2023-08-31-accounts - Busy Bees Preschool (At Southwick Methodist Church)

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ANNUAL REPORT

Objectives and Activities

This is the first annual re p ort following registration with the Ch a rity Commission in May 2022. The constit u tional objective of Busy Bees Preschoo l (at Southwick Methodist Church) is to a d vance preschool education for young c h ildren (aged 2- 4) who live in the local ar e a, by providing an Ofsted registered E Y FS setting, operating within the com m unity of the Southwick Methodist Chu r ch. This service will be provided in accord a nce with Christian principles and be in c lusive of children and families of a n y faith, or without a faith.

The preschool is register e d by Ofsted and with the Departmen t of Education, for ‘free entitlement’ funding for eligible two, three and four-year- o ld children, and with the Early Childhood S ervice of West Sussex County Council.

The preschool aims to pr o vide a safe, secure, happy and stimula t ing environment for pre-school children, w here they will be helped and encourag e d to develop and learn through a varie t y, and appropriate range, of play and l e arning activities, by caring, prof e ssional, trained adults with the involv e ment of all families within our comm u nity who are interested in and suppor t our aims.

Meetings of the trustee committee take place three times a yea r , chaired by the minister of Southwick Me t hodist Church. This provides the oppo r tunity for management and financial reporting and forecasting, the setting o f objectives and planning. The constitu t ion prescribes for church, staff and p a rent representation on the co m mittee. As described above the truste e s give careful consideration to the publi c benefit guidance provided by the Cha r ity Commission.

Achievements and Perfor m ance

The autumn term 2022 st a rted with low child numbers, we under s tand in common with other settings in the area. This was at a time of significant c ost of living challenges in the UK econ o my. It is considered that this disproportionately affected parents of the y o ung families that form the client base of the preschool. This applied signif i cant financial pressure during the year, including a much lower level of privat e fee income. Moreover, the year conti n ued to present challenges to staff after t he period of covid lockdowns and rest r ictions.

The Busy Bees website w e nt live in September 2022 at busybees s outhwick.co.uk. This provided increased m arketing and profile, particularly to pa r ents searching for local settings using in t ernet platforms. Enquiries were receiv e d via the contact form on the webs i te. Other advertising eg. the banner o u tside the church premises and word of mouth continued to remain further important communication channels.

Four stay and play session s were arranged during the year. Thes e are an opportunity for children and parents to experience activities tog e ther and meet other parents, children and practitioners.

The manager of the setti n g, a qualified early years teacher had w ork published in a a a national academic public tion, the Early Years Educator. The J nuary 2023 journal contained ‘implem e ntation for change of practice – helico p ter stories’ a two page dissertation.

Financial Review

Please see the accompanying accounts and reserves policy below. T he annual accounts are subject to independent examination. As described above this year was challenging financially with an annual deficit of £10,990 and a s a result reserves reduced to £26, 8 66. Reserves to earn interest are placed with the Epworth Fund managed at the Methodist Central Finance Board o ffices in London. This is provided for chari t able organisations that are not part of the Methodist Church but affiliated to t h e church.

The trustees believe that Busy Bees is a going concern based on t he present finances. Busy Bees does n ot own or hold any freehold property, u sing the premises of Southwick M e thodist Church under a standard form of agreement.

Reserves Policy

Reserves are unrestricte d funds which are available to spend on t he charity’s purpose. Reserves provide a buffer against uneven and unpredict a ble income and/or expenditure.

There are inherent financial risks within the early years sector and Busy Bees activities which have bee n considered by the treasurer and trustees.

Busy Bees Annual Report 2022- 2 023

Taking the above into acc o unt the reserves policy of Busy Bees i s presently an amount equivalent to at le a st three months gross payroll (ie. including HMRC national insurance/tax pa y over and pension scheme contributions ) . Based on our current accounts this equ a ls £23,336. Reserves at the end of August 2023 were £26,866.

Structure, Governance an d Management

The charity is a Charitabl e Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Th e governing document is a ‘Foundation’ constitution whose only voting members are the charity trustees. The constitutio n was last amended on 12 May 2022 wh e n Busy Bees Preschool (at Southwick M ethodist Church) registered with the C harity Commission.

The constitution describe s in detail the functions and duties of trustees, and for their eligibility, number, appointment, retirement and removal. T h ere are:

not less than two n o r more than four appointed trustees ( p arent representatives),
three ex-officio tr u stees; the minister of Southwick Met h odist Church and chair, the setti n g manager and the treasurer,
not less than two n o r more than three trustees nominated by Southwick Methodist Church.

Reference and Administr a tive Details

Charity Name – Busy Bees Pre School (at Southwick Methodist C h urch)

Registered Charity Numb e r – 1198933

Address – Southwick Met h odist Church, Manor Hall Road, South w ick, West Sussex, BN42 4NA

Names of Managing Trust e es – Frank Okai-Sam (Chair), Heather McKay (Nominated Trustee and S ecretary), Lorna Rayner (Setting Manager), Stephen Smith (Treasurer), Emily B erry (Nominated Trustee), Claire Robi n son, Sarah McDonnell and Lucy Bran ( Parent Representative Trustees).

Busy Bees Annual Report 2022- 2 023

2021 10.547.60 6.260.IXI 6.918.54 81.310.Th) 565.27 i.(DJ. 1.5Th).IX) 20 3.341.20 5.042.50 9.462.S7 71.223.50 Private fees Tax free thildcare fee5 IIISCC funding- 2 year old WSCC fundin8- 3 and 4year old HMRC Government fudoueh workerslSSP stheme Ezrly Years Professional DEveh)prnent Prograrnrne IEYPOPI Government Education & Sknlb FundingA8enry i£hester University bursary Fundraising Other incomeldonations Interest- Epworth Cash Hu5 Fund for Charities 43.03 105.62 108,Z50.06 467.54 1.053.91 )A91.22 89.721.14 5.877.76 4,266.63 53.70 831.78 11,370.40 452.92 3.336.61 Salaries 76.295.58 5.117.95 3.223.59 PAYE NEST pension stheme COfrtributt(s stsff untForm Other staff expense5 Southwick Methodist thurth premises Insurance Equipment. re50vrte5 and mateTia15 Garden 632.29 I2.C(.00 4S2.64 2,407.85 86.83 50.CWJ 270.00 518.12 254.33 272A6 so. 473.89 724.18 278.45 190.42 Trainin8 PhotOOpng Computing and offKe expense5 Mobile phone Other expenses I17278 lo1.504 Balanre Sheet as at 3tst 26,442.08 25.357.90 Current A¢courrt Methodist Centrdl Finan Board Epworth Cash PSUS Fund for CharTkne5 4.619.77 40,411.81 4581.58 51.799.98 liabilit VISCC autumn terrn funding received in advan 113.942.951 37,857.03 118.165.371 266&21 Represented trr. Balaft at 1st September 2022 Current Account Methodistcentral finan Board knnt 35,116.73 25.252.28 60,369.01 26.442.08 25.357.90 51.m.98 113,134.161 47.23435 WSCCautwnn terni fvndin8 reced in a(fr¥an 113.942.951 37A57.03 19.377.821 37.8S7.03 Defiut of Expenditufefor year 110.990.821 I666.21 I have examined the accounts and 5UPPOrting stateme are correct. n Young FCCA IRetiredl Independent Exzrniner