## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01/09/24 Period start date To 31/08/25 Period end date**
## **Charity name: St Andrew’s Preschool Caversham**
## **Charity registration number: 900218**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The aims of the pre-school are to enhance the
development and educaton of children under
statutory school age. We support our parents
and carers by: A) ofering appropriate play,
educaton and care facilites, family learning,
together with the right of parents to take
responsibility for and to become involved in
the actvites of such groups, ensuring that such
groups ofer opportunites for all children
whatever their race, culture, religion, means or
ability; B) encouraging the study of the needs
of such children and their families and
promotng public interest and recogniton of
such needs in the local areas; C) instgatng,
adhering to and furthering the aims and
objectves of the Early Years Alliance.|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|St Andrew’s Pre-school’s main objectve is to
contnue to provide a safe and stmulatng
environment and to produce happy and
confdent children as they move on to the
Foundaton stage at school. This is achieved by:
1. The provision of appropriate pre-school play
and educatonal facilites.
2. Fundraising to support the objectves.
3. Close liaison with the Early Years
Professionals and Providers.
4. Support and guidance for families atending
pre-school.
5. Maintaining detailed records and
observatons for each child to ensure that they|
|||achieve their full potental.
6. Liaising with parents to discuss learning
opportunites for their child and how to extend
these at home.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The Commitee considers the following when
making decisions on maters such as fnancial
reinvestment, admissions policies and fee
reviews:
• To ensure we ofer an inclusive and
afordable childcare setng to all, with no
restrictons of catchment, faith or personal
background.
• All fnancial investment improves the level of
childcare on ofer, increases the chance of
retaining qualifed early years practtoners, or
supports the learning and development needs
of all children.
• Any decisions to increase fees are only made
to ensure the contnued fnancial viability of
our setng.
• To provide a consistent approach to all
families on any questons or concerns by
publishing and circulatng our policies.
This is to ensure we can contnue providing the
public beneft of being an Early Years educaton
setng.|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
SORP reference Para 1.38 Policy on grant making Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment Para 1.38 Contribution made by volunteers Other
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|In 2024/25 there were a total of 34 children at
St Andrew’s Pre-school. Throughout the year
the Pre-school supported both the children and
their families as they started in the educaton
system and transitoned children on to local
primary schools. The transiton process
includes involvement from the local schools,
with feeder schools sending staf to Pre-school
to meet the children and discuss their
development and progress.
We contnue to use multple start dates for
children throughout the academic year to
ensure we are accessible to all families with
children aged 2 years 6 months and over, and
to fll available places as the year progresses.
In January 2025 the setng received an Ofsted
inspecton. The fnal report was positve and
the staf team handled an intense process with
great professionalism. We have taken steps to
address the areas for improvement highlighted
in the report.
The staf team have contnued to develop their
practce through extensive training, including
Portage Training, Schemaplay, understanding
distress in autstc and neurodivergent children,
First Aid, poty training, domestc abuse
awareness and immunisaton uptake. The team
regularly atend SENCo, Designated
Safeguarding Lead and Leadership network
meetngs, and atended two early years
conferences during the year.
The team have contnued successful practces
including home visits, setling-in sessions, the
inducton process, and ‘In The Moment’
planning. Throughout the year the children
enjoyed a wide range of actvites and
experiences, including sports day, a visitng
mobile farm, the Natvity Play, World Book
Day, seasonal celebratons and regular parental
involvement sessions.
To ensure the best care for children with
additonal needs, the staf team liaise as
appropriate with ReadingSLT(Speech and|
Language Team), the Brighter Futures for Children advisory team, and attend SENCo network sessions. During 2024/25 the Pre-school raised £4,176 from fundraising activities, including coffee mornings, bake sales, a Christmas raffle, Mother’s and Father’s Day gifts and photography commission. We would like to thank everyone involved, especially Hilary Coome and Michelle Evans. The Pre-school continues to contribute to the local community by participating in research projects such as the ‘See and Eat’ study run by Reading University and Burford Research.
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|
Achievements against
objectives set|
Para 1.41||
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41||
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|The total cash balance at the end of the
fnancial year was £108,597.36.
Total expenditure for the 2024/25 fnancial
year was £147,797 and income came to
£145,716 (including bank interest). Therefore
the Pre-school recorded a defcit of £2,082 for
the year.
This defcit was antcipated. It follows the
Commitee’s decision to increase staf wages in
line with the Natonal Minimum Wage and to
refect that several key staf had not received
recent pay increases. It was considered too late
to implement corresponding fee changes for
2025/26, and an appropriate fee increase has
instead been implemented for 2026/27.
Full details are provided in the Treasurer’s
report atached to this document.|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|We hold reserve funds for the case of an
emergency closure. The amount held is
calculated using redundancy payments owed
to current staf members and one full term of
forecasted expenditure, to enable a controlled
shutdown and provide all families with
sufcient notce.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|£71,577. Excluding this reserve, the Pre-
school’s available surplus as at 31 August 2025
was £37,021.|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22||
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|None. The Pre-school recorded a small overall
defcit of £2,082 for the year, which was
antcipated and is covered by accumulated
surplus funds.|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|The Commitee is satsfed that the Pre-school
remains a going concern. A forecast operatng
defcit of approximately £15,000 for 2025/26
will be covered by accumulated surplus funds.
A fee increase has been implemented for
2026/27 to support ongoing viability, and the
Commitee contnues to monitor income and
expenditure closely. The Pre-school also
received a distributon of £24,642 from the
now-closed Caversham Pre-school in the
2025/26 fnancial year, part of which has been
invested in a new outdoorplayarea.|
**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|
The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|
Para 1.47||
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46||
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|2011 Consttuton (Early Years Alliance model),
adopted 8th May 2015.|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Unincorporated charity.|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Commitee members are nominated and
seconded prior to electon by parents at the
AGM, following the Consttuton regulatons.
Each family has one vote. The nominee with
the most votes is appointed to the role. Each
year a minimum of 5 must be appointed and
the 3 ofcer roles flled. All commitee
members become trustees.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|
Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|
Para 1.51||
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51||
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|St Andrew’s Preschool Caversham|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charity number|900218|
|Charity’s principal address|St Andrew’s Church Hall,|
Albert Road,
Caversham,
Reading RG4 7AW
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for**
**whole year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee**
**(ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Frances Loar|Chair|Sept 24 – Aug25||
||TingRawcliffe|Treasurer|Sept 24 – Aug25||
||Lynne Whipps|Secretary|Sept 24 – Aug25||
||Sarah Magor|Co-chair|Sept 24 – Aug25||
||||||
||||||
## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets held in this capacity
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Type of**|**Name**|**Address**|
|---|---|---|
|**adviser**|||
## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
|**Signature(s)**|Mathew Reynolds|Byron Lawless|
|---|---|---|
|**Full name(s)**|Mathew Reynolds|Byron Lawless|
|**Position (eg**
**Secretary, Chair, etc)**|Chair|Treasurer|
|**Date**|20/06/2026||
## **Treasurer’s Report**
## **Annual General Meeting, 13[th] May 2026**
## **Financial Year 2024/2025 Accounts**
Annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 August 2025 have been completed. They are currently with an independent assessor (as required by the Charity Commission) ahead of Committee sign-off and submission to the Charity Commission in June 2026 in line with our filing requirements (10-months post year-end).
The total cash balance at the year-end was £108,597. Approximately 45% of this was held in our Santander current account for day-to-day operations, with the remaining 55% in a Nationwide savings account.
An amount of £71,577 is held as our reserves fund to cover any predicted deficit and costs in the event of an unforeseen closure (redundancy, one term full expenditure, closure costs, and other expenses). Excluding this reserve, a more accurate picture of our surplus is £37,021 as at 31 August 2025.
The total expenditure for 2024/25 was £147,797 and income was £145,716 (including bank interest), resulting in a deficit of £2,082.
The budgeted expenditure for 2024/25 was £143,921, versus actual expenditure of £147,797, which represents an overspend of approximately 3.7% (£3,876), which was largely due to higher staff costs.
Income for 2024/25 was £145,716, which is 1.2% ahead of budget of £144,010. However, the budget did not include any bank interest income assumptions, so excluding the interest received, the adjusted income was £144,465. This is broadly flat to the budget (+0.32%).
Brighter Futures EY Entitlement and Private Fees of £133,541 were £1,976 below budget, but this was more than offset by fundraising of £4,799, which was £2,799 higher than the budget of £2,000. We thank everyone involved in fundraising for their time and effort, including Hilary Coome and Michelle Evans, the rest of the Pre-school's fantastic staff and Commitee members, our parent volunteers and all the generous contributors from the local community.
In addition to the £42,272 received in private fees, we received £1,914 in voluntary contributions and £623 in HMRC Gift Aid. We are grateful to the parents for their generous support.
For the current financial year (2025/2026), due to increases in the National Minimum Wage and pension contributions, and because several key staff had not received recent pay increases, the Committee approved staff wage increases. This decision was made in 2024/25, but it was considered too late to implement fee changes for the year 2025/2026.
An appropriate fee increase has been implemented for 2026/27; which is considered necessary for the Pre-school’s ongoing viability, whilst still representing good value to the community it serves.
Due to the delay in implementing the fee increases, we are forecasting an operating deficit of approximately £15,000 for the 2025/2026 financial year. Any deficit that materialises will be covered by the Pre-school’s surplus funds. The Pre-school continues to closely monitor income and expenditure throughout the current year.
Additionally, the Pre-school received a generous distribution of £24,642 from the nowclosed Caversham Pre-school in the current financial year (2025/2026). A portion of these funds has been invested in the new outdoor play area and equipment, which was completed in April 2026.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved in coordinating the development of this new play area, with special appreciation to Lynne Whipps for her excellent project management.
If you would like further details about income and expenditure or the budget, please get in touch.
Robert Read and Bryon Lawless
Co-Treasurers
## **St Andrews Pre School Accounts**
## **Income and Expenditure Account**
**For the period 1st September 2024 to 31st August 2025**
||||Net Income|
|---|---|---|---|
|Santander No.1 Current Account:|Income|Expenditure|(Expenditure)|
||£|£|£|
|Rent||19,473.40|-19,473.40|
|Staff & Training (excluding pensions)||117,782.07|-117,782.07|
|Pensions||3,920.63|-3,920.63|
|Milk||0.00|0.00|
|Consumables||1,642.12|-1,642.12|
|Deposit/Holding Fees||2,400.00|-2,400.00|
|Equipment||609.00|-609.00|
|Fundraising Expenses||624.68|-624.68|
|Grants||0.00|0.00|
|Miscellaneous Purchases||1,099.94|-1,099.94|
|Personnel|0.00
0.00|0.00
0.00|
|---|---|---|
|Insurance/Subscriptions/Renewals|245.52
-245.52||
|EYP (Early Years Provision - RBC)|91,268.74
91,268.74||
|HMRC Gift Aid|622.76
622.76||
|Fees|42,272.59
42,272.59||
|Voluntary Contributions|1,914.35
1,914.35||
|Holding/Deposit Fees|3,460.00
3,460.00||
|Registration Fees|270.00
270.00||
|Milk|0.00
0.00||
|Other|478.95
478.95||
|Fundraising|4,176.14
4,176.14||
|Interest|1,251.92
1,251.92||
||145,715.45 147,797.36
-2,081.91||
||||
|**Balance Sheet:**||49,181.83|
|Santander No.1 current account no. 64575704|||
|Nationwide business savers account no. 11358713||59,415.53|
|||108,597.36|
|**Accumulated Fund**||
|---|---|
|Balance**31st August 2024**of total Accumulated Fund|110,679.27|
|Plus: Net Income for the year|-2,081.91|
|||
|Accumulated Fund on 31st August 2025|**108,597.36**|
|Reserve fund (redundancy costs, closure and cash
flow)|71,576.60|
|Surplus|**37,020.76**|
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