CHARITY NUMBER – 1182859
Report of the Trustees and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2025 for Woodpeckers Preschool CIO
Woodpeckers Preschool CIO Trustees’ Annual Report
12 months ended 31 July 2025
Charity Number: 1182859 Registered Address: Quaker Lane, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 2HF.
The trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the twelve months ended 31 July 2025.
THE TRUSTEES
The trustees are Stephanie Simpson, Chelsea Groome, Victoria Hunter and James Ashby King who were all appointed on 1 September 2024. Steven White was appointed as a trustee on 1 July 2025,
Hazel Leah, Laura Cheesman-Haynes and Emma Flint resigned as trustees on 1 July 2025.
The pre-school is administered by an elected committee of parents.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Woodpeckers’ pre-school is a playgroup for children from the age of two to five years.
The playgroup opened in May 1998 and is registered with OFSTED for a maximum of 25 children a session. The playgroup is governed by a constitution dated 26[th] September 2018.
The committee undertakes the day-to-day administration and management of the charity.
New trustees are provided with a copy of the latest accounts, a copy of the constitution and a copy of the Pre-school Learning Alliance’s Trustees’ Welcome Guide.
OBJECTIVES
The aims of the charity are to enhance the development and education of children aged two to five years by offering appropriate play, education and car facilities, encouraging the study of the needs of such children and their families and promoting public interest in, and recognition of, such needs in the local area.
ORGANISATION
The charity is headed up by the Board of Trustees and a voluntary management committee who undertake the day-to-day management. The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity has appropriate systems of controls, financial or otherwise. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurance that:
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the charity is operating efficiently and effectively
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its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised disposal or use
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proper records are maintained and financial information within the charity or for publication is reliable; and
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the charity complies with relevant laws and regulations.
The systems of internal controls are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss.
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Woodpeckers Preschool CIO Trustees’ Annual Report (contd.)
12 months ended 31 July 2025
REVIEWS OF DEVELOPMENTS, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The pre-school is based in a purposely-converted single storey building. The building consists of two large rooms, an office, a kitchen, toilets and baby changing facilities and cloakrooms. Outside there is a covered area, a secure garden with grass, a sandpit and a stone pit. There is also a hard surface play area.
The pre-school is open from 8:30am to 4pm Monday to Friday offering both morning and afternoon sessions with a lunch session 12-1pm.
STAFF
Woodpeckers has seven members of staff. The supervisor has a Level 3 NVQ in Childcare learning and development. One other member of staff completed a foundation degree in Early Years Studies. All staff continue their professional development with relevant training courses.
FUNDRAISING
Woodpeckers held various fundraising events throughout the past year. With changes to employment legislation regarding holiday pay, pensions etc., we anticipate further increases in our wage bills going forward and fundraising will become even more vital to our future.
PROPERTY
Regular maintenance has been carried out.
OFSTED
We were last inspected by OFSTED in June 2022 and were judged ‘Good’.
The trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
FINANCE
Full details of the results are shown in the financial statements. The Trustees are satisfied with the financial status of the charity and confirm that the charity can meet its liabilities as they fall due.
The land and building from which the pre-school operates are leased from Kent County Council. These are for a period of ten years from 1 April 2019. Following a rent review, the annual rent for the building from 1 April 2024 is £8,732.
RESERVES/RESOURCES POLICY
It is the policy of the charity to maintain unrestricted funds, which are free reserves of the charity. These sums have been carefully built up over the twenty years since the pre-school began and provides sufficient funds over and above day-to-day management and administration costs to respond to any major expenditure required due to unforeseen circumstances on the building or in the case of staff redundancies. There is a real possibility of relocation becoming necessary at the end of the current lease period.
If reserves are significantly above the target level, the Committee will earmark them as designated funds. Designated funds are part of the unrestricted funds which trustees have earmarked for a particular project or use, without restricting or committing the funds legally. The designation may be cancelled by the trustees if they later decide that the charity should not proceed or continue with the use or project for which the funds were designated.
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The Committee have approved that the designated funds for Woodpeckers preschool CIO should be for the future purchase of a property that the preschool operate out of. This would offer the preschool much greater financial stability in the future.
RISK MANAGEMENT
The Trustees have examined the operational risks, which the charity faces, and are satisfied that the systems currently in place are sufficient to enable such risks to be minimised.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
Mr Steven White
Approved by the Trustees on 19.01.26
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Woodpeckers preschool CIO Charity number : 1182859
Accounts for the period ended 31st July 2025
Receipts and Payments Account
| Year ended 31 July 2025 Income receipts Fees From Parents 23,059 From voucher agency 139,852 Fundraising activities 2,601 Donations 581 Bank interest 515 Grant - Other 917 167,525 Expenditure Professional fees (6,227) Equipment (inc. toys) (187) Fundraising resources (599) Property maintenance (16,867) Miscellaneous small items (758) Wages (126,447) Insurance (2,531) Premises (rent and utilities) (13,044) Clothing (1,263) Art supplies (710) Food and drink (1,221) Admin expenses (2,366) Daily cleaning and first aid (1,280) Training (1,048) Bank charges (302) (174,849) Net receipts for year (7,323) Cash and bank balances at start of period 129,886 122,563 Cash and bank balances at year end : Current account 58,390 GMP Client account 1,097 Committee Account 18 Reserve account 63,058 122,563 |
Year ended 31 July 2024 26,530 139,995 2,550 1,922 896 - 783 172,677 (2,962) (306) (565) (8,168) (527) (122,795) (1,848) (11,817) (680) (744) (2,058) (2,227) (1,200) (745) (482) (157,124) 15,553 114,333 129,886 66,423 1,187 18 62,258 129,886 |
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Payments of £1,415 were made during the year to staff and trustees in reimbursement for consumables purchased on behalf of the preschool. This is due to some consumables and fundraising resources being purchased on personal credit cards.
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Woodpeckers Preschool CIO
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 July 2025, which are set out on pages five to seven.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s trustees 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 charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the 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:
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Accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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The accounts do not accord with those records; or
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The accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the 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.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Abigail Page CTA ACA
Gibbons, Mannington & Phipps LLP Chartered Accountants 82 High Street Tenterden Kent TN30 6JG
Date: 23.01.26