The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2024.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the constitution, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and Reporting by Charities", issued in March 2005.
The Pre-School's objectives are:
> To encourage learning through play in a caring, safe and enthusiastic environment.
> To create an environment which has the highest standard of care and education for our children.
> To work in partnership with parents and carers to achieve our goals.
The Pre-School has a policy to encourage children's learning through play, creativity and by creating opportunities to express opinions and make friends. This is intended to make the Pre-school an enjoyable experience for everyone.
Children are eligible to attend the playgroup at the start of the term following their second birthday.
The Pre-School has policies regarding:
> Admissions
> Positive behaviour
> Child protection
> Safety
> Equal opportunities
> Bullying and harassment in the workplace
> Special needs
> Health
> Hygiene
> Aims and objectives
> Fire procedures
> Fees
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Pre-School should undertake.
It has been a challenging year financially, as we faced the disappointment of making a loss. This has largely been driven by ongoing pressure on private fees, compounded by the increase in government funding being less than the increase in the national minimum wage. Despite this, we vowed not to increase prices and remain in line with the competition, recognising the impact of the cost of living crisis on families. Costs were also higher this year due to sickness and maternity cover being provided by agency staff, alongside some unavoidable but costly repairs and essential upkeep to the building. Additionally, our holiday club numbers have been lower than in previous years, further impacting our income. Combined with these factors, the financial environment for the pre-school has been especially difficult.
On a positive note, we are thrilled to welcome new committee members to Silkstone Pre-School. At the start of 2024, we were struggling to recruit committee members, and the future of the pre-school was uncertain. However, following an appeal to all parents, we were able to increase the number of volunteers and also attain a co-opted non-parent member, providing us with much-needed strength and stability. They bring fresh ideas, valuable skills, and enthusiasm to our leadership team. Together, the committee and management are analysing ways to improve efficiency and occupancy whilst ensuring we maintain the excellent level of care and education that families have come to expect.
Work on our visibility and presence has begun, including the launch of a new website and leafleting the local area. However, the vast majority of new parents continue to come through word of mouth, which is a testament to our approach to childcare and education being highly valued by our users.
Children continue to be happy, settled, and thrive in our small, friendly, and homely setting. We received very positive feedback from the primary schools we feed into last September, as reception teachers find our children well-prepared to start their journey into school life.
Our management team, Beverley and Laura, work closely with the local education authority, liaising with the lead teacher, quality improvement officer, and SEND team to ensure we are constantly reviewing our practice and providing high-quality care and education. The staff receive monthly teaching sessions and Inset day training from both the managers and guest speakers, as we strive to improve on our good provision. The SEND team were so impressed with the work of the SENCO and manager when planning for children with additional needs that the pre-school was chosen to be part of a pilot project to develop a local authority SEND audit tool.
The pre-school staff team continue to work closely with parents. Due to being a small setting, the staff are able to get to know all families well. We invite parents in for formal chats about their child’s progress three times a year, and these are well-attended. We also invite parents along to fun informal events. This year, they have enjoyed a Christmas concert and a graduation ceremony with party food afterwards, both of which were very well received.
As a pre-school, we continue to involve ourselves in community events, such as creating an entry for the 2023 scarecrow trail. We encourage our children to become caring citizens through activities that help them consider others, such as bringing in food for the local food bank. The children are also taken out for walks in the locality, helping them become familiar with the environment in which they live.
Despite the challenges, we remain deeply grateful for the dedication of our staff, the continued support of our families, and the commitment of our committee, management, and community. With everyone’s combined efforts, we are determined to overcome these obstacles and ensure that Silkstone Pre-School continues to thrive as a nurturing and enriching environment for our children.
The result for the year after all the activities was a loss of £22,296 and this has been deducted from reserves.
The charity ensures it carries enough reserves at the bank to cover the salary costs for the term ahead of it. It derives its funding on a quarterly basis and the Trustees are happy the reserves plus funding will allow the charity to pay its liabilities.
It is the policy of the Pre-School that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the Pre-School’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Silkstone Pre-School Playgroup Limited (the Pre-School) for the year ended 31 July 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Pre-School are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Pre-School’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
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 that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Pre-School as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements 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 financial statements 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 financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Silkstone Pre-School Playgroup Limited is a company limited by guarantee, dependant upon parent volunteers to serve on the committee and act as both directors and trustees.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Pre-School's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and “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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The Pre-School is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The Pre-School has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Pre-School. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Pre-School has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Pre-School has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services provided in the normal course of business.
These are costs incurred on the Pre-School's charitable operations, including support costs. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the Pre-School reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Pre-School is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Funding
Fees
Lunch and after school club
Fund raising
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
There were no employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.