## **Westwood Farm Community Pre-School**
## **Registered Charity 294802**
Westwood Farm Community Centre, Downs Way, Tilehurst, Reading, RG31 6SL www.WestwoodFarmPreSchool.co.uk
## **AGM 2020-2021**
## **Treasurer Report September 2021**
Hello, my name is Hayley Knight and I am the treasurer for Westwood Farm Community Preschool and a committee member. I have been in this role since September 2017 when my son, Daniel joined and continued whilst my daughter attended.
The preschool is a registered charity that relies on funding from the local authority as well as additional funding from elsewhere. This includes yourselves, outside donors and annual fundraising events which are all essential for the running of the preschool.
The accounts have been completed for the year 2020-2021 and in summary, The income for the preschool was £135,744.14. The expenditure was £114,116.75 which includes wages, expenses, equipment, services, toys, staff training and uniform. These figures show a year end surplus of £21,627.39. The reason for this is mainly due to staff leaving, a rent holiday and not paying for all the extras for wages such as meetings and extra hours worked due to closure during Covid. We were able to save on many expenses whilst the preschool was closed.
## **Chairperson’s Report**
## **September 2021**
Hi, I am Jo, the Chair of Committee, I do not currently have a child at Pre-school which has made the job much harder at times, but my youngest will be joining in January so I look forward to becoming part of the parent family again! This is my second AGM as chair and I can honestly say there are still new things being thrown at me! We never thought we would have had another Covid year, but it turns out we did! At least we were a little more prepared for it this year, not that that made it any easier though!
Our AGM used to be around May, but due to Covid-19, Lockdown and following government guidance we decided last year to delay it until September, which we felt worked well with signing up new members, so we have kept it in September.
Westwood Farm Community Pre-School – Happy, healthy children, learning to learn for the future
For those of you who have joined us tonight, let me give a little background to how the Preschool is run.
The preschool staff team comprises of the hardest working group of wonderful ladies who are managed day-to-day by Clare. Apart from Clare and the deputy manager Cheryl, all the staff are part time and work different sessions across the week. The Pre-school is over seen by the committee, a group of current parents and a few former parents or parents with younger children yet to start Pre-school. A committee is a group of people who ensure that an organisation fulfils all its legal obligations and operates efficiently and according to their constitution. The committee is required to have a chair, a treasurer, a secretary and 5-12 committee members. 60% of the committee need to have a child attending the Pre-school for us to be in line with our constitution. As it stands, now that many of our committee’s children left for school in July, we will need to find several new members to join to ensure we are in line with our constitution.
As a governing body, we have a shared vision of what Westwood Farm Community PreSchool is about and what its hopes for and works towards. The committee is responsible for the overall management and organisation of the setting which includes such things as HR, payroll, monitoring accounts, purchasing, marketing, and fund-raising events. Sadly, the last few years have made fundraising difficult and the committee haven’t been able to do what they normally would with coming into the setting and running fayres etc due to Covid restrictions. We must say the biggest of thank yous to the staff for their efforts with fundraising this year though, they have been truly amazing. They have simply taken things on and got stuff done. A special mention to Janie for your hard work with Michelle to get the cookbooks done and Cheryl for your exceptional efforts with raffle prizes with support from Amanda! Janie also made some adorable Valentine’s cookie jars which was a fab idea. There is also a member of staff who deserves a very special mention for her outstanding efforts in fundraising as Helen shaved her hair off to raise money for us in December, it was a frightening thing to do, but it raised lots and it really suited her!
The fundraising in the last academic year has been quite successful with all things considered, but we are going to need to step things up this year to ensure we are bringing in more income to Pre-school. We had the Halloween raffle, the Christmas shop & raffle, valentines jars, the Mother’s Day, Father’s day shop, Easter raffle, summer raffle and bag2school collections that all did well. A big thank you to Michelle for her super shopping skills.
As things were still a little different last academic year, the end of term was a little different to how it is normally celebrated. The staff made sure that the children still got the send off
Westwood Farm Community Pre-School – Happy, healthy children, learning to learn for the future
they deserved with a disco party and their presentation of end of year presents and certificates. A big thank you to Jo for making all the leavers bags.
Like last year, it has been another challenging year, Pre-school and its staff have had lots thrown at them, but they always manage to keep standing! I would like to give the biggest shout out to them all for giving their absolute everything to Pre-school even when most were having challenges in their own family life too. I can talk on behalf of all of committee and parents and say that you do the most brilliant job and we all really appreciate every little thing that you do.
Clare has developed in so many ways as a manager over the last year or so and has been the glue to hold all the staff together. I know all the staff can’t speak highly enough about her and feel very supported in their roles. I think Clare responded to the Covid situation brilliantly and has even surprised herself at times too! I want to thank Clare and Cheryl for being a wonderful support to me in my role as chair, with messages and emails in the evenings and usually on a Sunday night. I really appreciate your time, love and commitment to Pre-school, so thank you. Cheryl has been a wonderful support to Clare this year too and together you make a formidable team with your differing strengths. I know Jo has worked extremely hard to develop in her role as SENCO this year and Amanda has now completed a very successful first year after qualifying.
This year Cheryl organised some exciting learning and enrichment animal experiences for the children with hatching ducklings and the visit from the alpacas. We hope to make this a yearly thing now because children (and staff) adored it!
The staff have been updating the outside area this year which looks lovely. Janie and her husband have made some fantastic artificial grass seating and went to collect the soil for the new growing garden. Sarah H kindly donated her Wendy house which looks great, she painted it and had a good old tidy up in the garden when she delivered it too. Thank you to Sarah C too for your tip run, you really all pull together to make things work, so thank you.
A new Early Years Foundation Stage Framework was introduced this September so the staff have completed lots of training on this and are going to be working together to develop their practice to be in line with this. One of the major changes is less focus on paperwork and more on quality interactions with the children. Sarah C will be at the forefront of bringing this forward with the staff as she is quite the expert at this!
We have had a few staff changes this year. We have sadly said goodbye to Sue who was a member of our lunch club team. We were sad to see her leave, but understand the importance of spending more time with family. Adele had handed her notice in so that she could do childcare for her grandchildren but stayed on to help us out through till July as we
Westwood Farm Community Pre-School – Happy, healthy children, learning to learn for the future
were really struggling to cover all the sessions, so thank you Adele, it was a huge help, and showed just how important Pre-school meant to you. We are however lucky to be keeping her on this year for lunch club. We welcomed Lauren and Eleanor temporarily to the team and what saviours they were! I really don’t think we would have managed to stay open everyday if it wasn’t for them. They were however, not the only ones who helped cover shifts. Due to shielding, isolation, illness etc there were multiple sessions every week that needed covering. Clare and Cheryl worked tirelessly to sort the cover and this meant many members of the team working many more hours than they would normally to ensure Preschool could run smoothly. Thank you so much to all the staff that took on extra sessions even though we know it wasn’t always what people wanted to do, but they did it for the good of Pre-school.
Nicki our administrator has taken on some new responsibilities this year with regards to our book keeping and has taken to it like a pro! Nicki is organised and keen to make things more efficient and effective which is great, thank you Nicki. This year we have subscribed to ‘Xero’ which is a business accounting software. Xero is a time-saving tool to help make bookkeeping easier. From importing bank transactions to sending invoice reminders, Xero automatically handles tasks so that we can get our accounting done faster and more efficiently.
The minimum wage increased again in April which has had an impact on the Pre-school budget along with very low numbers this September. Sadly, we have had to temporarily reduce the majority of staff’s hours again to save some money whilst our private and funded income is so low. Staff will be reinstated as and when the need is there, and I would like to thank them all for being so understanding and putting Pre-school first as always. The children and their families are very lucky to have you all.
Advertising and increasing numbers is going to be a challenge this year, but it shall be a priority for committee along with fundraising. We will be updating some of the signage and be planning the best ways to advertise.
Being part of committee can be both enjoyable and rewarding. Each trustee brings with them their own set of skills and ideas that can be used to enhance the group and therefore support and strengthen the Pre-school. In return, there are benefits to yourself in volunteering, making new friends, gaining opportunities to develop new skills in areas such as management, marketing and recruitment.
Parental involvement is voluntary and mostly informal, but it is absolutely critical to our future – it is simple, without a committee of trustees, Westwood Farm community Preschool would not exist.
Westwood Farm Community Pre-School – Happy, healthy children, learning to learn for the future
One way we, as parents, can support the staff and ultimately your children, is to provide them with a strong committee made up of parents who want to help the Pre-school. We have many of our current members leaving us and therefore have many spaces to fill. I want to thank all our committee leavers for all of their support over the last year and the years before that.
What does joining the committee look like? It’s a small commitment, a 1-2hour meeting once a month on the third Monday of the month, 9 months a year plus whatever jobs you volunteer to do, so it can be as time consuming as you make it! It’s a fun, informal atmosphere at the meetings which we hope to get back into the bar at the club this year, and you will have an opportunity in shaping and developing the Pre-school. If you are interested in joining the committee, but don’t want to put your name down right now then you can always speak to a member of the current committee at drop off or pick up, or alternatively you can email or call me for a chat about it.
We have an extremely loving and dedicated team of staff who are warm and welcoming, it is a pleasure working with them all and I hope more of you will be able to join our committee to see this first hand too. I also hope that I will be able to come into Pre-school more often now this year as restrictions have been lifted, it is so lovely seeing all the staff in action!
Thank you for listening, and I hope it has helped make things a little clearer as to how a Preschool is managed. Hopefully I haven’t scared you off and that there are some new parents who would be interested in joining!
## **Jo Butcher Pre-school Chair**
Westwood Farm Community Pre-School – Happy, healthy children, learning to learn for the future
## **WESTWOOD FARM COMMUNITY PRESCHOOL**
## **Charity Number:294802**
## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD**
## **1 APRIL 2020 TO 31 MARCH 2021**
|**INCOME & EXPENDITURE STATEMENT**
**INCOME**
WEST BERKS FUNDING
FUND RAISING EVENTS
FEES
REGISTRATIONS
UNIFORM SALES
OTHER INCOME
INTEREST
**TOTAL INCOME BEFORE EXPENSES**
**EXPENSES**
WAGES
TEMPORARY STAFF
ENTERTAINMENT/EVENTS
OFSTED/CRD CHECKS
PHOTOS - refunds
STATIONERY
RENT & SERVICES
TRAVEL & TRIPS
SUBSCRIPTIONS
EQUIPMENT & PLAYGROUND
IT
TRAINING
ADVERTISING
INSURANCE
REFRESHMENTS/SNACKS
PRINTING: UNIFORM/TSHIRTS
FUNDING ADJUSTMENTS
OTHER EXPENSES
**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**NET INCOME FOR THE PERIOD**|**_31-Mar-21_**
**_£_**
**_112,361.31_**
**_3,771.93_**
**_17,238.25_**
**_420.00_**
**_325.00_**
**_1,625.50_**
**_2.15_**
**_135,744.14_**
**_95,438.04_**
**_-_**
**_379.40_**
**_-_**
**_60.00_**
**_164.47_**
**_6,409.00_**
**_-_**
**_962.66_**
**_4,324.96_**
**_583.12_**
**_41.99_**
**_-_**
**_1,510.32_**
**_373.22_**
**_1,464.49_**
**_-_**
**_2,405.08_**
**_114,116.75_**
**_21,627.39_**|_31-Mar-20_
_£_
_110,130.42_
_6,877.59_
_18,541.89_
_237.50_
_358.81_
_1,067.39_
_4.00_|
|---|---|---|
|||_137,217.60_|
|||_105,719.27_
_-_
_1,169.57_
_50.00_
_7.84_
_188.99_
_7,630.00_
_715.00_
_547.51_
_5,010.92_
_2,162.66_
_1,035.00_
_-_
_1,494.42_
_112.72_
_2,421.35_
_3,020.16_|
|||_131,285.41_|
||||
|||_5,932.19_|
|**WESTWOOD FARM COMMUNITY PRESCHOOL**
**BALANCE SHEET**
**as at 31 MARCH 2021**
ASSETS
SAVINGS ACCOUNT BALANCE 31/3/21
ORDINARY ACCOUNT BALANCE 31/3/21
LESS OUTSTANDING PAYMENTS
TREASURERS ACCOUNT BALANCE 31 MARCH 2021
RETAINED SURPLUS AS AT 1 APRIL 2020
ADD: NET SURPLUS IN PERIOD
RETAINED SURPLUS AS AT 31 MARCH 2021|**_55,647.50_**
**_(16,615.41)_**|**_31-Mar-21_**
**_£_**
**_16,083.66_**
**_39,032.09_**
**_394.73_**
**_55,510.48_**|_31-Mar-20_
_£_
_8,039.74_
_25,843.35_
_-_|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||||_33,883.09_|
|||||
|||**_33,883.09_**|_27,950.90_|
|||**_21,627.39_**
**_55,510.48_**|_5,932.19_|
||||_33,883.09_|
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
**Section A Independent Examiner’s Report**
**Report to the trustees/** Charity Name WESTWOOD FARM COMMUNITY PRE-SCHOOL **members of On accounts for the year** 31 March 2021 **Charity no** 294802 **ended (if any) Set out on pages** 1 page showing income and expenditure and retained reserves, headed accounts for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **31 March 2021** . **Responsibilities and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
**Independent** I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of **examiner's statement** ICAEW. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
- the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
- the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._
**Signed:**[Richard W R Churchill ] **Date:** 31/01/2022
**Name:** Richard Churchill
**Relevant professional** ICAEW - 9069690 **qualification(s) or body**
**Oct 2018**
1
**IER**
## **(if any):**
**Address:** The Barn, Long Lane Tilehurst, Reading RG31 5UG
## **Section B Disclosure**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
**Give here brief details of any items that the** It was good to see that previous comments had been taken on board with **examiner wishes to** timing differences and the use of the debit card account reflected in the **disclose** . financial information. A small amount of furlough income was received which has been netted off wages costs as opposed to being shown gross. I have concluded this to be trivial. Adjustments are made at year end for accruals concept.
**Oct 2018**
2
**IER**