2021-08-31-accounts

Annual General Meeting Minutes – 2nd November 2021

(8pm Hanborough Meadows Pre-School)

1. Attendance and Apologies for Absence

Committee: Emma Rusher

Present

Committee: Megan Sayers, Kelly Evans-Barrett, Liz Pringle, Medlan Porter, Sonia Groves (via Zoom), Stacey White-Rose

Staff: Tamsin Bramley, Hollie Coles, Sarah Boodell

Parents: Lucy and Matt (Jack’s parents), Laura (Freya’s mum) Charlotte (Roman’s mum) Maryanne (Hope’s mum), Sarah (Zak’s mum- via Zoom)

2. Matters arising from the last AGM report

Nothing arising. No significant issues.

Please note that the text in italicised font are comments that were made during the meeting and not part of the report being given.

3. Chairperson’s Annual Report (MS)

Since the last AGM we have continued to navigate our way through the pandemic. From October 2020 through to July 2021 we continued to manage the changing guidelines and adjusted to the new normal. We remained open through the January 2021 lockdown and offered a normal service to those who wished to attend.

One of the biggest impacts we have continued to see has been the ability to fundraise with no fundraising events held for the last financial year, with the exception of the conker challenge. This is critical for the setting as we rely on fundraising to allow us to bolster our income as running costs continue to rise. Our Go Fund me page continues to be active and we thank all those who have made donations. We are also grateful to Hector’s parents who made a significant donation at the end of term that has been earmarked for a sandpit shed to join the other garden resources. Going into our new financial year we are excited to see the return of the Hanborough Fireworks – please sign up to help!! and our Christmas Wreath making event.

Hanborough Fireworks is one of our biggest fundraisers- usually around £600 funds raised for Pre-School. If you are able to come and spare 20 mins to help on the hot drinks stall this would be extremely helpful.

COVID-19 continues to be a challenge with us all anticipating a positive PCR when symptoms appear. All the staff are fully vaccinated and will be eligible for their boosters soon. We will continue to respond as required to government guidance. Please be mindful that we may have to close or run a reduced service if we have staff who need to isolate. If there is another lockdown we will remain open if we can and are advised to do so.

We have been very lucky and have only had one very short closure in December due to COVID. However we still need to be prepared and vigilant as COVID is very prevalent in Witney and Hanborough at the moment.

The Staff continue to provide the children with brilliant learning and opportunities for growth. They go above and beyond for the setting and children they care for. We could not do it without them. Of note was the January lockdown when staff sent their children to school as key worker children to ensure that they were available for the setting and when staff were asked to work additional hours to cover sickness. At the end of the summer term we said goodbye to Toni Wyatt, our deputy manager who had been with us through thick and thin since 2016. Toni will be missed and her dedication to the Meadows family is appreciated. We wish Toni all the best in her new role as a TA at Hanborough Manor School.

With the increasing children on roll and with Toni’s departure we advertised for an early years practitioner to join the team. At the beginning of September two new members of staff joined the team and with that the Meadow’s Family. Olivia Morris joined us for 3 days a week having had a period of time off following the birth of her little boy but with a wealth of childcare experience. Stacey Rose-White also joined us for 3 days a week. Stacey is well known in the village as a Parish Councillor and was previously a TA at the school with experience as a nanny and a childminder. Stacey is also a parent at the setting and remains on the Committee. At the end of September we advertised the role of Deputy Manager. Sarah Boodell was promoted to the role. Sarah has been with the team for over two years and has grown in confidence during that time. Sarah is also about to complete her Forest School qualification and has become the SENCO for the setting. At the beginning of October 2021 we were inspected by Ofsted.

The Ofsted inspection was expected, it was impending. When we opened the new Hanborough Meadows building in April 2019 we received an opening meeting with Ofsted that was a 2 hour inspection. Once you have had this opening meeting, you are due a full inspection within 36 months.

The inspection was intense, as they always are. The inspector was at the setting from 8am-3.30pm. The inspector was impressed with the setting and noted the quality of the relationships between the staff and children. This was really key- a wonderful experience. The quality of leadership and management was also noted. We were judged as GOOD across all the required areas. The report is available on the website and on the Ofsted website. Now that we have been inspected we would not expect to have another visit from Ofsted for another 5-6 years.

Massive thank you for Staff, Kelly and the Committee. They do an incredible job and did the setting very proud.

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Without an enthusiastic Committee the Pre-School cannot function. We offer the opportunity for parents to get involved as much as suits utilising people’s skill sets. If you would like to become a Committee member or part of the fundraising subcommittee please do express your interest.

There are a couple of legal requirements if you would like to join the Committee such as having a DBS check and Ofsted check (EY2). These are just admin checks.

This year we have seen some changes to the Committee. At the end of the summer term Kerry Simpson stepped down as Treasurer. We would like to thank Kerry for all of her hard work and support to the setting since 2018. Medlan Porter has agreed to become the new Treasurer for the setting subject to the AGM vote. We also say farewell to Toni Wyatt as a Committee member as understandably she wishes to focus on new opportunities in her new role at the school.

I have been the Chair of the Pre-School for five years and would love to continue in the role for another year if voted in. I would like to thank all the Staff, Committee and families for making Hanborough Meadows a setting to be proud of.

4. Manager’s Annual Report (KEB)

Well, what can I say, it's been another extremely successful year for us at Hanborough Meadows Pre-School.

We have not only survived through another year affected by covid but thrived, with our children’s progression, the staff and team, and our numbers, all going from strength to strength.

If we look back over the last year, September 2020, we were open again for all children. Due to restrictions, unfortunately parents and carers were unable to come into the setting, but for the children it was fun times as usual. We also embraced the new term with the start of autumn and our conker hunt, and forest ranger foraging. In September Sarah started her Forest School training at Hill End, this is a year long training course and will see her qualified as a level 3 Forest School lead.

Christmas was a little different last year with the children’s Christmas party being held at the setting, but unfortunately with no parents allowed this time. With no entertainer allowed due to the restrictions, the Staff filled the gap by entertaining the children with games, stories, singing, crafts and yummy Christmas foods. A fun time was had by all.

January 2021 again saw primary schools closed until March due to another national lockdown. We remained open throughout, and the staff again went above and beyond juggling their own young families now being at home, or attending school as keyworker families, and covering all the shifts at the Meadows. In January Tamsin started Hygge training, Hygge is a Danish approach of stripping the everyday back to the simple, meaningful everyday moments. It's more than a word, it’s a feeling of cosiness and simple pleasures. As part of this Tamsin is also completing a Wonder Lust study which supports Hygge and the seasons.

Spring is a time for hope and fresh starts, with all schools now returning, and the seasons changing. We enjoyed creating a new vegetable patch in our garden, the children digging and choosing what they wanted to grow. We also held a lovely Easter Egg decorating competition and raised some funds for the setting.

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At the end of the summer term we sadly said goodbye to 17 children and their families, who went off to several different schools. This is always a very sad time for us, but we celebrated their achievements with a garden party, on what was probably the hottest day of the year! We had games, singing, and party food at our themed ‘under the sea’ party and for the first time in a long time, parents were also invited.

At the end of the summer we also said goodbye and good luck to our deputy manager, who had been struggling with her mental health. Toni took a step back and took a new position at school as a classroom assistant. This meant we had to recruit a new member to join the team, and with numbers being so strong we were able to recruit two level 3 practitioners to join us in September. In September Hollie also started a maths training course at College. This is part of her personal development and upskilling.

Along with lots of new starters, Stacey and Olivia, our new practitioners joined us at the start of term one in September. It was a busy start to term one with the setting starting off full. We also made new adjustments to help support many of the new starters with personal and social skills, many of our new 2 year olds had missed so much early interaction due to covid and the restriction. This support is ongoing and being monitored. A few weeks into term we also had our Ofsted inspection. Again the staff and committee were amazing and the inspector had lots of really positive things to say, and really understood what the Meadows is all about. There were so many amazing statements in the report but my favourite’s are, the opening statements,

“ the pre-school is full of very happy children, who clearly thoroughly enjoy being there. Children show a very positive attitude towards their play and learning. They are keen and inquisitive, finding the environment and resources fascinating and stimulating. They are well mannered, polite and welcoming to visitors.

And

“ There is a real culture of wanting to be the best they can be so they can do the best for the children”.

These two statements really sum up what we try to achieve at the Meadows.

The future for the Meadows is really exciting, with an amazing, strong and passionate team, we have so many ideas and so much we want to achieve. Numbers are strong and we are now completely full until September 2023, and that in itself is now also filling up fast.

The success of the Meadows wouldn’t be half as strong if it wasn’t for the amazing team I work with, who everyday come to work with a smile, passion and dedication. Their dedication and desire of always wanting the best for the children and the setting is what makes the Meadows special. Without them, it would be a very different Meadows, so thank you to them all. I would also like to thank the committee for another great year, for all their time, ideas, and for their continued support, again, without the Committee, the Meadows wouldn’t be the Meadows.

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5. Treasurer’s Annual Accounts Report (MS)

INCOME

Funding & Fees: Direct Funding remains the biggest income for Meadows, which is the funding for 3 & 4 year olds (15 or 30 hours) , plus some 2 year olds. That came in at £62,300.40 , which is a decrease of £3583.80 from the previous year.

For a funded child we receive £4.80 per hour funding from the government which doesn’t cover costs. For a 2 funded 2 year old we receive £5.56 per hour. Sadly, many settings have closed as a result of funding issues.

Next comes Fees, which is for children who aren’t eligible for funding plus any extra session by funded children (children under the age of 3 or funded children whose parent’s top up), and lunch clubs. This was £38,798.72 which was a significant increase of £19216.92 based on the previous year.

Total Funding and Fees: £101,099.12 against £85,466.20 from the previous year.

If you look on the Charity Commission website you can see that we have had significant increases in funding. Considerable financial progression can be seen over the last 5 years.

Fund-Raising:

The total raised for the year was £1,121.21. This included money from events such as the Conker Hunt, Raffle and donations.

Other Income:

We also received £3953.78 from other sources of Income which includes CJRS Grants, Extra work carried out by Kelly for OCC and refunds from Southern Electric. We also have income from bank interest and a uniform of £ 28.37 .

Therefore, our Income for the financial year ending 31[st] August 2021 was £106202.48

This is a fantastic amount compared to last year being just over £93,592.57 and £79000 in 2019-2019.

EXPENDITURE:

Payroll remains the biggest outgoing again this year, which is expected. It stands at £65,640.98 for the year. Alongside this we have Pension at £2799.09 and HMRC at £5330.49 Giving a total for Payroll this year of £73,770.56

Building Expenses:

Electricity - £799.14 Water - £242.46

Gas - £307.77

Insurance - £1223.30

Other Expenses - £2,991.14 – which includes cleaning, small repairs, Fire Extinguisher Testing and any other expenses connected to the building. (garden maintenance)

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Supplies: This covers everything from toilet rolls to pens, paper to toys and even the gifts that your children bring home at special events such as Christmas, Mother’s Day etc. The total for this was £9380.50.

Equipment - £6441.68

Uniform: The purchase of Staff Uniform including T-shirts, Jumpers and Fleece’s - £362.40

Phone/Broadband: This includes rental, calls and internet - £1,278.68

Staff Courses: This covers various courses and training by all members of Staff - £745.47

Other: This covers everything else not covered in the above headings. This could include leaver’s gifts, Christmas Party entertainer, Website hosting, Ofsted Fees etc. - £1559.00

Therefore, our Expenditure for the financial year ending 31[st] August 2021 was £99,301.49 This means that our Income exceeded our Expenditure for the year, leaving us with an overall Surplus of £6,900.99.

As a charity we are not here to make money but we need a buffer to cover unexpected expenses.

Bank Balances as at 31[st] August 2021 Current Account £23,655.10 Fundraising Account £3,729.17

Contingency Account £15,062.90 (major incident, redundancies) Trustees are financially liable. Cash in Hand/Petty Cash £4.47

Total - £42,451.64

MS reports that In 2016 we were so close to bankruptcy. MS is very conscious about being financially cautious and managing carefully the money spent. Having said that, we want to value our Staff, review their pay and make sure that they feel appreciated. We have to keep an eye on what we charge parents and keep it under review regularly. We have had a period of bedding in at the new premises; we didn’t know what the costs would be- some things have been cheaper than we expected and some things more expensive.

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- Summary of Annual Accounts 01/09/2020 31/08/2021

6. Adopt New/ Updated Policies

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Policies all updated; they were updated prior to the Inspection. Some policies were added over the Summer. All of our Policies are available to parents. The most important policy, the Child protection/ Safeguarding policy is on the website. Policies are checked once per year but Child Protection/ Safeguarding is reviewed every 6 months.

7. Adoption of the Constitution

We are currently established as an Unincorporated Charity. This is a very traditional set-up; 3 officers on the Committee and minimum of 2 members. Those Committee members are trustees and they are personally financially liable. We have been looking for several years to change to a Charity Incorporated Organisation so that the Trustees aren’t financially liable. There only needs to be 3 trustees but they need to sign up for a period of 2 years. However changing to a CIO is a difficult process that can take 6-12 months. We would need to be re-inspected by Ofsted (although if we did this soon Ofsted would just call the Chair and Manager.

8. AOB

None

9. Election of Committee

Chair

Megan Sayers: Proposer KEB , Seconder EP

Treasurer

Medlan Porter: Proposer MS, Seconder KEB

Secretary

Elizabeth Pringle: Proposer MS, Seconded KEB

Committee Ordinary Members

Thanks to TW for all of her support and input but she would like to step down from the Committee.

Stacey White-Rose is happy to stay on as a Committee Member as a Staff member and parent however she can’t vote. Any discussions re: pay/ staff/ conflict of interest SWR wouldn’t be invited to come to the meeting at that time.

Medlan Porter is happy to stay on as a Committee Member

Emma Rusher is happy to stay on as a Committee Member

Sonia Groves is happy to stay on as a Committee Member

MS suggests that if anyone is interested in supporting the Committee there are two options:

• Committee member: Become a full member of the Committee with a legal requirement to complete a DBS check and Ofsted EY2 check.

• Joining the fundraising sub-committee: Becoming involved in running fundraising events or writing grant applications but not becoming a Committee member. You would be unable to

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attend Committee meetings and would not have the same voting rights as Committee members.

Any new parents would be very welcome to join the Committee and more information can be provided. Please contact MS if interested.

Actions

None recorded

Next Committee Meeting – 17th November 2021 8pm Venue TBC

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