tree but also the support families receive.
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We continue to keep a record of issues and concerns affecting our families. We are able to signpost them to the help they need but as yet do not have the capacity to provide more in-house support other than a listening ear.
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We offered a bespoke session for parents of twins which has been very popular. Parents have welcomed the support this offers for their family both as a place to come each week and for the network of friends it has helped to establish.
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We are in touch with the adjoining maintained Wheatley Nursery School and have a commitment to work closer together including more targeted parent support and training..
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We have continued to pursue external support in evaluating family learning to help us plan for the future. Initial findings are complimentary about what we provide but we have limited capacity at present to take this further forward.
Next steps
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We recognise the challenges facing many organisations but over the next year we hope to continue to try and liaise with midwives, health visitors and local schools about local need including families from our catchments who may be unaware of us.
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We hope to make more information and help available to families via our website, social media and information leaflets. This include improving our links to local family/early years activities, childcare and schools.
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3. Ensure and enhance the quality and scope of our services
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We continued to provide services all year including through the school holidays, closing only for public holidays and two additional days at Christmas/New Year. We offered slightly different programme during the holidays and in our Saturday Family Fun sessions including activities that attracted older children.
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We continued to regularly offer sessions at Forest Hill where we now have a wellestablished Thursday group. While we would like to expand our outreach work further we currently do not have sufficient funding to do this.
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We completed a parental survey which showed high levels of satisfaction with our offer.
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We have provided three free pediatric first aid training for families thanks to a donation from a local family. However, we have not yet moved forward with a more extensive offer including other types of training, website, online and written information.
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All of our sessions offer a range of opportunities for play and learning that may not be available at home, such as messy play, outdoor play and opportunities for children to mix with their peers. This helps children develop skills they may find more difficult at home such as social skills and communicating with others
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The trustees received regular reports of session evaluations, safeguarding incidents, topics arising from conversations with parents and numbers of families using our services to help us plan for the future. It also provides useful information for those organisations providing grant funding.
Next steps
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We need to be more pro-active at providing parents with more information on how their children learn and the purpose of the activities we provide.
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We recognise the difficulties of showing the outcomes of what we do and have started to explore different ways of evaluating these.
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Financial review April 2023 - March 2024
The Maple Tree’s financial position at 31 March 2024 is set out in the Statement of Financial Activities and Balance Sheet on the following pages. This was the sixth full year of operation for the Maple Tree and this is the seventh set of accounts.
Before the beginning of each financial year the trustees agree the budget that they calculate will be needed to run The Maple Tree for the year ahead and a plan for how they will try and raise the funds required.
Income
Our income for the year was £84,735. This was less than our income for the previous year, which had been boosted in particular by a large fundraising event in the 2022-23 financial year.
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Income sources 2023-24
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4%
11%
7%
40%
38%
Donations Grants Premises hire Fundraising events and activities Other
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We received grants totalling £4,350 from Parish Councils and £10,657 from South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. We also secured grant funding from other organisations, from small amounts to purchase resources to larger sums for core costs. For example, we successfully applied for £10,000 of National Lottery funding.
We gather donations from families attending group sessions and, where possible, claim Gift Aid on these. We have also been fortunate to receive some “one-off” donations from local people in the community. We hire out The Maple Tree to local Health Visitors and families for events, such as birthday parties. Our income from room hire was lower this year, at
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£5,596, mainly because the Health Visitors have not been running as many clinics in Wheatley.
Our programme of fundraising, including a Silent Auction and Christmas events, raised £9,601. We raise smaller amounts of money from collection tins, the SODC lottery and by selling donated clothes, toys and equipment.
Expenditure
Our expenditure for the year was £84,460. Approximately 92% of this was spent on directly delivering services to local families, with the remaining amount on income generation activities.
By far the largest cost was staffing, at £57,558. The Maple Tree staff wages track the Local Authority “green book” scheme, which delivers an annual wage increase. The other major costs were for cleaning and maintaining the premises and gas and electricity.
Reserves
In accordance with Charity Commission guidance, The Maple Tree has a reserves policy that is reviewed annually. The trustees reviewed the reserve requirement in November 2023 and agree to hold a reserve of £40,000, which was unchanged from the previous year.
Trustee remuneration
The trustees did not receive any remuneration for carrying out their trustee responsibilities.
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Statement of financial activities and balance sheet for the year ended 31 March 2024
| A. Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31 March 2024 | A. Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31 March 2024 | A. Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31 March 2024 | A. Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31 March 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Total funds | Total last year | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Donations and grants | 61,405 | 4,651 | 66,056 | 63,253 |
| Charitable activities: Room hire | 5,596 | 0 | 5,596 | 8,004 |
| Fundraising activities | 9,601 | 0 | 9,601 | 32,472 |
| Other | 3,482 | 0 | 3,482 | 1,545 |
| Total incoming resources | 80,084 | 4,651 | 84,735 | 105,275 |
| Resources expended | ||||
| Raising funds | 6,644 | 0 | 6,644 | 9,714 |
| Charitable activities | 73,165 | 4,651 | 77,816 | 74,340 |
| Total resources expended | 79,809 | 4,651 | 84,460 | 84,054 |
| Net movement in funds | 275 | 0 | 275 | 21,220 |
| Total funds brought forward | 65,935 | 0 | 65,935 | 44,715 |
| Total funds carried forward | 66,210 | 0 | 66,210 | 65,935 |
| B. Balance sheet for the year ended 31 March 2024 | ||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Total funds |
Total last year |
|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Fixed assets | ||||
| Total fixed assets | 938 | 0 | 938 | 1,173 |
| Current assets | ||||
| Debtors and prepayments | 4,695 | 0 | 4,695 | 4,527 |
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| Unrecovered SMP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash at bank and in hand | 43,495 | 0 | 43,495 | 28,751 |
| Reserve account | 35,500 | 0 | 35,500 | 35,077 |
| Total current assets | 83,690 | 0 | 83,690 | 68,355 |
| Liabilities | ||||
| Creditors | 27 | 0 | 27 | 29 |
| Deferred income and accruals | 17,920 | 0 | 17,920 | 3,137 |
| PAYE to HMRC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pension | 471 | 0 | 471 | 428 |
| Total current liabilities | 18,418 | 0 | 18,418 | 3,593 |
| Net assets | 66,210 | 0 | 66,210 | 65,935 |
| Funds of the charity | 66,210 | 0 | 66,210 | 65,935 |
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024
1. Charity information
The Maple Tree is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in England and Wales (reg no 1174117). The principal address is 20 Littleworth Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1NW.
Notes on Accounting Policies
2. Accounting policies
The accounting period is from 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the FRSA applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102)’ (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions of the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
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These accounts have been prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and monetary amounts published in these financial statements have been rounded to the nearest £.
These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historic cost and the principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
These accounts for the year ending 31st March 2024 are the seventh set of accounts prepared in accordance with ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the FRSA applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102)’ (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The first set of accounts covered the period from the incorporation of the charity on 3[rd] August 2017. There are no prior year adjustments. There is no change in the accounting policies.
3. Going concern
At the time of writing the accounts the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.
4. Charitable funds
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the accounts.
5. Incoming resources
Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.
Donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of donation.
Income from local government and other grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
Donated goods and services are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and is material. Value of services provided by volunteers has not been included but is described in the trustees’ annual report.
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Income from charitable activities is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services provided in the normal course of business.
6. Resources expended
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constitutional obligation to make payment to a third party, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Costs of generating funds comprise the costs of trading for fundraising purposes and associated licences and insurances required.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both the costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activity on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly others are apportioned on an appropriate basis.
7. Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost and subsequently measured at cost less accumulated depreciation or impairment loss. The costs of assets below £1,000 are not capitalised. Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset.
8. Basic financial assets
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
9. Basic financial liabilities
Basic financial liabilities, which include creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classed as payable within one year are not amortised.
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Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
10. Employee benefits
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee of to provide termination benefits.
11. Critical accounting estimates and judgements
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Analysis of information contained in the Statement of Financial Activity and Balance Sheet 12. Grants and donations receivable
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Donations | 33,586 | 0 | 33,586 | |
| Grants | Oxfordshire & South Oxon Councils |
7,469 | 3,188 | 10,657 |
| Parish Councils | 4,350 | 0 | 4,350 | |
| Other | 16,000 | 1,463 | 17,463 | |
| Total | 61,405 | 4,651 | 66,056 |
13. Expenditure: Raising funds
| 13. Expenditure: Raising funds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Employee wages | 2,807 | 0 | 2,807 |
| Fundraisingevents | 2,227 | 0 | 2,227 |
| Marketingand communications | 1,129 | 0 | 1,129 |
| Licences and insurance | 481 | 0 | 481 |
| Total | 6,644 | 0 | 6,644 |
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14. Expenditure: Charitable activities
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Staff costs | 52,036 | 2,960 | 54,996 |
| Session supplies | 4,297 | 998 | 5,295 |
| Propertycosts | 12,093 | 693 | 12,786 |
| Administrative costs | 4,739 | 0 | 4,739 |
| Total | 73,165 | 4,651 | 77,816 |
15. Employees
| 15. Employees | 15. Employees |
|---|---|
| The average number of full-time equivalent employees for theyear | |
| Coreprogramme | 1.5 |
| Administration | 0.5 |
| Total | 2 |
A book keeper was contracted to supply part time book-keeping services and an accountant to provide payroll services. Additionally, garden maintenance and cleaning services were purchased.
| purchased. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Employee costs | 2023-24 | 2022-23 |
| £ | £ | |
| Salaries and wages | 56,130 | 49,028 |
| Pension costs | 1,420 | 1,129 |
| Statutorymaternity pay | 0 | 627 |
| Staff trainingand DBS checks | 244 | 880 |
| Recruitment costs | 0 | 203 |
| Mileage claims | 371 | 323 |
| Total | 58,165 | 52,010 |
No other employee benefits were paid or ex-gratia payments made.
No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme through SMART PENSION LIMITED incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 09026697 whose registered office is at 20 Eastbourne Terrace, London, W2 6LG.
16. Debtors and Prepayments
| 16. Debtors and Prepayments | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Debtors | 4,102 | 3,990 |
| Prepayments | 593 | 535 |
| Total | 4,695 | 4,525 |
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17. Cash at bank and in hand
| 17. Cash at bank and in hand | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | |||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |
| Short term deposit(£) | 35,500 | 0 | 35,500 | 35,077 |
| Cash at bank & in hand(£) | 43,495 | 0 | 43,495 | 28,751 |
| Total | 78,995 | 0 | 78,995 | 63,828 |
18. Creditors and accruals
| 18. Creditors and accruals | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Creditors | 27 | 29 |
| Accruals | 920 | 596 |
| NI andpension | 471 | 428 |
| Total | 1,418 | 1,053 |
The Maple Tree received £17,000 in deferred income in 2023-24
19. Movement in deferred income
| Thisyear | Lastyear | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Balance at the start of the reporting period | 2,540 | 2,428 |
| Amounts added in currentperiod | 17,000 | 2,540 |
| Amounts released to income frompreviousperiod | 2,540 | 2,428 |
| Balance at the end of the reporting period | 17,000 | 2,540 |
20. Fees
No fee was paid for the examination of the accounts.
21. Events after the end of the accounting period
There are no events to report after the end of the accounting period.
22. Transactions with trustees and related parties
None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with The Maple Tree or a related entity.
No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity during the year.
No trustee expenses have been incurred.
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Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of The Maple Tree
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024 which are set out on pages 8 to 16 of this Annual Report.
Respective roles of the trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to
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Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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Follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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State whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records.
It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all of the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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i. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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ii. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met, or to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Frances Axford, ACA
Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales 24, Waterperry, Oxford, OX33 1LB
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Reference and administration details
Charity Information:
The Maple Tree: Charity Reg. No. 1174117.
Address: 20 Littleworth Road, Wheatley, Oxford OX33 1NW
Bankers: Barclays Bank, Oxford
Structure, governance and management
The Maple Tree is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), governed according to the Constitution dated 3rd August 2017. It is an independent charity and not part of any ‘umbrella’ body.
Our constitution allows up to 12 trustees. The trustees serving on the Board between April 2023 and end March 2024 were:
Dai David (Treasurer from November 2023) Amy Eastham, appointed September 2023 Liz Elsom, appointed September 2018 Georgina Glenny, appointed February 2023 Richard Harding, appointed October 2023 Jane Lightfoot (Chair) appointed July 2019 Chris Sewell, appointed August 2017, retired October 2023 Amanda Smith (Treasurer until November 2023) appointed September 2018 Ex-officio member, Laura Spencer (Centre Manager)
Sub-groups
There are no formal sub-committees. The trustees appoint working groups to carry out specific tasks as delegated by the Board. During the year these were: Finance, Staffing, Fundraising and Premises.
Our catchment area
We serve the villages of Beckley, Cuddesdon, Denton, Forest Hill, Garsington, Great Haseley, Great Milton, Holton, Horspath, Little Haseley, Little Milton, Littleworth, Marsh Baldon, Milton Common, Stanton St John, Tiddington, Toot Baldon, Waterperry, Waterstock and Wheatley.
Status of this report
This report complies with the Charities Act 2011, the charity's constitution and the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016).
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Acknowledgements
The Maple Tree Board of Trustees are grateful to our parents and carers for their financial contributions when attending sessions, to the Friends of The Maple Tree, and to some very generous local individuals for their financial support. We thank the following organisations for financial support in 2023-24:
| for financial support in 2023-24: | |
|---|---|
| Awards For All | Oxfordshire Community Foundation |
| Blenheim Bursary | Oxfordshire County Council |
| Doris Field Trust | PF Trust |
| Great Milton Parish Council | Pye Charitable |
| Holton Parish Council | Sewell Trust |
| Horspath Parish Council | South Oxfordshire District Council |
| Mazars | Wheatley Parish Council |
Thank you to the following organisations that have supported our fundraising:
| Anna O-Keeffe (Tropic) | New Theatre, Oxford |
|---|---|
| Asda | Oak Hairdressing |
| Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum | Odds Farm |
| Bekonscot Model Village | Oxford Brewery |
| Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens | Park Sports Centre |
| Cornfield Bakery | Sandy Lane Farm |
| Dynamix Dance Academy | Seasons Holidays |
| Farmer Gow’s Ltd | Snakes and Ladders |
| Farol | Studley Wood Golf Club |
| Gail Kharegat | Sunnyhill Vineyard |
| Giffords Circus | Thame Sports Centre |
| Holton Players | The New Club |
| ID Hair | The Sun, Wheatley |
| Jangeus | Waterperry Gardens |
| Jump Inc. | Waterstock Golf Club |
| Millets Farm | Waterwood Contracts |
| Mill View Garden and Coffee Shop | Wheatley Car Centre |
| Modern Art Oxford | Wheatley Farm Shop |
Signed as a record of our activity from 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024
Jane Lightfoot, Chair of Trustees
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