Little Acorns Trustees, Annual Report and Statement of Receipts and Payments For the Financial year ended 31st March 2024 Charity Number: 108558 Little Acorns Trustees, Annual Report and Statement of Receipts and Payments For the Financial year ended 31st March 2024 Page Reference and administrative details of the Charity Trustees, Report Page 1 Little Acorns Reference and administrative details Charity Name: Little Acorns Charity Registration Number.. 108558 Contact Address.. 20 Manse Road Crossgar BT30 9LY Trustees The Management Committeeltrustees consists of 5 members, made up as follows.. Chairperson: Dr Judith Harper Treasurer: Mrs Michelle Mullan Secretary.. Mr Robin Fairbairn Pastoral Carelsafeguarding: Mrs Clare Wilson Parent Representative: Mrs Jennifer Geddis All trustees have had regard to the Commission's Public benefit requirement statutory guidance. At the Annual General Meeting the trustees can appoint one or more new trustees by way of nomination and vote. Independent Examiner Dr Stanley Gamble Page 2 Trustees, Annual Report for the year ended 31st March 2024 The trustees present the annual report and statements of Receipts and Payments and Assets and Liabilities for Little Acorns for the year ended 31 $1 March 2024. Charitable purposes Little Acorns Pre-school was established to promote a play-based learning environment for all children aged 2 years and 10 months to statutory school age without distinction. This happens by advancing the foundational education of pre- school aged children by providing a safe and satisfying group play, with the rights of parentslcarers and other interested people in the community to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of the group. We encourage training among staff and parents to a wider knowledge of the development, social needs and behaviours of children. This enables the needs of every child to be met by a programme tailored to them individually. Public benefits The benefits include enhanced educational opportunities for children from 2:10 years until they are ready to start school. This enables them to develop socially, educationally, physically and morally in a nurturing and caring environment and facilitates a successful transition into a more formal primary school learning environment. These benefits are evidenced through adult observations, feedback from children themselves, feedback from parentslcarers and independent evaluations by the South Eastern Health Trust. The most important benefit is that through this experience each child will personally develop and gain skills that enable them to cope and progress to the next stage of their growth and education. What our organisation does Little Acorns provides pre-school education to the children in an area of rural deprivation. The staff of the organisation provide educational experiences which allows children to grow in self-confidence, experience success, develop a good self- image, learn to play co-operatively and share with others, develop at their own rate through challenging, progressive play, communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings clearly to both adults and children, deepen and lengthen concentration through their natural spontaneous curiosity and interests, choose and explore a wide range of materials which allow them to express themselves appropriately and creatively, share in wonder and excitement created by books, stories, songs, rhymes, music and natural environment, appreciate and practice social skills and learning to care for others, and enjoy the satisfaction of work well done and share this with their parents. Page 3 Achievements The children benefitted from a range of visitors, activities and trips over the year which enhanced their learning. These include a visit from.. a District nurse, a caretaker, an interior designer, a local farmer and Police dogs. Our activities included.. Mini-Groovers dance, Play bus, football coaching, Sport's day, Christmas fete, Pre-school Graduation, Pre-school joint Christmas concert with Derryboy Primary School. Trips included a visit to Forest School. Going Concern The trustees have reviewed the budgets for the year ahead and are satisfied that there are adequate funds in place to ensure that the Trust can continue its activities and the financial statements for the year ended to 31st October 2024 can be signed off as a going concern. Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document and Constitution of the Charity Little Acorns is governed by the Constitution and the fund is managed by the appointed trustees. Pay and Remuneration None of the trustees are in a paid capacity. They are all acting on a voluntary basis. There is no remuneration to report. Organisational Structure The trustees are responsible for the day to day management of Little Acorns. The Trust is chaired by Dr Judith Harper. The trustees are responsible for making decisions on matters of general concern and importance to the Trust including how funds are to be applied. The trustees meet at times fixed by the members. Special meetings may be convened at any time by the chairperson. Page 4 statement of Trustees, Responsibilities The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the statement of receipts and payments and statement of assets and liabilities in accordance with applicable law and regulations. The law applicable to charities in Northern Ireland with income of less than £250,000 requires the trustees to prepare a statement of receipts and payments and a statement of assets and liabilities for each financial year. The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Trust's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the assets and liabilities of the Trust. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Signed on Behalf of the Trustees Trustee: Date: Trustee: Date: Page 5