Kilmood Playgroup
TRUSTEE’S ANNUAL REPORT FINANCIAL YEAR 1[ST] SEPTEMBER 2022 – 31[ST] AUGUST 2023 CHARITY COMMISSION NO: NIC 101397
PURPOSE:
Our Group is established to promote play based learning environments for all children under statutory school age (beneficiaries) of Kilmood and its surrounding environs in County Down (area of benefit) without distinction of age, gender, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic identity, political or religious opinion, by associating the statutory authorities, community and voluntary organisations and the inhabitants in common effort to advance education and in particular:
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To advance the education of the beneficiaries by the provision of safe and satisfying play, with the right of parents/carers and other interested people in the community to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of the group; and to promote the preservation of health and wellbeing of the beneficiaries
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To encourage parents/carers and staff avail of training, to gain a wider knowledge of the development and social needs and behaviours of children so that they can tailor their care and educational programme according to the unique needs of every child
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To encourage Management Committee and safeguard training for parents/carers, staff and other interested parties
PUBLIC BENEFIT:
Direct benefits that flow for our ‘Purpose’ include:
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Preparation of each child for primary education
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Mastering the basic skills of expression, communication, problem solving, early mathematics, creativity, knowledge of the world around us, experimentation and exploration and physical development
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The ability to relate to other children and adults
These benefits are evidenced through:
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Interviews where there is a two-way sharing of information between staff and parents/carers, where staff observation and progress reports are used to inform parents/carers
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Parental questionnaires to gain the opinion of parents/carers
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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STRUCTURE OF KILMOOD PLAYGROUP:
Management Committee:
During school year 2022/23, our management committee consisted of 15 members who were elected at our Annual General Meeting. Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer being honorary members.
Below is a list of our members for 2022/23:
- Chair Person:
o Rosemary Osborne
- Secretary:
o Richard Young (Anna Horton resigned March 2023)
- Treasurer:
o Maxine Taylor
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Other elected members:
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Stephanie Gill
o Rachel Brodrick
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Daniel Murphy
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Jennifer O’Neill
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Michael Mitchell
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Catherine Kerr
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Gillian McKeown
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Julie Presho
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Lara Moore
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Stanley Gamble
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Helen Robinson
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Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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Staff Members:
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Leader in Charge
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Anne Dempster
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Deputy Leader
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Elizabeth Gibson
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Assistant Leaders:
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Alison Gibson
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Tanya Dickson
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Lindsay Brown
o Julie Gibson (limited hours)
- Administrative Assistant:
o Julie Gibson
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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The Committee of Kilmood Playgroup greatly appreciates the seriousness of maintaining effective financial management to safeguard the smooth operational status of such a valued community playgroup. To support the management of the committee, two main policies are in place, which are paramount:
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i) Reserves Policy
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ii) Fundraising Policy
Reserves Policy
It states:
The management committee have set a reserves policy which requires:
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Reserves be maintained at a level of £22,000, which ensures that the core activity of Kilmood Playgroup could continue during a period of unforeseen difficulty
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A proportion of reserves be maintained in a readily realisable form
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The calculation of the required level of reserves is an integral part of the planning, budget and forecast cycle
It takes into account:
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Risks associated with each stream of income and expenditure being different from that budgeted
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Planned activity level
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Kilmood Playgroup’s commitments to beneficiaries
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Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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Fundraising Policy:
Fundraising is an integral part of Kilmood playgroup. It supports the overall development of the setting and is an integral part of our financial planning. Fundraising allows us to keep our fees to a minimum and enables us to make our playgroup accessible to all children.
The setting has implemented a fundraising policy to ensure committee members and staff have the appropriate authority to exercise powers and carry out certain actions for which they are personally accountable when they are dealing with fundraising. It is the responsibility of the management team and delegated staff to ensure that fundraising is in line with policies and procedures and promotes the aims and values of the setting.
The management team is accountable for all funds raised and for ensuring that the setting can respond appropriately to any additional funding requirements.
The management team will ensure that:
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At all times the setting will adhere to the Charity Commission guidelines on collection of monies in the setting
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Through the committee the setting will organise a number of fundraising events throughout the year and apply to other sources of funding, eg; Awards for All etc
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The setting will encourage all the parents/carers, staff and local community to support us in our fundraising efforts
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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Fundraising Activities arranged by our Committee and Staff members:
Accumulated gross receipts generated from fundraising activities throughout this school year were £9,989 increase of £1,681 from last year (£8,308 - 21/22). As COVID restrictions eased, fundraising events in person could resume so we thankfully were able to run our famous Santa Cottage event raising gross receipts of £2,742 and introduced Summer Fayre resulting in £2,092. These two large events greatly influenced the 20% increase in receipts.
Snapshot of Gross Fundraising Events 2022/23
Kilmood Playgroup Trustees Annual Report YEAR: 2022/23
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Note: Total expenses amounted to £996 re: Santa & Summer Fayre events
Fundraising Events:
Santa Cottage – net £2,292: Committee member Gillian McKeown assumed management responsibility for the co-ordination of our popular Santa Cottage event in December. Gillian was strengthened by members of our committee and valued staff who were able to offer many hours of their spare time.
This two-day Santa Cottage event was such a magical experience for our families as they visited Santa by the fireside in our quaint little cottage. Afterwards they had the opportunity to take part in activities and listen to Christmas stories in our festively decorated playgroup hall. Our families were able to visit a selection of stall holders as they enjoyed a coffee and tried their luck at the ballot and tombola stands.
Huge thanks to our local businesses and families who kindly donated beautiful gifts for our ballot – raising £1,434.
During the Christmas season the committee also organised a make-up evening. Joanne Thompson from Skinn therapy came to demonstrate and share her beauty secrets. The evening raised £240.
Our last two events were held throughout our summer term.
Sponsored Obstacle Course – £1,207: Our children thoroughly enjoyed themselves climbing, rolling and jumping over the obstacle course in May which raised a fantastic £1207.00.
For our last event, we had a Summer Fayre – £2,092: We entertained members of our community with old style games, obstacle course, pedal tractor track and ‘Rhyme and Find’ in the Secret Garden. There was such a buzz as the sun shone and families laughed, as they had great delight in experiencing the games and answering puzzles in the Secret Garden. In the afternoon they enjoyed delicious food from our BBQ and cooled down with ice lollies.
Families and neighbours continued to support our Cash for Clobber initiative raising a staggering £1,541 from tidying out their wardrobes.
School Photographs, Jelly Beans, Cook Books, Amazon Fundraising & Easy Fundraising – Total Receipts £731.
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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Grant Applications:
All grants applied and received in 2022/23 were treated as ‘restricted’ income ie funds that can only be utilised for the purpose for which the grants were applied/intended for.
It is confirmed that funds were used for their intended purpose.
Restricted Funds - £5,512 - consisted of the following:
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Childcare Partnership - £2,000 – purchase of Outlast Blocks which are a natural part of outdoor classroom and a perfect way to engage children in constructive play.
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Getting Ready to Learn initiative: £600 – to provide children with home lending resources
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Education Authority – Engaged Funding III - £2,912 - ongoing disruption COVID-19 - play resources (MagnePad Tablets), wellbeing staff & children such as Playbus, Mini Music, etc
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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FINANCES:
As of 31[st] August 2023, financial accounts for Kilmood Playgroup reported a total receipt income of £84,433 (Aug 2022 £82,269) and total payments of £86,149 (Aug 2022 £93,575). This resulted in a negative yearly balance of £1,716 (Aug 2022 -£11,306).
Bank Balance being £33,544.
As of 31[st] August 23, there are no outstanding debts owed by Kilmood to any other suppliers/providers of service.
In summary:
Receipts during this school year totalled £84,433 (£82,269 21/22) There was a change in two main elements ie Grants (£5,512 22/23 v £14,177 21/22) and Charitable Trading Receipts (£67,359 22/23 v £58,446 21/22).
Easing of COVID restrictions in 2021/22 significantly impacted on these two values as Engaged II grant funding was £4,368 last year compared to £2,912 now. Last year we successfully applied and received grant of £5,535 Live Here Love Here to enrich our garden and £1,000 Outdoor Equipment, both of which allowed our children outdoor play during COVID times. During these last 12 months we did not have a need to apply for such grants.
Charitable Trading Receipts £67,359 (£58,446 21/22) which involves not only child fees but also monthly payments from Education Authority – yearly figure of £54,626 (£46,603 21/22). EA payments are naturally influenced by the number of free pre-school places. In 2021/22 we had 5 less children ie 21, however this year we received 26 pre-school places. Being awarded 26 places has resulted in a noticeable EA increase of £8,023.
Accumulated Expenditure this year £86,149 of which 6% (£5,512) represented spend associated with restricted grant funding. Last year restricted grant spend was 15% (£14,403) of total expenditure £93,575. An overall reduction of £7,426 in yearly expenditure 22/23 was due to this restricted grant illustration.
As our staffing team grew from 5 leaders to 6 leaders to cope with the increase in child places, this caused a growth in salary related costs from £59,253 last year to £68,853 in 21/22. Luckily a reduction in ‘other costs’ and ‘cost of fundraising events’ in this new school year absorbed most of this salary uplift.
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report YEAR: 2022/23
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Although we have reported a negative balance of £1,716 for 21/22 we are pleased that our finances are moving towards a positive position as we recover from the aftermath of COVID. This is a significant 85% improvement from last year’s position (-£11,306 21/22).
We will continue to carefully manage our cash flow and take advantage of grant opportunities and fundraising activities in the new school years that follow.
TO CONCLUDE:
This has been another successful year for the Committee and Staff of Kilmood Playgroup as we have fully complied with our financial obligations in compliance with our Fundraising and Reserves policies. Our year end bank balance of £33,544 shows that we have exceeded our Reserve threshold limit of £22,000 by £11,544 even though we have had a negative 12-month balance of £1,716. We are pleased to confirm that Kilmood Playgroup is well equipped to continue with its core activity and should be able to uphold its operations during a period of unforeseen difficulty should it arise.
Signed by: M Taylor
Maxine Taylor, Treasurer of Kilmood Playgroup, MIATI Dated: 15.01.24
OFFICIAL ADDRESS:
Kilmood Playgroup
28 Kilmood Church Road
Kilmood, Comber
Co Down BT23 6SA
Tel No: 02897 541868
Kilmood Playgroup
Trustees Annual Report
YEAR: 2022/23
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