Dwylo Bach Preschool Charity
Dowlais Primary School,
High Street, Caeharris, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil. CF48 3HB
Tel: 01685 816480 Email: dwylobach11@gmail.com
CIW Registration: CYM00005818
Registered Charity number: 1184017
The Trustees present this annual report together with the financial statement of the charity for the period 1st September 2023 to 31st August 2024
Dwylo Bach Preschool was granted charitable status on 20th June 2019 and is governed by its constitution as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The object of the CIO is to enhance the development and education of children in Wales, for the public benefit, by encouraging parents to understand and provide for their needs through high quality childcare provision.
Membership of the CIO: Membership of the CIO is divided into two kinds: (a) Family membership - Family membership is available to the parents or guardians of all children who attend any group run by the CIO wishing to support the aims of the CIO. (b) Affiliate membership - Affiliate membership of the CIO is open to anyone who is interested in furthering its purposes and who, by applying for membership, has indicated his, her or its agreement to become a member and acceptance of the duty of members.
The method of appointment of trustees is set out in the constitution dated 2nd October 2018. There are currently three trustees involved in the organisation: Zoe is the newly appointed Chair of the Committee, with Kyle and Sara as Trustees.
The Trustees are aware that the Charity has a responsibility under the Charities Act to demonstrate that it has charitable aims that meet the public benefit requirement and are therefore charitable. The Trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and comply with S17 Charities Act 2011 when considering, planning and implementing the activities of the charity. As Trustees, we believe that the aims of our organisation are charitable and for the public benefit. This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (issued in January 2015).
Annual Report
September 2023 – August 2024
This year the preschool has continued to provide high class childcare and remains a successful provider. This is due in no small way to the dedication and enthusiasm of the staff.
The preschool is now settled and well established in a new purpose-built building, in the grounds of Dowlais Primary School following a successful application for Welsh Government funding, links with the school and the community continue to strengthen.
Regulatory Procedures –
Dwylo Bach Preschool is a registered charity and is registered with CIW to provide full day care for children aged two – four years old, we follow the CIW guidelines on ratios of 1:4 for two year olds and 1:8 for three and four year olds, our last inspection took place in October 2021, available to view on line. Dwylo Bach is registered as a Flying Start preschool, allowing children from selected post codes to access free childcare for 12.5 hours per week from the term after their second birthday. We are also registered to provide the Child Care Offer for eligible families, Dwylo Bach is able to provide wrap around care for children who have a part-time nursery space.
Management Structure –
Zoe is our appointed Chair of the Committee, with Kyle and Sara the other Trustees. Day to day running of the Preschool is the responsibility of Natalie and Kathryn.
Staff –
For the period September 2023 – August 2024, staff continued to provide excellent care and early education to the children attending Dwylo Bach Preschool. We are:
Staff 1 – preschool leader, managerial role, room leader, key worker for a group of children. CCLD Level 5 with leadership and management.
Staff 2 – preschool leader, managerial role, room leader, 1:1 worker for children who require enhanced support. CCLD Level 5 with leadership and management.
Staff 3 – preschool deputy, key worker for a group of children and 1:1 worker for children who require enhanced support. CCLD Level 5 with leadership and management.
Staff 4 – Preschool assistant, key worker for a group of children. CCPLD Level 3.
Staff 5 – Preschool assistant, key worker for a group of children. Working towards Level 3.
Staff 6 - preschool assistant, key worker for a group of children and 1:1 worker for children who require enhanced support. Qualified to Level 2, working towards level 3.
Staff 7 - preschool assistant, key worker for a group of children and 1:1 worker for children who require enhanced support. Qualified to Level 3.
Staff 8 – Apprentice preschool assistant, key worker for a group of children. Qualified to Level 2.
Staff changes –
In December Staff 4 left Dwylo Bach Preschool to pursue a career change, we wished her luck for a future in telecommunications.
Staff 7 joined the team in January as an enhanced support worker for a child with additional needs and also as a preschool assistant, she is an experienced member of staff with several years’ experience working in the childcare sector.
We were happy to celebrate in May, when Staff 5 completed her apprenticeship and became qualified at a Level 3 in children’s care, play, learning and development.
In June, Staff 2’s working hours reduced, due to personal circumstances, a job was advertised to cover the hours necessary and Staff 8 became the newest addition to the team. Staff 8 was qualified to level 2 and was hopeful to work towards the level 3 qualification in the coming 18 months.
Topics/Weekly Planning -
Staff at Dwylo Bach continue to plan for children’s learning and development based on termly topics and celebrations broken down into weekly planning. The whole team contributes to planning and are always enthusiastic to put new topics and ideas forward. Topics explored since September include; All About Me, Spring time fun, people who help us and favourite stories.
Children’s progress -
All children are allocated a key worker and within their first few weeks of being at the setting, at the start of this academic year, staff used the Foundation Phase Profile but during the year the new Welsh curriculum for early years was introduced, WellComm screening is
also used to assess children’s development. Staff would usually then meet with parents to discuss the findings, share next steps and, if needed, offer support either in house or from other agencies, such as the Speech and Language team. These assessments take place at the end of each term and every time staff meet with parents to keep track of progress. At the end of a child’s time at Dwylo Bach, transition documents are gathered and shared with parents before being given to the nursery teacher where the child is going to attend. This helps the teacher know a little more about each child that is going to attend and highlights any areas of need for each child.
When children leave the setting, they are always given a scrap book with photos, paintings, and work that they have completed during their time with us. These were given out at the end of term. These are always a huge hit with parents and are a lovely keepsake of their child’s time at preschool
Links with Outside Agencies -
As Dwylo Bach accepts children from all areas of Merthyr, we have been lucky enough to build good relationships with the following Primary Schools: Dowlais, Pant, St Illtyds Roman Catholic, Gellifaelog and Gwaunfarren. Other links include: Early Years Wales, Cymryd Rhan, Flying Start, Early Years Additional Needs Coordinator, Health Visitors, Speech and Language team, Early Language support team, Educational Psychologists, Bernados support worker, Parenting Support team and Dowlais Library. While working alongside other agencies has changed dramatically over the last three years, our relationships are still strong and together we have continued to work closely to support the children and families that use our service.
Training Undertaken -
All staff continue to undertake mandatory training, including safeguarding, paediatric first aid and food hygiene. We also take pride in the enthusiasm staff show for continuing their professional development by taking part in additional training and courses, such as disability awareness, ACE training, Autism Awareness training etc. Training is now a mixture of online or via virtual meetings and face to face training, this is welcomed by the staff and everyone has adapted well to this new way of learning.
Running costs -
This year the fees increased slightly; £13 per 2.5 session, £28 per full day session, £15 per Flying Start top up to full day.
Grant Funding –
During this year we have received a £ 1903.72 grant to help with suppling the new premises with a phoneline and internet. We also received a grant from MTCBC for new resources to coincide with the introduction of the new curriculum. This was very welcome as resources can become tired over time and it is lovely to have a refresh to spark children’s interest as this has a positive effect on their learning.
Celebrations/Charity Awareness –
At Dwylo Bach children are able to learn and celebrate several special occasions throughout the year, including; Halloween, Bonfire Night, Children in Need, Remembrance Day, Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day, St Dwynwen’s Day, St David’s Day, World Book Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Father’s Day and World Ocean Day.
Premises -
The preschool is now operating from a new purpose-built building, in the grounds of Dowlais Primary School following a successful application for Welsh Government funding. The new setting is bright, spacious and welcoming. It includes a foyer/cloak room where families wait at the start and end of the sessions, and pegs for children to hang their coats and bags. A large open play space that is bright and welcoming, the room has many windows and overlooks the forest area on one side. The room has a variety of areas within it, including a home corner with child sized kitchen, a messy area where children enjoy sand and water play, a creative area full of art and craft supplies that the children can access themselves. A carpet area where children can play or enjoy story and song time, a maths corner that has a wide variety of maths resources for children to explore, and three tables that are used for daily activities and snack time. Off the play space there is a kitchen for staff, where children’s snack is prepared each session. The children’s toilets are also accessed from the play space, there are three small toilets and four children’s sinks available, as well as a private changing space, for those children who require nappy changing. There is one disabled adult toilet available for staff and visitors, this is accessed from the foyer area. A staff room/office is also available, this is used by the preschool leaders for office tasks, as well as meetings with other professionals, parents etc. The outdoor area is accessed via double doors from the play space. It is a large open space that includes a tarmac area and an area of artificial grass. There are many outdoor resources available for the children, including a mud kitchen, various wheeled toys, balance beams, a tunnel and a play house.
Safeguarding -
There is always a member of staff at the door at the beginning and end of sessions, this is to ensure children’s safety when arriving and leaving. All staff have undertaken child protection and safeguarding training and are aware of the setting policies that are in place to keep children safe. Natalie & Kathryn are the named safeguarding officers and this information is displayed on the parent’s information board. Parents are aware that the preschool has an open-door policy, and are welcome to speak to staff at any time, or if they prefer, can make an appointment to discuss their child’s development, progress, or anything else they are concerned about.
Facebook/e-mail
Dwylo Bach has a Facebook page for parents where photos of children are shared, with parental permission, taking part in activities etc while at preschool, news about upcoming events or celebrations. Parents can use this page to send messages to the preschool leaders.
There is also a Dwylo Bach Preschool Business page that is open to the public and has general information about the preschool, spaces available, family days etc. The Dwylo Bach email address is; dwylobach11@gmail.com This is available for parents or members of the public to get in touch.
Thank you
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at Dwylo Bach Preschool for all of their care and support that they give to the children who attend our setting. We would also like to say thank you to all the parents who have supported the preschool throughout a very busy year. And of course, our committee, who carry out their roles unpaid and provide the preschool with invaluable support and guidance.
Natalie and Kathryn
Preschool Leaders/Managers
DWYLO BACH PRESCHOOL SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTS SEPT 2023 - AUGUST 2024
| INCOME Cash income fromparents 4336.00 Bank income fromparents 0.00 Snacks 871.20 Welsh Government 1687.50 0.00 MTCBC 99667.15 RCT 2802.80 GRANTS 1483.66 OTHER INCOME |
EXPENDITURE Pettycash 1070.20 Snacks 815.03 Accountant 245.00 phoneline & internet 412.57 Utilities 2965.60 Insurance 833.61 Lease 4563.00 Cleaning 5389.57 Cymry Healthcare 746.84 Bank Charges 73.04 Uniforms 235.20 Clinical waste 910.40 Refuse Collection 340.61 Misc 470.92 Salaries 79724.40 HMRC 8327.88 NEST 3471.38 Grant resources 2388.50 |
|---|---|
| Pettycash | |
| Snacks | |
| Accountant | |
| phoneline & internet | |
| Utilities | |
| Insurance | |
| Lease | |
| Cleaning | |
| Cymry Healthcare | |
| Bank Charges | |
| Uniforms | |
| Clinical waste | |
| Refuse Collection | |
| Misc | |
| Salaries | |
| HMRC | |
| NEST | |
| Grant resources | |
| TOTAL |
| TOTAL | ######## | TOTAL | ######## |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPENING BALANCES | CLOSING BALANCES | ||
| BANK ACCOUNT | 29994.87 | BANK ACCOUNT | 26759.45 |
| CASH BOX | 200.00 | CASH BOX | 200.00 |
| SNACKS | 69.88 | SNACKS | 126.05 |
| 30264.75 | Gas pot | 1043.81 | |
| ADD INCOME | 110848.31 | ||
| SUB TOTAL | 141113.06 | ||
| LESS EXPENDITURE | 112983.75 | ||
| TOTAL | 28129.31 | 28129.31 |
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF DWYLO BACH PRESCHOOL
I report to the charity’s trustees on my examination of the accounts of Dwylo Bach Preschool for the period ended 31 August 2024.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act), as amended by s.145 of the Charities Act 2011) and that an independent examination is needed.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under the company law and is eligible for independent examination; it is my responsibility to:
• Examine the accounts (under section 145 of the 2011 Act),
• To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) Act), and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with 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 the evidence that would be required by 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 the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect:
• the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
• the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
• the accounts did 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.
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Michael Grant Linden Accountants,
Scrapstore House,
21 Sevier Street,
St Werburghs,
Bristol,
BS2 9LB
Michael Grant Date ..........28 July 2025…………………