Cringleford Crackerjacks’ AGM - 20[th] November 2024
Manager’s Report 2024
Expansion
2024 has been an extraordinary year for Crackerjacks with the opening of our new Nursery at the Jubilee Centre on 7[th] October. This has involved an enormous amount of work over the past three and a half years, but it’s been an exciting time with an incredibly worthwhile result. The new provision has come at just the right time to not only support the need for additional childcare places in our expanding village but also to provide 2-year-old places to support the government’s funding expansion schemes. The new building is purpose built to our own specifications and has been resourced with brand new furniture and equipment, thanks to grants received from Norfolk County Council, South Norfolk District Council and Cringleford Parish Council. The Parish Council have worked tirelessly alongside us to get the Nursery up and running and they are our landlords at the Jubilee Centre.
The new Nursery benefits from two activity rooms, an exclusive outdoor area and a dedicated laundry room as well as good storage provision both inside and out.
Our expanded offer
As the result of our expansion, Crackerjacks is now offering the following provision
| Preschool (Dragonfly Lane) | Nursery (Jubilee Centre) | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening hours | 8.45 am – 3.30 pm | 8.00 am – 6.00 pm |
| Number of weeks | Term time only (39 weeks) | 48 weeks |
| Age range | 2.5 to 4 years | 2 to 4 years |
Admissions
The maximum number of places available at any one time is 30 in each setting. We currently have 50 on roll at the Preschool, 35 at the Nursery, plus 4 on roll at both making a total of 89 children across the two settings.
Crackerjacks Preschool was full for most of the 2023/24 academic year and is already close to capacity for the new academic year. We expect all places to be full by January with
parents taking up extra sessions and with children joining us either from our waiting list or moving into the area.
The Nursery currently has an average of 19 children in each morning session and 7 in the afternoons. More children are expected to start over the next few weeks as children on our waiting list turn 2 and become eligible for funding and also as word starts to spread.
Staff
During last year, we were sad to say goodbye to:
-
Jemma Clarke who left us to start a new role as a Family Time Supervisor with Norfolk County Council
-
Kelly Fahy who is now working at Cringleford Primary School as a Teaching Assistant
-
Galit Young who left us to return to her original career as an Occupational Therapist at NNUH
Diane Shore was absent on Maternity leave between January and September.
We welcomed Melanie Ottaway (Level 3) and Megan Turner (Level 6) to our Preschool team as Senior Early Years Practitioners.
As a result of our expansion, new management roles were created and appointed as follows:
Manager (both settings) – Karen Latoy
Setting Leader (Preschool) – Diane Shore
Setting Leader (Nursery) – Megan Sturman
Office Manager (both settings) – Cheryl Phillips
We also made the following new appointments for our Nursery:
Senior Early Years Practitioner – Emma Mann (Level 6)
Early Years Practitioner – Isla Fisher (Level 3)
Early Years Practitioner – Lucy Steuernagel (Level 6)
Early Years Practitioner – Jenna Bruce
Early Years Apprentice – Kiera Doggett (Level 2)
Bank Staff – Lisa Shalamanova
Bank Staff – Emma Ragan (Level 3)
In 2023/24, we were fortunate to host two students on placement from Norwich City College for two days a week. They were both a great help to us and the children really enjoyed having them around. This year, we have a new Level 2 student who started with us last month at the Preschool, another Level 2 student starting with us soon at both settings and a Level 3 student who was with us last year also working at both settings.
We have also recruited a Cleaner for the Nursery.
Training
Kiera Doggett and Kanwal Qureshi both completed their Level 2 Early Years Diploma. Congratulations and well done to them both.
Megan Sturman and Diane Shore are currently enrolled on a Level 3 SENCO course.
In addition to these qualifications, staff continue to attend training either remotely or in person for Safeguarding, First Aid and for areas of identified need or development. We hold regular CPD sessions in our team meetings and supervision meetings and we attend training and briefing sessions offered by the Local Authority and external providers. In February, Megan Sturman and I were again able to attend the annual Nursery World Show in London. I also attended the Childcare & Education Expo at Olympia. Both events were really worthwhile, and we picked up lots of lovely ideas and resources. We hope our management team will be able to go again in 2025.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
At both settings we continue to support a number of children with SEN. Six at the Preschool, including three with EHCPs and four at the Nursery. Our staff teams at both settings are very skilled and experienced at delivering the interventions and support necessary to support these children to ensure their needs are met and they make good progress.
Trips and events
We enjoyed several trips and events over the past year as well as coffee mornings and Stay&Play sessions.
At Christmas, we hosted our own Christmas Show, Noisy Nativity, for parents and grandparents. We also enjoyed a Christmas fayre hosted by our Committee.
Baby Ballet visited us a few times during the first half of the year to introduce the children to music and dance.
A highlight of the year was the arrival of duckling eggs just after the Easter holidays. It was fascinating for the children (and adults!) to watch them hatch and we enjoyed looking after them and watching them grow. The children all had the opportunity to handle the ducklings and we loved seeing them swim in our paddling pool.
Also, during the Summer Term, we went on an outing to Banham Zoo and enjoyed a visit by Ed from Minimonsters who brought some very interesting animals to Crackerjacks for us to touch and hold. We held a lovely Sports Day on the School field and we rounded the year off with a party and children’s entertainer from Go Awesome. On the final day of term, we invited parents in for a ‘Graduation’ event and goodbyes.
We are grateful to the parents who visited us during the year either to talk about their jobs and cultures or as a Mystery Reader. A big thank you to them all.
CIO
We finally completed the process of converting the legal structure of Crackerjacks from an Unincorporated Charity to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This enables us to maintain our charity status while limiting the liability of trustees and giving Crackerjacks its own legal entity. A new constitution also means that we are less reliant on parent volunteers to join the Committee which will give us more consistency and stability.
As a result of the change of charity status, we had to register not just the Nursery but also the Preschool as a new setting with Ofsted. Sadly this means we lost our Outstanding judgment and we are now classed as a setting awaiting first inspection.
Thank you to our Committee
Once again, we owe huge thanks this year to our Committee who have worked so hard to support me and Crackerjacks, especially our Chair Richard who has supported us so well through the expansion project and change of charitable status. The Committee play a vital role in keeping Crackerjacks running and in raising much needed funds through fundraising events. It is thanks to the dedication and determination of our Committee that we are able to
keep operating and supporting families in Cringleford. I can’t thank them enough for everything they do.
Thank you to our Staff
I also want to say a huge thank you once again to our Staff, old and new, who work so hard to ensure that Crackerjacks is Outstanding and that Crackerjacks’ children have the best possible early years experiences. It’s not been an easy year for anyone with so much work going on behind the scenes on the restructuring and expansion, but they have all worked tirelessly to make sure that every child’s individual needs are met.
Karen Latoy
Manager, Cringleford Crackerjacks
CRINGLEFORD CRACKERJACKS INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT YEAR ENDING 31 AUGUST 2024 202>24 2022Q3 Incpm• 51.992 8,224 132.465 192.086 384year o#J furrfJsn9 SENDIEHCP fd EYPP &Dther Ckwr Fundraiwg Oulln98 Inter881 Grants Tot•1 In¢)m 3.713 2.244 151 1.702 23.745 241815 195.077 EMp•ndl¢ur• Wa985 Tralnfvd Rent EquiprNnl Adrnln Crnfts 1E4,43T 152,129 10.328 3.1 740 3.275 CleaThNJ Inwan Subs afid D8S ¢hocs M8rkvting thg¥ Bank Gh•r99 other R¢Ounilanw Re8 Tvtthl •Mp•ndltsr• 1.578 1.484 1.392 4n 2.387 224931 112,205 Surplui I Id•fi¢#l Thg Chanty, b4btyJ e&9ible. ebd•d lo pp¥ll FRSSE. l compared tho abob incc¥n• and xcouiit and 17.870 12,812 Nam• LtrqC6-4 DouQlFISS l)th• 171111201W De¥i9n&bon IfyPErDeTrJ T ÉYA ym I
CRINGLEFORD CRACKERJACKS BALANCE SHEET AT 31 AUGUST 2024 Cagh Currgnl Ac¢ounl Dew)sll Aeeount 14.840 5,101 104.840 85.101 Other Debtors Credilo 143 143 Not as8•ts 104.840 .244 R•••r¥•• General R0•8 Rédundancy Reserve Fundraising reserve Expan50on 53.298 26.394 148 47.188 22,674 381 15.iYY) Total rnMrv•s 104.840 85,244 The Charily. baino el¢lble, has elected lo prepare the accounts undei FRSSE. I have compared Ihe above balance sheet with ihe tKA)ks and records presented to me and can conftrm that they 8re in acwd8nce Ihervwth. &gno Namo L4cÉy J)OUGLASS Dale li Iii l Lo>ty Designalion l No£i%NDeN r Év4M I NOE .
Lacey Douglass – Bookkeeping Services
96 Drayton Wood Road
Norwich
NR6 5BZ
01603 418188
07736 319987
ljdoug23@hotmail.com
Cringleford Crackerjacks
Dragonfly Lane
Norwich
NR4 7JR
Report of the examiner 2024
I have examined the accounts, bank statements and records of Crackerjacks and find them to be in order and I am satisfied that they are a true and accurate view of the provision.
The records are being maintained correctly and strong financial controls are in place.
Lacey Douglass FIAB
Independent Examiner
17[th] November 2024