2023-07-31-accounts

The Old Lace Mill, www.earlyyearsplaygroup.co.uk 44 Frederick Road, Charity No: 700962 Stapleford, OFSTED No: EY 450856 Nottingham, NG9 8FN Tel: [phone]

Annual General Meeting Held at Early Years Playgroup and accessible via Zoom on 18.11.2023 @ 7pm

Attending Committee Fay Harding (Chair) Gareth Fisher (Treasurer) Sarah Turnbull Leighann McCullough (Parent Committee)

Parents attending; All parents informed and invited.

Kariss Parkes Clarisse

Staff Rachel Brown (Temp Manager)

Apologies

Helen Gent (Vice Chair) - position in review, HG to step down due to having a paid position within the setting.

Hayley Simpson (Manager) – on Maternity Leave

Minutes

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|||| |---|---|---| |Agenda Item|Notes|Actions| |Committee|Committee members arrived at 19:00.| |Welcome|Introductions.| |Intro to charity commission and committee for| |parents/new members.| |Minutes read and agreed.| |Apologies|H. Gent, H. Simpson (see above)| |Voting Members|Chair – FH; proposed GF by seconded by ST| |On/Off Committee|Vice Chair – No current member proposed.| |Treasurer – GF; proposed by RB seconded by FH| |Secretary – KP (new member); proposed RB by| |seconded by FH – to take on this role when| |paperwork completed and FH to continue with role| |until this time.| |HG will be stepping down as parent committee| |member as of this meeting due to a) no longer has| |a child at the setting b) has taken on a paid staff| |role.| |The following additional members were voted to| |remain on the committee;|

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Nottingham, NG9 8FN	Tel: [phone] Eavly	Eavlyyeas playgroup
	Sarah Turnbull Leighann McColloch Hayley Simpson – Manager/Staff Rep Lauren Hall – Staff Rep New Parent Members; Kariss Parkes Clarisse Arubasa	FH/RB to support with Ofsted confirmation/EY2. DBS completion.
Chair’s Report	Another fantastic year at Early Years with lots to celebrate. We have had some challenges around staffing and changes to circumstances for the team which have meant changes to hours and staff, as always have been committed and flexible to enable the setting to continue to run smoothly. Numbers are really good and we are excited about the coming year which promises to be another full of achievements and reason to celebrate our amazing setting. Staffing Hayley and Kristina went off on maternity leave and both had healthy babies, we wish them all the best for the remainder of their leave and look forward to welcoming them back at Easter time. To support us around changes to staffing, Emma Steel joined the team in a practitioner role and Tina Reddish and Helen Booth joined the team on a temporary basis to support around maternity leaves and long term sickness. Tina in a practitioner role and Helen in the administrator role. All 3 have settled into the team well and have been a really great addition to our team, we in the committee really value them and the rest of the team for making the transition a positive one. Extra Sessions The parent and toddler group has continued to run and has been a really positive addition, we have had families not on roll who have attended and it has meant we have had new families join the setting after attending the group so it continues to be a positive way of marketing the setting.

Nottingham, NG9 8FN	Tel: [phone] Eavly	Eavlyyeas playgroup
	Assessed interest in holiday clubs with parents but not enough interest to warrant running again this year…we will continue to look at need for future holiday clubs and additional hours liasing with families and assessing interest. Setting updates Despite rent returning to normal in January following the reduced rate through COVID it has continued to be offered at a really good rate and we are grateful to Charles for supporting us around this. He has also paid for the emergency signs we needed for the setting to meet health and safety standards. We as a committee are really pleased with the numbers of families we are onboarding and the feedback which continues to come in from celebrating how wonderful the setting is and the progress children who attend are making. I (Chair) attended the committee forum which is offered every 4 months these have been very useful in us getting updates and information about changes/funding as well as research and opportunities for Early Years settings. Also a good way to network with other committee members across the county. Once again we thank all the staff team and the committee for their commitment over the year which means we can continue to run our setting and offer the best childcare to our families.
Managers Report	This year… Children have done all sorts of exciting things this year. In November last year, had a playgroup trip to the theatre at Highfields to see Going on a Bear Hunt. We used Helpful Bureau to support with transport to the tram stop as bus hire was too expensive. Was a fantastic trip which the children (and staff!) really enjoyed. Some really great feedback from families. We had hoped to do the same this year but have not been able to align with dates and showing times. Will continue to research/review these kinds of trips in the coming year.

	Christmas celebrations and fundraising are underway for this year. Last year we put on a full Christmas dinner for all the children. Staff worked really hard preparing and cooking food. Children seemed to enjoy the meal but there was lots of wastage and we are not likely to do this again in the same way. GF dressed as Santa again and all the children had a gift at the Christmas party which as always was a really lovely day. Spring - Easter celebration raised funds for the setting. We had a lovely Easter event with lots of positive feedback and our annual Easter Bonnet Competition was a big success. We applied for and were granted a £250 donation from the council to put on a Coronation event which went amazingly. We used St Helens hall and had a lovely party with children, families and members of the community. We will continue to apply for grants and look at celebrating special occasions throughout the coming year. In the Summer we had our stall at Hemlock Happening. Nice to see families out and about and talking about our setting, sharing positive feedback and encouraging people to sign up. This resulted in a few sign ups but none who started at the setting. Decision to not attend this summer as numbers are looking really good and the staffing and organisation of attending such an event are great. In July we said goodbye to 17 of our children to go to school. We had our yearly send off ‘Graduation’ which was very well attended by families, with a chippy lunch, photo’s and celebration of the children’s time at Early Years. A few tears were shed as we waved children off on their next adventure. Staffteam This year we said goodbye to our manager Hayley and admin Kristina as they went off on Maternity leave at Easter and Mayand we welcomed their

The Old Lace Mill, www.earlyyearsplaygroup.co.uk 44 Frederick Road, Charity No: 700962 Stapleford, OFSTED No: EY 450856 Nottingham, NG9 8FN Tel: [phone]

babies in May and June. We welcomed 3 new staff members as well to support with cover whilst staff were on maternity leave - Emma, Tina and Helen have all joined us. Fundraising We have continued to raise funds for our sensory area throughout the year and have plans to get this set up and available for children to use by the summer. Committee and staff have been discussing ideas and looking at resources. Once we have the sensory space complete we will identify a new project for fundraising. Parents have been brilliant in giving donations throughout the year. Children and Families We had 38 children on roll, there was some concern at June time due to the amount of children leaving for school. We have however had lots of new families joining and numbers are really healthy, the best they have been since pre COVID, possibly ever. New children have settled in really well and we are doing lots of multi-agency work with professionals to support children we have on roll with additional needs. What’s coming up? We have plans for craft stay and play sessions across the festive period which have been a success in the past. Christmas party – we plan to put on some food, traditional party games and a visit from Santa AKA Gareth Fisher (Treasurer). Children (and staff!) are welcome to wear festive attire throughout December. Children will be part of decorating the nursery this year. Achievements We have had environmental health in today – we were pleased to be awarded 5 stars which we will publish and display in the setting. We have won an award as every practitioner in the setting is now paediatric first aid trained – this is an achievement above and beyond requirements in

Nottingham, NG9 8FN	Tel: [phone] Eavly	Eavlyyeas playgroup
	relation to first aid training. In June we were nominated for an county childcare award and later were informed we won Best childcare provider in Nottinghamshire. Something to really celebrate.
Treasurer’s Report	There has been a small increase in reserves £100, revenue has gone up but so has costs. Payroll has increased a lot, head count, maternity national minimum wage. No capital investment. Met and looked at costs and fees. Cost of living is impacting across the board. Fee increases - need to look at this in the coming year, we have increased by £2.50 in 9 years so continue to be competitive in our rates and private nurseries are much more expensive. Increase in children. No reason to be concerned about any future costs. Part of the reason we can keep costs down is rent is at a really good rate. We continue to access donations from parents/community, grants and other funds to support the setting.	GF to send full financial report for minutes.
Any Other Business	Discussed onboarding processes for new committee members and skills that new members can offer. Financial advice/debt management, admin HR, event orrganising, IT solutions/software, baking. Shared need for more committee members and people to step into roles - vice chair/secretary. Reminder about committee roles and ratio’s, what is required etc. Fay Harding informed the team that this would be her last year on the committee and she would be stepping down at the next AGM. Sarah and Gareth intend to remain on the committee until the lease runs out in 2025.

The Old Lace Mill, www.earlyyearsplaygroup.co.uk 44 Frederick Road, Charity No: 700962 Stapleford, OFSTED No: EY 450856 Nottingham, NG9 8FN Tel: [phone]

Date of Next 2024 Committee Meetings Meeting 7[th] February 7:45 Th 25[th] April 7pm 10[th] July 7:45 25[th] September AGM 6[th ] November

2022/23 Finance Report

Over the course of August 2022 to July 2023 there has been a small increase in the reserves of the playschool of £1,840.95 being the difference of what we held at the bank and in cash less unpaid costs year on year (£147,100.09 less £145,259.14).

This year income has risen 59.4% year on year. This increase of £38,991.38 has been driven largely by higher council funded income and a general increase in demand for places.

Expenditure has increased 30.7% year on year by £23,509.37. This is largely driven by the directly related payroll £22,117.59 and rent £4,621.42. The rent increase is related to support we received from the landlord post covid in the prior years accounts rather than an actual increase in rent.

Payroll costs have seen a year on year 36.4% increase driven by increased hours, minimum wages and changes to national insurance. Changes in structure and higher costs were incurred in covering two roles due to Maternity.

No significant capital investment has been made to the property.

The Old Lace Mill, www.earlyyearsplaygroup.co.uk 44 Frederick Road, Charity No: 700962 Stapleford, OFSTED No: EY 450856 Nottingham, NG9 8FN Tel: [phone]

Future issues

We have met to review our costs and fees which we need to continue to do.

Cost of living / Inflation is likely to have an impact on the costs and demand for places and additionally local competition has also been changing also creating a risk to the playschool. Despite this currently we have a relatively high number of children and so I can see no reason why the costs or revenues should change drastically in the following year other than for the known rent and payroll cost increases e.g., the National Living / Minimum Wage and Pension enrolment.

Changes in Government provisions are also driving higher demand and we have made places available to take advantage of this higher demand.

Gareth Fisher – Treasurer

16[th] November 2023

The Old Lace Mill, 44 Frederick Road, Stapleford, Nottingham, NG9 8FN Charity No: 700962 OFSTED EY 450856 yeAYS P dy8YQ Tel: [phone]