REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: |
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND |
UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
FOR |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: |
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND |
UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
FOR |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
Page |
Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 10 |
Independent Examiner's Report | 11 |
Statement of Financial Activities | 12 |
Balance Sheet | 13 |
Notes to the Financial Statements | 14 | to | 19 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019). |
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
The Charitable Objectives of Cleethorpes Childcare are: |
In accordance with the Aims of the adopted Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Pre-school Learning Alliance: |
To enhance the development and education of children primarily under statutory school age by encouraging parents to understand and provide for the needs of their children through community groups and by: |
- | Offering appropriate play, education and care facilities and training courses, together with the right of parents to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of such groups, ensuring that such groups offer opportunities for all children whatever their race, culture, religion, means or ability |
- | Encouraging the study of the needs of such children and their families and promoting public interest in and recognition of such needs |
- | Instigating and adhering to and furthering the aims of the Pre-school Learning Alliance |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
Activities: |
The Work of the Executive Committee |
The trustees confirm they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity's Commission's guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities. |
The General Manager, alongside Childcare Managers, continue to report to the executive committee on a regular basis with many meetings being held online/virtual to allow trustees to meet their obligations alongside personal commitments. Although interspersed with face-to-face meetings, the virtual meetings have proved to be a manageable and productive way to communicate with executive members whilst dealing with matters that arose, particularly around Highgate Pre-school closure. |
Salary reviews have been undertaken this year to reflect statutory rises whilst considering increasing cost of living pressures on families. Fee increases were agreed to remain nominal and opening times and days were reflected upon following review of childcare bookings, particularly at Hardys Den where a one day per week closure was implemented for holiday club. |
Professional memberships & advisors |
We continue to be fully paid up members of the Early Years Alliance (formerly Pre-school learning Alliance), a membership organisation offering online training and regular updates of information and advice relating to the Early Years Sector which supports the development of services within Cleethorpes Childcare. The General Manager continues to represent Cleethorpes Childcare as a trustee for the national Charity and was elected as Vice-Chair in March 2023. |
HR service advice and support continues to be accessible through Beetenson & Gibbon Solicitors on an as-and-when basis which meets our requirements alongside the Lawcall advice service we continue to access through our Early Years Alliance membership. |
Fundraising and events |
Fundraising and Events have been discussed within the main committee agenda. There have continued to be very limited opportunities for fundraising this year due to increasing financial pressures placed on families however, name cards have been filled in at end of term concerts where the audience includes wider family members as this reduces financial pressures on immediate family members. |
Following the success of the previous year, we held a public open morning at Signhills Pre-school in June 2023, promoting public awareness and potential admissions for future children. This was well attended with additional children adding to our waiting lists. Individual appointments for show around sessions were carried out through the summer term, further enhancing planned take up of places. |
A full parent welcome meeting was held at Signhills Pre-school in June where Trustees, Childcare Managers and administration staff promoted Cleethorpes Childcare and our childcare and education offer to families. A further individual meeting was arranged for parents and children in September for each child's keyperson to check paperwork and registrations, discuss any concerns and support settling the child into pre-school life. This supported new families and children with a smooth transition and reassured parents of our level of care, and specific measures we continue to have in place to protect children, parents and staff. |
Easyfundraising is proving to be a small but steady income received from retailer donations when parents/ staff and other family members purchase through the Easyfundraising app. In a similar element, we were also registered with Amazon Smile and have received a small donation over the year. As these require only general promotion to families mainly through the Famly app and Facebook page, this has very minimal effort to support our fundraising objectives. |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES |
Public relations and marketing |
In addition to the Pre-school open days, individual showarounds and 'word of mouth', we also receive free advertising from Families First, an online service provided by North East Lincolnshire Council. Families First support families accessing free funding entitlements, giving out a list of all registered providers within the authority. They also have a Facebook page and website for families to seek out appropriate provision for their child. This year, they have again enabled individual providers to advertise vacancies through their Facebook page to promote parental take up of childcare. This has been accessed by both Highgate and Signhills Pre-schools however, it has made very little difference to either setting as word of mouth and information through Signhills Academy are the most beneficial. |
Signhills Infant Academy have supported promotion for Hardys Den out of school club through a flyer which is incorporated into their admissions pack for parents. This usually results in new enquiries over the year. As always, many parents access our settings for their youngest children once a child moves on to school and so we remain confident that we are able to adapt our services offer for our changing community needs. |
The Famly app has continued to grow and newsfeed communication alongside personal and team messaging has been successful in keeping families who are already registered with us up-to-date. |
Facebook and our website, www.cleethorpeschildcare.co.uk are our main methods of communicating awareness of our organisation to the general public and we have seen a significant increase in applications for each of our provisions through our website enquiry form, rather than phone calls to our office which has remained limited in opening hours. The enquiries are followed up with a phone call to families to gain further insight into what is required and families are then advised on admission expectations such as start dates, registration process and waiting list times. |
We continue to value the close relationships we share with Signhills Academies and are grateful for their promotion of our services through signposting. |
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE |
General |
This year we have continued to focus on consolidation, quality and maintaining presence within the community to promote long term sustainability. In October 2022, we visited potential new premises with a view to meeting our long-term business objective to secure sustainable premises which would serve the local community. The premises were an old school building which were for sale or lease from the local authority however, once viewed and following further research into the local needs for early years provision, Trustees agreed the risk to undertake new provision within that particular building were too great due to impending fuel price increases and the work which would need undertaking to make the premises good. We continue to look for suitable premises with the view to creating stability in tenure and offering high quality early years provision which supports children's learning and development. |
To further support children who would be moving on to school from September, we set up transition groups to take place in Hardys Den room for several morning sessions each week over the summer term. The children were supported by key people who promoted and supported the children's development in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance prime areas of learning. The children were able to understand changes to their environment, work in small groups to promote and enhance language, listening and attention skills and undertook the challenge of change in a way which supported their individual stage of development. This also enabled staff to recognise and enhance their own skills and knowledge of themselves and their children, resulting in positive praise from all involved, particularly parents. |
We have successfully supported the children who moved to Signhills Pre-school following the closure of Highgate Pre-school, offering an equal or increased amount of hours to suit parent requests. Some staff were also able to move over to Signhills, including our early years level 3 apprentice as this enabled her to complete her full apprenticeship. |
Specific intervention time has proved beneficial for the children and staff implementing the strategy in line with the SEN Code of Practice graduated approach. The General Manager was invited to work with the local authority and other providers to review the Inclusion Funding process as the demand for funding has risen significantly. This included a brief trial of new paperwork which was then implemented for September 2023 for all settings in North East Lincolnshire. |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE |
Inclusion |
This year staff have provided several children with one-to-one care and education, accessing Early Years Inclusion Funding to support this work. Offering care at this level incurs additional staffing, meetings, support for the family, training and paperwork, all of which have been undertaken by knowledgeable, caring and professional staff. The funding received does not fully cover the cost of delivering one-to-one care for a child and we only apply for additional support where children are unable to be fully integrated into the setting without it. Funding has been successfully applied for on an individual as well as a group application basis, which is a new way to offer general inclusion support for early years settings. Although some of the children we supported at Highgate Pre-school were able to move over to Signhills to ensure consistency in approach for inclusion, unfortunately some families found the new setting too far to travel and so were unable to access early years provision for the summer term. We worked with advising the local authority regarding these children so they were able to support them in a new setting once they were enrolled. |
We have named Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo's) in each setting and each setting Manager, Deputy Manager and SENCo are also trained at minimum of Level 2 in Safeguarding to enable us to professionally support children and their families through specific strategies and interventions. These qualified staff are able to support other team members with signposting, monitoring, report writing and interventions on a daily basis which leads to a second nature approach to inclusion with respect and dignity for children and families. Setting managers and SENCo's continue to attend network, webinars and training meetings and disseminate information and knowledge to the rest of their staff team to enhance best practice in meeting the individual needs of all children attending our settings. |
We have received Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding this year however this remains an unpredictable amount which is received almost a term after a child becomes eligible. This fund is granted with parental permission for 3 & 4 year old children, whose parents meet set criteria and is used to provide financial or developmental support for children in need. This year we have used the funding to continue with Yoga sessions in each pre-school as we identify the support for physical and emotional wellbeing of all of our children. We have also used EYPP to support one child at Signhills with resource fees to enable them to continue to attend the setting and have provided a higher staff ratio for most pre-school sessions to support quality and transitions for all children. |
Quality Assurance |
The General Manager works alongside each setting manager to monitor and evaluate practice within each childcare provision, in turn informing staff development and progression. Weekly staff team meetings provide opportunities for all employees to address current issues in a timely manner which may also lead on to revisions in policies or procedures. |
Maintaining a healthy environment for adults and children has remained high on our agenda this year with additional cleaning routines remaining in place following the pandemic. Wellbeing of our children, staff and families is well supported with opportunities for informal discussions, more formalised meetings, return to work interviews for staff following absences and signposting to appropriate support services. |
North East Lincolnshire Local Authority provide support for our settings through Early Years Educational Advisor/ Area SENCO input. Managers and staff members work alongside the advisor to enhance quality and promote excellent practice within the settings. Individual staff members are supported in development through an induction process, 1-1 meetings and supervision meetings/ observations of practice. |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE |
Staff Training and Development |
Staff members undertake and update core elements of training to support their professional development which includes Safeguarding, Paediatric First Aid, Understanding and Addressing Behaviour, Prevent duty and Food Hygiene & Safety in the form of a short course, workshop or online training refresher through Educare. |
Staff members have received support to undertake training courses, and workshops over the year including: |
Safeguarding (inc. refresher) | Level 2 (3 members) |
Safeguarding (inc. refresher) | Level 3 (2 members) |
Paediatric First Aid | Level 3 (5 members) |
Food Hygiene | Level 2 (1 member) |
Early Years & Childcare (Apprenticeship) | Level 3 (1 member) |
Early Years & Childcare (Apprenticeship) | Level 2 (1 member) |
Prevent Duty | (3 members) |
Health & Safety in Early Years | (3 members) |
Infection Control | (5 members) |
Staff undertaking training are supported financially and with workplace release and at degree level with additional mentor support meetings. |
The General Manager has continued her representation to the Early Years Alliance throughout this year, becoming Vice-Chair and continuing as a member of the Audit Committee. The General Manager also represents the Early Years Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) sector at North East Lincolnshire Schools Forum. Committee members recognise and support these roles for the General Manager's continuing development as information and skills are shared and developed for the benefit of both organisations. |
Induction for new committee members took place in March 2023, following the Annual General Meeting elections. Members commented that they found this a very useful refresher and overview of the organisation, and that it helps them to better understand their roles and responsibilities. |
Students and Volunteer Placements |
Student placements have been short this year, partly due to the popular requests for placements being mainly in the Summer Term and with the closure of Highgate Pre-school whilst consolidating business into Signhills Pre-school and Hardys Den we have not been able to accommodate where we would have liked to. |
Due to continued limitations on events and activities over the year, an estimated total of 70 volunteer hours have been undertaken. Trustees recognise the importance and benefits of creating sustainable opportunities for volunteering and have addressed this within the business plan review with the aim to create more activities for involvement such as fun days and open days. |
Visitors and liaisons |
We continue to work with a broad range of external professionals to support children and staff. This year we have received support and liaised with Speech & Language therapists, Child Development Centre, Early Help team, Health Visitors, Head teachers, Early Years & Families First and social care teams. |
Professional Advisors |
We have sought advice throughout the year from Professional Advisors, which are: |
HSBC UK, PO Box 68, 130 New Street, Birmingham, B2 4JU |
Smethurst & Co LLP, 12 Abbey Road, Grimsby, DN32 0HL |
Lawcall, Early Years Alliance, 50 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8RT |
Early Years Alliance Membership and Insurance, 50 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8RT |
Dataplan Payroll services, 1 Prince Albert Gardens, Grimsby DN31 3AG |
Early Years Alliance Payroll Services (as above) |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
FINANCIAL REVIEW |
Financial review |
This relates to the enclosed financial statement as agreed by the Executive Committee and in accordance with the accounting procedures determined by Companies House and the Charity Commission. |
The main source of income for the pre-school groups continues to be from Early Years Entitlement (EYE) for 2, 3 and 4 year old children attending our settings. We have a growing number of families who are eligible to claim 30 hours funding entitlement from the term after their child's third birthday and this year we have seen an increase in the number of hours taken per child. This funding can also be banked to be used during holidays at Hardys Den for a maximum of 30 hours per week. Attendance continues to be lower for the first half of the year but we projected a significant increase in attendance as well as a healthy waiting list for the latter part of the year, enables us to anticipate future places and funding. |
Additional income is from fees in Hardys Den and for pre-school children not eligible for EYE, those taking sessions in addition to their EYE capacity or from children who attend the pre-school lunch clubs. Fees are reviewed annually to ensure they remain affordable to parents, maintain sustainability of the provisions, reflect local pay scales and are competitive within the marketplace. As recruitment and retention of staff is becoming a growing challenge for the Early Years Sector, we recognise we need to review our pay structure whilst taking account of increases in National Minimum Wage, to ensure we attract the highest standard of candidates. |
Further income is raised from fundraising activities throughout the year to enable us to enhance children's resources and experiences. Pre-school children are asked to pay a resource/consumables contribution which remained at £1 per child per session, with the majority of families paying this within the allocated timescales in accordance with our fees policy and terms and conditions. The initial pre-school registration fee was raised slightly this year to offset ongoing increases in our expenditure for items such as uniform and the remaining fee supporting the cost of Famly software, printing welcome booklets/ prospectus, providing badges and book-bags along with administration and delivery time for this preparation. Children who attend Pre-school also do not pay a further registration fee for Hardys Den whilst they are enrolled there and many parents choose to share funded hours or buy sessions for their children aged 3 and over. Pre-school registration fee is a minimal one-off cost to parents whilst Hardys Den administration fee is charged and reviewed annually as this also covers Famly App costs. Registration fees can present a barrier for entry to our settings as parents are under increasing pressures of Cost of Living and impending fuel rate increases however the majority fully understand the reasons for this charge and we are able to support parents with payment plans so their child's start date is not delayed. On occasions, the resource and registration fee may be waived at the General Managers discretion due to a child's individual circumstances. |
The Famly software has continued to support us with invoicing and enables parents to see their balance and payments due at a glance. Fee payments continue to be monitored to ensure we have a sustainable cash-flow. We have now eliminated cash payments for fees, except in exceptional circumstances pre-agreed with the General Manager and Finance manager. This means that all payments are now made directly through online banking. This alleviates time for childcare managers and supports direct accountability and recording of payments, whilst reducing the risks of holding cash on our premises. This has not proved to be a barrier to parents with many preferring this payment method. Good communication between families and the administration team ensure that we offer all opportunities for parents to pay under mutually agreed terms. Outstanding fees are a regular agenda item at committee meetings and the Finance Administrator provides updates to each setting manager to allow them to monitor payments from their own families, enabling us to make initial approaches for debtor accounts informally, often then avoiding escalation. We continue to recover debts via Money Claim Online (MCOL) online where all other attempts have failed. |
The ongoing increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, coupled with low increases in EYE funding rates continues to challenge our financial viability due to the majority of our expenditure being for staff costs. Increases in employer pension contributions are also factored into our predicted financial expectations and implemented through the Nest and Halifax pension schemes. We work closely with our payroll administrators to ensure we meet all requirements for HMRC PAYE. This year we have moved to a new payroll administrator due to ongoing discrepancies and unresolved issues with Dataplan. At the changeover point to Early Years Alliance (EYA) we were able to support implementation of salary-based wages system for all staff within the organisation. We have been extremely well supported by EYA who have also identified no claim of HMRC Employment Allowance which we were eligible to claim. We set about creating a back claim for the years we have been eligible but not claimed as unaware of the entitlement and in February we were notified by HMRC of £14593.36 credit on our account which EYA had back claimed for us. We therefore reduced monthly payments to HMRC to reduce the credit level. |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
FINANCIAL REVIEW |
Guarantors |
Members of the Charitable Company guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the Charitable Company in the event of winding up. The total number of such Guarantors at 31st August 2023 was 148. |
Reserves |
Reserves are currently held to support Cleethorpes Childcare in meeting future potential expenditure: |
- | Recruitment and training costs |
- | Three months working reserves to cover staff redundancies and the winding up of the business, should this become necessary |
- | Increase to National Minimum & Living Wage and to pension contributions due to minimal increase in Early Years Entitlement |
- | Development of additional childcare provision to enhance security in lease of premises |
- | Unexpected/emergency costs associated with setting closure |
Risk Review |
This year has been a challenge for all charities and businesses and we recognise that we have been well placed and fortunate to have achieved as much as we have over the year as setting closures are significantly impacted across the sector nationally. We are never complacent and continuously review our current and future market position to ensure we are in touch with the needs of the local community through completion and review of a Business Plan, Risk Analysis and regular Executive Committee meetings. Although trustees are not aware of any major risks to which the charity has been exposed, concerns have been noted regarding the rates paid to providers for Early Years Entitlement in light of escalating expenditure and we constantly check the need for resource purchases as well as undertaking a full evaluation of each post whenever a staff position becomes vacant. |
We continue to have concerns regarding the potential a School/Academy has to cease a lease agreement, in relation to sustainability. This risk continues to be monitored and reported at committee meetings and strategies to secure continuing viability have been implemented to confirm we remain a going concern. We continue to seek security of tenure in suitable premises within our current community base and remain aware of potential and suitable properties as they become available in our local area. |
The Trustees ensure the agenda for each meeting promotes full monitoring and evaluation of government/ local challenges to mitigate risk and the General Manager has good national and local networks to remain aware of current and potential issues. |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS |
Future Sustainability |
The Government announced in the budget in March 2023 that there would be a roll out of increased childcare support for children under five. Cleethorpes Childcare trustees are considering ways to adapt current provision to ensure families who choose to take up their new eligibility can do so in their local area. The first stage is for 2 year olds of working parents to be able to access 15 hours of funded care from April 2024 with further inclusion of 15 hours for children from 9 months of age from September 2024. In addition, there has been an hourly rate increase for Early Years Entitlement in April and planned again for September 2023, with another increase from April 2024. Trustees are aware of potential changes in demand for pre-school places however with current premises and no expectation of capital funding support they are cautious in making changes to the setting which may impair the quality and standards of current provision. We are also aware of planned investment into wraparound care and will be waiting for further information as to how Hardys Den may be able to work with new guidelines too. |
We anticipated challenges with lower birth rates in our community and continued to limit recruitment of new staff and adjust expenditure where we have been able to do so. Continuing rising expenditure for parents as predicted fuel increases affect the cost of living has also shown to reduce our overall occupancy levels. The pre-school open day in the summer term helped to provide some public awareness of availability of places and increased our anticipated number of children for the coming year. In reality, further investment in maintenance and repairs to premises and outdoor spaces is needed however, the settings remain safe, clean and are refreshed frequently to support children's learning and adult well-being whilst we continue to seek donations and project funding. We continue to work closely with Signhills Academy to ensure we meet lease obligations and source cost effective maintenance and servicing of premises, for which we are extremely grateful as this also supports long-term sustainability. |
There has been another significant increase in children needing additional support to access their learning and development. Inclusion of all children within our settings has always been a key focus on meeting our aims and objectives however this has also placed increasing challenges on staff and additional financial pressures due to increased ratio's, adult support and intervention and general workloads. We anticipate we can minimise some of the impact of this challenge by continuing with our intervention strategy programme to enable staff to provide focussed time with individual children whilst gaining new skills within the staff teams. |
The premises lease renewal at Signhills has been finalised and secured. Signhills Academy continue to support our service and recognise the benefits of early years provision on the site so have been able to fully support the lease renewal. Continuity of service for our local community and high quality and standards remain an ongoing focus for discussions at board meetings. |
Our ability to react to uncertainty relies on the expertise and experience of a well-established staff team working alongside trustees. The skills balance enables us to be able to make clear and fair judgements and to address and react quickly to risks when they are presented. |
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT |
Governing document |
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. |
Risk management |
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. |
Structure |
Cleethorpes Childcare consists of: |
- Signhills Pre-school |
- Highgate Pre-school |
- Hardys Den out-of-school club |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT |
Appointment of Members |
All member families are invited to attend the AGM; a member is an adult representative for a child who attends any of the settings of Cleethorpes Childcare. As in previous years, a meeting date was agreed and publicised at each of Cleethorpes Childcare provisions to allow parents and member representatives to attend. An Annual General Meeting was held in February 2023 at Signhills Pre-school. Several members showed interest in joining and some reappointments were ratified. Suitable checks and registrations are always undertaken alongside the Trustee Induction programme to ensure all elected members fully understand their responsibilities and duties prior to the first committee meeting which follows the AGM. At the first meeting, officers were voted into post by fellow trustees. Training, both formal and informal, is offered for committee members should they wish to further develop their skills and knowledge through Educare, offered as part of our Early Years Alliance membership. In this voluntary role, committee members offer their time and expertise in the decision making of Cleethorpes Childcare. Elected members often offer practical time to carry out further duties throughout the year within the childcare provisions or through fundraising, community events (Open days) and activities. |
This year, we have once again found it particularly difficult to recruit new committee members into Cleethorpes Childcare with more parents working for longer hours and being supported with 30 hour funded attendance, many tell us that spare time is a luxury saved for their own family. We continue to work with staff to encourage and support connections with families and identify potential new members who may become trustees. This continues year on year and has been incorporated into all meetings between staff and parents as a less formal approach to trustee recruitment with trustees also supporting open days and welcome meetings with parents to enhance face-to-face introductions. |
Staffing |
The executive committee have a responsibility to ensure that staff are employed within the company to meet company objectives. A General Manager is employed to oversee the day-to-day running of the work of Cleethorpes Childcare within each provision and in addition to this, an average of 20 members of staff have worked to provide high quality care and education for the children who have attended, offering support and information to parents and family members. Reflecting a national crisis in recruitment and retention of staff in the Early Years Sector, Cleethorpes Childcare have again seen changes in the number of staff employed with higher rates of pay being the main reason quoted for staff to seek alternative employment. Although the apprenticeship programme has proven useful to support new interest in the childcare sector and has proven to be beneficial for Cleethorpes Childcare, our level 2 and level 3 apprentices were unable to commit to further employment with us after completing their qualifications. |
Highgate Pre-school were served notice on their premises which were sub leased through North East Lincolnshire Council and were unable to identify and afford to take a sustainable risk with alternative premises, resulting in closure of the setting at the end of March 2023. Some staff and children were able to transfer to Signhills Pre-school however, some staff redundancies were made following redundancy consultation procedures supported by advice from Lawcall. The Childcare Manager for Signhills Pre-school started maternity leave from the second half of the summer term with the Childcare Manager for Highgate covering the position, enabling Trustees to focus on consolidation of services to support quality and standards. |
As appropriate for each individual and within a core training offer, all staff have continued to be supported to develop their skills within the organisation and internal progression has also been encouraged when restructuring staff. Trustees were extremely appreciative for the flexibility, understanding, commitment, and dedication to the children and each other shown by staff over the year. |
Policies |
There has been very little to change on our policies however the General Manager continues to review policies to reflect changing business and best practice within the Early Years Sector. All policy changes are discussed with staff and Trustees before agreement, allowing full consultation with those who are tasked with implementation. Paper copies of policies are made available within each setting and policies are uploaded onto our website which members, staff and trustees access using a secure password acquired on joining the organisation. |
The business plan and organisational risk assessment were monitored by trustees and managers to assure for future viability of Cleethorpes Childcare, particularly when reducing the number of settings in operation and the financial implications of staff leaving and changes to premises. We consider that Early Years has a level of risk for sustainability which is balanced with many unknown factors such as funding rates and admissions however, our projections show we have been diligent in considering the worst case scenarios and by continuing to consolidate our business priorities alongside the need to support the local community, the risks are considered manageable providing we continue to adapt to the changing political environment and continue to review our opportunities. |
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS |
Registered Company number |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
Registered Charity number |
Registered office |
Trustees |
Independent Examiner |
Mrs H Spauls FCA |
Smethurst & Co LLP |
12 Abbey Road |
GRIMSBY |
DN32 0HL |
Bankers |
130 New Street |
Birmingham |
West Midlands |
B2 4JU |
Solicitors |
BG Solicitors LLP |
27 Osborne Street |
Grimsby |
N E Lincs |
DN31 1JB |
Cleethorpes Childcare is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 15 September 2003 and registered as a charity on 10 February 2004. |
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. |
Approved by order of the board of trustees on |
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Cleethorpes Childcare ('the Company') |
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 August 2023. |
Responsibilities and basis of report |
As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act'). |
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act. |
Independent examiner's statement |
Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the **ERROR - relevant professional body must be completed**, which is one of the listed bodies. |
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe: |
1. | accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or |
2. | the accounts do not accord with those records; or |
3. | the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or |
4. | the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)). |
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. |
Mrs H Spauls FCA |
Smethurst & Co LLP |
12 Abbey Road |
GRIMSBY |
DN32 0HL |
7 February 2024 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total | Total |
fund | fund | fund | funds | funds |
Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ |
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS | FROM |
Incoming resources from charitable activities |
261,335 |
- |
12,005 |
Activities for generating funds | 2 | 1,158 | - | - |
Other income | 1,383 | - | - |
Total | 263,876 | - | 12,005 |
EXPENDITURE ON |
Costs of generating funds | 1,146 | - | - |
Charitable activities |
250,667 | - | 12,005 |
Premises costs | 24,506 | - | - |
Total | 276,319 | - | 12,005 |
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | (12,443 | ) | - | - | ( |
) |
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS |
Total funds brought forward | 71,287 | - | - |
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD |
58,844 |
- |
- |
71,287 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 04899075) |
BALANCE SHEET |
31 AUGUST 2023 |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
Notes | £ | £ |
FIXED ASSETS |
Tangible assets | 7 |
CURRENT ASSETS |
Stocks | 8 |
Debtors | 9 |
Cash at bank and in hand |
CREDITORS |
Amounts falling due within one year | 10 | ( |
) | ( |
) |
NET CURRENT ASSETS |
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES |
NET ASSETS |
FUNDS | 13 |
Unrestricted funds | 71,287 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 71,287 |
The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 August 2023. |
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2023 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. |
The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for |
(a) | ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and |
(b) | preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. |
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime. |
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
1. | ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
Basis of preparing the financial statements |
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. |
Income |
Grants are recognised in full in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which they are receivable. |
Donations and gifts are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when received. |
Incoming resources for the provision of pre-school places and from investments are recognised in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. |
Resources expended |
Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred. |
Tangible fixed assets |
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. |
Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off their cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over their expected useful lives as follows - |
Land and buildings | - | 20% on reducing balance or over lease term |
Fixtures, fittings and equipment | - | 20% on cost |
Fixed assets are not capitalised if they cost less than £100. |
Stocks |
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items. |
Taxation |
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities. |
Fund accounting |
Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources receivable or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds. |
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the management committee for particular purposes. |
Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of management and support costs. |
Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits |
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate. |
Leasing commitments |
Rents payable under leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease. |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
2. | ACTIVITIES FOR GENERATING FUNDS |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Fundraising events |
Uniform sales |
3. | NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) |
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting): |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Depreciation - owned assets |
Deficit on disposal of fixed assets |
4. | TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Trustees' salaries |
Trustees' social security |
Trustees' pension contributions to money purchase schemes |
The memorandum of association updated in May 2017 allows trustees of the charity to be a paid employee of the charity, but no trustee can be paid for their duties as a trustee. |
Lorna Pendred has been paid for her employment as the general manager of the charity. |
Wages, social security and pension costs paid for Louise Robinson, the sister of the trustee Lorna Pendred, totalled £17,316 (2022 £17,015). |
Trustees' expenses |
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 August 2023 nor for the year ended 31 August 2022. |
5. | STAFF COSTS |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Wages and salaries |
Social security costs |
Other pension costs |
238,051 | 267,106 |
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
Furtherance of the entity's activities | 17 | 20 |
Management and administration | 3 | 3 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
6. | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES |
Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total |
fund | fund | fund | funds |
£ | £ | £ | £ |
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM |
Incoming resources from charitable activities | 309,336 | - | 13,828 |
Activities for generating funds | 1,694 | - | - |
Total | 311,030 | - | 13,828 |
EXPENDITURE ON |
Costs of generating funds | 696 | - | - |
Charitable activities |
284,277 | - | 13,828 |
Premises costs | 24,696 | 1,067 | - |
Total | 309,669 | 1,067 | 13,828 |
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | 1,361 | (1,067 | ) | - |
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS |
Total funds brought forward | 69,926 | 1,067 | - |
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 71,287 | - | - | 71,287 |
7. | TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS |
Fixtures, |
fittings |
Land and | and |
buildings | equipment | Totals |
£ | £ | £ |
COST |
At 1 September 2022 |
Disposals | ( |
) | ( |
) |
At 31 August 2023 |
DEPRECIATION |
At 1 September 2022 |
Charge for year |
Eliminated on disposal | ( |
) | ( |
) |
At 31 August 2023 |
NET BOOK VALUE |
At 31 August 2023 |
At 31 August 2022 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
8. | STOCKS |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Stocks |
9. | DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Trade debtors |
Other debtors |
10. | CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Trade creditors |
Other creditors |
Accruals and deferred income |
11. | LEASING AGREEMENTS |
The following operating lease payments are committed to be paid: |
Land and Buildings |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ |
Expiring: |
Within one year | 5,388 | 6,683 |
Between one and five years | 25,492 | 28,737 |
12. | ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS |
31.8.23 | 31.8.22 |
Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total | Total |
fund | fund | fund | funds | funds |
£ | £ | £ | £ | £ |
Fixed assets | 1,603 | - | - | 1,603 | 3,598 |
Current assets | - | - |
Current liabilities | ( |
) | - | - | ( |
) | ( |
) |
58,844 | - | - | 58,844 | 71,287 |
13. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS |
Net |
movement | At |
At 1.9.22 | in funds | 31.8.23 |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 71,287 | (12,443 | ) | 58,844 |
TOTAL FUNDS | (12,443 | ) | 58,844 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
13. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued |
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
Incoming | Resources | Movement |
resources | expended | in funds |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 263,876 | (276,319 | ) | (12,443 | ) |
Restricted funds |
Restricted fund | 12,005 | (12,005 | ) | - |
TOTAL FUNDS | ( |
) | (12,443 | ) |
Comparatives for movement in funds |
Net |
movement | At |
At 1.9.21 | in funds | 31.8.22 |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 69,926 | 1,361 | 71,287 |
Designated fund | 1,067 | (1,067 | ) | - |
70,993 | 294 | 71,287 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 70,993 | 294 | 71,287 |
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
Incoming | Resources | Movement |
resources | expended | in funds |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 311,030 | (309,669 | ) | 1,361 |
Designated fund | - | (1,067 | ) | (1,067 | ) |
311,030 | (310,736 | ) | 294 |
Restricted funds |
Restricted fund | 13,828 | (13,828 | ) | - |
TOTAL FUNDS | 324,858 | (324,564 | ) | 294 |
A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows: |
Net |
movement | At |
At 1.9.21 | in funds | 31.8.23 |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 69,926 | (11,082 | ) | 58,844 |
Designated fund | 1,067 | (1,067 | ) | - |
70,993 | (12,149 | ) | 58,844 |
TOTAL FUNDS | 70,993 | (12,149 | ) | 58,844 |
CLEETHORPES CHILDCARE |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued |
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 |
13. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued |
A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: |
Incoming | Resources | Movement |
resources | expended | in funds |
£ | £ | £ |
Unrestricted funds |
General fund | 574,906 | (585,988 | ) | (11,082 | ) |
Designated fund | - | (1,067 | ) | (1,067 | ) |
574,906 | (587,055 | ) | (12,149 | ) |
Restricted funds |
Restricted fund | 25,833 | (25,833 | ) | - |
TOTAL FUNDS | 600,739 | (612,888 | ) | (12,149 | ) |
Purposes of designated and restricted funds |
Restricted funds includes amounts received to assist with the inclusion of children. |
14. | RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES |