Annual Report Clwb Hwyl, St Mary’s, Flint
- August 2022 July 2023
Introduction
St Mary’s school, Flint has successfully operated an After School Club along with an existing breakfast club for a number of years based within the school premises (The only exception being during the Covid lockdown period).
Our Breakfast Club runs in our school hall for all children from 8.00am until 8.45am. After 8.30am, entry is free. Last entry to the Breakfast Club is at 8.35am. Cereals, yoghurts, toast, milk, water and fruit juice are provided, and staff then supervise the children who play table-top games until the bell rings for the start of school.
We have always recognised the growing importance to both parents/carers and especially the children in striving to provide vital support in terms of both physical and mental wellbeing. Post Covid this need has been really highlighted and our response was to look at extending our “wraparound care” provision before and after school time.
Our After School Club was previously restricted to just two hours from the close of the school day to 5 pm but it was clear through parental/career questionnaires that for working parents we needed to extend that provision to meet a wider and more flexible need.
Process for expanding our ASC care provision.
Our first step was to seek advice from Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids Club who specifically encourage, support, and guide the establishment of formal and regulated After School and Holiday Clubs in North Wales. Their team has provided invaluable support as we set out to restructure our care provision in 2022.
Establishing a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
For us to be able to formally extend our ASC operating hours beyond 5 pm (Monday to Friday) we needed to change the way we operate and govern, and it was recommended that apply for registration to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This involved a complex process of appointing Trustees and there are currently four of us charged with overseeing the operation and governance of the club.
This process started early in 2022 and we achieved CIO charity status in March (Charity number 1198359). Operating as a CIO does provide us with key legal and financial safeguards whilst retaining the responsibility of being the main employers of our playworker staff team.
Registering with Care Inspectorate of Wales (CIW)
Having successfully applied and achieved CIO status we then had to start the process of formal registration with the Care Inspectorate. We needed to satisfy the Welsh department that we meet all the statutory requirements in terms of safeguarding the children in our care and provide a stimulating educational experience in a diverse play and learning setting led by qualified playworkers. Therefore, we needed to appoint a “Responsible Individual” who would take the lead in terms of working with the CIW That person is currently Paul Phillips whilst Donna Williams as the senior Playworker covers the day to day running of the club.
The CIW application process started in the spring and was completed successfully in September when we were formally able start offering extending hours to our children.
- Operational journey and Learnings (Sept 2022 Summer 2023)
Scope of provision
During the spring and summer, we established a new classroom base for Clwb Hwyl which we equipped and resourced. We also established and set a maximum number of children that we could care for and then recruited a team of suitably qualified playworkers to cover that need. The ratio of staff required is also dictated by the age and maximum number of children. Currently we have a provision limit of 16 with two playworker staff supporting. Although we have a classroom base many of the sessions are held outdoor utilising our Trim Trail, sporting playground resources and the Forest School area. These activities are also supplemented by planned outings to local community attractions or parks. Risk assessments are reviewed and in place to ensure child safety at all times.
Learnings
After school club expansion
The focus has always been to maximise the uptake of our After-school club with our business plan based on being to ensure that income (fees from parents/carers) exceeds our outgoings (90% being staff costs).
We have always recognised that not all parents can commit to sending their children 5 days a week and there would always be some variabilities in what days are more popular than others. As Trustees we have balance that fact with the recognition that staff costs are in the main fixed (permanent contract rights), In terms of our Business plan we must have a strategy to ensure that we balance the books and maintain a bank account balance that supports ongoing financial stability.
We did have a financial surplus balance to act as a contingency from the old ASC which along with being able to successfully gain some specific grants (Sustainability/resource purchases) helped provide financial stability during the first 6 to 9 months of our operation,
Establishing a Holiday club (Half term/summer holidays)
The Trustees decided last year to try and further extend the wraparound care provision being offered by Clwb Hwyl by opening a Holiday club offering full day play care provision during half terms and the summer break. Despite increasing PR promotions and reducing the daily fees unfortunately the uptake
was extremely disappointing. At the same time the higher staff costs was just not being covered by the income and sadly the Holiday Club was disbanded before the 2023 summer break.
The learnings for the Trustees were that we must always consider and safeguard the ongoing financial stability of the club and this Holiday Club expansion took our operating cash balance to a very low level.
- Plans for 2023 2024
We remain fully committed to ensuring that Clwb Hwyl remains a key part of our schools educational and caring provision. The negative impacts post Covid along with the effects of the current cost of living crisis are stark and we will seek to continue to carefully expand and enhance the benefits of after school educational play.
We continue to monitor costs and try to maximise available grants whilst not diminishing the quality of the service we provide.
- Financial statement End of July 2022 August 2023
Opening Balance July 2022: £9026
Income
Fees: £11301
Grants: £3459
Total income: £14760
Expenditure
Staff wages: £13394
Other costs: £4204
Total expenditure: £17598 Closing balance: £6188
Clwb Hwyl @ St Mary's
Clwb Hwyl runs every day during term time from 3.10pm until 6.00pm in the Clwb Hwyl Room. Outside we have lots of fantastic equipment to support physical play, whilst indoors we have games and craft activities in abundance. We promote free choice, so our children are able to choose what activities they do each night.
It is a safe, secure place for St. Mary's children to have a healthy snack and take part in a variety of fun activities.
| TIME | First child |
Second child |
| picked up between 3.10pm and 6.00pm |
£9 | £7 |
Bookings should be made via School Gateway. Our CIW number is CYM00003551.
Tax-Free Childcare:
You can get tax-free childcare at Clwb Hwyl. Click on this link for more details: https://www.gov.uk/get-tax-free-childcare?step-by-step-nav=f237ec8e-e82c-4ffa8fba-2a88a739783b
You might also be able to benefit from Employer Childcare Voucher Schemes:
https://www.employersforchildcare.org/parents/vouchers-information/
In a nutshell, parents can check if they are eligible for the government scheme and, if so, open an account to pay vouchers in or they may have accrued vouchers in their employer's scheme. When they pay us for childcare the funds go straight into the Clwb Hwyl bank account.
| Food at Clwb Hwyl | Food at Clwb Hwyl |
|---|---|
| The children have a snack every night. Here is the Autumn Term menu: | |
| Monday | Tuesday |
| Noodles A selection of fruit Milk or water |
Warm tuna or ham wraps Yoghurts A selection of fruit Milk or water |