## **Compass Playgroup - Scottish Charity Number SCO13050**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 July 2025**
## **Contact Address**
Compass Playgroup (the **Playgroup** ) Dean Park Primary Pre-School Centre 1 Main Street Balerno EH14 7EQ
## **Independent Examiner**
Malgorzata Herd CGMA, ACMA Chartered management accountant with CIMA 45 Forthview Crescent Edinburgh EH14 5QX
## **The Management Committee (the Committee)**
## Trustees:
Lynsey Wilson – Chairperson (appointed 18/09/2024 by AGM) Kate Cargill - Invoicing Coordinator and Treasurer (appointed 13/03/2024 by SGM) Shona Harrison - General Member (appointed 13/03/2024 by SGM) Alistair Douglas - General Member (appointed 20/03/2024 by Committee co-opting) Fiona Connolly - Marketing & Website Coordinator (appointed 18/09/2024 by AGM) Claire Pratt – Membership Coordinator (appointed 18/09/2024 by AGM)
## Non-Trustees:
Helen Kashko - Secretary (appointed 18/09/2024 by AGM) Victoria Mullen - General Member (appointed 13/03/2024 by SGM) Sarah Lindsay – General Member (appointed 18/09/2024 by AGM)
## **Recruitment and appointment of Committee members**
All Committee members were appointed or reappointed in accordance with the Playgroup’s constitution at our Annual General Meeting, by Special General Meeting, or through the Committee co-opting a member where necessary to meet quorum requirements.
All current Committee members became members by way of their children attending the Playgroup, however, our constitution allows for membership to be open to other persons having an expertise which would be of assistance to the Committee. As a result, some Committee members have remained in place following the departure of their children from the Playgroup.
## **Governing Document**
**Compass Playgroup - Scottish Charity Number SCO13050**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 July 2025**
The Playgroup is a charitable unincorporated organisation, and the purposes and administration arrangements are set out in our constitution. As a member of Early Years Scotland (EYS), we adopt their model constitution which incorporates best practice and has been approved by the Office of the Scottish Charities Register (OSCR) as acceptable for charitable status.
## **Charitable Purpose**
The aim of the Playgroup is to advance the education and social development of pre-school children with an emphasis on the play experience, so that they take a constructive place in the community. In furtherance of this aim, we seek to achieve this by:
- Offering quality care and early years education to pre-school aged children.
- Providing a happy, safe, child-centred, caring environment that is stimulating and challenging for the children.
- Encouraging the emotional, social, physical, creative and intellectual development of each child.
- Giving every child the opportunity to develop their own interests and skills in the way most appropriate to them.
- Making the transition from home to playgroup, and playgroup to nursery, a positive and enjoyable experience.
## **Key Activities and Achievements**
During 2024/25, we have:
- Supported numerous children in their progression into further education.
- Welcomed three new members of staff including a new Playroom Leader.
- Recruited a diverse management committee with a broad range of skills and experience spanning childcare, financial, HR and legal professions.
- Raised £1,370 in fundraising monies across the year through a Toy Sale and tombola stall at the Balerno Children’s Gala Day.
- Carefully managed the retirement of our Business Manager with the safe transition of the book keeping and accounting responsibilities to Herd Accountancy and the handover of other key regulatory and financial responsibilities to the relevant Trustees and Playgroup Leader.
- Continued our membership and commitment to the Living Wage Foundation for all playroom staff.
- Launched a Committee membership recruitment campaign ahead of the new financial year to ensure Committee membership meets the requirements of the constitution and charity regulations to help safeguard the future of the Playgroup.
- Invested in upgrade works to outdoor play area using funds raised earlier in the year.
## **Committee Remuneration and Expenses**
Committee members did not receive any remuneration during the financial year.
## **Financial Summary**
Overall, the committee are pleased to return the Playgroup to a small profit this year of **£2,929** . This profit has been achieved through total income of £73,731 and total expenditure of £70,802.
In the financial year 2023/24, we made a loss of £1,875.41. We continued to make a month on month loss through to November 2024 (first 4 months of 2024/25 financial year) and therefore the Committee instigated an exceptional financial review to consider the need to increase membership fees during the academic year. Without an increase in fees, it was projected that the Playgroup may have made an annual loss of more than £10k due to further anticipated headwinds in the second half of the financial year.
The difficult decision to increase fees effective from 1st January 2025 has allowed the Playgroup to return to a modest profit and at a level targeted by the Committee whilst maintaining access to affordable childcare for the local community of Balerno.
Fundraising monies of £1,370 have further supported this positive outcome and remain a priority for the Playgroup in the year ahead.
**Compass Playgroup - Scottish Charity Number SCO13050**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 July 2025**
## **Financial Reserves**
The Playgroup has built robust financial reserves over years of prudent financial management. These reserves total £41,919 and are held in a deposit account, which accrues a small amount of interest periodically. The purpose of our reserves include continued investment in Playgroup facilities, absorption of any unexpected expenditure, and forward planning of an orderly winding up the Playgroup in the exceptional event of closure. As a small charity, we do not have a reserves policy in place.
## **Future Strategy and Plans**
As stated above, our membership fees were reviewed in December 2024 and an increase took effect on 1st January 2025. The management committee will continually review the membership fees as part of its ongoing financial management responsibilities and where an adjustment is needed, this will be communicated in good time.
Other planned activity:
- Onboarding of new Trustees and other committee members including the succession planning for key Trustee roles and encouragement of new volunteers throughout the year.
- Increased advocacy and engagement with members to ensure an effective feedback loop drives continuous improvement.
- Completion of the transition of all Business Manager responsibilities (non-financial) and embedding of new Trustee responsibilities.
- Ongoing review of key Playgroup policies and governance requirements.
- Continued fundraising activity and financial prudence.
Approved by the Committee and signed on their behalf
Lynsey Wilson - Chairperson
Date: 02/10/2025
## **Compass Playgroup - Scottish Charity Number SCO13050**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 July 2025**
## **Profit & Loss Accounting Year 2024/25**
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**DEBIT**
**CREDIT**||||
|**Turnover**
**73,731**||||
|Fees & Income
73,731||||
|**_Less Cost of Fees_**
**2,958**||||
|Agency Staff Costs
2,958||||
|**GROSS PROFIT**
**70,773**||||
|**_Less Running Costs_**
**1,463**||||
||EY Membership & Insurance|534||
||Fundraising costs|35||
||Large Toys|24||
||Office Costs|56||
||Computer Software|215||
||Internet & Telephone|120||
||Miscellaneous|-270||
||Accountancy Fees|84||
||Subscriptions|665||
|**Less Staff Costs**
**66,381**||||
|Pension/retirement plan
3,521||||
|Net Salary Expenses
62,860||||
|**OPERATING PROFIT**
**£2,929**||||
|**Retained Profit this period**
**£2,929**||||
|**Retained Profit brought forward**
**£36,376**||||
|**Distributable Reserves / Retained**
**Profit carried forward**
**£39,304**||||
|||||
## **Compass Playgroup - Scottish Charity Number SCO13050**
## **Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 July 2025**
## **Balance Sheet As at 31 July 2025**
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**£**
**£**||||
|**Capital Assets**||||
|Net Book Value
0||||
|||||
|**Current Assets**
**47,215**||||
|Trade Debtors
616||||
|Bank Account: Business Current Account
4,679||||
|Bank Account: Business Reserve Account
41,919||||
|Suspense Account||0||
|||||
|**_Less Current Liabilities_**|||**7,910**|
|Other Debtors|||7,910|
|||||
|**Net Current Assets**||**£39,304**||
|**Total Assets**||**£39,304**||
|||||
|**Owner’s Equity**||||
|Retained Profit
39,304||||
|||||
|**Total Owner’s Equity**
**£39,304**||||
|||||