2023-09-30-annual-report

1. Statement of Trustees Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements of the Charity in accordance with applicable law and generally accepted account practice.

As the total income does not exceed £250,000, the Trustees have elected under Section 64(3) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2018 to prepare a receipts and payment account and a statement of assets and liabilities.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charities transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time its financial position. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities.

2. Purpose and Objectives of Armoy Cross Community Playgroup

The Objectives of the setting are to promote play based learning environments for all children under statutory school age of Armoy Village and its surrounding environs in County Antrim 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 a common effort to advance education, and in particular:

(a) to advance the education of the beneficiaries by the provision of safe and satisfying group play, with the right of parents/carers to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of the group and to promote the preservation of health of the beneficiaries;

(b) to support the vision and values of Early Years- the organisation for young children;

(c) to advance any other exclusively charitable purpose as the directors may, from time to time, decide in accordance with the law of charity.

Armoy Cross Community Playgroup

12 Main Street, Armoy, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 8RQ Email: [e-mail] Tel: [phone] NIC Number: 108801

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3. Chairpersons Report November 2023

I’m going to give an update on playgroup business for the academic year of 2022/23, Aine will provide an overview of the financial report, then Margaret will kindly give us the leader report.

The year 2022-2023 can be best described as one of continuous success. Enrolment of children was high, and has contributed to a healthy financial position. This year we started at our maximum intake with 24 students, so this healthy financial position is expected to continue. Unfortunately, two children left the setting for logistical reasons but we gained one after Easter, this doesn’t significantly impact our financial situation which remained positive.

I am pleased to announce we had a successful Social Services and Early Years inspection for the last academic year, our inspection with the Early Years is this week for 2023-2024 period however, all actions from the previous Inspection are closed and we are as ready as we can be. Social Services Inspection has been completed and we passed, the only observation we received was regarding drop off and pick up. So I just wanted to take the opportunity to remind Parents again that children must be dropped off and collected from a member of staff at the door. This is to ensure your child’s safety so please make every effort to ensure you comply with this. The staff and committee will continue to ensure the playgroup offer the highest quality of service possible.

We as a committee have had yet another busy year with a number of achievements met.

As mentioned in last year’s AGM, as we are charity now a number of grants/schemers are available to us and we were successful in securing a number of them. Namely the Pathway Grant, which we secured a significant amount of funding however, as Early Years had lost their core government provided budget for this year (2023/24), this has since been lost due to a non-functioning Executive. I sent many letters to the NIO and the secretary of State to be told basically that, if the executive would reform we would get our money. As frustrating as it is, it was out of hands. However, the portion of funding that we were able to secure last year meant we were able to provide our afternoon pre pre sessions for free and provide

Armoy Cross Community Playgroup

12 Main Street, Armoy, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 8RQ Email: [e-mail] Tel: [phone] NIC Number: 108801

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each child that attended a jumper free of charge. Of the £15,000 we had initially been awarded, we only received just over £3000.

Speaking of Jumpers, we also replaced the old design with our new motif and introduced a new colour! We hope you love them!

As I previously mentioned the large uptake of EA funded places this year and last year, has had a positive impact on the finances of the playgroup. I would like to mention the magnificent support the playgroup has had from families and friends in the past. As an organisation we are still heavily reliant on the financial support of our local community to maintain the level of service required in the area. In saying that, given the cost-of-living crisis and the number of grants we were able to apply for last year, we felt it was inappropriate to ask for donations after the very generous year before. So myself and Margaret looked into what local community funding was available and we were lucky enough to be selected as part of the Co-op Local Community Fund. This meant that for every £1 that a Coop members spent on Coop brands 1p goes toward the chosen local organisations. So the Playgroup received £1425.75! Which is fantastic news I’m sure you can all agree.

We are planning to hold a Winter and Summer fundraising event which we envisage proceeds will go towards the woodland area, we will keep you all informed and ask for your continued support throughout the year.

Before I finish, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the committee for their support and hard work throughout the year. Aine and Mary, are stepping down this year so I would like to take the opportunity to thank them both for their support and work they provided during their tenures as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. Thank you both!

I would also like to thank the parents, friends and family members of the children for supporting the playgroup throughout the year. Finally, a word of appreciation for our wonderful permanent staff members, Margaret, Sarah, and Laura who work with the children on a daily basis, and whose hard work and dedicated service ensures that many local children continue to benefit from the service the playgroup provides.

Overall, I think the progress we have made throughout the year has been amazing and if you are all content, I am more than happy to keep representing the setting in the role of chair.

Armoy Cross Community Playgroup

12 Main Street, Armoy, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 8RQ Email: [e-mail] Tel: [phone] NIC Number: 108801

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4. Financial Review

See separate report for details of groups Finances.

5. List of Trustees for 2022-2023

	Name Jillian Squires Chairperson Aine Cassley Treasurer Mary Cassley Secretary Kelly McLaughlin Committee Member Kathryn Henry Committee Member

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X X
07/10/2024
Jillian Squires Date
Chairperson
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Armoy Cross Community Playgroup

12 Main Street, Armoy, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 8RQ Email: [e-mail] Tel: [phone] NIC Number: 108801

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