Sunflower Seed is a registered charity (no. 1177943) and is run by a group of volunteers called committee members which are made up of parents/carers and other members of the local community who have skills to offer. Sunflower Seed abides by a governing document or constitution which is a rulebook which sets out how the charity will run.
Aims and activities
To advance the education of children from families living/working within Northborough and surrounding area by providing childcare facilities for children aged 2-11. To assist in developing children’s mental, physical and moral capabilities through leisure time activities for 2-11yr through provision of pre-school, before and after school club, and holiday club.
Covid-19
The previous year we saw the impact of COVID-19 on our services and income, however this year we have seen business return to ‘normal’ and uptake for places have increased to the point that as a business we no longer feel any impact from the pandemic.
Staf team
The staff have worked tirelessly to support the children and Charlotte in the running of Sunflowers. Charlotte has now been the manager at Sunflower Seed for 4 years and continues to lead the team well, communicate effectively with the committee and act on any issues that arise within the setting.
Claire Cook has been in her role as Deputy for over a year now and is supporting Charlotte and the team brilliantly. She has completed the NCFE CACHE Level 3 SENCO Award in Early Years and continues to act as SENCO.
Stacey remains as the setting administrator and Heather is the settings Senior Nursery Nurse. They continue to support the setting brilliantly and Charlotte reports that the whole leadership team are working well and fulfilling their roles effectively.
Jacqui (cook) left and was replaced by Toni who cooks lovely fresh meals daily at the setting. Toni has fitted in really well with the team.
Since the last AGM Lauren joined us in May and Sammii join in July, both in
level 3 nursery nurse roles.
Committee members
I would like to thank the committee members for their hard work and commitment over the last year. For the most part of this year, we have been a very small committee and I recognise that this has meant more responsibilities for each member. It has meant that meetings often haven’t gone ahead if one or two of us cannot attend. John Bowyer has continued his role as treasurer and has been a strong backbone of the committee supporting Sunflower Seed with all the necessary financial support. Sadly, Clare Stamp had to leave suddenly due to personal reasons and Kat Chiva decided her time on the committee had come to an end.
Thankfully, we have recently had more volunteers willing to join the committee so that it can grow in numbers again and return to strength. We welcome Jacqui Geer, Lianne Desborough, Emily Tanton, Fiona Ram, and Tanya Mahabadi
Emily has kindly offered to take on the role of chair for the year ahead.
Finances
See separate report
Fundraising
This year we have raised funds for Children in need, doing a sponsored walk and for Macmillan with a very successful cake sale.
For Sunflower Seed we have raised money through our Halloween disco, and we have a winter bake sale arranged. We have also received donations from The Deeping Lions and Sue Garford who organised a village yard sale.
Current building
Currently the building is in a poor state of repair and we hope that the new build project will commence in summer 2023.
The drains continue to cause issues for Sunflower Seed and are fixed with temporary fixes which are not sustainable long term. The issues are caused by large tree roots which need to be removed when the new build takes place.
The is also an issue with mould inside the building which requires a lot of maintenance, and the floor has been fixed by a parent as the entrance area is rotten. Our outdoor area is also a risk as it is very uneven and not a cushioned landing for when the children fall.
We have had new tables and chairs which we bought a few months ago.
New build
Sunflower Seed committee came to the realisation that a permanent new building as originally planned would not be possible due to funds. Therefore, a brand new temporary mobile building has been planned to replace the existing one. Plans have been drawn and costs continue to be looked at. The main stumbling block is the funding and cost. We estimate a cost in the region of £280,000 (and rising due to the cost of materials going up), and Sunflower Seed currently only has funds of approx. £150,000 that can be put towards the new build. We are hoping for some support from PCC; however, this will still leave us short. John has looked into hire purchase options which we continue to consider as an option.
As a committee we recognise the importance of the new build in the sustainability of the setting long term however, we have found it a challenge to make serious progress due to a funding shortage.
Communications
The website is now new and improved and up and running.
Plans/objectives 2022/2023 and summary
The new build project remains the biggest challenge of the committee. We very much hope that this can go ahead during summer 2023.
I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in Sunflower Seed during the last year and most importantly the commitment of the staff in making Sunflower Seed a great place for children to learn and enjoy.
Andrea Corner – Chair, Sunflower Seed Committee
Sunflower Seed
Annual Financial Report 2021/22
Contents:
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Introduction
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Financial Performance 2021/22
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Income Analysis
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Expenditure Analysis
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Cash Reserves
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Balance Sheet
Registered charity number: 1177943
1. Introduction:
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Sunflower Seeds Preschool offers childcare provision for children age 2 – 11 in a form of following services:
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Pre-School
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After School Tea Club
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Breakfast Club
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Holiday Club
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The setting is run from a cabin located on the Northborough Primary School.
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Sunflower Seeds employs 11 members of staff on a full or part time basis. Three further staff members are retained on a zero hours contract to provide cover when required.
2. Financial Performance: Year Sep-21 to Aug-22 (£)
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On a statutory basis, Sunflower Seed recorded a surplus of £30,665 for the year 2021/22. This represents an improvement of £8,899 on the prior year.
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The Sunflower Seed New Build project has the objective of providing new purpose built premises for the nursery adjacent to Northborough Primary School. No further project costs (or income) were incurred during the year 2021/22. However, some investigative work has been carried out with a view to installing new premises during the summer of 2023.
3. Income Analysis
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Income increased by £40,168 from the previous year.
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Strong growth was seen in both Parents Fees and PCC Funding, both reflecting increased numbers of children within the pre-school. The prior year’s income had, to an extent, been impacted by Covid-19.
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Prior year income had been boosted by the receipt of the PCC Sustainability Grant and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments.
4. Expenditure Analysis
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Total BAU expenditure increased by £31,269 from the previous year.
The major increase was in staff costs which increased by £23,816 (15.9%) compared to the prior year. This was in part due to the greater usage of the setting requiring more staff time. It was also due to increases in the staff salary structure, which is to a large degree pegged to increases to the government minimum and living wage.
Other areas of expenditure were also increased due to the increased occupancy of the facility.
5. Cash Reserves
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Sunflower Seed total cash reserves increased by £30,665 over the year 2021/22, standing at £184,136 at the financial year end.
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This is a healthy cash position. However, a large proportion of these reserves will be required to fund the New Build project, ensuring the long term viability of the Sunflower Seed setting.
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Barclays Bank have placed the New Building Account into dormancy. Processes to reinstate the account are being followed.
Balance Sheet at 31 August 2022 Deposls Xbd G*1 k P£cthint 160,715 23,421 Trf U6 4.U6 153,471 30,665 p&Lknnt