Treehouse Preschool AGM – Weds 8[th] October 2025
Chairperson’s Report
I have to begin by acknowledging that this annual general meeting is 17 months since the last one due to lots of circumstances beyond our control. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to attend this meeting your support of our little charity is greatly appreciated as always.
When I became Chairperson in May 2024 there were a number of challenges facing our organisation including having a new management team in place; with Liz still reasonably new to the Manager role and Sam Goss new to the office administrator role. We have had a year of finding our feet, pulling together and putting lots of processes in place to ensure the future proofing of Treehouse as both a charity and a preschool.
As you will hear in the Treasurer report we were faced with considerable financial challenges as a result of various factors post pandemic. As a committee and staff team we have pulled together and have all worked really hard with the ongoing support of the team at Bucks County Council to make sure that as we enter another academic year we are in a much better position to face the future.
That said, none of this would have been possible without the ongoing support of the local community with various organisations stepping in to mitigate incidental spending. I would like to thank the Winslow Rotary Club and Lions Clubs for stepping and helping us to purchase a new dishwasher and a new printer for the office, to the Women’s Institute for purchasing our two air conditioning units which have ensured that Treehouse is much more comfortable in the extremes of weather that we are now facing. Our thanks also go to the amazing team at David Wilson Homes who not only provided a huge financial donation but whose senior management team, including the CEO turned out en mass to revamp the outdoor space to the front and the side of the building. They also helped with providing skips and the new storage sheds to the side of the building too.
Without the ongoing support of the Winslow community Treehouse, as a small charity which is completely independent of the primary school, would not be able to continue. Many have donated individual items via our Amazon wishlist or the donation tree in the foyer and the fabulous team at the Jet garage provide us with fresh fruit for our healthy snacks on a daily basis as do Lidl and Aldi in Buckingham on occasion.
The sense of community that we have felt in this past year and a bit has shown us how valued Treehouse is within the Winslow community. With more houses being built and no plans for further early years development within the town, our place as a provider of
high quality early education and support to the whole family will be more needed going forward than ever before.
I cannot report on this year without mentioning the Ofsted inspection that took place earlier this year and to have a chance to shout from the rooftops once again that we were graded as Outstanding in all areas for a third consecutive time. As an early years consultant who trains local authorities, schools and nurseries across the whole of the UK I need to reiterate how fantastic this is. It is hard enough to get the highest grading once but to have maintained that level of quality and care for over 10 years is virtually unheard of. This is testament to Liz and her team who work tirelessly to support each and every child and their wider families on a daily basis. They provide your children with the very best start in life and recent conversations with local schools have really noticed how Treehouse children are being really well prepared from their journey in to the wider school system and life long learning. The staff at Treehouse really do go above and beyond to make this place the safe, supportive and exciting place for the young children of the local area. Thank you to each and every one of them.
As well as the best Ofsted result we could hope for, the team has also managed to maintain their status as Children’s champions and recently gained Eco Schools accreditation with the help of Dani on the committee. We are now looking into being one of the first settings in the area to be awarded Millies Mark for having every member of staff peadiatric first aid trained – a standard that is well above the uk legal requirement but reinforces our commitment to providing the very highest standard of care for your children while they are with us.
I must take time to thank Liz, Sam Noury and Dani for their work as designated safeguarding leads. This year has not been an easy one and there have been some really challenging situations to be a part of and yet they all work together to make sure that every child is supported at all times.
I would like to personally thank Liz on her own for taking the helm as manager and steering Treehouse forward to what can only be a great future. She works tirelessly, often in her own time, to ensure that Treehouse stays the amazing place we all know and love even when she has had some difficult personal challenges along the way. Thank you Liz for all that you do. Thanks also to Sam Noury for agreeing to step up as deputy manager. It has a been a pleasure to watch you grow into the new role. Thanks to Sam Goss for establishing key systems that will see Treehouse through the years to come in a much more ordered and future proofed way.
Finally thank you to the committee who have helped to make these changes possible. As a charity we need family members as trustees to comply with our legal framework. Thank you to all those who have given up their time to ensure that Treehouse continues to operate. Sadly we will be losing many of the existing committee as they move
onwards with their children to work on new adventures many of which are with schools across the county. Louisa will be stepping down after many years as Treasurer as will Harriet our Secretary. Thank you to Ruth and Claire who are also now stepping down. Thank you to them all for their support and service. I look forward to working with a new committee team going forward to exciting new projects.
We know that the challenges of the past year will not go away overnight. Changes to employment costs and increased challenges to fund support for those children who need it the most will mean we will continue to reach out to the community for both financial and practical support. Treehouse is at the heart of the Winslow community and the Winslow community have definitely this year ensured that Treehouse stays that way. Thank you to each and every person who has donated money, time, equipment and enthusiasm. We look forward with excitement and hope to that continuing for many years to come.
Kirstine Beeley Chairperson
HOU RE.SCHOOL cc FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024 Ital Fund a8 t 1 S• rnr 2023 dd Excess of Income over Expenditure for the year 17,361 11,316 tal Fund as at ust 24 28.677 E SHEEf AS AT UGUST 2024 ASSET Bank Accounts Fundraising Alc Surplus Alc Redundancy Al¢ Troasurws Alc Re80urces Nc Dwivation Alc 4,380 15 9.802 30,510 1,597 48,170 Debtors and Prepayments 49,LK3 L¢ss LIABILI Sundry Creditors IES 20.386 NET ASSETS ER CAprrAL AccouKr 28.877 The foregoing accounts have been wep¥ed from irrfonnation therewbth. upplie and are In acco an 26 August 2025 Winslow N A NORMAN & CO CHARTERED AccouNTAr8
TREEHOUSE PRE- CHOOL AcCourS FOR THE YEAR ENDED GUST 2024 NCOME AND EXPENDrruRE cc Fundlng Fee8 Recelved Interest Recelved Donatlons 193.322 24,928 S818rS88 Onc. pen8lM co•ts) Ra8ource8- Staffing Payroll Cos18 Rent and Rate8 Booko and Public&tlon• Cleanlng Materials Craft Materials and Toy• Theme Ad1vit8 and Spcial Event• Equlpment Iniurances Telephone and Intemot Statlonery and Po8t8ge8 Catering Registration and AffilIatn Fees T8e Shirtlsweatshirt Purcha8e• Heath ar4J Safety Costs Training AOuntancY Fe68 Fundralsing Costs lscellaneous Expense8 Bank Charges Excess of Income over EXpenrture 192.458 1,252 13,534 69 418 Fundrai81ng Incorne Grant8 4,875 10,000 689 24 227 1.891 1.517 2.181 47 822 89 240 1.481 61 11.318 233,611 233,611
TREEHO SE PRE-SCHOOL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024 CAPITA cc Ca Ital Fund a9 at 1 Se dd Excess of Income over Expendlture for the year te 23 17,361 11,316 Ital F 28,677 asa 31Au us 2024 LANCE SHE us ASSET Bank Account8 Fundrai81ng Alc Surplus Alc RedurKlancy Alc Trea8urers Alc Re8ourc*8 Alc Deprlvatlon Alc 4,380 15 9.802 30.510 1,888 1.597 48.170 Debtors and Prnpayments 893 49,083 LIAB LITIE Sundry Credftors 20.388 AC 28,677 The foregolng accounts have been prepared from Infomiatlon su therewith. led are in a¢coTda 26 August 2026 inslow A NORMAN & CO CHARTERED ACCOUNTAN
Treehouse Preschool AGM Weds 8[th] Oct 2025
Treasurers Report
This past year and a bit have given us considerable challenges financially when it comes to the sustainability of Treehouse as a small charity organisation.
At the start of the year we needed to find a lot of money to bridge the gap between overhead costs and funding provided by the local authority. This coupled with the considerable cost of renting the premises from the school mean a focus on massive fundraising initiatives was needed.
I am pleased to report that we have in the past 17 months managed to secure substantial grants from Buckinghamshire Council and the team at county hall have supported us amazingly as we build a future proofed and viable preschool for the future.
We have been lucky enough to receive financial support from many local organisations including the Lions and Rotary Clubs in Winslow, the Women’s Institute and David Wilson Homes who donated £1500. A fundraising campaign on GoFundMe at the end of last year was very successful in pulling in personal donations and we are looking to repeat this in the coming year. We received £500 from Tesco as part of their blue token voting scheme and will be submitting a proposal to be included again in one of the up coming rounds.
As an organisation we have worked tirelessly to make sure that we are now only spending on essential resources and wherever possible we have reached out to the local community to help with the cost of cleaning materials, office supplies and first aid resources as well as daily consumables such as paint, glue sticks, playdough ingredients etc. We have been gifted new laptops for the team and were able to secure the PAT testing, gutter cleaning and window cleaning free of charge.
Going forward we have now invested in electronic accounting software to streamline the financial processes and we will continue to need to seek substantial grant support from the local community and beyond. As ever we are actively looking for families whose employers may have charitable donation schemes including match funding options. Please let the committee or Liz know if you think this may be the case.
Our single biggest overheads remain the staff costs which will again increase in April in line with government guidelines and our rent which at over £1000 a month will also continue to increase in line with yearly financial indexes.
Treehouse, as with other charities, will continue to require additional ongoing financial support to cover costs and we are already shortlisting possibilities for the coming year. As an organisation showcasing best practice in early years Bucks Council have confirmed their intention to continue to support us in this transition period and we look forward to hopefully a much more positive and sustainable future.
The accounts submitted for verification for this AGM cover the year prior to this and show that steps were already being taken to improve on the situation from previous years. A copy of these accounts is available to view upon request. We are confident that the next set of accounts for the year up to the end of August 2025 will continue to show considerable positive improvement in the finances of the charity. Thank you to everyone for their kind donations of money and resources which ensure Treehouse has a positive future in Winslow.