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2024-08-31-accounts

Annual General Meeting Minutes – 20th November 2024

(8pm Hanborough Meadows Pre-School)

1. Attendance and Apologies for Absence

Present

Committee: Megan Sayers (Chair), Kelly Evans-Barrett (Manager), Medlan Porter (Secretary), Chloe Ricketts (Treasurer)

Staff: Hollie Coles, Tamsin Bramley, Beckah, Jessica Knight

Families: Laura Heuiff, Lydia Theodorou, Tanya Clarke, Lynne Ashton, Lucy White, James Wilkins, Cheryl Bunyun, James

Apologies

Sarah Boodell, Kirsti Campbell, Carly Rowland

2. Matters arising from the last AGM report

No matters arising

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)

Minutes are published to the Charities Commission. Changes to the Committee are reported to the Charities Commission and Ofsted.

Another busy year at The Meadows that could not have been achieved without the amazing staff team, parents and of course the children. The last 12 months has flown past and as ever the staff and those working behind the scenes have gone above and beyond. As the setting continues to thrive we remain full and Kelly expertly manages the waiting list for the years ahead.

As we moved through the last year one of our biggest challenges continued to be finances to ensure the longevity of the setting. We have had to make difficult decisions regarding fees and resources whilst being mindful of the impact of the cost of living on families. We have overhauled how we charge fees due to the introduction of the expanded childcare offer to 2 year olds. It is

again important to say that the funding provided by the government does not cover our costs fully.

The setting acknowledges the cost of living crisis and encourages parents and families to communicate if they have any concerns or difficulties paying fees.

Our biggest overhead is wages. Staffing the setting is a obviously an essential part of The Meadows but it is the quality and commitment from the staff that is so important and key to the amazing nuturing and educational service that is provided. We have been able to provide a pay rise to staff to ensure we acknowledge their continued hard work but to retain a consistent team, that in reality is more like a family. In addition to annually reviewing staff wages we also seek to ensure staff are supported in their ongoing professional development. Kelly ensures through supervision and management that the staff are provided with specialist areas to focus upon and the committee will always support and fund additional training opportunities.

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. We continue to have a stable, strong and committed workforce. Kelly, Sarah, Tamsin and Hollie have been in post for several years. This year we said goodbye to Stacey and Olivia. They were both assets to the team and are missed. At the end of the summer term we advertised for a new qualified early years practitioner. Although recruitment in this sector can be challenging we had a number of applicants. After interviewing we offered roles to two candidates. One to Kirsti who joined us in October with a wealth of experience and knowledge as a qualified member of the team. Although the post advertised was for a qualified practitioner we were so impressed by Beckah’s application and interview that we offered her the opportunity to join the team and complete her apprenticeship. We also welcome Eve as a volunteer to the setting. They have now settled into the team and are part of The Meadows family.

Fundraising continues to be an essential part of The Meadows ethos. We continue to run events that are inclusive to the wider community, fun for the children and financially beneficial for the setting. In the last 12 months we have raised money through the Christmas Bazaar, Wreath Making, Easter Egg hunt, School Summer Fayre, Conker hunt and most recently the hot chocolate stall at the fireworks. In the weeks ahead we have the 2024 wreath making and a stall at the School Christmas Fayre. The committee have also (our amazing treasurer) sourced grants from a variety of sources that have enabled the setting to develop the fantastic Meadows Veggie Garden.

At the current time we are also raising funds through Tesco Stronger Starts initiative. Please pop into Tesco on the A40, Cogges and Fettiplace, Witney to vote (as many times as you can) until mid-January. The setting will receive between £500-£1500 once the votes are counted.

We are always mindful of the ways in which we can ensure that setting remains fresh and well resourced. In addition to the amazing garden we have installed an air conditioning unit for those

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hot days where the children cannot be outside for long periods, new shelving, new Ipads and laptop for the staff to use and moving forwards we are looking at how we can make the outside classroom more weatherproof.

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 please do express your interest. It is appreciated that everyone is busy and may not want to be on the committee in an official capacity, but we always need parents to lead with fundraising events.

Our committee is currently myself, Medlan as secretary and Chloe as treasurer. Kim Holland stepped down from the committee in April 2024 as she moved house. We would like to thank Kim for her time with the committee. In order to be fully quorate we ideally need to have two general committee members. We have packs available and can answer any questions at the AGM.

I have been the chair of the Pre-school for eight 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.

Megan Sayers

4. Manager’s Annual Report (KEB)

Thank you everyone for coming. We really do appreciate your time, especially on this very chilly night. This is my 7th year in giving the managers’ report and every year I have started with the same line, “It has been another very busy and successful year for Hanborough Meadows Preschool”, which again for us it has been! Hanborough Meadows continues to go from strength to strength.

I will quickly reflect back over the past year, stating in September last year, September 2023, where we had recently said goodbye to a number of our children that moved up to school, and we welcomed lots of new families to the Meadows. We also enjoyed a lovely trip to the Playpark at Blenheim on a very warm and sunny September day, which was a good job too really as the children loved the water part of the park!! We also had a visit from Woodstock Firestation, who showed the children all around their fire engine, and even let the

children spray water from the hose across the meadow. October, in tradition, always sees us hold our annual Grand Conker hunt, which again was extremely successful with 1,000’s of

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conkers being collected! The monies raised went straight back to the setting for new resources for the children. As soon as the conker hunt is over its full steam ahead to the glitter and sparkle of our festivals. We celebrated Diwali, with dance and Diya lamps, Bonfire night with crafts and music, thanksgiving with folk stories and yummy foods, and of course, my favourite time of the year Christmas! Music, excitement, stories, crafts, and soooooooo much glitter. We held a Christmas party for the children, and we all enjoyed dressing up, a party tea, and a visit from a very

special guest!

Early spring came around and we made love visit to the The Woodstock Library, to celebrate Book Week, where we had stories and found Dinosaurs in the garden! We celebrated Easter with our children’s Easter Egg Hunt, where the children enjoyed collecting eggs and we had a lovely Easter afternoon tea.

Before we knew it term 6 was soon here. We held a fun sports days, with a carousel of activities and our infamous parents race ! Term 6 is always our busiest, and saddest term. We started the children’s transition to school with visits being made, new teachers visiting us, and school leaver reports to be written. This term we had 17 children moving on to 7 different schools. But with our older children moving on it meant new children starting, home visits, and settling in sessions. We celebrated the end of term 6 with an under the sea themed party and gifts for the leavers.

With a new academic year, we started with a new team! We were delighted to welcome Kirsti and Beckah to the Meadows Family. We also had a new and amazing Veggie Patch which was created over the summer. Thanks must go to Chloe and her team for creating such a wonderful garden for the children to use, explore and grow!

As I said the Meadows continues to go from strength to strength, this is evident in our numbers and the reputation we have not only in the community, but also within the local authorities, and other settings.

But none of this would have been achieved or have been possible without the amazing team I am lucky to lead. The team always goes above and beyond, they show dedication and true passion, and always put the children first. They are full of ideas, and energy and are truly the best. They really are an amazing team to work with, and so to, Hollie, Tamsin, Sarah, Jess, Kirsti and Beckah, thank you for everything you do and everything you bring to Meadows.

To the committee, Meg, Medlan and Chloe, again, we could not run without you. I thank you for all your hard work, your time, support, guidance, and for answering my continued demands and emails. You truly are super stars! I think that is enough from me but to say again, the year ahead looks exciting, and I feel privileged to be a part of it!

Thank you.

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5. Treasurer’s Annual Accounts Report (CR)

INCOME

Fees and Funding

Direct funding, both the 15 and 30 hours for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, remains our biggest income. We benefited this financial year from a large contingent of 3- and 4-year-olds who had been with us since starting pre-school aged 2 and therefore, we had a consistent income from fully allocated places. From April 2024 2-year-olds who qualified were able to obtain 15 hours of funding, of which a small number of our families benefited. For 2023-24 our Direct Funding received was £100,435 (2022-23 £57,602) which was a significant increase of £42,833 on 2022-23.

Additional fees paid by parents/carers who don’t qualify for funding, or who attend pre-school for more than their funded hours (for those who only qualify for 15 hours funding), amounted to £16,710.

Funding from OCC per hour throughout the year was: From April 2024 Sept 2023 – Mar 2024

2 yr olds 15 hrs socio-economic 7.83 8.23

2 yr old 15 hrs working families 7.83 -

3/4 yr old 15 hrs universal entitlement and 30hrs working families 5.30 5.09

3/4 yr old EYPP and deprivation supplement additional payment per hour 1.15 1.13

The above unfortunately does not cover our costs, therefore we are required to charge additional amounts to ensure the future survival of the pre-school. As the funding only covers 6 hours a day, and we are open for 6 hours and 45 minutes, we charge an additional payment of £5 to finance the 45-minute lunch session. This charge has been in place for several years now and is vital to our ongoing success, in 2024 it raised £11,010. From April 2024 we also replaced our snack charge (50p per session) with a consumables charge (£2 per session) which allows us to provide the children with a healthy snack per session, additional visitors to the setting e.g. Ruth Nuttall’s dance sessions and Fox cycling, excursions out, and a more enhanced offering. From September 2023 to March 2024 our snack charge total was £1,440, then from April 2024 to August 2024 our consumables fee raised £3,762. Our lunch club and consumables session fee are only payable by funded children and EYPP eligible children are not charged.

This brings our total income from additional fees and funding to £32,921 (2022-23 £39,304), down by £6,382 largely due to the introduction of 15-hours funding for 2-year-olds. Our total income from all fees, funding and additional charges was £133,356 (2022-23 £96,630), an increase of £36,726 from 2022-23.

Other Income

Our largest income, aside from fees and funding, came from grants and donations made during the year, which amounted to £4,355 (2022-23 £1,000). These funds came from:

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Further donations towards the vegetable garden were due to be made in the 2024-25 accounts, and a £1,000 donation from Blenheim Palace towards the vegetable garden was made in 2022-23.

Fundraising events raised £2,775 (2022-23 £2,613), with our Christmas Bazaar (including Chancellors Estate Agents sponsorship), wreath making workshops, fireworks event volunteering, and Conker hunt continuing to generate much needed funds. Additional income, from Kelly’s consultancy work for OCC, registration fees, and bank interest amounted to £2,005 (2022-23 £2,659).

Therefore, our total income for the financial year ended 31 st August 2024 was £142,491 (2022-23 £102,901). This was a significant increase of £39,590 from 2022-23.

EXPENDITURE

Payroll continues to be our biggest expense, with net wages costing £87,489 (2022-23 £82,235), an increase of £5,254 on last year. We had one member of staff on SMP, and one member of staff left during the year which kept our wage bill lower than anticipated. This also meant we incurred no PAYE and NI contributions as we benefited from the employment allowance and SMP reimbursement, and our pension costs were £3,679 (2022-23 £2,848).

Our new consumables charge, and snack charge during the first half of the year, meant we were able to increase our spending on excursions and visitors to the setting, as well as purchase more toys, books, craft supplies and new equipment to directly benefit the children.

For 2023-24 this, and the food and drink purchased for snack times, came to £13,077 (202223 £8,362). Building expenses and telephone/internet increased to £10,613 (2022-23 £6,742), largely due to the increased cost of gas and electricity, telephone and internet charges, water rates, and insurance premiums during a time of high inflation.

Administration and other costs were £5,471 (2022-23 £4,654). We were able to purchase both a new mobile phone for the setting and a new laptop for Kelly as the old ones came to the end of their life. As we continue to invest in our amazing staff, we increased our spending on training and training resources, up by £722 to £1,253 (2022-23 £531). Our previous 2-year deal on our website hosting came to an end, and during the year we invested in improving our financial recording software, resulting in our subscriptions costs increasing to £1,102 (2022-23 £368).

With the past few years fundraising income, alongside the grants and donations received during the year we were able to make some improvements to the setting. In total £12,522

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was spent on a combination of installing CCTV to the exterior of the pre-school for improved safety, installing an air-conditioning unit to improve the experience for staff and children during very hot summer days in the very well-insulated building, purchasing and installing a notice board, and turning the unused front garden into the ‘Meadows Veggie Garden’ with greenhouse, fruit bushes, raised planter and ‘secret sensory garden’. Without these generous grants, donations, fundraising income and our wonderful volunteers these projects wouldn’t have been completed, so thank you so much to everyone for your help. This means that total expenditure for the financial year ended 31 st August 2024 comes to £132,851 (2022-23 £104,842), an increase of £28,009.

As a charity we are not here to make a profit, however we need to ensure income covers our expenditure and any additional funds create a ‘buffer’ for unexpected expenditure. In 2023-24 we made a £9,640 profit, compared to a £1,941 loss in 2022-23. This is a significant marked turnaround in finances and reflects all the hard work done by Kelly and her team, the committee and all our volunteer helpers to provide such a highly sought-after setting for pre-school children in the area.

The figures on the balance sheet at year end are: Current Account £27,586 (2022-23 £21,969, increase of £5,617) Fundraising Account £13,034 (2022-23 £9,299, increase of £3,735) Contingency Account* £15,466 (2022-23 £15,178, increase of £288)

*Required in the event of pre-school closure resulting in staff redundancies as the committee are personally financially liable.

This leaves us with capital of £56,086 (2022-23 £46,446).

6. Adoption of the Constitution

7. AOB

8. Election of Committee

Chair

Megan Sayers - Proposer - Kelly Evans Barrat, Second - Chloe Ricketts

Secretary

Medlan Porter - Proposer - Kelly Evans Barrett, Second - Tamsin Bramley

Treasurer

Chloe Ricketts - Proposer - Kelly Evans Barrett, Second - Megan Sayers

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Committee Ordinary Members

No interest at this time.

MS notes that we have been looking for several years to change to a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO) so that the Trustees (committee members) aren’t personally financially liable. Our contingency covers any liability should the setting close. This would predominantly be redundancy payments as we don’t have any debt, mortgage or lease etc. It protects the Committee members.

This is a big ongoing project that would also trigger an inspection which is not a bad thing. 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

member. You would be unable to attend Committee meetings and would not have the same voting rights as Committee members

We are in need of new Committee members. Anyone joining the Committee needs to complete an EY2 and additional DBS check (even if you are on the update service). Ofsted have to deem Committee members suitable. There can be issues with how long they take to be processed. As a Committee member you would not have unsupervised access but it is possible for the setting to conduct a risk assessment so that potential members can work on the Committee before the EY2 is returned.

Committee meetings are every 6-8 weeks, often on Zoom, not always in person if there is an issue with childcare. There is not a commitment to attend every one.

The role of the Committee is to help manage the setting and support with:

Committee members bring their own perspectives and help discuss the options

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

Actions

Next Committee Meeting – 3rd December 24, 10am

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