HOLMWOOD PRESCHOOLWALLINGTON TRUSTEES ANNUAL REpoirr FOR THE PERIOD 0110412023 TO 3110312024 Holmwood Preschool Waliington Walllngron URC 20 Stanley Park Road. Wallington SM6 OEU Charitycommission number: 1196919 Companies House number: CE027452 Trustees: SheiL8 Cruchley {Chalr) Lynn Skelton (Secretary) Craig Bowman (Minister of VIURC. ex officio) Karen Green Id8yto day Manager. ex officio) Christopher Jackson Bookkeeping.. Prepared Ltd Payroll Serylces: Essential Payro The objectof the CIO is: To advance the education of children of prevschool age by the provision of safe and Satisfying learning through play by: l. providing a safe stimulating environment ensuring equal opportunities tor all children r8gardless of race, culture, religion. gender, home circumstances and medical background 11. promoting publlc Interest in and recognltion of the needs ol pre-school chlldren and their families. iii. adhering to national and Local requirements for early ye8rs settings. Duringthe 202&24 financial year, HOlmvod Preschool Vdallington has finally begun to operate 8s a functioning Charitable Incorporated Organisation. concluding a long drawn-out process to separate the preschool actFvities from those of Vlauington UnFted Refomied Church. For manyyears, Holmwood Preschool operated as an activity of the church. For various reasons, it was agreed that the preschool should be established as 8 charf(8ble body In Its own right. Holmwood Preschool wallinOn was officially recognised as a CIO by the Charity Commission on 3 December 2021 with a new constitLrtion. However. the CIO w8$ not able to operate as intenoed for the following two years. As the preschool is an Otsted-registered earlyyeaFS provision. its a1vr(leS could not be transferred to the CIO until Ofsted had made an inspection and r®istered the operation. That process was finally completed when the preschool was repregistered ty Ofsted on 5 December 2023.
Until that time, Wallington URC continued to operate the preschool under its prevrous ofsted registration. with the long-standing team of experienced employees continuingto provide high quality care and education for the under-fives. The CIO has therefore only been lully operational with effect from 5 December 2023. Despite the formal change of status. the leadership team and staff essentially remain the same. Upon re-registration on 5 December 2023. the preschool flnances were immedi8tely separated from those of WURC through 8 form81 transfer trom the church to the CIO. The preschool had been keeping its own bank accounts for manyyearn. prep8ring its own annual accounts 8nd reportingto the Elders. Meeting of WURC and to preschool parents at an AGM. However, as the preschool was 8 church activty its accounts were also required to be reported in the church's 8nnu81accounts. This is no longerthe case. Whereas the preschool had prevlously made regular donations to WURC foi the use of church premises. the CIO now operates under a signed Licence to Occupy and pays rent at an 8greed rate. We 8180 have a Separate agreement relating to the storage of equipment on the premises. Our constltution provldes for potential Trustees to be nominated by th8 church. by the preschool staff and by the parents or carers of children attending the preschool. The Trustees may also appolnt others who they feel would bring relevant skills and expertise to the operation ofthe CIO. Inltlal Trustees h8d been put in p18ce 8S Pert otthe process of estsbiishing th8 CIO, being drawn from existing supporters of the preschool within the church. However. they did not meet regularly until the preschool became operational 0$ 8 CIO on 5 December 2023. Because of the Christmas season. the first Trustees, meeting lollowing the formal transfer of operations Wes held on 19 January2024. Since then. the Trustees have met qU8rterlytyzoom. Occasional discussions are held via 8m8il if an urgent matter needs addressing. Approaches h8ve been made to Various parents and carers to become trustees. but those who had expressed interest at the outset were no longer in a position to take on a two-ye8r term of office by tha time the Ofstsd re-registr8tion had been completed. mainly because their children were moving on and would soon be starting school. Nowthat we are afunctioning cio will endeavour to attract other individuals to become trustees, but this will probably be more effective after the start of each school year in September vh)en the new cohort starts at preschool. All potential trustees will be 8ppointed in accordance with our Constitution. In addition to the staff v4ho directly look afterthe children, directed day to day by our Managèr. we have a paid bookkèeper and a paid administr8tor who is the primary contsct with the Ioc81 aLrthority and prospective parents. The Chair ofTrustees manages the HRfunctions and 1$ atsothe primary contact ft)rthe Mansger for all issues ranging from outbreaks of infectious diseases, premises problems. supporting families in need. and stsffing needs. The chair also liaises with the bookkeeper to form a Finance Sub-committee. vthich makes financial decisions that ale reported to the Trustees. or. where appropriate, seeks perniission frorn the Trustees. The Secretary may also be involved in Finance Sub-committee discussions.
In May 2024 we took advice from the ChaTIty Commission and submitted a nil return coverlng the period from the CIO being rewstered on 3 December 2021 until 31" March 2023. because the CIO was not operatlonal during that period. This Annu81 Return covers the whole financial yearfrom 1 ApTiI 2023 to 31°, March 2024. even though Holmwood Preschoolonly began to operate as a CIO trom 5 December 2023. Recent advice fiom the Charity Commission and our accountant is that this return should show the income and expenditure forthe entire reporting period. As an Ofsted registered preschool, we recelve fundlngfor each child's place from the govemmentvia the LocalAuthority- This takes into account children's ages. number of sessions 8ttended. social situation and any speci8leduc8tional needs. A small number of parents oftwo year olds do not meet the funding criteria pay feas atthe lower 3 and 4 year old rate. We have held our fees atthe lower rate provided by the LA in order to make the preschool more accessible for parents, and we sometimes provide additional subsidies to 8ny children whose families are in need. Local authority funding is increased each April. and those increases were greater in 2023-24 than in recent yesrs. That has made a big difference to the fin8nci81 he81th of the preschool. as C8n be seen in our accounts. enditure Our expenditure is piimarily on staff wages. payment for use of the premises. public liability insurance and membership of the Early Years Alliance which supports early ye8rs provislons. The increase in government fun(Ilng has meant that we been able to award the stsff a bigger 8nnu81 pay increase than usual, and we decided to implement th8 incre8se from April, rather than the start of the academic year. This will be reviewed annually to ensure th8t staff are rèmunerated f8irly and sustslnably to help us to ret8in and attract high qu81ty Staff. We subscribe to the Tapestry secure online reporting system about a child's progress and engagement, where staff règularly upload photos and observations and each family can accèss their own child's records at any time. It is excellent value for money and is included in the accounts under Support Costs. Equipment is sometlmes bought new and sometirnes via online ch8nnels such as Facebook marketplace: materials are occasionally provide(J by staff, or other friends of the preschool. Each December we identify specific projects to focus resources on refreshing e.g. the home corner. water play. cosy seatingforthe book comer etc. Holmwood Preschool has three accounts with the Trustee SavFngs Bank. The Main Account is used for all day-to-daytransactions. including paying the wages each month. Funding payments from the Local Authority are atso made into this account. The Reserve Account holds sufficient funds to cover three months of costs in case we ha to suspend operations for a catastrophic event such asflooding. This accounteams a small amount of interest. Thethird account is kept for card payments, and is mostly used foronline purchases. The card is held bythe Preschool Manager and money is transferred into the account as requested to cover specrfic purchases.
We are very cautious about spending. and as a result the preschool finances are very healthy. Holmwood Preschool provides 8 nurturing environment for young children before they re8ch statLrtory school age. tt runs morning sessions on Monday to Friday duringtemi time for 38 weeks of the year. Each session iasts for 3 hours 8nd there is an optional Lunch Club for a further hour, threetimes perweek. Eighteen children attend each session, and there are usu811y four staff. which means thet our stafflchildren ratio exceeds the required level. We have five staff who are all qualified in Early Years provision (Early Years teacher. Diploma, NVQ 3 and NVQ2). Safeguardingthe children is our highest priority. and au daily routines tske this into account as the children use the toilet and play inside and out. They also have use of the large hall. which is accessed by a corridor and internal stairs within the premises. These areas are shared with other premises users. and the stsff are rigorous in ensuring that the children are accompanied astheygoto and from the hall. The Trustees have had regard to the Charitycommission's guidance on public benefit. Holmwood Preschool CIO benefrts the children on its roll and their families by giving nurturlng and stimulating educational experiences with the well-being of the children as the first priority. Parental satisfaction is high. and they say that they find staff nurturing. knowledgeable end professional and feel reassured by th8 lact they are always around to respond to any questions orconeerns. This has been achieved even with parents who Vre not abletovisitor introduce their child to preschool by being there with them. From the way the children talk to their parentslcarers about their day and the waythey 8r8 eager to come to preschool, parents state that it is cle8r that staff have strong relationships all the children. The beneficiaries are the chlldren. their parents and thèiT wider famlly. The benef it to the children is that they thrive and develop their curiosity. their engagement with their learning, their relationships with othor children. their18nguage and through that. their understandingoftheworld. Stsff value the home experiences of each child and build on the partnerdhip with each family. All parents beneflt by h8ving confidence in the setting. that it will cherlsh their child and keep them safe as well as providing educ8tion81 experiences that viiil develop their child's social, emotion81, physic818nd intellectU81 development. Parents who find the separatlon trom their child a difficult process are helped to manage this and find that the evident happiness of their child and good communication from the preschool settles their own anxiety. Parents wlth a child whose development is giving concern benefit from additional communication and plans are made in paFThership with the parents so the child benefit5 by having the parents and preschool WrkIng on the same strategies. If further intervention is needed meetings are brokere(J bythe staff with expert a(fvice fTom the local authority e8rlyyears SEND advisors.
In addition to the funding adjustments referred to earlier. w look for opportunities to support families in need both practically and financially. ds During this reporting period there Vre two children on roll who had an Education Health & C8re Pian IEHCPI. These were drafted in conjunction wtth parents and the Local Authority Adviser ty our Manager. who is also our Special Needs & Disabilities Coordinator ISENDCOI. Two other children had a smaller degree of Special Educational Needs. The high level of needs during this reporting period required a great amount of extra va)rk by the manager and one assistant who had excellent skills for supporting these chlldren. Duringthe year. that assistant left the preschool for another job. and recruiting a suitable replacement proved very challenging. other staff took on extra sessions to maintain the high quality of provision while several attempts were undertaken to recrult a replacement. Duringthe Spring Term of2024 we finally found and appointed a suit8bly qu81ilied and very experience(i Early Years Level 3 assistant. One of the famllios whose child has an EHCP negotiated with th8 Local Authority for her to stay at Holmwood tor her school Reception year {Sept 2023 to July 20241. because of the groat progress she w88 making et preschool. and she has blossomed. Duringthis periotl, we have been fortun8te in having a number of parentslcarers who already knew each other quite well. as their older children had previously passed through the preschool. With backing from the M8n8Eer and staff. these parents and carers supported the children's Chrlstm8s performance of songs tellingthe Ngtivtystory byproviding mince pies. cakes. teas and coffees. This 18 a very popular event with the relatives and friends ofthe families attracting 60+ adults. In January 2024. 8 parent who is a professional film-maker produced- gt no charge- a video to go on the preschool website. This shows the preschool facilities and the various actlviti8s that the children enjoy from day to day. This has been used by prospectNe p8rents as an altern*ive to coming to visit. All of the families of the children involved Vre 8sked for permission belore the filming and the video project has been a great success. Agreed at the Trustees meetlng on the 14 wlth amendments approved by emalL 01
REGISTERED CHARttY NUMBER: 1196919 Examlnatlon olthe flnancial statements forthe year ended 31 March 2024. for HOLMWOOD PRESCHOOLWALLINGTON My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. It included a review ofthe 8ccounting records kept bythe organisation and a comparlson of the accounts presented with those record8. It also Included consideratlon of 8ny unusual items or disclosures in the accounts. and the pursuit of explanations from Trustees about such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit. Consequently. no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present 8'true and fairview,, and the report is limited to those m8tters set out in the statement below. In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attentlon'.111 which giv88 me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements lal to keep accounting records and Ibl to prepare accounts which accord with those accounting r8cords, have not been met; or121 to which. in my opinion. attention should be drawn in order to enable 8 proper understanding ofthe accounts to be reached. Phlllp Hyde. CPFA 21 January 2025