Wootton & Dry Sandford Pre-School
Chair’s Report for the year ending 31 December 2023
Our Aims
Wootton & Dry Sandford Pre-School aims to provide a high-quality, affordable Pre-School service to the villages of Wootton, Dry Sandford and surrounding areas. We provide a safe, friendly environment for our children and educate them in line with the Early Years Foundation Stages and Goals. Our overall aim is to ready our pupils for their Reception Year at school.
Our Objectives
Our objectives reflect the ethos of our Pre-School. We are committed to support and advance our children through learning and play. We are concerned with establishing great relationships with parents and the local community.
Key objectives for 2023:
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To maintain a high intake of local children for the new academic year
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To improve our learning environment and facilities • To improve our monitoring of children for EYFS
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To maintain a high level of care for pupils
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To maintain links with the local schools and community
Review of our achievements
We are currently full to capacity with a waiting list. The children have been able to enjoy a variety of new activities including yoga and football.
Fundraising has been positive with a successful Summer Fete and multiple dressing up days and cake sales. We hope to improve our garden area even more with the money raised.
Our last Ofsted was a successful visit with another ‘Good’ with some lovely feed-back testimonials from our parents.
Pupil numbers and fees
We ran at full capacity for much of the year and have maintained a waiting list of children. Intake in September 2023 remained very high along with a healthy waiting list looking into January and April 2024. We accepted both funded and non-funded local children, including funded two-year olds. We have the capacity for having special needs children.
Improvement of learning environment
We have made lots of changes in previous years to our garden space and still have more we would like to do. The community centre board has given us permission and the work will be done in 2024.
Monitoring of children for EYFS
We continue to use ‘Tapestry’ an online application to journal to record and monitor children’s progress. It is very popular with parents, as they feel more in touch with their children’s progress. We continue to hold parent/key worker meetings at least three times every academic year, with more as and when is required. Parent satisfaction levels continue to be high.
Community and school links
We have again been active in the community through Pre-School visits into the local area and shops plus having our nativity at the local church.
Our links with schools were improved by increased visits to the local schools and by the class teachers visiting the Pre-School during the summer term to talk to our pupils. Pupils starting Primary school in September had the opportunity to visit them on a number of occasions, increasing their familiarity with the environment they were moving into.
This year, with parents permission we were able to share ‘Tapestry’ records of incoming pupils with one of the local schools that used this system for their Reception pupils.
Future plans
To have a sun shade over the sandpit, to paint the play equipment to prolong life, replace some broken and lost resource’s
Finances
The committee regularly review the finances, budgets and spend against our income and monthly cash flow.
Staff pay is reviewed on an annual basis.
WOOTTON AND DRY SANDFORD PRE-SCHOOL PLAYGROUP ASSOCIATION INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT-YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2023
| ROUTINE INCOME OCC funding Fees Donations Fund Raising Fruit and snacks Bank interest - high interest account Enrolment fees TOTAL INCOME RECURRENT EXPENDITURE Wages and Salaries Accountancy and audit Hall hire Training Insurance Printing and Stationery Toys and play resources IT software and consumable Cleaning Miscellaneous Fruit and Snacks Telephone TOTAL EXPENDITURE SURPLUS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE |
2023 £ 78906 18523 0 1130 282 760 0 99601 73860 648 16850 240 648 178 3210 120 258 233 978 504 97727 1874 |
2022 £ 80343 10347 30 1972 132 87 10 92921 66169 468 17024 529 630 283 1409 86 0 89 849 504 88040 4881 |
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Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of Wootton and Dry Sandford Pre-School Playgroup Association
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31[st] December 2023 as set out on pages 1 and 2.
As the Charity’s Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance 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.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Mr Michael Varnom 5 The Willows, Wootton, Oxford 31st March 2024