ST MALACHY'S PRE SCHOOL PLAYGROUP Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 Campbell & Co
ST MALACHY'S PRE SCHOOL PLAYGROUP Contents Page Business Information Trustees Report Independent Examiners Report Profit and Loss Account 3-10 13 Balance Sheet 14 Notes to the Accounts 15-18
ST MALACHY'S PRE SCHOOL PLAYGROUP Business Information Business address 72 Nursery Avenue Coleraine BT52 1 LR Accountants J A S Campbell & Co 49 Managher Road Aghadowey Coleraine BT514DE
ST MALACHY'S PRE SCHOOL PLAYGROUP The report of the trustses for the year ended 31 March 2023 Introduction The trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31st March 2023. The board of trustees are satisfied with the performance of the charity during the year and the position at 31 st March 2023, considering the additional financial burden placed upon the organisation by the new requirements by government for the living wage and workplace pensions and despite the forseable introduction of a monthly rent charge we feel we will meet our budget for the upcoming year. Name, registered office and constitution of the charity The legal registration details are St Malachy's Pre-school Playgroup Charities Commission Number The te18phone numbers ar8 101344 07756145275 and 07889259839 Objectives and Activities of the Charity A summary of the objects of the charlty as set out In Its governing document. In setting our objectives and planning our activities our governors have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and in particular to its supplementary public benefit guidance on advancing education and on fee charging The objects of St Malachy's Pre School Playgroup is to provide a quality childcare service for children of 34 years of age. We endeavour to promote independence, develop social skills and personal development in a structured and flexible way. All this within a safe, warm enviroment where children's physical, emotional and social development is paramount. It is the policy of St Malachy's Pre School Playgroup to protect and foster the dignity of children by ensuring that staff treat each child as an individual, valuing their unique attributes and qualities. Policies to ensure the childrens safety and welfare are in place, distributed to all and are stictly adhered to. These policies include such matters as diverse as Safeguarding Equal Opportunities Policies. Additional Need Policies Medical Emergency Procedure. Social Neorking, E-safety and mobile phone policies. Security of this Setting. Collection Policy. Covid-19 and Social Distancing St Malachy's Pre School Playgroup recognises the importance of working in partnership with parentslcarers to promote the best interests of children and that parents play a key role in the education of their children. The playgroup will work in partnership with and support parents in this role.
Public benefit that is provlded by the charlty The public benefit provided by the Playgroup starts with the childcare provided to the children, providing quality childcare from qualified child care providers and looking after their health and well being on a daily basis. Following on from this, growing the child's potential during their time under our care and directing their personal and social development. Providing a reliable and cost effective service to the parents, taking account of safety, educational and nutritional issues. Providing support and guidance to the parents. Radiating out from here to the community at large, providing local facilities that kèep the community together. Therefore people don't have to leave the area to get these benefits in larger towns and cities leading to the slow decline of the area. Providing local employment and training both full time I part time, voluntary or paid. Co-ordinating with local schools and facilities, to the benefit of all parties. A lot of these goals are qualitative and longterm, and thus hard to measure, As a basic indicator though in 2022 we had 15 children from 15 families and in 2023 we had 15 children from 15 families. Other more quantit8tive like numbers of hours childcare provided, and numbers of local staff employed are detailed below.. 2023 2022 2021 No of staff members living within catchment area No of students in the year 15 15 15 The charity's alms including the changes or differences it seeks to make thmugh its activities . The Trust aims to promote the independence and personal development of the children within our care whilst also developing their social skills. The charity contributes towards preparing our charges for the opportunities, responsibilities and experience of later life. An explanation of the charity's main objectives for the year. The Trusts objectives during the year were as follows.. To increase childcare places, whilst still providing a high level of service. To develop our links with local schools. To provide ever improving training for our staff and so provide an even better service to the local community. To increase the amount of fundraising activities in the community, and increase the funds generated by these new and existing activities. Covid has changed our overall daily operation. Firstly we closed in March 2020 and a few other periods as requested so we went to online and were able to create home learning packs. A lot of procedure have been undated to align with the impact of Covid but overall we managed everything successfully. A lot of Funding was given due to Covid which greatly helped and also enabled us to update the flooring in the preschool which was greatly needed. Other funding was used to update and invest in much needed resources.
An explanation of the charitys strategies for achieving its stated objectives. During this climate of reduced government funding, the Charity needs to stand on its own 0 feet, to continue to achieve the charity's objectives the following strategies have been identified.. Increased fundraising (which we achieved this yearl will be more important in the future as outside funding is more difficult to obtain and inflation increases all our costs. We are having difficulty maintaining the level of fund raising, and as a result of this more onus is being placed on senior staff to actively work to increase this and not leave this task to the voluntary members. Structured payment schemes are in place with discounts for payment by direct debit, attempting to reduce the administration burden of having to pursue parents and guardians for outstandin9 accounts. servAces provided) that contribute to the achievement of the stated objectives. The Charity's main service is the provision of childcare to the townlands of Coleraine. The Charity complies with all employment legislation, pays adequate salaries to staff, and provides opportunities for ongoing training in order to acknowledge the responsible and skilled nature of the work with children and to protect the rights of employees. We ensure that esch staff member will be trained to a minimum of NVQ level 3, and are registered under the Childminding and Day Care Registration Children (Nl) Order 1995 with all that that entsils. Each child is allocated a named carer. We adherwe to the Minimum standards set out by the Northern trust Supervision will be in the ratios as follows.. 1..3 for 0-2 year olds, (no less than 2 staff at any time) 1..8 for 34 year olds. Ino less than 2 staff at any timel The contribution of volunteers Whilst not a significant element of the care staff, it is acknowledged that without the large number of unpaid hours contributed willingly by Trustees in administrative roles the charity could just not operate. Also the support of parents and the community in fund raising makes a large contribution to the success of the Trust. The Pre-school would like to thank all committee and voluntry staff for their continious support The Pre-school Management would also like to thank the diocese of Down and Connor and Fr Sheenan Parish Priest os St Malachys Coleraine for their continious support. Achievements and Performance of the Charity A review of charitable activities undertaken by the charity The charitable activities undertaken by the Trust take the form of subsidising the cost of the childcare charged to Ihe parents. Additional support and guidance is provided to parents as they require it.
Fundraising activities Whilst the Trust relies on grant aid from the donors identified in the accounts, whose support is valued. there is still scope to further increase fundraising activities. Those undertaken in the 2020 year include the follows.. 2023 2022 2021 Total fundraising/donations 3484 1000 Factors relevant to the achievement of the charity's objectives One of the main factors affecting the Charity's ability to achieve to achieve its objectives is competition from statuary nursery which receives a higher allocation of funded places than we do. Employment of disabled persons Ongoing consultations are being carried out with Early Years to formulate a disabled workers policy. But as yet no policy for disabled workers is in place. Structure, Governance and Management Nature of the Governing Document and Constitution of the charity The Trust is governed by a constitution administered by a voulantarry committee. The methods adopted for the recruitment and appointment of new trustees When new trustees are required, usually through vacancies occuring, the existing trustees decide what skills, experience and knowledge is required. Taking care to comply with any specific requirements set out in the governing documents. The position is then advertised within the facility and local church bulletins. Fit Person assessments as required are carried out by Social Services. Candidates are formally appointed at the AGM. The policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees. New trustees are introduced to the other trustees and key members of staff so that they can get a better understanding of the organisation, and the challenges it faces. The trustees are given an induction pack outlining the background of the organisation, job roles and responsibilities etc, the pack includes such things as a copy of staff terms and conditions, finance manual and copy of memorandum and articles. An assessment of the skill provided by the trustees and any training required by them is identified and then a plan is put in place to enable the trustee to acquire those skills needed to better fill their responsibilities.
The organisational structure of the charity and how decisions are made. Key decisions are the remit of the board of trustees, so they can best guide the future of the Trust. Less important decisions are delegated to sub commitees set up for specific purposes. Routine day to day decisions are the responsibility of key employees as per their contract of employment. Relationships between the charity and related parties, including its subsidiarles The Trust has no subsidiaries The major risks to which the charity is exposed and reviews and systems to mitigate risks The trustees tske the issue of risk management very seriously. The major risks to the charity are '. The reduction of funded places is the major threat to the onging viability of the Pre School Of a lesser degree of risk are factors like failure to comply with legal requirements. Close attention is given to these matters, but it is possible, however remote to have the child are facility closed down if there are failings in the ratio of staff to children. Very close attention and control is placed on these legal factors. Risks such as change in demographics, are unlikely to have an immediate affect and would allow sufficent time to ad8Pt if they were to occur. Fundraising is not a significant element of income and has been sucessfully increased this year. More onus is to be placed on this by senior staff instead of relying on the voluntary committee. Financlal Revlew Policies on reserves The trustees having reconsidered the position of the trust now feel that an unrestricted reserve of £8,000 is required to cover any expences like redundancies etc The reserve policy is monitored during the year, and if necessary reviewed due to changing needs and circumstances.
Principal funding sources and how expenditure in the year under review has supported tho key objectives of the charity. The principal sources of funding are EA-NE-REGION CRE funded places £38.329. Non funded places £10,128. Voluntary Income is derived from other bodies The trustees would like to take this opportunity to thank Early Years and the Education Authority, the Education Restart Program and H M Revenue and Customs for the suport provided towards staff costs and the Northern Childcare Partnership for training. Many thanks for your generous assistance. Income during the year has been used to cover the support cost of the Playgrotjp as per the Profit & Loss Account. The investment policy and objectives, including the extent (if any) to which special, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account. The Charity has no significant funds to invest and as such ethical considerations are seen as moot point. Availability and adequacy of assets of each of the funds The board of trustees is satisfied that the Trust's assets in each fund are available and adequate to fulfil its obligations in respect of each fund. Transactions and Financial position The financial statements are set out on pages 13 to 16. The financial statements have been prepared implementing the 2005 Revision of the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting by Charities issued by the Charity Commission for England and Wales {revised in June 20081 and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 20081. As stated in the introduction to this report, the Trustees consider the financial performance by the charity during the year to have been satisfactory. The Statement of Financial Activities show net outgoinglincoming resources for the year of a revenue nature of £ -1,975 (prior year £ 5351 and net realised outgoinglincoming resources of a capital nature of £ O, {prior year £01, making net overall realised incomingloutgoing resources of £-1.975 (prior year £ 535. The total reserves at the year end after accounting for unrealised losses after revaluing investments of £ O (prior year £0), stand at £25,567 (prior year £27,542). Free unrestricted liquid reserves amounted to £25,567 (prior year £27,542). Specific changes in fixed assets Changes in fixed assets are shown in detail in the notes to the accounts. There have been no movements in fixed assets.
Plans for Future Periods The Trust is looking at other funding streams with the particular aim of upgrading the Outdoor area and Physical Play & improving toilets attached to the playroom. Rent to £2000 per year has been agreed for the next three years. We had airned to improve the outside area and make plans to update the ground area which we a8ain have managed to successf ully achieve funding to help with this. We had also to look about fundraising in Covid times and successfully manged to achieve help from the local Kerry Group and also from donation5 from Unison & Tesco. As we rely heavily on this we will continue to invest back into making the Preschool even better. In Septernber 2021 we have also had new Member5 join the committee which is also exciting and helps the sustainability of the Future of the Group. The name of the Chief Executive Officer and other senior staff memberls) to whom day to day management of the charity is delegated by the charity truste88. Michael Bullock Chairperson The members of the Board of Trustees of the Charity during the year endad 31st March 2023 were . Michael Bullock- Chairperson Joanne Tosh - Treasurer Victoria Jeraam - Secretary All are directors of the company and also trustees of the charity, and their responsibilities include all the responsibilities of directors under the Companies Act and of trustees under the Charities Act. Commlttee Members Trudie Donnelly Clair McGonigle Stephanie Young Nadine Kerr Non Commltto• Mombers None The members of the Board of Trustees of the Charity at the date the report and accounts were approved were:. Michael Bullock - Chairman Joanne Tosh - Treasurer Victoria Jeraam - Secretary Bankers Bank of Ireland 2 The Diamond Coleraine BT52 1 DE
Independent Examlner J A S Campbell & Co Accountant 49 Managher Road Aghadowey Coleraine BT514DE Statement of Dlrectors, and Trustees, Responslbilltles The Charitles Act and the Companies Act require the Board of Trustees lo prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the stal8 of aflairs of the charlly as al the end of the financial year and of the surplus or deficit of the Charity. In preparing those finanGial statements the Board is required to select suitable accounllng policl8s and then apply them consistently., mak8 ludoemenls and eslimales Ihal are reasonable and prudent., and prapare the financial slalements on the going concern basis unless it Is Inapproprlale to presume that the charlly wi51 conllnue In buslness. $18té whelher appllcable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, sublecl to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial slalements., The Trustees are also responsible for malnlaining adequate accountlng r6cord$ which dlsclose with reasonable accuracy al any Ilme the flnancial posltlon of the Charity and which ar6 sufficient to show and explain the charills Ir2nsactlons and enable them to ensure that the financlal statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and comply wilh regulations made under the Charities Act. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charlty and hence for laking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irre9ularilies. The Trusteas are also r8sponslble for the contents of Ihe Trustees, report. and the responsibility of the independent examlner In relation lo the Truslees, report is limited to examining the réport and ensuring that, on the face of the report, Ihere are no inconsistencies wilh the figures dlsclosed in the financial stalem8nls. Method of preparatlon of accounts These accounts have b68n prepared in aGcordance with the provisions applicabl6 10 ¢ompanies subject to the small companies reglme. Thls report was approved by the board of trustees on 17 September 2024 Treasurer Joanne Tosh 10