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2025-08-31-accounts

Little Saints Pre-School CIO

Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statement

1 September 2024 – 31 August 2025

Charity No: 1174144

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Contents Page
Reference and Administrative Information 3
Structure, Management and Governance 4
Charity Aims and Objectives 5
Activities, Achievements and Performance 6
Financial Review 7
Financial Statement 9
Independent Examination 10

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Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Details

Charity Name: Little Saints Pre-School CIO

Charity Registration Number: 1174144

Operational Address: All Saints Community Centre, Fulford Road, West Ewell, Surrey, KT19 9QZ Website: https:\littlesaints-preschool.com

Trustees

Name Position Dates of Service for Pre- Dates of Service for Pre-
School CIO School Committee
Mrs L Viscione Chair October 2018 to present N/A
Trustee August 2017 to
September 2018		 October 2016 to July 2017
Mrs C Farris Secretary / Deputy Manager August 2017 to present November 2004 to July 2017
Mrs C Sale Trustee / Pre-School August 2017 to present October 2004 to July 2017
Manager
Mrs N Williams Staff Representative / August 2017 to present October 2016 to July 2017
Trustee
Ms E Cooling Trustee October 2020 to August N/A
2025
Ms T Garrett Trustee October 2022 to present N/A
Mr M Beakhust Trustee October 2024 to present
N/A

Treasurer (employed)

Name Date of Service
Ms L Harding November 2019 to present

Other Details

Bank: Lloyds Bank

Independent Examiners: Hazel Day, Xeinadin London Ltd, Nightingale House, 46-48 East Street, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 1HQ

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Structure, Governance and Management

Little Saints Pre-School is a charity run Pre-School that operates from a church hall at the heart of the local community. The Charity is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) that is Ofsted registered. The Charity provides quality child care in a safe, caring, happy and stimulating environment, whilst following the Early Years foundation stage 2023.

Governing document

The governing document is a constitution. The organisation is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) and is a body in membership of the Early Years Learning Alliance. This organisation was incorporated and registered as a charity on 4th August 2017. Prior to this date Little Saints was a committee run Pre-School.

Organisational Structure

Little Saints Pre-School has a minimum of 3 and up to 12 trustees that meet termly (October, March, June). The charity trustees are responsible for financial planning, other strategic planning, policies, key decisions and administration of the charity. The trustee positions are entirely voluntary and as such no remuneration or financial benefits are given for their time. At present there are 7 members.

The day to day operation of the charity is performed by the Pre-School Manager and Deputy Manager, with advice on finances from the Treasurer. The Manager, Deputy and staff are constantly evaluating the Pre-School to improve the quality and learning on offer.

During Trustee meetings all charitable matters are discussed including income stream, ongoing performance, fund-raising, and to approve forthcoming expenditure.

The charity monitors performance against budgeted targets and reports termly to the trustees, and annually at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Furthermore, the trustees receive the accounts on a monthly basis. During the AGM trustee appointments and resignations are made.

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

It is the aim of the charity to recruit trustees from parents of the Pre-School, ex-parents and members of the local community. In the first instance trustee vacancies are advertised within the parent community, through the parent welcome session and via email and parent only social media. There is a general difficulty in recruiting trustees and then retaining trustees longer than 1 or 2 years.

Trustee Induction and Training

All new trustees are given an introduction pack including; a copy of the constitution and any amendments made to it, a copy of the last year accounts, a copy of the roles and responsibilities of trustees (CC3 - The Essential Trustee, what you need to know, what you need to do, Charity Commission publication). A confidentiality and photo consent agreement are also obtained. In addition, trustees are encouraged to read the Charity Commission newsletters and Early Years Alliance newsletters. Any further training is reviewed on an annual basis.

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Related parties

There were no related party transactions during this period.

Risk Management

The Pre-School management has reviewed the major risks to which the charity is exposed. Systems and procedures have been established to minimise these risks. The risks that the charity may be exposed to is reviewed and discussed on an annual basis, or earlier, if needed.

Little Saints internal policies have been put in place to minimise risk for all parties. Children and staff health, wellbeing, care and safety are promoted through the vigorous policies, procedures and risk assessments. There are currently 50 active policies, which are listed on the website. These policies are available to read on request. Policy and procedure advice is taken from outside agencies such as Surrey Early Years advisors and the Surrey Safeguarding Advisors. Furthermore, we are fully insured.

The Charity operates a separate bank account for the reserve and closely monitors costs to ensure it operates within its means.

The Pre-School has seen a different pattern to the number of children attending in each term since the pandemic, Brexit and continuing inflation. There are less children at the beginning of autumn term which then increases over the year which increases the risk of making a deficit. The charity will continue to operate according to guidelines issued by the government for Pre-Schools.

Additional Governance Issues

Little Saints is a member of the Early Years Alliance. As a Pre-School, additional governance is also taken from the Surrey Early Years, Ofsted and including regular notification updates from the Surrey Early years and Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership.

Charity Aims and Objectives

Little Saints Pre-School promotes the development and education of children within the local community (West Ewell) by;

The primary objective of the Pre-School within these aims is to provide quality fully inclusive child care, to deliver the Early Years Foundation stage 2023 and to support the families of children using our facilities.

Furthermore, the charity’s purpose is set out in the organisation’s constitution (see objectives above).

Ensuring aims

The Charity reviews the aims, objectives and activities each year. This review looks at the achievements from 01 September 2024 to 31 August 2025.

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Statutory Declaration on Public Benefit

The Trustees declare that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the charity commission in exercising their powers or duties.

Activities, Achievements & Performance

The primary role of the Charity is to deliver quality fully inclusive child care, to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage 2023 and to support the families of children using the facilities. The activities benefit families with children between 2 years and Reception School entry as these are the primary users of our services.

This review period was a successful one, albeit there were some continuing challenges, such as lower numbers of children at the beginning of the academic year.

Numbers were lower, especially in the Autumn term but this improved as the year progressed. This is due to the current financial cost of living crisis and price rises throughout the country and the knock-on impact on families and childcare. Also some parents cannot afford fees and therefore wait until their child is eligible for funding, and others would like a longer day offered in other local settings.

Experiences

Throughout 24/25, Pre-School operations ran as usual. The Early Years Foundation Stage 2023 was followed and the full curriculum was implemented. This included, child targeted learning, adult led and child led activities, in the moment planning and group planning activities. Children’s education was enhanced, using a variety of resources to promote their learning experiences, while ensuring all children had the right level of support to ensure they were engaged and challenged and gaining or moving towards their individual expected outcomes of learning and development. All children had opportunities to develop on an individual and group basis and all areas of the playroom had continuous planning opportunities.

The experiences offered during this time included both inside and outside learning environment. As children attending are from a variety of cultures and backgrounds, the Pre-School also promoted fully inclusive activities and festivals for all children and adults attending. These included different multi-cultural themes and festivals such as Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Easter. The children had the opportunity to dress up for world book day, made a story leaf for the reading tree, partake in rhyme time and attend outings including to the park and the Post Office. The children also benefitted from partaking in small and large group activities.

Fundraising activities included Mother’s Day, Father’s Day gift shop, mufti-days, scavenger hunt, Christmas Fair, raffles and cake sales. Additionally, the Westminster mile was completed by staff and some children to raise additional funds for the pre-school. The annual quiz night continued to be a popular community event.

Parents were invited in for meetings to discuss child development, to view the reports and learning journals and volunteering was actively encouraged. Educational professionals (ie SEND) came into the Pre-School to support additional learning needs. During the 24/25 review period there was a continued to be a high number of children requiring additional support.

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Overall, the Trustees feel that Little Saints Pre-School had a successful year fulfilling the objectives, despite many continuing challenges of lower child numbers, increasing numbers of children requiring additional support and higher costs.

The Charity continued to employ 12 members of staff, 7 qualified childcare practitioners, 1 training for a qualification practitioner, 3 unqualified child care practitioners and 1 treasurer.

Financial Review

For the financial year 1 September 2024 to August 31 2025, Little Saints Pre-School made a surplus of £15,394. This was mainly due to grants of £23,383 that was awarded to help with the maintenance of the provision to ensure that funded places were provided for the local community and also to help local children have a better start in life. It was also due to significant work by the team to ensure the facility was well advertised as well as costs being kept as low as possible, while providing the high level of care that Little Saints is known for.

Overall income in 24/25 was higher than 23/24 largely due to the grants that were received. Parent fees fell from £18,581 (23/24) to £12,953 following the introduction of the funded scheme for 2 year olds in April 24. This has changed the overall income pattern for Little Saints as a significantly higher proportion of children are now funded. Early years funded income increased to £88,471 from £82,273 due to the expansion of this scheme.

The grants totally £23,383 were awarded in 2025, and ensured a higher number of staff employed to assist the increased number of 2 year olds.

Fundraising events resulted in an additional income of £4,537 due to a well executed fundraising plan. This was considerably slightly than in 23/24. Voluntary donations generated £2,590 due to generous support from the parents. Lunch club was run raising a total of £154. Additionally, the PreSchool was able to claim back Gift Aid from HMRC (where permitted), resulting in an income of £587.

The Pre-School continued with its careful expenditure policy, due to the inconsistent numbers of children attending across the school year. On the whole there has been a fall in the number of sessions that families take up due to the cost of living crisis which has meant LS has had to keep costs as low was possible. Despite minimum wage increasing significantly for the 4[th] year in a row, LS has been able to maintain staff costs at a steady level, with help from volunteer students and parent helpers in the facility.

A total of £9,168 was provided by Surrey County Council for the support of children with additional needs. This was put towards additional resources and staff costs to support and progress the children.

Resources within the facility were managed carefully while providing all the necessary resources for the children. Additional donations of resources and cleaning products from parents were accepted. Hall hire price has increased gradually to £15,083 in this review period, up from £14,400 in the previous review period.

For further details of the accounts please see the financial statement. These are presented on a cash basis.

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Principle funding sources

The main source of funding is from fees for the children attending gathered directly from parents, and from Surrey Early Years Free Education Entitlement (from 2 year FEET or from 3 and 4 year universal funding and Working Parent Entitlement for 2, 3 & 4 year olds). Additional funds from Surrey County Council, in the form of grants, were available upon applying in 24/25. These funds were awarded based on a specific criteria set by Surrey County Council. Little Saints were awarded £23,383 for use in the maintenance of the setting and staffing for the children, in particular the 2 year olds in the setting to enhance the settings ratio’s as needed. Other sources of revenue come from donations and fund-raising events. The main expenditure is wages and hall hire. Restricted funds are funding received for children that require additional support (SEND).

Reserves policy

Currently, the reserve statement is within the finance policy. The reserve amount is reviewed and updated on an annual basis allowing the Pre-School to perform its legal responsibilities if required to close. The reserve bank account at the end of 2024/25 held £79,034

Investments

The charity has no long term banking investments. The funds are held in 2 separate accounts. Surplus funds are set aside and used for replacement of equipment and activities for the children.

Particulars of Any Outstanding Guarantee Given by the Charity

The trustees declare that the Charity has given no guarantee where potential liability is outstanding at the date of the statement of assets and liabilities.

Particulars of Any Outstanding Debt

The Trustees declare that the charity has no outstanding debt which is secured by an express charge of any of the assets of the charity at the date of the statement of assets and liabilities.

Plans for the future

It is the Trustees intention that the Charity continue to provide its services in-line with its aims and objectives. During this time of challenging economic environment, the Charity and its Trustees believe it is more important than ever to provide caring and supportive childcare to continue to support the community. The careful and conservative fiscal approach the Charity has been operating by is continuing to serve the Charity well and has been an asset within this year.

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Financial Statement

Receipts and payments 24/25 23/24
A1 Receipts Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
Fees 101,578 101,578 102,168 102,168
Voluntary donations 2,590 2,590 1,847 1,847
SEND funding 9,168 9,168 11,681 11,681
Uniform sales 800 800 1,167 1,167
Fundraising activities 4,537 4,537 4,380 4,380
Other income 826 826 729 729
Other funding 23,970 23,970 18,492 18,492
TOTAL 134,301 9,168 143,469 128,783 11,681 140,464
A3 Payments
Staff Costs 92,437 92,437 81,244 81,244
Hall hire 15,083 15,083 14,400 14,400
SEND expenditure 9,012 9,012 10,964 10,964
Special events 1,120 1,120 1,147 1,147
expenditure
Running costs 4,670 4,670 5,716 5,716
Administrative costs 4,342 4,342 3,466 3,466
Uniform purchases 869 869 828 828
Other expenditure 540 540 504 504
TOTAL 119,061 9,012 128,073 107,305 10,964 118,269
Net receipts and 15,240 156 15,396 21,479 717 22,195
payments

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Cash funds
Current account 11,985 8,725 20,710 (2,829) 8,569 5,740
Deposit account 79,034 79,034 63,860 63,860
Cash 111 111 - -
Debtors 950 950 - -
Creditors (18,537) (18,537) (2,728) (2,728)
TOTAL 73,543 8,725 82,268 58,303 8,569 66,872
Change 15,396 22,195

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Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the above report and authorised that it be signed on their behalf.

The Trustees’ annual report was approved on 25 June 2026 and signed on behalf of the Little Saints Trustees by:

Luisa Viscione

(Chairperson, Trustee)

..................................................

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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Little Saints Pre-School

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Little Saints Pre-School

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Little Saints Pre-School for the year ended 31 August 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the 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 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the

  4. 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,

  5. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I confirm that there are no other matters to which your attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Hazel Day BSc (Hons) FCA DChA Xeinadin Nightingale House 46-48 East Street Epsom Surrey KT17 1HQ

Date: .25 June 2026..............

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