Little Stars Pre-school Trustses Report year ending Juno 24 Sloane Crescent, Killyleagh, Co-Down. BT30 9RB Charity No: NIC 106846 Purpose of Little Stars The pre-school will deliver the Northern Ireland Pre-school curriculum through play- based activities ntred around the developmental levels in the six areas of learning. Personal, Social & Emotional Development Early Maths Language & Literature Development Physical Development The Arts The World Around Us Little Stars provides a safe, friendly and welcoming environment for the children of Killyleagh and surrounding areas. We are a cross community setting welcoming children regardless of their religion, race, or disability, and although we are not funded by the Education Authority we do adhere to their Values and Principles. We adhere to the essential requirements as set out in the Minimum Standards for Early Years Childminding & Day Care. We are inspected annually by Social Services to ensure that all our practices are meeting the needs of each individual child attending our setting. Staffing The staff go above and beyond to ensure that all children's needs are met, with both committee and parents highlighting the welcoming, caring and nurturing atmosphere of Little Stars. Parents have expressed their delight and have praised the staff on the care and encouragement they have given to the children while preparing them for their continued educationa5 development in Primary School. The preschool staff are committed and professional in all aspects of their jobs and this is evident in the continuous development of the children. Children At present we have 39 children attending the setting daily with 16 in their pre-school year and 23 children in their pre-pre-school year. We have 4 members of staff always present. As Little Stars is not funded by the Educational Authority a minimal fee is charged for each child attending. Our Pre-Pre-School session is funded by grant funding from Pathway. Little Stsrs Trustees Report 23-24
At present the setting offers 2 session per day.. Monday- Friday 8.45 a.m. 12.30 p.m. Pre-school Session Monday- Thursday 1 p.m. 3.15 p.m. Pre-Pre-School Session Fundraising The fundraising events included.. Copper Jar Bonus Ball Christmas Raffle Easter Sponsored Walk Static Cycle 8 Buses sponsored for trips to Beechvale Nursing Home Donations from Beechvale Nursing Home from Raffles Christmas Cards Additional Activities We have continued to build on our relationship with Beechvale Nursing Home and our Generation together programme. It is wonderful to watch these two generations working and playing together with old teaching young and young teaching their adopted grannies and grandads, new songs and dan moves. We again organised a family day out to the Grand Opera House to watch the Panto. For some of our children this may be the only time they get to experien this and it is special bringing all our families together. We ran a 2-week summer scheme with an average of 30 children attending each day. We had different themed activities each day- spa day, messy play, unicorn day with a visit from the magical unicorn, water play day and many others. Public Benefit Statsment Our Public Benefit Statement is as documented on the Charity Commission register. The group is established to promote play-based learning environments for all children under statutory school age, (hereinafter referred to as the beneficiaries) of Killyleagh and the surrounding areas. (hereinafter called the 'area of benefit,) without distinction of 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 a common effort to advance education, and in particular Little Stars Trustees Report 23-24
To advance the education of the beneficiaries by the provision of safe and satisfying group play, with the right of parentslcarers to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of the group.. and to promote the preservation of health of the beneficiaries The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include the educational progression of Preschool children in all six developmental areas. The group aims to make children strong, capable and independent in their communities buy building their resilience thus enabling them to cope with adversity and disappointment, primarily aiming to prepare them for lrfe. These benefits can be demonstrated by the feedback the group receives from the parents and former pupils of the Preschool. Feedback also comes from the inspection reports from Social Services who carry out an annual inspection in line with the Minimum Standards for Nl. The beneficiaries are the children aged from 2 years 10 months to 4 years 11 months in Killyleagh and surrounding areas. There is no harm flowing from this purpose There is no private benefit flowing from this purpose 2. To support the values and principles of Early Years. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include teacher access to up-to-date, relevant training opportunities. This training enables both the teachers and the children to be strong, competent and visible, through the teaching of the children to show respect for difference and making them eager to learn. These benefits can be demonstrated by the teachers, ability to implement learning into practice. The benefits are also observed from the feedback received from the parents and the children themselves The beneficiaries are children under statutory school age There is no harm flowing form this purpose There is no private benefit flowing from this purpose. Approved by.. LIKIO RAL Chairperson KI LLYLgPaH Little Stars Trustees Report 23-24