## **Overton Playcentre CIO** Patron – Margaret Evison ## **OVERTON PLAYCENTRE CIO** **Annual General Meeting 21st June 2023 held at Overton Playcentre September 2021– August 2022** ## **Chairperson’s Report** As Chairperson I wish to thank all the committee, management, and staff parents and the fabulous children for another year. Having started the year not knowing what we would have to deal with on the back of covid restrictions, we have finished the year on a high. Thankfully government restrictions have eased, and we have resumed to “business as normal” – or as normal as we can now expect to be. We have adopted some of the policies made mandatory during covid (ventilation etc) which although challenging at times to implement have made the environment a better place to be and have helped maintain high standards of health and safety. Throughout the year the Committee have met regularly via digital platforms to discuss the needs of the playcentre, ensuring that our staff, the children and all their families are of the upmost priority. Mental wellbeing has been a priority, and this will continue to be the case in the future. The holiday club has gone from strength to strength in relation to children’s numbers and the feedback received. It’s programme of external activities has been varied and hugely appealing to the children in attendance. We have struggled to recruit seasonal staff to cover holiday club, however we have always maintained our ratio of children/practitioners in line with CIW minimum standards. We do see staffing of seasonal /holiday staff as a point of weakness which needs to be reviewed in the following year. The next 12 months will hopefully be similar to this year; however, I do note we have several projects to look forward to, which do include the addition of younger children to our setting. Again, I wish to thank you for continuing to support us, we are only small so ell the support we receive makes a big difference. Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** ## Patron – Margaret Evison ## Overview of the Year ## Health and Safety The safety of our children and staff within our settings remains our number one priority and we continue to have a strong emphasis on the importance of having a robust safety culture embedded into the day-to-day activities of all team members within the setting. Health and Safety is an agenda item on all meetings held either as a management committee or as a staff team. Covid restrictions were significantly lessened in August 2021, however bubbling remained in place for much of the academic year. The Omicron variant brought a significant increase in infection rates at St Mary’s School in January / February 2022 which had a direct impact on both of our settings. Any staff member who tested positive still adhered to the recommended isolation periods and remained absent from work until they were testing negative. This hopefully helped to minimise the spread within our settings. Paving in the back garden of the Playcentre has been identified as needing significant repair work. We will look at applying for a grant for this work to be undertaken during 2022/2023. ## Safeguarding We continue to follow our safeguarding policy and procedures which are firmly embedded in our day to day running of both settings and continuously reviewed. All staff have completed the mandatory All Wales Safeguarding training to the required level. We work in close partnership with St Mary’s school where children are in both settings, ensuring transparency of safeguarding information. ## Staffing The government furlough scheme ended in August 2021. We were in the incredibly fortunate position of being able to retain all of our staff coming out of furlough, thus maintaining stability for both of our settings. Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** ## Patron – Margaret Evison We were very fortunate to have 2 apprentices start with us in September 2021, Caitlyn Shaw and Ifor Harris. These apprenticeships were part funded, covering ??% of their wages. Both Caitlyn and Ifor completed their apprenticeships by the end of the year and I offer my congratulations to them both for this. Caitlyn has been offered a contract to remain in employment with us and has proven herself as a great asset to the team. Ifor will remain as bank staff for us, whilst he continues his studies at University. I wish him the very best of luck with this. Dianne Edwards resigned from her position in September 2021 and Susan Staniford also offered her resignation later in the year, leaving us in August 2022. Dianne and Susan were both highly valued members of our team and I thank them for all their hard work and dedication during their employment with us. We welcomed Joseph Williams to our team for our Summer holiday club. Joe is keen to continue working for us during future holiday clubs. As of August 2022 are staffing team is as follows: - Rachel Harris – Manager Overton Playcentre CIO (Person in Charge - PIC) - Sarah Carpenter - Administrator - Nicole Langley – Deputy Manager (PIC) - Sharon Marriott – Playcentre Assistant and PIC (Term time only) - Emily Bellingham – Playcentre Assistant (Term time only) - Glynis Farley ( St Mary’s B&A Club) - Jackie Tombs (St Mary’s B&A Club) - Caitlyn Shaw – Apprentice - Ifor Harris – Apprentice - Emily Baker – Holiday Club - Bryn Harris – Holiday Club - Joseph Williams – Holiday Club All staff have continued mandatory training in Early Education, First Aid, Safeguarding and Food Hygiene / Allergen training as well as optional training for some staff as part of their Continued Professional Development (CPD), this included Schema training, Supporting Mental Health, Planning in the Moment with Anna Ephgrave and Excel Essentials. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all the Playcentre staff for their continued dedication and commitment during another very difficult and challenging year. You have been amazing and on behalf of the management committee, I am so very grateful to each and every one of you. Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** Patron – Margaret Evison ## Finances Whilst our financial position this year has overall been very positive, in anticipation of significant increases to our expenditure in 2022/2023, namely National Minimum Wage increases and energy increases, we had to make the very difficult decision to increase our fees in April 2022. This was understandably met with a mixed response from our families. The most significant concern was over our fees for our 2 year old children, which have an enhanced rate due to the higher staffing ratio. In light of this, we reviewed the pricing structure again and we were able to slightly drop the proposed increase for these children. This was met with appreciation of those families affected. The use of our Parenta software and advanced billing is now firmly embedded. This has had a positive impact on our monthly cashflow, whereby fees income is received in part prior to wages being paid. We continue to receive additional income via Funded Early Education, Childcare Offer for Wales and Shropshire Childcare Funding. From January 2023 the Childcare Offer will be undergoing a significant upgrade and claims will be able to be made weekly rather than monthly. It is hoped that this will further improve our cash flow. The Treasurers report will provide a more detailed overview of our financial position. ## Governing bodies Estyn – Last inspected January 2018 CIW - Overton Playcentre last inspection report: November 2019 Before and After School Club last inspection report: September 2021 Progress has been made towards the recommendations outlined in the CIW report published following the June inspection. Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** ## Patron – Margaret Evison ## Trustees The trustees are our Chair (Heather Kirby) Treasurer (Andrew Saunders) and Secretary (Claire Morris) as per our constitution. ## Management Team Committee The Management Team has remained steady over the last year. Thank you so much to Andy and Claire who continue to support Overton Playcentre and stay on as part of the management committee. I truly appreciate your ongoing commitment. Rachel and Sarah, on behalf of all the staff also wish to extend their immense gratitude to all of the management team for all of your unfaltering support over this last year. We have also welcomed Lucy Matthews and Lianne Evans, both of whom have children attending the Playcentre. Lucy and Lianne have been instrumental in reigniting our fundraising efforts and I thank them hugely for this. ## Fundraising Fundraising has still been limited due to the fallout from covid, particularly with regards to insurance, where there was a reluctance to cover certain events, such as a car boot sale back in the Autumn. We have resolved this by taking out separate events insurance. This insurance allowed us to be part of the Easter Eggstravoganza which made it’s come back after 2 years of absence due to Covid. This was a really special event, bringing the village together again and it had great attendance! With our gratitude Lucy, Lianne and Lauren ran our stall at the Jubilee fete, which was another wonderful event to be part of. In November our amazing staff also took part in a 24 hour Dance-a-thon which raised close to £1000 for the Playcentre. This was an incredible effort and a equally incredible sum of money raised! It is hoped that as we move into the new academic year fundraising can continue to grow. Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** Patron – Margaret Evison ## Grants We have applied for and gratefully received grants this year which have enabled us to remain financially viable as well as invest in resources that we otherwise could not have spent money on. Grants have included: - £10,000 Revenue / Sustainability Cwtch grant from WCBC - Overton Community Council - Community Chest Grant - WCBC Grants including Funded Early Education and Rainbow Grants ## Donations Overton Butchers, ME Evans, continued to be incredibly supportive this year. They have continued to only charge us at cost for our weekly order. We are so very grateful to them for their kindness and generosity, it really means a lot. We also received another donation from AICO, courtesy of Luke Allwood who put us forward for the donation. Once again this is very much appreciated. Thank you to Luke and AICO. The Community Council very kindly gave us another donation in April 2022, this is in addition to their very generous Community Chest grant. We offer our sincerest thanks for their ongoing support. ## Community As mentioned previously the opportunity to be a part of the Easter Eggstravoganza in April was really special. The event was a jointly hosted by the Twinning Association, Overton Growers and ourselves. It was wonderful to see the village properly coming together after the covid lockdowns of the last 2 years. Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** Patron – Margaret Evison We were also privileged to be a part of the lantern parade for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with a number of our families joining us to represent both the Playcentre and Before and After School Club. Another very special moment to have shared with our community. ## PLAYCENTRE NUMBERS At the end of August 2022 there were 143 children on our books. This compares to previous years as follows: _**NB Playcentre takeover of St Mary’s B&A Club was effective from September 2019_ |August||No of Children| |---|---|---| |2022||143| |2021||126| |2020||99| |2019||94| |2018||99| |2017||76| |2016||65| |2015||81| |2014||43| |2013||46| |2012||43| It is incredibly reassuring to see our children numbers continuing to grow, in spite of the difficult events of the last couple of years. Next year we hope to be able to start taking children Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** ## Patron – Margaret Evison from the age of 18 months. Work has already begun to prepare for this and it is hoped that we can begin to welcome them in the first term of next year. ## Building and Environment - The 2[nd] shelter was built in our Early Education back garden area. This has facilitated even greater use of the area by offering more weather protection. We thank Rob Lawrenson for his work in building our 2 shelters. ## CHALLENGES & OUTLOOK In my report for 2021/2022 I outlined the following objectives: - Preparation of and working towards the implementation of the new curriculum for Wales in September 2022 - Implementation of the new ALN legislation, ALNET (Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act), due to come into effect in September 2021. - Full review of fees ahead of the rises in the national minimum wage in April 2022 along with predicted cost of living increases (utilities, fuel, groceries) - Full implementation of our Fees policy with view to more effective management of outstanding fees and reducing debtors. - Continued covid recovery, through increasing children numbers, restarting our toddler group and marketing ourselves whilst maintaining a continued focus on the wellbeing of our children, families and staff as we emerge into our ‘new normal’. - Respond to and take the necessary steps to meet the recommendations laid out by CIW during their inspection of St Mary’s Out of School Club in June 2021 - With the hopeful easing of covid restrictions we aim to reintroduce a fundraising team and begin to run more of our larger scale fundraising events Reflecting on these objectives I am satisfied that we have successfully achieved these objectives and I look forward to striving towards new objectives for 2022/2023. Based on the above report I have identified the following objectives for 2022/2023: - Embed the new Curriculum for Wales as it is introduced from September 2022 Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 ## **Overton Playcentre CIO** ## Patron – Margaret Evison - Further review and improve our debt recovery processes to reduce both current and aged debt in relation to fees. - Complete the necessary preparation, insurance and CIW registration to facilitate reducing our minimum age of children from 2 years old to 18 months. - Undertake essential maintenance, including the paving area in the back garden. Ideally we will seek grant funding to facilitate this. - Increases to the National Minimum Wage will necessitate an increase to our reserves account. We will aim to maintain a reserve of 2 months wages with view to increasing this to the desired 3 months. - To support and increase income, we will look at our fundraising opportunities and consider collaborating with St Mary’s School PTA to host joint events. - Review staffing, in particular holiday club to ensure suitable staffing is in place and qualification ratios are met in line with the CIW minimum standards. - Continue to move towards ‘cash-less’ accounting, facilitated mainly by online fees payments and also ALL transactions being paid via online banking rather than petty cash. ## CLOSING STATEMENT As you can see, we have a lot of work in the coming year with the implementation of new curriculum, and maintenance and upkeep of the building being of upmost importance. We will need the support of the community and will gladly accept any offers of support. Thank you once again for all you have helped us with in 2022. Now I will hand over to Andy for the Treasurers report and presentation of annual accounts. Thank you/Diolch Heather Kirby Chairperson Overton Playcentre CIO Overton Playcentre CIO, School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0ES Tel: 01978 710 688 email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity 1182019 CIW Registration W14/00001723 Overton Pl rou Funds forth nd&d 31 2022 u812 Au n¢ome Fees & Earty Enlitlemenl Furfough Fund Raising Donations Received Insurance Payout Milk Refunds Grants ReCe￿ved Miscellaneous 89.473 25,313 507 775 134,875 775 1,749 605 2,319 403 23,772 41 17.865 133,975 164,500 ndit Wages 106,234 2,946 2,608 10,297 2,732 10,213 124,063 5,318 2,848 2,710 3,481 11.415 Building Maintenance & Play Equlpmenl Site lrnprovements (One off works) Insurance iscellaneous 135,029 149,635 Nel Incomel{Expendilurel -1,054 14,665 r reco nised in losses Gainslllossesl on revaluation of fixed 88sets Net movement in funds -1,054 14.665 Fixed A Property Fumilure & Fittings Total Fixed Assets 70000 70000 70,000 70,000 Current As Debtors Barclays Current AJC Bar¢lay$ Deposit Alc Cash Cash at bank and in hand Total Current Assets 2,911 1,485 4,616 17,065 20 20,278 16,067 20 21,701 24,612 36,366 Creditors 2,343 917 22,269 36,934 Net As$els1lliabilil￿8I 92,269 106.934 Openin9 Balance Revaluation Reserve Profrtl{Lo$s1 for Year 93,323 92,269 -1,054 14.665 Totsl Charity Funds 92.269 Prepared By.. Date.. ## **Overton Playcentre** School Lane, Overton on Dee, Wrexham, LL13 0SE Tel: 01978 710688 Email: overtonplaygroup@yahoo.co.uk Registered Charity Number 701478 ## **Annual General Meeting – 21[st] June 2023** ## **Treasurer’s report for financial year 1st September 2021 to 31st August 2022** The year-end accounts this year have been completed and presented to the committee by Andy Saunders, the Playcentre Treasurer. ## **Operating Surplus** The financial statement for this year shows an operating surplus of £14,665 which is a significant increase over the small loss of £1,054 in the previous financial year. The committee, trustees and staff have worked hard this year to meet a tough target, that being to ensure the financial stability of the Playcentre in what has been and will continue to be uncertain times. The aim of fee increases this year was to ensure that minimum wage, pension and cost of living changes could be smoothed out over the coming years as the economy emerges from the effects of the COVID pandemic. It is imperative that we closely monitor cashflow over the coming year and ensure that if we have over-provisioned for this uncertainty and additional costs, that we reduce our fees accordingly. This will ensure that we continue to operate with the needs of the community as our central guide, providing much needed childcare at the most reasonable price that we can. The move to advanced bookings has had a dramatic effect on our debtors and over the coming financial year we will review the information that our booking system provides for outstanding invoices to continue to manage outstanding debt. ## **Income** Income has risen due to a rise in fees and a very welcome increase in child numbers (143 from 126). The aim of the Playcentre has always been to have 3 months expenses in reserve to cover any catastrophic event which would require us to cease childcare provision for any reason. This has been achieved this year for the first time since I took over as treasurer. I do not foresee that the setting will remain this profitable on an ongoing basis, but it is good to know that there are funds in place to cover any exceptional circumstances which may arise. The management team has, again, worked tirelessly to secure as much grant funding as possible and during this period were particularly successful in securing a £10,000 sustainability grant, which is largely responsible for our exceptional performance this year. An additional grant of £9,500 was received for the purpose of paying wages for two apprentices employed by the setting during this financial year. ## **Expenditure** Expenditure for the year was £149,835 – an increase of nearly £15,000. Table 2 shows the expenditure for this year. As can be seen wages form the majority of the spend figure. Utilities have almost doubled from the previous year and there was an increase in miscellaneous costs, mostly food and supplies for the Playcentre. We expect the cost of wages to rise again next year due to changes in minimum wage and we hope not to have to raise fees much further to cover this additional cost. As mentioned above, £9,500 of the wages cost was covered by a grant during this financial year. This is a grant which we will not be receiving in the coming year. ## **Fixed Assets** We continue to show the land and building on which the Playcentre is sited within our assets at a valuation of £70k. ## **Cash Reserves** At 31st August 2022, the current account stood at £20,278. In addition, there was a further £16,067 held in the deposit account. Finally, the cash at hand (not yet banked) was £20 – petty cash held in the Playcentre. As mentioned elsewhere in my report, £10,000 of this money is from a sustainability grant which is designed to assist us to operate without having to further leverage fee increases. ## **Treasurers Comment** In my opinion the Playcentre is currently in a satisfactory financial position and is looking more than capable of managing ever increasing costs. I would firstly like to thank the staff team at the Playcentre, without whom there would be no Playcentre, for their dedication and effort. They are a fantastic asset of which the Playcentre and they can be proud. While the world is returning to a new ‘normal’ the staff continue to show great flexibility and resourcefulness when it comes to raising funds and also caring for the children. I would finally like to thank the rest of the volunteer committee for their effort and the time they devote to the Playcentre. It is a pleasure to work with them and the future of the setting, the welfare of the children attending and the staff at the centre is their highest priority. I look forward to what the next year will bring and feel confident that the staff, volunteer committee and parents will remain committed to fundraising and ensuring that we remain a focal point for the local area. The building and grounds continue to require upkeep to ensure that we do not incur any unnecessary expenditure. Parent assistance with this in the coming year will be very much appreciated. I believe the attached accounts to be a true and fair statement of Overton Playcentre’s financial position. Andy Saunders Treasurer ## Table 1 **----- Start of picture text -----**
INCOME AUGUST 2021 AUGUST 2022
Fees (including EE and £89,473 £134,875
Childcare Offer)
Furlough Scheme £25,313 £775
Fundraising £507 £1,749
Donations Received £775 £605
Insurance £0 £2,319
Milk Refunds £41 £403
Grants Received £17,865 £23,772
Miscellaneous £3 £2
Total £133,977 £164,500
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## Table 2 **----- Start of picture text -----**
EXPENDITURE AUGUST 2021 AUGUST 2022
Wages £106,234 £124,063
Utilities (rates, water, £2,946 £5,318
gas, electricity,
telephone and
broadband)
Building £2,608 £2,848
Site Improvements (One £10,297 £2,710
off works)
Insurance £2,732 £3,481
Miscellaneous (inc. UW £10,213 £11,415
Card, Petty Cash,
Internet, NNS Cheques)
Total £135,029 £149,835
**----- End of picture text -----**