Annual General Meeting – 19th November 2025 7.30pm
Minutes
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Present
Committee: KEB, MS, MP, CR,
Other: Beckah, Jess, Kiera, Hollie, Tamsin, Ian Roper, Nicola, Naveen, India, Laura, James, Gerard, (covered 10%)
3. Matters arising from the last AGM report
None
4. Chairperson’s Annual Report (MS)
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 continue to be heavily impacted by changes to the funded hours entitlement. With the new requirement regarding how we manage our additional costs we have revised our fees and implemented the ‘voluntary’ contribution. Without your agreement to pay the contribution we would not be able to function. Our biggest overhead is wages. Staffing the setting is 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 nurturing and educational service that is provided. In October 2024 (back dated to September) 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. In recent months these have included sustainability co-ordinator and nutritional lead.
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, Jess and Hollie have been in post for several years. In September/October Kirsti joined the team as an experienced practitioner and Beckah joined as an apprentice. They immediately settled into the life at The Meadows. Kirsti then shared her exciting news that she was expecting a baby and started her maternity leave in May. As a result Kiera joined the team. Kiera had just completed her Level 3 and was awaiting confirmation of qualification. Again Kiera has been asset to 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 essential for the setting. In the last 12 months we have raised money through the Christmas Bazaar, Wreath Making, School Summer Fayre, Conker hunt and most recently the hot chocolate stall at the fireworks. In the weeks ahead we have the 2025 wreath making event. Please book a space if you haven’t already. As a result of the fantastic fundraising efforts of the last couple of years we were able to expand the setting with a garden office. Kelly and the team have used the tiny office space to work, complete training and hold meetings. The shed outside housed resources but it was not watertight. We sourced a second hand garden office with installation. As the company were aware we were a charity they provided additional time to freshly paint the interior at no extra cost. The new building provides a dedicated workspace for Kelly and the team. Kelly is able to hold professional meetings with colleagues, parents and outside agencies. The children also love to come and sit on the sofa. This has meant the old office can be used for much needed storage space, Our garden has also seen upgrades over the summer to ensure the best environment for the children.
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 me, Medlan as secretary and Chloe as treasurer. In order to be fully quorate we ideally need to have two general committee members.
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We have packs available and can answer any questions at the AGM.
I have been the chair of the Pre-school for nine 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.
5. 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 8[th] 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 Pre-school”, 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 2024, 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 said a very sad goodbye to our Lovely Liv who after returning from maternity leave decided to stay home and spend time with her two gorgeous boys.
At the start of October we welcomed Kirsti to the Medows team. Kirsti joined us with a wealth of experience and a passion for Speech and Language. October, in tradition, also saw us hold our annual Grand Conker hunt, which again was extremely successful with 1,000’s of conkers being collected! The monies raised went straight back to the setting for new resources for the children.
As soon as the conker hunt was over it was full steam ahead to the glitter and sparkly of our festivals. We celebrated Diwali, with dance and Diya’s 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 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.
During the Easter Holiday were also extremely busy with preparing the garden for the new addition of the Meadows Cabin, Which is an amazing office space, parents meeting space and small intervention space. We used fundraising and grants to fund the cabin and I have to thank Chloe, for all the time, and the project planning that went into the addition of the Meadows Cabin.
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In May Kirsty left to start her Maturity leave, and we were soon joined by Keira. Keira had just finished her level 3 and came with new ideas, and energy!
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 12 children moving on to 3 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 jungle themed party and gifts for the leavers.
With a new academic year, we started with a strong dedicated team, and lots of new children and families.
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.
Though none of this would have been achieved or have been possible without the amazing team I am lucky to lead.
The team, always go above and beyond, they shown 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, so to, Hollie, Tamsin, Sarah, Jess, Beckah, Keira and Kirsti, thank you for everything you do and everything your 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 starts!
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.
6. Treasurer’s Annual Accounts Report (CR)
INCOME
2024/25 has been a difficult year finance wise. The headline figures show we made a loss of £26,461 however this needs breaking down further. In the past year the committee chose to invest the fundraising money accumulated over the past few years into the garden office which cost £20,308 in total, including the associated work needed to make the space ready
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for the building. This was covered by £13k held in the fundraising pot and part of the previous year’s £9.6k profit. When you strip the cost of the new building out, we made a £6,153 loss for the year ending 31st August 2025, which is a significant reflection of the increased costs of running the setting and the cost of staffing, outweighing the reduction in fee income following the increase in funded hours.
Fees and Funding
Direct funding from OCC covering the funded hours remains our biggest income, however this was down by £7.4k on 2023/24 as we saw lots of new starters join us which often means full take up off hours not happening until later in the year. Whilst the removal of the full day fee discount and the fact 2 year olds were only entitled to 15 hours funding did mean that we were able to raise £30.4k in income from fees, the extension of the funded hours for 2 year olds going forwards has, and will continue to have a massive impact on our finances, as the funding per hour from OCC does not cover our costs and we are able to rely less on income raised from fees.
Funding
2 yr old 15 hrs WF 8.05 2 yr old 30 hrs WF 0.00 2 yr old 15 hrs socio-economic 8.05 3/4 yr old 15 hrs 5.53 3/4 yr old 30 hrs 5.53 3/4 yr old EYPP 1.47 SEN Inclusion Fund per week 38.50
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. Together with our voluntary contribution to enrichment activities this rose £20,910.
Our total income from all fees, funding and additional charges was £143,998, an increase of £10.6k from 2023/24.
Other Income
Our largest income aside from fees and funding came from fundraising events this year which raised £3,617.
Total additional income, including registration fees, grants and bank interest amounted to £8.7k. Therefore, our total income for the financial year ended 31st August 2025 was £152,774. An increase of £10,283 from 2024/25.
EXPENDITURE
However, despite the increase in income this didn’t match our payroll costs, which continues to be our biggest expense. Our total wage bill including HMRC and pension costs came to £127250 which is an increase of £36682 on 2023/24. The change in national insurance
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rates, wage increases at the start of the financial year, and the large increase in the national minimum wage had a big influence on this.
Building expenses excluding the new garden office work came to £9,109 (2022-23 £10,613), with insurance, water and telephone and internet increasing year on year. Administration and other costs were £7,775 up £881 on last year.
This means that total expenditure for the financial year ended 31st August 2025 comes to £179,235, an increase of £46,384.
When you consider that OCC provide us with £92k funding and that is expected to cover all our costs for funded children, when our wage bill alone is £127k, and early years staff are considerably underpaid for the work they do, it’s a clear reflection of the difficulties being faced across the sector, specifically in charitable settings like ours.
The figures on the balance sheet at year end are: Current Account £13684 (2023-24 £27,586) Fundraising Account £187 (2023-24 £13,034) Contingency Account* £15,753 (2022-23 £15,446)
*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 £29,625 (2023-24 £56,086).
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7. Adopt New/ Update Policies
All policies updated at the beginning of September using OCC template.
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Now a requirement to have a stand-alone attendance policy which has been recently added - this has been added due to safeguarding
New nutrition policy has been added - Jess is now nutritional coordinator - no refined sugar to be given to children in the setting
All policies are available online or as a hard copy at the setting.
8. AOB
Other income revenues - discussion re holiday clubs/wrap around care - previous uptake poll wasn’t very positive. Need to consider running costs/staffing.
Potential of hiring out premises during school holidays etc - issues around resources
Potential other fundraisers- discos, parties, Xmas fayre etc. Look into possible parent subcommittee.
Possibility of increasing voluntary contributions - not viable as all consumables must be accounted for.
9. Election of Committee
Chair: Megan Sayers - KEB
Treasurer: Chloe Rickets - MP
Secretary: Medlan Porter - MS
Committee Ordinary Members:
10: Set date of next Committee Meeting (within 2 weeks of this meeting)
Tuesday 25th November 10am at Meadows
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