Banana Bunch Playgroup
Trustees’ Report for the year ended 30 June 2024
The trustees present their report and unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2024
Reference and administrative details
Registered charity name Banana Bunch Playgroup
Registered Office
Whitehead Presbyterian Church Hall, Kings Road, Whitehead, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, BT38 9PU
The trustees Mrs Hazel McWilliams Mrs Caroline Ashe Mrs Penny Darragh Mr Mark Torbitt Ms Chitalu Chisambo Ms Alana Hasler
Professional advisors Bankers
Danske Bank 27 Upper Galwally Belfast BT8 6FX
Reporting Accountants
Mr Peter Gilmour 18 Middleton Park Islandmagee Larne BT40 3XA
Objectives and Activities
The object of the group as stated in the constitution is ‘to promote play based learning environments for all children under statutory school age ( the beneficiaries) of Banana Bunch and its surrounding environs in Mid East Antrim and Newtownabbey (the area and benefit) without the distinction of age, gender, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic identify, political or religious opinion, by associating the statutory authorities, community and
voluntary organisations and the inhabitants in a common effort to advance education, and in particular:
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A) To advance the education of the beneficiaries by the provision of safe and satisfying group play, with the right of the parents/carers to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of the group; and to promote the perseverance of health of the beneficiaries; and
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B) To support the values and principles of the Early Years.
Structure, governance and management
During the process of registration with the Charities Commission Northern Ireland Banana Bunch Playgroup issued formal constitution document which was formally adopted on the 1[st] of September 1989. The constitution is readapted and revised yearly.
Banana Bunch Playgroup is managed by a committee comprising of the Trustees, with the help and support of the employees and parents of the children attending. The day to day running of the charity rests with Sophie Conn the playgroup leader. Election of the committee takes place at the AGM. The committee is made up of parents and Associate members, with their nomination put forward for approval by committee. The maximum term of office is three years. Induction and training of trustees is provided in house and via Early Years.
Trustees responsibilities in relation to the financial statement
The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustee report and statement of accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and irregularities.
Public Benefit Statement
In setting objective and planning activities for the year, the Trustees have given careful consideration of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit and are confident that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purpose and provide benefit to the beneficiaries.
Achievements and performance and results for the year
Banana Bunch Playgroup is a long-established care and education provider for children aged 2years 10 months to 4years for 3 hours per week day. We have
seven fully qualified dedicated staff some with over twenty fours years of experience working with children.
We deliver Education through Fun based Play. Learning through Play following a curriculum is fundamental to young children’s Personal, Social Emotional Development, their Physical , Language Early Maths, arts and World Around Us Development. We also provide Outdoor Learning in our fully enclosed safe, stimulation outdoor play area.
All children develop at different rates, to ensure all children reach their full potential we operate a Key Worker System: each child has their own key worker who observes and plans around the child’s individual needs to help each child become confident, eager, enthusiastic learners having lots of fun along their journey and preparation for transition to Primary School with friends they have made in pre-school. We have a health visitor who works closely with the playgroup and parents.
Our staff have regular meetings with parents to provide updates. Parents are encouraged to speak to staff if they have any concerns and all aspects of the playgroup are reviewed yearly in an anonymous manor with our evaluation forms.
We are a registered charity run by an excellent Parents Committee which parents are encouraged to join to become more involved with the group and contribute towards the child’s education. We offer equal access of all children in our community.
We ensure that children who are from all backgrounds develop confidence and self-esteem through a variety of play activities such as art and craft, physical play , construction, storytelling, basic science activities and much more to enhance their overall holistic development. Each year we aim to give each child which attends our playgroup a high-quality pre-school education in line with the Northern Ireland Pre-School curriculum.