CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Trustees. Annual Report for the period From 01.04.2023 Period start date To 31.03.20024 Period end date Charity name: Lechlade Little Learners Charity registration number: 275208 Objectives and Activities SORP refe￿nce Summary ofthe PUTposes of the charity as set out in its governing document Para 1.17 Lechlade Little Learners is an eady years preschool setting providing quality early years education, offering school hours care lo children between 2 and 4 years. Summary of the main activities Para 1.17 and in relation lo those purposes for 1.19 the public benefit, in particular, the aclivilies, projects or services identified in the accounts. We aim to develop a child's feeling of security, independence, self-worth and confidence in a stimulating environment where they can foster a love of learning. We provide the crucial first step in children's learning and educational journey. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Slatulory guidance and are registered wilh We confirm that the charity is only for public benefit. Slatemenl confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit Para 1.18 Additional infomation (optional) You may choose lo include further statements where relevant about= SORP reference Policy on granl making Para 1.38 NIA Poliry on social investment including program related investment Para 1.38 NIA Contribution made by volunteers Para 1.38 All trustees of the charity are volunteers. They give their time up for meetings as well as fundraising. Fundraising activities include sponsored events, raffles, Christmas fayre and a lrttle pick. Other Achievements and Performance SORP reference Summary ofthe main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. Para 1.20 Lechlade Litue Leamers is a parent govemed preschool, staffed by early years professionals with the aim to develop a child's feeling of security, independence. self-worth and confidence in a stimulating environment where they can foster a love of leaming. We provide the crucial first step in children's learning and educational journey. Lechlade Little Leamers want children to be exposed lo new activities, environments and experiences, from social skills and creative expression to exploring the wodd around them. We build on the strengths and interests of each child. helping build a solid foundation on which they can develop their futures. We want children to be actively involved and motivated in their learning and creative in their own thinking. Lechlade Little Learners aims to develop a child's feeling of security. independence. self- worth and confidence in a 5timulab.ng environment where children can take pleasure in learning. During each session. we operate a free flow approach. which allows the children to be in control of what they would like to play with and where they would like lo play. Slaff setup provocations to interest and enlice the children and allow their curiosity and imagination to run free. The children are also able lo self-select toys and resources throughout the session. Both our indoor and outdoor areas help to support children in the seven areas of leaming and development of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We always ensure the seven areas of learning and development are covered with the resources on offer and use our own knowledge of the children lo develop leaming experiences Addlllonal Infomiatlon (optlonall You may choose to include further statements where relevant about.. Achievements against Para 1.41 objectives set Perfomiance of fundraising activities against objectives set Para 1.41 Investment performance against objectives Other Para 1.41 Financial Review Review of the charity's financial Para 1.21 position at the end of the period nnual income from child(are was £59000 this was an increase on the previous year. Athough there was an increase in the childcare employmenl costs rose as well as due to Ihe increase in national living wage and high needs children. Our financial position has been a worry. although we made a loss il could have been worse if it wasn't for some amazing fundraising and receipt of grants. Statement explaining the policy Para 1.22 for holding reserves slating why they are held Trustees aim to hold a minimum of £15000 in reserves. Reserves are held to cover terminal obligations if the preschool were to close pemianently. £15000 Amount of reseNes held Para 1.22 Reasons for holding zero reserves Para 1.22 NIA Details of fund malerially in deficit Para 1.24 NIA Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern Para 1.23 With another loss this financial year therefore as a charity we need to keep a close eye on finances to avoid closure of the setting. Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about.. The charity's principal sources Para 1.47 Government early years funding, private fees, of funds (including any fundraising. fundraising) Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted Para 1.46 A description of the principal risks facing the charity Para 1.46 Risks facing the charity: If the preschool were to lose its 'good' ofsted rating there would be an impact to funding eligibility- Increase in staffing Gosts due to minimum wage increase and funding increase not matching. Loss of income due to fewer children attending preschool. Sudden and lengthy closure of preschool due to unforeseen circumstances. Other Structure, Governance and Management Description of charity's trusts= Type of governing document How is the charity constituted? Para 1.25 Constitulion Para 1.25 Association Trustee selection methods including delails of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to posl or name of any person or body entilled to appoint one or more trustees Para 1.25 Trustees are all members of the association. They are appointed at the AGM by the members and form a committee. The committee appoints the Officers (who oversee the operational management of the preschool). Additional infomiation loptionall You may choose lo include further statements where relevant about.. Policies and procedures Para 1.51 adopted for the induction and training of trustees The charity's organisational structure and any wider nelwork with which the charity works Para 1.51 The charity is a member oflhe Eady Years Alliance, which provides information, advice and training lo childcare providers and campaigns lo influence early years policy and practice. Relationship with any related parties Para 1.51 Other Reference and Administrative details Charity name Lechlade Little Leamers Other name the charity uses Registered charity number 275208 Charity's principal address Wharf Lane, Lechlade, GL7 3AU Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Name of person (or body) entilled to appoint trustee {if any) Trustee name Office Ilf any) Dates acted if not for whole year Claire Stowe Chair Rebecca Secretary Treasurer Judith Hurt Rachel Binns Corporate trustees - names of the directors at the date the report was approved Director name Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity Trustee name Date$ acted rf not for whole year Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects oflhe charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity's objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charily's own assets Addltlonal Infomatlon {optlonall Names and addresses of advisers (Optional Information Typo of Name Addross adviser Name of chief executive or names of senior staff mernbers {Optional Hazel Adamson- Manager Exemptions from disclosure Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details Other optional information Summary It's been a very challenging year, both for the setting and for the committee, but we are still here to tell the tae, thanks to an enormous amount of effort and dedication from all the Little Learners team, especially Hazel. Team There have been no changes to the staff team since this time last year - they are small but mighty. They have a high number ol children with additional needs at the setting and this has been both stressful and emotionally exhausting for them all. However they never give up, instead they just give their all and I couldn't be more impressed. The committee organised some infomial catch ups with all the staff last month. It was a love opportunity lo us to get to know one another better and find out more about their day-to-day work. We hope to repeat this every year. Libby seems very happy. She is motivated to process her skills and keen to restart her apprenticeship in September. She is very grateful for all the support and encouragement she receives from the rest ol her team. Having now achieved her Level 3. Harriet appears to be a very confident and capable presence within the setting. We wish her all the best for her 3rd baby at the end of this year and hope she returns after her maternity leave. Hazel is currently advertising the maternity cover role. Despite another external job application this year, Kim remains on as Deputy Manager and we are very grateful to still have her. She is always calm under pressure and I hope that this year she can step up further and tske on some additional managerial tasks to help share the load wth Hazel. Hazel has been a force of positivity this year when the rest of us have struggled to see the light. And that wsitivity has paid dividends, literally. She has secured £2.5k from local grants and considerably reduced our outgoings by switching various providers. Her determination to keep LL open for the good of our community is so admirable. l am immensely grateful for another year of relentless hard work and the constant juggling of staff dynamics, office admin, complex children and a needy committeel We were able to offer all staff pay rises for the 8th year running. As eveT, we wish we could have offered more, but we did OUT best in light of our financial situation. Due to a 9.8Yo rise in the Nat. Min Wage, monthly wages will be Considerably more this year but we are making provisions lo increase our income to compensate. Committee In September 2023 we laLJnched our dedicated fundraising team FOLLies- Friends of Little Learners. There are currently 4 members.. me, Katherine, Sinead and Elna who is in char9e. Since September 2023 FOLLies have been brainstomiing, organising and running ftjndraiser events for the LL families and for the wider community. They have had mixed success, but overall a very healthy year with over £2.4k raised, mostly thanks to a very successful Christmas Fair in the Pavilion which we plan to repeal this year. This leaves the committee to focus on the 'nuts and bolts, of the setting without having to share any potentially delicate issues with current parents. Hazel and I need to re-visit the constitution as a matter of priority now to reflect our new makeup. Judy has been keeping a very close eye on the accounts on all year and l am so gratefijl for her all her time and dedication she has put in this year. ## Lechlade Little Learners AGM ## Manager report Lechlade Little Learners continues to provide high quality childcare and learning for the children of Lechlade and surrounding areas. We have again seen low numbers during this year but are serving children from a variety of backgrounds and with varying needs. We know how crucial affordable and accessible childcare is for many, and we pride ourselves on being able to give our families this. This alongside low numbers have brought some financial concern. The government continues to implement funded hours for more children but at a financial cost to early years settings, and with the increase in minimum wage we are really having to tighten our purse strings. Making the books balance continues to be a worry and something we are very conscious of. As a setting we don’t want to be another statistic in the ongoing decline of preschools and early years settings. We had some successful fundraising events this year, particularly the Christmas fair and raffle. This was well received by all and was for all the community as well as our own families. The raffle was amazing and raised a significant amount of money and we cannot thank the local businesses enough for their generous donations. We have also been given several grants retrospectively for beautiful garden upgrade. I hope that we can continue with the successful fundraising, and I know that the FOLLies team have been working hard planning new events and raising more funds for our preschool. Our little staff team of 4 have been working hard over the last year and continue to give the children all the support and care they need. We have supported a few children in their transition to school and other children who have relocated to other areas. We pride ourselves on the support we give those families and children during transition time and know that we give them the best start to their next chapter. Alongside working two of the staff have been studying and back in January Harriet passed her level 3 course. Massive congratulations to Harriet, I know it's been hard work and a long process. This has helped ease some of the pressure on myself and Kim knowing we have another qualified staff member. We currently have 18 children on the books with 6 of those children going to school in September. We have some children already on our waiting list for September and with the new government funding in place I can see our numbers increasing more. We have been working very closely with the Gloucestershire County Council early years inclusion team to ensure that as a setting we are as inclusive as we can be and can offer a safe space for all children. Our advisor is very impressed with the inclusivity of the setting and has directed us to areas of training that will only support the children and staff more. My hope for the next 12 months is that we can get Little Learners back to a more comfortable financial place and to see more children come through our doors. We have another difficult year ahead of us with some changes in staffing, but we will make it through as we always do. We are only small, but we are a mighty setting, and we are such an integral part to the local area. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and the team over the last year and for keeping such a good eye on things. Trnasur•rn R•porl for AGM 2W May 2024 2)24 th y•1 tr) accJ•¢dlfAJ by (xx Y￿0P￿rIt tXA wii aff ￿ {* axrn. Th•y arn 10 b• Med ty 31" J•rw 2025. 1 11 *¥xld b• gffjl ￿ rwl** lh• 11 VAS a bjl as c*1 see. w• hi¥• nwa9od 10 f•(kn• tlhry dekl to £6085 64 •% oppc4•d * £9118.13 1(* IIKI >•¥ If tme Im¥ty H•zels ellonsll h&1 r#X rt*r4* F** 11 Iw b••n • Orfsi maich •wJ lAYT￿ £23220.$4 É15.Im.13 £878.40 £39.(*9.07 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth8 pfrrtod from To Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds Rp¥irlcted funds Endowmvnt lunds Tor81 funds LastyeJr lQlh•rhèaT•St t￿n￿•ll¢£ to thw ¢0 tho noarABt£ A1 Reeelpts granis Chi￿￿en51ve5 •,fN)7 10,288 45.OT$ 11.4 10.2& 440 G￿nI 3,180 2.835 224 2.835 224 Donation lThtetesl 1.184 Oltr*i receipts 96 Sub totsllGffj&% income forARI *224 86,224 59,140 A2 Assetand investment 8ale8, (Seo tablel. Sub tot•1 Tot81 recwpts 06,224 $9.140 A3Pa ments DynEnTc¢)sts Tr*niry&Ta¥d costs PiemiSÉS Sub5cnOions I￿￿ra￿L 61.Dg9 67J 61,099 673 59.081 1.$28 449 1.947 1,947 1,202 Admini8tratsDn F*freShn￿lS C￿5￿8tA¢S 426 416 771 778 PayiLqI fee5 479 1TO 672 Sub tot•1 f8,$84 87.783 A4 Assetand Inv•&tmont purchase5,1$68 tabkl Sub totsl 19.Jee Tot81paym8nt5 60,U84 6B,184 87.141 N¢tof re¢￿p1￿(payrngfttsJ AS Tr•n$forn bptween fund8 A6 Cash funds last yearend Cash f¢fftds this y•ar8nd 2.860 l6 2J.OOi $2.369 Z1,70B 21,706 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestrlctod funds ReBtricted funds Endowmont funds C31ogorios tonoarost£ B1 Cash funds 5.828 88rdayswrtlingw IL Tot41 ¢è$h funds 21,708 i•Jwbilinceswdh re¢¢¥Ys ￿Y11￿4$ Ufirèstrictèd funds R06trf¢ted fundg Endowmont funds t￿11$ to nplltwt É Fund ¢owhlch a•6¢t CurT•llt Yilu loptK)nDII Details CostloptioMII B3 Inv•stment ais¢t• Fundto which al**t belong6 Cuir•ntv•lu• Detai15 ¢￿ti￿p1k)n11) 84 A880ts retained for th8 eharlty'$ own use Fund lo**li¢h liabillly ml•ws Amuunldu• loptsonall endu loptionall Details B5 Liabilitle$ Sbjned by one ty twolwst688 On behalf of all the trustees D3tÈ of approval Signature Print Na￿ CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Roport to the trustee$l members of L&ciLL LITTI& Lt-AANiRs On a¢¢ounts for the year ended los Charlty no {if any) Set out on pages l ￿port lo the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity l.the Trusl'l for the year ended Rgspon$ibilitie$ and As the charity trusloes of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparation basis of roport of the accounts in accordance with th8 rgquiremenls of the Charities Act 2011 1"Ihe Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and In carying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the Act. I have completed rny examination. I confimi that no material matters have come lo my attention (other than that disclosed below ') in connection with the examinabon which give5 me cause to believe that in. any material respect.. ac¢ounling records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statomgnl I have no concems and have come auoss no other matters in connection with th• gxaminalion to which allenlion should be drawn in order lo enabte a proper understanding of the accounts lo be reached. Please delete the words in the braGkets if they do not apply. Signed: Dato: Name: Relevant professional qualifi¢ationlsl or body lif any).. Address: IER Oclober 2018 Section B Oisclosure Only conipleie Il tl)e exartiirier fieeos lo highlight matters of concein Isee GC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance for 8xaminèrsl. Glv• hère brfef detalls of any items that the •xaminer wishes to disclose. IER October 2018